Faces to Names

What a fantastic Saturday night I had let me tell you! I joined some of our favorite Bloggers for a night on the town in Boston. There will be an official recap, so stay tuned for that. In the meantime, just know that these ladies are a top notch crew. For six women who have never met in person, there wasn't a moment of silence at the table! Good food, good drink, good cake and great conversation. If you weren't able to make it.....We really missed you!

Holiday Funnies!

Do they know it's christmas

Does anyone else rememeber this coming out back in 1984? My sister and I were obsessed with both the song and the video. We got a VCR for Christmas that year and I think this was the first thing we ever recorded. Every Christmas Season, we always call each other the first time we hear the song on the radio waves. This is my Christmas Memory!

Run, Don't Walk

Good Morning, this was one of my early morning email messages today from Boden. For those of you who are unfamiliar, get familiar. They have great clothes for everyone in the family. I always shop for Madigan because I think their clothing is unique and it stands up well in the wash. When they are having a sale, you can get some great deals. I highly recommend their two-pack tights and the gypsy cord skirts. Shop now because the good stuff goes quickly!

Early Morning Start

Hello All, I hope you had a fun filled weekend during these crazed Holiday times! We had a very nice weekend over here in Landcruiser Land. We went to a Christmas Party on Friday night for the office that we send our patients to for ultrasounds. They always throw a great party and this year it was open bar! Last year all they served was beer, wine and a festive drink called pointsettas. As I don't drink any of that, I had to sneak off into the bar in the lobby of the establishment and get my own Cosmopolitan! It seems plenty of Friday night's revelers rembered that about me, OOPS! The best part of any Christmas Party in my opinion, is the Yankee Swap. For this particular swap, the budget was $25.00 Since I have no imagination (read I waited until the last minute), I picked up a VISA $25 gift card. We went home with two great gifts. The Doc opened a Barefoot Contessa cookbook, but went off in search of stealing an original painting that a neuologist had done of a fish. The Doc wanted that painting for our house in Aruba! I opened a beautiful basket that had margarita mix, salt, and two martini glasses. I quickly put it under the table so as the remaining shoppers would forget what I had!

Saturday was chaos at the house. We are having our windows replaced after living here for only 8 years. Seems our builder must have picked up the windows at the dump! At noontime, Madigan's friend Ella's mom called to see if I was going to a Holiday Party at one of their former preschool chums houses. In fact I was, and no, In fact I did not have sitter and would love for Madigan to stay over their house for the night! What did that really mean? It meant The Doc and I went into Boston to Excelsior to have an early, delicious dinner! Afterwards, we did stop by said party for a nice cocktail. Sometimes things just work out nicely, don't they?

Then, the icing on the cake was going to last night's Patriots game. It was frigid but fun! In case you are either not a sports fan or your head had been stuck in the sand, our New England Patriots are currently sporting an undefeated season. Last night, we played the Pittsburh Steelers, but they were no match for Tom Brady and his boys! What a time to be a Boston Sports Fan!

Well, Miss Madigan has risen and it is time to get her off to the school bus. Have a great day everyone!

Lost Time

Wow, where the heck have I been? I haven't posted since Halloween! November obviously came and went with lots of craziness at the office with us finally transitioning over to electronic medical records (EMR). This has been the thorn in my side since last January. It was a long, slow process that is now making our office flow much slower. We can't write anything anymore in the traditional paper chart. Very big changes and we are learning it is very hard to teach us old dogs new tricks!

I went on a Girls Weekend with some of my best friends. We went to Chatham for just one night but we had such a great time. I think we all realized how much we needed some R&R and fresh air. We stayed at The Wequassett Inn, had a great room with an even greater mini-bar! We had a nice happy hour with the little nips, Red Bull, cranberry juice and Pringles! We went over to The Chatham Bars Inn for dinner in their tavern. We were practically there for the Early Bird Special as it was only 5:30pm. Great food, great friends and then back to our homebase where we got into our jammies and just watched tv. We were all asleep by 10pm! Just remember, what happens on the Cape, stays on the Cape, right?

I got a new camera so I took some shots of the weekend. Here they are:

I'll finish up tomorrow. Right now, Madigan is bossing aroung my niece Avery who is two and she is trying to get her to try on all her old baby clothes! Good Luck to Me!

Halloween 2007

Who doesn't love Halloween? The chance to become someone else, eat gobs of candy and hang around with your friends? We have had the same tradition for Halloween since Madigan was 1 year old. We trick and treat with a family that lives about 5 minutes away from us because our street only has four houses to visit. We get those out of the way, then head over to our friends. They have three girls, now ages 8, 6, and 2 1/2 and their neighbors have three boys. We start with drinks and appetizers, pizza for the kids and then we hit the road! I will have to do another post on an incredible dip we had last night. It was a Buffalo Chicken dip and I pretty much wiped out the entire pie plate of it! It was the perfect Halloween night here. The leaves were blowing all over, and it was chilly but not cold. The kids did great. Only two of them fell and cried but the candy made them feel instantly better! Now, my challenge is to steal all of the Reese Cups before she realizes it!

Victory is Ours

And let the Rolling Ralley begin! What a whirlwind the last week has been. I can't even tell you how exciting it is to be a Red Sox fan today. Winning just does not get old. Mayah (mayor to those who don't have a Boston accent) Mumbles Menino has announced that the Rolling Rally 2 will commence on Tuesday. It kind of sucks that it is on a week day. I myself don't know if I can go. (It starts only a mile from my desk so I'll see what I can manage) I can understand that the players all want to get home to be with their families. I am sure Papelbon has something up his sleeve in the form of a victory dance. We are all breathless with anticipation. And just when we think there will be nothing left to get excited about, the Pats take on the Colts on Sunday!

Mother's Day

Last night, Madigan had a sleepover at her friend Ella's house. I jumped all over the opportunity to schedule myself some treatments at our local day spa where I normally only stop in for pedicures. I started with a facial. I have one particular lady that I have been going to for my facials/waxing but her place is not open on Sunday, so I had to try someone new. (I hope Olga does not read my blog!) And because I tried someone new, I had to hear the whole sales pitch on why I need the most expensive facial on their menu of services and not just the regular old balancing facial Olga provides for me. I settled on a mid-priced one which is twice as much as Olga's. It was pretty good, the mask felt great, but the massage part seemed a bit too quick. My favorite part of the experience was where the girl told me I have beautiful skin. If that is so, why then did I need the $120 facial?????

Next came my massage. Again, I did not have a regular person there to rely on for this one. I have had sweedish massage in the past and don't feel like they do much more than a back scratcher. I went deep tissue baby and let me tell you, it hurts! I did feel great when I left and know I need to take better care of myself. The technician said I was pretty tight and could stand to book my next one for an hour and a half! It will have to wait until the next sleepover though!

It was a gorgeous Fall day around these parts. Everyone is in great moods thanks to The Red Sox who only need one more win to become World Champions again. My husband just yelled up that the Patriots are killing the Redskins something like 52 to 0. Look out Peyton Manning!

Happy Birthday

As I mentioned, I did not get any new pocketbooks for my birthday. Instead, I got A New Car! I feel like Bob Barker right now. I used to drive a 2003 Toyota Sequoia. My husband leases his cars and was up for a new one. He knew he wanted a hybrid and ended up with the Lexus RX400h in black, so we almost match! I considered the Mercedes GL 450 but felt too "squished" inside as it is very narrow compared to what I have been used to. I saw this and it reminded me so much of my beloved Land Cruiser. I know it eats up gas, but I really feel like I can never go back to a car after driving SUVs for the last ten years. So far, it is great. One of the best features is that it has a backup camera so I can see what is right behind me. That gives Madigan's toys (and Madigan herself) a greater chance at survival!

I hope everyone has a wonderful night. I am off to settle in for game 1 of the World Series. I hope my Boys of Summer can put a stop to the winning streak of the Rockies. Captain Varitek has all of my trust!

Apologies

yes, I stink at blogging. I am sorry to all of you who take the time to come on over. I will get better, I promise!

Lots of excitement around here lately. The Patriots are a nonstop winning machine, the Red Sox are going to the World Series and Miss Madigan is Five years old today!! We had two great birthday parties over the weekend, I'll try and get the details posted later.

On the tote front, I actually got something else for my birthday. I will post pictures of that on Wednesday!

Have a great day everyone!

Shopping List

My Birthday was last week and I am trying to think about what I'd like to treat myself to. The Vineyard Vines catalogue was kind enough to arrive. They have some nice new totes that are perfect for Fall. I loved this one and it looks like the perfect size for everyday use. The herringbone entry is also worth mulling over. Anyone already pick one of these ladies up?

My Dream Purchase has always been a Louis Vuitton bag. Although, a part of me is hesitant about buying one because of all the faux bags out there. It just kind of makes them seem not so special. I love this: It is the Segur MM but I would choose black. I'll wait until November when I go to Aruba to see if they are available "duty free" there.

Congratulations to our favorite Boys of Spring, Summer, and Fall. In an amazing night at Fenway, The Red Sox won and then the Yankees fell to the Orioles in extra innings delivering our first Division Championship in 12 years. Oh how great it is to be a Boston Sports Fan!

Sleepy Saturday

It is one of those very dreary, dark, and rainy Saturday mornings. The kind of morning where you just want to stay in bed all day and watch movies while you eat cookie dough. The mood here at the Landcruiser House is complimentary to the weather. Our dear Red Sox blew their lead last night to the Yankees. It was such a great game right up until the end where our usually stoic and infallible pitchers, Okajima and Papelbon, allowed the Yankees to rally and pull of a crushing win against our Boys of Summer. If this is any indication of what the playoffs are going to be like, I may just quit watching now. And don't get me started of what the New England Patriots have been doing lately.

We finished off the first full week of school and it was a complete success. I think Madigan only lost 3 hair pretties and one headband and she only left her required hat on the bus once. She had her first playdate after school yesterday which was a real coup for me because I got to sit out by the pool until 2pm ALL BY MYSELF!!!! We also got to meet our new cousin, Marissa Bella who is already 9 weeks old (better late than never) although the PlayDough got more attention than the baby.

Our week was capped off by my stepson arriving home with a busload of 17 year olds to stay the night. I honestly don't ever remember having that much energy or being that skinny. I think I heard the last noises about 5am this morning, so I don't expect the basement door to open anytime before noon today. And let me tell you, times have changed in the 19 years since I was in high school. We have a coed sleepover crowd! They are all good kids, although Madigan did hand over a lighter that she found in the bathroom. I am sure that only belongs to the two exchange students that are here from Spain, right? I mean everyone knows that those Europeans smoke like chimneys. If I really investigated matters I would probably find Cheech and Chong somewhere down there. I love how my husband believes that these kids are so innocent and would not even know where to find weed. He was clearly the Nerd in his class!So, now I have to quietly entertain Madigan while a steady rain pours down and it is only 7:21am. Maybe someone in the basement could shove over and make some room for me on the sectional?

Madigan's Milestone

Well, she did it, my little Baby Girl left me for the greener pastures of Kindergarten 1. She could not contain her excitement, I could not contain my sadness. I never thought I would be one of "those mothers" who cries hysterically while chasing after the school bus. To my credit, I did all my crying the night before while I read her goodnight books. It was impossible not to get caught up in her excitement. The thrill of a ride on a school bus was contagious. Her smile was a mile wide. She was very polite at the bus stop and said her goodmornings to everyone. The part that was the hardest for me was that I was putting her on a bus with complete strangers. She knew no one that first day. Furthermore, most of the kids on the bus are all older than her, third grade and higher. I had nothing to worry about. The bus monitor said she had a great day, and that she had lots of fun. I could tell. When the bus pulled up for drop off at 4:15pm, Madigan was sound asleep.

Survival

Well, Hurrican Felix was a Sissy! I say that in jest realizing how lucky we were to have him skirt farther North of Aruba than was expected. The storm was not bad in the least. Lots of rain and wind, but I have seen worse Nor'Easters in Boston. It started with heavy rains at 4am. When we got up around 9am, it just seemed like a heavy, overcast day. Around 10am, the rain started to pick up so we decided to go for a ride to the beach to see what was happening. It was more fierce along the coastline and it was actually pretty difficult to open the car door at the beach. It was amazing to see the normally calm azure waters churning with an angry force. It reminded me of the Seinfeld episode where George Costanza says, "The sea was angry that day my friends..." Watching the water slam into the rocks was awesome. The spray climbed so high into the air. It was truly a force of nature. There was some areas of the island that had flooding, but we did fine here on the Northwest tip of the island. There were some palm tree leaves and debris, but nothing catastrophic that I could see. It was over before we knew it. We came home, soaked to the bone with about 60 pictures. In fact, I think I ruined my new Sony Cybershot (should have gotten that extended warrenty from Best Buy, huh?) because the screen is a bit cloudy now. I did regret not having my good Canon Digital Rebel with me. I would have gotten some unbelievable shots with that. But better to ruin a much cheaper camera!

The remainder of the day was quite a bore. When there is no sun, there is nothing to do here. The stores are never open on a Sunday here in Aruba, so shopping was out irregardless of the Hurricane. Madigan watched lots of the Cartoon Network. The Doc worked on some medical stuff and I read a great book. It was called The Boleyn Inheritance. If you like historical novels, this is a great one. It is about Henry VIII and some of his wives. Great read!

The sun is back out today so we hope to have some fun before we go home tomorrow. Hope you all have a great Labor Day!

Hurricane Watch!

HI Everyone! Writing to you from Aruba where Hurricane Felix is fast approaching! We got word yesterday that there was a Hurricane Watch issued for the island. Aruba is below the "Hurricane Belt" and has not been victim to the wrath of Mother Nature for quite some time. The locals here say that hurricanes only come once a century to their beautiful island. Looks like this time, it could actually happen! I just brought in all of our lounge chairs and moved the grill into the kitchen. I don't know if these precautions are necessary, but it is foolish not to do so. I keep reading articles saying "tourists are flocking to the airport to escape from the island" and that the local hardware stores are mobbed with people buying up plywood and supplies. We went out for a delicious dinner to our absolute favorite restaurant, came home and celebrated the news that the Red Sox rookie, Clay Buckholz, had just pitched a No Hitter! I guess we should have been in panic mode, not vacation mode! Stay Tuned Faithful readers........

Help!

Alright all you bloggers out there. I need your shopping help and advice. We are coming to the end of an era here at the Landcruiser Household. Madigan & her babysitter (Nanny to those of you who didn't grow up in a blue collar house ;) are parting ways after Four and 3/4 years together to make room for going to Big Girl School. She has been caring for Madigan four days per week since Madigan was nine weeks old. I am awful at coming up with ideas and knew many of you would know just the thing! Her sitter is her second mother, so I would like something sentimental but also something she could actually use and not just shove on a shelf. She has two children of her own (ages 5 and 2) that Madigan has grown up with, played with, fought with and shared with. I really want to give her something to remember Madigan by. Flood me with ideas!!!

Addendum

I tried.............She won.

A Bit of Pink

The new In the Pink Lilly Pulitzer Fall Catalogue arrived yesterday and Madigan immediately knew what store it was for. How is that for a savvy four year old? She honed in on these boots the second she opened up to the kids section. They have the cutest pink elephants on them and I can totally see her splashing around the puddles in these babies! Unfortunately, her cheap mother is not about to fork out $78 for rain boots. Looks like we'll have to keep these in mind a few months down the line. They also have some beautiful dresses in the new line like this one:

It is a classic for sure. I have to really start toning down my shopping for the girl because she has to wear a uniform to her new school. So while I may not be purchasing these beauties for now, I absolutley have to order this today. (Couldn't get the picture to appear)

I can't believe she is headed off to K1 (also known as pre K because she is not 5 by Sept 1st). I seemed like just yesterday that she was a tiny thing who did not argue about the clothes I was putting her in! Where does the time go?

Summer Fun

Can't believe the calendar is already progressing into August. Here we are in the Dog Days of Summer and I have been totally awful about posting some of the great stuff we have been doing these past few weeks. I need to find some time to really sit and organize my thoughts and pictures in order to immortalize them here on my blog.

One of the greatest things we did this summer was go to a Red Sox game in July followed by a special event at Fenway Called "A Picnic in the Park". It is organized by the Red Sox wives and all the proceeds go to three different (I think) charitable organizations. You basically get to roam around on the actual field and have a picnic. They provide you with a bag containing a blanket, and some other donated items like hand sanitizer (?) from CVS and a CD from the guy who sang the National Anthem at the game. You can wait in line to get some autographs from the players. They do that for about an hour, after which the guys spend the rest of the evening with their families. There is also a live auction with some pretty great things to bid on like a hunting trip with Tim Wakefield and dinner at Curt Schilling's house which if memory serves went for about $35,000.

This year, we brought my niece Lara who is seven and has always been a huge Red Sox fan. Her night was made when Jason Varitek came over and introduced himself to her and thanked her for being his #1 fan. Lara was speechless! She told me it was the greatest night of her life! Here are a couple shots of the fun:

Madigan could care less about talking to Jason, Doug or Tim, all she wanted to do was get her face painted. She has no idea how lucky she is to be in the presence of such greatness!

Off to the Cape

I know it seems like I have been on vacation because I am a terrible poster these days, but I am actually just about to leave for Mashpee on Cape Cod. Madigan went down last night with my Mom and my Sister. The Doc and I had a very fun cocktail party to attend last night, so I got to sleep in today! Now, I am just waiting for my two nieces ages 7 and 2 to arrive so we can all head down. This is my "Girls Vacation". My parents bought time share at this condo place about twenty years ago and never used it. They always traded it away to go somewhere else like Hawaii or the Caribbean. We never even thought of going to the Cape until Madigan was two. Now, it is our annual pilgrimage together! We have lots of friends who come down for the day or even overnite to play with us. We will do lots of fun stuff like a trip over to Martha's Vineyard, go to the Barnstable Fair, and head down to Brewster and Chatham. All we need is some nice weather and a few martini glasses to make the week great! I am bringing my laptop so I can keep up on all of you, especially Miss Chloe who has something to tell us all!

Steals and Deals

Went to meet my Mom, Sister and Aunt at the brand new Cheesecake Factory in Braintree and had a 90 minute wait for a table. "Great", I said. I had no four year old with me so I was free to shop! I left the ladies there and stopped by J. Crew and did very well. Got a pair of swimming trunks for The Doc that were originally $45. My price? $14.99! Then I got two tee's for $7.49 each. The flip flops were $7.87 each! Everything in the store that was on sale was an additional 25% off. How could you not take something home? Even Bailey gave it a paws up!

Holiday Recap

Our Annual 3rd of July tradition is to go to my high school best friend's beach house in Humarock. They have awesome bonfires on the beach with do-it-yourself fireworks. Her family always throws a great party and it is great to see everyone. This year, my friend could not be there because she is a travel nurse and is finishing up a stint in San Francisco. We all had a beer/glass of wine/cocktail in her honor though!

We didn't get down there until sunset because I had to work a full day, leave Boston, pick Madigan up, then pick up my sister and then sit in Route 3 (towards Cape Cod) traffic. I was glad to make it before it got dark though, because we got some good shots as we came into Humarock.

We arrived at the Cottage, had some snacks and beverages, then hit the beach for some fun.

Madigan was not impressed once it got loud!

Gotta take a break, Madigan is not interested in waiting her turn for the computer!

No Cape Cod for Me!

So here it is, July 3rd and it is staring off to be a beautiful day. The sun is shining and it is the kind of morning where there is still a bit of chill in the air but you just know it is going to be in the mid 70's by noontime. I will not be able to verify that though since we still have to work a full day today. Lots of my friends have today and Thursday off. However, in the world of Obstetrics and Gynecology, there really never is a day off. Those babies come when they damn well please! So, to placate the staff, we are going to get lunch from The Cheesecake Factory. The tough part is deciding what to order off of their 25 page menu where each offering is incredibly tempting to the palate! Should I order my old stand by: The Santa Fe Salad? Or should I go for some cultural offerings perhaps The Thai Lettuce Wraps? The crappy thing is that they don't deliver. That means, I have to drive up Route 9 to Chestnut Hill to pick up the order, bring it all back, eat and be ready for my conference call at 1pm. I suppose I can make the sacrifice. Happy 3rd everyone!

Duran Duran Hungry Like the Wolf Live Princess Diana Tribute

In keeping with my 80's Themed weekend, here is a video of Duran Duran at the Princess Diana Memorial Concert over the weekend. I absolutely worshipped these guys when I was 14. I had every Tiger Beat issue they were in! Simon is my all time Rock and Roll Crush!

The Human Touch

HI All, I have been a bad blogger not posting for several days, but had to tell you all about the Rick Springfield concert! I saw him last night at the Bank of American Pavillion in Boston. It was great! "Dr. Noah Drake" was the headliner. The concert started with Scandal. You all remember "The Warrior" right? Patty Smyth was pretty good up there. That girl can still rock after raising six children!

Next came Eddie Money. Despite looking quite haggard, he was great! He sang all the old favorites and ran around pretty well on stage for a gentleman with a few years (and drug use??) under his belt! "Take Me Home Tonight" was great. The part when Ronnie sings "Be my little baby....." was sung by his daughter and she was great. I am guessing she's in her twenties.

Then, after the sun had set and the ocean breeze arrived, Rick took the stage by storm with some song I had never heard. He has definitely increased the guitar work in his music to sound less 80's-like. He is still as handsome as ever and what biceps you have my dear! Our seats were originally in the 13th row to the left of the stage. But by the time Rick came on, we were in the second row on the aisle, so great vantage point. "Jessie's Girl" got the biggest praise, but I have to say, the highlight of the show was when he walked off the stage straight into the crowd and sang "My Generation" by the Who. He was getting groped and he damn well liked it I tell you! When finished with that one, Rick sang the appropriately titled "Human Touch". The audience, even the guys, were going crazy trying to get their hands on him. I was two seconds too late to jump out into the aisle for my brush with greatness, but not to worry, we still had a great time and I was home by 11:30pm. It is definitely not the 80's anymore!

Trouble With A Capital "T"

When, I ask, is it safe to leave the room for five minutes without this child creating some form of chaos?

I Love Eating!

I notice when I read all of your blogs that you all have some incredible talents like creating amazing stationary, or incredible needlepoint projects, and even these cool belts. I never thought I had any talents until this afternoon when I realized I have a talent for eating out. That's right folks, I love restaurants and I do a damn good job of eating when I am at one. In the last week alone, I went to Fleming's Steakhouse on Thursday, Morton's of Chicago (but in Boston) on Sunday and tonight I will be eating at Grill 23. I guess it is pretty obvious why my cholesterol is hovering around 250 points and my clothes don't fit anymore! I keep saying that I am going to eat better, but these restaurants just keep getting in the way. But on a warm summer night, a cool crisp salad, NY sirloin and a lemon drop martini are all I need to make me smile!

The Gang's All Here!

Look what arrived yesterday! My big Bonanno Sunfest Order! I ordered two pairs for myself, one for Madigan, one for my Mother, my Sister and a great Friend of ours! They looked so beautiful sitting together out in my almost completed landscaped backyard. I took lots of pictures, so I can run you through the individial choices! I feel like I am ready to order another pair. These things are addictive!

Sister's pair are Skye with Bellflower

Friend Linda's are the opposite, Bellflower with Skye
My first pair is Pomme with Emerald Blue. This pair I kept going back and forth on. I thought I wanted the primary colour to be Emerald Blue but decided at the last minute to give the honour to Pomme. I already have a blue pair (bellflower with skye).

These are The Palm Beach Classic, June Blue with Bois

These are my Mom's White with Arbutus, these

came out great! And last but not least, Madigan's Linaria with White to match my original pair. She loves them and has not taken them off yet!