8 posts tagged “miscellania”

Despite my best attempt at fixing Rick's old bike it still wasn't quite right so he decided to upgrade his old bike to a full suspension (one of the things we picked up at Dick's last night) bike.  He got to try it out today when we went on a bike ride from our house the roundabout way to Shadyside.  We 'toured' Shadyside and some surrounding neighborhoods and then made our way back for a grand total riding time of 102 minutes (yes, those 2 minutes count!).  It was a lot of fun and a nice change of pace from regular bike trail or Frick Park trail riding--though we did cut through part of Frick on our way home!  The whole time we were riding there was a light drizzle...until the last 15 minutes of the ride and it began to come down really really hard.  Every inch of me was soaked through to the skin.  Complete with water running down my arms and legs and dripping off the tip of my nose.  It was fun! (And very refreshing too).  My pulled muscle thing has seemed to 'tighten' down into a hard small knot of tissue and isn't bothering me nearly as much. =)

After a brief respite (meaning shower and change of clothes) we went out for a late lunch/early dinner at the Olive Garden.  Not very original, I know, but after fighting re-directed Parkway traffic the last two days we really didn't want to deal with any more long waits in traffic.  We also went to Barnes & Noble where I picked up a 'how-to' cake decorating book (I'm determined to pipe icing perfectly one of these days!) that was on clearance.  Then, we headed over to the mall where Rick bought me a fantastic Dooney & Burke purse for my birthday!! =D  He really is so sweet and generous--I've had a perfect 'birthday weekend!'

Yesterday passed in a wave of heat.  The kids played in the sprinkler again.  Maia and I made each other up in 'Fairy Makeup' which you should know consists of lots of pink and lots of sparkles.  Tristyn had his piano lesson and I brought along a bit of felt to make something up real quick.

Nice and Simple and more importantly--it can be finished quickly!

It's a crayon case for Maia who probably doesn't need one but appreciates anything that is 'made' for her.  Especially when she can watch me make it in less than 15 minutes.

Rick brought home pizza for dinner last night.  Thursday being laundry day and piano lesson day, dinner usually alternates between leftovers (blah) or pizza.  He met the new owners of the pizza shop, an older couple from Iran, which he said were very nice and quite interesting to talk with.  Rick said they all talked for about 15 minutes or so because he got there rather early.  I would like to meet them sometime myself. =)

I rode the Jail Trail-Southside last night.  About a mile in, there was an abandoned bike ride in the middle of the trail.  I looked around to see if the owner was nearby but I didn't see anyone.  Then, about a half mile later there was a shirt lying in the middle of the trail.   I couldn't help but wonder if something bad had happened to someone.  =(  It was very odd.  On the way back, the shirt was still there but someone had moved the bike to the side of trail.  Very strange.

Apparently, they are doing construction on the parkway again this weekend and they decided to start early last night!  After biking, I went to visit a friend up in Robinson for a little while.  On the way home, what should have been about a 20 minute drive turned into a 2 hour drive!    To cap things off, my exit was closed and I had to take the next one and loop back around.  It wasn't the end of the world, but it certainly messed up my plans to go to bed early for once.  Traffic will be crazy all weekend I suppose. =(

I woke up this morning in what seems to be the new normal fashion--a pile up on my bed--riley, bob, eddie and maia.  (Tristyn just looks askance at us as he heads downstairs) and remembered that we forgot to put out the garbage.  I was up and dressed in a flash and out the front door with Rick who was leaving for work.  We put everything on the curb and said goodbye.  After he left, I remembered that I forgot the stuff in the basement.  I hurried to get it out too before the recycling guys came.  I managed well enough but then I thought I had better set up the sprinklers before the sun started really shining on the yard.

Back inside the house, the kids had fed the dogs and cats and were waiting for their breakfast.  I got their breakfast ready and they ate like it was their last meal.  It was only about 20 minutes past their 'normal' breakfast time.  Sheesh!   Maia saw I had the sprinkler on and ran upstairs to put her suit on while I tried to quickly gather together my yogurt and cup of tea before she was ready to go outside.  Everyone knows Maia can't do anything without me right by her side---right?

So.   I relaxed on the deck, watching Maia play in the sprinkler, eating my yogurt, drinking my tea and catching up on blogs and emails.  It was very nice.  The dogs were lying companionably on the deck beside me and Eddie--well here's what Eddie was doing:

He likes to survey the backyard in the morning.  Since his little 'adventure' a few weeks ago when he was lost, he only will come outside if we are outside and he never lets us out of his sight.  He always makes sure to come in when we do, too.

Perfect morning...and then my internet signal needed reset.

I came inside to do it and get started on my chores.  Tristyn's piano teacher called under the pretense of moving Tristyn's lesson 30 minutes but I think he was really calling to remind me.  I 'discovered' I had left a load of laundry in the washing machine and it needed to be rewashed.  Then I discovered I had forgotten to run the dishwasher last night and now I have breakfast dishes piled up in my sink.  Somebody had a little too much fun with the toilet paper and pulled half of it off the roll and left little shredded bits of it everywhere on the 2nd floor --coughcoughBobandRileycoughcough--

So much for that perfect relaxing morning!

Sunday, we ended up taking the kids to see Ratatouille.  They really enjoyed it.  I wish more very kid-friendly movies like it would come out.  Our family really enjoys going to the movies together. =)

Yesterday, was a day of errands.  My driver's license expired on August 6th so I had to go get a new picture taken.  Lucky for us, we walked into the driver's center and there was only one other person there.  I got to immediately go over to one of the clerks and get my picture taken.  All in all, the whole procedure took about 5 minutes from entering to leaving.  Tristyn sorely needed a haircut and Maia wanted hers done too, so that was our next stop.

Maia wanted to try hers pretty short.  Payless Shoes were next door and Maia loves to try on shoes so we stopped in there next so she could try them on.  She found a pink sparkly pair that she really liked but they only had them in sizes too big or too small.  She wants me to put 'pink, sparkly shoes' on the list of Things We Need to Buy for School.

(Tristyn's haircut can be attributed to a little too much squirming and wiggling)

We tend to have lunch with Missy on Mondays but since we weren't home, we met her at Panera.  The kids and I all ordered our usual:  Maia-peanut butter on a bagel with chocolate milk, Tristyn-broccoli cheese soup with sourdough roll and HiC, and me-chicken noodle soup with sourdough roll and a diet pepsi.  As usual, Maia ate about half of my roll.  She's a bread nut just like me.

From here, we went to the bookstore and the kids got to look at books.  Tristyn disappeared (not really) down an aisle and immersed himself in various books, while Maia brought me every (I think!) book off the 'Off to Kindergarten' display to read to her.  I ended up finding a great cookbook on the clearance table on the way out which of course I had to turn around and go buy.  It was 400+ recipes from around the world.  I picked one out straightaway to try making with dinner.

The kids played in the Eagle's Nest while I grabbed a few things from Giant Eagle including the few spices I didn't have that I would need for dinner.  The Eagle's Nest really is a great addition to GE because there is such a wide variety of things for the kids to do there while mommys are shopping.  Everyone leaves the store happy because no one got bored or frustrated.  Tristyn and Maia always do the daily (weekly?) project when they are in there and this time they made alligators. 

At home, we spent some time relaxing and playing after a busy morning/early afternoon.  We also tried Tristyn's 'experiment' which consisted of seeing what type of liquid would break up/dissolve goldfish crackers the quickest.

Here it is!  My second attempt at an Indian Dish:  Basmati Rice with Potatoes.   Some of the spices in it included --cinnamon stick, cardamon pods, cumin, bay leaves, tumeric and I think at least one other that I am forgetting.  It turned out really good though of course the kids weren't too sure of it.  =(    They are newly convinced pea eaters though, because they really enjoy eating fresh peas.  This time we got about 2.5 lbs of them to shell for dinner and had a good time doing it.

After dinner was cleaned up, the kids went off to play in their rooms while Rick went to lift weights and I jumped on the treadmill.  I got a good 35 minutes in on the 10% incline. 

The kids and I looked at old baby pictures in our old albums before bedtime instead of our usual couple of stories.  They were both fascinated at how tiny they were, but every time Tristyn saw the obligatory cute naked baby butt picture of himself he was really upset and embarrassed.  I wonder if those emotions will carry through to when he's a teenager in regards to those pictures!  Hahahaha.

Big Love was on at 9 pm and the kids were tucked in and the lights turned out with about 10 minutes to spare.  Rick and I spent the rest of the evening watching the show and relaxing. =)

After a very long night's sleep (bed at 10 pm!! and waking up at 8 am!!) I got out of bed fully revived and ready to go.  I had a cup of tea and some yogurt and made the kids breakfast.  Then, I loaded up my bike and drove down to the jail trail.  I rode from the start of the trail all the way to the Smithfield Street Bridge.  I crossed over it and got on the Station Square/Southside Trail and rode that all the way to the Hot Metal Bridge.  I didn't cross this bridge even though it would have brought me back to the start of the jail trail for two reasons.  One--it's not fun making the mad dash across the bridge in between cars (the bike bridge isn't completed yet).  I've done that before and it's scary! And secondly, I wasn't ready to end my trip that soon, so basically I turned around and backtracked the way I came for a total time of 56 minutes.

Not too bad this past week in regards to exercise I'd say. I chart from Sunday to Saturday.  This past week:

Sunday--1 hr 24 mins bike ride (with Rick)
Monday--rest day
Tuesday--30 minute run on treadmill
Wednesday--2nd rest day of the week--plus we were in Cleveland and did a lot of walking there
Thursday--30 minute walk on treadmill at fast pace and 10% incline
Friday--60 minutes rollerblading on Jail Trail
Saturday--30 mins of hill running in Lawrenceville area 

=D  Today's ride was a decent way to start the week =D

After I came home, I showered and made lunch for everyone.  Then Rick wanted to take his turn biking but he decided to bike in Frick and do some of the trails there.  He rode to the park, but the kids and I drove over and spent some time playing at the playground. 

Tristyn was in mid-swing when I took this picture.  It took me about 8 attempts to get it because either he'd be too far away or I'd get a close-up of the soles of his shoes.

After I pushed Maia on the swings for awhile (she's only willing to pump half of the time) she wanted to 'zoom like an airplane' and I got this picture of her taken.

You can kind of see their tie-dye shirts that they made in the pictures.  I think they did a fantastic job with them.  Thanks again Missy and Mindy!

Right now, everyone is taking a brief break before we get ready to go to the movies.  =D

Tada!  More pink petunias!   I haven't the slightest clue why I love petunias so much but I do.

Maia 'discovered' this visitor resting on one of our bare spots in our yard.  We tried to wave him away from the spot we are trying to patch and get him to land anywhere else on the rest of the green lawn but he wouldn't oblige.

Maia had dance today.  I'm getting really tired sitting in the car while she is in class because I always forget to bring something to do or read and it suddenly occurred to me:  what a perfect time to squeeze in an extra run!  I ran on the Lawrenceville side, zig-zagging my way down the hill for a block, across an alley for a block or two, then down another block, across an alley....and so on until I was all the way at the bottom.  Then, I repeated what I had done but only came up this time.   Then after I got to the top, I crossed Penn Avenue and ran a little bit on the Bloomfield side to even things out to a nice 30 minutes.

Once dance class was over, Maia and I stopped in Squirrel Hill to go to Starbucks.  This is our little Saturday treat--she gets a chocolate milk and I get a nonfat raspberry decaf mocha.  We didn't have a lot of time so we didn't linger long so we got everything to go and I got one to bring home to Rick as well.  Tristyn isn't partial to chocolate milk; he was just happy to have the 2 hours or so away from Maia.

While I made lunch, Rick squeezed in a run and took Riley with him.   Poor Bob!  He didn't get to go and all he did was run up and downstairs looking for them and crying.  He's definitely 'owed' the next time out!

We had a wedding in Waynesburg to go to; Rick's first cousin was getting married.  We got ready and then dropped the kids off at Missy's house where they got to do all sorts of fun things.  Much better than going to a wedding where they didn't know anyone!  They swam, played on the computer, made tie-dye t-shirts and then came back to our house with Missy and Mindy and got to have pizza for dinner. Then they got to stay up extra late playing, playing and playing!   

The wedding was very nice.  The bride's dress was beautiful.  It was one of those dresses that you couldn't help looking at and wishing girls and women got to get dressed up that fancy everyday.  There were many many guests at the reception--we heard the count was at like 380!--but the place it was at was more than accommodating and decorated very nicely.  Really, all in all, everything seemed to be picture perfect!

Hmmm...nothing too exciting today.  I did some things with the kids, ran some errands and 'taught' Catharine how to bake sugar cookies.  Dinner was simple tilapia, potatoes and baked asparagus with this strange cheese i bought a little while ago--invernia? inverness?  Can't remember right now what it's called but it has a taste and texture not unlike asiago.  After dinner, I drove to the jail trail and rollerbladed for just over an hour.  I did a few laps and really enjoyed it.  I've forgotten how much I like to blade but I won't be forgetting again so soon.  I'm thinking about doing that (or a long bike ride) on Sunday.  I won't have time tomorrow because we have a wedding to go to and Maia has dance in the morning.  I'm thinking a quick morning jog while she is in class would be pretty good though.

Anyways...on a different note, I finished the new Harry Potter book I picked up at Target a couple of days ago.  Can't say I was disappointed--but can't say I was impressed either. 

Edited to add:  I was trying to embed a video clip at the top of this post but vox doesn't seem to let one embed.  here's the link: http://video.yahoo.com/video/play?vid=814197&fr=&cache=1

I finally got Maia registered for kindgergarten this fall.  I think.  I hope.  Who knows.  =S   They needed a stack of papers and information from me and I can't help but feeling something was misssed or forgotten.  Maia is very excited and already counting down the days until she gets to meet many, many new friends.