Summer, please don't end!

I want to boat and be a pirate for the rest of my life!!!


P.S. - Check our my pictures, I uploaded pics from Charlene & James Wedding and a few from the boat on Sunday! :o)

The Husband by Dean Koontz

A very good, fast-paced THRILLER!! Quite the page turner! The Husband is easy to read, has short chapters and doesn't drone on with details. The first two chapters will hook you right away! My first Dean Koontz book proved to be an excellent read! If anyone wants to switch up their reading with movie-like excitement, this is it!

PICKLES

Yes, it's that time of the year again! Mom and I (mostly mom though!) did a total of 42 quarts of pickles this year!! Nothing makes me feel more important than learning the recipe from my own mother's special secret! This year was a refresher course of after my first introduction last summer. I remembered some things but had forgotten most. To be able to carry on the tradition makes me feel a sense of pride for our family! Russell, Jason and myself always joke that I will have to can some for them and their families when we get older!

** Realization **

A rare few times in my life I have been able to step back and say “wow my life is pretty good right now. I’m healthy, I’m happy and everything seems to be in place.” The unfortunate thing is these times of realization come far and few between. So I love these happy feelings, they are like natural highs! I encourage us all to take these opportunities to reflect more often.

And boy was this feeling concreted this morning!! After a wonderful night spent with my mother, I had to wake up early to drive back to Buffalo and straight to work. Man I don't miss that morning hour commute!! It's nothing but racing traffic, swerving maniacs and busy clutter. Instead I get an extra hour sleep, and my commute consists of 5 minutes on a four lane road. My biggest worries for my AM commute are the parked cars in the right lane, WOOHOO!

Fair Day

Whelp I have officially been to the Erie County Fair! (LP - Let me tell you that you were definitely right about the bible thumpers!!) I didn't ride the rides, or the play any games, but did hit up the "As Seen on TV" tent, which was pretty sweet. Lots of little gadgets you want but don't need!

Majority of our time was spent in the beer tent either doing one of two things: 1) Watching a co-worker perform in an all girl group! She was amazing and the group itself reminded me Dreamgirls, with similar motions and moves. If you ever see The Diva Show playing, make sure you go!



And the other task, 2)Contributing to the annual fair beer tower! LOL


I am happy to say that those are all my cups! (JUST KIDDING!)

Shakespeare in the Park

Last night my friend Heather and I went to see Shakespeare in the Park. It’s a live play that runs almost every week night for about a month. The stage is completely 3D, almost like a house you are looking into!!




The play was called “The Wives of Windsor,” not only was it wonderful, but it was FUNNY!!! Heather and I brought a sheet to sit on, a bottle of wine (EVERYONE did, lol), and hummus with flat bread! The play started promptly at 7:30 and went all the way until 10:30 with only a short intermission!!! The beginning was a little hard to follow because of the old english dialect, which made it hard to catch the names of the characters in the beginning. But once we got out the program and started to listen, we got the hang of what was going on. Plus I read the synopsis online beforehand! LOL The basic plot is one gentleman trying to woo two wives with an identical love letter he sent to both. When the two girls figure out what’s going on, they plot to humiliate him in front of the whole town. Once those two ladies get together it really gets hysterical!!

It was nice because we were still able to chat with one another, and lounge on our blanket. It was packed though so we didn't have the best seats. I want to go back again to see it!!! It was so cool!! And FREE! And it didn't rain at all! WOOHOO!!!

The Buffalo Chophouse

Last night, as a thank you for all our hard work, “Team Tina” got to go to the Buffalo Chophouse for dinner… on the company! And boy did we go to town!

The evening started off with my first Valet Parking experience ever! It was complimentary and totally set the tone for the evening! I started with a glass of Riesling, which turned into my friend and I splitting a bottle (at my boss’ advice!)!! We did a few different appetizers to start, stuffed pepper and then a fabulous calamari dish! For my main dish I got Alaskan King Crab legs (already pre-cracked for me!) and a 10oz Filot Mignon Steak! It was so good I didn’t even need steak sauce!! Everything was al carte, so we got a few different side dishes, the steamed broccoli being my favorite! Dessert was the big finale with a two crème brulees and two strawberry shortcakes to split! Our bill was outrageous but so totally worth it! I rolled myself out of the restaurant, went home and laid in bed with the fan on me the rest of the night!

Not only was this place very upstanding, but the food was absolutely fantastic! Our meal was very casual and none of our dishes were rushed. In total we spent three hours wining and dining!!! It was definitely a decadent experience for me!! I'll probably never go back, at least not on my own dime! LOL

Rainbow

This picture in no way does justice to the real deal, but this sight was absolutely amazing! The rainbow was so bright and brillant, that I could actually see every color boldy shining!! Then if you look to the right, there is another smaller rainbow too!! I was completely amazed! Mother nature rocks!