« February 2013 | Main | April 2013 »

Sunday, March 31, 2013

Happy Easter

S400

Happy Easter everyone. :) I am really not a huge fan of Easter usually but there are some good qualities about it. Lots of chocolate (although I have been pretty good staying away from it this year), easter eggs and other yummy foods. And usually the arrival of Easter also means that the warm weather season and spring has arrived. This year I am not so sure about that last part as it's still pretty chilly. Tomorrow is April 1st and they are forecasting much lower temperatures than normal for the whole week of April. I guess it will have to get warm eventually. :)

Not too much new really. Was fighting with an annoying cold (sore throat, runny nose, sneezing, congested etc.) all week but it seems to finally be getting better. I am definitely very happy about that. I was starting to get really tired of going through boxes of tissues every day.

Had the weekend off. Yesterday, Saturday, we slept in and then took the train down to South Norwalk where we had a late lunch at the Brewhouse. This is the second time we have been there, really enjoy the place. Had the most delicious chicken & portobello salad. So yummy. 

Today we are taking it easy as well. Slept in and are now vegging out at home. Later on we are going to Rizzuto's for an early dinner. Looking forward to that as we received this email a few days ago. If they have a good lamb special I am pretty sure I am going to order that. Either way I am sure they will have great special dinners either way. Always enjoy their food. 

Mail Update: Sent a letter on Wednesday to: Celia/MA. Owe replies to: Nina/WA, Eunice/Malta, Lotte/Denmark, Charles/TN and Tiffany/OK.

Posted by Hanna at 01:25 PM in Food and Drink, Holidays, Weather | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Sunday, March 24, 2013

Relaxed Weekend

Ground hogSo it is now officially spring but it's still not very warm at all. Yesterday and today it's been sort of sunny but yesterday very windy so it felt much colder than it should have. It looks sunny outside today, haven't actually been out there so I will see what it feels like when I go outside in a bit. For tomorrow the forecast already contains a rain-snow mix and some slushy accumulation. Fun, fun, fun. I think Punxsutawney Phil was definitely wrong this year. An early spring is not what we have been having AT ALL. 

Having a nice relaxing weekend at least. Yesterday we slept in late, then watched some recorded shows before meeting up with our friend John to go to a Cajun restaurant called "The Bayou" in Mt. Vernon, NY. Had some delicious food (blackened catfish, shrimp poboy etc.) and a fun night out. When we got home we watched some more shows before heading to bed. 

Today another nice sleep-in day. In a little bit we are going to head to Oxford for lunch. Going to eat at 121 there. Great food and always fun to watch the planes land and take off. 

All in all it's been nice to have a relaxing weekend with not much to do. Haven't had that in a while. I am now looking forward to the weather hopefully getting nicer at some point soon so we can plan more outdoor activities, go for walks and hikes again. Hopefully soon. 

Mail Update: Owe replies to: Eunice/Malta, Lotte/Denmark, Charles/TN, Celia/MA and Tiffany/OK.

Posted by Hanna at 11:45 AM in Food and Drink, Outdoors, Weather | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Europe ... here I come :)

Map-of-the-UKWhat a dreary and not spring like day at all. The weather does not seem to know that it is supposed to be the first day of spring tomorrow AT ALL. Had some snow, ice, sleet etc. overnight and this morning which caused messy roads, school delays + cancellations etc etc. What annoying weather. I am definitely ready for it to get nicer soon. 

In much better news, I booked my flights to Europe. :) Was trying to come up with a way to go see my family and friends over the summer but flights in July and August were just so ridiculously expensive I was starting to get really down. Was figuring that I might not get to go at all. But after lots and lots of research I was able to find a combination that worked. I am now flying at the end of May into the beginning of June, that way I can avoid Memorial Day and the 4th of July (both very busy times at work) but still get 2 weeks off. Am flying to London first and will spend some time in England with my friends Joanne and Nicola. From there I am going to fly to Vienna to spend a week, then back to England and back to NY.

Will definitely be a very busy two weeks but I am so looking forward to going. I haven't been to England in ages and haven't seen my friends there in forever. THANK YOU to Joanne for being such a sweetheart and putting up with all my ridiculous airport schedules and putting me up to stay. :) :) :) 

Yay for managing to get back to Europe. I am always happy when I can go and to keep my "once a year" promise I made to myself. I was able to do it for the last few years due to having saved up lots of airmiles but this year was another story. But I guess you only live once and if you really want to do something there is always a way. THANK YOU to Mike for being the most wonderful husband and putting up with me traveling all over the place without him, leaving him behind to cover for me at work. Love you!

Mail Update: Owe replies to: Charles/TN, Celia/MA and Tiffany/OK.

Posted by Hanna at 07:56 PM in Austria , Family, Travel | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Monday, March 18, 2013

Girl's Day Out, Eagle Cruise, St. Patrick's Day and more

Eagle Park LandingThe official first day of spring will be on Wednesday this week but it definitely does not feel like spring. I browsed some entries from the same time last year and it was definitely much nicer then. Oh well, guess not much we can do about it. Just have to keep going and eventually it will have to get warmer. We have another winter storm warning in effect for tonight into tomorrow with 3-6 inches of snow and ice possible. Ugh and ugh again. 

This past weekend was nice but as always went by way too fast. Saturday I had breakfast with my friend Jana. Then we got our nails done (french manicure) and went shopping at the mall for a bit. A very girly day out. :) Had a good time hanging out and was able to finally replace my purse/bag that was starting to fall apart at the seams. 

Sunday was St. Patrick's Day. We started the day off by heading to Haddam, CT for a wildlife/eagle cruise. Had a great time even though it was super cold. Definitely not the weather I expected for mid March when we originally booked this cruise. Saw some eagles, ospreys, turkey vultures, swans, ducks, gulls, loons and even a seal. 

After being out on the water for over 90 minutes we were definitely frozen solid. Went to a neat wine bar in Middeltown, CT on our way back. Stayed there for some time having a late lunch and wine warming up. Afterwards we stopped at Two Steps to finish our St. Patrick's Day. Then headed home to watch some of our recorded shows. 

Now it's Monday again, another week ahead. Have a dentist appointment today plus the winter storm warning looming in the background. Not the start to the week that I had hoped. Well oh well. 

Mail Update: Letters went out last Wednesday to: Jessica/DE and Laura/Spain. Owe replies to: Charles/TN, Celia/MA and Tiffany/OK.

Posted by Hanna at 07:26 AM in Food and Drink, Outdoors, Weather | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack

Saturday, March 09, 2013

Spring ?

HouseFor a little while it had seemed like spring was just around the corner but then yesterday a storm that moved in from the MidWest dumped about 10 inches of snow on us. I guess compared to the blizzard in February this wasn't all that bad but of course still caused enough havoc at work to be a pain all around. Any time it snows there are issues, getting deliveries to people, trucks having trouble on the roads, schools closings and whatnot. It's always a mess. We obviously do our best to get everything to everybody but unfortunately you can never make everyone happy it seems. 

Today it's sunny out and a lot of the snow is already melting again so hopefully all this will be a distant memory again soon. :) Working today but after work we are going to see the new Oz movie in Imax 3D. Looking forward to that. I have never seen a real movie in Imax so that should be interesting. 

No plans for tomorrow. Mostly just going to relax and not do much I think. We need to catch up on our recorded shows too so we will probably be doing that. Will be losing an hour of sleep as we change the clocks foreward. Ugh. 

Mail Update: A letter went out to Nina/WA on Tuesday. Owe replies to: Charles/TN, Laura/Spain, Jessica/DE and Tiffany/OK.

Posted by Hanna at 12:51 PM in Weather | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack

Monday, March 04, 2013

A quick hello from Columbus

1So here is a quick update from my weekend in Ohio. Flew in on Saturday and leaving again today. Definitely a bit of a whirlwind trip. Had a good time though and fun hanging out with my friend Caroline. Since I was able to stay with her I was able to get a very in depth view of everything, hanging out with the bridal party etc. Definitely a fun weekend. Stayed up till 2am Saturday night and 1am Sunday night. Had way too much to eat (between all the rehearsal dinner food, the snacks we had while getting ready & all the food at the wedding) and all the drinks. :) 

Definitely a very nice ceremony and reception and the wedding venue was geat. Everything was held at the Columbus Museum of Art and everyone seemed to be super nice and well organized. 

Need to pack in a minute to get ready so we can go back to the airport. Hopefully my flight back will go smoother than the one on the way here. Connected in Philadelphia and the plane I was supposed to take to Columbus ended up being defective so they had to switch out planes. What a pain. Let's hope going back works out better. 

Mail Update: Will mail a letter soon to: Nina/WA. Owe replies to: Jessica/DE and Tiffany/OK

Posted by Hanna at 11:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack