Autumn is here!

This past Tuesday night, my sister Maura was in town as I mentioned in a previous post. My mother (far right) , sister Megan (next to mom in brown) and Maura and her friend Tracey went to eat at a fabulous restaurant. As some of you may know, my mother managed a restaurant for 17 years and all of my sisters & I worked there at some point. Around 10 years ago the restaurant closed. It opened about a year later under a different ownership & name, but it didn't do well and closed shortly thereafter. Anyway, it is open again and is called the Scarlett Oak Tavern & it seems to be doing really well. http://www.scarletoaktavern.com/

The menu was really diversified, which I love. We ate in the pub though because it is super expensive. I wish they showed pictures on the website because it is an old beautiful New England farm House that was converted to a restaurant many years ago.
Tami--if you are reading this- this is the place that is haunted that I told you about & in case your wondering, the ghost is still playing pranks!!! Anyway, we chatted with the wait staff at length about the ghost. It was fun :)

This weekend we attended an adoption informational session on Saturday morning. It was very informative and we have a lot to learn. It is somewhat overwhelming and I find myself feeling sad, frustrated and overwhelmed with the blatant discrimination that occurs againist people with disabilities. There are so many countries that won't even consider us because of my disability and it is just heart breaking. After the meeting we ran some errands and tried to enjoy the glorious weather. It has been absolutely gorgeous!!!

On Sunday we headed to Boston to meet friends. Kyle's good buddy from college, Bob, is an expert on Boston and he gave us a tour. It was great. Bob wrote a book on Boston that can be purchased at the following link:
http://dorrance.stores.yahoo.net/discoverboston.html

Well, that is about it so far. No word on my "dream job" yet. We are headed for our camping trip this weekend and hope to take lots of pics to post! Have a great week.

Our New Stove & My First Homemade Cake!

Here is our new stove. We had it installed on 9/10. So far, it is working well. I love the storage drawer underneath. We didn't have one on our last stove. Since my hubby & I both like sweets I decided to try making my first cake ever! I went with a bunt cake recipe that I've had forever, but never tried making. The recipe is "Chocolate Chip Bunt Cake," and since Kyle LOVES chocolate chip cookies, I thought the cake would be a big hit. He wasn't as into it as I expected.

OK, not a flattering pic of me, but I wanted a shot of me and the cake. When I took it out of the pan, about a quarter of the cake stuck to the pan (notice the missing piece?)

Here is a close up shot. I tried to cover up the missing piece. Kind of obvious, huh?

The cake was delicious and super moist. I think it was so moist because of the sour cream and the vanilla pudding in it. Yummy! I wound up giving most of the cake away because I was the only one eating it & I figured the best thing to do was just get it out of the condo. I brought it into work and shared it with 2 of my co-workers.

My sister Maura is headed to MA for her exhibit at Wellesley College (Hilary Clinton is an alumni.) See Link ::http://www.davismuseum.wellesley.edu/exhibitions/exhibitions_global_feminisms1.html

Kyle and I are going to see the show on Wednesday night after work. Kyle didn't get to see the show in NYC, so I'm excited for him to see what an awesome job Maura did.

Anyway, that is about it for this week, so far anyway!

Go BuckEyes!!!

Hi All,

We've been home for almost a week and I'm finally getting to updating now. We had a great time in Columbus with Moriah & Eric. Although I am not a football fan, I loved going to the Ohio State game. Moriah was patient enough to explain the game to me! Thanks!!! The game was fun!!! Ohio State beat Akron. Ohio State also has a big Marching Band that plays for all home games. It is a big honor to make the band as it is very competitive. The individuals try out for every game. I do not remember if Georgia had a band, maybe Bridgette or Justin can elaborate. I loved going to the game in Georgia, as well!!! I just love the spirit and the atmosphere. It sort of brings me back to college. I loved going to school! Great times and great friends :)

We arrived on Friday around 11:15. We flew on Jet Blue and we both loved it. They were so accommodating and they serve Dunkin Donuts coffee (what do you think Aunt Mo?) The seats are super comfy and you get your own TV. We didn't bring Rosie b/c Moriah & Eric have a cat and since Rosie isn't good with cats, we decided to let her have her own mini vacation away from her parents. Kyle's sister watched her and said she was great :)

After Moriah picked us up we went to a yummy Mexican place for lunch ( I forget the name) and then headed back to their condo. A few of Moriah's friends joined us for " game night" and delicious pizza. We played Nintendo's Wii for the first time and loved it. I tried bowling and loved it. I felt like I was really bowling. Eric said that Wii was created to be inclusive for all people and apparently is a big hit at nursing homes. It was funny b/c I was reading New Mobility (my favorite Disability Magazine) and there is an article on Wii and how it is an all inclusive game.

OK, so on Saturday we got an early start and headed to the tailgating party. Kyle got to try some of the famous sausages and he really enjoyed them. I , on the other hand, went crazy over the "to die for" cream puffs. The game was a blast and our hosts gave us a great tour of the campus! It is a pretty campus! That night for dinner we went to "27" which is owned by Eddie George. http://www.southcampusgateway.com/directory/detail.php?location=42. It was a yummy and cool place. Next time I am DEFINITELY ordering the Mac & Cheese!

We had a yummy homemade breakfast on Sunday morning before heading to the airport. It was a great weekend that went by too fast.

This week has been busy! I just applied for my "dream job" as a "Program Specialist" at the Disability Student Center at a local College. I'm trying not to get my hopes up, but it really does seem to be exactly what I'm looking for. Please keep your fingers crossed for me.

OSU Marching Band from our camera

Ben & Jerry’s Confession

Why, oh why do Ben and Jerry call to me from my freezer? Ok, so Ben & Jerry’s ice cream was on sale this week. It was 2 for $6.00 or 1 for 3:00. I spent a good 10 minutes perusing through all the unknown flavors and Kyle was somewhat annoyed. He thinks their ice cream is overrated and a lot rip off. I don’t usually buy Bed & Jerry’s ice cream but when my friends Moriah & Tami visited us in May we had ice cream for dinner once and they totally hooked me on B&J’s pistachio. Prior to trying the B&J pistachio, I didn’t think I even liked that flavor. I guess the saying” Don’t knock it until you try it” is right. Anyway, while at the ice cream counter I was torn between the pistachio or a new flavor. I was torn between the sweet cream and cookie (Brig---Justin was on my mind) but I wasn’t sure what type of cookies, so I went with “Turtle Soup. “ Ok, for those who haven’t tried it…. Yumarooskies!!! It is so freakin good. It is vanilla ice Cream with fudge & caramel cashews & a caramel swirl. http://www.benjerry.com/our_products/flavor_details.cfm?product_id=185


I always heard about people buying pints of ice cream and eating the whole thing and I never thought I could do it, but I came pretty darn close. We went food shopping on Sunday and by Sunday night ½ the pint was gone. Mind you there are 4 servings in that tiny pint. I totally know why all the diet books say not to eat ice cream out of an the carton b/c you do totally lose track of how much you are eating and since the pint is so tiny it is easy to do. So, yesterday I was already in bed and B&J were once again calling me. I tried to persuade my hubby who was on the computer to get me some and bring it to me in bed. He was either ignoring me or just so engrossed in Sim City (ERRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!) After three requests he finally got up from the computer but at that point “The Biggest Loser” had started & there was no way I was stuffing my face while watching that show. By the way, did any of you see the updates on past participants? It was awesome & super inspiring but obviously not inspiring enough b/c not even 24 hours later the ice cream was still calling me!

So tonight, after dinner the voice started again… I portioned myself out probably about 1 cup into a small bowl. I left the kitchen and went to watch one of my trashy entertainment shows. I woofed down the ice cream and guess what? I somehow found myself back at the refrigerator having an internal dialogue with myself, “why, not just polish if off tonight Cait since there is only a tiny bit left.” Twist my arm self!! Anyway, so here I write to you all with the empty pint of Turtle Soup just staring at me. I guess I’ll never be skinny!!!!

Mom, it is all your fault for giving us dessert every night as kids!!!! UGH!!! Thanks a lot Tami & Moriah for reintroducing me to my latest obsession!!!!

The Last Weekend of Summer

Hi All,

We had a nice long weekend. Kyle got out of work a few hours early on Friday and since we commute together I decided to leave early so that Kyle would not have to just wait outside my building until I got out of work. We decided to stay in town and go out to dinner near my work and go to the IMAX Omni theater at the Boston Museum of Science http://www.mos.org/. Our first date was at the Omni theater so it is always fun to return! Before dinner we bought our tickets to the show b/c I was worried it would be sold out. We were pleasantly surprised to find out that there was a promotion and the tickets were only $4 a piece. We bought tickets for Lewis & Clark at 7pm and the 8pm show, Kilimanjaro. They were both super interesting and educational. It is so cool to see this type of show because you feel like you are actually there. I know it is the closest I'll ever get to seeing the summit of Kilimanjaro!

On Saturday we headed to Kyle's sister's house and Kyle helped them out with a few projects and I went swimming in their pool. It was great! We wound up spending the night there. We didn't plan it so we had to buy a toothbrush and some pajamas which we wound up getting at one of my favorite bargain stores, Ocean State Job Lot. We stayed at Heather's house until around noon on Sunday. On Monday we stayed home all day! It was a nice relaxing day. The weather has been gorgeous. We are both super bummed that summer is over. It just flies by like this every year!

This Friday we are headed to Ohio to see Moriah and Eric. It will be nice to get away. Rosie isn't coming. Our niece Alyssa is dog sitting and is soooo excited! This will be a short week for both of us b/c we were both off Monday and we are off Friday too! I'm working at home on Thursday, so I'll only be in the office 2 days! Yeah!

Before I sign off I wanted to post a link of an online friend of mine.

http://www.thinkbeforeyoudrink.net/

I sent this email out last week and most people just ignored it but I want the message to be heard. It is not okay to drink and drive. Not only does it put your life in jeopardy but everyone else on the road. I was drunk when I got injured and although I wasn't driving I often wonder if I would have gotten in the back of a pick up truck if I was sober? I was young and we all make mistakes but I believe that if you can make a difference in the life of one person that that is all that matters. I know for a fact that drinking and driving is still a huge problem and I wanted to pass this email on so that the reality of its repercussions could be seen. Thank you Rhonda for sharing your story and being brave enough to share your pain!


Have a great week!!!