Cirque de Soleil Saltimbanco

Mark took me to see Cirque de Soleil Saltimbanco today. It was so awesome! We had front row floor seats, off to the side. We were probably 5 feet from the stage. One of the actors jumped off the stage, bowed down to me and kissed my hand!! Here’s a few pictures from their website.

Everyone was so in sync with everyone else. The main singer had a beautiful voice. The costumes were magnificent too! The people climbing on the poles were amazing. I have no idea how they can do those things – it just doesn’t seem physically possible!! I can barely climb stairs, let alone a vertical pole. We have been in our house since the beginning of 2004. In these 4 years, I have had three episodes where I either fell up or down our stairs. Anyway…the show was great and I can’t wait to see my next Cirque show.

It was a great birthday present – thanks Mark!!

Michael Symon's restaurant - Lola

My office went to Michael Symon’s restaurant – Lola. Mark and I have been watching Iron Chef America since the show started a few years ago. It’s on Sunday on Food Network and we never miss an episode. When Michael was a contestant, we checked out his two restaurants online and the food seemed a little too exotic for us. I was just psyched that a chef from Cleveland made national attention. Then, when they asked him to be on the Next Iron Chef challenge, it was so cool. He won and is now an Iron Chef!! Also, my boss is friends with one of Michael’s good friends. I booked their private room and had our holiday work party there. The food wasn’t quite as exotic as it was made out to be online. I am a pretty picky eater so I didn’t love everything, but it was nice.

Birthday weekend: Sunday

Mark and I woke up this morning and headed off to church. Laura and Jeff brought Dylan so they could talk to Pastor about his baptism.

We didn't want to take Dylan out to a restaurant to celebrate with my family, so we just ate pizza at my parent's house. I wanted a Cold Stone Creamery ice cream cake so I ordered one last week. When Mark and I went there this afternoon to pick up the cake, there was a handwritten sign on the door that their freezer was broken. It would have been nice if they had called me to tell me my cake wasn't ready. Oh well. The pizza was great and Laura and I ran up to Dairy Queen and got a cake from there.

Marie came over tonight and we just hung out and watched TV.

It was a great birthday!

Last Birthday Weekend

I may have forgotten to post my last weekend birthday party. Mark and I went over Carol's (Mark's mom) and she told me she'd make me whatever I wanted. I picked my favorites from her: breaded, pan-friend chicken tenderloins and homemade Alfredo sauce. We played a few rounds of one of my favorite board games: Rummikub.

I am so lucky and fortunate in my life to have not one but two wonderful families: mine and Mark's.

Birthday Weekend: Saturday

I slept in until noon Saturday, which is something I haven't done in a very long time. I woke up with the dog at 5 am, took him outside, popped in my earplugs and snored until noon. I didn't really have anything planned for the morning, I started doing our taxes and paid all our bills. I did a load of laundry and loaded the dishwasher - just a normal Saturday. Mark and I did watch Saw 3, which the plot was pretty good.

Mark and I then went out to dinner at Don Ramon, our favorite Mexican restaurant. We usually go there once or twice a month with Marie & Ray. Since Marie's on the liquid diet for her surgery, we went to Maggiano's to really celebrate a few weeks ago. I know Don Ramon isn't that exciting of a place for my 30th birthday, but they have the best food and I love them! Also, since we have two car payments now, I was happy to have a cheap dinner.

Marie and Ray came over after we got home and Marie suggested we watch Grease - my most favorite movie of all time. I don't remember this, but Marie said I used to make my friends watch it at each of my birthday parties when I was young. It was great! I promised them I wouldn't say each line of the movie along with the actors, but there were several parts that I couldn't help myself. I did sing every song though. I love that movie!

One bad thing about watching the movie is knowing that Jeff Conaway (who played Kenickie) is now on VH1's Celebrity Rehab. Last episode showed him shaking in his wheelchair, throwing up on himself, and having a nurse rub icy-hot on his butt. I hope he can make it past his addictions and move on with his life. Hopefully this rehab is just what he needs.

Okay-one more bad thing: I AM OLDER THAN GREASE - it was released in June of 1978!

Birthday Weekend: Friday

Friday morning I walked into work to 5 balloons and two dozen tulips. The tulips were beautiful - multi colored. Marie comes over my house every Thursday and when I went to her desk yesterday at 5 pm, she said she had a few things to finish up and she'd be at my house later. Well and hour plus later, she shows up. She has some fake story about how she stayed talking to a co-worker. I didn't put two and two together and was surprised at the flowers. Thanks Marie!

For lunch, Crystal and Karin took me to one of our fave places-a Mexican restaurant called Cozumel. Our ex-co worker and still great friend, Neeley, came with us which was great. Thanks for buying me lunch! We ended lunch with fried ice cream which was wonderful! We were kind of hoping for the sombrero to be put on my head so Crystal could take a picture, but the service was shockingly poor yesterday, so no sombrero. Crystal did take a picture though: Linda, Karin, and Marie. Note the OVER THE HILL balloon...nice!

Friday night, Mark and I packed up Blarney and went to his brother Mike's house to watch Saw 4. It was very gory and not as good of a story as Saw 1 and 2. We also had planned to watch Saw 3, but Mark had to work late so we only had time to watch Saw 4. Mark and I will watch Saw 3 today. I wasn't able to pay close attention to the movie because Aidan and I were having so much fun playing. He's at such a great age now! Aidan has a tee-ball play toy and Blarney ate the bat-sorry Aidan! Blarney's butt never hit the floor he had so much playing with Aidan. Aidan would run up to him with his cheek out so Blarney could lick it, Blarney would, and Aidan would laugh out loud so hard! It was the cutest thing I ever saw. I was worried Blarney would knock Aidan over, but Blarney was pretty good-never knocked him over. Aidan would gather each of his toys and present them to Blarney. I would grab them before Blarney could get them in his mouth (except I missed the bat-something good must have been happening on the movie). It was fun, but chaotic, but still very fun! I forgot my camera, so I have no new picture of Aidan.

90210

SoapNet started playing Beverly Hills 90210 from the beginning, so I started DVR'ing it. I'm only up to episode 4, but am loving every minute of it. Marie and I used to watch it every Thursday "back in the day"

Birthday Memorial

Photo review of Blarney

When we brought him home from the breeder in June. He was so little and cute. He was about 7 pounds and very small. In August - getting bigger and still dark in color.
When we shaved him before our trip to Vegas in September and lost all his puppy fur and puppy color.

Playing in the leaves in our back yard this October or November. He LOVES to be outdoors.

With Santa. Check out this picture of his chest and face full of snowballs this December.

Today. We got his ears shaved per the standard Wheaten haircut (they had gotten kind-of matted anyways). We opted for a BIG difference from the show Wheaten and got his bangs cut - yes he has eyeballs!! I think he was running into things because he couldn't see. Usually the shaved ears are hidden by the long hair on top and triangle hairstyle that goes from his doggie forehead to the tip of his nose. I don't know if I like it or not, I will see if we think he can see better before we decide what to do next time. Look how much bigger he is in this picture with Mark. I am thinking he's full grown at about 38 pounds. He's kind of the same color as our carpet now, and only the tip of his beard is still blackish brown.

Car swap

My parent's lease was up on their G6 GT and Mark's 99 Bonneville was getting old, so last weekend we bought their G6. Since Mark drives 60 miles a day for work, a smaller more fuel efficient car was in our plan. I love it because it reminds me of my old Grand Am and it has a moon roof which my Edge does not. Also, everyone knows the care that Daddy takes of their cars, so we didn't have to feel scared getting a used car that you aren't sure how well taken care of it was.

Mom and Dad got a new Chevy Impala LTZ-it's really nice!

Prayer request

My cousin Lea (in Coeur d' Alene Idaho) was in a horrible car accident this weekend. God was sitting on her headrest, and she will be okay. However, I'm asking for everyone who reads to please say a prayer for her and her three children. Thank you.

Comments

I love getting comments - almost as much as I love posting. I have changed my blog to allow anyone to comment - without a password. I just hate not knowing who said what, so I know who to reply to. I guess I will have to get over this control issue (yeah right!)

Maggiano's Little Italy

I like to celebrate my birthday as long as possible, and especially this year (I'll be 30-yikes!!!). Last night Mark and I and Marie and Ray went to Maggiano's Little Italy. Mark and I went there last month for Jeff's birthday and it was great. They serve family style and offer a multiple course menu. We got to pick two appetizers, salads, pastas, and entrees. We finished it up with dessert too. Unfortunately the reason I picked it was for their creme brulee, which the kitchen ran out of. I got a pound cake slice with caramelized bananas, which was pretty good, but I really wanted that creme brulee. It was a great night for everyone!

Crazy weather

We had 13 inches of snow on January 2nd! Most of the snow came on New Year's Day. I took a picture of my tape measure in the snow on our back patio's table, but it didn't come out.

Yesterday, we hit 65 which was a new record high. Today's high was also 65, which is 1 degree shy of the record set in 1937.

Crazy!

American Gladiators

I have to say how excited I am about the return of American Gladiators. Hulk Hogan and Laila Ali are hosting it. I think the first new season episode was on yesterday and another episode was on tonight. I loved this show as a kid and love it still!! I hope it stays on the air.

Thank goodness for the DVR so I never have to watch commercials or know when something is on. I find a show I like and hit record all episodes.

P.S. Obviously, today was a pretty slow news day for Team Welch. Thank goodness for TV or else I'd have nothing to write about. Although, Blarney and I had puppy class today. We were off for the past two weeks because of Christmas Eve and New Years Eve. Blarney was really bad today and wouldn't listen to me or the teacher. Ugh!

Confetti

My dad bought each of us a confetti popper for when we came over the day before New Years Eve. He bought a second one for himself, which was three times the size of ours. The confetti was everywhere: in their Christmas tree, a few pieces stuck to the ceiling, and in our bags which were filled with our presents to take home.

Daddy said it took 15 seconds to make the mess and an hour to clean everything up. It was great fun though!!!!

Our first stop on the Christmas whirlwind tour

Our first stop on the Christmas whirlwind tour is Mark’s dad and step-mom’s house. Mark’s brother and sister, Pat and Nicole, were also there. Nicole’s two great kids were there too: Caitlyn and Brandon. Mark’s other brother Mike and his wife Melissa and their son Aidan were also there. We had a great time! One thing you can always expect from Noreen is cheese, crackers, and pepperoni - this is my favorite appetizer! I always run to the table to stuff myself with them. She also had these yummy twice baked potatoes!! I played a cute little game called Piranha with Catilyn, Nicole, and Noreen. I got two little presents for the kids. Brandon and I had a blast playing with his new construction truck. Mark got an Entertainment book, which we will put to good use! I got a very adorable snowman Christmas decoration. Aidan got several outfits and some cool musical toys from Grandma and Grandpa McCandless. I was at the hospital all morning with my sister, and I, unfortunately, forgot my camera. So I am posting an action shot from last year’s Christmas at their house. Here’s Mark’s dad Ron, Mark's stepmom Noreen, Caitlyn and Brandon.

Leg two of the Christmas whirlwind tour

Leg two of the Christmas whirlwind tour is Christmas Eve. This is usually reserved for my side of the family. However, with Laura in the hospital, plans changed this year. They came home from the hospital around 1 pm. Mark and I hung out at home and had a little Team Welch time. I had been at the hospital a lot since Dylan was born so it was nice to spend time alone with Mark. My mom had already defrosted the turkey, so she made the full blown Christmas dinner as planned. She packed half of everything up and took it to Laura’s house so they could have a nice dinner too. Jeff and Laura were pretty tired and were looking forward to their first night with Dylan at home. My mom made 6 different types of cookies and my dad decorated them into a beautiful cookie tray for them too. Mark and I came by my parent’s house with Blarney for the rest of dinner. Blarney found his and Stan’s (Laura’s dog’s) presents under the tree so Gampa let Blarney open his bone. We didn’t see him for hours after the big rawhide bone. Mark and I went home and waited for Santa.

Leg three of the Christmas whirlwind tour

Leg three of the Christmas whirlwind tour is Christmas Day and typically spent with Mark’s mom and my Grandpa.

Part A: We went to Carol’s for 1 pm dinner with Mike, Melissa and Aidan. Carol’s boyfriend, Duaine and his brother Dennis also were there. Mark’s Aunt Angela also came. We had a wonderful dinner of rigatoni, pork, meatballs, etc. Way too much yummy food, as usual! Carol broke out the fancy Mikasa platinum china. We ate, cleaned up a little bit, and then gave Aidan his presents. Grandma Carol got him some clothing, an ornament, and some books. Great Aunt Angela got him one of those nostalgic Fisher Price white pull phones on a chain and some construction equipment in the shapes of dinosaurs. I got him a Noah’s Arc Little People set and an ornament. Duaine got him several books. He didn’t seem that into opening the presents, so Mike unwrapped everything. Once we got everything out of the packages, he had a blast playing with them though.

Part B: We went to my Aunt Kelly and Uncle Carl’s house, my Grandpa lives with them. We just kind of hung out and talked. Carl is a really good cook and he put together a food care package for Laura, which my parents delivered to Laura and Jeff that night.

Leg four of the Christmas whirlwind tour

Leg four of the Christmas whirlwind tour was Christmas Eve make-up date at my parents house on Sunday. Mark and I got there a little early so I could prepare my salad. We had a Honey Baked Ham, two kinds of potatoes, and a bunch of great food.

We had a Honey Baked Ham, salad, two kinds of potatoes, and a bunch of great food. My mom has a beautiful set of Christmas china, the table was set so pretty: beautiful centerpieces with candles and decorations, mini candle favors at each place setting, her fancy gold Oneida ware that her and daddy got for their wedding. From the bottom left: Stan, Laura, Jeff, Dylan, Linda, Mark, and Mom. Dad's where he usually is-behind the camera.

We exchanged presents and had a great time. This was Baby Dylan’s first outing and I think he had a great time too.

Blarney in the snow

This is Blarney's first time in the snow, I think it was a few weeks ago.

This is my first time posting a video, so I hope it works.