Trying to catch up...Last weekend til now!

Ok so I know its been awhile since I have posted some updates but nothing earth shattering has been going on....its just been busy and I haven't had the free time to post. So I am gonig to try and catch up...

Just for kicks, here is a pic of Ben and I from the wedding we went to a few weeks ago:

Now onto current updates....

Last weekend I got to spend an awesome weekend with my very good friend Kim! Originally I was going to drive down to her house after work on Friday and spend the weekend because we were going to the American Idol Top Ten tour Concert in Atlantic City. It turned out that another friend of ours from college, Jai, and her girls were going to be able to come to Kim's house too for the day. So Instead of going after work, I took the whole day off so we could all meet around lunch time at Kim's house. It had been a few years since we had all been together and I was really looking forward to it.

So friday, I went to work in the morning just for a graduation we were having. We have them all the time for students who are finished the program and normally I wouldn't mind missing it but one of the students leaving was really a special person I wanted to be there for his graduation. Right after it, I left and started my drive south! Kim lives near Atlantic City so its a bit further than I normally go and I was a little unsure how long it would take with friday "shore traffic" and so I took my "longer route" but it was better than it would have been on the parkway I think so I was happy.

It worked out well that Jai and I arrived within minutes of each other and coming from two different locations. I actually got a text on my cell just as pulled in front of Kim's house where she said J had just arrived and she thought it was me. I replied with "look outside!" because I was there too!

Jai's daughters and Kim's daughters had never really met. The last time they saw each other was when they were all babies so that doesn't really count. It took a little while for Nina to warm up to the girls (didn't take her younger sister any time at all!) but before long they were all playing together like old friends.

We decided to have some lunch first, then head to the beach! It was Nina and Kara's first time at the beach so that was exciting. Nina definately liked it more than Kara. Kara was actually asleep when we arrived but when she woke up and we introduced her to the ocean she was not happy with us at all.

Here are some photos from the Beach:

Sisters


Beach Babes

Not liking the ocean


After the beach we went back to Kim's house and played in the pool for a bit. It was fun but a little cold and the bugs were out biting so we didn't stay in the pool too long. Next up was dinner and we got some good pizza (Thanks Kim!) and had a tasty dinner with friends! At the end of the night before it was time for Jai and the girls to leave, I got a photo with all the girls:


After the kids were in bed and Jai had gone home, Kim and I got to do some of the important things in life....checking our email and exchanging photos! We were up pretty late too but it was worth it!

The next day started early with some early morning thunderstorms. I had a few cuddly visitors early on but it was not a bad way to wake up at least:) It was a nice casual morning gearing up for the concert that night. I already did my actual concert review but here are a few photos of us from before and during the concert!

Here we are ready to leave for Atlantic City:





Our first stop in Atlantic City was for dinner. Kim had heard that the Atlantic City Bar and Grill had some great wings and we thouhgt what better start to an evening out? While the food was good, maybe not the "best wings ever" (and their mozzarella sticks were "plastic" as I described despite the pictures showing more breaded ones LOL), it was a great time to be out for a meal with a good friend. Here are some pictures from dinner:


At the concert

Our attempt at "self portrait"


We had another late night in Atlantic City after the concert. And losing some of my camera stuff had not helped but it was still a fantastic night and I look forward to doing it next year!

Sunday was a much more mellow day and I was exhausted. I was trying to wait til later to drive home so to avoid as much traffic as I good. Kim made a great chicken dinner and after that I was all filled up and ready to take on the cars! I ended up going the longer route home again so to avoid some traffic that was on the more direct route of the parkway. Even though I did hit some traffic (which is to be expected in NJ in the summer on a Sunday!) and a slight detour where I got the wrong exit for the AC Expressway and headed BACK to AC instead of away from it (but I quickly rectified that and was on my way!) I got home around 11:30pm I think and it really wasn't that bad of a drive (time and traffic). Thankfully I had taken monday off of work to "re-coup" and I needed it! I slept in pretty late on monday and really did nothing but watch TV, edit photos and rest!

So as you can see it has been pretty busy around here! LOL I already updated on this weekend. Today was just sitting around, editing, doing photos and watching Olympics. I slept a lot yesterday and then we saw Dark Knight. I am off again tomorrow to take my grandfather to the eye doctor and to stop in at Best Buy and check on the status of my camera. I don't expect them to know anything but the girl said it was always possible, and if I was going to be around anyway I could feel free to call or stop in. I will stop in.

I don't plan to be down there too late though because I do have to work on Tuesday. I worked on Tara's photos today and we decided on 8 that I had printed and then when they get up here for the pagent on Thurs they can decide which 4 to submit. Tara's pagent is on Friday and Saturday. Hopefully I will have a camera but I am not holding my breath. Worst case is I could go back to film:) We will see what happens...Ben is going to a NHRA car nationals or something in Reading on Saturday and is leaving early and returnnig late so sunday will be interesting. We have Sami's baptism in the early afternoon but I don't think there will really be anything after it since my dad will be at the shore and isn't going. (Usually if we do anything its at their place.) Maybe we will all just go out to lunch or something. I will talk to my grandfather tomorrow and see what he thinks and talk to my sister more when I see her Thurs.

So If am not around much, or posting, please forgive me in advance. I will try to keep up by reading along even if I don't post but I know work is going to be busy this week since two co-workers are on vacation and that means that basically Jay and I are teaching all three classes between the two of us.

So ta ta for now!!

Broken Camera :(

Well, it got an error 99 while I was in the middle of shooting photos (literally!)of my niece for her pagent thing this week-wonderful! We got a few which was good and then we borrowed my grandfather's point and shoot to take a few more. They didn't come out bad which is good but I just couldn't get some of the shots I had envisioned originally.

All I was doing was using the camera. I had the lens it came with (18-55) on it and we were shooting away. All of a sudden it wouldn't take a shot and the shutter sounded like "shikt" instead of "click". I did notice that the week before a few of my photos looked like they had been written to the card on top of each other and thought it was my card so I tried another.

After the error I took the card and copied the photos that were on the card to the computer so not to lose them and reformat the cards and such. I did then try a different lens and still had the problem. I went to my grandfathers house which was nearby and googled the error for any "quick fixes" and tried letting it sit, changing cards,lens and battery etc. Ultimately I took it to Best Buy since I do have the extended service plan.

From what I read there are a variety of things people have experienced with this error. Thankfully I had purchased the extended service warranty on the camera when we bought it from Best Buy, and it is still under warranty with that plan so I took it into Best Buy. I actually brought it into a Best Buy in south Jersey since I was down there when it happened and Ben's cousin used to work at the one so we figured we would take our chances that maybe there was someone he knew working that could help. No luck with that but the girl that was working was pretty nice and sympathetic. They declared it had to be sent in for service to see if they would fix it before just replacing it but she did say she would overnight it for me and that I could call anytime to check on it. It was really weird to leave my camera and not know when I will see it. As much as I would not mind if they decided to replace it with a current model (I don;t think they even make mine anymore), I will be happy as long as I have a working camera-and soon. Tara's pagent is next weekend and Sami's baptism is too so I really hope I have something more than my cell phone and point and shoot to take pics with! I am going back to south jersey on monday so I told the lady I would stop in and check on its status while I was down there. She said that if they determine its not worth fixing it will show up in her computer system and be able to let me know.

My Camera...going to get serviced

So needless to say that put a bit of a damper on my mood. T and I still had a good time but I was just frustrated. We did go to dinner with my grandfather and then even had some ice cream for dessert. T is getting a little too smart:) She can read now and so she read the menu herself and after she ate most of her chicken, she said she was feeling full so I told her we would get a box to take the rest home. A few minutes later she says "The menue said to ask about dessert." MY grandfather and I got such a kick out of that. He said she was quite smart on that. I told her I thought she full then she proceeded to tell me how half her stomache was full but there was a small part that had room for dessert. So we asked the waitress and all they had was some pies but she told us there was an ice cream shop up the block in walking distance. That is all T needed to here:) So after dinner we walked up there and had a nice dessert. Grandpa never says no to dessert either-he has a sweet tooth. They both had ice cream and I got a "Yum-Yum". I LOVE them and hadn't had one in ages. They are hard to describe but very tasty. They are creamy like ice cream but light like water ice. Here is an excert I found online about yum-yum's:
"Richer in texture than water ice, Yum Yum is more akin to the true Italian gelati that John Leo knew and enjoyed in his hometown of Bari, Italy. It's not an icy-ice. It's creamier," http://www.dvrbs.com/PEOPLE/CamdenPeople-JohnLeo.htm

T and Grandpa at dinner
Grandpa


Pictures from dessert:
Tara and her ice cream

Ice cream face


Grandpa


My Yum Yum


So after dessert we dropped my grandfather off and stopped at McD's to pick up some dinner for my sister before dropping Tara off. When I dropped her off I saw Sami and Luke for a few minutes too. Sami was smiling as always. She is doing well, no more MRI's needed and no more shots. The shots seemed to have fixed whatever was the problem and she is all better. Luke has a little devil in him and was being silly running and hiding but giggling this evil little laugh as he did it. It was cute.

Little Devil L



Smiling S


I then went to Josh's house (ben's cousin) to see part of the pre-season Eagles game before he went with me to see about my camera. After that I drove home and was exhausted with a head ache.

Today, I actually slept most of the day. I got up and posted the pics for my sister so she could tell me what she liked and I can work on them tommorrow. I was still tired and dozing on the couch so I went to bed and took an nap for a few hours. After I woke up we went to see The Dark Knight. Excellant movie. And seriously, Heath Ledger was amazing. I really hope he gets an oscar nomination, he deserved it for the way he acted in this movie. And the movie itself was really good. I was impressed and look forward to more!

I still need to do my update from last weekend but I figured I would get this up at least so not to be too far behind. I will keep you posted on my camera situation.

What ever happened to manners?

Ok I generally try to stay away from blogging about things work related for the sake of privacy but the odds are if you actually know me, then you probably hear about the same stuff I would post about. And if you don't, then it won't matter!

I just have to say, there is this one woman at my job. Very self-centered and not very nice (unless she wants something, then she tries to be sugary sweet but its so fake). Well, without giving too much detail, she comes into my office area (the area is actually split by a divider to my side and my co-workers side),anyway, this woman comes in and just starts using one of the computers on my co-worker's side. Doesn't say a thing, doesn't ask, just sits down and starts using. Even closed a window that was open for the next student who was coming in to use it. WTH??

And she does this ALL the time. It drives me nuts. I feel like getting a book and going and just sitting down in her office and starting to read. Not saying a word, not asking if its ok, nothing. To me its just rude. Its not like we are going to say no (unless we have something on the computers running that no one is allowed to use at that moment) but to me its just being courteous to say hello, and ask if its ok. Its not your office!!!

This happens all the time and it drives me nuts. We have other people who come to our room to use our computers but all them always say hello and ask if its ok. And what is even worse is it was during a class time! Why is she not in her office? Even if she didnt have anyone, maybe we did. Wait til the break! Its bad enough she does this on Friday afternoons when we have no students but during class time is getting silly!

At least I think the manager saw her today. He happened to pop in and I am pretty sure he saw her and hopefully will take a note of it. Its just rude.

Ok-done with my work vent for now:)

American Idol Concert 2008-Atlantic City

I am overdue for a good update and I had a fantastic weekend this past weekend but I want to make that a separate post from my review of the American Idol Tour concert.

The Stats:
When: Saturday, August 2, 2008
Where: Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, NJ
Who: American Idol Top Ten Season 7
What: concert

So this is my second American Idol Top Ten concert. I went last year in the same location and I have to say what a difference a year makes. Last year, I was a bigger "fan" of some idols but the show itself had a lot more energy and entertainment to it than this year. While I did enjoy the music, and seeing those idols that I did like on the show, as a whole I found the show to be actually rather boring. The format was completely different than last year and not in a good way. I understand they want to keep things fresh and new for people who go year after year but I really hope that next year is closer to Season 6's concert than Season 7.

So here is the good bad and the ugly on my American Idol Concert Experience 2008!

What I didn't like:
1-The format. Starting with #10 and going to #1. Each performer #10-3 sang 3 songs each, typically at least one "upbeat" and one "slower" song and then a third. Some songs were ones that were performed on the show and some were not. When it got to #2 David A, he sang 4 songs and American Idol winner aka #1 David Cook sang 5 songs. But it played out like a talent show, one performer at a time and very mundane. There was nothing to keep you interested if you didn't enjoy the current performer. For example, I really can't stand to watch Carly sing. So basically for the duration of her 3 songs I sat there twiddling my thumbs waiting for the next person to come on. Last year, there were many more group numbers or duets at least and it kept it interesting with costume changes and such. And with the group numbers, even if you didn't like one person, odds were in your favor you liked at least one of the performers on stage at any given time. This year it just seemed rather "cheap" and I can tell you my tickets were no cheaper than they were last year, and they WERE higher up.

2-The "pre-show". I guess they changed their partnership with some sponsors this year and I think it made a world of difference, and not in a positive way. Last year big sponsors were Pop-Tarts and TV Guide. When you walked in there were lights and things set up, get your photo with the idols (a cardboard poster) but then you went online to see it after the show. They also had the TV Guide "red carpet" where you could get a photo too and see it online later. During all that the Pop-Tart guy was wondering around and building excitement.

This year, there really was nothing. While I did notice a bit more souvenier stands (I don't recall as many last year but I don't really remember), there was no "excitement in the air" like I felt last year. The big sponsor seemed to be Guitar Hero and they did have a stand (I only saw one) where people could try it but even that didn't really have much of a crowd. Part of what I think helps generate a buzz for showtime is that pre-game excitement when you walk in. Maybe it was just me but I wasn't impressed. And once you got into the arena at your seats it was even less interesting. Last year they had a lot more idol behind scenes type stuff and this thing where you text messaged to a number and your message for the idols came up on the screen during pre-show or intermission. It was interesting and fun to watch and just got you invested in the show before it began. This year, none of that. We saw a logo for American Idol just roam around the big black screens hanging up.

3-Heat. Heat rises and I suggest for anyone to go to this venue in the summer, think twice about 300 level seats:) They are not bad seats for viewing but they were hot and crunched together.

4-Crowd control. They really seemed to drop the ball on crowd control after the show, or maybe they did too much of it but it was like being crushed into a can on the way out, no one moving. Typically once people get to the doors that lead to the boardwalk though, things disperse. I am not sure what was going on but people were NOT moving and there didn't even seem to be a reason for it. I tend to think they might have set up the barracades for the idols to come out and that made people stand still or something.Who knows!

What was OK:
1-The MC entertainer to get the crowd going. I don't remember if they had one last year or not (shows what kind of impression they made if they did!) The guy they had was ok, nothing overly interesting but not bad either. I do think it would be fantastic for them to get Blake Lewis from season 6 to do it. Not only does he have the energy and personality to get people going, he would be a draw for even more people to the concert (or a nice treat!) I wouldn't be surprised if his fans would buy tickets just to see him for the 15-20 minutes he is out there pumping up the crowd!

2-The stage. This could proably be lumped up with the actual format but the stage itself seemed much smaller which made me wonder if that was why they didn't do any big group numbers or even move around as much.It didn't bother me too much one way or another but it was different.

What I DID like:
1-The song choices, mostly. I did feel that the performers did a really good job in their actual performances and I did enjoy the song choices, and I felt like I knew more of the songs. It was nice to see hear some of the songs they performed on the show that I enjoyed and was thrilled to hear them sing live.

2-The performances themselves. Each performer I felt had really made an improvement since the show and really did perform their selected numbers. I don't blame them for the format:) (except Carly-she is not a bad singer, I just can not stand to watch her, she still makes too many ridiculus faces for me!)

3-The company. I was watching with one of my best friends from college, Kim and who better to share a good night out with. I think this was the best part of the concert:)

4-Our escape route from the crowds! We did get lucky and once we got through most of the crowd we were able to get around the mass of non-moving people by cutting on the beach a bit and it was successful, even with having to walk on some sand!

5-The Idols coming out to sign autographs. While I did not get any actual autographs (and did lose my camera case but that is for another post) I did get some photos and I did think it was pretty cool of them to come out to sign autographs for the crowds. There was no way they could reach everyone but they seemed to really try. We saw Carly (blah!-I went right past her) and I saw Kristy Lee Cook head back inside but didn't SEE her, Syesha, Jason Castro, David A and Brooke White.

6-David Cook filming the audience. He really does seem to still have a humble nature to him and appreciate's the fame he has come into and wants to cherish it. He expresses this when he has the place bring up the studio lights so he can film the audience on his own camera during the show!

7-The Salt Water Taffy:) This is a treat I don't get often so I grabbed some up while we were on the boardwalk-yum!


Overall it was a nice night and I look forward to hopefully going again next year. It looked like a sold out show so I am sure they will return to Atlantic City! I do hope the show its self is a little more interesting but as long as the songs are good and the singers do well (and I am there in good company!)its worth the trip to see!

Boardwalk Hall


Top 10 American Idols 2008 (sorry the pics are so far away-we were in the 300 level seating and I didn't want to bother with using my zoom lens-it was just too cramped)
Chickezie

Ramieyle

Micheal Johns

Kristy Lee Cook

Carly : Opps! Didn't take any of her! Oh well! (can you tell I REALLY didn't enjoy her?)
Brooke White

Jason Castro

Syesha

David A.

And WInner of American Idol 2008: David Cook!

Top ten (the ONLY group performance!)



Post Concert "bumper to bumper boardwalk crowds"

using the beach to get by


Idols outside signing autographs...
Ok so I cropped in here a little show but, seriously, is it me or does she just wear TOO much eye makeup, even for being on stage???

Jason Castro

Brooke White

Syesha

David A.


Me getting my Taffy

Trying to take our own photo


That should get you started on my weekend recap. I will have a separate post with pics from the weekend and such but I wanted to at least get up my AI Concert Review!

Ta ta for now!

TV Talk: Project Runway Season 5

Yeah! Finally some Tv that I have been looking forward to, Project Runway. I just got to watch the first episode and it looks like it will be a good one. There isn't much to write about just yet, as nothing really happened although I did disagree with the first person sent home but it was a tight race between the bottom three if you ask me!

But what I do have to say is this....Why is it that so many "fashion designers" have the most ridiculous outfits and look ridiculus? Its almost as bad with a lot of hair dressers but this season I just could not get over the outfits some of these contestants had on. I imagine that will only get better!

If you haven't watched this show before, you should! Its on Bravo at 9pm on Wed nights but is often replayed many times throughout the week so go tivo it now!

Bridezilla: Have you seen it???

Ok, a few years ago I caught this show for the first time, a little after I had planned my own wedding. I got a kick out of it and I would tell Ben how lucky he was with me when I planned our wedding! I hadn't seen it for a few years until last night...WOW! It is just as entertaining, if not more, than I remembered.

It just so happened that the one I watched last night was the end of a series on this bride, Lisa I believe, who happened to be from NJ so right away I was interested in case they showed any areas I recognized. I could not believe the things this bride did.

Now, I understand that the brides that are choosen for this (and other similiar type shows) are well casted and I do not doubt for one minute that much of what we see in the final, edited segment is enhanced by the bride herself to be more entertaining. BUT, there is no way a true bride could be as bad as they are if most of what we see wasn't already a large part of who they are. Like I said, I do think the bride's themselves probably exaggerate to be good for tv but there has to be a good amount that really is who they are, which is why they wanted to be on the show to begin with!

The episode I watched was just so unbelievable I sat there in more shock than I think anything else. Each episode features different times in the planning process of two girls. I believe the girls last night were Lisa and Monica. Both were pretty incredible to believe but the one Lisa was just unbelieveable. Monica (the younger one), just seemed more "young" than anything else. The other girl, Lisa, just seemed insane. I just checked out the website for WE channel (where the show airs) and even the info on the "About Brides" page just says it all:

Lisa – featured in episodes 4 & 5
Age: 34
Bride's Occupation: Marketing
Groom's Name: Andrew
Groom's Age: 42
Wedding Venue: Corbin & Reynolds, Long Beach, NY
What kind of bride do you expect to be?: Controlling, but I HAVE to control the husband. Also, neurotic is my middle name.
Who's in charge of you wedding budget?: ME! I'm the bride and it's my way or the highway!
How long have you been dreaming of your wedding day?: I have been dreaming of this day for as long as I can remember, but especially now since Andrew and I divorced. Even as we were at the table negotiating all the details of our divorce I new one day we would be back at the alter, everyone thought I was nuts but I was right and they were wrong!

It's one of those shows that you just can't stop watching once you start no matter how awful it is! (sort of like how you can easily get addicted to Jon & Kate Plus 8 despite Kate's insanity!) I am a self-proclaimed TV Junkie and not afraid to admit it. The one thing these type of shows have done is provide an outlet for all the people who want to get their 15min in the spotlight-and there is no shortage of that!

Check out the website for more info (and show times!)
http://www.wetv.com/bridezillas/
I can't help, I will be watching!

Edited to add that after further looking it seems the episode I happened to have watched *may* have been a deliberate fake regarding this Lisa character. I can not verify this but I can say it would not surprise me at all. She was just THAT bad and had I been her family or a bridesmaid, I would not have shown up :) I also just looked her up on imdb because she did look familiar-omg she has her own page, http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2221825/resume lol Either way-it's entertainment!