At the obligatory Liberty Bell stop This whole wall is tile mosaic. Beautiful! Right before dinner at Union Steak
hey yo Adrien . . . I DID IT!
And of course:
10.31.2010
Catch Up Photos - Philadelphia, PA
At the obligatory Liberty Bell stop This whole wall is tile mosaic. Beautiful! Right before dinner at Union Steak
10.27.2010
Rar.
I'm going to try my best to just immediately post whatever pet peeve happens at the time it happens, because I always think to myself, I should really keep a list of these, and I never do.
#1 - Trying to cancel out of a webpage, only to have some "live agent" message box say "HEY WAIT! Don't leave yet, blah blah blah" . . . it's like, no really, I don't care what you have for me, I DON'T WANT TO BE ON THIS FREAKIN WEB PAGE ANY MORE!
And because of those live agent things, I seldom return to those pages, ever.
#1 - Trying to cancel out of a webpage, only to have some "live agent" message box say "HEY WAIT! Don't leave yet, blah blah blah" . . . it's like, no really, I don't care what you have for me, I DON'T WANT TO BE ON THIS FREAKIN WEB PAGE ANY MORE!
And because of those live agent things, I seldom return to those pages, ever.
10.26.2010
Rah, Rah, sis-boom-PHILLY
We got back Sunday mid-afternoon from our anniversary trip to Philly. It was the icing on the cake after watching all the Rocky movies, and having the fresh prince theme song memorized.
Seriously, I liked Philly. It wasn't so dingy as a lot of other cities, and it had a nice flow to it. If you were to ask me what was my favorite part of the trip, I'd say one of three things:
The 28-day aged filet mignon from Union Trust Steakhouse
The Philadephia Zoo
The Rocky statue/running up the art museum stairs
The steak was fork-tender, and topped with caramelized onions. Add that to the most succulent lobster bisque ( . . . I mentioned the bisque . . . ) and creamy macaroni and cheese this side of the mississippi, and you've got yourself one happy camper. Not to mention the ambience was astounding -- ornate cathedral ceilings reaching up to there, and being seated at a table on the second floor overlooking the dining area, with nothing more than a glass wall between us. Vertigo city.
The zoo is the oldest zoo in America. We saw some fun things, like hippos trying to eat pumpkins. It was also "Boo at the Zoo" so all the kids that were there that day were dressed up in their halloween costumes. *So cute*! Funny though, one of my favorite things about the zoo is that they let peacocks roam wild. I love peacocks.
And per my earlier Rocky post, of course I had to go to the statue. It's no longer at the top of the stairs; rather it's off to the right at the base of the stairs. But, it is still there, and we got the necessary "I DID IT!" pose in front of him. Then, I ran up the stairs. It wasn't difficult at all, I didn't break a sweat or start breathing any harder. So I though, what was the big deal? And then I remembered that Rocky did the same thing, only after running like 10 miles and working out before that even. So I guess I'd be a little winded after all that, too.
We did a few other things, like a ghost tour, saw the liberty bell, hung out in the Omni bar/lounge area. Had the best cosmopolitan ever. We walked around the city, did some shopping, and relaxed sans bebe for the weekend. Cassy stayed at home with my mom, and was evidently simply awesome. She slept well both nights, took a two hour nap on Friday and a three hour nap on Saturday; she ate well and she just played and babbled to mom all weekend long. I think it's such a sweet thing, this nana-baby time together.
Pictures to come. Sometime, somehow.
Next up:
Friday Fright Night
Maddy's birthday party! (Eric's and my actual anniversary)
Neighborhood halloween parade
Seriously, I liked Philly. It wasn't so dingy as a lot of other cities, and it had a nice flow to it. If you were to ask me what was my favorite part of the trip, I'd say one of three things:
The 28-day aged filet mignon from Union Trust Steakhouse
The Philadephia Zoo
The Rocky statue/running up the art museum stairs
The steak was fork-tender, and topped with caramelized onions. Add that to the most succulent lobster bisque ( . . . I mentioned the bisque . . . ) and creamy macaroni and cheese this side of the mississippi, and you've got yourself one happy camper. Not to mention the ambience was astounding -- ornate cathedral ceilings reaching up to there, and being seated at a table on the second floor overlooking the dining area, with nothing more than a glass wall between us. Vertigo city.
The zoo is the oldest zoo in America. We saw some fun things, like hippos trying to eat pumpkins. It was also "Boo at the Zoo" so all the kids that were there that day were dressed up in their halloween costumes. *So cute*! Funny though, one of my favorite things about the zoo is that they let peacocks roam wild. I love peacocks.
And per my earlier Rocky post, of course I had to go to the statue. It's no longer at the top of the stairs; rather it's off to the right at the base of the stairs. But, it is still there, and we got the necessary "I DID IT!" pose in front of him. Then, I ran up the stairs. It wasn't difficult at all, I didn't break a sweat or start breathing any harder. So I though, what was the big deal? And then I remembered that Rocky did the same thing, only after running like 10 miles and working out before that even. So I guess I'd be a little winded after all that, too.
We did a few other things, like a ghost tour, saw the liberty bell, hung out in the Omni bar/lounge area. Had the best cosmopolitan ever. We walked around the city, did some shopping, and relaxed sans bebe for the weekend. Cassy stayed at home with my mom, and was evidently simply awesome. She slept well both nights, took a two hour nap on Friday and a three hour nap on Saturday; she ate well and she just played and babbled to mom all weekend long. I think it's such a sweet thing, this nana-baby time together.
Pictures to come. Sometime, somehow.
Next up:
Friday Fright Night
Maddy's birthday party! (Eric's and my actual anniversary)
Neighborhood halloween parade
10.18.2010
Fireball Foos
Well, we made it to our first foosball tournament with a baby in tow. Michelle joined us as well, to help out with Cassy but to also get her first taste of the foosball 'underground society.'
Tournament was held up in Timonium, at the Holiday Inn where MD states is usually held. The table was Fireball, not Tornado, which was slightly different but not out of the question different. I thought the defense would have three men, but it had five, just like a Tornado table. But something still just felt slightly off the whole weekend. Like the table was just a bit smaller, or something. I don't know.
Anyway, I managed to adjust enough to eek out a 4th place finish in Amateur Singles, which was my highest placement in a single's event since Kentucky States back in like 07 or something. I think I got 3rd there, maybe. Eric and I as a team typically do better than we did this past weekend. The only notable event was Open Mixed, in which we also took 4th. Everything else was win one lose one win one lose one, or worse. But, we went not expecting much since it was a new table, and we hadn't played, competively, since MD states 2009. Plus it was just to see how things went having a baby on board. They went swimmingly, by the way.
Next up -- Philly for our anniversary! Then, I think we're actually in town for a few weekends in a row after that. Which is good, 'cause I miss being at home.
Tournament was held up in Timonium, at the Holiday Inn where MD states is usually held. The table was Fireball, not Tornado, which was slightly different but not out of the question different. I thought the defense would have three men, but it had five, just like a Tornado table. But something still just felt slightly off the whole weekend. Like the table was just a bit smaller, or something. I don't know.
Anyway, I managed to adjust enough to eek out a 4th place finish in Amateur Singles, which was my highest placement in a single's event since Kentucky States back in like 07 or something. I think I got 3rd there, maybe. Eric and I as a team typically do better than we did this past weekend. The only notable event was Open Mixed, in which we also took 4th. Everything else was win one lose one win one lose one, or worse. But, we went not expecting much since it was a new table, and we hadn't played, competively, since MD states 2009. Plus it was just to see how things went having a baby on board. They went swimmingly, by the way.
Next up -- Philly for our anniversary! Then, I think we're actually in town for a few weekends in a row after that. Which is good, 'cause I miss being at home.
10.08.2010
Blast from the Past Memory of the Day
Gigapets.
Matt and I were commenting about some crazy cute baby hedgehogs seen here, and he called them pocket pets. That, for some reason, reminded me of Gigapets!
Did you ever have a Gigapet? What was its name? I think I had a frog gigapet but I don't remember its name. I also know that I killed it pretty early on and didn't bother resetting it. I just couldn't remember to hit the right buttons at the right times.
Matt and I were commenting about some crazy cute baby hedgehogs seen here, and he called them pocket pets. That, for some reason, reminded me of Gigapets!
10.04.2010
Baby's First . . . CAMPING ADVENTURE!
Each year in October the Smith family goes on a camping trip. This year, of course, we had Cassidy in tow.
Dad planned ahead and purchased a pop-up camper for Maddy and Cassidy to be able to use, but unfortunately a cable snapped just a day before we were supposed to leave. That, and the fact that it was POURING rain for four days leading up to the trip made me think that this year's camping extravaganza would have to be postponed. And, I'll admit it -- that thought didn't bother me too terribly much. The idea of taking an 8 month old tent camping was pretty daunting.
But, Friday dawned beautifully and it wasn't long before the temperature reached a nice mid-70's. The ground seemed fairly dry despite the rains the days before. And, I'll admit it -- even though the idea of taking an 8 month old tent camping was daunting, the adventure of it was rather enticing. So, I left work around noon, came home, packed us all up, and off we went.
We camp at North River camp ground, in the GW National Forest, about 2.5 hours from our home in NoVA. Mom, Dad, and Cary had staked out an awesome site, which mom later informed me was the exact site she and dad had camped at on their first anniversary. The site was large, room for at least 5 or 6 tents, and was flanked by a small babbling brook on one side. Good thing, too, since I'm typically flanked by a babbling baby on one side.
So the days were nice and toasty warm, the nights were cold but not freezing. See, that was my biggest concern for the weekend. How do I keep my baby girl from getting too cold at night? I know she can't regulate her own body temperature at this age, and to add more obstacles she's a thumb sucker who needs at least one hand free to pacify herself. The first night was . . . ok. I brought this marshmallow suit (a big, puffy, white snow suit) to have her sleep in and it worked, but she had a fitfull sleep all night. She kept waking up sporadically to just let out this little cry like she was annoyed, but never actually woke up. Think of it like someone talking in their sleep while having a bad dream or something like that. Anyway, so I thought she was just cold, of course, because I was crazy paranoid about that all weekend -- so I brought her into bed with me and Eric, and held her in my arms all night. I've never done that before, and didn't bank on the fact that I would then get overly paranoid about her suffocating on the sleeping bag. Needless to say, i didn't get much sleep that night since I was constantly checking to make sure Cassy was still breathing.
On Saturday we all drove into town to watch my brother's baseball games (he's a catcher for EMU). They won. On our way back to the campsite, we detoured to Target where I purchased a long underwear onesie and a sleep sack for Cassidy. See, I figure maybe Cassidy wasn't actually cold on Friday night -- maybe she was just annoyed at the fact that the marshmallow suit rendered her immobile. These things -- the onesie and the sleep sack -- would give added warmth AND the ability to move around more freely. Note: If you're going to be a parent, you've gotta be ready with plans A, B, C, D, E . . . etc. Sure enough, Saturday night Cassidy slept like . . . well, a baby! all night long. Seriously. From 7p until 8a, she just lightly snored all night long. I had her dressed in a onesie, under the long underwear onesie, with socks, under her flannel footie pajamas, under a fuzzy pink hooded jacket, under the sleep sack. Worked like a charm. Five charms, to be exact.
All weekend we were treated to my dad's cooking creations -- Friday night was southwestern eggrolls and chicken quesadillas, Saturday was grilled chicken and ribs, Sunday morning breakfast was bacon, eggs, and bagels. I'm still not used to that -- Eric and I used to only ever bring hotdogs for dinners, and stuff to make PBJ sandwiches during the day. So yeah, I feel like this is first-class camping :-)
Mike T. and Michelle K. were able to join us this year, which helped round out the group and added a very fun dynamic. I will never know how Mike found us, since it was already dark and all I had told him was that we were at North River campground. There are lots of winding roads throughout the campground, but luckily he found our specific campsite. Genius! So we played some games Friday night, and Saturday we just hung out chillin by the campfire. The stars were incredible, and the time was very relaxing overall.
Some pics from the weekend:
Dad planned ahead and purchased a pop-up camper for Maddy and Cassidy to be able to use, but unfortunately a cable snapped just a day before we were supposed to leave. That, and the fact that it was POURING rain for four days leading up to the trip made me think that this year's camping extravaganza would have to be postponed. And, I'll admit it -- that thought didn't bother me too terribly much. The idea of taking an 8 month old tent camping was pretty daunting.
But, Friday dawned beautifully and it wasn't long before the temperature reached a nice mid-70's. The ground seemed fairly dry despite the rains the days before. And, I'll admit it -- even though the idea of taking an 8 month old tent camping was daunting, the adventure of it was rather enticing. So, I left work around noon, came home, packed us all up, and off we went.
We camp at North River camp ground, in the GW National Forest, about 2.5 hours from our home in NoVA. Mom, Dad, and Cary had staked out an awesome site, which mom later informed me was the exact site she and dad had camped at on their first anniversary. The site was large, room for at least 5 or 6 tents, and was flanked by a small babbling brook on one side. Good thing, too, since I'm typically flanked by a babbling baby on one side.
So the days were nice and toasty warm, the nights were cold but not freezing. See, that was my biggest concern for the weekend. How do I keep my baby girl from getting too cold at night? I know she can't regulate her own body temperature at this age, and to add more obstacles she's a thumb sucker who needs at least one hand free to pacify herself. The first night was . . . ok. I brought this marshmallow suit (a big, puffy, white snow suit) to have her sleep in and it worked, but she had a fitfull sleep all night. She kept waking up sporadically to just let out this little cry like she was annoyed, but never actually woke up. Think of it like someone talking in their sleep while having a bad dream or something like that. Anyway, so I thought she was just cold, of course, because I was crazy paranoid about that all weekend -- so I brought her into bed with me and Eric, and held her in my arms all night. I've never done that before, and didn't bank on the fact that I would then get overly paranoid about her suffocating on the sleeping bag. Needless to say, i didn't get much sleep that night since I was constantly checking to make sure Cassy was still breathing.
On Saturday we all drove into town to watch my brother's baseball games (he's a catcher for EMU). They won. On our way back to the campsite, we detoured to Target where I purchased a long underwear onesie and a sleep sack for Cassidy. See, I figure maybe Cassidy wasn't actually cold on Friday night -- maybe she was just annoyed at the fact that the marshmallow suit rendered her immobile. These things -- the onesie and the sleep sack -- would give added warmth AND the ability to move around more freely. Note: If you're going to be a parent, you've gotta be ready with plans A, B, C, D, E . . . etc. Sure enough, Saturday night Cassidy slept like . . . well, a baby! all night long. Seriously. From 7p until 8a, she just lightly snored all night long. I had her dressed in a onesie, under the long underwear onesie, with socks, under her flannel footie pajamas, under a fuzzy pink hooded jacket, under the sleep sack. Worked like a charm. Five charms, to be exact.
All weekend we were treated to my dad's cooking creations -- Friday night was southwestern eggrolls and chicken quesadillas, Saturday was grilled chicken and ribs, Sunday morning breakfast was bacon, eggs, and bagels. I'm still not used to that -- Eric and I used to only ever bring hotdogs for dinners, and stuff to make PBJ sandwiches during the day. So yeah, I feel like this is first-class camping :-)
Mike T. and Michelle K. were able to join us this year, which helped round out the group and added a very fun dynamic. I will never know how Mike found us, since it was already dark and all I had told him was that we were at North River campground. There are lots of winding roads throughout the campground, but luckily he found our specific campsite. Genius! So we played some games Friday night, and Saturday we just hung out chillin by the campfire. The stars were incredible, and the time was very relaxing overall.
Some pics from the weekend:
Enjoying the Marshmallow suit -- for the moment!
The ladies
Family camping picture!
Around the campfire
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