Photo-A-Day #267 12/31/05
The last photo of the day for 2005 is Derek and his lightsaber. We are at Derek and Michelle's for the 3rd annual New Year's Eve party. More photos from the festivities tomorrow.
Drew's Photo-A-Day
Allison's Photos
The last photo of the day for 2005 is Derek and his lightsaber. We are at Derek and Michelle's for the 3rd annual New Year's Eve party. More photos from the festivities tomorrow.
Friday, December 30, 2005
Tonight we went to the Ellis Paul show at Club Passim. It is an annual event that we go to. Tara and Erik got us tickets (front row). It was q great time. More pictures and a better recap tomorrow
Thursday, December 29, 2005
Writers are told to write what they know. So I figure that the same is true for photographers, shoot what you know. Well, I know sandwiches and I know our cats. And every time I make sandwiches I get Oliver and or Duncan harassing me for something. I don't know why because I never give them anything except when I make tuna sandwiches, then they get the tuna juice. I would think that they could tell the difference between tuna and turkey and when they get a snack and when they don't. But that is probably asking too much.
Tonight Allison and I went with my cousin Carissa to the Route One Cinema Pub to see Walk The Line. Very good movie. I would like to see that again when it comes out on video.
Wednesday, December 28, 2005
This photo was taken in August. (I'm taking a one day break from a daily photo for a special and sad reason.)
A farewell to Daisy. Daisy was Tara and Erik's dog. Daisy is no longer with us. Daisy was a high spirited and energetic dog, she was tireless, she could be very sweet and fun, but she was also unpredictable and aggressive, as we would come to find out. Tara and Erik did everything possible to rehabilitate Daisy. More than could have been expected of any person. I'm not going to get into the details here but all avenues were explored, all roads taken and all options exhausted.
This week has been very tough for us all here, especially Tara and Erik. I can only imagine the difficulty and heartbreak that they are going through today. I'm tearing up just writing this. Dad is heartbroken too. He spent alot of time with the both dogs and had a special place in his heart for Daisy. Allison and I made our goodbyes last night and I said a final goodbye today when I got home. My eyes have been watering ever since.
Daisy will have many friends to play with in pet heaven, there are some new arrivals this year, including Moxie, Fraiser, and Lola. And some pet heaven veterans Kip, Sophie, Rikki, Patchy, and Dosh.
Hug your pet.
Tuesday, December 27, 2005
Today Allison and I took the day off, just another day was needed after the holiday to relax and decompress. So we hung out took care of the Christmas Cards and sending out the Wedding Announcements. So we hung around played with the cats and had Taylor in for a while. We watched Elf and it was actually fairly funny. There were come great parts and some typical Ferrell humor (Which I am not the biggest fan). But it was good overall. Tonight we went to Target and I picked up Smallville seasons 3 and 4 because they were on a half off sale. And apparently I can get a $30 rebate by mail because I bought all four seasons in the past year. It is a pretty sweet deal.
Allison is pictured holding Oliver. She is wearing her new Drive Back Roads shirt that I got her for Christmas. We are going to see Christopher on Friday with Tara at Club Passim.
Monday, December 26, 2005
It is official, Ken and Alicia are engaged. They came over to Marcia and Dan's this afternoon and hung out with us till 5:00pm. They referred to themselves as "Late Stayers" No problem guys, it was great to catch up with what you guys are up to and a huge congratulations goes out to the two of you.
Ken staged this photo because he wanted one that looked like a High School Prom Picture. Alicia, do you know what you are getting into. :-)
Sunday, December 25, 2005
Marcia has many beautiful decorations around the house at Christmas Time. Here are some stockings hung along the railing with care.
Saturday, December 24, 2005
We are at church for midnight mass. Here is our luminary that we made for the celebration. Merry Christmas!
Friday, December 23, 2005
Today was the annual 1/2 day before Christmas and Company Christmas party. Each year a literal boatload of shrimp is consumed. Right below the ice sculpture is the shrimp boat and behind it is the giant tree. It is a very festive mood here today. We had a tie swap and I got one ugly and one decent, but it has a stain so hopefully I can get it cleaned or something like that.
Thursday, December 22, 2005
Taylor meets Duncan, Duncan meets Taylor. I don't know who was more scared. Probably Taylor. Duncan just relazed and ignored Taylor after a little while. Taylor has been staying with my parents for the past week or so. And Taylor sits outside of the door that separates our apartment from the main house. She has come in the past few days. And the cats and Taylor are begining to get used to each other, kinda. Oliver growls at Taylor, it is this tiny little growl, its kinda cute.
A friend of mine from my childhood recently got in touch with me on myspace. Her name is Autumn. She used to live two houses down from me and we spent lots of time together as kids. She found me and put me back in touch with another of my childhood friends. Cool.
Autumn's sister Kim has a website for pet gifts and if you live in North Carolina she also runs singles events for single pet owners and DINKY Ps (Double Income No Kids with Pets) events. Check out her site at www.kimspets.com. And speaking of Pet Sites, my sister Tara still has her pet treat site at forpawstreats.com.
Wednesday, December 21, 2005
I was driving by Saint Mary's Church in Downtown North Attleboro tonight and I liked how the sky looked. I tried a few different shots with different settings and this one is the truest to how the sky looked.
Tuesday, December 20, 2005
Probably the earliest photo-a-day taken by me. This is the concession stand at the North Attleboro Showcase Cinemas. Taken at 12:05am this morning. Allison and I went with Uncle Jim to see King Kong at 9:00 (3 hour movie plus take Jim home after = longer night or rather short night if you look at it from a sleep perspective.)
Kong was visually a stunning movie. Peter Jackson is amazing at the grand set designs and incredible scenery. The cast was great and Naomi Watts was fantastic. The detail on Kong was also incredible.
There were many things that were far fetched (not that a 25 foot gorrilla is believeable by any stretch) but the movie ovrall was very entertaining and suspenseful and scary at times too.
(Photo taken with Treo 650 cameraphone, for the heck of it.)
Monday, December 19, 2005
Notice the painted glass window cow. My Dad raised cows when he was a boy. He even built his own barn when he was a teen and built it so well that it still stands today. My mother-in-law Marcia gave the painted window to my Dad. He has many assorted cow related stuff throughout the house. This is being displayed on the side of the house. Also pictured are the candle lights for Fire and Police. That's a big thing around our town, you will notice alot of white lights around and then a single red (fire) or a single blue (police) or both.
Sunday, December 18, 2005
This is my cousin Matt's son Keith (so, is he my cousin or second cousin?). He is so much fun. Such a happy little kid who is so energetic and talented. Of course his Mom and Dad are both very talented too. Keith and I played with his Rescue Hero's mini set, the Avalanche playset. Opening all of those twist ties is good practice for our future children and the toys that they will get later. When Keith wasn't playing the drums he was playing this flute and he was on target with the Christmas carols we were singing.
The annual family Christmas party was a great time. Lots of pictures, gotta do some cropping and I'll be posting them up too.
Saturday, December 17, 2005
Back in Christmas 1985 when I was 10 years old I made these poems and mini calendars for my family. When Great Uncle Richard passed away back in July my Mom found that gift. Great Uncle Richard had kept it, even though it was a silly poem and a tiny calendar on an index card. Here is the poem (spelling errors not fixed for posterity)
Christmas iis lots of fun
Happy gifts for everyone
Relatives gifts are open
I am just hopin
Saint Nick comes on every eve
Try to get a picture before he leaves
Moist and soft snow
All of us know
Special
I had read this a couple of times before I posted it, it wasn't until now that I realized that it was a poem that spelled out christmas.
1985 was my favorite Christmas, Nintendo and Transformers were plentiful in my house and I loved every minute. I am blessed with such generous family members.
Friday, December 16, 2005
Before the photos all become Christmas ones I will sneak another of the cats in. Oliver was resting and I disturbed him when I came home. I realized today that I pass no less than 5 liquor stores on my way home. And that is just the 5 miles stretch from the highway to the turn to our street. I picked up some wine for Allison on the way home. I got her the good stuff, 2 for $12.99. It is called Fish eye Pinot Grigio. I also noticed and have noticed for a while that people no longer respect the no passing on the right law. I make sure never to pass on the right going through a town especially my town and Plainville, the next town over for two reasons.
Thursday, December 15, 2005
Wednesday, December 14, 2005
Optimus Prime contemplating the LG VX9800. I was inspired to set up this shot because of this ad for a Nokia Phone. It also reflects my current mood of deciding whether I want to keep this phone or get the Treo 650. So I've been standing around scratching my head trying to see what I make of the phone in this time of testing.
Does anyone have the LG VX9800 or the Treo 650 and what are your thoughts.
Tuesday, December 13, 2005
New phone. Guys night. 'Nuff said.
Okay maybe there is more to say. Today I got a new phone. It has a camera built into it. Scary thought that I can now take pictures with my phone and post them too the web. Very scary indeed. I got the LG VX9800 VCAST phone. I have a free month of VCAST service and have been playing around with it a little bit. Tonight I took this shot of the guys at the Funway Cafe. We have Peter, Derek and Neil. (Derek is making the BK face, basically that freaky look from the Burger King in the BK commercials. He loves that guy.) We had a great time at Guys night, ate some buffalo wings, had a few beers, told some stories and played some ice hockey. Good times, good friends.
Updated 12/14/05 - Okay so I am getting the hang of this thing. For instance the image is too big for my settings for this blog so I had to edit the size of the image. Also it is really not sharp at all. I know it is a cameraphone and all but it is 1.3mp and I have an old Kodak camera from 1997 that has to be at least 1.3 megapixels and it takes good images. I'll have to experiment more. Still not totally sold on this phone. May end up getting the Treo 650 even though it has the Palm OS. Anybody have either of these phones and want to weigh in on the pros and cons?
Monday, December 12, 2005
When in doubt of a photo-a-day subject look to the cats. Here is Duncan being curious. Sorry to be boring today. I have a week full f internet demos so my creativity is a bit cramped at the moment, worried about doing a good job and all.
Sunday, December 11, 2005
Tonight Allison and I trimmed the Christmas tree with my parents and Tara and Erik. We used the ornaments that Grandma Theresa made. So we have a very simply decorated tree downstairs. It is a very nice tree and the first one in years that we could actually get all the way around.
Saturday, December 10, 2005
This afternoon Allison and I went to see the Chronicles of Narnia at the Bellingham Movie Theater. We met up with Neil and Andrea for a 4:10pm show. At the theater there was alot of activities for the kids. People were dressed up, there were swordfight shows and a picture taking area. They were even giving out great Narnia Posters. I didn't get any photos at the begining of the show. So I got this ont he way out. I had to lighten up the poster.
What a fantastic movie. The story is awesome and the visual effects and the actors were incredible. You could really tell that they enjoyed makking the movie. It was fantastic.
Friday, December 09, 2005
So the Northeast got some snow today. I got sent home early from work too. Pretty sweet. I actually got the nod prior to the overhead announcement. So, when I was waiting for the elevator to come to my floor, the overhead annoucement came on to let everyone know that a Snow Emergency was declared from and supervisors could let their people go home. So here I am standing at the elevator and this announcement comes on and I am all ready to leave. Steve sees me and says, You wasted no time getting out of here didn't you. My timing is just priceless sometimes.
Thursday, December 08, 2005
A T-Rex runs amuck in the Pittsburgh Airport. I saw this last night around 11:45pm (I wasn't staying around till midnight to take the picture for today's Photo-A-Day. I knew I'd be back today to get the shot.) It is a pretty fantastic thing to see.
What wasn't fantastic was the oblivious dolt in front of me in the security line. So Captain oblivious takes a grey bucket to put his laptop in, moves ahead enough for me to take another grey bucket for my laptop. I go to get my laptop from my backpack and C.O. takes the grey bucket I picked up for my laptop and puts his laptop bag inside it. First of all, bags don't go in grey buckets, they are for laptops and electronic devices, get a helmet. Second of all, What! Do you think I am your personal assistant or something, I mean I could be someone's personal assistant, details and organization are my thing but not yours buddy. I got that bucket for me, not you, What a jerk. I hope he felt the heat of my disapproving stare. Confrontation is not my thing.
What is cool though is that Pittsburgh Airport has free Internet Access, sweet.
Wednesday, December 07, 2005
Looks like I got a chance to get online at the Binghamton Airport and upload a second Photo-A-Day for today. I mean this morning was just lame, nothing of real value.
The glamorous life on the road. Got in last night at 8:00pm (after not being able to find the hotel). Have to check out and drive an hour to site in about 30 minutes. Then will be at site till 4:30 pm, have to drive 1 1/2 hours back to the airport for a 7:20pm flight from Binghamton to Philly, then from Philly to Pittsburgh, getting in at 11:46pm and then hitting the hotel to sleep and wake up for another demo early in the morning. Needless to say this is my only opportunity for Photo-A-Day today. Maybe tomorrow will be a better one.
Tuesday, December 06, 2005
Duncan is very easy to entertain, just give him some shadows to chase and he is all set. I love our cats, they are so much fun. Skitish and crazy, but fun none-the-less.
Monday, December 05, 2005
Tonight Allison and I went with Rondi and Andy to see Christopher Williams play at the Lyon's Den in Norton at Wheaton College. As always an entertaining evening. It felt like a private show because of the small space and the smaller number of patrons. The Lyon's Den is a coffee shop on the campus of Wheaton College where I am guessing student activities money was used to get Christopher there. Hey, if the college kids aren't gonna take advantage of a great evening of music then the spoils go to us. We are more than happy to hang with CW and his lovely wife (whom we met for the first time tonight and was very nice) and chat about Photo-A-Day, the honeymoon, the wedding. They have the same anniversary but got married last year.
So, we talked about the honeymoon and the wedding and CW told the students about Photo-A-Day because I was taking pictures for tonight's Photo-A-Day. I was messing around with the lighting settings and filters on the camera to get this shot. Yes I could have photoshopped it but where is the fun in that. Gotta know your equipment man. Besides I find flash photography during a show distracting, but then so is Egyptian Ratscrew. But it was fun so no biggie. I tried to keep the flash to the minimum and besides my flash is way to weak to be effective, so I gotta work with the lighting settings to draw out the most light I can.
We are looking forward to seeing Christopher again. Oh and we picked up his new Christmas CD. He played three songs from the album and they were awesome. Check out his website to hear some of his songs.
Sunday, December 04, 2005
Today I helped my Dad put up the Christmas tree in downstairs. It is smaller than past years. We have had 11 foot trees in the past but this one is about 8 feet tall or so. We had some snow here today. Just enough to make it look nice but not too much to make it crazy.
Saturday, December 03, 2005
Today Allison and I went to her Aunt and Uncle's house. This was the sign in the bathroom. Classic. Ken, since you never read this you will not enjoy it but this is one that you would have really liked.
The Christmas party was alot of fun with food, games and desserts going around. Thanks for the great time.
Friday, December 02, 2005
My company has begun decorating for Christmas. This year they have added a tree to the outside of the building. It sits upon the water fountain. The lights were going on it when I arrived at work this morning. They were complete when I left. I wonder if more decorations will be going up.
Today was the first day back in the office since I left the thursday before the wedding. Weird going back to work, but familiar and easy to jump back into things including the 5:30am wake ups. But with the Eragon books on CD the ride into work was a snap.
Thursday, December 01, 2005
The collective IQ of a group of passengers on an airplane is so incredibly low. What turns air travelers into bumbling idiots. I know that if I cannot speak the native language of the place where my flight is originating from I can still find my way to my seat. Why? Because… I have a pittance of common sense. When you get tickets to an airplane flight, that ticket has a seat number. Now If I cannot read the numbers and letters of that country in which I am flying I am still not out of luck. I can look at my ticket…. And see my seat number…. And then look at the aisles…. And the little pictures and numbers and letters of the aisle and make sure that they MATCH!!!!
Now I am sitting in Chicago O’Hare. My flight to Providence has been delayed for an hour. If also showed that the gate had changed and now the gate shows gate 0. There is no gate 0, I know this, Chicago O’Hare has practically become a distant second home over the past 4 years. So I wait at the gate where the flight is supposed to be until I see that the gate has changed to an actual gate, I go to that gate and wait, up near the ticket counter. Why, because stupid people amuse me. A line forms and person after person asks if this is the gate for Providence. Granted that the monitors behind the counter have nothing on them that indicates providence (The lack of information at ticket counters is ridiculous) but the guy in front of you asked the SAME question. Open your ears and shut your mouth.
So I took this picture of this poor woman who has to answer each of these questions with a smile. The amount of patience one must have to work at an airport is staggering. We did have a welcome distraction as one of the workers of the airport took the microphone and sang a Christmas Carol for the passengers awaiting their delayed flight. I got some of him on video. I'll post it tomorrow. Now it is off to bed.
Saturday, December 31, 2005
The last photo of the day for 2005 is Derek and his lightsaber. We are at Derek and Michelle's for the 3rd annual New Year's Eve party. More photos from the festivities tomorrow.
Fun With Dick And Jane
Today Allison and I went with Jen to see Fun With Dick And Jane. It was really good overall. And at the end the movie is dedicated to some very special people. that was hilarious. Just a good entertaining movie. One to rent when it comes out on DVD or one to see at a matinee.
Our Night at Passim....
Last night Allison and I along with Tara and Chris went to see Ellis Paul, Don Conoscenti, Christopher Williams and Special guest Vance Gilbert at the Annual New Year's Eve shows at Club Passim. Tara got her usual spot which is front row table, she has had that table for 5 years. We have been lucky enough to get to go for 3 or 4 of those years. We determined on the way in that Tara has been following Ellis Paul's music for 14 years now. Since she was in High School. Tara introduced me to Ellis' music in 1994 at a small show in Woods Hole at a chapel overlooking a harbor. I don't think I can remember how many times I have seen Ellis in the past 12 years. But I do know that each show has been great. Allison was introduced to Ellis when we began dating. So she has been a fan for 5 years at least. We were also very excited to see that Christopher Williams would be playing with Ellis and so would Don Conoscenti. When the three guys get together it is an energized and funny evening of great music. We also got the added treat of Vance Gilbert popping in to lend his voice (and some lyrics) to a couple of songs.
The guys even made it into the crowd for a couple of songs. They were thrown scarves and hats and stuff from the people in the audience. It all started with a rather flamboyent woman seated near us. Do they sit anywhere else, nope, they do not. This lady had this flashy shawl on and when Ellis saw it said something like, I feel underdressed and she immediately took it off so he could wear it. And from there other people gave things to Christopher and Don. I got pictures.
I took a few pictures of the show and have uploaded them to buzznet. Here is a thumbnail of one of the images. Just click to go to the buzznet gallery.
The whole evening was awesome. I did not keep a running list of the songs that were played like the concert back on October 1, 2005 at Tupelo's. I had no writing material and typing on my treo all evening would have been very distracting. So I enjoyed the show and just let being there be just what I needed. Ellis did play my favorite song which is 3000 Miles and I am also partial to Martyr's Lounge. And Alice's Champagne Palace was also played and he even played the Christmas song with the up side down armadillo in it. You can get it at Itunes.
After the show we caught up with Erik and went to John Harvard's. And one of these times someone is gonna let me pick up the check.
The guys even made it into the crowd for a couple of songs. They were thrown scarves and hats and stuff from the people in the audience. It all started with a rather flamboyent woman seated near us. Do they sit anywhere else, nope, they do not. This lady had this flashy shawl on and when Ellis saw it said something like, I feel underdressed and she immediately took it off so he could wear it. And from there other people gave things to Christopher and Don. I got pictures.
I took a few pictures of the show and have uploaded them to buzznet. Here is a thumbnail of one of the images. Just click to go to the buzznet gallery.
The whole evening was awesome. I did not keep a running list of the songs that were played like the concert back on October 1, 2005 at Tupelo's. I had no writing material and typing on my treo all evening would have been very distracting. So I enjoyed the show and just let being there be just what I needed. Ellis did play my favorite song which is 3000 Miles and I am also partial to Martyr's Lounge. And Alice's Champagne Palace was also played and he even played the Christmas song with the up side down armadillo in it. You can get it at Itunes.
After the show we caught up with Erik and went to John Harvard's. And one of these times someone is gonna let me pick up the check.
Photo-A-Day #266 12/30/05
Tonight we went to the Ellis Paul show at Club Passim. It is an annual event that we go to. Tara and Erik got us tickets (front row). It was q great time. More pictures and a better recap tomorrow
:::: ERAGON 2006 ::::
Just found out about this movie. :::: ERAGON 2006 :::: Supposedly this will be in December 2006. I know it is a year away but I am very excited. When I listed to Eragon on CD it was awesome and now I have Eldest on CD (Thanks to my wonderful wife) and can't wait to see how the Trilogy progresses.
Why are there no more Light Brown M&Ms?
This started as a comment on Mo's Blog but got out of control on me so I made it a full fledged post.
Today on Mo's blog "We're In a Fight" she posed many questions. And one of the questions was "Why are there still brown M&M's?" I however ask the question, "Why isn't the Brown M&M represented as a Character like the other M&M's?"
You know Brown is gonna be a black M&M. It is obvious but it my not be seen as something that can be pulled off in a "politically correct" way. Black people eat M&M's too, why aren't the represented. Brown does not have to be a stereotypical gangsta M&M like most folks can probably picture. Brown could be a a sexy female M&M like Green and thus give the Male M&M's another Character to drool over.
Yes I said that Green was sexy, I know she is candy, but she was made for her sex appeal especially because of her ties to "the bases" from that commercial back in the day when that kid was talking about hitting baseballs and what each M&M helped him accomplish. Don't remember it? Then you are either too old, too young or too out of touch. Here is a site that recaps that 'Magnificent' commercial, and you can download a very crappy version of the commercial too.
Right now the M&M Pantheon is just like the Smurfs, just one girl to go around all those guys. I say bring on the chocolate candy shelled Nubian goddess.
Okay, back on topic. Let's say that they make the Brown M&M a sexy girl M&M voiced by someone like say... Queen Latifa. She could be Green's friend. She could also be a strong, sophisticated woman. Sure the ad execs may be tempted to make her from the 'hood. For example She'd be all like "Green please, we all chocolate on the inside, why you hiding your chocolateness in that green candy shell. I'm what you see is what you get inside and out. Damn shame about my Mocha Brotha. He doesn't get any more bag time." (Yes, that was a shout out to the Light Brown M&M that disappeared without a trace). But Brown doesn't have to be like that she could be strong and sophisticated. Brown could also have the distinction of being the Almond M&M, more sophistication than the Peanut M&M and then bring Light Brown back to represent Peanut Butter. Thus completing the M&M flavor Pantheon.
Don't even get me started about Mint, although Green could technically be a Mint M&M, her inside has not been determined. But wait, what type is Blue? Is he Peanut also? He's big and lumpy like Yellow. Clearly Red is Milk Chocolate and Yellow is Peanut and Orange is Crispy. Green is assumed to be Milk Chocolate but could be Mint. Blue is assumed to be Peanut but could be Almond. And the Brown M&M is not represented among the full sized M&M's however Brown has at least 3 character names in the M&M minis. I say unfair. Who cares about the minis?
I just checked the M&M website to see about Characters and I found the Character page. Again nothing definitive about the insides of Green, and Blue.
In my quest to find out what happened to the Light Brown M&M I came across this site. The Book Online M and M's Through History
Mo you are an inspiration of silly quests for answers to life's most sought after questions.
Today on Mo's blog "We're In a Fight" she posed many questions. And one of the questions was "Why are there still brown M&M's?" I however ask the question, "Why isn't the Brown M&M represented as a Character like the other M&M's?"
You know Brown is gonna be a black M&M. It is obvious but it my not be seen as something that can be pulled off in a "politically correct" way. Black people eat M&M's too, why aren't the represented. Brown does not have to be a stereotypical gangsta M&M like most folks can probably picture. Brown could be a a sexy female M&M like Green and thus give the Male M&M's another Character to drool over.
Yes I said that Green was sexy, I know she is candy, but she was made for her sex appeal especially because of her ties to "the bases" from that commercial back in the day when that kid was talking about hitting baseballs and what each M&M helped him accomplish. Don't remember it? Then you are either too old, too young or too out of touch. Here is a site that recaps that 'Magnificent' commercial, and you can download a very crappy version of the commercial too.
Right now the M&M Pantheon is just like the Smurfs, just one girl to go around all those guys. I say bring on the chocolate candy shelled Nubian goddess.
Okay, back on topic. Let's say that they make the Brown M&M a sexy girl M&M voiced by someone like say... Queen Latifa. She could be Green's friend. She could also be a strong, sophisticated woman. Sure the ad execs may be tempted to make her from the 'hood. For example She'd be all like "Green please, we all chocolate on the inside, why you hiding your chocolateness in that green candy shell. I'm what you see is what you get inside and out. Damn shame about my Mocha Brotha. He doesn't get any more bag time." (Yes, that was a shout out to the Light Brown M&M that disappeared without a trace). But Brown doesn't have to be like that she could be strong and sophisticated. Brown could also have the distinction of being the Almond M&M, more sophistication than the Peanut M&M and then bring Light Brown back to represent Peanut Butter. Thus completing the M&M flavor Pantheon.
Don't even get me started about Mint, although Green could technically be a Mint M&M, her inside has not been determined. But wait, what type is Blue? Is he Peanut also? He's big and lumpy like Yellow. Clearly Red is Milk Chocolate and Yellow is Peanut and Orange is Crispy. Green is assumed to be Milk Chocolate but could be Mint. Blue is assumed to be Peanut but could be Almond. And the Brown M&M is not represented among the full sized M&M's however Brown has at least 3 character names in the M&M minis. I say unfair. Who cares about the minis?
I just checked the M&M website to see about Characters and I found the Character page. Again nothing definitive about the insides of Green, and Blue.
In my quest to find out what happened to the Light Brown M&M I came across this site. The Book Online M and M's Through History
Mo you are an inspiration of silly quests for answers to life's most sought after questions.
Photo-A-Day #265 12/29/05
Writers are told to write what they know. So I figure that the same is true for photographers, shoot what you know. Well, I know sandwiches and I know our cats. And every time I make sandwiches I get Oliver and or Duncan harassing me for something. I don't know why because I never give them anything except when I make tuna sandwiches, then they get the tuna juice. I would think that they could tell the difference between tuna and turkey and when they get a snack and when they don't. But that is probably asking too much.
Tonight Allison and I went with my cousin Carissa to the Route One Cinema Pub to see Walk The Line. Very good movie. I would like to see that again when it comes out on video.
Seaquest DSV....
Does anyone remember this show from 1993? When it began it was closely tied with Dr. Robert Ballard, the man who lead the expidition to discover the Titanic in 1985. I remember watching the first episodes and being fascinated. Steven Spielberg was one of the executive producers. Roy Scheider of Jaws fame was Captian Nathan Bridger, a great captain. Jonathan Brandis was Lucas, a boy genius.
I loved that show and today I was flipping channels and found it playing on the Sci-Fi Channel. You see the show started more with science and the ocean, but starting with the second season the science fiction began to surpass the science and season three was just science fiction with a 10 year jump to the future for everyone but the seaquest crew. It was a great show and it is too bad it was cancelled. But three days ago the Seaquest DVD set for season one came out. Can't wait to get myself a copy.
I just saw that Sci-Fi has had Seaquest playing from 8-5 every single day this week. Man I hate it when I miss out on something like this. The VCR would have been smoking all week. But apparently they only played 50 out of the 59 episodes.
I loved that show and today I was flipping channels and found it playing on the Sci-Fi Channel. You see the show started more with science and the ocean, but starting with the second season the science fiction began to surpass the science and season three was just science fiction with a 10 year jump to the future for everyone but the seaquest crew. It was a great show and it is too bad it was cancelled. But three days ago the Seaquest DVD set for season one came out. Can't wait to get myself a copy.
I just saw that Sci-Fi has had Seaquest playing from 8-5 every single day this week. Man I hate it when I miss out on something like this. The VCR would have been smoking all week. But apparently they only played 50 out of the 59 episodes.
Photo-A-Day #264 12/28/05
This photo was taken in August. (I'm taking a one day break from a daily photo for a special and sad reason.)
A farewell to Daisy. Daisy was Tara and Erik's dog. Daisy is no longer with us. Daisy was a high spirited and energetic dog, she was tireless, she could be very sweet and fun, but she was also unpredictable and aggressive, as we would come to find out. Tara and Erik did everything possible to rehabilitate Daisy. More than could have been expected of any person. I'm not going to get into the details here but all avenues were explored, all roads taken and all options exhausted.
This week has been very tough for us all here, especially Tara and Erik. I can only imagine the difficulty and heartbreak that they are going through today. I'm tearing up just writing this. Dad is heartbroken too. He spent alot of time with the both dogs and had a special place in his heart for Daisy. Allison and I made our goodbyes last night and I said a final goodbye today when I got home. My eyes have been watering ever since.
Daisy will have many friends to play with in pet heaven, there are some new arrivals this year, including Moxie, Fraiser, and Lola. And some pet heaven veterans Kip, Sophie, Rikki, Patchy, and Dosh.
Hug your pet.
Photo-A-Day #263 12/27/05
Today Allison and I took the day off, just another day was needed after the holiday to relax and decompress. So we hung out took care of the Christmas Cards and sending out the Wedding Announcements. So we hung around played with the cats and had Taylor in for a while. We watched Elf and it was actually fairly funny. There were come great parts and some typical Ferrell humor (Which I am not the biggest fan). But it was good overall. Tonight we went to Target and I picked up Smallville seasons 3 and 4 because they were on a half off sale. And apparently I can get a $30 rebate by mail because I bought all four seasons in the past year. It is a pretty sweet deal.
Allison is pictured holding Oliver. She is wearing her new Drive Back Roads shirt that I got her for Christmas. We are going to see Christopher on Friday with Tara at Club Passim.
CBS COMEDY BOWL
If you have yet to see a full episode of 2 1/2 Men or How I met your mother, now is your chance. CBS COMEDY BOWL is airing 2 episodes of each of these comedies streaming online through Yahoo complete without comercials. Some pretty funny shows here. You might want to check them out.
BTW - This is the 1000th post of the BenSpark. Not epic by any means but here we are at 1000 posts.
BTW - This is the 1000th post of the BenSpark. Not epic by any means but here we are at 1000 posts.
Photo-A-Day #262 12/26/05
It is official, Ken and Alicia are engaged. They came over to Marcia and Dan's this afternoon and hung out with us till 5:00pm. They referred to themselves as "Late Stayers" No problem guys, it was great to catch up with what you guys are up to and a huge congratulations goes out to the two of you.
Ken staged this photo because he wanted one that looked like a High School Prom Picture. Alicia, do you know what you are getting into. :-)
Bickford's Breakfast...
We met up with Jeff and Jenna for breakfast at Bickfords. They got the Baby Apple and I got some crepes. I love crepes. Allison got a southwestern omlet.
Apple Pie...
Allison makes fantastic Apple Pie. This one has homemade crust with Eva's recipe and three kinds of apples that Allison put in it. Macs, Cortlands and Granny Smiths. Delicious
Transformers Bag...
Okay so there were no actual transformers gifts this year but getting my gifts in this bag was pretty awesome.
Baby Fix...
Allison got her baby fix on Christmas Day, Lindsay's niece Ashley. Marcia told us what she wants next year for Christmas. Subtle.
Marcia's Tree
This is Marcia's tree. It is covered with some fantastic ornaments. Even the cub scout one of Nate.
Annual Photo by the tree.
We didn't do one on Christmas Eve so we got one taken on Christmas Day. Isn't Allison's Hair awesome?
Christmas Recap
Merry Christmas. I'm writing this blog post with the Treo while we are on our ride up to New Hampshire. Christmas 2005 has been very good to us. We are married. We have a great family. We have wonderful friends. Can't complain at all.
Last night we gave Shelby a digital camera and photo printer. A sweet little setup because she doesn't need a computer to print her pictures.
We gave my dad a Harley Davidson ornament, a Harley Santa hat, a Sturgis long sleeve T-shirt and a children's book "Why Grandpa Rides A Harley", and a DVD copy of Bullit. I'm looking forward to watching that one.
We gave Tara a book called Trail of Thread that goes with a pattern for a quilt that is described in the book. I got that in Kansas at the Bison Farm. We also gave Tara & Erik a gift card for Target. Erik was given Dodgeball the unrated edition and a black golfball from Three Rivers Whitewater.
We gave Mom the Christopher Williams Unbroken Song Christmas CD. And when I was in Kansas I picked up the Frank Baum 70th anniversary edition Wizard of Oz for her too.
We got Dan the Live at Fenway CD/DVD set from Jimmy Buffett. For Marcia we got her some gloves. Nate and Sarah got some towels and some shirts for Nate and a scarf and gloves for Sarah.
For both sets of parents we made a certificate for a wedding album (to be created later through Kodak Gallery).
And we were very fortunate in the gifts that we received.
We had Christmas dinner with Dan & Marcia and T.R. & her mom Allison. Lindsay and her sister Sara and her baby came over for a visit. Allison got her baby fix and Marcia figured what she wants for Christmas next year.
24 hours of a Christmas Story is on. I've been trying to watch it all the way through but I keep missing certain parts. Now the major award is being delivered. I love the voiceover by Jean Shepard. This is such a classic movie. The tongue on the flagpole, the weird kid in the department store, the duck is 'smiling' at me. Fa, Ra, Ra, Ra, Ra, Ra, Ra, Ra, Ra, "Ohhhh... Fuuuuudddddge! Only I didn't say Fudge".
so, I wrote this on the Treo over the past day and then tried to send it to the blog, only to find out I had well exceeded the limits of a post via e-mail with the Treo. So I beamed the memo to Dan's Palm device, hot synched it with his pc and then cut and paste it into a blog post. If there is a technical work around out there I tend to find it. Merry Christmas.
Last night we gave Shelby a digital camera and photo printer. A sweet little setup because she doesn't need a computer to print her pictures.
We gave my dad a Harley Davidson ornament, a Harley Santa hat, a Sturgis long sleeve T-shirt and a children's book "Why Grandpa Rides A Harley", and a DVD copy of Bullit. I'm looking forward to watching that one.
We gave Tara a book called Trail of Thread that goes with a pattern for a quilt that is described in the book. I got that in Kansas at the Bison Farm. We also gave Tara & Erik a gift card for Target. Erik was given Dodgeball the unrated edition and a black golfball from Three Rivers Whitewater.
We gave Mom the Christopher Williams Unbroken Song Christmas CD. And when I was in Kansas I picked up the Frank Baum 70th anniversary edition Wizard of Oz for her too.
We got Dan the Live at Fenway CD/DVD set from Jimmy Buffett. For Marcia we got her some gloves. Nate and Sarah got some towels and some shirts for Nate and a scarf and gloves for Sarah.
For both sets of parents we made a certificate for a wedding album (to be created later through Kodak Gallery).
And we were very fortunate in the gifts that we received.
We had Christmas dinner with Dan & Marcia and T.R. & her mom Allison. Lindsay and her sister Sara and her baby came over for a visit. Allison got her baby fix and Marcia figured what she wants for Christmas next year.
24 hours of a Christmas Story is on. I've been trying to watch it all the way through but I keep missing certain parts. Now the major award is being delivered. I love the voiceover by Jean Shepard. This is such a classic movie. The tongue on the flagpole, the weird kid in the department store, the duck is 'smiling' at me. Fa, Ra, Ra, Ra, Ra, Ra, Ra, Ra, Ra, "Ohhhh... Fuuuuudddddge! Only I didn't say Fudge".
so, I wrote this on the Treo over the past day and then tried to send it to the blog, only to find out I had well exceeded the limits of a post via e-mail with the Treo. So I beamed the memo to Dan's Palm device, hot synched it with his pc and then cut and paste it into a blog post. If there is a technical work around out there I tend to find it. Merry Christmas.
Photo-A-Day #261 12/25/05
Marcia has many beautiful decorations around the house at Christmas Time. Here are some stockings hung along the railing with care.
Chocolate Cake for Christmas 2005
There was so much chocolate on this cake that I had to play around with Photoshop to show the distinction. The original picture looks like a black hubcap. That was an awesomely delicious cake.
New Photo Printer.
Shelby opens her second gift from Tara, Erik, Allison and I. This is an HP photosmart printer that takes all memory cards and usb connections and is even useable with BlueTooth. This is to go with her new digital camera.
Waiting for Santa...
Or for a dropped crumb, whichever comes first. Taylor the Christmas Dog. Isn't she beautiful. And very well behaved was well.
Christmas Reading.
Dad has his Harley Santa hat and the book. "Why Grandpa Rides a Harley" No, there are no other announcements.
Mom's new mug and coaster set.
Shelby got Mom the perfect gift, a warming coaster for her tea. No more running to the microwave to heat it back up.
Photo-A-Day #260 12/24/05
We are at church for midnight mass. Here is our luminary that we made for the celebration. Merry Christmas!
Happy Christmas Eve 2005
Allison and I are preparing any last minute items for the Christmas Holiday. We just watched...
It is a holiday tradition for me to watch this movie. I just love the subtle humor that you find in this movie, whether it be dialogue or a visual thing, there is so much in the movie that you may miss without the benefit of multiple viewings.
To me, this is the ultimate Christmas movie. Despite being so over the top at times it really does capture the craziness of the Holiday season. I am sure that Mo will add this as one of her Christmas Movies-A-Day once her back stops hurting. So, I won't give my review of it. I did however want to share that this is a must see movie. My absolute favorite part is when Clark and Eddie are shopping. Eddie keeps tossing dog food on the cart and Clark puts on one box of light bulbs and Eddie drops a 50lb bag right on top of it and neither says anything. It is that subtlety that cracks me up. Clearly Chevy Chase was on top of his game in this movie. If only Vegas Vacation was this good. Although Ethan embry makes the movie as Mr. Nick Papagorgio.
It is a holiday tradition for me to watch this movie. I just love the subtle humor that you find in this movie, whether it be dialogue or a visual thing, there is so much in the movie that you may miss without the benefit of multiple viewings.
To me, this is the ultimate Christmas movie. Despite being so over the top at times it really does capture the craziness of the Holiday season. I am sure that Mo will add this as one of her Christmas Movies-A-Day once her back stops hurting. So, I won't give my review of it. I did however want to share that this is a must see movie. My absolute favorite part is when Clark and Eddie are shopping. Eddie keeps tossing dog food on the cart and Clark puts on one box of light bulbs and Eddie drops a 50lb bag right on top of it and neither says anything. It is that subtlety that cracks me up. Clearly Chevy Chase was on top of his game in this movie. If only Vegas Vacation was this good. Although Ethan embry makes the movie as Mr. Nick Papagorgio.
Quick run to the store...
Last night Allison and I took a quick run to the store to get dinner. I don't know what it is about the holiday's but this whole week we have not had a thing in the house and have either gone out to dinner or picked up something and brought it home. So, last night we decided to go to the store to pick up something to cook for dinner. And we were going to pick up something to make for tonight's dessert for Christmas Eve with my parents and Tara, Erik and Shelby. We decided on Chocolate cake and we had all the ingredients for it at the house, a fact we realized again while we were at the store. So we picked up two stuffies. Stuffies are stuffed clams or quahogs for those outside of New England. Then we hit Benny's to clear out the rest of their stock of 4X6 frames. (The best prices around for 4X6 frames, under $2 each, sweet!) What with all the pictures we've been printing lately it is a good thing. Have a wedding you'll have great pictures to give all your friends and family for a while.
After that we went by my Aunt Corrine's to drop off a gift for Madison and Haley. A scrapbooking set of 880 pieces. They are big Disney fans and take many pictures while they are there so scrapbooking was just a logical step. A gift they could share together. Corrine invited us to stay for dinner so instead of the stuffies we had Chinese food from Quan's with Jeff, Corrine, Madison Haley, Murph, Connie and Aunt Millie. Then we played guess the movie with Uncle Murph. He had his ibook and found a wav file site and as he played clips Jeff, Allison and I guessed the movie. I was given a handicap of having to wait 10 seconds before answering. I think I scared Allison because I heard a gun being cocked and guessed Ghostbusters before any dialogue was said. Yeah, I like movies that much. It is scary.
After dinner we played Farkle. Farkle is a game with dice. It is a fun game that our family plays when they get together, All you need is 6 dice and the rules and a piece of paper to keep score. I looked for Farkle official rules and here is what I came up with. There are many different rule sets.
Farkle is also called Zonk, Zilch, 5000, 10000, Wimpout!, and Hot Dice.
Farkle - Family Dice Game for Sale.
The Game of Farkle - Written in Olde English
Rules for the San Diego Surfing Academy
I have yet to find the rules for the game that we play by. When I do I will post them. I also found that I can get the game for the Treo. Yeah I may be getting that. Gotta practice. Madison and Haley are tough competitors.
After that we went by my Aunt Corrine's to drop off a gift for Madison and Haley. A scrapbooking set of 880 pieces. They are big Disney fans and take many pictures while they are there so scrapbooking was just a logical step. A gift they could share together. Corrine invited us to stay for dinner so instead of the stuffies we had Chinese food from Quan's with Jeff, Corrine, Madison Haley, Murph, Connie and Aunt Millie. Then we played guess the movie with Uncle Murph. He had his ibook and found a wav file site and as he played clips Jeff, Allison and I guessed the movie. I was given a handicap of having to wait 10 seconds before answering. I think I scared Allison because I heard a gun being cocked and guessed Ghostbusters before any dialogue was said. Yeah, I like movies that much. It is scary.
After dinner we played Farkle. Farkle is a game with dice. It is a fun game that our family plays when they get together, All you need is 6 dice and the rules and a piece of paper to keep score. I looked for Farkle official rules and here is what I came up with. There are many different rule sets.
Farkle is also called Zonk, Zilch, 5000, 10000, Wimpout!, and Hot Dice.
Farkle - Family Dice Game for Sale.
The Game of Farkle - Written in Olde English
Rules for the San Diego Surfing Academy
I have yet to find the rules for the game that we play by. When I do I will post them. I also found that I can get the game for the Treo. Yeah I may be getting that. Gotta practice. Madison and Haley are tough competitors.
Photo-A-Day #259 12/23/05
Today was the annual 1/2 day before Christmas and Company Christmas party. Each year a literal boatload of shrimp is consumed. Right below the ice sculpture is the shrimp boat and behind it is the giant tree. It is a very festive mood here today. We had a tie swap and I got one ugly and one decent, but it has a stain so hopefully I can get it cleaned or something like that.
JibJab.com
Time for some JibJab funnies. Check out 205 Year in Review and Santa Claus. And of course the farting elves. JibJab.com
Another Year over...
Another Year over? What am I talking about, New Year's isn't for another week. Another year over means that we have just completed Year #2 of the BenSpark. Yep this Blog has just Turned 2 Years old today and we head into Year #3.
So what lies ahead in Year #3? Expect more Photos (of course, I now post them to Buzznet, Flicker and mySpace) as I complete year one of Photo-A-Day and start Year #2 (I think I am going to do it again, it has been so much fun). We should hit the 1000th post right after New Year's.
Expect more messages about music as mySpace has become a great place to find new musical talent. I'll be keeping a running tally of the Books, CD's and Movies I mention on the BenSpark (Look for a Year in Review of all the things multimedia I mentioned this past year around the 1st of the year). There will be new drop down menus on the right hand side that will list those items.
I will continue to be on the look out for other Photo-A-Day friends, funny music and videos and generally fun stuff to do on the Internet. Thank you everyone for being a reader of the BenSpark for the past two years, welcome all the new readers from this year too.
I'll add two books to the list right away. Where is Joe Merchant? by Jimmy Buffett and A Superior Death by Nevada Barr. I finished A Superior Death this morning before I signed into work and I finished Where Is Joe Merchant? this afternoon after I signed off for the day. So I am now free to read the next Nevada Barr Book.
So what lies ahead in Year #3? Expect more Photos (of course, I now post them to Buzznet, Flicker and mySpace) as I complete year one of Photo-A-Day and start Year #2 (I think I am going to do it again, it has been so much fun). We should hit the 1000th post right after New Year's.
Expect more messages about music as mySpace has become a great place to find new musical talent. I'll be keeping a running tally of the Books, CD's and Movies I mention on the BenSpark (Look for a Year in Review of all the things multimedia I mentioned this past year around the 1st of the year). There will be new drop down menus on the right hand side that will list those items.
I will continue to be on the look out for other Photo-A-Day friends, funny music and videos and generally fun stuff to do on the Internet. Thank you everyone for being a reader of the BenSpark for the past two years, welcome all the new readers from this year too.
I'll add two books to the list right away. Where is Joe Merchant? by Jimmy Buffett and A Superior Death by Nevada Barr. I finished A Superior Death this morning before I signed into work and I finished Where Is Joe Merchant? this afternoon after I signed off for the day. So I am now free to read the next Nevada Barr Book.
MySpace Christmas Music
Gotta Send a message out about my musical friends on myspace. One of my favorite things about mySpace is that I have been able to not only find longtime childhood friends (or rather they found me.) but I can also be exposed to musical talent I would otherwise not have found. And some of that musical talent have Christmas Songs on their profiles.
First up is Christopher Williams. CW has a Christmas Album called Unbroken Song. Allison and I picked it up at the last show we went to at the Lyon's Den in Norton. The CD is great. You can hear one of the songs "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day" on his myspace profile. Great song.
Next Check out Timothy Daniel and his song "This Christmas" A cool sound.
Shawn McDonald has his rendition of O Holy Night. Very Nice. Check out Over the Rainbow and Take my hand too, (I know they aren't Christmas songs but they are cool.)
Check out Paul Wright's song Love Year Long, cool little original Christmas Song. Made especially for myspacers.
If anyone wants to turn me on to more musical sounds of mySpace send me a note and your recommendations.
Merry Christmas!
First up is Christopher Williams. CW has a Christmas Album called Unbroken Song. Allison and I picked it up at the last show we went to at the Lyon's Den in Norton. The CD is great. You can hear one of the songs "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day" on his myspace profile. Great song.
Next Check out Timothy Daniel and his song "This Christmas" A cool sound.
Shawn McDonald has his rendition of O Holy Night. Very Nice. Check out Over the Rainbow and Take my hand too, (I know they aren't Christmas songs but they are cool.)
Check out Paul Wright's song Love Year Long, cool little original Christmas Song. Made especially for myspacers.
If anyone wants to turn me on to more musical sounds of mySpace send me a note and your recommendations.
Merry Christmas!
Photo-A-Day #258 12/22/05
Taylor meets Duncan, Duncan meets Taylor. I don't know who was more scared. Probably Taylor. Duncan just relazed and ignored Taylor after a little while. Taylor has been staying with my parents for the past week or so. And Taylor sits outside of the door that separates our apartment from the main house. She has come in the past few days. And the cats and Taylor are begining to get used to each other, kinda. Oliver growls at Taylor, it is this tiny little growl, its kinda cute.
A friend of mine from my childhood recently got in touch with me on myspace. Her name is Autumn. She used to live two houses down from me and we spent lots of time together as kids. She found me and put me back in touch with another of my childhood friends. Cool.
Autumn's sister Kim has a website for pet gifts and if you live in North Carolina she also runs singles events for single pet owners and DINKY Ps (Double Income No Kids with Pets) events. Check out her site at www.kimspets.com. And speaking of Pet Sites, my sister Tara still has her pet treat site at forpawstreats.com.
Photo-a-Day #257 12/21/05
I was driving by Saint Mary's Church in Downtown North Attleboro tonight and I liked how the sky looked. I tried a few different shots with different settings and this one is the truest to how the sky looked.
Damon.....
I can not adequately express the anger in the hearts of Red Sox Nation at this news (probably because it doesn't matter to me either way, however I am no fan of professional athletes of any vent but that is a different rant all together), but Mo of We're In a Fight is very eloquent on this point. Please read Judas, Thy new name is Damon
The Bob Rivers Show: Twisted Chirstmas Tunes
It is that time of year again. Bob has been very busy, there are dozens of Christmas Parody songs. Enjoy. I like A Letter to Santa. The Bob Rivers Show: Twisted Christmas Tunes
Craptastic Cell Phone Pictures
As if I don't take enough pictures I set up a new gallery on Buzznet called Craptastic Treo 650 Pics. Why that name, well the cameraphone on the Treo 650 is a 300K one. So guess what, any detail in an image will be purely coincidental. So these will be very random. And they will appear on Buzznet at random times. I won't be posting them here but I may make a box on the right with the pictures, not sure, lets see how long I do this first.
Photo-A-Day #256 12/20/05
Probably the earliest photo-a-day taken by me. This is the concession stand at the North Attleboro Showcase Cinemas. Taken at 12:05am this morning. Allison and I went with Uncle Jim to see King Kong at 9:00 (3 hour movie plus take Jim home after = longer night or rather short night if you look at it from a sleep perspective.)
Kong was visually a stunning movie. Peter Jackson is amazing at the grand set designs and incredible scenery. The cast was great and Naomi Watts was fantastic. The detail on Kong was also incredible.
There were many things that were far fetched (not that a 25 foot gorrilla is believeable by any stretch) but the movie ovrall was very entertaining and suspenseful and scary at times too.
(Photo taken with Treo 650 cameraphone, for the heck of it.)
Photo-A-Day #255 12/19/05
Notice the painted glass window cow. My Dad raised cows when he was a boy. He even built his own barn when he was a teen and built it so well that it still stands today. My mother-in-law Marcia gave the painted window to my Dad. He has many assorted cow related stuff throughout the house. This is being displayed on the side of the house. Also pictured are the candle lights for Fire and Police. That's a big thing around our town, you will notice alot of white lights around and then a single red (fire) or a single blue (police) or both.
Christmas Party '05
The Annual Bennett Family Christmas Party was yesterday at Corrine and Jeff's. Allison made two apple pies to bring for dessert, Dad made chicken wings and I made poor man truffles.
Poor Man Truffles
Ingredients: Rolos, Pretzel Snaps (great base) and salted almonds.
2. Put a sheet of aluminum foil on a baking pan, grease lightly with butter.
3. Heat oven to 350 while you lay out the pretzels with rolos on top.
3. Once all pretzels and rolos are laid out put in the oven for 3 1/5 minutes.
4. Squish almonds on the tops.
5. Let tray cool a bit on the oven top.
6. Put tray in the fridge for 10 minutes.
7. Remove from tray (should not stick.)
8. If you make a second tray only put that one in for 3 minutes. The oven is really hot by now.
Make your own variations with this, some we have done are M&M's and Hershey Kisses (5 minutes in the oven for Hershey's Kisses, they are solid and take longer to melt.).
The party was a great time. It is something that Allison and I look forward to each year. It was so great to see everyone. Here are the pictures.
Christmas Party '05
Poor Man Truffles
Ingredients: Rolos, Pretzel Snaps (great base) and salted almonds.
2. Put a sheet of aluminum foil on a baking pan, grease lightly with butter.
3. Heat oven to 350 while you lay out the pretzels with rolos on top.
3. Once all pretzels and rolos are laid out put in the oven for 3 1/5 minutes.
4. Squish almonds on the tops.
5. Let tray cool a bit on the oven top.
6. Put tray in the fridge for 10 minutes.
7. Remove from tray (should not stick.)
8. If you make a second tray only put that one in for 3 minutes. The oven is really hot by now.
Make your own variations with this, some we have done are M&M's and Hershey Kisses (5 minutes in the oven for Hershey's Kisses, they are solid and take longer to melt.).
The party was a great time. It is something that Allison and I look forward to each year. It was so great to see everyone. Here are the pictures.
Christmas Party '05
Photo-A-Day #254 12/18/05
This is my cousin Matt's son Keith (so, is he my cousin or second cousin?). He is so much fun. Such a happy little kid who is so energetic and talented. Of course his Mom and Dad are both very talented too. Keith and I played with his Rescue Hero's mini set, the Avalanche playset. Opening all of those twist ties is good practice for our future children and the toys that they will get later. When Keith wasn't playing the drums he was playing this flute and he was on target with the Christmas carols we were singing.
The annual family Christmas party was a great time. Lots of pictures, gotta do some cropping and I'll be posting them up too.
Photo-A-Day #253b 12/17/05 Bonus U2 Shot
This is a Christmas Themed U2 shot. The lab group, again, Peter (Looking Down), Dave (looking right), Christine Looking up and right), and Me (Looking up and left)
Allison also took this shot.
Photo-A-Day #253a 12/17/05 Bonus #1
Allison took this photo of the lab group. We have Peter, Dave, Christine and me.
(Allison took the shot)
Photo-A-Day #253 12/17/05
This is one of my supervisor's cats. It was looking very adorable hanging out with the coats. Our boys do that too.
Christmas Poem Circa 1985
Back in Christmas 1985 when I was 10 years old I made these poems and mini calendars for my family. When Great Uncle Richard passed away back in July my Mom found that gift. Great Uncle Richard had kept it, even though it was a silly poem and a tiny calendar on an index card. Here is the poem (spelling errors not fixed for posterity)
Christmas iis lots of fun
Happy gifts for everyone
Relatives gifts are open
I am just hopin
Saint Nick comes on every eve
Try to get a picture before he leaves
Moist and soft snow
All of us know
Special
I had read this a couple of times before I posted it, it wasn't until now that I realized that it was a poem that spelled out christmas.
1985 was my favorite Christmas, Nintendo and Transformers were plentiful in my house and I loved every minute. I am blessed with such generous family members.
Photo-a-Day #252 12/16/05
Before the photos all become Christmas ones I will sneak another of the cats in. Oliver was resting and I disturbed him when I came home. I realized today that I pass no less than 5 liquor stores on my way home. And that is just the 5 miles stretch from the highway to the turn to our street. I picked up some wine for Allison on the way home. I got her the good stuff, 2 for $12.99. It is called Fish eye Pinot Grigio. I also noticed and have noticed for a while that people no longer respect the no passing on the right law. I make sure never to pass on the right going through a town especially my town and Plainville, the next town over for two reasons.
1. I had stopped one time because the person in front of me stopped and was making a turn. The person behind me, a mom in a minivan talking on her cell phone swerved around me to pass on the right and slammed on her brakes because there were some kids walking along the side of the road. Luckily Miss can't-be-bothered-to-obey-traffic-laws looked up from her crossword puzzle in time to avoid a tragedy. I had seen that the kids were there (being "Mr. 10 and 2", a name given to me by my sisters and my wife when they ride with me because I am very cautious.) I realized then that even if it looks clear to go around that there may be someone there and that law was made for a reason.. There are three circumstances where passing on the right is allowed.
1. On a multiple-lane highway that is divided by a barrier or a median
2. On a one-way street with two or more lanes
3. When a vehicle in the left lane is turning left or preparing to turn left.
You can read more about MA traffic laws here.
Number three is tricky because it doesn't say that the vehicle is on a two lane street. Which to me is what it means because having a vehicle in the left lane implies that there is a right lane there, not a breakdown lane.
And the second reason I don’t pass on the right is that I was coming up to a stoplight and got into the breakdown lane to make a right hand turn and got caught in a police trap
Amber Rubarth - Acoustic Pop Singer Songwriter... The Musician Creating Music To Inspire The World
I'm going to start telling folks about the new sounds of new artisits that I have found on myspace. I generally am interested in folk singers and acoustic singers/songwriters. Today I listened to four songs from Amber Rubarth and they are very good. [I would make a terrible critic, I like what I like and generally like everything. The way I figure it is I don;t have that talent so who am I to judge.] But what I can do is reccomend that you listen to Amber Rubarth and decide for yourself. You can listen to her music on myspace..
Enjoy! I have many more artists to come. Amber is being added to my musicians list on the right side drop down menus too.
Enjoy! I have many more artists to come. Amber is being added to my musicians list on the right side drop down menus too.
Photo-a-Day #251 12/15/05
So I decided to get the Treo 650. And when I went to get the Treo 650 for $99.00 based upon an ad in Sunday's newspaper. Let's just say that the ad below does not reflect the real price one would pay. You would think that one would pay $199.00 for the Treo 650. Not so, no no, not so. Silly person who thinks that ads actually reflect real numbers. How silly! What that ad doesn't say, and it says it NOWHERE on the whole ad, is that you have to buy the unlimited data plan to get the $100 discount. So I was expecting to go in, return my LG VX9800, and get a new Treo 650 for $99.00 ($199.00 with rebates plus $100.00 for the Verizon New Every Two deal where you get $100 towards a new phone every 2 years.). But instead I ended up running between the two verizon sellers in the store finding out exactly what the ad really meant and then paying $199.00 for the phone because I decided not to get the monthly unlimited data addition (a $44.00 a month fee that would have made the phone $100 less). But I still got the phone because it is what I wanted. And so far I am pretty happy about the phone, not about the crappy ad in the paper. And I read all the fine print. Nowhere does it say that you need to buy the data plan. I cry foul.
Good-bye Moxie
Well, it hasn't been a good year for the Sparks family and pets. On Tuesday, Mom and Dad had to make the decision to have our cat, Moxie, put down. We are all very sad, but know it was for the best.
Moxie was almost 21 years old and had not been very comfortable for the past year or so. She was a cat with an attitude and, while she was never affectionate or lovey, she had a very special place in all of our hearts.
Moxie, looking pretty.
Moxie, Protecting the house.
Moxie and Fraiser on the couch
Moxie was almost 21 years old and had not been very comfortable for the past year or so. She was a cat with an attitude and, while she was never affectionate or lovey, she had a very special place in all of our hearts.
Moxie, looking pretty.
Moxie, Protecting the house.
Moxie and Fraiser on the couch
Free Treo
Okay so I now qualify for a Free Treo because I flew a few times on United. Unfortunately the free treo is through Cingular and I re-upped my contract with Verizon YESTERDAY! Oh well, I think I may go back to Verizon and get a Treo 650 from them anyway. Still debating it with myself. If anyone would like the free Treo instead let me know.
Photo-A-Day #250 12/14/05
Optimus Prime contemplating the LG VX9800. I was inspired to set up this shot because of this ad for a Nokia Phone. It also reflects my current mood of deciding whether I want to keep this phone or get the Treo 650. So I've been standing around scratching my head trying to see what I make of the phone in this time of testing.
Does anyone have the LG VX9800 or the Treo 650 and what are your thoughts.
Didn't they just do this movie on TV?
Wasn't the poseidon adventure remake on TV recently? Here is a featre film of a remake of the Poseidon adventure. Weird. Looks pretty cool and it is good to see Kurt Russell get more work. Apple - Trailers - Poseidon - Large
Da Vinci Code Trailer is up!
Check out this site Da Vinci Code and click Teaser Trailer and that will bring you to the full length trailer. It looks awesome! Only have to wait till May 16th for it. I loved the book and hope that the movie captures the same sense of adventure.
Amazon ads...
You may have noticed that I often put up different books or items from Amazon.com. The reason I do so is because I believe in Amazon.com and their affiliate program. Out of all the things I have added to this page to generate a small income (I've generated $9.99 in two years, yippee! And I won't see that money unless I earn $50 total) Amazon.com seems to be the only thing that is worth clicking for folks. I think it is because amazon is a good company to deal with, I've been buying from Amazon.com since it started and have never had a bad experience.
So as you are doing any last minute shopping check out Amazon.com but go there through this site to help us out a bit. It is pennies per purchase and in 2015 I will see that $50.00.
Just use the box below. Or the one I will add to the top of the screen. Thanks for making your Christmas Purchases through our site. For book Reccomendations please go to Flatwater Bookstore (My bookstore site with some of my favorite authors. I have many more to come.)
So as you are doing any last minute shopping check out Amazon.com but go there through this site to help us out a bit. It is pennies per purchase and in 2015 I will see that $50.00.
Just use the box below. Or the one I will add to the top of the screen. Thanks for making your Christmas Purchases through our site. For book Reccomendations please go to Flatwater Bookstore (My bookstore site with some of my favorite authors. I have many more to come.)
Photo-A-Day #249 12/13/05
New phone. Guys night. 'Nuff said.
Okay maybe there is more to say. Today I got a new phone. It has a camera built into it. Scary thought that I can now take pictures with my phone and post them too the web. Very scary indeed. I got the LG VX9800 VCAST phone. I have a free month of VCAST service and have been playing around with it a little bit. Tonight I took this shot of the guys at the Funway Cafe. We have Peter, Derek and Neil. (Derek is making the BK face, basically that freaky look from the Burger King in the BK commercials. He loves that guy.) We had a great time at Guys night, ate some buffalo wings, had a few beers, told some stories and played some ice hockey. Good times, good friends.
Updated 12/14/05 - Okay so I am getting the hang of this thing. For instance the image is too big for my settings for this blog so I had to edit the size of the image. Also it is really not sharp at all. I know it is a cameraphone and all but it is 1.3mp and I have an old Kodak camera from 1997 that has to be at least 1.3 megapixels and it takes good images. I'll have to experiment more. Still not totally sold on this phone. May end up getting the Treo 650 even though it has the Palm OS. Anybody have either of these phones and want to weigh in on the pros and cons?
Photo-A-Day #248 12/12/05
When in doubt of a photo-a-day subject look to the cats. Here is Duncan being curious. Sorry to be boring today. I have a week full f internet demos so my creativity is a bit cramped at the moment, worried about doing a good job and all.
Photo-A-Day #247 12/11/05
Tonight Allison and I trimmed the Christmas tree with my parents and Tara and Erik. We used the ornaments that Grandma Theresa made. So we have a very simply decorated tree downstairs. It is a very nice tree and the first one in years that we could actually get all the way around.
Photo-A-Day #246 12/10/05
This afternoon Allison and I went to see the Chronicles of Narnia at the Bellingham Movie Theater. We met up with Neil and Andrea for a 4:10pm show. At the theater there was alot of activities for the kids. People were dressed up, there were swordfight shows and a picture taking area. They were even giving out great Narnia Posters. I didn't get any photos at the begining of the show. So I got this ont he way out. I had to lighten up the poster.
What a fantastic movie. The story is awesome and the visual effects and the actors were incredible. You could really tell that they enjoyed makking the movie. It was fantastic.
Santa riding in style
Okay I finally got around to uploading some pictures. Last month the downtown association had their annual christmas Parade. It was very nice. So I took quite a few pictures of it. Enjoy Santa riding in style - Buzznet Photo Sharing Community.
Photo-A-Day #245 12/09/05
So the Northeast got some snow today. I got sent home early from work too. Pretty sweet. I actually got the nod prior to the overhead announcement. So, when I was waiting for the elevator to come to my floor, the overhead annoucement came on to let everyone know that a Snow Emergency was declared from and supervisors could let their people go home. So here I am standing at the elevator and this announcement comes on and I am all ready to leave. Steve sees me and says, You wasted no time getting out of here didn't you. My timing is just priceless sometimes.
The drive home was an adventure. I had Eragon on most of the time so that was good company. So I am finished with that book and can't wait to listen to Eldest. I requested that for a Christmas gift, that is pretty much all I want for Christmas this year. As for other books, I am halfway through a Superior Death. I really like the series so far.
Tonight Dad and Erik took the two snowblowers out and did the driveway. I cleaned off and moved the cars around and took some pictures. Including this one and a bunch more. You can see the others by clicking here. Glad that Dad got the lights up before the first snow, they look great nder the snowfall..
Photo-A-Day #244 12/08/05
A T-Rex runs amuck in the Pittsburgh Airport. I saw this last night around 11:45pm (I wasn't staying around till midnight to take the picture for today's Photo-A-Day. I knew I'd be back today to get the shot.) It is a pretty fantastic thing to see.
What wasn't fantastic was the oblivious dolt in front of me in the security line. So Captain oblivious takes a grey bucket to put his laptop in, moves ahead enough for me to take another grey bucket for my laptop. I go to get my laptop from my backpack and C.O. takes the grey bucket I picked up for my laptop and puts his laptop bag inside it. First of all, bags don't go in grey buckets, they are for laptops and electronic devices, get a helmet. Second of all, What! Do you think I am your personal assistant or something, I mean I could be someone's personal assistant, details and organization are my thing but not yours buddy. I got that bucket for me, not you, What a jerk. I hope he felt the heat of my disapproving stare. Confrontation is not my thing.
What is cool though is that Pittsburgh Airport has free Internet Access, sweet.
Quick blog...
Hey there, about to go to my next demo this morning. I finished Track of the Cat last night and started A Superior Death. I think I'm gonna like Anna Pigeon.
It was a good thing my connection last night was a 2 1/2 layover because out of the 4 people on my flight from Binghamton I was the only one to get to my connecting flight.
I'm not going to want to get into a political discussion about what happened in Miami yesterday. I watched the talking heads on Fox News ask their insipidly stupid questions and debate the actions of the air marshalls. I for one would want to make sure that any threat percieved or otherwise was neutralized. I make no apologies for my stance on this. There is so much I want to say about this but will keep it to myself. But talking heads, you weren't there you don't have the training you have the luxury of sitting back and playing Monday morning quarterback. The air marshalls did what needed to be done, that is why they are air marshalls and you are not. Decisions need to be made quickly and decisively. No talking head can do that because they have the time to change thier minds.
I'll be back home tonight. I have some time at the airport so I may get a cool picture there. The Pittsburgh airport has some cool stuff there.
It was a good thing my connection last night was a 2 1/2 layover because out of the 4 people on my flight from Binghamton I was the only one to get to my connecting flight.
I'm not going to want to get into a political discussion about what happened in Miami yesterday. I watched the talking heads on Fox News ask their insipidly stupid questions and debate the actions of the air marshalls. I for one would want to make sure that any threat percieved or otherwise was neutralized. I make no apologies for my stance on this. There is so much I want to say about this but will keep it to myself. But talking heads, you weren't there you don't have the training you have the luxury of sitting back and playing Monday morning quarterback. The air marshalls did what needed to be done, that is why they are air marshalls and you are not. Decisions need to be made quickly and decisively. No talking head can do that because they have the time to change thier minds.
I'll be back home tonight. I have some time at the airport so I may get a cool picture there. The Pittsburgh airport has some cool stuff there.
The Light Before Christmas
This is the best christmas light display ever. Thanks Joanne for sending this to me. The Light Before Christmas Read the article and go to the display. Awesome!
Photo-A-Day #243 12/07/05 BONUS PIC
Looks like I got a chance to get online at the Binghamton Airport and upload a second Photo-A-Day for today. I mean this morning was just lame, nothing of real value.
This is a picture of The Link Trainer. It is a flight trainer that was built in the 1920's by Edwin Albert Link. There is a museum here at the Binghamton Airport to Edwin Albert Link.
Photo-A-Day #243 12/07/05
The glamorous life on the road. Got in last night at 8:00pm (after not being able to find the hotel). Have to check out and drive an hour to site in about 30 minutes. Then will be at site till 4:30 pm, have to drive 1 1/2 hours back to the airport for a 7:20pm flight from Binghamton to Philly, then from Philly to Pittsburgh, getting in at 11:46pm and then hitting the hotel to sleep and wake up for another demo early in the morning. Needless to say this is my only opportunity for Photo-A-Day today. Maybe tomorrow will be a better one.
Nevada Barr Anna Pigeon Series
With the Piers Anthony Incarnations of Imortality series complete I needed a new series to read.
I bought my first Nevada Barr book back in 2002. Today I finally began reading the first one in the Anna Pigeon series: Track of the Cat. So far so good, I am looking forward to reading the whole series. The first book has been such a quick read I am glad I brought the second book with me.
Here are the books...
Anna Pigeon, a park ranger at various national parks in the USA, is featured in:
I bought my first Nevada Barr book back in 2002. Today I finally began reading the first one in the Anna Pigeon series: Track of the Cat. So far so good, I am looking forward to reading the whole series. The first book has been such a quick read I am glad I brought the second book with me.
Here are the books...
Anna Pigeon, a park ranger at various national parks in the USA, is featured in:
Photo-A-Day #242 12/06/05
Duncan is very easy to entertain, just give him some shadows to chase and he is all set. I love our cats, they are so much fun. Skitish and crazy, but fun none-the-less.
New Buzznet Gallery
I've created a new gallery to house the photos from concerts that Allison and I have been to, or more appropriately ones that we will be going to in the future. But to start out the gallery here are pictures from last night's Christopher Williams Concert at the Lyon's Den in Norton, Ma on the campus of Wheaton College. Music Scene Gallery
Photo-A-Day #241 12/05/05
Tonight Allison and I went with Rondi and Andy to see Christopher Williams play at the Lyon's Den in Norton at Wheaton College. As always an entertaining evening. It felt like a private show because of the small space and the smaller number of patrons. The Lyon's Den is a coffee shop on the campus of Wheaton College where I am guessing student activities money was used to get Christopher there. Hey, if the college kids aren't gonna take advantage of a great evening of music then the spoils go to us. We are more than happy to hang with CW and his lovely wife (whom we met for the first time tonight and was very nice) and chat about Photo-A-Day, the honeymoon, the wedding. They have the same anniversary but got married last year.
So, we talked about the honeymoon and the wedding and CW told the students about Photo-A-Day because I was taking pictures for tonight's Photo-A-Day. I was messing around with the lighting settings and filters on the camera to get this shot. Yes I could have photoshopped it but where is the fun in that. Gotta know your equipment man. Besides I find flash photography during a show distracting, but then so is Egyptian Ratscrew. But it was fun so no biggie. I tried to keep the flash to the minimum and besides my flash is way to weak to be effective, so I gotta work with the lighting settings to draw out the most light I can.
We are looking forward to seeing Christopher again. Oh and we picked up his new Christmas CD. He played three songs from the album and they were awesome. Check out his website to hear some of his songs.
Goodbye Lola...
I know I am posting this a little late, but Lola the cat has died. She went missing about Thanksgiving and Ed, Dan and Marcia's neighbor, told them that she had died and he took care of burying her. Lola was Dan and Marcia's grey and white kitten. I mentioned her back in 2003 when they got her. She was a cute little ball of fur. Such a beautiful cat, we will miss her very much. We were very sad to hear the news and are sad for Dan and Marcia.
Here are a couple of pictures of Lo-Lo (What we called her from time to time.)
Lola the Kitten
Lola the Cat.
Here are a couple of pictures of Lo-Lo (What we called her from time to time.)
Lola the Kitten
Lola the Cat.
Movie Trailers
The X-Men 3 trailer is supposed to come out today but I haven't seen it yet, while I was checking movie trailers out I found these two that look interesting.
This movie looks like it will be awesome.
The Fastest Indian. - Hmm what is it about, gotta click it to find out.
Vince Vaughn and Jennifer Aniston in a comedy. Ah, that is why they've been together so often lately. Apple - Trailers - The Break Up
Also here comes another fairy tale retelling. This looks fun. Apple - Trailers - Hoodwinked
Not much else coming out that I am excited about except maybe Chronicles or Narnia.
This movie looks like it will be awesome.
The Fastest Indian. - Hmm what is it about, gotta click it to find out.
Vince Vaughn and Jennifer Aniston in a comedy. Ah, that is why they've been together so often lately. Apple - Trailers - The Break Up
Also here comes another fairy tale retelling. This looks fun. Apple - Trailers - Hoodwinked
Not much else coming out that I am excited about except maybe Chronicles or Narnia.
Photo-A-Day #240 12/04/05
Today I helped my Dad put up the Christmas tree in downstairs. It is smaller than past years. We have had 11 foot trees in the past but this one is about 8 feet tall or so. We had some snow here today. Just enough to make it look nice but not too much to make it crazy.
Photo-A-Day #239 12/03/05
Today Allison and I went to her Aunt and Uncle's house. This was the sign in the bathroom. Classic. Ken, since you never read this you will not enjoy it but this is one that you would have really liked.
The Christmas party was alot of fun with food, games and desserts going around. Thanks for the great time.
The Honeymoon Photos
I was able to upload the honeymoon pictures to Kodak Galleries tonight. That is because I finally fixed the connection to the Internet here at home. It took a couple of hours to track down the exact problem but it is now fixed so both me and my sister Tara can now telecommute without frustration. And Dad didn't have to totally rewire the house.
A Honeymoon recap will go up when we get some more time.
Couple of things I want to mention.
Maureen of We're in a Fight is doing the "A-Day" thing with a Christmas Movie-A-Day till Christmas. She started with Home Alone, a classic. And today's is Scrooged. Keep 'em coming Mo.
My friend Becky is doing a Photo-A-Day and she has a terrific eye and some beautiful dogs that she photographs on occasion. I added her to my Photo-a-Day list.
I made it to Christopher Williams website. I am listed as a Photo-A-Day friend.
A Honeymoon recap will go up when we get some more time.
Couple of things I want to mention.
Maureen of We're in a Fight is doing the "A-Day" thing with a Christmas Movie-A-Day till Christmas. She started with Home Alone, a classic. And today's is Scrooged. Keep 'em coming Mo.
My friend Becky is doing a Photo-A-Day and she has a terrific eye and some beautiful dogs that she photographs on occasion. I added her to my Photo-a-Day list.
I made it to Christopher Williams website. I am listed as a Photo-A-Day friend.
The Wedding Recap Post....
Yes, this is a long time coming, but now with the wedding, honeymoon, Thanksgiving and a week of travel for work over, I now have some time to sit and reflect.
I have to say that the wedding was one of the best days of my entire life. From start to finish everything went off so well. All of the months of planning, the help from our friends and family and the attention to detail helped us have such a great day.
Friday night, the rehearsal dinner. (Already recapped so not writing it again)
Wedding day. I got up super early as usual and did some blogging. and at 7:30 my Grandpa Bennett, my Dad, James, Derek, Neil, Ken and I went down to JD's for breakfast. We had a nice full breakfast and shared some stories and advice. Then the guys and I got ready for the wedding. Neil helped us all with out pocket squares and French cuffs. Uncle Richard's cufflinks were a great part of my tux.
I was buzzing with excitement that I did not even realize that we were running late. It was kind of weird for me not to notice something like that. Neil and I were preparing for the ceremony in the chapel and had no clue of the time.
The ceremony was one of the best ever. And I am very biased of course. Fr. Tom and Fr. Dave were fantastic. They made the ceremony so welcome for everyone who attended. Looking out into the pews I saw them all full, all the way to the back. Then the music began and we came out and waited for the wedding party to make their way down the aisle. When I saw Allison and her father coming down the aisle I began to tear up a bit, and tried to stop myself, but probably just succeeded in making some really weird looking faces. When Allison and her father arrived at the front of the altar my parents and I greeted Allison and her parents. That was a very nice touch and a suggestion by Fr. Dave at the rehearsal. Then I took Allison's hand and we made our way up to the kneelers.
From there the ceremony continued perfectly, Erin and Bart did the first and second readings. David and Michelle provided fantastic music. Fr. Tom gave a fantastic homily that even mentioned the blog. I think that was the first time I ever heard the word blog in a homily before. We then exchanged vows and rings and after that was complete (Allison and I cried through that and the homily as well) Fr. Tom performed a blessing over our hands that was very unique and special to us. Maureen did the prayer of the faithful. Tara and Shelby brought up the gifts. The next thing we knew we were heading up the aisle. The day continued to go by so quickly. After everyone in the wedding party came up the aisle Allison and I went back into the church to dismiss each row. This was something that we took from some weddings we had been to in PA. It gave us a chance to greet everyone who came to the ceremony.
Then it was time for Photos. Cullen Jones, our photographer, took over 700 pictures, black and white and color. We took photos on our front lawn. With the fall colors that we chose and the leaves on the trees and all over the ground it was a perfect spot for pictures. As the pictures were being taken Tara and Erik got the slideshow going at the reception. We were only able to show a portion of it but everyone who attended the wedding got a CD with music from the wedding and a copy of the slideshow to watch on their computers. I hope everyone enjoyed it.
After the photos Allison and I got in the limo and rode to the reception. When we arrived we were ushered to the bridal room by Kevin at the Holiday Inn. Kevin was the banquet coordinator and he was excellent. The cocktail hour was over and the guests made their way into the reception hall. Each couple or individual guest got a copy of the wedding favor CD placed under their seating card. They also got to sign our guestbook. We made a custom guestbook through Kodak Gallery and encouraged our guests to sign the book like they would a high school yearbook.
Then it was our turn to line up. As we waited in line a person from the other banquet hall came up to Allison and I to wish us a long life ahead. The wedding party was announced and then it was our turn to come into the hall. I could not stop smiling. And at the same time I was nervous about our first dance. But when we heard Ellis' voice singing words we began to move in such a way that we've been moving since we have known each other, we just fit together so well. I knew that the first time we ever hugged each other, we fit, perfectly. After our first dance we had a wedding party dance and Lindsay sang "When You Say Nothing at All" by Allison Krauss. What a beautiful song that was beautifully sung.
Then we got to sit for a bit and have some food. After the salad Allison and I cut the cake, which was both beautiful and delicious. The cake topper was just perfect to represent us. From that point on through to the end of the reception things just flew by, photo after photo with family and friends. And I know it is cliché but there was certainly not enough time for the reception. I wish I could have sat with everyone and gotten to see how everyone was enjoying themselves, but it was impossible to be everywhere and see everyone. We certainly appreciate that everyone came to share the day with us. It was pretty much the most perfect day ever. Weather, ceremony, reception, guests, pictures it was all perfect.
We stayed at the Holiday in for the night. After we got changed and relaxed and discovered the bed full of rice we made our way out to see the parties in the rooms. Allison's parents and my parents each had hotel rooms and opened them up to entertain guests. We spent some time with Allison's parents and then made our way down to my parent's room, while we were there we showed the who wedding favor slide show on the wall of their room. I was glad we were able to show the slideshow again.
The next morning we had breakfast at the buffet in the hotel, we tried to spend a lot of time with everyone who stayed at the hotel or who came back to share breakfast. After breakfast we loaded the gifts into the cars and then opened them at home with my parents and Allison's parents. After that we paced up for our week ahead in Aruba.
Thank you everyone who was a part of our wedding day, helping us or being their to support us in our decision to be married. It was such a great day and there was certainly not enough time at all.
Wedding pictures are back now. They can be seen here.
I have to say that the wedding was one of the best days of my entire life. From start to finish everything went off so well. All of the months of planning, the help from our friends and family and the attention to detail helped us have such a great day.
Friday night, the rehearsal dinner. (Already recapped so not writing it again)
Wedding day. I got up super early as usual and did some blogging. and at 7:30 my Grandpa Bennett, my Dad, James, Derek, Neil, Ken and I went down to JD's for breakfast. We had a nice full breakfast and shared some stories and advice. Then the guys and I got ready for the wedding. Neil helped us all with out pocket squares and French cuffs. Uncle Richard's cufflinks were a great part of my tux.
I was buzzing with excitement that I did not even realize that we were running late. It was kind of weird for me not to notice something like that. Neil and I were preparing for the ceremony in the chapel and had no clue of the time.
The ceremony was one of the best ever. And I am very biased of course. Fr. Tom and Fr. Dave were fantastic. They made the ceremony so welcome for everyone who attended. Looking out into the pews I saw them all full, all the way to the back. Then the music began and we came out and waited for the wedding party to make their way down the aisle. When I saw Allison and her father coming down the aisle I began to tear up a bit, and tried to stop myself, but probably just succeeded in making some really weird looking faces. When Allison and her father arrived at the front of the altar my parents and I greeted Allison and her parents. That was a very nice touch and a suggestion by Fr. Dave at the rehearsal. Then I took Allison's hand and we made our way up to the kneelers.
From there the ceremony continued perfectly, Erin and Bart did the first and second readings. David and Michelle provided fantastic music. Fr. Tom gave a fantastic homily that even mentioned the blog. I think that was the first time I ever heard the word blog in a homily before. We then exchanged vows and rings and after that was complete (Allison and I cried through that and the homily as well) Fr. Tom performed a blessing over our hands that was very unique and special to us. Maureen did the prayer of the faithful. Tara and Shelby brought up the gifts. The next thing we knew we were heading up the aisle. The day continued to go by so quickly. After everyone in the wedding party came up the aisle Allison and I went back into the church to dismiss each row. This was something that we took from some weddings we had been to in PA. It gave us a chance to greet everyone who came to the ceremony.
Then it was time for Photos. Cullen Jones, our photographer, took over 700 pictures, black and white and color. We took photos on our front lawn. With the fall colors that we chose and the leaves on the trees and all over the ground it was a perfect spot for pictures. As the pictures were being taken Tara and Erik got the slideshow going at the reception. We were only able to show a portion of it but everyone who attended the wedding got a CD with music from the wedding and a copy of the slideshow to watch on their computers. I hope everyone enjoyed it.
After the photos Allison and I got in the limo and rode to the reception. When we arrived we were ushered to the bridal room by Kevin at the Holiday Inn. Kevin was the banquet coordinator and he was excellent. The cocktail hour was over and the guests made their way into the reception hall. Each couple or individual guest got a copy of the wedding favor CD placed under their seating card. They also got to sign our guestbook. We made a custom guestbook through Kodak Gallery and encouraged our guests to sign the book like they would a high school yearbook.
Then it was our turn to line up. As we waited in line a person from the other banquet hall came up to Allison and I to wish us a long life ahead. The wedding party was announced and then it was our turn to come into the hall. I could not stop smiling. And at the same time I was nervous about our first dance. But when we heard Ellis' voice singing words we began to move in such a way that we've been moving since we have known each other, we just fit together so well. I knew that the first time we ever hugged each other, we fit, perfectly. After our first dance we had a wedding party dance and Lindsay sang "When You Say Nothing at All" by Allison Krauss. What a beautiful song that was beautifully sung.
Then we got to sit for a bit and have some food. After the salad Allison and I cut the cake, which was both beautiful and delicious. The cake topper was just perfect to represent us. From that point on through to the end of the reception things just flew by, photo after photo with family and friends. And I know it is cliché but there was certainly not enough time for the reception. I wish I could have sat with everyone and gotten to see how everyone was enjoying themselves, but it was impossible to be everywhere and see everyone. We certainly appreciate that everyone came to share the day with us. It was pretty much the most perfect day ever. Weather, ceremony, reception, guests, pictures it was all perfect.
We stayed at the Holiday in for the night. After we got changed and relaxed and discovered the bed full of rice we made our way out to see the parties in the rooms. Allison's parents and my parents each had hotel rooms and opened them up to entertain guests. We spent some time with Allison's parents and then made our way down to my parent's room, while we were there we showed the who wedding favor slide show on the wall of their room. I was glad we were able to show the slideshow again.
The next morning we had breakfast at the buffet in the hotel, we tried to spend a lot of time with everyone who stayed at the hotel or who came back to share breakfast. After breakfast we loaded the gifts into the cars and then opened them at home with my parents and Allison's parents. After that we paced up for our week ahead in Aruba.
Thank you everyone who was a part of our wedding day, helping us or being their to support us in our decision to be married. It was such a great day and there was certainly not enough time at all.
Wedding pictures are back now. They can be seen here.
Photo-A-Day #238 12/02/05
My company has begun decorating for Christmas. This year they have added a tree to the outside of the building. It sits upon the water fountain. The lights were going on it when I arrived at work this morning. They were complete when I left. I wonder if more decorations will be going up.
Today was the first day back in the office since I left the thursday before the wedding. Weird going back to work, but familiar and easy to jump back into things including the 5:30am wake ups. But with the Eragon books on CD the ride into work was a snap.
Airport Serenade
I should have gotten up to record this and it is very dark because I was playing with the settings to get the Photo-A-Day discreetly (aka no flash). But here is the airport serenade of "The Most Wonderful Time of Year"
WONDERFUL.MOV
WONDERFUL.MOV
Photo-A-Day #237 12/01/05
The collective IQ of a group of passengers on an airplane is so incredibly low. What turns air travelers into bumbling idiots. I know that if I cannot speak the native language of the place where my flight is originating from I can still find my way to my seat. Why? Because… I have a pittance of common sense. When you get tickets to an airplane flight, that ticket has a seat number. Now If I cannot read the numbers and letters of that country in which I am flying I am still not out of luck. I can look at my ticket…. And see my seat number…. And then look at the aisles…. And the little pictures and numbers and letters of the aisle and make sure that they MATCH!!!!
Now I am sitting in Chicago O’Hare. My flight to Providence has been delayed for an hour. If also showed that the gate had changed and now the gate shows gate 0. There is no gate 0, I know this, Chicago O’Hare has practically become a distant second home over the past 4 years. So I wait at the gate where the flight is supposed to be until I see that the gate has changed to an actual gate, I go to that gate and wait, up near the ticket counter. Why, because stupid people amuse me. A line forms and person after person asks if this is the gate for Providence. Granted that the monitors behind the counter have nothing on them that indicates providence (The lack of information at ticket counters is ridiculous) but the guy in front of you asked the SAME question. Open your ears and shut your mouth.
So I took this picture of this poor woman who has to answer each of these questions with a smile. The amount of patience one must have to work at an airport is staggering. We did have a welcome distraction as one of the workers of the airport took the microphone and sang a Christmas Carol for the passengers awaiting their delayed flight. I got some of him on video. I'll post it tomorrow. Now it is off to bed.
Trivia Winners for November
November 05
74 players played during the month.
1. johngalt (359 points, 3 wins)
2. Chappy (342 points, 4 wins)
3. smartgirl (294 points, 3 wins)
4. pinkpiratepants (278 points, 1 wins)
5. roller74 (262 points, 1 wins)
6. Mo (231 points, 1 wins)
7. Gilly71 (223 points, 0 wins)
8. somebeach (215 points, 0 wins)
9. ekstaron (212 points, 2 wins)
10. super stud (185 points, 0 wins)
74 players played during the month.
1. johngalt (359 points, 3 wins)
2. Chappy (342 points, 4 wins)
3. smartgirl (294 points, 3 wins)
4. pinkpiratepants (278 points, 1 wins)
5. roller74 (262 points, 1 wins)
6. Mo (231 points, 1 wins)
7. Gilly71 (223 points, 0 wins)
8. somebeach (215 points, 0 wins)
9. ekstaron (212 points, 2 wins)
10. super stud (185 points, 0 wins)
