Monday, August 3, 2009

S.O.S (Summer of Schacalieu)

Chapter 3: Are you ready for some compost?

One of the things Jeremy misses most about Morro Bay would have to be his compost pile. Yes, if you didn’t know it already Jeremy is a hippie disguised as a distinguished Yale student. Well, a couple weekends ago Jeremy put his brain power and old man strength together to build The Schacalieu’s a compost bin. Yes, Jeremy has the strength of an old man, which means you don’t expect him to be that strong (by the looks of his lanky body) and are surprised at the jar caps he can twist open or the fact that he can pick you up.

Old Man Jeremy borrowed a table saw from a Yalie friend. He was going totally ‘green’ in his building plans (code for he is cheap and didn’t want to buy wood at Home Depot) and found an old wood palate down in our basement. The palate had some holes in it from where spiders used it as a home to birth their babies, so it was definitely perfect for our compost bin. Actually, it did turn out to be perfect and Jeremy was able to use all of the wood from it, transform the palate into a compost bin, and only throw away two wood scraps.

Jeremy was not injured in the building of the compost bin, no animals were harmed either. My finger got jabbed with a screwdriver, but that was the only casualty. Not bad for a Saturday afternoon. Jeremy was so proud of himself he kept checking on the bin and asking me if it looked good. We commented on the rustic look of the bin and he said that ‘rustic’ was the exact look he was going for.

The following day we drove all the way to New Haven to go to Ikea for a glass container. I assured Jeremy that this type of container could be bought somewhere else, but his Yalie friend said they got their’s from Ikea…so we were off. Jeremy had ants in his pants and we arrived to Ikea before it was officially open. Have you ever been to Ikea before it is open? It’s hilarious. I would say about 75 people were there eating breakfast and then lining up. It was like the start of a 5K race. They have all the entrances roped off. To be funny, Jeremy started stretching. If I wrote for a sit-com I would do an Ikea episode where they get to Ikea early and the people just start charging the entrance.

We got two containers, one for us and one for our neighbor. We plan on hippie-fying Connecticut one neighbor at a time! 

The compost bin in all of it's glory, complete with hinging door

Monday, July 27, 2009

S.O.S (Summer of Schacalieu

Chapter 2: Cruisin' on a Sunday Afternoon

As many of you know from previous posts, Jeremy and I got ourselves some pretty sweet cruisers. The weather has finally warmed up (now too much) and we’ve been crusin’ all over the fine town of Fairfield.

It took a while for summer to actually warm up, but once it did we had a few weekends of pure beauty. Sunshine, no humidity-- it was loveliness! Those days are now gone and we are forced to endure sticky, warm, disgusting days. UGH, I’d rather it be snowing!! Seriously, I would rather be wrapped up in a sleeping bag jacket in our house because Jeremy won’t let us turn the heat on instead of sweating my ass off when trying to sleep, waking up because I’m so thirsty, oh and did I mention sweating my ass off because the love of my life won’t let us put a window air-conditioning unit in our room. I did force him to let me by another fan, so at least I got that!

Back to the few lovely weekends we had before they were interrupted by agony in the form of humidity. Yes, we have been cruising all over Fairfield and Jeremy has finally admitted to loving where we live. We’ve been going on bike rides every weekend and during the week after dinner on nights that it is nice out. Fairfield has free concerts on the green on Wednesday’s and Sunday’s so we’ve been checking those out as well. The last one we went to was an Irish band…it was hilarious…they were straight out of the movie, ‘A Mighty Wind.’ Needless to say we ate our dinner and then made a run (or should I say ride) for it.

We started a garden on the side of our apartment building with our neighbor, her veggies are soaring while ours are looking a little sad. We started from seeds and she started with starters…next year we’ll have a better plan. We planted lettuce, tomatoes, beans, basil, so far we’ve only been able to use the basil.

We’ve also been hanging out on the beach on the weekends. I say beach, but it is still like a really big lake to me. We ventured down there with some friends to play bocce ball and there were all kinds of horseshoe crabs. They are crazy looking and I think they were mating. Fun times!

In other summery news, we bought a little mini bbq at Target for $14 (hey big spenders!) and that thing is getting more action than Tom Cruise when he was in ‘Top Gun’. Jeremy is becoming a grilling pro and it’s nice to be eating outside on our little deck. Jeremy gets excited when he gets to marinade and then everytime tells me the secret is to keep brushing it on. Thanks for the news flash Jer, yeah…I know this trick already. Since I decided to stop being vegan, it’s more fun for Jeremy since he gets to cook chicken instead of tofu…he feels more manly and isn’t hungry all the time. We are now only buying organic meats that have no chemicals pumped into them. I may be crazy, but I think you can really see and taste a difference.

Ian, Alisha and the kids made an east-coast trip and stayed with us for a few days. It was great having them around. Bella and Peyton are growing up so fast. The really are good kids and fun to be around. We hung out in Fairfield with them, took them to the beach to hunt for sea shells and see some sand sculptures that were being built. Jeremy took them out for pizza multiple times and also to the Yale Museum. The only “bad” event was seeing Transformers 2. The kids were so excited to see the movie and it had just come out, so we all went. Let me just say, from the first 5 minutes, I knew it was going to be the longest 2.5 hours of my life. I will never get that time back. Yeah, it was horrible. Other than that, we had a great time and it was awesome to catch up with Ian and Alisha. We were suppose to meet them in NYC for 4th of July for fun and fireworks, but I had to ruin that weekend and get sick. It was a big bummer! What are you going to do? It was better I get sick then since I had a huge program coming up for work. Jeremy did force me to ride bikes down to the beach for fireworks and I’m glad he did. I love fireworks!!

S.O.S (Summer of Schacalieu)

So, July is almost over and I really haven’t posted much about our summer. So here’s the update…in Chapter's (beacuse our life is like a storybook story).


Chapter 1: Vegas
Summer started off in celebration. We went to Vegas to celebrate my dad’s 60th birthday. We weren’t sure what to expect (you know how family trips can be), but it turned out to be a really awesome and fun trip! My Aunt Shonda and Uncle Phil made the trip out, as did my brother and his girl friend (just a girl that is a friend, not a girlfriend?) Caroline, and so did our friend’s Myles and Laurie. It was great to see everyone and hanging out with Myles and Laurie was like old times. Laurie actually almost killed herself at a lunch outing. Now, there was some drinking involved, but not enough for what happened.

We had been lounging by the pool, enjoying a few light adult beverages..when we discovered that it was 2pm and none of us had eaten lunch yet. We went in to The Luxor and ate at whatever Mexican restaurant was there…I forget the name. So we order margaritas and food, while we’re waiting Laurie scooches up in her chair (we were sitting on high barstools) and the chair shoots back like a rocket. Somehow Laurie manages to claw into Myles’ arm and escape splitting her head open on the table (Seriously-we had not drank enough for this to occur…well maybe Laurie did…I don’t know). The flying barstool almost hit the lady at the next table behind us. It was crazy and loud! The whole restaurant just stopped. It was hilarious!
Before the fall?

Jeremy and I aren’t big gamblers, so I was hoping for some warm weather so I could try and jumpstart my tan. This didn’t really pan out, although I tried my hardest, so we did what anyone does in Vegas…drink and gamble. The good news is that I won $200 on a Wheel of Fortune game! I was stoked, but this only fueled my gambling fire. I was having so much fun, I believe I gambled away almost all the money. Seriously, I sat down to play Monopoly and it was making all these noises, and the colored lights, and I kept winning more pennies…until…I stopped winning and kept losing and the damn Monopoly machine ate my $50. Ah, the allure of Vegas!
On Sunday, Jeremy, my dad, and I started gambling together. We would take turns pressing the button and we would give ourselves a limit…if we won so much we would stop and move to the next machine, if we lost so much we would stop and move to the next machine. We did this for most of Sunday until it was time to see Love. I also got my first “free” drink in all my Vegas visits. Whoo hoo! Now we were talking!
Winners!

If you haven’t seen Love, the Beatles show in Vegas, I highly recommend it. It was one of the most amazing shows I had ever seen. I had never seen any kind of Cirque show before and this one just blew my socks off.
Being silly walking to Love


Waiting in line for Love


Posing at Revolution Bar

We also went to dinner at The Palazzo to celebrate my dad’s bday on Saturday. The food in Vegas is wicked expensive and this was one place that looked nice and the prices weren’t astronomical. It was really hard to pick a place from online menu’s and pictures that would be good for a larger group. The food was good and I think my dad enjoyed himself. We got a good picture outside the restaurant of my dad on the silver bull that was outside the restaurant doors. After dinner we headed to New York, New York (the casino, not the state) for some piano bar action. This was definitely one of the most memorable times ever! Joseph and Caroline gave the piano guys some money to sing Happy Birthday to my dad and it worked (after a couple tries). They started playing Happy Birthday and called my dad up. Once my dad was up there they started playing, “Right Said Fred- I’m Too Sexy”. This was hilarious!! My dad was dancing around and they had him take off his jacket and then ladies started putting money down his shirt. Joseph captured all of this on video, but he hasn’t sent it yet. Once he does, I will post it.

Bday Cake


Bull Riders


All in all, this was a great time and an awesome way to kick off the summer. Since it still wasn’t sunny or warm in CT, it was nice to see the sun when we emerged from the dark, air conditioned casino’s. It was in the high 70s when we were there…actually kinda cold for Vegas in June, but oh well…begger’s can’t be chooser’s right?

More of S.O.S to come in later posts!

Friday, May 22, 2009

If only Cheney knew how to deal with terrorists this way...

                                                  

If you've ever wondered what the Schacalieu's are up to on a Friday night...well guess no more! Enjoy the video! (make sure you have the sound turned up on your computer)

This video was made in response to Mr. Potato Head being kidnapped from our house during Pie Palooza. Check out our post from November titled "Pie Palooza" for more background info.

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Make new friends? Definitely keep the old!

This past weekend our friends Mark & Dina were in NYC for one day only. Jer and I drove up to JFK to pick them up and then we went over to Phin & Carla's for a day of jam-packed fun. They had a one day layover (more like 18 hours) from coming home from a trip to Italy.

When we picked them up, they had 4 HUGE suitcases. We were a bit worried about getting them into the car, but were able to wedge two in the trunk, two in the back, and our queen size blow-up mattress was on my lap. We had to bungee the trunk closed and hoped that no big potholes would send their luggage flying. The luggage also weighed quite a bit due to the huge wheels of asiago and other Italian cheeses they were bringing back. Mmmm, that cheese was yummy!

We haven't seen Mark & Dina in almost a year. The last time was at our wedding, so it was great to see them. Phin had a great day planned of showing them some of the bigger NYC sites, so we went to Grand Central, Central Park, and (our all-time fav) the beer garden. 

The beer garden is this amazing bar that actually has a huge beer garden outside with picnic benches and a stage where bands play. All you can get to eat there is sausages and kraut. Luckily they also have veggie burgers there, so I was able to eat!

It's so great with friends that you don't see or talk to for a while and the minute you see each other again, it's like a day never passed. Those are the real deal! Those are the kind of friends we are really missing out here in CT. You don't really know what you have until it's gone.

Jeremy and I were talking on the way home and realized that we laughed more and harder then we have in a long time. Dina and I almost peed our pants when Jeremy screamed like a girl as a subway train passed loudly.

I just think of my college Broad Street house days when most of these friendships were made and really realize how great we had it. One...it's hard to make friends, two it's really hard to make good friends. I'm not trying to get all depressing...we've made friends, people we go out with and can have a good time with but only one or two may be around in the long run. It's kind of sad. We think we've made a friend and then something happens and true colors are shown. 

It was hard to make friends in SD at first, but eventually it all started fitting together. Although, this was just about the time I had to move to CT. In the end...I would rather have 5-8 amazing friends then people who make me feel awkward or bad about myself. 

This atmosphere is tough for both Jeremy and I because Yale is just a different place. We really feel like fish out of water with most of the people here. Boo hoo, we are such sad sacks. 

Our next awesome friend reunion will be with Laurie and Myles in Vegas. We are going there for my dad's 60th and I'm sure it will be a good time. Viva las Vegas!!

The thing is...you never know who you will meet in your life...sometimes your life will be filled with great people, other times may be a bit lonelier. All Jeremy & I know is that we are glad to have each other right now and can't wait to get back to all of our family and friends on the West Coast. 

Here are some pics from the weekend...


The Beer Garden


Strawberry Fields
Mark & Dina




Wednesday, May 13, 2009

The twins have arrived!

Here are pictures of Rene's beautiful babies!!!

Say hello to Jackson

and Corinne!

Congratulations to Rene & Doug!! There hand are going to be quite full for quite a while!

Here are their stats from their birday, May 7th:

Jackson- 4lbs, 11oz & 18" long

Corinne- 5lbs, 0.5oz & 18.5" long

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Circle of Life

This past weekend Jeremy and I were in California. We got a call Wednesday night from his mom that his grandpa wasn’t doing good and that we needed to come home. His grandpa has been battling cancer and it seems like it is winning the battle over his body.

Jeremy’s brother and his brother’s wife (Corey & Caroline) made the trip out from Boston. When Jeremy’s sister picked us up from the airport it was nice to see each other, but of course we all wished it was under different circumstances.

I’ve never really had to say goodbye to someone I loved before. My grandma died of Alzheimer’s and my memory of her is filled with visits to the home and looking into her eyes which seemed to be begging for help, but her voice was unable to express any of her thoughts. I was close to my grandma as a child, but I was really young when she got sick so my memories of her are mostly of when she was sick.

Jeremy and everyone was holding up as well as possible. I think there is comfort in family and knowing that you are not alone with your feelings. I think that having all of us there perked up his grandfather at times. He made a few jokes and was pretty coherent. He was sleeping most of the time and not eating much. It was tough to see him laying on a bed in the living room, but he did seem as comfortable as possible.

As all of this was going on I was receiving updates on the birth of my best friend’s twin babies. Corrine and Jackson were born on May 7th at 1:42 and 1:43pm. The same night we got the call about Jeremy’s grandpa, I got a call from Rene saying that they were going to be born. It just goes to show you that life and death really is a circle. Mom and babies are happy and healthy, hoping to go home sometime this week.

Even though death is such a hard reality to face it makes you realize how precious life is and that you really have to make the most of your time. Life is too short to stress and worry about all the little things that go wrong or not the way you expect.


Leaving Sacramento and actually saying goodbye was extremely hard, knowing that it may be the last time we get to say goodbye. We are thankful for the time we got to spend with Norman (dubbed by Caroline as “Bullet”) this past weekend. Now, we will just wait for updates from his Mom and hope that he is comfortable.

Here are a couple of quotes that I thought really express my thoughts over the past weekend.

“It's the circle of life, and it moves us all, through despair and hope, through faith and love, 'till we find our place, on the path unwinding” -Elton John


“And in the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years”.—Abraham Lincoln