Champlain Wishes, Keeler Bay Dreams

Today's the Big Day

2008-07-03T09:02:00.000-07:00

Mom's surgery...keep your fingers crossed, pray, meditate, whatever. It's a long surger (6 hours), so we'll know more tonight.

I Have Found The One

2008-06-18T09:42:00.000-07:00

You know how you just know? In your heart? I have certainly found The One.

Single Family Property, Approximately 48.5 acre(s), Year Built: 1977, Hill/mountain view, View, Carport, Basement, Dining room, Den, Laundry room

I'm Not Sure How to Address This

2008-06-17T07:15:00.000-07:00

The few of you that read this, please send a good thought to my Ma. And my Pa. It would be much appreciated.

Must Read Blog

2008-06-04T09:36:00.000-07:00

Over to the right there, I posted a link to a new blog.

I highly recommend it, as it is very well-written and engrossing. I hope it will give you a new perspective on some things that various Hollywood people spout off.

I believe the source to be credible, since his story jibes with many, many other accounts of the same people, places and events.

A Short Meme from Jenn

2008-05-30T06:35:00.000-07:00

1. What was I doing 10 years ago? I was working at the best job I had ever had, at enews.com. I really fricken loved that job, everything about it. I was living in the Mt. Pleasant neighborhood in DC in a gorgeous apartment with a fairly cheap rent.

2. What are 5 things on my to-do list today Train some non-web folks (this oughta be fun), drag & drop more crap, walk dog, read some discussion boards, go to pool

3. Snacks I enjoy Snoballs! Fruit like strawberries & raspberries with cream, some of those frozen appetizers from Safeway.

4. Places I've lived Rochester, MN (pretty good, except for the lack of mountains); Essex Jct., VT (the BEST!); Ridgefield, CT (sucks!); Washington, DC (sucks!); Alexandria, VA (sucks!)

5. Things I would do if I were a billionaire Buy a whole lotta acreage in Vermont, resuce and train dogs, and vacation occassionally

6. Peeps I want to know more about All the folks on Oz, old friends whom I haven't seen in a long time.

The Junk Haulers Are Coming

2008-05-21T07:14:00.000-07:00

I have an appointment with 1-800-Got-Junk on June 21. I expect to get rid of about 50% of the crap that I own by then.

I Need a New Seasonal Banner

2008-05-07T14:05:00.000-07:00

For up there ^^^

Springtime in Vermont. What does that mean? To me, it means mud season. But having not found any large-enough pics of muddy, rutted roads, I'm at a loss.

What images do you conjure up when you think of spring in Vermont? Doesn't matter if you're not from there - I imagine places I've never seen all the time!

Another VT Vacay!

2008-04-07T10:34:00.001-07:00

The possibility is high that I will have a short jaunt to VT in June. Any suggestions on activities that I didn't cover last time? What do you want to see pics of? Northern VT only, please!

NOTE: If you aren't familiar with Vermont, just look up something here (click) you think is nifty in Northern VT and let me know.

Last time:
Days 1 & 2
Day 3
Day 4

Waiting to Go Home...

2008-04-03T13:52:00.001-07:00

So, here's another one.

1. What is your occupation? Webmaster
2. What color are your socks right now? tan
3. What are you listening to right now? Third Stone From the Sun (Dick Dale version)
4. What was the last thing that you ate? peanut brittle
5. Can you drive a stick shift? Yes
6. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? Aquamarine
7. Last person you spoke to on the phone? Luigi, I think
8. Do you like the person who sent this to you? Yes
9. How old are you today? 36
10. Favorite drink? Thai iced tea
11. What is your favorite sport to watch? NASCAR or cycling
12. Have you ever dyed your hair? all the time
13. Pets? Fido (cat) & Franklin (pug)
14. Favorite food? steak
15. Last movie you watched? Bridget Jones (for the 10th time)
16. Favorite Day of the year? Christmas
17. What do you do to vent anger? Punch the couch
18. What was your favorite toy as a child? Smaller Homes & Gardens dollhouse
19. What is your favorite season? Winter
20. Hugs or kisses? Hugs.
21. Cherry or Blueberry? cherry
22. Do you want your friends to email you back? sure!
23. Who is most likely to respond? dunno
24. Who is least likely to respond? dunno
25. What happened to Ricky Martin? He's still around, and still unmarried (wink, wink, nod, nod)
26. When was the last time you cried? listening to Dick Dale play Amazing Grace today
27. What is on the floor of your closet? shoes, some clothes that fell off their hangers, viola
28. Who is the friend you have had the longest that you are sending this to? everyone who reads this!
29. Who is the friend you have had the shortest that you are sending this to? seee above
30. Favorite smells? streets right when it starts raining, lilac
31. Who inspires you? the Founding Fathers
32. What are you afraid of? Being stuck in DC forever
33. Plain, cheese or spicy hamburgers? cheebooger
34. Favorite car? cheap and fuel efficient
35. Favorite cat breed? calico
36. Number of keys on your key ring? about 7
37. How many years at your current job? 1
38. Favorite day of the week? Sunday
39. How many states have you lived in? 5
40. Do you think you're funny? Depends on the circumstances.

Stressy Birthday to Me!

2008-03-26T09:23:00.000-07:00

Work is really overwhelming right now. It sucks to have that constantly anxious feeling on your birthday! I hope I have an appetite for Joe Theismann's tonight.

*UPDATE* DO NOT go to Joe Theismann's. Unless you really love salt, I guess.

Twas not to be...

2008-03-24T09:05:00.001-07:00

Went to Clyde's to watch the game with about 100 alumni.

AU did give the Vols some scary moments for most of the game. In the end, the experience of the Vols' players won out and AU went down by 15 points, despite AU's having the player with the most points, and killing the Vols in rebounds.

The only way I could be more proud is if they had won the game. It was so much fun to watch with a bunch of AU people - the energy of the room was amazing.

Go AU!!

2008-03-21T05:23:00.001-07:00

Give us a miracle! Beat them Vols!

Goodbye

2008-03-06T08:37:00.000-08:00

See you on the flip side, Grandma. I bet Frank is waiting.

Get Well Soon

2008-02-29T09:58:00.000-08:00

We'll see you in 2009

For those unfamiliar with the genius above, perhaps this will ring a bell*?

Can't stop now! This is why he's the best:

Header Picture Change

2008-02-29T07:13:00.000-08:00

That's right! Sugaring season is nigh.

Sugar on Snow

Ingredients
Vermont maple syrup
Snow (watch out where the doggies go; don't you eat that yellow snow)
Pickles or donuts

How to
Boil syrup to about 255 degrees Fahrenheit
Put your non-yellow snow in a big bowl
Drizzle hot syrup over snow

Eat the sticky top layer and chase with a pickle (yes, I said pickle) or donut.

The States

2008-02-19T09:18:00.000-08:00

We were watching the episode of the History Channel's series, The States, this weekend. Each state has a celebrity spokesperson to sort of narrate the segment. Ann Curry (NBC) for Oregon, Neil Patrick Harris for New Mexico, etc. We were all jazzed to see who would be featured in the Vermont segment. I quickly Googled famous Vemonters (besides Cupcake) and discovered most of them are from days of yore.

However, we do have the members of Phish (are they actual natives, or flatlanders that came to VT later?) and sportscaster Ken Squier. Another option was Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, but they are most definitely not natives.

So, who did they have? Some chick who won some snow boarding thing. Like, whatevs. I am anti-snowboard in a big way. I think they ruin the alpine experience for us skiers. I plan to ski Mad River Glen as much as possible when I move. The one thing this chick had, though, was a fair-to-middling VT accent. But she was dumb as a box of rocks, not exactly representative of the intellectual achievments of the state. Oh, if we could only bring back Silent Cal for documentary commentary.

Pass it on...

2008-02-07T10:42:00.000-08:00

Let your friends and families know about this site. I think it would be cool to see more pictures returned to their owners!

http://ifoundyourcamera.blogspot.com/

Hhmmm...maybe it's a good thing

2008-02-07T06:53:00.000-08:00

I get job listings from Monster every day. For the last month or two, there have been no Vermont jobs coming in my inbox. Is it really that lean up there now? I used to get 4-5 a day. Maybe winter is a bad time?

We Need to Talk

2008-02-01T07:09:00.000-08:00

So, the goal was Vermont by Christmas '08. Was the goal.

I probably shouldn't have, but I took a peek at realtor.com yesterday, and the news was grim. $160k to $180k for condos in my complex, not to mention the fact that there are 81 condos for sale right now in my zip code.

Things need to be pushed back, see. Let's say Christmas '09. It's a depressing thought to be around here for an extra year, but my assumption is I will be going to VT by myself, which means I will need more $$ out of my condo to buy a decent place up there. If I knew for a fact that I would not be going it alone, then maybe I could still go full steam ahead, but the best thing is to always plan life based on 1 income.

So, my friends, I will continue to plug away, but at a more stately pace. Which is probably a good thing....I tend to the stately...err....snail-like in life anyways.

Funniest Commerical

2008-01-22T08:47:00.001-08:00

Like, ever

Doggie Competition

2008-01-02T10:22:00.000-08:00

I found these guys via a search for courses at UVM. Seems pretty high-quality to me. So, to beat them or join them? I think I will contact them about continuing my apprenticeship once I get closer to moving.

Meme for the New Year

2007-12-31T08:58:00.000-08:00

1. What did you do in 2007 that you’d never done before?
Went on vacation all by myself

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
Resolutions are dumb

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
I don't think so!

4. Did anyone close to you die?
No, not in 2007. My grandma died December 26, 2006

5. What countries did you visit?
US and A

6. What would you like to have in 2008 that you lacked in 2007?
House & job in Vermont

7. What dates from 2007 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
March 1, grandma's memorial in Cleveland.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
I don't think I achieved much in 07

9. What was your biggest failure?
Meh...didn't do anything, so no failure.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
My knee is all fucked up from when I tried to walk the dog, talk on the phone, and go down the stairs drunk

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
Me

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
Leo, George W. Bush, Nancy Pelosi, et al

14. Where did most of your money go?
Goddamn car (sorry, Moe Green!).

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Vacationing in VT.

16. What song will always remind you of 2007?
That Fergie song...the slow one.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:?
a) happier or sadder? Sadder
b) thinner or fatter? Thinner
c) richer or poorer? Poorer

18. What do you wish you’d done more of?
Outdoorsy stuff like fishing or camping.

19. What do you wish you’d done less of?
Laziness.

20. How did you spend Christmas?
Alone

21. Did you fall in love in 2007?
Definitely not. Plenty of crushes though.

22. What was your favorite TV program?
Answer: The Universe on the History Channel. REAL answer: The Hills.

23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
No, but I have taken a slight dislike to 1 or 2.

24. What was the best book you read?
Culture Clash by Jean Donaldson

25. What was your greatest musical discovery?
Hem (from the Nationwide insurance commercials...turns out they're a real band).

26. What did you want and get?
Nothing that I can think of

27. What did you want and not get?
To get my house on the market

28. What was your favorite film of this year?
The only "new" movie I saw was Nightmare Before Christmas in 3D. It was OK. Not much different than the original.

29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
No clue, 35

30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Moved

31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2007?
Merona & Isaac Mizrahi. In other words, long wide-legged pants and knit tops.

32. What kept you sane?
The dawg.

33. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
Russell Crowe, as always. Also a little Gerard Butler toward the end of the year.

34. What political issue stirred you the most?
As always, the War on Drugs, Christian Fundamentalist Fascism, free speech.

35. Who did you miss?
Who did I miss, or who do I miss? Pet peeve: using the past tense with the word miss, most of the time (it doesn't bother me in the context of "did you miss me?", but then you presume that the missed person is standing right there, so they wouldn't be missed anymore).

36. Who was the best new person you met?
I have an answer, but I won't say.

37. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2007.
Trust is a weird thing

38. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.
I hope you know, I hope you know
That this has nothing to do with you
It's personal, myself and I
We've got some straightening out to do
And I'm gonna miss you like a child misses their blanket
But I've got to get a move on with my life
It's time to be a big girl now
And big girls don't cry
Don't cry
Don't cry
Don't cry
The path that I'm walking
I must go alone
I must take the baby steps 'til I'm full grown, full grown
Fairytales don't always have a happy ending, do they?
And I foresee the dark ahead if I stay

Meme for the Holidays

2007-12-21T07:46:00.000-08:00

Courtesy of Chris P . Share your answers!

*1. Wrapping paper or gift bags?
Paper! I like looking for funky looking paper. MMmm....shiny!

*2. Real or fake Tree?
A fake looking fake tree, but will be real as soon as I don't have to drag it up 4 flights.

*3. When do you put up the tree?
The weekend after Thanksgiving. I fricken love Christmas.

*4. When do you take the tree down?
Maybe a week or two after New Year's eve.

*5. Like eggnog?
Awwwwwww yeah

*6. Favorite gift received as a child?
Interestingly enough, the Smaller Homes & Gardens dollhouse (pictured). I was a huge tomboy (errr...AM a huge tomboy), but for some reason I loved this girly present

*7. Do you have a nativity scene?
No - I celebrate Christmas as a secular holiday

*8. Hardest person to buy for?
Parents.....they already have a ton of stuff. I mean, they're 67 years old and have been married for 45 years - what could they possibly need? I usually get them gift cards.

*9. Easiest person to buy for?
Moi

*11. Mail or e-mail Christmas cards?
I mailed a few this year for the first time in about 10 years. I love getting them, too. Electronic ones are OK, but not from close friends or family.

*12. Favorite Christmas Movie?
It's a Wonderful Life (black and white, dangit!) or Polar Express. Polar Express is the type of thing I would have fantasized about as a kid.

*13. When do you start shopping for Christmas?
Before Thanksgiving, all online. I won't set foot in a mall or any store except the grocery until after New Year's eve.

*14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present?
No.

*15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas?
Cookies!

*16. Clear lights or colored on the tree?
Either-or. I have colored lights this year that flash in different patterns - you can push a button to change the pattern.

*17. Favorite Christmas song?
Trans Siberian Orchestra's Wizards in Winter.

*18. Travel at Christmas or stay home?
Home!

*19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer?
Sure...but why?

*20. Angel on the tree top or a star?
Angel this year, but I prefer a star - less religious connotations. I woudl really like an FSM tree-topper, though.

*21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning?
This year will be the 23rd and the 25th. Most of the time on the 25th.

*22. Most annoying thing about this time of year?
Crowds

*23. What I love most about Christmas?
Knowing I got the perfect gift for someone.

Screw Stowe

2007-12-12T07:44:00.000-08:00

Now Smuggs has a variety of webcams. Yeah Smuggs! Click on the numbers to the left to get different views.

By Way of Dearest Cupcake

2007-12-07T06:36:00.001-08:00

This gem. You must listen carefully to his freakin' awesome accent. Why does anyone wonder about the wonder that is VT?