Mystic, CT- Day 1, The Dog Photos

Well, after battling some of the worst traffic I’ve seen in all the years I’ve lived in Boston, we made it to Mystic in time to quite literally join in the end of the parade.  We were the Dachshunds bringing up the rear and we were proud in our Red Sox regalia.  Too bad one of the judges was a Yankee fan.  Anyway, we got lots of cheers and clapping and people took our pictures as we walked.  The dogs got LOTS of attention and more head pats and neck scritches than they may have ever had in their lives.

Anyway, here are some photos.  I took a LOT of them but I won’t post them all here so as not to kill you all with dog pictures.

Rottie and small white fluffy dog love.
Rottie and small white fluffy dog love.
One of the nicest and prettiest boxer puppies I've ever met.
One of the nicest and prettiest boxer puppies I've ever met.
Rerun in his Sox jersey with his teenage fanclub.
Rerun in his Sox jersey with his teenage fanclub.
A fantastic family of IG triplets.
A fantastic family of IG triplets.
Rerun makes friends with a wirehair doxie.
Rerun makes friends with a wirehair doxie.
Taking a break from all the madness.
Thumbelina takes a break from the chaos in her sunbeam.

That’s all the dog photos from the parade.  Next post, photos from Mystic Seaport.

~Kelly

Laughing so hard I’m crying…

I was poking around on the web during my lunch break and I came upon this quote, “A good starting point when discussing bad wine is White Zinfandel, or as it is known in certain circles of connoisseurs, ‘the Pink Scourge’.” -John Weidman.

I’m still laughing.  I looked around to see where the quote came from and I came up with this website. Enjoy.

~Kelly

Day trips are good

Yesterday Kelly and I went tax-free shopping in New Hampshire.  We wanted to look around for a few things that we need or will eventually need (such as wedding stuff) but in the meantime we had a good time browsing various places in the Portsmouth area.   I was surprised to find some cool little shops and such.  We found this one little eclectic gift shop that had all sorts of funny and interesting stuff, and the whole downstairs was dedicated to pets.

(Note from Kelly, I had been looking for this sign for a LONG time and was thrilled to find it for only $5.)

Pets welcome, children must be on a leash.
Pets welcome, children must be on a leash.

We also crossed the border for a short trip into Maine.   Surprisingly, this was my first trip to Maine.  I think it is the only state on the East Coast, and possibly the only one east of the Mississippi River that I had never visited.

(Naturally, this meant that we had to take a picture.  Paul Gross arms, ftw. ~Kelly)

In Maine, not getting eaten by monsters!
In Maine, not getting eaten by monsters!

So we took a quick trip into the area of Kittery to do some outlet shopping.  I managed to find a good pair of shoes to wear with my tuxedo.  So I am all set now as far as having everything I will wear at the wedding.  I am assuming that since we were only in the state for a few hours, all of the monsters that Stephen King writes about as being in Maine did not have time to find us.  Thank goodness.

Geoff

Cocktails!

We’re looking into having a signature cocktail or two for the wedding.  The list of those currently in the running is below.  The theme, more is less, is that they turn out purple.  Have anything to add?  Comment with a recipe that you think would be appropriate.

Blackberry Champagne Cocktail

3/4 oz. blackberry simple syrup
1-1.5 oz. gin
Sparkling wine
Fresh blackberries for garnish

Put two blackberries in a champagne flute. Pour in blackberry simple syrup and gin, then carefully top off with sparkling wine.

Purple November
1/2 part blue curacao
1 part rum
4 parts cranberry juice
slice of lime

Stardust

2 oz light rum
1 oz Parfait Amour liqueur
1/2 oz fresh lemon juice

Knickerbocker

2 ounces aged Virgin Islands or Santa Cruz rum
1 tablespoon Chambord
2 teaspoons Blue Curacao
1/2 ounce lime juice (reserve shell for garnish)
3-4 raspberries for shaker
3-4 raspberries for garnish

Chambord Royale

3/4 oz vodka
3/4 oz Chambord raspberry liqueur
1/2 oz triple sec
2 oz lime juice

We’ll be having a taste testing party this fall (2010).  Stay tuned for news.  We’ll announce it here.

Kelly

Pretty good birthday all around

So far the big 4-oh has not been so bad.  I was quite pleased to have so many of our friends show up at the party and enjoy the food, and yet we still have a lot of leftovers.  Not a bad thing, really, and I certainly won’t have to buy any soda or beer for a while.

Also, we got several surprise visitors.  Kelly was not surprised to see her parents, but they definitely surprised me.  And both of us were surprised to see Liza (the maid of honor for our wedding) since neither of us thought she would be coming to the party.  And we had a couple of other last-minute changes of plan where people who did not think they would make it were able to come after all, so it was good all around.

Also also wik, we had the best-tasting orange baseball cake ever.

Party Photos

Courtesy of my Surprise! Guest!, and Maid of Honor, please enjoy some party photos from Geoff’s 40th Birthday Party.  They’re a little dark because they were taken at the cake cutting in the dining room which is the most poorly lit room in the house.

~Kelly

Surprise! Guest! herself
She surprised me, nobody does that.
Celebrating with cake.
Celebrating with cake.
More party guests.
More party guests.
Even more party guests.
Even more party guests.
The, um, "orange baseball" cake.
The, um, "orange baseball" cake.

One test down, many to go

I took my first IT certification test Friday – the A+ Essentials test – and passed.  So now all I have to do is schedule the second test, and pass it, to get my A+ certification.  Then I can start on the Network+ and Security+ tests and then move on towards the MCSA and MCSE certifications.

Also, I was selected to be a Student Ambassador at the school.  So that’s a good thing.

Geoff