Breton Bay 2009

As spring turns into summer, we field the "When's your party?" question by many of our friends. This year's party came a little later than normal, but despite being August, the weather was beautiful and (hopefully) a good time was had by all.

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Check out the few pictures I took HERE.

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We welcomed a few newcomers to the bay but were sad so many were unable to make the party. Maybe next year?

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When Lovey Turned into Babs

As the costume stress turned into "this'll do", I stepped out of the house in a costume I wasn't really sure was as great as the concept. I'd show you pics, but I don't have a lot, especially of my costume. If you were on the Evite list, you probably got Bianca's e-mail and link to the pics she took.

Anyway, I knew something was off but couldn't pinpoint the problem. It wasn't until BHL told me that Mr. Howell (William) said I looked more like Barbara Bush than Lovey Howell that I knew my costume was a dud. It was a great idea for our group to come dressed as Gilligan's Island. Freddy was a magnificent Gilligan. Jess and Maria were great as Mary Ann and Ginger. Johnny had the clothing right for the Professor but his wig was a little off. Me? I was Babs Bush. Merrr.

I do much better impersonating cartoon characters (Kyle from "South Park" and Meg from "Family Guy"). There's always next year!

Costume Stress

Bianca & Jay's Halloween party is next Saturday and I'm stressing about my costume. It's difficult coming up with comfortable costumes that aren't totally lame, especially when the hostess always looks fabulous. My first year, I was Stan from "South Park". It was actually a costume I'd had for a few years and had worn twice before. Last year, I was Meg from "Family Guy". I guess I have a cartoon character thing going!

John came up with the idea of getting some of our friends to go as the characters from a childhood TV show we all know and love. I could be one of the three female characters, but haven't started looking for the elements of the outfit yet. In case the group thing falls through, I guess I can always be "Joe the Plumber"! How many of those will show up?

Fun Times

Thanks to everyone who came down to Breton Bay for our party! We're sad some of our friends and family were unable to attend, but hope they can make it next year.

I didn't take very many pictures... The Chumados may have some posted soon. I missed Cuello Rojo climbing up the tree to rescue the stuck volleyballs. And boat rides.

As per every year, we found some things in the yard:


Sparkly pink flip flops, some SPF 6 sunscreen, sun glasses (only one pair this year!) and a pink towel. Oh! And Little Tony's red Nationals cap. If you recognize these items and know their owners, please let us know!

Thanks to everyone for another fun party!
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Yes, We Have No Pork Skewers

So, preparations for next week's Breton Bay Bash are under way. I think I've got a good assortment of non-alcoholic bevvies for the kids. We picked up almost all the protein to grill (burgers, dogs) too. As usual, we're hoping folks bring yummy side dishes, desserts, and snacks. There's never a shortage of beer when it comes to the Chumados, so we're not worried about that.

Two people asked me this weekend if we were going to serve "meat on a stick". Yes, there will be pork and chicken skewers, so come early enough to get one (or six). It's funny to me how some people used to think I made them. As a child, my parents used to host big parties for the Embassy folks. I've spent a lifetime making Pork Satay (the ones with all the tumeric and coriander, grilled and served with a spicy peanut sauce for dipping). My mom, aunt and I skewered tons of pork in our lifetime.

These days, I just go to the Thai Market and order them. They're not the traditional Satay, but I think these appeal to a wider audience (meaning, those who don't like to eat things with weird spices on them).

Hope the weather is as beautiful as it was this past weekend! The mid-afternoon was warm, but once it hit 5:00, the breeze kicked in and it was very comfortable. John and I sat out on the porch until we could no longer see what we were reading.

Looking forward to seeing everyone on Saturday at 1:00!

Trumped

John and I had been thinking about when to have our annual party in Breton Bay. We talked about it weeks ago and decided on a date. I was going to send out the invite last night. Until, that is, I received an E-vite.

Wouldn't you know it? Joey B and Chris are having their annual Crab Feast on the very day we were going to have our party. In this case, the early bird wins! And really, Joe and Chris put on a fabulous party. Just look out for the flying horseshoes and hope Freddy doesn't bust the joint up.

So, we're looking at mid to late July. Depends on John's on-call schedule. I guess I'd better pick a new date until everyone's summer is all scheduled up! I'm thinking July 19th. What do you Chumados think about that?

April Foolish

Has anyone you know ever pulled a really good April Fool’s prank on you? I mean, not just telling you some little lie and then saying, “April Fool’s!”. I’m talking about planning something elaborate, lasting for hours before the recipient of the prank is let in on the joke.

Well, a friend of mine is planning something big. HUGE. I can’t tell you any details yet, but I wish him the best of luck in pulling this one off!

Weekend Stuff
We had a very busy weekend. I was barely home from Friday afternoon through Sunday night. Friday, John and I attended a Memorial Service for Matt’s dad, held at the University of Maryland chapel. I learned a lot about Mr. Gardner’s professional accomplishments, and he led an amazing life in research, advising, and teaching. I felt so small compared to all the amazing things he had done in his life.

John was on-call that night. As luck would have it, he got a call right as the service was ending. Oddly enough, we had talked about taking his work van to the service, but drove Ruby instead, as we planned to go home afterwards. And wouldn’t you know it, the call was for the College Park Towers, two blocks from the chapel! So, John had to go all the way home to get his work van and head back to College Park. I decided to go to the reception (on campus) after the service and Matt invited our goofy group back to his parents’ house for a private gathering with family and friends. It was a nice celebration in honor of Mr. Gardner.

Saturday morning, I had a hair appointment. It was non-stop busy from the moment I got up. I had a project to work on before heading to little Lorenzo’s 1st birthday party. I had the brilliant idea of making him a Chumados shirt, but was running short on time to complete it. Luckily, I took my shirt into work on Friday, scanned the logo and cleaned up the image a little. All I had to do was find a tee shirt, print out the image on transfer paper and iron it on.

Finding a kid’s tee shirt with nothing on it is harder than one might think!!! And good luck finding a raglan sleeve baseball shirt in the colors you want. I ended up at Target, which is where I got shirts for the kids when we made 12:12 shirts a few years ago. Of course, I didn’t take a picture of the finished shirt... I’m a dope that way these days!

The party was fun... lots of ball park themed food (hot dogs, peanuts, popcorn, sausage, pulled pork, beer!) and kids running around everywhere. There were activities and prizes too! It was a brisk spring day, and I wore the wrong shoes. I had my little ballet flats on, no socks. big mistake. Luckily, I wore my down jacket. We got home around 8:30 PM and I put on my jammies and went to bed hoping Louisville would beat UNC (no such luck).

Sunday morning, I had a little bit of lounge time in the morning, but we were out of the house by 11:00 to get a few plants for Mom B’s birthday present and then head over to Mike & Diane’s for a birthday party celebrating Griffin’s, Mom B’s and Kelly’s birthdays. Pizza, salad, cake, oh my! Mike was building Griffin a half-pipe skateboard ramp, so John helped out after all the birthday festivities had taken place. The rest of us just chatted and before I knew it, it was 5:30! We stopped at the grocery store before heading home. I was glad to have had such a fun, busy weekend, but dreaded having to go to work. I could have used one more day to chill out!

Basketball Stuff
Since 2000, I’ve participated in my friend’s NCAA pool. I don’t really know much about college basketball outside of the ACC. In the early years, I used to pick based on the colleges I had heard of or by the team’s record. You can’t always tell by the BCS ranking though -- except this year. Four #1’s in the Final Four. Pretty amazing. And much more amazing is that I ended up picking them in my Final Four!

So get this... If Memphis and Kansas are in the final game and Memphis wins the whole thing, I will come in SECOND place in this year’s pool! What’s even more awesome is that Kara, my boss, will take FIRST place! I think she takes first if Memphis beats UNC in the final game. I won’t be in the top three if that happens though. It’s still exciting, none the less! So, cheer for Memphis and Kansas this weekend and for Memphis next Monday night!!!

Later, my Meseans (me-shawns)!

You Want Pics???

It's been a weird few weeks in this new year. The weather hasn't been quite "wintery", seeing as how it was 70 degrees earlier this week! John's been sick all week with a head full of snot. He even stayed home from work on Tuesday... which is something he rarely does. I think he's been making up for taking off a month when he had mono 2 years ago.

Can you believe it's been a year since John and I left for our trip to Thailand? Time certainly flies when you're having fun!

Anyway, at New Year's, I really didn't take too may pics, but here are some from the party, as requested...

Look how fashionably coordinated the Big Heads are:


Best Buddies:


Rosa looks a little disconcerted by what happened when she followed Freddy up the stairs:


Little Lo Lo's first glass of New Year's bubbly:

Ringing In 2008

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

May 2008 bring you love and joy!

Many thanks to Edgar and Irene for hosting a wonderful celebration. The house was beautifully decorated for the holidays. Hope everyone was with the ones they loved (or at least loving the one they were with?)

Company Party 2007

Quick Company Party Highlights:

A good time was had by all, of course. The Bottom Line was decorated for the holidays and they had a DJ playing a good mix of dance tunes.

Here are a few pics:

A FEW LAUGHS



A LITTLE DANCING

LOTS OF MUGGING FOR THE CAMERA

A Few Pics

Let's see if Blogger will behave today and let me load the Halloween pics I wanted to share last week...

SWEEEET! (as Roger would say). Here's John in his "Wendy's" wig I made and me as Meg Griffin from "Family Guy". The Meg costume is up for grabs if anyone wants to dress as Meg next year. Pros of this costume: you can eat and drink with ease and it's comfy.

I had forgotten I wanted John and I to dress up as another duo this year, but never got around to making the costumes. Oddly, I would have been another "Meg". Maybe next year!



Wendy is a big Elvis fan. Originally "Ghost of Elvis", he was somehow resurrected by pork skewers and beer:



Ultraman was very considerate in providing a clue as to who he was, in case you youngsters didn't know:



Joey was looking HOT, wasn't he? We think he finally found his true self:


Woot!

Halloween Bash 2007

You know how I was just saying Blogger isn't being cooperative? I can't seem to upload any pictures at the moment. Although, it did seem to like the one of our lovely party hostess ! Thanks, Bianca & Jay, for another fun Halloween party!

Party Frenzy

I had a weird dream last night. I was at my parents’ house and people started showing up there for our party. I hadn’t showered yet and none of the food was cooked. Everyone brought loaves of bread. French baguettes, boules, sliced wheat... you name it, someone brought it. Half of our party guests were down at the southern Maryland house, wondering where we were. John was out golfing with William and Freddy and when I called him to see what I should do about our guests, he was no help. (And no, Johnny doesn’t golf!) I woke up at that point. Party stress?

John and I have been gearing up for our big Chumado/Anniversary party this upcoming weekend. After Robert & Pokes’ fabulous 4th of July party and Joey B & Chris’ crab feast, we’ve got some tough acts to follow! I hope the weather holds out. The temperature is supposed to break on Thursday, so we’re looking at mid 80’s and lower humidity than current “I can’t breathe” conditions. I also heard there might be some scattered T-storms on Saturday afternoon, which I know will bypass the Leonardtown area, won’t it?

A couple folks have asked what they could contribute to the party. John and I will be serving our usual mish-mosh of party food: burgers and dogs, cocktail meatballs, queso and chips, pork and chicken skewers, rice, maybe a salad.

SIDE NOTE: That’s right, Billyboy! I said SKEWERS! Too bad you think you’ll be too pooped (hung over?) from your friend’s wedding Friday night to come and eat some delicious pork skewers on Saturday!!!

If you’d like to bring a side dish, dessert, whatever type of beer/wine/beverage you enjoy or snacky stuff, that would be greatly appreciated! Also, ice and coolers for the drinks are always welcome. We’ve got 3 coolers, but there always seems to be tons of beer to ice down!

For those who are able to join us on Saturday, we look forward to seeing you (without loaves of French bread)! If you can’t make it, we’ll miss you and hope you can come next year!