Old guys tell the coolest stories

16 08 2008

Remember the opening scene of Saving Private Ryan? My godfather was among the boys who stormed the beaches of Normandy. Later he was wounded, sent to Germany, and awarded the purple heart. I have that medal. Over the years, i’ve been given other bits of treasure … and it’s the greatest gift a man could offer, and hope to share: his legacy.

Today my godfather, Mike Pizza (really), will celebrate his 90th birthday. I dedicate this blog post to him, and use it to share with you one of his treasures: a speech he gave a long, long time ago as he traveled to his Masonic brothers. Enjoy.

Read the rest of this entry »


Comments : 5 Comments »
Tags: , , , , , ,
Categories : family, general knowledge

And he took his kids mudding

11 07 2008

I don’t think “mud” is a verb in the north. But for my husband and others in the south, it most definitely is.

So it should be with no surprise that on our recent trip to Durham, NC, Conrad was *pleased* to hear that the person who bought his jeep took his kids “mudding” … oh, and gave it more lift, because if you’re going to take a car mudding, lift is important. The real sentence I just heard from Conrad was, “He put 6 inches on it with 33s underneath.” Um .. yeah. This from the man the northerner married.

For the record, it’s a Jeep Cherokee .. and this guy’s wife drives it most of the time. She must be cool.

If you don’t know, this is mudding. And if this were Conrad’s car he’d be giddy with excitement.


Comments : 6 Comments »
Tags: , ,
Categories : family, general knowledge

Life-work balance yields some cool bennies

9 07 2008

Step 1: C tells me he needs to fly to another state for 3-day training course.

Step 2: methinks, “Hmm … that’s the Tuesday after a long weekend, and we have family & friends in that thar state”

Step 3: C books flight leaving on Thursday night instead – paid for by his company

Step 4: I book a seat on the same flight – paid for by part of a travel voucher from a bump earlier in the year

Step 5: Much merriment ensues with family & friends over holiday weekend (YAY!)

Step 6: Monday: C & me make our way to the halls of our old offices and find mobile places to plug in. Y voila … we’re both online & plugged in, working our work, online and available for meetings.

Result: Holiday of sorts; reconnect with fam & friends we miss now that we’ve moved away; flights: free-ish; hotel paid for by spouse’s company with no additional expense for the little woman.

Cool! For the amount of griping I do, this is one of the benefits that so many people can’t take advantage of and, well, we think it’s pretty neat :-)


Comments : 2 Comments »
Tags:
Categories : family, friends, travel, work scenes

Shout out to the moms

22 06 2008

aka: Iowa footware.

Wow … sometimes the moms really pull through on those forwards. This latest from my mother-in-law, and being from Iowa, I think it takes a special sense of humor to send this along, so props for that.

Warning: to all you entrepreneurs out there, funny … but viable? Well, perhaps it actually may float someone’s boat. (ouch)

flood heels


Comments : 3 Comments »
Tags:
Categories : family, humor

This one’s for the boys

15 06 2008

… For all the daddy’s out there — oh happy day.

I visited our friend Kevin last night and was privileged to be among the few who could see the sparkle of this new dad’s eye as he held one of his two new baby boys. Privileged again, I returned to my childhood home where I saw my dad, glowing, because his family was together. There was no stainless steel grill under his Christmas tree – - though we did christen a new blog / Web site for his fishing company: www.pro-fishin-sea.com — no, mostly we spent a short weekend amongst laughter, smiles and memories.

And so to my dad and to Conrad’s, to Scotty, Cary, Kevin, Nick, Tate, Corey, Travis, Steve, Rob, Glen and all the other dads we love and dads out there … we hope y’all had a GREAT day and continue to love and cherish your moments with your little mini-me’s.


Comments : 2 Comments »
Tags:
Categories : family, friends

Kauai impressions

5 05 2008

They call it the Garden Isle for a reason. Wow. This place is lush. Now, to that point, anyone who knows the Osmons know that when the family gathers, we attain the Power of 3 and become Quasi Supernormal Incremental Precipitation Inducers. So maybe picking a place that ranks as The Wettest Place on Earth was asking too much.

Kauai lighthouseWe arrived Friday night late – hungry. Our guidebook recommended a hole in the wall for noodles they call Saimen. Man, it was rustic, local and quite tasty. Saturday was a tour of one of the state park beaches and a drive north to see the stretch of the island north of us. We visited a little hamburg stand, popped into a grocery store, and road the road till it ends. Beaches along the way are amazing. We were lucky to also be there for Lighthouse Day. When you see our pics, you’ll see some pictures of Great Frigate Birds, Nenes (Hawaii’s mutated Canadian Geese), Red Tailed Tropic Birds (really), Albatross, and some other stuff.  The lighthouse was pretty neat too.

The next day we drove south, to the end of that road and beaches in the south. Each one is more picturesque than the next. I guess that’s why we don’t really have any pictures of them. We took our first snorkeling dip on Sunday. Wow. We were barely 3 feet off shore when we found fish. Lots of fish. Fish of many colors, shapes and sizes. It was like swimming in a fishtank. Except for the Hawaii waves that beat the tar out of you while you’re attempting to keep your head under the water to watch the fish and your snorkel tube free of the very salty water. :-)

Today we’re booked on a noon kayak tour up a little river. We’ll pass a fern grotto, and then visit what is marked in bold letters on our map as the Secret Falls. Shhhhh. Heh, I’m sure there will only be 200 or so people who stumble upon this secret at the same time as we do!

So … more stories and pictures as we can. Just a little taste to rub it in and let you know that we’re loving the sun, the sand and the tropical food & adventures. Oh. You’re working aren’t you. Yeah, sorry about that.


Comments : 4 Comments »
Tags: , ,
Categories : family, travel

Hawai’i here we come

2 05 2008

We just got a call from American Airlines that our flight has been delayed so much that we’d miss our connection .. so we’re leaving now at 5am instead of 7am to catch an even earlier flight. The fates are even with us on this one … knock on wood it’ll all work out.

We’re headed to Kauai’i … Conrad’s bringing his laptop so I hope to get a couple of blog posts & pics added while we’re there. But if all is quiet on the blog for a week or so, don’t hate us for having a fun time in the sand and sun!


Comments : 2 Comments »

Categories : family, travel

Recipe for a diaper cake

6 04 2008

They’re all the rage. When attending a baby shower, someone must be in charge of the diaper cake or it’s just not a party. I learned this recipe from the Mistress of Ceremonies herself … Ms Martha (Newport, not Stewart).

Here’s the recipe if you want to attempt:

Ingredients

  • Diapers, recommended: Pampers Swaddlers – 1 small pack N(ewborn) + 1 small pack 1-year <– If you want to make a large cake, you can intersperse a layer of burp clothes and towels. Othewise, with just diapers it’s a 2-tier cake.
  • 4 spools of ribbon in complimentary colors – 2 large, 2 narrow
  • 1 plastic wedding cake plate from a craft store
  • Scotch tape
  • Large rubber bands
  • 2 baby bottles (or 1 wrapping paper tube) <– This forms the center support for the cake
  • Little stuff … it’s good to check the registry and get little things to use as cake decorations.  I usually get: 1 box of outlet covers (for baby proofing the house), a few binkys, a rattle or stroller toy (as a cake topper), and the medical kit (thermometer, nail clippers, etc.)

Instructions:

  • Tape the bottles together to form a tube (you may need to save the nipples / bottle tops outside the cake to give to mom later).
  • Affix the bottle tube to the center of the cake plate with tape.
  • Roll the diapers (if there’s a design, I roll that to the inside so the outside is plan white) – band 2-5 diapers together with rubber bands.
  • Arrange the diaper bundles around the center support.
  • Insert outlet covers in between every 2 diapers
  • Wrap 1 large ribbon around the row and secure with tape.
  • Repeat to create a second tier, stacked above tier one. If you have enough diapers, attempt a 3rd tier.
  • Use the small ribbon to cinch up the layers – tie with a bow.
  • Stick the small things in and around your cake. Also use the ribbon to tie some of the small things on to the main ribbon.
  • Top with a toy.
  • Optional, wrap the whole thing with cellophane and tie use the remaining ribbon to tie off with a bow.

Diaper cake


Comments : 7 Comments »
Tags:
Categories : family, friends, general knowledge

Quote for the day

6 04 2008

Out to dinner with our young friends who have twins (she’s 28, he’s 29 – born in November) and Conrad (33). And *I* am the only one who, according to our fantastically young and beautiful waitress, “look older than 18 but younger than 30″ and needed to be carded to order a beer.

Did I mention I love her?

Anyone near Bristol, RI should definitely visit Aiden’s pub, I highly recommend the fantastic staff.


Comments : Leave a Comment »
Tags: , , , ,
Categories : family, food, friends, travel

It wasn’t me!!

3 04 2008

Ok, ok … we’re all entitled to our 5 minutes of fame, but I want MY 5 minutes, not someone else’s. So please don’t confuse me with the *other* Ms R Reyes who was recently sentenced to some serious community service and fees after mouthing-off to police officers.

Now, Conrad says he was only confused when he read that … “She was just belligerent and would not listen to reason at all.”

But that still doesn’t mean we are the same person. My tail-lights are all in working order, and I never hid presents from my boyfriend (b/c then my husband may find them)!

I do, however, have a new answer for people who send me silly e-mails about to how find out what your porn-star name is. :-)


Comments : 4 Comments »
Tags:
Categories : family, general knowledge

« Previous Entries Next Entries »


Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.