It has been one crazy weekend.
And sadly, the weekend is pretty much over and I can't say I really did much this weekend other than shovel snow. Interestingly enough, I do own a snow blower. My driveway is long enough that shoveling it by hand can take some time. So when the blizzard forecast came about, I thought I'd be good and actually get the snow blower ready. After all, the snow blower has practically been untouched for about two years, which was the last time there was a big chunk of snowfall.
Needless to say, I think my snow blower incident was an indicator of things to come during this blizzard. Yep, I suck at blizzards. Not only could I not get the snow blower running, I actually pulled so hard trying to get it to start that I ripped the chord right out of the blower. Not just once. Twice. Both times, I had to take apart the back just to rewind the pull string. It was frustrating, especially since I still could not get it to run.
And since I really couldn't spend too much time tinkering with the snow blower (I have kids), I decided I'd just forget about the blower and remove the falling snow the old-fashioned way... with a shovel. It took a while. But I suppose the plus side is that it was a great workout. Heck, I'm still a little sore from shoveling.
And yet, shoveling was not the worst part of the blizzard. Shortly after 11 p.m. on Friday night, we lost power. I only happen to know the time because I was up late watching a movie on my laptop. For anyone curious, I watched Fright Night. The reboot was actually pretty entertaining. I enjoyed the movie. But while the movie was playing on my laptop, I noticed the power went out throughout the house. Thankfully, I still had enough battery power in my laptop to finish the movie. Just kidding.
But for most of Saturday, we were without power... which I suppose made shoveling that much more bearable since it was something to do to kill the time. The down side of course... heat. My house runs on electricity, including the heat. If it were just Karen and I, we'd probably have no problem because we could always just wear layers and layers of clothing to keep warm. Well, I'd probably have no problem. Karen gets cold easily. But when kids are involved, that's when things get a little tricky. Truth be told, I was starting to get a little concerned after a while for my eleven month old daughter (Bridget).
Luckily, my favorite sister-in-law (Janine) had power during the blizzard. Not only did she have power, she had heat. So off we went to her place, just as the driving ban was being lifted by the governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. I always knew Janine was my favorite. It probably should go without saying that it's good to know that we have a bunch of good friends and family who are willing to help us during times of need. So thank you everyone.
Anyway, it definitely felt nice to take a nice warm shower at Janine's. My two year old daughter (Briana) had a blast playing with her cousins and her auntie. It was a great time. Interestingly enough, Bridget took her first steps at Janine's. Similarly, Briana also took her first steps shortly after being at Janine's when she was learning to walk. That was yesterday.
So as to not wear out our welcome, we packed our things and headed to my parents in Quincy today. After all, the town of Norwell was not supposed to get power until three days from now... Wednesday. Things were looking pretty grim, not only because the temperature in our house had fallen to 40 degrees, but because living with my parents until Wednesday wasn't too high on my list. Don't get me wrong, I love my parents. But spending that much time with them may drive me crazy. Yes, I know. I'm a terrible son.
Anyway, my parents definitely enjoyed seeing Briana and Bridget. They were extremely happy because today is Chinese New Year (the year of the snake) and they thought it was such a nice way to start the year off. The "nice" part being the fact that they got to spend time with Briana and Bridget, not the fact that there was a blizzard that wreaked havoc. I think my parents get all giddy whenever Briana and Bridget are around. It's cute.
While at my parents, my neighbor (George) called telling me that power was restored to our neighborhood. That was exciting news. Thank you Stop and Shop for being so nearby. I am guessing that may have benefited us. Truth be told, I think my parents were slightly disappointed to see us go home, probably because they wanted to spend more time with Briana and Bridget. But at least they got to spend some time with them, right?
All in all, it has been a crazy weekend. Thank you again to everyone who was involved in helping us. I hope the best for those who still do not have power from the blizzard.
Sunday, February 10, 2013
Thursday, January 31, 2013
I Suck At Stop And Shop
Tonight, Karen and I scored a deal at Stop and Shop. Normally, I suck at Stop and Shop.
We went to Stop and Shop following a dinner at the Tavern on Proprietors Green located in Marshfield. By the way, dinner was delicious. My eleven month old daughter (Bridget) appears to enjoy the place as well because she devoured everything we gave her. Of course, Bridget devours everything normally. I'm sure she'll be bigger than my two year old (Briana) soon. And for anyone curious, I had the roast beef sandwich.
Anyway, Stop and Shop was having a deal this week where $3 would be taken off a purchase of two Clear shampoo/conditioner products made on the same transaction. I have never used Clear shampoo (or conditioner). But apparently each item costs over $5 normally. And this week, Stop and Shop had them on sale for 2/$10.
Needless to say, as a fan of coupons, I couldn't resist the deal. Along with the Stop and Shop deal, there was Buy One Shampoo Get One Conditioner Free manufacturer's coupon. Add it all up, I ended up paying $2 (and tax) for the two items ($10 - $5 - 3). What a deal! Hopefully the product is good. I can't imagine paying over $5 for a single bottle of shampoo. Of course, I don't have that much hair as it is. So maybe what little hair I do have will look luscious... who knows?
We went to Stop and Shop following a dinner at the Tavern on Proprietors Green located in Marshfield. By the way, dinner was delicious. My eleven month old daughter (Bridget) appears to enjoy the place as well because she devoured everything we gave her. Of course, Bridget devours everything normally. I'm sure she'll be bigger than my two year old (Briana) soon. And for anyone curious, I had the roast beef sandwich.
Anyway, Stop and Shop was having a deal this week where $3 would be taken off a purchase of two Clear shampoo/conditioner products made on the same transaction. I have never used Clear shampoo (or conditioner). But apparently each item costs over $5 normally. And this week, Stop and Shop had them on sale for 2/$10.
Needless to say, as a fan of coupons, I couldn't resist the deal. Along with the Stop and Shop deal, there was Buy One Shampoo Get One Conditioner Free manufacturer's coupon. Add it all up, I ended up paying $2 (and tax) for the two items ($10 - $5 - 3). What a deal! Hopefully the product is good. I can't imagine paying over $5 for a single bottle of shampoo. Of course, I don't have that much hair as it is. So maybe what little hair I do have will look luscious... who knows?
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
I Suck At Southie Rules
Last night, Karen and I decided to watch the premiere of the new A&E series, Southie Rules. We were somewhat intrigued with the idea of watching a reality show based in Boston, particular Southie. Unfortunately, I suck at Southie Rules. Or more importantly, the writers of the show suck at Southie Rules.
To say the show is terrible is an understatement. The show is absolutely horrible. Not only is the show obviously scripted, but the characters appear to make no bones about forcing the delivered lines. It's painful to watch.
And while Karen and I know reality shows are anything but reality, we were hoping to at least be entertained by a show that would depict Southie in a way that is closer to what Southie really is, and not some awfully scripted version. I mean come on. Southie is home to the oldest housing projects in the United States. The place is also known for the organized crime boss Whitey Bulger.
Needless to say, the show was very disappointing to watch. I'm fairly certain Karen and I will not continue watching the show. And truthfully, I'd be shocked if the show continued more than one season. The least they could do is make the show appear less obvious that it is scripted. It's just that awful.
To say the show is terrible is an understatement. The show is absolutely horrible. Not only is the show obviously scripted, but the characters appear to make no bones about forcing the delivered lines. It's painful to watch.
And while Karen and I know reality shows are anything but reality, we were hoping to at least be entertained by a show that would depict Southie in a way that is closer to what Southie really is, and not some awfully scripted version. I mean come on. Southie is home to the oldest housing projects in the United States. The place is also known for the organized crime boss Whitey Bulger.
Needless to say, the show was very disappointing to watch. I'm fairly certain Karen and I will not continue watching the show. And truthfully, I'd be shocked if the show continued more than one season. The least they could do is make the show appear less obvious that it is scripted. It's just that awful.
Sunday, January 27, 2013
I Suck At Wild Willy's Burgers
Yesterday, Karen, my BFF (Kerry) and I went out for a bite to eat following a quick visit to our friends' (Cass and Ellen) place. Our original destination was the Fours in Quincy. Interestingly enough, the Fours was packed at 5:30pm on a Saturday night. As all of us were quite ravenous, we decided to dine somewhere else instead of waiting the half hour to be seated.
As a side note, I discovered something interesting when I used the bathroom at the Fours. Apparently, there exists scented urinal cakes. In this case, the scent was cinnamon. At least, I believe it was a scented urinal cake. I didn't get that up close to smell the cake, but the scent definitely did seem to come from the urinal. Plus, the cake was red.
Anyway, after my bathroom excursion, we decided to dine out at Wild Willy's Burgers. Now I suck at Wild Willy's Burgers. Okay, so maybe I don't. I do enjoy the place. It turns out that Kerry had actually dined there last week, but since she was also quite famished she didn't mind eating there again.
Needless to say, the food was delicious at Wild Willy's. I had the "Bubba" BBQ burger with a strawberry frappe. Yum-O!
As always, it was a good time just hanging out with Kerry. Among the topics of discussion that came up were her upcoming baby shower (not hers, but her friend's), McDonald's straws and their large diameters, her planned trips for the year, and her view of relationships. Fun as usual.
As a side note, I discovered something interesting when I used the bathroom at the Fours. Apparently, there exists scented urinal cakes. In this case, the scent was cinnamon. At least, I believe it was a scented urinal cake. I didn't get that up close to smell the cake, but the scent definitely did seem to come from the urinal. Plus, the cake was red.
Anyway, after my bathroom excursion, we decided to dine out at Wild Willy's Burgers. Now I suck at Wild Willy's Burgers. Okay, so maybe I don't. I do enjoy the place. It turns out that Kerry had actually dined there last week, but since she was also quite famished she didn't mind eating there again.
Needless to say, the food was delicious at Wild Willy's. I had the "Bubba" BBQ burger with a strawberry frappe. Yum-O!
As always, it was a good time just hanging out with Kerry. Among the topics of discussion that came up were her upcoming baby shower (not hers, but her friend's), McDonald's straws and their large diameters, her planned trips for the year, and her view of relationships. Fun as usual.
Monday, January 21, 2013
I Suck At Football
I suck at football. It turns out, today... the New England Patriots also suck at football as they lost the conference championship to the Baltimore Ravens. Heck, the New England offense did absolutely nothing after the first half. I wonder if Tom Brady's supermodel wife, Giselle, will blame the receivers for today's loss.
Regardless, my friends (Marc and Kelley) had invited us to their place to watch both conference championship games at their place today. With my in-laws watching our kids, Karen and I only attended for most of the first game between the San Francisco 49er and the Atlanta Falcons. And while we were there, we were joined by my BFF (Kerry).
Needless to say, I had a fun time while I was there. Various topics of discussion came up during our brief time there: things like the card game Munchkin; if vampires can get cancer by sucking the blood of people with cancer; gun control; and how all bets are off when the zombie apocalypse comes. I may even have been enlisted to perform a home improvement task at Kerry's.
All in all, it was good to hang out and have a few laughs.
Regardless, my friends (Marc and Kelley) had invited us to their place to watch both conference championship games at their place today. With my in-laws watching our kids, Karen and I only attended for most of the first game between the San Francisco 49er and the Atlanta Falcons. And while we were there, we were joined by my BFF (Kerry).
Needless to say, I had a fun time while I was there. Various topics of discussion came up during our brief time there: things like the card game Munchkin; if vampires can get cancer by sucking the blood of people with cancer; gun control; and how all bets are off when the zombie apocalypse comes. I may even have been enlisted to perform a home improvement task at Kerry's.
All in all, it was good to hang out and have a few laughs.
I Suck At The Burlington Mall
On Saturday, Karen, my two year old daughter (Briana), my ten month old daughter (Bridget) and I took a nice scenic trip to Burlington. What's in Burlington? I have no idea outside of the Burlington Mall. Too bad I suck at the Burlington Mall.
On the agenda: meeting up with our friend (Renee) who recently became a mother. It's a good thing the Burlington Mall is centrally located between Norwell and Lynn, where Renee lives. (It's not.)
Regardless, I would have to say I quite enjoyed the food court at the Burlington Mall. We tried the Appleseed Crepe and Bread. I have never eaten there before, but they have very delicious crepes. In fact, after having them on Saturday, I am tempted to make crepes at home.
I think the last time I made a crepe was back in high school, and that was only because we were having a fete (party) in French club. Yes, I was in the French club. I was in the Spanish and Latin clubs too, although I didn't know a lick of either language. Essentially, I signed up for each club because the sign up process usually involved some sort of food-filled party. And of course, I didn't limit myself to just the language clubs. If any club had food, I was there.
Anyway, Appleseed... delicious. They have this nutella/banana crepe... Yum! Briana devoured most of that too. Luckily, she spent most of her time at the mall running around the germ-infested play area to burn off the crepe. As a side note, there are a lot of parents who don't watch their kids in the play area. It's scary.
The only other highlight from the mall excursion was that Karen and I... and probably two other cars... got to witness a hit and run of sorts. Some woman was trying to back out of her spot. Well... she did back out of her spot. In fact, she kept backing up... so much so that she bumped into the parked car across from her. And then she drove off like nothing happened. It's like she didn't even know she hit another car. That was quickly followed by one of the other cars who also witnessed the woman immediately cutting me off to a spot (which was odd because that car not only did not have the right of way, but was right next to a vacant spot... but whatever.) Driving madness at the Burlington mall.
On the agenda: meeting up with our friend (Renee) who recently became a mother. It's a good thing the Burlington Mall is centrally located between Norwell and Lynn, where Renee lives. (It's not.)
Regardless, I would have to say I quite enjoyed the food court at the Burlington Mall. We tried the Appleseed Crepe and Bread. I have never eaten there before, but they have very delicious crepes. In fact, after having them on Saturday, I am tempted to make crepes at home.
I think the last time I made a crepe was back in high school, and that was only because we were having a fete (party) in French club. Yes, I was in the French club. I was in the Spanish and Latin clubs too, although I didn't know a lick of either language. Essentially, I signed up for each club because the sign up process usually involved some sort of food-filled party. And of course, I didn't limit myself to just the language clubs. If any club had food, I was there.
Anyway, Appleseed... delicious. They have this nutella/banana crepe... Yum! Briana devoured most of that too. Luckily, she spent most of her time at the mall running around the germ-infested play area to burn off the crepe. As a side note, there are a lot of parents who don't watch their kids in the play area. It's scary.
The only other highlight from the mall excursion was that Karen and I... and probably two other cars... got to witness a hit and run of sorts. Some woman was trying to back out of her spot. Well... she did back out of her spot. In fact, she kept backing up... so much so that she bumped into the parked car across from her. And then she drove off like nothing happened. It's like she didn't even know she hit another car. That was quickly followed by one of the other cars who also witnessed the woman immediately cutting me off to a spot (which was odd because that car not only did not have the right of way, but was right next to a vacant spot... but whatever.) Driving madness at the Burlington mall.
I Suck At Basketball
On Friday, I met up with my friends (Cass and Marc) in town. For some time, the three of us have been going to a basketball game for my birthday. I'm not exactly sure how the tradition started, but the annual event is one of the few things that I look forward from year to year because it's a chance to just hang out with the guys, which for me is sometimes difficult to do at times being a parent of two.
Needless to say, it was a great time especially since by Friday my mind is usually mush from work. Anyway, we started the night off with dinner at Hurricane O'Reilly's. The food was good. I had the Hurricane Burger. And because I like girlie drinks, I had a drink known as a Pineapple Pleasure. I ordered the drink for its fruity nutritional content of course.
From there, we went to the basketball game at the Garden where the hometown team (Celtics) were playing the Chicago Bulls. For anyone curious, the Bulls ended up winning the game 100-99 in overtime. Now, I suck at basketball. On Friday night, I would have to say the Celtics sucked at basketball. Aside from Rajon Rondo, the Celtics seemingly missed every shot. The Celtics never had the lead in the game until midway through the fourth and final quarter. And unfortunately, they relinquished that lead due to some shady officiating where an attempt to foul turned into a jump ball. They even had the lead in overtime, but they left too much time on the clock for the Bulls to score the final basket.
Sure, it was a disappointing loss. I think watching the fans on the jumbotron was probably more exciting. Mental note: to get on the jumbotron, wear an ugly sweatshirt with a howling wolf on it the next time I attend a game. There was a fan who wore just that... and was on the jumbotron all the time because whenever he was shown, the entire place started howling. It was comical.
Oh, and I'd have to say that one of the other memorable things about the game was the national anthem. The anthem was sung by this really young girl who did an amazing job. I was quite impressed by how well she sang, as were the rest of the fans.
The only other notable thing from the game was that one of Karen's coworkers also attended the game. Karen told me to look for her coworker behind the Celtics bench. Needless to say, I looked... but couldn't see her. Oh well. At least I looked.
Needless to say, it was a great time especially since by Friday my mind is usually mush from work. Anyway, we started the night off with dinner at Hurricane O'Reilly's. The food was good. I had the Hurricane Burger. And because I like girlie drinks, I had a drink known as a Pineapple Pleasure. I ordered the drink for its fruity nutritional content of course.
From there, we went to the basketball game at the Garden where the hometown team (Celtics) were playing the Chicago Bulls. For anyone curious, the Bulls ended up winning the game 100-99 in overtime. Now, I suck at basketball. On Friday night, I would have to say the Celtics sucked at basketball. Aside from Rajon Rondo, the Celtics seemingly missed every shot. The Celtics never had the lead in the game until midway through the fourth and final quarter. And unfortunately, they relinquished that lead due to some shady officiating where an attempt to foul turned into a jump ball. They even had the lead in overtime, but they left too much time on the clock for the Bulls to score the final basket.
Sure, it was a disappointing loss. I think watching the fans on the jumbotron was probably more exciting. Mental note: to get on the jumbotron, wear an ugly sweatshirt with a howling wolf on it the next time I attend a game. There was a fan who wore just that... and was on the jumbotron all the time because whenever he was shown, the entire place started howling. It was comical.
Oh, and I'd have to say that one of the other memorable things about the game was the national anthem. The anthem was sung by this really young girl who did an amazing job. I was quite impressed by how well she sang, as were the rest of the fans.
The only other notable thing from the game was that one of Karen's coworkers also attended the game. Karen told me to look for her coworker behind the Celtics bench. Needless to say, I looked... but couldn't see her. Oh well. At least I looked.
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