It's Waffle Day!

After our brunch at Mario's, Dave and I decided we needed to get a Belgian waffle maker and include these yummy waffles in our Christmas Brunch plans (that, and mimosas!) I started looking around and found a great deal on this waffle maker while shopping at Penneys.


We tried it out a couple times and, after deciding that we had the hang of it, decided to invite Mom over for a trial run (we know she likes Belgian waffles because she often orders them when we go out for breakfast.)

It went pretty well! I have to admit, I'm in desperate need of a batter dispenser and plan to look for one of those before Christmas, because the batter makes such a mess trying to measure it out and pour it into the waffle iron. We also need to get the temperature right -- some came out too dark, some too light. However, most were edible and the ones that were left over (the ones that were a tad bit too light) were great toasted later on.

We served the waffles with strawberries and whipped cream. We also had raspberries and I tried that this morning on some toasted leftovers and they were even better than the strawberries! At Mario's they had fresh fruit sliced up to top the waffles (and whipped cream) which I'm going to try next time (cantaloupe, strawberries, and melon -- yum!)

Jessica mentioned all the ways she likes to eat the waffles -- with chocolate and ice cream -- doesn't that sound great? We'll have to try that!


It was a nice get together -- Mom was here, Bree, Dave and I, and Jessica and William came too! William was as cute as a button and was smiley the whole time. He didn't seem to mind getting passed from one person to the next either -- which was nice since we all wanted a turn.

I think we still need to practice a little bit more before the next family waffle breakfast (the description online says there is a heat control on the top AND bottom of the unit -- say what?) but I think we'll have it all figured out by Christmas.



I'm definitely going to make them ahead and put them in the oven to keep them warm though -- that would be SO much easier!

Finally -- I'm Done!

It's been a long 12 weeks. I've been going to the Center for Workforce Development every Monday and Wednesday night and Saturday morning since September 8th. Well, actually September 10th because I missed the very first class because William was born on September 8th!

It's been intense to say the least and I've put in more time studying over the past few months than anything else. Have to admit, I never expected there to be so much to learn or that the course would be so demanding in terms of homework and studying so my "free" time since the course started has been very limited. I feel like the course gave me a good beginning foundation in phlebotomy but I think what I learned will take on new meaning once I'm applying the knowledge on the job.

One nice bonus was meeting some great people. It's hard not to get to know everyone when you're together so much. We practiced venipuncture on each other and worked on homework together ... so it's only natural that some personal stuff finds it's way in.

I'm going to miss these ladies -- Erin is being considered for a promotion at Del Monte Lodge so she may not go into phlebotomy but if she does, she's hoping to get into the Red Cross or Strong. Rebecca has previous experience working as a medical assistant in a doctor's office and is hoping to find a job in that area. Christina already works for Hill Haven Nursing Home (which is part of the RGH Health System) and is hoping to transfer into a phlebotomy position.)



A few of our classmates were planning to come and celebrate our graduation last night at the Distillery -- missing was Danielle (who just found out she's pregnant! Unfortunately she wasn't feeling too great last night AND her 3 year old, Lexi, was sick so she opted to go home)and Renee (who we thought was coming but never showed. Hopefully she didn't get lost!) Renee is hoping to get a job at Strong.

We talked about getting together for breakfast one Saturday a month -- if nothing else we all have each other's email addresses and can keep in touch.

For now, I'm thrilled to be finished with school for a while!

It's a Winter Wonderland! -- OR -- And So It Begins ...

I guess when the snowflakes fall and they stick to the ground we can officially call it the "first snow". I know other areas have already seen some accumulation and I've been out and about when a few flakes have filled the air, but today is the first day the trees have been covered and the grass (and roads) are covered in white.

So let me write this day down in history (at least so I have a reference for NEXT year) as being the first official snowfall on Country Place Lane!

These aren't the greatest pictures but I just ran out front without shoes or coat on to snap a couple shots. I'll save the real photography for a day when we have even more snow (and I'm bundled up!)

Babysitting Will

Jessica went back to work this past week and the grandmas have stepped in to take care of William while she and Josh are at work. What a thrill it is to be able to spend so much quality time with William and to really get to know him.

Marie watched William on Monday (which I'm sure was a tough day for Jess) and Wednesday and I watched him on Thursday and Friday. Since Tuesday was Veteran's Day, there was no school, which I'm sure made the transition back to working a tad bit easier for Jessica.

We're getting into a routine and I'm starting to feel like I can read Will's signals for what he wants a little bit better. He's been pretty tolerant of my camera clicking and requests for "just a little smile!" More than anything, I've just loved being able to snuggle with him and give him kisses all day long.

I'll only be able to help out with the daytime care until Christmas time because of starting the phlebotomy program at RGH so I'm going to thoroughly enjoy every minute of this time I can spend with William. I'm just so thankful that Marie is in a position to be able to care for William full time after that. Dave and I will have to settle for evenings and weekends but that's ok. Any time with William is a blessing!

Here are a few of my favorite pictures from our first day together ...

WYNONNA!!!

About a month ago Dave and I bought tickets to see one of my favorite artists -- Wynonna Judd. We've been anxiously awaiting the concert ever since, which was held last night at the Eastman Theater and featured Wynonna with Don Potter (!) and the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra. It was truly a great concert.

Wynonna has such a fantastic voice. She has so much stage presence and just seems so relaxed as she connects with the audience. She really lets her personality and sassyness shine through as she chatted with her fans.

Both Dave and I loved her heartfelt comments that were sprinkled throughut the show -- at one point Wynonna said that you have to take risks in life and go out on a limb because that's where the fruit is. Oh, that is SO true.




Don Potter was wonderful. I had forgotten how much I loved listening to him! The orchestra was superb as well. I had wondered how they would manage Wynonna's songs and style but of course, they were able to move from classical to rhythm and blues without missing a beat. Don Potter apparently did some of the arrangements for Wynonna's songs which I found very impressive.

Our only disappointments were that Don sang only 3 - 4 songs (thankfully what is probably my all time favorite song -- "Over the Rainbow" as sung by Don Potter -- was one of them!). We had just hoped he would perform a song or two with Wynonna but instead he accompanied the orchestra on guitar during her set. We got a kick out of Wynonna saying that this was "Bring Don Potter To Work Day"!


And I was somewhat disappointed that Wynonna sang mostly songs off her more recent albums (she has a new album due out in February 2009) so many of the songs were unfamiliar to me since I'm such a fan from her Judd days and the early days of her solo career.

However, she did perform a couple of her classic songs from the past ("Only Love", "Let's Make a Baby King", and "No One Else On Earth") as well as some covers -- "Burning Love" (Elvis) and "I Want to Know What Love Is" (Foreigner). She opened with "Dream Chaser" and also performed one of her more powerful tunes "I Can Only Imagine" which sent the audience into a frenzy.

There was nothing that I would really consider "country" in her repertoire. She has really moved into a much more R&B sound since her "Judds" days which seems to perfectly fit both her personality and voice. It was evident to me how much her voice and confidence have evolved in the years since Naomi retired and the launch f her solo career.


Wy came out for an encore performance and performed three songs and posed for pictures with audience members, shook hands, and accepted flowers. She sang "Ave Maria" which sent chills up my spine. Let's just say that she takes what is already a beautiful song to a whole new level!

She performed for about an hour altogether, which could only leave the audience wanting more. Maybe she could have fit in a few of her more famous songs ("Is It Over Yet?", "Girls With Guitars", "Tell Me Why", "My Strongest Weakness", "She Is His Only Need" ...) if she extended her stage time by a half hour or so. OK, so I wanted a full-fledged Wynonna concert -- no one could blame me if they'd ever had the chance to see her perform in person.

Don was on for about 30 minutes, after which they took what was supposed to be a 15 minute intermission (which was actually 30 minutes -- gotta allow time for people to buy all the CDs and stuff :) ) and then there was about an hour of Wynonna. The concert was over by about 10:00. I have to admit, for what we paid for tickets ($90 each), I was hoping for a bit more stage time. However, it was wonderful to see her in person and to get to just take in her voice. And adding Don Potter to the evening was just magical to me.


Believe it or not, the entire row of seats next to us was empty as were several seats in the row in front of us. The rest of the theater seemed pretty full so I don't know if something happened that groups that were supposed to be there couldn't come or what. Of course, people from the balconies seemed to move down after the intermission but the two seats next to us remained open. We really had a wonderful view of the stage -- being so close was awesome.


We absolutely love the Eastman Theater. It's beautiful and majestic yet small enough to be considered intimate (even with 2 balconies!) We are already looking forward to our next concert there -- the Holiday Pops Gala with the RPO on December 21st. We're so thankful that Bree was able to get us tickets (it's a concert being held for Wegmans employees and there were only 3,000 tickets available.) Daniel and Meghan will be here and it will be a fun way to celebrate the season with them -- especially since we have fantastic seats! Thanks Bree :)

Brunch at Mario's via Abruzzi

What a treat Dave and I had today. We've been sticking pretty close to our diets (well, we are calling it a lifestyle change because this new way of eating is not something we expect to abandon once we reach our goal weights) but we agreed right from the beginning that once in a while we were going to relax the rules and have a "food fling".

Today was a "food fling" day. Sometime during the week we started talking about going out for brunch. I think we were talking about what we could do for mom's birthday since it's so close to Thanksgiving this year and the thought of another big family dinner when there's still plenty of turkey day leftovers in the fridge just isn't very appealing. We had gone to Mario's for Dave's birthday and it was so wonderful we had agreed we should try their Sunday brunch someday.

We thought about taking mom out for brunch on her birthday but quickly dropped the idea since a brunch buffet just isn't someplace you take someone that can barely finish anything ordered (this isn't a criticism -- it's just the way it is with older people. They don't have huge appetites!) However, the seed had been planted and we started thinking about a trip to Mario's.

We have looked forward to this all week and just were hoping we wouldn't be disappointed. It's not cheap -- $21.95 per person -- but as we quickly found out, going to brunch at Mario's is worth every penny.

First, let's consider the beautiful surroundings. Mario's is elegant with its low-lighting ambiance, fresh flowers, and linens. This is not like going to the casino for their buffet!

Next -- who can not be thrilled to have mimosas (included in the price) with their brunch? What a treat. We both chose pineapple mimosas (we could have had any number of fruit juices) and they were delicious! We quickly decided that we'd be serving mimosas with Christmas brunch this year :)


And now let's talk about the food. Holy moly, what a spread. Chefs at the ready to make you a personalized omelette, belgium waffles, egg benedicto, carving stations which your choice of roast beef, lamb, or salmon. There were breakfasty things like bacon and sausage and lunchy things like chicken. I couldn't even begin to list the different salads and other delights to choose from.

And dessert. Since both Dave and I had already made 2 trips in to the buffet and filled our plates with everything that even remotely interested us, about the last thing we needed was dessert. But we sucked it up and headed back in. Wow -- a whole wall of different kinds of cheesecake, cookies, cannolis, and mini tiramisus. There were brownies and cream puffs and just about anything else that would satisfy a sweet tooth. Everything we tried was nothing short of wonderful.

I didn't mention the chocolate fountain! What fun to have all sorts of fresh cut fruit to dip under the flowing stream of chocolate. Delish!!

All in all it was simply a magical experience. We couldn't have hoped for anything more and we most certainly will go again. Dave is hoping for next weekend but I think it would lose it's thrill to return so soon. I think we'll wait for that birthday coupon that our server had us sign up for to visit again. Of course, I'm still stuffed (3 hours later) so I might feel differently come next Sunday!

Accepted ...

I received a letter in the mail today from the director of the RGH School of Phlebotomy saying that I had been accepted into their program! I'm so excited (and a tad bit nervous) to see what this experience will bring.

I'll be starting January 5th which is perfect. The holidays will be done, I'll be home while Daniel and Meghan are here, and with any luck at all the weather will cooperate so I don't get freaked out driving to who knows where every morning.

The way the program is laid out, I'll be at RGH one day a week for lectures and the rest of the week I'll be doing my clinical internship at one of the viahealth labs. The outpatient collection labs are located all over Rochester so one week I might be in Greece, the next in Victor. I know this will give me a chance to observe lots of different phlebotomists and learn "the art of phlebotomy."

There's still some paperwork to take care of but I'm on Cloud 9 knowing that I'm getting the chance to have this experience!

William is 2 Months Old (and Smiling!)

Josh and Jessica just updated their blog and posted some new pictures of William. It's such a thrill to see him as he's growing and I'm just amazed at how much he's changed in just a few months (heck -- he changes every day!) He's filling out and starting to get on more of a schedule which is great since Jessica will be going back to work in a few days (and Marie and I get to share in the babysitting duties which I'm estactic about!)

What's especially nice is that Will's gotten to the age where he's starting to smile. He coos and gurgles and really puts on a show for us all -- and every time he does I just fall more hopelessly in love. I could never have imagined how wonderful it would be to have a grandchild.

Here are a few of my favorite new pics ...

Catching Up -- Bree Now Has LMT After Her Name!

Here's another installment of what I'm calling the "Paine-FULL Life Catch-up".

Bree has been attending Onondaga School of Therapeutic Massage since January, 2007. In June she completed her training and graduated! The school held a beautiful graduation at the Memorial Art Gallery and then afterwards we (Dave and I, Josh and Jessica, Jay and Bree) went to PF Changs to celebrate. We're all so proud of her!

Since then Bree has sat for her NYS licensing exam (that was in August) and in September she found out she passed. Now she is in the process of setting up her practice and establishing a clientele.

Here are a few pictures from Bree's graduation to help remember the day.


This is Bree performing in a skit that she put on with some of her classmates.


Getting her diploma -- a little blurry but Dave was trying to clap and snap at the same time :)


Showing off the parchment that says "Bree did it!"


With Jay, a happy boyfriend who knows he's got a lot of great massages to look forward to in his future!

Ouch! My Throbbing Big Toe

I thought that today I'd finally reach the end of what's been a painful few months. One of my big toes has had an ingrown nail for years, but by cutting it back I've kept it from becoming too annoying. Several months ago the nail started to curve and cutting it back just wasn't helping -- my toenail hit the roof of every pair of shoes and was really becoming painful. Fortunately summertime rolled around and wearing sandals and flip-flops kind of solved the problem.

Even so, the nail was digging into my skin to the point where even having the sheets touch it when I went to bed was painful. I finally made an appointment to see the podiatrist in August who wanted me to try this gel that was supposed to soften the nail before doing anything more drastic.

Well, that didn't help at all. I finally had enough a couple weeks ago and made the appointment to go in and either have part of the nail removed or the whole thing. I was actually looking forward to going for the appointment thinking I would walk out of there finally pain free.

I did walk out of there pain free but only because my toe was totally numb! Truth be told, getting it to the numb part was the worst of it. The injection for the anesthesia was not very pleasant (to say the least). After that though, I didn't feel a thing.

Unfortunately once the numbness wore off I was left with a throbbing, swollen toe! I have instructions for soaking and medicating the toe for the next several days (and I thought this was going to be easy!!) Looks like I'm not going to get to enjoy that new rebounder I bought for exercise for a few days :(

Still, I'm so glad I finally had this taken care of. I was getting pretty tired of being so limited in the shoes I could wear. I'm just hoping that the toenail that's left flattens out so I can have a normal looking toe again!

William Time!

Another wonderful event that has taken place since I was last blogging about the Paine family is the birth of Josh and Jessica's son -- William Joshua. Will was born on September 8th, 2008 weighing in at 8 pounds, 4 ounces and 21" long. He had a full head of black hair (no surprise there!) that is already starting to show signs of curling a bit. He has, of course, just been an absolute delight and the bright spot in all our lives.

Dave and I look forward to ANY time we can spend with William and we jump at the chance to babysit (which works out very well for J&J I imagine!) Today was no exception. Josh asked me a couple days ago if we'd be free this afternoon to watch Will while they went to a movie. We were only too happy to oblige and had been looking forward to getting in some cuddle time ever since.

William arrived a little after 2:00. Aunt Bree was busy making all sorts of treats for her Halloween party at Jay's house but took a few minutes off to snap a couple pictures and get a few snuggles in. William was wide awake and couldn't have been more fun.





Dave and I decided to surprise Great Grandma and bring William out for a quick visit. We were hoping his cheery disposition would last and it did! William was happy as could be visiting (once he got some of his bottle) and loved having Great Grandma hold him -- he couldn't take his eyes off her!

I can't believe how blue Will's eyes are -- and he's almost 8 weeks old! We fully expected him to have brown eyes since everyone on Jessica's side has brown eyes as do Dave, Josh, and Daniel. I'm the only one with blue eyes so the chances were slim that his would be blue. I just would have thought that if they were going to change to brown that they would have started by now ... or at least appeared to be more muddy in color. Nope. William's eyes are clearly a very beautiful darker blue color and I can't help but wonder if they are going to stay that way (fingers crossed for finally having a baby with my (and my dad's) eyes!)

William was a fascination to Rascal and Daisy who were allowed to sniff but not touch today. However, when J&J arrived to pick up Will, the dogs (who were laying on the couch next to me watching William's every move) jumped up and barked. The loud noise startled Will and his face puckered up and he started to cry just as mom and dad walked in. Fortunately he calmed right now and turned back into his cheerful self in time to get scooped up by mommy for lots of "I missed you!!!" kisses.

What was such a thrill today (well, yesterday as I'm writing this) was that William seemed really able to focus and pay attention to us. And best of all -- lots of smiles and babbling. That's really still very new and so much fun to see.

Gosh -- I just love that kid and can't get enough of him.



After he goes home it's just like Mary told me it would be -- it feels like the day after Christmas ... :( But thankfully, it won't be another 365 days until the next visit!