Calmed Down

I'm back from my trip, the work move is done, things are finally starting to look normal again. I'm thrilled!

My trip to NY was great. I left on Wednesday, the 2nd and arrived in Binghamton around 9pm. I was greeted by a young lady who was very dressed up, wearing funky sunglasses, and holding a sign that said, "Taybe."

"Huh." I thought. That's a different name. Then I started thinking, 'I wonder where Pat and Alissa are?' No one was around at all.

It hit me. The young lady dressed up was Alissa, looking oh, about 25. And the sign she was holding was referring to my imaginary friend Taybe!!!!!

They got me. Pat was standing around the corner laughing his head off. I was just totally in another frame of mind, not paying attention to my surroundings, and they nailed it to me good!!
Kudos to them.

Thursday was a nice day for me to sleep in and relax while they went to work and school. Pat and I hung out in the afternoon and greeted the girls from school. Alissa's boyfriend Nick came over for dinner that night. As I told him later (jokingly, but I meant it too!) he is a fine young man. He and Alissa have very similar personalities and get along well. And I was also impressed with how he related to Paige and actually talked and joked with her. He also did not have a problem with talking to any of the adults. (Can I call myself an adult?) Good kid.

Friday morning the girls headed off to school, while Pat, Lyn and I went to an assembly at Paige's school. They do this monthly. The coolest thing was the kids had been collecting money to try to raise $188 for a school kit to donate to the tsunami relief effort. This one kit can service 80 kids. However, the kids raised $1000! It was so neat-they were all very proud. A community service program in Greene also decided to match the funds, so they were able to send a total of $2000 to UNICEF. How awesome is that? And this is just grades 3-5!

Pat and I headed off to Cooperstown afterwards, to the Baseball Hall of Fame. This was my third trip, and just something I wanted to do. I had not been there since Kirby Puckett was inducted in 2001, so it was nice to see his plaque, with Dave Winfield's, up on the wall. Granted, Kirby is no longer held in as high esteem as he once was, but he is still my favorite ball player. The hall is going through some changes and renovations. There weren't as many exhibits as there usually are. I suspect this is a good time of year for them to make their updates and prepare for the summer months. Still, always a cool experience. And Cooperstown is just a great town to go visit.

Friday night we watched the Manchurian Candidate with Denzel Washington. AWESOME movie. Freaky. The kind that really makes you stop and think. Keeps you guessing. Highly recommend! Saturday we watched Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen with Lindsey Lohan. It was a little questionable at first (this was more of a Paige movie) but it ended better then I thought it would. Cute movie over all.

Saturday Alissa had dance class, so I was able to catch her practicing for her recital next week. It was so cool to see her strut her stuff! Very impressive, and I'm glad to see both girls becoming so involved in dance.

We made a trip to Barnes and Noble while waiting Alissa was at class. Again, this place is dangerous for all of us Webb's. We love books WAY too much. But, as I said to them, at least we are spending our money on books, not booze. Well, unless you count Pat and Lyn's wine collection. :)

Saturday evening we ate at the Spiedie pit in Binghamton. (Yummy.) Spiedies are marinated meat (chicken, beef, pork) on a sandwich. However, you must use the special Spiedie sauce and grill the meat on kabobs. It's then pulled off on to a bun. We have long been out of the marinade at our house, so I made sure to stock up on a few bottles before I left.

My flight back on Sunday sucked. Philly was packed, the flight to Mpls delayed. I didn't get home until after 7pm, about 2 hours later then I should have. I slept in, went into work at noon, and commenced the office expansion move that evening at 5pm. Got home at 9pm. We're still working out the bugs of the move, buying cords, etc. But it went smooth and I was much better equipped to deal with things having come back relaxed and refreshed.

Now, it's back to doing the things I've been putting on the back burner at home and at work!
And, thanks to Pat & Lyn for feeding me and letting me come to visit and relax. I needed the family time and the away time!