Garage Sale

Since I don't have enough to do, I agreed to participate in a multi-family garage sale with my neighbor, Joanna, this morning. I split the cost of the ad in the local Pennysaver ($12). We didn't have that much to sell, since we just moved 2 years ago and I've tried to purge, especially toys, books and clothes, at regular intervals. Unfortunately, it was rainy, so we had all of 2 dozen customers in 4 hours - hardly worth staying up late and getting up early for. I think we grossed $11 - barely enough for lunch at McDonald's. But Caleb got a huge kick out of staffing the sale, so that made it worth it.

Sisterhood picnic

It was raining in the morning, but the afternoon was terrific. We ate, we relaxed, we had a good ole time. Even the rabbi stopped by (in the photo, he and Alana are communing).

Another perfect spelling test

Where do the years go?

Today marks 14 years of wedded bliss (or wedded blitz, as my friend Anne says) that Larry and I have survived together. Sometimes it feels like much less and sometimes it feels like forever! After Alana's kindergarten orientation session tonight at the elementary school, we're going to dinner to the Bonefish Grill - my boss gave me a gift card back in December and this seems like the perfect time to use it. Special bonus - they have a gluten free menu (where they list all their dishes that they can guarantee are GF).

http://www.bonefishgrill.com/



ADDENDUM - later


We had a FINE meal at the Bonefish Grill, ate ourselves sick basically - to start I had shrimp and he had the ahi tuna sashimi, for dinner I had tilapia with mango salsa and he had sea bass with spinach and lump crab meat. Since that wasn't enough gluttony (to be fair, we skipped dessert), we went to Starbucks on the way home and Larry got a mint chip frappuccino with CHOCOLATE whipped cream (I was good - I had a decaf mocha, no whip).

Larry gave me the greatest gift - a teacup with a built-in infuser, and these tea buds that open into flowers as they steep. Super cool! And they're my favorite flavor - green tea with jasmin.

Park time

It was COLD tonight, but we took Roxy to the park anyway. Larry and Caleb played frisbee while Phillip and Alana set up her farm animals on the fence.

A hard day's work

So, I guess I felt like I had a lot of time on my hands over the weekend, or it's just hard to relax when you're always in To Do mode, but I cleaned Larry's father's office while we were visiting. His parents have a hard time getting rid of stuff (I can relate to that) but they've lived in the same house for almost 40 years, which compounds the problem. His dad's office is especially bad - it becomes the landing spot for a lot of stuff that should go straight in the trash. I should have taken a Before photo, but the After shot will have to suffice. Larry's sister assures me that this room has gotten the purge treatment before, at least twice (probably every 10 years or so), and it just piles up again. But at least I had a feeling of accomplishment. I scored a new bathmat and some nice notecards for my troubles, so it wasn't completely altrusim on my part.

More caterpillars

We took Roxy for a walk in a local NJ park area, and Alana was delighted to score a local caterpillar. Luckily we had a jar handy to contain the poor fellow.

Prom bound

Matt and Cristina - all dressed up, 1920s style, for the South Brunswick HS prom.

Off to grandma's

Me and the three "kids" left for NJ this afternoon. After three portable DVD players died, we just use our laptops for in-transit movie viewing - Larry got these incredible adapters that are inserted into the lighter sockets and allow you to plug in regular electrical plugs. In this photo, Alana is wired and ready for the road trip (I think she's watcing the Care Bears).

Gansta

Matt strikes a pose in his tux for the prom on Saturday. (Unfortunately the jacket doesn't have a pocket for the matching red hankerchief.)

Tumble Tot

I'd been thinking for awhile of signing up Alana for a tumbling class, since she's very excited that she can do a "flip" (somersault) - something she learned in preschool. So tonight we visited a local gym and she had a terrific time (and she especially loves her pink leotard!) The class is small, active and you can pay by the month, so it's all good. I signed her up and she'll be going on Tuesday nights. (Boy, does this bring back memories!!)

Israel program

This morning, Alana, Larry and I attended a program celebrating Israel's birthday for the preschoolers at the synagogue while Caleb was in his regular Sunday school class. In these photos, the kids are making fish out of paper bags (Alana is flanked by her friends Jack and Nicki),




parading around with flags that they made,

and then having a snack - picnic style - on the floor (Alana and Nicki).

Pasta feast

Tonight Matt made for us one of the dishes that he made in his cooking class recently - linguine with white clam sauce.

Alana's furry friend

Alana was so excited that I found a catepillar at the park. She let it crawl all over her hands.

Great quote

There is wisdom in turning as often as possible from the familiar to the unfamiliar: it keeps the mind nimble, it kills prejudice, and it fosters humor.
- George Santayana, philosopher (1863-1952)

Fred water

Yes, this is water called Fred, and yes, it's in a bottle shaped like a flask. If you're going to sell water in a bar, you might as well put it in a flask-shaped bottle! Larry got a case of these from one of his liquor distributors. I'm very sorry to say that the water tastes great.

Matt practicing his guitar

He took this photo himself with the timer on his cell phone camera!

Happy Mother's Day to me

This is my GORGEOUS new painting that I picked out for Mother's Day. The synagogue religious school director, Barbara Baum, is an amazing painter, and displayed some of her work this month at a wonderful local coffee shop called Thanks a Latte. My only dilemma is deciding where to hang it - it's smaller than it looks in this photo, and it needs a place of honor.

Spring in the park

We had a great time at the park today. Our friend Jake came along. On our walk to the frog pond, we saw some huge moth nests. You could see the little catepillars climbing around inside.









We saw two fat frogs at the pond, but the photo I took didn't come out. Then the kids spent some happy time collecting snails.















While they did that, I went up the path and took a picture of this gorgeous tree.

Daddy took Caleb to get a haircut

Nuff said about that.

Flower girl again

Today I stopped at the excellent local healthfood store, Natur-Tyme, to pick up some GF goodies. The kids stayed out side and picked dandelions. Caleb was offering "free fuzzy dandelions" to everyone, totally adorable. In this sweet picture of Alana, you can also see our friend Morgan, who we were giving a ride home.

Saturday in the park

Saturday we all went to the park to walk Roxy. Alana was picking flowers. At the end, Caleb did this balancing act and Matt struck a pensive pose. When we left, Caleb insisted that he could drive.