Week In Review

It's been an entertaining week for the Brunos, which started on Sunday with dinner at our friend Nancy and Josh's house. It's the first time we've dined together that hasn't been in a restaurant, and they went all out. Josh BBQ'd these huge steaks (which were insanely delicious), and Nancy made twice-baked potatoes from scratch. Even Xander ate one! We'll be seeing them again on Saturday at the motorcycle club's annual dinner at the Heartbreak.

Tuesday we picked up our rental car (our regular car is having some issues at the moment). They gave us a Kia Optima and I'm now doing almost all of the driving because Joe just can't fit behind the wheel. Watching him try to get in the other day was hilarious! Hopefully our car will be back on the road next week sometime.

Wednesday we had dinner at Eli and Krissy's - corned beef and cabbage dinner number one. The kids played, the grown-ups hung out, and Joe immediately became addicted to something called Angry Birds on Krissy's Droid. Dinner was good, and followed up by a giant cupcake made with rainbow colors. It was delicious!

Yesterday was St. Patrick's Day, so there was lots of wearing of the green and more corned beef, just for us Brunos. Joe had it cooking in the crock pot all day and it was delicious! Next year we need to get a bigger corned beef or something, though, because there's not even a crumb left. Xander at corned beef both days, and some potato. I'm so proud of him for trying new food!

Today it's already warm, though we do have a wind advisory. It's a big conference day at work, and Xander normally wouldn't have had school but they used up all their snow days. Sorry, buddy! I've been up since 6am because Joe was snoring so bad I couldn't get back to sleep. It's going to be a long day!

Bridal Shower

My old high school chum and scrapbook buddy, Amy (aka Chippie) is getting married next month to her very cute fiance, Titus. On Saturday I attended a surprise bridal shower in her honor, and boy was it a blast!

Amy was so surprised she cried when she came in. There were about thirty of us there, with gifts and lots of food to wish her well. Titus stayed a bit for the food and some photo ops, and then he headed out to his very hush-hush bachelor party.

I sat at a table in the back with fellow classmates Kris, Donna and Janine, and we had waaaay too much fun back there. We caught up on gossip, wrote marriage advice on the plastic table cloth, and Donna tried to come to terms with my blue hair and tattoo, LOL! We were given the task of crafting the ribbon hat for Amy to wear at the end of the gift opening, and we approached it with much gusto and duct tape. Overachievers that we are, we also crafted a bra from paper cups and a skirt from wrapping paper. It was hilarious!


Before I left we had a group picture that also included fellow classmate, maid of honor, and hostess of the bridal shower - Aimee. Now I can't wait to see everyone again at the wedding next month, and Lord help us if there's alcohol at that shindig!

Kitchen De-Mo-Lition

So, my mother's big idea for her visit this week (hi, Mom!) is to re-do my kitchen. Which, I have to agree, was fairly ugly. Lots of dark green, sunflowers, and gingham. Blech! A redo sounded like fun, until I realized Mom was only going to be here for the easy-peasy painting part. I, on the other hand, get to do all the wallpaper peeling, cabinet door scraping, and general cleaning out of the kitchen. Luckily, I got some peeps to help me!

My co-worker and walking buddy Kathy volunteered not just her services, but also the services of her best friend/our daycare guru Donna. They both came over on Friday night with scrapers and a steam iron. After dinner (great baked chicken, thanks Joe!) we got down to business.

Xander, of course, had to be involved. He did some scraping and peeling, but mostly liked using the sponge to wet everything down with. And then dripping it on Kathy!

We got quite a bit done in about three hours. Now I have to finish the rest by Saturday, which is painting day. Gaa! Luckily, my office mate gave me some handy wallpaper tips (could've used those last week too, Tami!). So hopefully it will all come together in time. Meanwhile, I'm just thankful I didn't have to do the whole job by myself!

One Long Flashback

I've been neck deep in college memories lately. (I blame Jay!) In the last month I've gotten back in touch with some old Bona friends on Facebook, and we've all been uploading our pictures from that time. Look how skinny I was!

Anyway, I just completed a mini Bona album (thanks for the coupon, Shutterfly!) and I'm starting another one. In order to make it comprehensive, I've been watching the old videos, reading the old journals, and will soon start reading through the letters I sent to my mom. No memory left behind!

I have to say, I really miss those day. Even though, if you read my journals, it wasn't all just fun and parties. But my hazy brain just focuses on the good stuff. Also, did I mention how skinny I was??

Visiting Annie

On Saturday, the three of us went to visit Anne, Mr. B and Alex down in Binghamton. We hadn't been there since last October (what's wrong with us??) so it was nice to see everyone and get caught up.

We celebrated Xander's 6th birthday and Alex's 2nd birthday (July and March, respectively) with presents and cake. Mr. B cooked up a really good London broil on the BBQ and the kids played together. I was so proud of Xander, he played so nicely with little Alex!

Anne, her mom and I took the boys to a local park, which was a nice walk. We all hopped on the indoor carousel - Xander loved it! We took three spins on it, until my head was spinning! LOL!

Then Alex and Xander played at the playground, climbing and sliding and generally running amok. Before we knew it, it was time to head on back home. Luckily, we'll be back for a return visit next month...our annual trip to the pumpkin farm!

My Norwegian Sister

My good buddy Chris is in from Norway now on her vacation. I took the day off work yesterday to spend with her, because tomorrow she's off on a cross-country trip, then a visit to North Carolina and Hawaii. Wow! So we only had the one day to hang out.



We didn't do much. Just a trip to Oneonta to check out the mall, Walmart, and have breakfast for lunch at Denny's. Still, it sure was nice to have a girl's day out and get all caught up with each other. And I'm ashamed to say that while I did in fact bring my camera, this is the only picture I took. Chris has some good ones on her camera, which she'll hopefully send to me at some point.

Joe manned the BBQ for our dinner (nothing like some American burgers and hot dogs, LOL!) and Chris got to have a nice long chat with Mom on the phone. It was a great visit, but much too short. Before she left, Chris asked if she could call me her American sister. Aww! Of course I said yes! My family...so international! Have a great vacation, Chris!!

Meet Our Friends: Scandinavian Edition

I'm lucky enough to have made some friends from oversees, some of which I still communicate with. I've never been to visit them in their countries, but I'd like to some day.

This is Anna.

She was an exchange student that lived with my family when I was in the 11th grade. Anna is from Finland and we had a very rocky relationship for the year that she stayed with us. I didn't like all the attention she got, especially from my mom, and so I wasn't especially nice. She came back to the states to go to college right around the time I did, and that's when our relationship improved. We wrote letters, e-mailed, and would get together at mom's house on school breaks. When Anna got married (to her first husband, who was an American) I was her maid of honor and my brother walked her down the aisle.

Anna (also known as Piggy and Sisteri) now lives back in Finland with her third husband and her adorable son. The last time I saw her in the flesh was (I think) back in 2002 when she came to my one year anniversary party. We still e-mail, though not as frequently, and I've used her little boy as the subject of some of my scrapbook pages. It would be fun to get together now that we're both moms, and have our boys play together!

This is Chris.

Chris was an exchange student in my brother's class. She is from Norway, and for a while I didn't like her much either. But that was due to a particularly nasty rumor mill that was going at the time and I should've known better. Chris was almost my sister-in-law, as she and Eli got engaged. He even took a trip to Norway to visit her around Christmastime. The engagement didn't stick, but the friendship did. We had a particularly nice visit when she came years ago with her then-boyfriend Oyvind.

Chris (who is alternately known as Freako or just Norway) and I e-mail a lot, and sometimes she calls me. I actually used to get these great drunken phone calls when she'd be out at the bar. Too funny! Two years ago she came for a visit and we spent a day of her vacation together shopping in Binghamton. She'll be back again next month for a whirl-wind vacation that will include a trip to Hawaii - so jealous of that one! Again, we'll have one day to hang out and catch up.

I'm so glad I have a diverse group of friends - they bring an interesting perspective and always some fun new words to learn! Because of Anna I still listen to a musical group called Lapinlahdenlinnut (Xander likes dancing to some of their songs) and Chris has hooked me up with two of my fave CDs - a Christmas album in both English and Norwegian, and A-Ha's Minor Earth, Major Sky album. They've both definitely enriched my life in fun and unexpected ways!

Xander's Big (Play)Date!

Well, Saturday was Xander's first playdate with someone from school. Drea and her mom picked him up at 1pm at the school, and brought him back after 5pm. From all accounts, Xander had a great time, he was well-behaved, and no-one was pummeled! Yay!

Xander and Drea played all day, with and without the older brother and two dogs. They climbed trees, played monsters, and went to the school playground. Xander and I made brownies earlier that morning, which he brought along for a snack to share. He'd also drawn Drea a picture. (Let's hear it - awwww!)

Best part: Drea's mom is also a photo person, and had a picture all ready for me when I picked up Xander. Worst part: While I was talking to Drea's mom at the end of the day, Xander closed Drea's hand up in the car window. Sheesh!

Now we have to find a weekend to have Drea over to play. Xander's still pushing for a sleepover, but I'm hoping to avoid that for at least a little while!

Big First for Xander!

Yesterday we had a big moment in the Bruno house. (At least it was for me, men aren't as sensitive to these kinds of things!) Xander brought home the phone number of a classmate and asked to have a playdate at her house. Yup, it's a girl!

This may not seem like a big deal, but given all the trouble we've had this year with Xander's behavior I think it's very exciting that someone from his class wants to hang with him after school. The sessions with the school counselor are really working! (Thanks, Dawn!)

I talked to the girl's mom and we set up a Saturday playdate for Xander and Drea. Then Xander surprised me by talking to Drea for an additional twenty minutes on the phone. He never talks to anyone that long! He asked questions about her siblings, her house, her toys. Then he asked me if he could have a sleepover. I told him we'd try the playdate first, LOL! And yes, I took a picture of him talking on the phone, which he was doing in the privacy of his own room.

Now we just have to wait and see how he does on Saturday. Don't worry, I'll post an update on that here on Monday!

Meet Our Friends - California Edition

Meet our friends Jerry and Jess, and their daughter Katie. Joe and I still refer to them affectionately as "the kids", even though they aren't very much younger than we are.

Jerry and Jess were Joe's downstairs neighbors when he lived in Richmondville. And were often the reason he'd come to work at Storyhouse either hung over or still drunk. Jerry and Jess were attending college at the time, and had lots of parties. And then they were no longer neighbors when they moved up to live with Joe, taking over the spare bedroom. (I was still commuting from Mom's house at the time.)

I recall Jerry cooking massive loads of unbelievably tasty foods, and a New Year's Eve spent with the four of us playing Risk on the Playstation until the wee small hours. Those guys were fun! And suddenly...gone. Moved to California. They came back to live in New York briefly, but downstate. We spent a weekend with them before they moved back to Cali one more time, and Xander had a blast with Katie at Rye Playland.

Now Jerry and Jess are expecting their second child, and just found out it's a boy. Congrats, you guys!!! And guess what they want to name the little guy...Joseph! Of course, they don't realize how difficult life will be living with a Joe (ha ha!).

So here's to Jerry, Joe's "brother-from-another-mother", Jess and Katie - the best pals we hardly ever see!!

Weekend Fun!

It was a busy weekend for the Brunos! Friday was the Hospice party, just a small dinner with the core group of people that Joe works with on a weekly basis. We had an excellent ham dinner, and Xander had fun running around with the only other kid that was there (a nine year old girl).

Saturday was for house cleaning and decorating, followed by dinner at the Hyatt's. We had roast chicken and Xander even ate some veggies! (Donna always was the only one he'd do that for!) Afterwards, Xander got to open his first Christmas present - a Cars art set. He was very excited!

Yesterday was annual Cookie Day. My friend Amy came over and we spent the whole day baking Christmas cookies. We did three different kinds each, and shared what we made. Xander was right in the thick of things, mixing and measuring and eating lots of dough.

We're starting the holiday season off with a bang!

Yankee Candle Factory

Joe, Xander and I made the trek to the Yankee Candle Factory in Deerfield, Mass. this weekend. It was a three hour trip, but the weather was clear (frigid, but clear) and the trip was easy.

The first good thing about this trip was meeting up with fellow Cherry (ACOT member) Renee. It was my first time meeting someone from the boards and she was so nice! She could only hang out for an hour, most of which time was spent on line waiting so our kids could see Santa. And he was an awesome Santa! Don't expect to see any pictures, though...I'm saving them for the Christmas card this year! Anyway, shout-out to Renee for meeting me! You're awesome!

After Xander had sat with Santa and fondled all of the toys in the toy department, we wandered out to the rest of the Yankee Candle experience. If you've never been there, I have to recommend it! There's a Bavarian Village with cute store fronts, a band of backwoods robot singers, and scores of those little Christmas collectible villages all set up with lights and everything.

Xander and Joe made wax molds of their hands, and they each got new ornaments for the Christmas tree (Joe got a guitar, Xander a set of drums). We had lunch at the Candlewick Cafe, and Xander made me sniff just about every candle scent in the place. Whew! I spent an insane amount of money on votives. But a good time was had by all!

Mostly, I just enjoyed spending the day with my family doing something new and fun. And there's a very high chance we'll be back again next year!

Internet Friends

I would like to give a shout-out to the community at A Cherry On Top, where all my scrapbooking girlfriends live. Say what you will about online friends, but sometimes they're the only ones there for me.

Today, for example, I was feeling pretty low. All I had to do was let the girls at ACOT know how I was feeling to suddenly get a boost of good feelings! They understood how I was feeling, they said all the right things, and reminded me that even though you may not have met a person in the flesh doesn't stop them from being a true friend in every other sense.

So thanks, girls, for picking me up and dusting me off! I really needed it!

Family, Friends & The Internet

Eli's lovely wife was out of the house last night, leaving him alone with three of the four kids. Joe and I kindly offered to come and keep him company, provided there was food involved. Eli seemed pretty needy for adult companionship, so he agreed. We brought over some chicken, which he made into pan fried chicken strips. Plus he made his world-famous, totally awesome, but not crunchy enough fried potatoes. Score!

I have to say, my bro isn't such a bad guy sometimes. At least, when he's not giving me noogies!

In other news, my Finnish friend Anna sent me some new pictures this week of her new and totally adorable baby Lenni. And yes, he definitely gets those cheeks from his mom! For those who don't know, Anna was an exchange student that lived with my family way back in 1989-90. To say we didn't get along back then is a vast understatement, but time has made us friends. Now that Anna lives back in Finland, I don't see her much. But we still exchange pictures and occasional e-mails.

I just have to take a moment to thank the internet for helping me to keep in touch with people that normally would have fallen by the wayside if I had to write and mail actual letters. But with this blog, e-mail, and Facebook I've been able to reconnect with some friends, and keep in touch with the family. It's a good thing!

Absent Friends

I've been thinking lately about some friends that have disappeared from my life. Everyone has those - people you hang around with for a little while, and then for whatever reason they're gone. Moved, changed their circumstances somehow, had a falling out...there's lots of reasons we don't keep some of our friends.

So today I'd like to give a shout-out to friends (and family...you know who you are!) that I have fallen out of touch with. And if you're secretly reading this blog right now, please drop me a line and let me know how you're doing! I promise I won't stalk you if you do! Oh, and sorry for all the pics of me in there, for some of my friends these are the best pics I have of them!