A New Addition to the Family!

Yes, this Thursday morning at 11:30 AM we welcomed a dear old used Acura TL to the family. Weighing about 1500 lbs and, oh, maybe 84 inches long. How sweet! It's sporty yet sophisticated--just like Kyle :) This will be his work commuter car.

HAHAHAHA! I am so evil!!!! :) I bet you thought there was gonna be a baby announcement :)
Kyle and I woke up bright and early to pounce on an estate sale at 7:30 AM. It turned out to be fruitful for Kyle since he purchased various and sundry garden and lawn tools. I, however, found nothing of major interest but it was nice to be first in line. I felt like I was getting ready to run a marathon. Waiting for the garage door to open, surrounded by other salivating early-morning estate sale chasers. What a thrill!

So back to the car story. We were headed back home from the estate sale and I pointed out that we should pop in a used car place since we were out and it was soooo early in the morning. We'd been out a few times to look at cars but weren't in a rush for anything. We had quite the experience at one dealership which I meant to blog about but don't think I ever did. Classic used car salesman experience: Shady vultures...beady eyes...raspy voice and as soon as we'd step outside to look at a car they'd light up a cigarette and blow smoke in our face in 100 degree weather.

(um...yes sir, this belly isn't from excessive donuts. I'm actually trying to grow a baby in here that isn't addicted to second-hand smoke---do ya mind?!)

Anyways, to make a long story longer, we now have another car which was the last thing on our To-Do list. Not much else to do now except have the baby!

Retirement

No, Bun is still not here.....we took a long walk yesterday in the neighborhood and this morning we ventured out to the Galleria to get Kyle some clothes for work. I'm hoping to force Bun out by vigorous walking. Yesterday as we strolled through the neighborhood I was in a little bit of pain and, oddly enough, I was hoping it would get worse....but it never did.

Everyone's been asking if the house is set up and for the most part it is. I can't really do too much more frivolous shopping for the house since neither of us is working at the moment. I was talking to a friend about our situation and she remarked that it's kind of like we're getting a taste of what retirement will be like for us. How true is that?!

In fact, there are several retired couples in our neighborhood and I notice that we do the same as them: Kyle finds projects to do around the house....watching the garden progress, power washing the driveway, car washing, making sure the smoke detectors work and generally maintaining the house. Kyle reads. I hang around inside doing small odd jobs, organizing things, cleaning, doing laundry, running errands. We come and go throughout the day. We go to the mall in the middle of the weekday. We spent Saturday morning chasing down every garage and estate sale sign that we saw in the nearby neighborhoods. And when we went to Target later on Saturday I thought Kyle might lose a screw because we actually had to deal with traffic and crowds in the stores. We ARE retired people?!

I think tonight for entertainment we'll play some cards or we've noticed a Bingo hall down the street too. Maybe we should try that out? It's nice being retired but it also means living on a tight budget when your cash flow is only going one way and that's OUT!!

Ok, I'm off to see if I can figure out how to use the sewing machine Debbie gave me. That's a good project for me to work on because it looks like it's about to rain! Oh, and as I write this Kyle just passed by me in the window. He's clutching a hoe in the front yard, staring down the flower beds like he's daring the weeds to come up! The thrill of retirement!

Quote of the Day

"They're revolting, they look like monster's feet."

--My loving and always-honest husband's response when I asked what he thought about my swollen feet at Lamaze class yesterday. Ah, the refreshing air of truth....

I went to the doctor today and there is still no change. Bun is in the head down ready-to-evacuate-the-womb position, 1 CM dilated (been that way for 4 weeks now). Bun could arrive any day. Even my doctor mentioned my fat ankles today. Now she's seen swollen ankles so am I that bad that it was worth mentioning?? Yikes.

Monday Night Special: Steak & A Big Ol' Side of Coincidence

We don't get the newspaper at our new house but we were at my parents' the other day and an article about a new steak house in town caught Kyle's eye. Being the steak-lover he is he started reading the article and said to me "Do you know who owns this new steak place?" I said no I didn't and Kyle said "Ed Toles, do you know who Ed Toles is?" and I thought the name sounded familiar but couldn't figure it out. For all of you that know the story: Ed Toles is the man that fulfilled Kyle's wedding day dream.

Flashback to February 2004: Besdies marrying wonderful me, Kyle's big wedding day dream was to drive off in a Ferrari from the reception. After researching the cost to rent one of these luxury cars we decided it was a near impossible dream. Soon thereafter Kyle met Ed in his apartment complex and after one brief conversation in the parking garage Ed told Kyle he was welcome to use his 1984 Magnum PI Ferrari to drive off in our wedding. Everyone thinks this story is crazy because Kyle literally met this guy once about 4 months before the wedding and he said he would lend us his Ferrari?!

Back to May 2007: So tonight John is in town and Kyle suggests we go to Bob's Steak & Chop House...maybe we'll see Ed Toles again and we can tell (and show) him how far we've come since that wedding day Ferrari ride. We show up at the restaurant and lo and behold Ed Toles is actually dining there with some friends. He comes over to the table to say hi and of course he remembers Kyle and the whole Ferrari-wedding thing and we all have a good chuckle. He is still one of the nicest guys ever (obviously, if he lets strangers borrow his fancy car after only meeting them once??) Kyle mentions that he is about to start work here in town at DE Shaw, blah, blah, we chit chat for a while then Ed goes back to his table. He comes back to Kyle about 5 minutes later and says that his dinner partner's son is one of the managing partners at DE Shaw! How crazy is that?! No one has ever heard of DE Shaw....much less in Houston. So Kyle goes over to meet this guys' dad and it turns out his son is the #3 guy in the whole company and lives in New York. Could the story get any stranger?

Maybe it could if I said I went into labor at the restaurant after eating too much chocolate cake so they rushed me to the hospital in the same Ferrari that we drove off in for our wedding.....but that didn't happen because I'm writing this blog :) Gotcha!

By the way, the food was delish. So go to Bob's Steak & Chop House if you're in the mood for some real good steak.

Still Pregnant - Where Are My Ankles?

Cinco de Mayo has passed with no sight of Bun. It looks like he will not be called "Cinco", "Cinc", "Five-er" or anything else related to the number 5 (sorry, Cami...nice try!)

We continue to press on until he arrives. I must say that I miss my ankles and feet. It appears my legs have succumbed to the dreaded "stovepipe syndrome"....one continuous circumference from knee to ankle. Or as some call it, "The Cankle" (calf-ankle).

I saw it happen with other people and I was hoping to be spared but, alas, Stovepipe Limbs is here. I look at my feet and see sausage link toes and a resemblance to Shrek. I think it's time for Kyle to give me another pedicure. Maybe that will make me feel better?

It sounds like I'm complaining here but really I know it's near the end so I'm not too concerned. I know I'll get my feet back.

On a better note, Granny & Papaw are here visiting through the weekend. Papaw is showing Kyle how to take care of our landscaping and Granny and I play games. Granny has some mysterious ankle swelling too so we have similar cankle issues and are both quite distruaght by our symptoms.

Being Homeowners

Clarification. Kyle mentioned to me that the tone of my April 27th blog might have given the impression that he did not do very much to help out with the move so I must make an editorial correction: Kyle sanded the changing table that my mom stained, he also helped paint the stripes in Bun's room, and he painted the shelving in the living room. He spray painted some things for me and as you will read in today's blog he has since tackled some other very masculine and tiring projects which I do appreciate!!

Kyle and I are becoming quite the homeowners. Kyle has some free time since his finals are over so we have done a few things around the house. The other day Kyle decided he was going dig up the herb garden (which was overgrown with weeds) and plant me some herbs and veggies! I am including pictures of this morning's glorious sowing party.

Hmmm...it appears my mom is waaaay happier about the garden than Kyle?

As my mom and Kyle planted, their peeping Tom sensibilities led them to notice the neighbors' herb & veggie garden through the fence. We noticed a GIANT rosemary bush and HUGE tomato bushes. These people are now our arch rivals. We will have a garden as big as theirs one day!

These are my green & red bell peppers, jalepenos, rosemary & basil....

And these are my tomato plants.....you can already see some small tomatoes growing!!

We'll keep you updated on the H&V garden status. I think our harvest should be in a few months?? I just hope we don't kill 'em.

Welcome to the Land of Bun!

Thought you might like to see pictures of the nursery. I felt like taking pictures today!

Back in Texas!

WOW! It's been a while since I've posted. We arrived over two weeks ago and I've been in a whirlwind state since.

I'm thankful that I had a whole crew to help me: My parents had already pre-moved a lot of stuff that was stored at their house, Debbie was around the day the movers showed up and helped unpack a bunch of boxes, she also set up the kitchen and pantry for me and did a much better job than I would have! My mom helped with laundry and did a bunch of painting/staining projects for me since I can't inhale fumes. My dad was the assembly man on a lot of the baby gear and my friend Emily the Organizer started the process of organizing my closet. You should see my underwear drawer. It looks like it should be in a catalog! Where was Kyle for all of this, you ask? He was back in Philadelphia finishing up classes when the movers arrived---convenient! But I did put him to work on some projects before he left!

He's back for good now and has been studying for finals ever since. In fact, today is final exam day. His professors agreed to send him the finals by fax so he wouldn't have to return to Philly to take them. We are quite grateful for that!

Bun is looking good. I've had 2 appointments since being back and everything is progressing normally. Due date is still May 18 but I think he could pop out any second especially since I am constantly on the go, running errands and working on the house and such. There is no time to rest. I am racing against the clock here! Speaking of that....I better sign off and get to work again.

Moving Day!

The movers are here! I can't believe we are finally moving out of this place.....it seems like we just got here but I must say I am ready to be back in Texas very soon. My parents have already started to set up the nursery and move some things into the house. I can't wait to see Bun's little room!

So I will have to agree what they say about pregnancy forgetfulness is true. Presently, I have one more strike left and then I'm out of the game. Strike one was last Thursday when the first moving company I was going to use called to say they were confirming the move for Monday. YIKES! Did I forget to call and cancel with them? I ended up getting a better deal with another moving company and I thought I told the first movers that I wasn't going to use them. What a nightmare that would have been if TWO moving companies showed up on the same day. YIKES!

Strike two came just the very next day when I received a phone call at 1:30 PM from a friend who thought I had gone into labor. Why? Because we had just emailed the day before about meeting for lunch and then I completely and totally forgot to show up. Totally stood her up. I was sitting on the couch without a care in the world when I see her on the caller ID and it hit me like a ton of bricks--I was supposed to be at DiBruno's restaurant...uhhh...30 minutes ago?! I felt SO bad. How horrible is that?! Thankfully, she gave me a second chance and we met on Saturday and I did show up that time!

Moral of the story: if you tell me something you want me to remember make sure you see me write it down (maybe even twice)....or else!

Surprise, Winnie!

So yesterday was really fun. The church folk threw us a surprise baby shower after the service. It was so touching and sweet of them. There were lots of little gifts for Bun and goodies to eat for Mom & Dad. One of my favorite gifts was from Kara -- a tiny little onesie that had printed on the front:

"The Bun is Here"

Awesome! That is his going home outfit if I've ever seen one.

I also packed a few more boxes yesterday. My favorite new friend is the spackle nail-hole filler. Don't ask me why but I love plugging up those little nail holes. It's very therapeutic -- sounds weird, I know, I can't explain it. So if you can imagine me running around the house, "Pooh-style", packing boxes and spackling up the walls. That's what I do.

Now let me explain "Pooh-style". Since I pretty much hang around the house I just wear my regular pre-maternity t-shirts without a care for my bulging belly. My shirts obviously don't fit me quite right so I look like Winnie the Pooh all day every day (as long as I'm inside)

.....except I do wear pants. But the t-shirt part of this picture is quite accurate.....

Homeowners!

We are now proud fist-time homeowners and since we own the house now I can finally post pictures for all of you that haven't seen it yet. This is the front of the house (obviously).

Kitchen
Study

Living Room

Master Bedroom

Backyard Pergola

D-City!

Last weekend we headed out to Washington, D.C. for a little road trip with Kara. We had a really good time. The worst part was hitting traffic on our way out so a 3 hour car trip to DC took 5 hours! Yikes! Thankfully, the return trip was not as torturous.

DC is a beautiful city. Lots of green space and history. We did the usual things...Memorials, Museums, The White House, & Arlington National Cemetery. It was pretty low key. We were hoping to see the cherry blossoms blooming but I think we missed it by a few days!

It is at The Cemetery I discovered what had been causing me some misery the past day or so. I kept thinking I had a pebble in my shoe and when we parked at A.N.C. I finally had it! I sat down and was determined to inspect my shoe thouroughly until I figured out where this difficult pebble was hiding. Turns out there was no pebble in my shoe, there was a big old screw stuck in the sole of my shoe poking through the inside! Ouch. No wonder I was all annoyed?! There is a picture of the famous screw next to Kara's Aggie ring in our pictures.

Click here for the DC pictures

Shock And Awe

I just have to blog about this because I've had it up to here! And I'm pointing to the top of my wacky hair! (see yesterday's blog for that story)

The past week or so our apartment building has been running tests on our building's fire alarm system. Which is great if you're into safety and all that -- although I'm not sure why it's taking over a week to "test the system"? The best part of this so-called "testing" is that at random times during the day, when I'm at home minding my own business -- being quiet, the loudest siren you've ever heard blasts through the apartment and makes me almost jump through my skin. Yes, friends, I am living through my very own Shock and Awe campaign raining down from the merciless apartment management: Shock everytime the siren goes off and Awe that they haven't finished the testing by this point?! Does no one realize I'm 32 weeks pregnant and the last thing I need is to be scared witless at random times during the day. But it keeps happening! All day! When I least expect it. Completely unnecessary. Bun is going to be born with a permanent adrenaline rush if this doesn't stop soon.

March Madness Note: Watched the Ags fight a hard battle tonight. I am so sad. It was rough to watch the last minute of the game. We were robbed by crazy officials. That's all I have to say about that.

Hair-raising Horrors

I finally made an appointment to go to the hair salon to get my hair cut. The last time I had it cut was in New York back in August....so it's been a while.

So last night as I was preparing for bed I thought to myself, "my hair looks good...why am I going to get it cut?". Famous last words.

You can probably guess where this is going:
Stylist cut my hair. When she acted like she was done I guided her for another 20 minutes to do certain things to make it look a little better. Not really expecting I needed to guide the stylist when she's charging over $50?! But she blow dried it semi nicely and I figured I'd do what I always do: go home, wash it again, and try the 'do myself to figure out my "everyday look".

Upon exiting the shower and attempting to dry my hair I realized something very bad and very scary happened in that salon and the tears started to flow.
Note to all: I have NEVER EVER cried over my hair. My hair grows so fast that I usually don't care all that much. And, no, it wasn't pregnancy hormones...it was just THAT bad.

So I sit in front of my full length mirror, legs crossed indian-style, tugging desperately at my hair that looks like a 10 year old's all one-length blunt cut. No layers, no style, no body, no nothing---except for a head full of ALL WRONG!

(What in the world happened here? Did I somehow stumble into one of those "budget" hair salons and tell Ms. Salon Scissorhands that I, at the age of 28, felt like reverting to the glory days of my pre-teen hair years? No. I did not.)

As the horror of my predicament settles in I start crying again harder and my big belly starts shaking up and down like Santa Claus and his "bowl of jelly" which sort of makes me start laughing and crying at the same time...it was the twilight zone. So I finally call the salon back and they say I can come in and get it fixed by ANOTHER person for free. I have never gone back to a salon to get my hair fixed so I was glad they were nice about it and even the girl who fixed it was surprised at how "juvenile" it looked.

Bottom line: Now I'm back to semi-normal. It's a little shorter than what I like but at least I look my age and I can deal with waiting the 2-3 weeks it will take to make it look normal again. Sorry, but there will be no pictures of this one. I don't want any evidence of this tragedy.

Wacky Weather, March Madness, & A Rita's Re-run

Just 2 days ago we enjoyed beautiful 75 degree weather. I had the short sleeves on and was gloating that we had cheated Mother Nature by being gone for so long and missed all the nasty weather here in Philly. But right now it is 33 degrees and snowing outside. The weather has gone manic!

On another manic note: March Madness has officially begun. Yesterday Kyle and I and some of our friends gathered to watch the Texas A&M v. U Penn basketball game in the NCAA tournament. We had 4 Aggies and 1 Aggie supporter in attendance. It was a fun game although when we won there was a bit of emotional confliction. We kinda felt sorry for the Penn team because they looked so sad and the rest of the group (except me) all go to Penn....but that sympathy lasted about 10 seconds and then we were happy for the Ags again.

Bun update: I went to the doctor on Wednesday and, after reviewing my blood sugar log, she mentioned THREE times what a great job I was doing keeping my blood sugar low. So that evening Kyle and I celebrated, of course, by heading out to RITA'S!!!!!!!!! Yes, Rita's is finally open for the spring/summer (although today's wack winter attack should slow business down a bit). I had a small cup of ice and savored every delicious bite!

The Vacation is Over :(

We're back in Philly! Man, I've never been so happy to be back home. I've been gone from home for over 2 weeks and I just missed all the comforts of being in my own space.

Kyle and I had lots of fun in California. We went to Carmel as soon as I arrived and what was supposed to be a 2 day stay turned into Kyle and I staying there until Wednesday. I mean, how can you leave beautiful Carmel when it's sunny and perfect weather? You can't. So we didn't.

We did a lot of walking on the beach and a lot of walking around town to visit all the cute shops. We also went to Point Lobos State Park and hiked along the coast and saw some beautiful rocky shoreline views. On Friday we visited Muir Woods and hiked a beautiful path among the giant Redwood trees. There is a stream that flows right next to the path so it was really peaceful and serene and the trees were SOoooo tall! I tell you, I walked so much on this trip I'm surprised Bun didn't force his way out. We just did everything very slowly and leisurely which is what vacation is all about anyways, right?!

Click here for the pictures


The worst part of the whole trip was the plane ride back from California. We woke up at 3:45 AM to catch our 6 AM flight. 2.5 hour plane ride to Denver and 3.5 hours to Philadelphia. Plus crossing 3 time zones. Not cool. I was quite uncomfortable being in my 31st week! As the plane landed in Philly I really wanted to stampede the people to get off the plane but I kept myself under control. Plus daylight savings was last night so I was still hurting this morning....

Bun update: I predict he is practicing to be a King-Fu fighter because the little man will not stop moving. Doesn't he believe in sleeping??

Where Have Those Bethancourts Been?

There's been lots of activity this past week so here's the latest:

I've been in Houston since Thursday. It was a good time for me to leave Philly since Kyle was studying for his midterm tests this week. The last one was today and Kyle reports they've been quite difficult. I know he's spent a lot of time studying so it's a good thing I'm not there to bug him! I'm sure he did much better than he gives himself credit for. He is such a disciplined study-er.

I also had a fun baby shower on Saturday and Mr. Bun "Cinco" received many nice gifts. I had a great time visiting with everyone there. I'll try to post a picture at some point.

Today marks THREE years of marriage for Kyle and I! Happy Anniversary to us! When I look at the wedding pictures it seems like it was so recent but here we are expecting our first little bundle of love in a few months....how time flies.....

Speaking of Bun, he is cooking up quite nicely. I have one small glitch in that my blood sugars are too high so I've been having to do the finger-pricking blood tests on myself 4 times a day and adhere to a special diet. Thankfully there's no harm to Bun as long as I keep my sugars under control which I've been able to do so far without any insulin shots.

Next week is Kyle's spring break so on Friday Kyle and I will meet up in California for our last vacation as a married couple with no kids! Scary. I think we'll go to Carmel and do some other things in the NoCal area. I'm really looking forward to the beautiful weather, the mountains and Carmel is always a relaxing, fun place to visit.

New Blog Feature

Hi all! I added a new feature to the blog right under the title heading...
A pregnancy tracker so you can see how Bun is progressing. I thought it was cute so enjoy seeing how much (or little!) time is left!

The Show, The Snow & A Valentine's Hello!

If you watched any part of the Westminster Dog Show the past few days (and I know you DID!) you couldn't have missed our favorite pooch with personality, Harry Cosby. His big claim to fame is that he is owned by Bill Cosby but he's also so darn cute! His eyes are bigger than his head (talk about puppy dog eyes!) and we were hoping he would win best of show....but he didn't. It was a nail-biter! Harry could be my Valentine any day :)

So for all of you wondering if we survived the snow storm here it actually hasn't been that bad in Philadelphia. It's much worse to the west and north of us but definitely bearable here. We got around 2-3 inches of snow last night and it was sludgy walking around town today but other than that it's not as bad as other parts.

Happy Valentine's Day! Kyle, Bun, & I send you lots of love especially today

Kyle and I celebrated by exchanging cards, he made me breakfast in bed. This evening I made one of Kyle's favorite meals, chicken cordon bleu, and in a little bit I'm off to make chocolate chip cookies for us to munch on while we watch our favorite TV show, Lost. Yum yum!

Odds & Ends

Hi Everyone!
I've been in Houston the past week so I have been falling behind on the blogs.
(jjbeezer....here ya go!)

We've decided to have the baby in Texas so my main reason to go down was to meet with a doctor in Houston. I really like her a lot and am excited about being in Texas sooner than we originally planned. Looks like we'll be back for good in mid-April!

There's not much else to share these days. I spend time reading, getting things lined up for buying the house and working on the logistics of our move.....things I can do from the cozy warmth of the apartment.

When I left TX yesterday it was 75 degrees and I arrived in Philadelphia to 20 degree weather and even some left over snow on the ground. What a shocker.....YIKES!

Bump-alicious

I don't think I've posted any pictures of what my belly looks like these days but here's a picture of Bun's cozy dwelling place, Chez Lori:

25 Weeks

A Royal Ruckus

Well, word on the street is that Prince Charles and Camilla are visiting Philly this weekend. Kyle and I have been practicing our curtsies and bows and we're headed out to stalk Chuckie and Cam!

Not sure why they chose Philly? Part of their tour here will include a visit to West Philly which we know is not the Princely-est of Philadelphia hotspots. If those two had read my blog a few days ago titled The Buffer O' Crazy they might have adjusted their agenda a bit. It was unclear if eating cheesesteaks was part of the plan but the owner of Pat's Steaks (one of the famous cheeseteak joints) had already prepared a "royal cheesesteak" composed of all sorts of offensive non-cheesesteak items like arugula and goat cheese....or something to that nature....and declared he would personally deliver it on a silver platter with white gloves.....okaaaaay?

Tomorrow Chuckster and Cam are headed to New York by (hold your breath for this one) TRAIN! Yes, they're taking the train from 30th street station....just like little commoner me! If the train's good enough for Lori Bethancourt, it's good enough for them.
Royal work must not be paying well these days?

Paula's Endearing Peculiarities

Today it's supposed to be near zero degrees with the wind chill. I haven't ventured out but Kyle did this morning for a bit and he came back with icicles on his nose! Brrr....I'll stay indoors with my tea today.

Bun is quite active as I write this blog. He's getting stronger and stronger by the day! Kyle and I sit and watch my stomach jump around sometimes. It's quite amazing.


So I have always enjoyed the Food Network. I blogged a lot about it last year but since I've been home I've been able to watch new different people and one of my favorite new FN friends is Paula Deen from Paula's Home Cooking show.

This woman is so hilarious and I don't think she means to be but she just IS. She has this incredibly thick southern accent so I find it amusing to decipher what she says. For example, she'll say: "Bakin' always makes everything better". That was bacon makes everything better not baking (although I'm sure baking makes a lot of people feel good?). Or: "Make sure yer water is ballin, y'all". Ballin=boiling for Paula. But the best is when she tastes her own food at the end of the show. Usually her eyes roll back into her head and especially if she's eating a dessert she'll go into these spazzy facial convulsions. It's so funny I have to laugh out loud because she seems like the sweetest person you might ever meet yet she acts so erratic sometimes. So check out Paula on the Food Network. Now that I've pointed out these little quirks she's sure to teach you some good home cookin' and also make you laugh!

Where do all the mommies go?

I discovered the answer to that question today. I went out to the mall to browse some stores, stretch my legs, and get out of the apartment for a while and I realized I'd never seen so many strollers in one place. I guess weekdays at the mall is a popular time to get out with the kids? Could it be this was the crystal ball window into my future?

After the mall I headed to the store armed with my list of very few items and, upon returning to the apartment, realized I forgot to get the one item that initiated the whole reason for me going to the store! My brain is turning to mush. I successfully parked the car somewhat near the apartment without having to circle for 45 mintues and that was a full day for me.

I'm watching the news right now and it says on Friday the high will be 23 degrees and the temperature will be -5 degrees (yes, that's a negative sign) including wind chill. YIKES! So much for going to the museum to see the King Tut exhibit. We were planning to walk there on Friday....I think King Tut will have to wait!

Breaking News...

It is snowing here and there is actually accumulation on the ground!
Very exciting.
Very cold.
Nice view from our window.
REALLY glad I don't have to go outside.
I'm going to make something hot to drink and wrap myself in a blanket.
YAY!
SNOW!

Wish we could ship some of it to you guys in Jakarta! :)

The Buffer O' Crazy

So I'm sure you're at the edge of your seats but I did make it to Babies r Us yesterday. It was very cold but Bun and I were bundled up quite well. Let me give you one word to describe Babies r Us: OVERWHELMING. How many baby things can there be? Too many, that's my answer.

I tried to take the most direct route but it turns out I chose the route that sent me straight through Ghetto-ville (aka West Philly). So on my way back I took a different route which took me through the upscale Main Line suburban part of Philly but somehow still ended up going through Ghetto-ville at the very end of my journey? It appears Central Philadelphia is surrounded by a buffer of "crazy". I feel very safe where we are in Central Philly, Center City as they call it, but North Philly is known to be quite rough (looking back on my NYC train travels, I always knew when we had reached the North Philadelphia Amtrak stop by the familiar large bullet holes in the glass of the waiting platform); South Philly is notorious for good food--particularly cheesesteaks, rowdy Italians & the industrial, smelly refineries; West Philly is probably the scariest area and requires packing heat and possibly a Kevlar vest if you've got one handy. So, yeah, we're surrounded by a buffer of crazy.

On a lighter note, today was quite exciting because I was about to leave for the grocery store and I noticed it was SNOWING!! Large, fluffy flurries! Nothing stuck to the ground but I had to leave so I got to walk in the snow and that was fun. I had flakes all over me and on my eyelashes. Hee hee!

Trapped!

Wednesday morning.
Need to go to Babies r Us.
Car is 6 blocks away.
Scared to leave.
TV says it's 25 degrees but feels like 14.
YOWSERS!
Stay tuned.....

Soon-to-be Homeowners!!

We have some good news to report....after looking at a few houses while we were in Houston over Christmas/New Years we found one that we liked very much. We've spent the last week in harrowing and fierce negotiations and finally came to a price agreement with the sellers yesterday. We should be homeowners soon! YAY! The biggest blessing is that the sellers don't need to move until April which is ideal since we don't need to move until then also. So that is one big item I can cross off the list: FOUND A HOUSE (check!)

The house is in a lovely, small gated community near Westview & Wirt, north of I-10, and is less than 2 miles from Kyle's new job (which he is very excited about). We will be very close to Christina & Chad and a few other friends that have recently moved to that area also. The house is 1 story and has 3 bedrooms and a study. There will be a guest room waiting for you to come visit! Stayed tuned for pictures....

So on a random Philly side note: I was doing various things yesterday and had the TV tuned to the news where they were discussing a promotion the city was running,
Groceries for Guns: If you're a Philadelphian packin' heat turn in your gun and receive a $200 voucher for groceries. Wow. Kinda like bring a Coke can to Astroworld and get free admission...but for thugs. I was confused yet touched by the gesture. If only I could round up a few guns I could save so much money on groceries!!

Blackjack Bethancourts in Atlantic City

Today Kyle, Bun & I were very spontaneous and adventurous. We decided to check out Atlantic City! The Las Vegas of the East Coast! It's only an hour away from Philly and we have Kara's car in our posession since she's still in Texas...so, why not?!

Let's just say that Kyle and I have never had good experiences driving in New Jersey---ever. The roads are ridiculous and the signs are confusing. I take my hat off to anyone who can keep their eye on the road while reading multiple freeway signs that have about 3 paragraphs of information each. Before you can finish reading a sign you're face to face with those orange barrels and playing chicken with the corner of the guard rail....YIKES! Kyle and I were very determined to get to The Borgata hotel and casino and we drove by it about 3 times before we actually could figure out where the exit was off the freeway. You'd think these people would make it as EASY as possible to get to the casino. By the time we made it to the parking lot I declared I was so mad that I didn't want to even spend any money in the place. But alas, I cooled off once I entered.

It was neat inside. Very new and flashy. Kyle noticed there were 3 prime steakhouses in the hotel: Bobby Flay Steak, Wolfgang Puck's & The Old Homestead. Kyle was most impressed by this. I was most impressed with the Dale Chihuly glass blown light chandeliers throughout the hotel & casino. You don't see his stuff very often but there is a ton of it in Vegas and this is a picture of his work in the V&A museum in London:

Kyle and I played the nickel slots first which made me mad because I felt there were no clear instructions on how to play the game and I lost the $5 bill I put in the machine. I felt I had been tricked so I gave up. After lunch and walking off my frustration at the unclear rules of slot machines I decided I'd use my next $5 on the penny slots....now that's MY kind of slot. Only pennies. I did well on that one.

Kyle decided to play blackjack and I have never sat at one of those big tables so I just watched. It was quite exciting and very fast. I was a bit intimidated and I thought with my math skills I'd be sitting at the table with all fingers and toes out trying to count my cards to see if I made 21. But Kyle was quick and hit quite a streak. We only played $20 and when he hit the $75 mark we decided we had paid for our trip and were happy to leave the table. I felt like quite the low-roller because as we played with $5 chips the other people at the table were laying down $100 bills and playing with $25 chips but whatever it was fun to watch!

Mr. Bun Cinco Bethancourt

So I thought I would post an update of the goings on here since the big ultrasound news.

Seeing pictures of Bun have made it all the more real and exciting. I can definitely feel him regularly kicking and dancing around in my tummy which is quite interesting. Sometimes it feels weird and sometimes it makes me laugh. Kyle has even been able to feel my tummy and the little movements inside. It's nice that I can share that with him. We had a doctor's appointment today and she reviewed the sonogram report and said everything looks normal. Apparently Bun has a big head...must be smart like his daddy.

Justin drew my name for the Christmas exchange this year which is a great thing because he has become quite the pregnancy connoissuer. I don't believe Justin's ever been pregnant but he sure knows what a pregnant lady needs (thanks to Erin)! He got me a Snoogle which is a dream for me but must be a bear for Kyle since it unmercifully relegates him to a tiny sliver of the bed while me and Snoogle get comfy. Go ahead...laugh at the pictures but man does Snoogle help my ever-changing body! Thanks Justin.

So a lot of people have been asking what we will be naming Bun. We don't have any solid ideas yet but we have received some feedback from a few. Kristen has deemed that Bun shall be known as Mister Bun (how formal!) and Cami has declared the name Cinco (how casual!)

(see her blog post on that here). Maybe we'll go with Mr. Bun Cinco Bethancourt.....look out!

It's A Boy!

Hi Everyone. Today was the big day at the ultrasound doctor. It was so exciting and overwhelming to see the baby moving around on the screen. I was just mesermized by seeing all the limbs and the little bones and the spine formed perfectly like a little person. What an amazing blessing! Thank you, Lord, for babies! After lots of measurements and reviewing the organs and bones all appears to be healthy and "structurally fine". Kyle was really excited to hear it was a boy and I was super excited as well :)

Thank you for your prayers and we'll continue to update. Here are some pictures from the visit:
Profile shot

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Merry Christmas Update

Thanks to all the blog fans who have encouraged me to keep it up. I'm sending up a quick holiday blog for you (ahem, Boyles family).

We arrived in Houston on Christmas Eve and had no delays with our flights. Hallelujah! We spent Eve and Day with the Graves side. Some of our favorite gifts were an A&M onesie & matching hat and socks for Bun. I received (drumroll please) maternity jeans from my parents. That may not sound special but after recycling 2 pairs of maternity pants for the past 6 weeks that were dressier (for work) I was about to have a bonfire and torch them both if I didn't get some casual pants to add to the rotation. My new jeans are stretchy and make my legs feel skinny and when you're preggie anything that makes any part of your body feel skinny is a nugget of gold in a world of blubber. Kyle got some clothes and a gift card to Home Depot for that house we're supposed to find....

Speaking of houses we then spent 2 solid days looking at houses with the realtor. I even had dreams of houses and prices and floor plans, Oh My!...that's how consuming it was. But our realtor is so fabulous (Debbie recommended her) and we love her to pieces so she's made the process quite bearable. Nothing to report yet but I feel like we're making progress.

Kyle went to San Antonio to visit Army Scott for a few days and also got to see the Longhorn side of the family who were in S.A. to attend the Alamo Bowl.

We will spend New Year's Day at Christina's to celebrate Christmas with the Bethancourt side so I'm sure there'll be more to report after the New Year.

We hope you all had a joyful and blessed Christmas with you're families!
Love & Hugs from Kyle, Lori, & Bun

Done!

It's over! Today was my last day of work. My last commute to and from New York. The end of this chapter. Hallelujah!

I started off the day quite tired. But almost first thing when I arrived our admin called me into a meeting to discuss Comcast. However, to my surprise, when I arrived in the conference room there was a breakfast spread of muffins and fruit and little gift on the table. It was a very sweet gesture from everyone from our team who had gathered to wish me farewell. The gift was a cute gender-nuetral little onesie and a very generous $100 gift certificate to Baby Gap. How thoughtful! I really was surprised and very grateful. Then at lunch time we all went out to a fun restaurant downtown. It was a pretty slow day with the holiday break and all. So I said my goodbyes around 5:30 and I was outta there. I'll miss the great people and I was told to come back if I got too bored (seems everyone has decided I'm going to be bored to death)....We'll see....

Ok, my favortite show is on so I'm signing off. If you ever get a chance to see Man vs. Wild on the Discovery channel it is the best survival show ever! You know, in case I'm ever stranded in a rainforest or in the French Alps or in the Alaskan country I am going to need to know how to survive. Completely fascinating.

The Home Stretch - 4 Days and Counting

After a long week of studying (for Kyle) it was nice to get out of the apartment on Saturday night (even if it was just a few steps down the hall). We had dinner with our French friends a few doors down. They're always up to something that is interesting to talk about. For dinner we had these gigantic enormous shrimp---maybe they were prawns? But whatever they were they were delish.

Since I'm still on my part time schedule I decided today would be my day off this week. It proved beneficial because I finished my Christmas shopping. I'm also in the home stretch with work. This Friday is my last day! I will be in New York 3 times this week (which is a lot for me). Historically, commuting 3 times in 1 week has led to tears but since this will be the last commute to New York ever I think I can push through. There is a big deadline I'm trying to help out with before I take off.

While I was out today I went to Reading Terminal Market to stock up on more fruits and veggies. It's great going there during the week because on the weekend it's so crowded that you can barely walk without running into people. I picked up lots of oranges and apples. I really love oranges these days. I hope Bun doesn't come out with an orange tint. I'm definitely looking forward to having time to go to the Market more. Everything there is so fresh and cheap too! I had an orange-pineapple (could you guess the orange part) juice drink from the juice bar and it was so yummy. And what great weather to go outside too. I heard it got up to the 70s and it's December in Pennsylvania?! I even took off my sweater as I headed back from the Market.

What We've Been Up To

Well it's been a while since I last blogged. We've been doing a lot lately to get ready for Christmas and prepare to come to Texas for a few weeks. I'm really excited to be back for a while.

In other big news, my last day of work is Dec. 22. I'm taking a break from work for a bit so I can prepare for the baby and for the move back to Texas. If I ever hated the commute from Philly to New York it certainly hasn't been getting any better/easier with the pregnancy. I'm really looking forward to some time off!

We went to the doctor last Thursday and heard Bun's heartbeat again! How precious :) I got to schedule the big ultrasound where they measure the baby and tell you if it's a boy or girl. To my dismay, I had to schedule it for January 10 :( I wanted to find out before Christmas so we could tell everyone but they wouldn't take me before Dec. 24. Phooey! I am feeling much better these days except for feeling a bit "chunky"---not too big, yet not quite my usual size. Somewhere in the unfamiliar middle.

Embarassing Moment of the Week: Kyle and I were Christmas shopping in Target this weekend and while Kyle was checking out video games I wandered into the children's book section. I found a little read-along book and while reading it burst out crying in the middle of Target. I think Kyle was trying to run away from me as I came blubbering towards him with red eyes and this little book clutched in my hand. "Attention Target Shoppers: Pregnant lady melt-down on aisle 5!" A bit embarrassing but it was a very sweet book so obviously, since it made me cry, I had to buy it on the spot.

And that's all for today!

The Holiday Begins!

After many long months of study (and a few still more to come), a grueling summer internship, an early fall interview bonanza, & lots of prayer Kyle has finally decided to accept his offer with DE Shaw in Houston. We are really, really, REALLY excited this is settled and we know what we'll be doing come graduation. So congratulations, Kyle! And to all our friends and family in Texas...we'll be back soon (with a new Bethancourt addition for you to meet)! We should find out sometime before Christmas if we're having a boy or a girl. I'll make sure to post that info here for all the inquiring minds.....

On Sunday Bun and I put up our little Christmas tree and trimmed it with care. (By the way, Bun is the baby--as in "Bun in the Oven"--we had to come up with a name to refer to the baby instead of "IT". I credit this naming style to our friends Steve & Rachel who named their 2 children pre-birth, Dot & Milli. Makes sense to me). The tree and 2 stockings are our only Christmas decorations so "decorating for Christmas" is a fun yet very short-lived affair. I even delayed putting on the tree skirt & buying some candy cane decorations until Monday so it was actually a 2 day affair this year.

Last night I came home weary from New York and was delighted to have the tree lit while watching a Charlie Brown Christmas. Nothing says holiday like Charlie Brown! Speaking of the holiday spirit, my favorite holiday hangout is Williams Sonoma. This is a weekly (if not bi-weekly) outing for me. It's about a 5 minute walk to WS and it's so inviting that I can't resist....I go in and sip on hot cider and eat all the goodies they have out for me to taste. It's like going to visit an old friend....except my friends don't have 50 varieties of knives & cookware hanging on the wall for display? I pretend to look at the same ol' stuff everytime I go in but really I'm just there to eat and drink and feel warm & fuzzy holiday feelings for free.

Happy (late) Thanksgiving!

Hi all! We missed being around family this Thanksgiving but having the web cam sure made the distance seem less. It was great to be able to call people up...that is...until our Comcast internet went kaput yesterday. With our slooooow internet connection you'd think we were The Slowskys or something? Not having Internet is quite annoying but even more annoying is the cable company telling you that you are chained to your home until the cable man arrives "sometime between 9 AM and 1 PM". Translation: "Sometime between 9 AM and whenever we feel like it". We finally get a guy at our door around 2-ish wearing gold rimmed sunglasses (yes, sunglasses indoors??) explaining to us that our connection issue was a problem in the main apartment building box and would be fixed this afternoon. So there was no need to wait around all day....great. I love cable repairmen.

Despite the cable hiccup we're enjoying the long weekend and I hope you are too! I think it's time to start making pumpkin bread and setting up our mini Christmas tree...my favorite part of the Thanksgiving weekend!

I Smell A Rat!

So I saw it today....I was walking to the store during lunch to grab
some chips to go with my sandwich. I looked down the block and there
was a giant 40 foot tall gray inflatable rat outside an office
building. This sight was very unusual to me although I'd heard of this
practice. Whenever a building is doing renovations and does not use
union labor the unies protest by sitting this big ugly rat in front of
the building so all the world will know that they aren't using union
labor...THAT'LL TEACH 'EM! It was pretty funny because I can't imagine
grown-ups doing something like this?? But apparently they do...

Unfortunately, I didn't have my camera or camera phone to capture the
rat on film because it kinda looks like a rat that is in the
rigor mortis phase of death with it's hands and feet stretched out
rigidly....very scary but an interesting lunch time find. So if you see
the giant rat when you're in New York, it's not preparation for the
Thanksgiving Day Parade...it's the union protesting the wrongs of
society.

Hello? Anybody Home?

I know! I know! Where have we been? It seems we are quickly becoming "those people" that only blog once a month or something? What's happened to us? Well, hopefully you'll forgive us but the reason the blogs have been delayed is that we have exciting news and now that we've told everyone we can finally put it on the blog and stop being Mr. & Mrs. Shady.

Kyle and I are expecting a baby in May! Yes, May! If you can think of any other life changing events besides finals & graduation, having a baby, moving across the country and starting a new job, by all means let us know and we'll try to add that to our May calendar. We're trying to jam-pack May with as many stressful events as possible ;) With all kidding aside, it will be a fun time for us and we are very excited. I am 14 weeks along and at last Thursday's doctor appointment we heard the baby's heartbeat! I felt joyful, scared, excited, and awestruck all at the same time. Kyle was there too so we both got to experience it.

And when I was at the doctor they FORCED me to get a flu shot and now I am sick and on top of that when we went to Houston this weekend my allergies flared up so I am just feeling wuuunderful. Good night...I'm headed to bed

Return to Longwood!

I know you're not sick of Longwood pictures yet so here are some pictures from our trip out there this weekend with Kara. She graciously offered to drive us and we all went together after church. Unfortunately the flowers had been dug up in the big flower beds outside so there wasn't much to see unless it was in the conservatory. But there's always something new going on so it was still fun!


Click here for the pictures

Wall Street Leprechauns

Today I was determined to eat a good lunch, more specifically: a good down-home burrito. I tracked down a Chipotle and walked 30 minutes round trip for the occasion but it was worth every chilly step. Mmmmmmm. Yumm-erific. Not as good as Freebirds but SO much better than nasty burrito from last week. My taste buds have avenged the sensory offense dealt upon them. Victory!

I also saw some semi-famous people. Those people you see on CNBC wearing green jackets that scream and point and stomp their feet and throw little papers in the air. I believe they're traders on the NewYork Stock Exchange. Although I work across the street from the Stock Exchange I've never seen these mysterious green-jacketed men until today. It was like seeing the tooth fairy or some fictitious character that you weren't sure existed....I looked at them in awe. And I am here to tell you the green-jacketed men do exist. And they shall henceforth be known to me as: The Wall Street Leprechauns.

Kyle Update: My dear hubby had a succesful round of meetings/interviews with several companies in Houston. We're really excited about the possibilities and know that the Lord will lead us to the right spot! How exciting

Fall Foliage Is Breathing Down My Neck!

It seems that Fall Foliage is nipping at my heels! The report shows that peak leaf color is NOW! There is no time to waste! The Poconos are in the northeast corner of PA. Which means the Pocono trip could be foiled for good! I am determined to see color this weekend so if we're not in the Poconos we'll be heading west to see something....anything colorful!

Our trip to Houston was great! Saw family, saw friends....ate some good food. It was a successful trip.

On a more sobering note: I received the grave news that I didn't pass the arch. exam I took last Thursday. I'm really bummed about that. I wasn't even expecting to find out this early so I was shocked when I saw the results posted on the Internet already. So I'm keeping up my rhythm of pass, fail, pass, fail...which means the next test I'm due to pass!

How in the world....

....do you mess up a black bean, rice & chesse burrito?
Let me tell you how:
#1 Drown the burrito contents in 4 heaping tablespoons of cheap salsa
#2 Use mealy, mushy white flavorless rice
#3 Use completely too much onion proportional to the size of the burrito
#4 Wrap the burrito loosely so it feels like a trash receptacle for left over food that didn't make it to the garbage

My experience at lunch was less than happy. I really wanted to take the burrito downstairs and give it to the person who made it and ask if she would ever eat something that looked like what she gave me.

I set out for my SECOND lunch of the day and ended up at Quiznos where I grudgingly overpaid for my sandwich but after the bad burrito I was so happy to have something that looked edible I didn't really care. Freebirds, where are you when I need you?!

Kyle and I met up with his parents for dinner in New York on Tuesday night. We had a nice time visiting with the fam. Debbie recounted her harrowing tale of being hand-cuffed and patted down on Canal Street for buying fake merchandise and participating in general criminal mischeif. OK, not really. She and some friends just witnessed a police raid on the stores down there. But still....very COPS-ish and exciting.

Of course no visit to New York would be complete without a celebrity sighting by yours truly. At first I thought the man sitting in the table across from us was a newscaster or someone who....would be.....on the....news?? I couldn't put my finger on it and then after Kyle said he looked like a politician it hit me like a "potatoe"....that's Dan Quayle....our beloved, spelling-challenged former VP. Imagine that.

Strike Two!

So it’s been a while since my last blog. I suppose I’ve been distracted. I was in New York 3 days this week. We had a big deadline Friday so I’m glad that’s over. I’m also studying for my next test which was supposed to be yesterday (Saturday) but I postponed it until Thursday. I’m glad I did because there was NO time to study this week.

Kyle had another backpack/food incident this week. He was at an evening test and reached for the calculator in his backpack and pulled out a ziplock bag with a scary orange liquid. It appears the carrots he had stashed for his trip to Houston had liquefied within the week. As you can imagine, the discovery was quite distracting happening in the middle of his important test. Hmmmm…..I’m not sure what’s going on but maybe this is a strange attention-getting illness? Moldy food discoveries at school? Strike two.

We had some friends over to watch the Aggie game last night. Fun times were had and most importantly, we won the game!

Longing For Longwood

Well it's over. I took my next architecture test today and I think I did well enough to pass even though I was crunched for time which forced me to hastily answer some calculation questions. I had hoped to double check them....so let's hope those don't do me in! Tomorrow I'll begin studying for the next test which is next Saturday. Same time. Same place.

As I took the bus to my test this afternoon I realized what a hermit I've become. It seems every weekend I'm crammed up in the apartment studying. I'm missing out on all our neighborhood activity! Unfortunately my tests & Kyle's studying have put a damper on our outings....especially to Longwood. We are dying to get back there soon and see the water lillies which are only out for a few weeks in the fall.

The Pokey Nose

It's October....finally.

Kyle was in Houston Tuesday through Wednesday to visit the local office of the company he worked for this summer. I was jealous because I really wanted to be in Houston too but I'll just have to wait until Oct 20th. Kyle has fall break and we will be headed to Houston that weekend so Kyle can interview with some companies he is interested in. It's very exciting to wonder where we will be after graduation....

Kyle and I are planning a much anticipated trip to the Poconos to see the leaves turn at the end of October. I'm so excited about this because we missed the leaves turning last year. The Pocono countryside should be a prime location for viewing good color. The Poconos are to Pennsylvania as the Sierra Nevadas are to Californians and the Blue Ridge Mountains are to the North & South Carolinians. The Poconos are our "mountains". So hopefully this trip will materialize and we'll have fun pictures to share.

Birthday Wishes

I've been meaning to post a big Happy Birthday to Christina and Debbie whose birthdays were this past week. Hope you both had super birthday celebrations!!

Kyle and I don't have much to report so you'll have to wait until next week for some new stories....

Does That Hotel Come in A 10-Pack?

So Saturday was my first day to relax since the past 2 weeks and last weekend all mushed together like one extra-long torturous 12-day week, what with my seminar last weekend and all. To celebrate my day of liberation we ventured out to Costco, seeing that we were in desperate need of bulk items like 48-count granola bars, 18-count yogurt cups, and our personal fave....36 rolls of quilted T.P. (toilet paper). Gotta love Costco. We also ate at the Cheesecake Factory at the mall....mmmm....Tex-Mex Eggrolls....

It has become tradition for us to invite Kara over for dinner, listen to the Aggie game on the internet, and play dominoes and cards. So we did that Saturday evening.

In the ongoing saga of my company trying to find a decently priced hotel room for me to stay in, a recent development was the travel department suggesting the following "hotel" (and I use the term "hotel" quite loosely)

www.hotelchelsea.com

Now I don't know what your hotel standards are but this place looks like it may be part of some shady goings on. Just the tag line on the front page:
"A rest stop for rare individuals" (what does that even mean??)
I can't decide if it looks like a haunted house, a prostitution hub or a druggie commune....or maybe a 3 fer 1 combo.....but after I spent about .0005 seconds on the website I fired back an email simply saying "Is this a joke?" Because, honestly, that's what this place looks like...a big joke. Why would you stay anywhere where there aren't pictures of the rooms??

So for now it's back to commuting. If only I could buy New York hotel rooms in bulk from Costco.....

Philly Trauma and Box-Toting Drama

Yesterday downtown Philadelphia was rocked by three transformer explosions underneath the building I work in. Dee emailed to ask what was going on in Philadelphia and I was confused because I was working in New York yesterday. She sent me this news link:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/5369016.stm

Apparently my building shook and everyone fled the building and it filled with some smoke. No one was seriously hurt but it was a little freaky as you can imagine. So today I'm back in Philly and everything/everyone is fine but I'm glad I wasn't here for the drama.

So as I was leaving the office yesterday I was asked to bring a box back with me to Philadelphia. Let me explain that this is no ordinary box. It measures about 4 feet long by 3 feet high and 8 inches wide, made out of foam board material. (It houses a model of one of the floors on our project but it was empty so it was very light)

I quickly learned my box was going to be cumbersome to carry onto the subway. At rush hour. When the trains are backed up and there are hordes of people trying to get on. So I waited patiently for the second train to show up lest I start a riot on the platform trying to shove in my big box AND my big booty. I looked really cool carrying my box and once I got to Penn Station I realized how many other people had suitcases with them. I thought to myself how funny it would be if people thought this giant foam board box was my suitcase....like maybe I couldn't afford a suitcase so I made one out of foam board. Carrying it by the little double handle made out of tape. HA! So, of course, my funny thoughts made me laugh and I'm sure there was more than one person stepping out of the path of "the girl with the big white box laughing for no apparent reason". Needless to say, my box and I made it to Philly just fine and I got a good chuckle out of it all.

Living for the Moment (of inertia)

WOW. Have I been a busy bee. I'm taking a review seminar in preparation for 2 of my architecture exams: Structures & Lateral Forces. Yes, I can feel your jealously through the screen....delicious topics, I know. The seminar is Fri, Sat, & Sun 8 AM-7 PM. YIKES!

And the class is near Trenton, NJ so I get to drive my smokin' hot rented PT Cruiser 45 minutes each way to get there. Yeah, that's me toodling down I-95 in a purple-escent PT Cruiser. Or shall I say: my truncated hearse. No offense against those who may own that car but, come on, I feel like I'm hauling midget dead people between Pennsylvania and New Jersey and that's all I have to say about that.

The seminar is really informative and I feel I'm getting a lot out of it. It's affectionately known as "Structures Bootcamp" which I think is a deserved name since I've spent a cumulative of 24 of the past 36 hours calculating axial and perpendicular loads on beams and trusses....I mean, when was the last time you ever heard the term "moment of inertia"? Hopefully never but if you have it's probably been over a decade and you forgot the term anyway.

I'm almost into my 3rd decade of life....why am I dealing with this stuff? If I need to know what the moment force is about a cantilever beam I will dial my trusty structural engineer to get the answer and be done with it.....but let me step off my soap box.

We're watching the Aggie game but I'm going to have to turn in because tomorrow is the last day of Structures Bootcamp and I must get some sleep. I'll let Kyle finish off the game.

Business Trips and Webcam Fever

So this week marks a year of me doing this Philadelphia-New York work thing. I must say it's been exciting to get to be in New York so often and what a blessing it was for me to continue working during the summer while Kyle had his internship. I can't believe it's been a full year already!

I was in New York Monday through Wednesday this week. My 3 day "business trip" started off with a bang since they evacuated Penn Station due to a tunnel fire or something so my train was held up in Newark for about 10 minutes. When we started up again we coasted into New York at a break neck speed of about 5 mph.

Going thru any tunnel is painful enough for me because I get calustrophobic---but especailly the tunnel from NJ to NY gets my head spinning with thoughts of the weight & water of the HUDSON RIVER ABOVE & AROUND ME!! And did I mention Monday was Sept. 11? So a tunnel ride that is normally 2 minutes took about 10 minutes. For a brief moment, I thought I might turn into "that lady" that hits her claustrophobic limit and rampages down the train-car aisle, wild eyed and spitting hysterical nonsense, needing to be subdued by passengers and crew. Thankfully "that lady" didn't surface due to my fervent prayers keeping my fears at bay. I was on the verge, though.....

While we were in California Debbie bought herself and all the kids webcams as an early Christmas present. Now we can all video-call eachother---this is especially useful in talking with (and seeing) the recently transplanted Bethancourts in Indonesia. This morning we talked with Justin, Erin and Debbie in Jakarta via our trusty webcam. Now we can chit-chat with them from the other side of the globe through our computer. Technology is amazing.

The Pictures Are Up!!

Click HERE for the California pictures......

Moldy Mystery Meat Makes Man Muse

Breaking news brought to you from the front lines at The Wharton School of Business.

I received this email from Kyle today and was literally laughing out loud upon reading it:

"Class was a lot better this morning.
When I got to the computer lab I reached into my backpack to get out a
granola bar and there was what appeared to be a chicken breast in a zip
lock bag in the back pocket. I did not see it there yesterday, and I
can't imagine why it was in there or how old it was, but it was nasty.
Covered in mold and some sort of marinade. I threw it out, but I am
really confused how it got there. Was this another one of your dirty
tricks."

Just for the record let me state NO this was not another one of my "dirty tricks" (I'm highly offended). I don't play dirty tricks and I certainly wouldn't put an uncooked chicken breast in my husband's backpack? Kyle reported the chicken breast looked like it had been there since before we left for New York. And the backpack was just sitting in our Philly apartment all summer. Weird. Another case for Unsolved Mysteries.

Swimmin' With The Sharks

Hi all! Just a quick blog to say this was my first day back in New York....this time at the Wall Street office location. I'm a "Wall Street Shark" as Kyle puts it. I didn't have too much trouble finding the place despite the spaghetti-like layout of the streets in the Financial District (where is the trusty grid system when you need it!) Also, one of my co-workers introduced me to the good lunch spots today and we happened upon a Japanese restaurant that sells my beloved CALIFORNIA ROLLS! And they're $1.50 cheaper than the little market by our old apartment. SCORE!

Today was Kyle's first day of school and he was happy to get all the classes he wanted.

Well, it was quite exhausting hearing that alarm go off at 5:30 AM. Haven't done that since May and my peepers are slowly falling shut....Good night!

The Vacation's Over

Ahhh...we're back. Back in Philadelphia where the rain has come out to welcome us home. Sunny California is now just a fading memory....

We had a great time in California. I'll post the pictures soon so you can see them. After Carmel Kyle and I snuck away for one night to Sonoma Mission Inn & Spa--the most relaxing environment. Everywhere you look people are strolling around in their robe and slippers. Not a care in the world. I spent 2 straight days parked by the pool and I'm not ashamed of that fact. The second day I got an Herbal Body Wrap that was so hot I thought I was going to pass out! I'll have to remember that wraps are not for this girl! I am a person, not an enchilada. I'm sure I sweat a gallon of water out.

By the time we got back to Alamo, Justin & Erin & The Boys were there. We got to hang with the triplets and Jack who are avid golf fans, we have discovered. They can spend hours entertaining themselves with the practice putting green. We also took them rock climbing on Mt. Diablo. They were so excited to be climbing the BIG rocks. Justin & Erin sure have their hands full with 3 three year olds and a 1 year old. We said good bye to them since they will be going to Jakarta in about 5 days from now. You can check out their new blog about their adventures moving to and living in Indonesia at www.JavaFor6.blogspot.com (cute name, huh?)

The fun part was having everyone together at Kyle's parents house even if it was for a little bit. Phillip & Cami and Christina & Chad showed up on Friday night. We got to visit with them for a few short hours since we left early Saturday for a wedding in Denver.

...And Kyle starts school tomorrow and I started work today....tomorrow I'll be in New York....and it all starts over again. 9 months to go!

Still in Carmel...

This morning Kyle, John, & some friends played golf at "Clint's Place". That would be Clint Eastwood's spectacular golf course/compound named Tehama, about 15 minutes from Carmel. While the guys were out Debbie and I went on a long walk to visit some art galleries and home furnishing stores this morning before stopping off for the morning service at Carmel Presbyterian Church.
Debbie and I met up with the guys at Tehama for lunch and toured the clubhouse which was featured in last year's Architectural Digest magazine so I was excited to get to see it up close. We ate on the patio and had this gorgeous view of the course....

The picture doesn't do it justice. If I were a serious golfing gal I would try to be here as much as possible. The weather....the views....just perfect!

Kyle, Debbie, & I spent the afternoon looking at open houses in Carmel which was a lot of fun. There are so many new houses and remodels, it was interesting to see how different each home was fixed up. And, once again, there's no way I could pick a favorite because they are all so cute!

I think tomorrow evening we'll be heading back to Alamo....it's going to be hard to tear me away from beautiful Carmel but I suppose the vacation has to end at some point....

Greetings from Carmel, CA!

We arrived in Carmel on Wednesday and immediately went to play on the beach. This is our picture with Pebble Beach golf course in the background. We saw some sea otters and sea lions poking their heads up while we were playing on the rocks there.

The next morning Kyle played some golf at Cypress Point golf course. Check out his swing and the amazing cypress trees in the distance.....

That evening we made a fire on the beach, roasted marshmallows, and made s'mores. That was one of the most relaxing things EVER! I could do that every night of my life and be happy :)

Today we visited the Monterey Bay Aquarium and saw this adorable little sea otter sleeping in the water. Ah, the life! I had to share this picture because he was sooooo cute!

This afternoon Debbie, Glenda, & I walked around the little shops here in Carmel. There are so many art galleries and antique shops and clothing stores. It is just the cutest little town and everywhere I turn one house is cuter than the next! It drives me crazy....but in a good way!

More to come.....

Technology: A Love/Hate Story

So Wednesday night we moved from New York back to Philly. I never want to move again!!

Our arrival marked the beginning of a 2-day technology meltdown. We arrived home to find the trusty wireless connection we'd been leeching off all last year had forsaken us. The people who had the wireless must've moved because our apartment is now a dry zone. So we signed up for our own wireless Internet and upgraded cable through Comcast "We're Taking Over the Universe" Cable.
Sidenote: Is it just me or is Comcast soon going to form a sovereign nation and become the next superpower in the world because they are EVERYWHERE lately.

Then, part 2 of the technology meltdown happened when I came to work on Thursday to find my computer (which had been FedEx'd from my IT people in NY) had arrived without THE POWER CORD!!! I love our IT department. Brilliant. The power cord is kinda important here. So I had no computer access which was a nightmare! Today my power cord arrived and I am back online.

We leave this afternoon for a 2 week vacation to Houston and then on to California so the blogging may be sporadic. I can't wait to get outta here!

Things'll Be Great When You're DOWN TOWN...

Our studio (the team of about 15 of us headed by a Principal) is getting ready to move down to the Wall Street office....goodbye Rockefeller Center....goodbye Today Show Concert Series.....goodbye crowded midtown & 5th avenue....we're headed downtown! The move officially happens on Friday but I will be moving back to Philadelphia on Wednesday so these are my last few days to work in Rock Center.

Speaking of moving, I started packing last night for our move back to ol' PA. This morning as I rat raced myself to work I dreamed of how nice it will be to get back to the slower pace of Philly. I can enjoy the nice fall weather as I commute the few short blocks to work. No subway to deal with, no masses of humanity in my face. And.....our spacious, SPACIOUS apartment is waiting for us!!! That's one downfall of NY. We can't spend much time in The Rectangle together. We're like cooped-up experimental mice and the extreme close quarters ignites our volitile behavior. And the little mice get angry!! The solution: The little mice try to go outside as much as possible. To celebrate our final weekend we went to see our last Broadway show, Spamalot. It's based on Monty Python's Quest for the Holy Grail. Some of that British humor was a little weird but overall it was a good show and we laughed.

We went to brunch with some friends on Saturday and afterwards stopped by the renown & exalted Magnolia Bakery on Bleeker Street where they sell to-die-for cupcakes and there's a legendary line out the door at all hours of the day. Dinner was at Del Posto owned by Mario Batali, one of the Iron Chef's on the Food Network. (Apparently Kyle has become a "foodie" and insists on visiting all the Iron Chef restaurants)

Sunday we met up with some other friends for lunch at this place called The Burger Joint. The Joint is a very secretive place. The only way you know it's there is a little burger-shaped neon sign tucked in a corner of the Le Parker Meridien hotel lobby. You go behind the curtain and you're in an old, graffiti-ed burger joint....in the middle of this fancy hotel? Weird but the burgers were delish!

Nobu.....WAHOO!

Having a hard time keeping my head from slamming the keyboard. Last night was late. Came home near 1AM....

This is how the evening went down: We had plans to meet Kyle's co-worker & his girlfriend for dinnerat Nobu 57 at 9 PM. We arrived and I enjoyed getting to meet this guy that Kyle had spent most of his summer with and his girlfriend was really nice too. Since Kyle and I are newbies on the sushi scene we let John order everything for our table. If we were ever going to try sushi Nobu is the place to do it. Just so you understand---John and Kyle are on opposite ends of the adventurous eating spectrum. John was fresh off vacation from Korea describing to us his adventures in eating a live, squirmy octopus and throws into the mix that sea urchin is also one of his favorite dishes. Kyle, on the other hand, well---you know Kyle.

John did a super job on selections. Hold on to your seats---we tried edamame and spicy peppers, raw oysters, some yellowtail sashimi, lightly seared tuna for appetizers along with our first bottle of sake. For the main course we sampled rock shrimp tempura, soft shell crab tempura, some toro (raw fatty tuna), live scallops, barbequed eel, spicy tuna rolls, and some black cod with miso that was so amazing we ordered a second round....and washed that all down with a second bottle of sake that--again John ordered and--was the absolute best sake the restaurant had in stock. Kyle and I looked it up when we got home and it was (no kidding) $400 for that second bottle of sake. We didn't know that at the time but we knew it was expensive so, needless to say, we kept drinking it so as not to waste one single drop. Talk about being light headed...

We finished off the meal with 4 different desserts! I'm feeling full just writing about it. We enjoyed most everything but the texture of the oysters was hard to get used to but we both tried it at least. Bet you didn't know Kyle was a sushi man??

We each discreetly caught a glimpse of the final bill (we later conferred in the cab) and surmised that our freewheeling sushi experimentation exercise topped out at over $800 (that's before tip, folks). Now that's a New York story if I've ever heard one. As exciting as the evening was I'm sure it will never be duplicated so we enjoyed the moment while it lasted.

So tonight Kyle is out again. This time it's just the boys and they are going out to Craft Steak which is definitely more up Kyle's alley. I'll let you know how that one turns out. Should be another good meal since the big boss will be at this one.

A Reunion A Decade In The Making

I knew it was bound to happen. This whole summer I knew I would have to see actor Tim Robbins (of Shawshank Redemption fame) at some point. Earlier this summer I spotted Susan Sarandon and I knew that Tim Robbins (her "life partner/common-law husband/whatever they are") couldn't be far behind because they live on our street. And yesterday morning was the moment...as I walked out of my apartment heading to work there was a gigantically tall Tim Robbins walking down MY street toward me wearing gym shorts and a Mank Top (that's a man tank top). He was with his son headed in the direction of his brownstone home. The movies I've seen him in he's either really nice or really scary but he looked fairly regular and non-menacing yesterday.

The highlight of the day was meeting up with a friend of mine from high school that I hadn't seen in a full decade! Aimee lives in New York and had found out I was in New York also from a mutual friend at our 10 year reunion. So Irene passed along Aimee's email and we got together for our own little reunion session at the Chat N Chew restaurant here in the city. It was great to catch up with her and know what's going on in her life. Plus she gave me all the juicy scoop on the reunion! I hope we can continue to meet up when I come back to the city for work. There's just something comforting about seeing someone that you've known since you were 8 years old in a big city like this and being able to reconnect!

Free As A Bird...Or Is It Weird As A Bird??

I’ve noticed a certain thing about people here. They are so free….free to be themselves….free to do whatever….free as the wind blows….free as the grass grows…here are two stories from today’s Free People File.

So the subway’s always a breeding ground for people behaving freely/weirdly and today was no exception. I was sitting across from a young woman who appeared perfectly normal until I noticed she was talking to herself….no big deal…. I’ve grown used to plenty of people talking to the air. She was really serious about the conversation, though, and then I noticed the script book she was holding. I brilliantly deducted it was an actress (I’m guessing a newbie) practicing for an audition. You should’ve seen this emphatic, dramatic, imaginary conversation going down, eyebrows and lips moving around angrily. I was perfectly intrigued although I could hear no words. It was like something sick that you don’t really want to watch but are compelled because you never see stuff like that. Adding to the funniness (is that a word?) was the giant burly man squished and overflowing in the seat next to her. He was practically sitting on top of her but seemed either scared or intrigued by the whole script. I couldn’t tell because his expression looked like both. I really wonder what that script was about but I had to get off at my stop and go to work.

I’ve noticed that iPods have really freed people also. As soon as people have those earphones in the ears it’s like personal karaoke time and the world is my stage. I have seen/heard more people singing along with their iPods as if their voice somehow magically dissolves away when the special white earphones go in. This evening I was walking home from work and a dude a few steps in front of me was just singing his little heart out, jamming to his tunes. I can relate though because sometimes I want to sing along with my iPod too so sometimes I walk around and just lip synch and people probably think I’m weird but that’s OK because I’m freeeeee too!

Have I Got A Book For Ya!

Below is a blog entry about Kyle & I's weekend but I thought this next piece of info deserved it's own blog title.

I am so proud to announce my dear Mom has published her first official, real live book! This accomplishment is so exciting to me. The book has been coming together for many years as a result of her experience in family counseling and with loads of prayer shaping it into the final format. The book is available at major online bookstores like Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Target, & Borders. (Can you believe it?)

The name of the book is
Letters From Your Father God by Maya Graves
so check it out!

Here is the link to the book at Amazon.com

YAY, MOM! XOXO

Time is Ticking Away in Ol' New York

This is our second to last weekend in New York! Can you believe it? We'll be packing up soon and heading back to our little sanctuary in Philadelphia. I'm kinda looking forward to being home again even though I will miss NY a lot. I will just have to come back to visit.....

Friday night we were cruisin' the Meat Packing District and saw filming taking place of the TV show Law & Order. It seemed exciting at first with all the lights and equipment and cameras occupying an entire block radius BUT when we realized we were watching the film crew sitting around eating catered food we decided it wasn't that exciting. 3 hours to shoot 2 scenes.....talk about a snail's pace......

Yesterday we took the Staten Island Ferry and here is my

Top Five List of Reasons to Take the Staten Island Ferry

#5: Feeling the wind through your hair

#4: Feeling claustrophobic alongside all the fellow hot and sweaty passengers

#3: Great views of Manhattan & the Statue of Liberty

#2: The peg-leg pigeon (he was missing all toes on one leg) standing at the helm of the ferry as we crossed the water. The “ferry commander”, if you will. We affectionately labeled him “Pirate Pigeon”. Arghhh!

And the #1 reason to take the Staten Island Ferry…..It's FREE!!!

Here is a shot of Kyle pondering what it was like to be an immigrant coming to America. (that's the statue just south of his nose). Here's a better shot of Lady Liberty......

Here is a picture of the skyline.....

One Year Philly-versary

This is a quick post to mention that today marks our 1 year anniversary of moving to Philly. With only 2 duffel bags and an air mattress we checked into a hotel before grabbing our apartment the next day and Kyle starting class the day after that. It's been an exciting year and it has flown by so fast. Only about 9 months left until this school thing is finished! I can't believe it :)

And for those that are concerned that we are roasting like turkeys on Thanksgiving, we are surviving the heat but just barely....thankfully a cool front came in tonight....

I'll blog more tomorrow....

Walkin' Da Bridge

This weekend marked Kyle's first weekend without the ol' ball and chain Blackberry. What a relief....

We had dinner with Sean & Sarah on Friday night. It was really nice to see them. They were in town for a wedding in upstate New York.

Saturday evening we walked across the Brooklyn Bridge.


Lucky for us we picked the day the bridge was overrun with crazies attending the coo-koo parade (thankfully they didn't ruin our picture). It seems that red and yellow stripes make up the international flag of Crazy Land and the town square was the Brooklyn Bridge. Kyle asked several people what was going on.....it seems the self proclaimed "freaks and deviants" were assembling for an evening-long wandering party with a discreet undisclosed destination. They invited us to join them to this undisclosed destination.....we politely declined the invitation. Despite the odd-ness of the situation, it was a beautiful evening and we enjoyed the exercise.

Sunday we tried out a new church called Mosaic Manhattan. We enjoyed the teaching but we'll probably be back to our usual church, The Journey, next Sunday. Mostly we tried to stay indoors while the sun was out because it's almost unbearable to walk around in that heat.....

And The Job Is Complete...

Today is a banner day! It was Kyle's last real day of work! Can I get an amen? Tomorrow he is out playing golf with the team so it doesn't count as a work day....
(You can't see us but Kyle and I are dancing an End-of-the-Summer jig)
We survived! Albeit, with a few extra pounds...no, scratch that....We survived despite dry cleaners that have relentlessly conspired to shrink our clothes?!
Those dry cleaners....

Anyways, I'm hoping the next few weeks go by fast. Vacation is dangling in front of me like a carrot on a stick. My spirit has the bags packed and plane tickets in hand but my body is firmly planted in Manhattan.

Speaking of carrots on a stick.....Kyle received his official offer today for a job after graduation and it was an enticing one. It's always nice to have your work recognized and appreciated however I think it must really take a family commitment to do something like this long term so we'll hold onto the offer and see what happens....

Tomorrow our friends Sean & Sarah will be in town and we're going to have dinner with them. I'm hoping to take them out on the ferry ride we did with Kara. That was the coolest thing ever but I didn't have my camera with me?!

Later gators - tomorrow is Friday!!

Celebrity Radar -- Back In Business!

Kyle came home pretty early tonight. We decided to head out and explore Greenwich and maybe find something to eat at a corner restaurant. As we left the apartment I declared it was about time I saw a celebrity. My celeb antennae have been receiving static lately and no one has popped on the radar. Little did I know my wish might come true tonight….

We landed at a decent Italian restaurant in Greenwich and shared a tortellini dish. Nothing special but we got to sit outside and people watch. Afterwards we walked quite a bit and ended up in the Meat Packing district. We started down 14th street which is lined with many upscale stores and we came across a photo shoot. When we got closer I spotted “Noted Fashion Photographer Nigel Barker” !!! (henceforth to be referred to as NFPNB).


If you don’t watch Tyra Bank’s show “America’s Next Top Model” then you probably have never heard of NFPNB. (I use his extended name because for some reason he is always introduced with the full blah blah blah in front of his name??)

He is a former model, a judge on Tyra’s show and he always photographs one of the photo shoots with the final Model contestants. Kyle and I are big fans of the show and Kyle didn’t believe it was him until he finally heard him speak with his British accent. Then Kyle was intrigued. And then he stated NFPNB looked fatter in person (quite the critic, eh??) --I'd have to disagree with that.

Anyways, we stood there for about 10 minutes watching the gangly toothpick model (who, ironically, I did not recognize at all) pout and look bored and glare evil-y into the camera while NFPNB snapped, snapped away. Click! Click! Tyra would be proud. Model-girl looked “fierce”. (Looking “fierce” is the mantra of the show).

So I got my celebrity spotting wish after all....YEE haw!