<p>Hey P56: if you get a chance, pop over to the UA forum. There’s some folks asking about UAB. :)</p>
<p>No airplanes this week, cuz I worked from home!!! DW is going to leave work early and we are going to Busch Gardens, Williamsburg tonight it could be a scorcher.</p>
<p>
I will say that yall drink the darnest stuff in the morning! It kinda makes me want to wash down a bacon, maple donut with a Mt. Dew just to ensure balance in the world. ;)</p>
<p>Euphemism of the Week goes to esobay, be careful with your sparklers, now! ;)</p>
<p>Quote of the Week goes to Mr. and Mrs. RobD, Sigh. Reasons why DH says "we should frame the test scores.". No Kidding!</p>
<p>Aliceinw Maybe you had a bad dream that kept you awake. DW had one of those this week she dreamed that someone broke into the house and stole D2s Hello Kitty popcorn popper. :rolleyes: Good Luck with the whirlwind tour of New England. And your cousins kids do sound AMAZING!</p>
<p>RobD Where do I go to get one of those minimalist kids? Wanna trade? Two for one deal. ;)</p>
<p>Mdem I guess youre several days into celebrating (responsibly) by now!</p>
<p>YDS Glad to see that either rain or peeking at DSs grades broke the sweat. ;)</p>
<p>LIMOMOF2 Even though I have booked my hotel for graduation, I plan to keep checking other options for something better throughout the year. Just this week, I was able to get 2 rooms when they freed up at a hotel much closer to campus.</p>
<p>DB My appendages remain crossed for you!</p>
<p>Tx5 Hope things go well with D1s job search also!</p>
<p>Showmom SUP? ;)</p>
<p>Mommusic Im sure you did a stand up job marching. 
Oh, and on the 8th day, God created 2 monitors. .</p>
<p>
Sounds like a journey into what is left of my brain. ;)</p>
<p>LAF It sure was nice of your D and friends to add to the street cred of their guy friend. If you start feeling the burning desire to pay an additional full UG bill, please feel free to contact me. I looked into Red Sox tickets for an upcoming weekend and the Stubhub price range was from $30 - $110,000. Which did you get? ;)</p>
<p>For all of our current and aspiring musicians, D2 introduced me to my new favorite combination Cellist / Beatboxer this week
(Yes, Kevin O. is playing cello and doing the beatbox vocal percussion beginning about 1:20)
[Heart</a> Attack (String Quartet, Piano, & Solo Cellobox) - Kevin “K-O.” Olusola (Demi Lovato K-O.ver) - YouTube](<a href=“http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_profilepage&v=OPknp2oDdqQ]Heart”>http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_profilepage&v=OPknp2oDdqQ)</p>
<p>Darn overachieving Yale kid even does a cappella beatbox as a member of Pentatonix
Also a new favorite video on the evolution of music
[Evolution</a> of Music - Pentatonix - YouTube](<a href=“http://youtu.be/lExW80sXsHs]Evolution”>http://youtu.be/lExW80sXsHs)</p>
<p>In dad news, it has been an awful week for my FIL and DW. A shot of PVC would be nice! We are stopping for a visit on our way to Busch Gardens.</p>
<p>In college news, D2 received a letter from her coach, so we at least know her move-in date now.</p>
<p>In internship news, D2 is still loving her job and thinks that she found her calling. She must be doing OK since her bosss boss stopped by to tell her how everyone has told him what a good job she is doing. 
She was sent to represent her department at the celebration for Croatia joining the EU this week
one important highlight, the brownies were really good. :rolleyes: She actually had to work last night for an Independence Day diplomatic reception. She sent a pix message of her in a dress (with Benjamin Franklin) from a ballroom somewhere is DC. Our response was that her 4th was clearly more upscale than ours was watching local fireworks from the Sweet Frog. D2 also participated in the planning for next weeks US-China Economic Dialog. She told me some of the tasks that she has to do and maybe Im just paranoid, but they seem kinda risky to rely on an intern to accomplish. D2s take on it was to just dont panic, ask questions, and it cant possibly be harder than school.</p>
<p>~~~~ -------> PVCs going to you and yours, G#.</p>
<p>I think your dd wins the Fourth of July contest having spent it with Benjamin Franklin.</p>
<p>Saw ds briefly yesterday, and he was so happy. It’s great when they’re happy, no? He woke up at a reasonable time, watched a movie on cable (the money and the cable are the best parts of the house-sitting gig), had a great pickup game of ultimate and then came to our house to pick up clothes on his way to a party. I made a blueberry cake for him to take, and he was delighted.</p>
<p>Ds2, OTOH, is on my last nerve.</p>
<p>G# sending PVCs to the dads. Those $30 Red Sox tickets must have been standing room in the parking lot. (Just kidding, the Red Sox don’t have a parking lot!) We actually ended up with great seats - 9 rows behind the visitors dugout. And we only paid $10 over face value. What’s my secret? Go on StubHub 2 days before a day game with a predicted temperature of 90 humid degrees and pick seats that are in full sun until the 5th inning. :)</p>
<p>Good afternoon everyone. Looks like I am the first to be around today. </p>
<p>Bust day for us as we are holding a birthday party for my dad/another housewarming get together. We’ve for crab cakes and chocolate cake so I think we are ready to go (and other stuff too I promise) ;)</p>
<p>sorry no coffee for past few days…went to visit S2. i really should re-think things…just bought him a new dishwasher as the old one conked out…if i had a brain, I should have given him mine and then I would get the NEW one! </p>
<p>just 4 more weeks of class for this summer semester… its hard to believe but then on to the last year of undergrad!!!</p>
<p>good morning all…coffee is ready!</p>
<p>Blech…Monday. I have the remnants of a cold and I’m trying to think about being productive after several days off. The grass REALLY needs cutting after all the rain but I think I can get DS to do it this evening. </p>
<p>I’ll take some of that coffee–iced, please, with lots of milk. :)</p>
<p>Good morning iPeeps! Happy post-4th of July! </p>
<p>GSharp: I LOVED the Kevin O beatbox/cellist video. I now have a new favorite too, compliments of your D2. Sending good wishes & PVCs for both dads. </p>
<p>WaVing to IL. Somehow when you mentioned being on a boat for the 4th, the Gilligan’s Island theme music suddenly popped into my head. “A 2-hour tour, a 2-hour tour …”</p>
<p>In COLLEGE news, S1 got his acceptance to Grad school! He starts school on August 26. He will continue to work full time & attend grad school part time in the evenings. Master’s program is 2 years & his employer will contribute toward tuition & books. </p>
<p>I’m finally coming up for air after our annual 4th of July blowout. S2 came home for the holiday weekend. We had a 50-ft slip & slide, a water balloon toss, a frozen T-shirt contest (T-shirts were folded, soaked, & frozen; first person to thaw & put on the T-shirt won a small trophy) and a Hawaiian outfit contest, which was won by a man brave enough to show up in a coconut bra & grass skirt. He received a bottle of award-winning port wine produced by my BIL. We concluded the evening with fireworks & dancing by torch light on the patio. A high standard has been set for 2014.</p>
<p>Good morning! Thanks for the coffee! I might need a second cup. I was up at 4AM to drop S2 off at the airport for his trip to Greece. He was very excited but also very nervous. The class starts in Greece, so he has to get himself from the airport to the hotel. He is a smart kid but is directionally challenged so I am a little worried as well. So we all downloaded an Ap called “Viber” so that we can message each other for free. Has anyone ever heard of it? Is it legit?</p>
<p>S3 got his AP scores, he took 6 tests, the results were excellent, except for the “1” in Spanish. I thought you got at least a “2” for putting your name on the paper. But he didn’t need to pass the test to waive the foreign language requirement at Berkeley so it didn’t matter. I think we are officially done with the College Board, at least for a while. </p>
<p>The 4th was uneventful. DH and I went to a fun block party. D1 took it easy because she had an interview bright and early (8:30AM) on the 5th. She thinks it went well, so cross your fingers. </p>
<p>Happy Monday!</p>
<p>TX5: we downloaded Viber when D1 went to England but never used it (I don’t remember why.) best of luck to the traveler; D2 is directionally challenged so I know what you’re thinking!</p>
<p>I know other people who’ve used Viber, but we used something else. I can’t remember the name … something-tel.</p>
<p>good morning all…coffee is ready</p>
<p>safe travels to your son tx5!!</p>
<p>Good morning. I haven’t stopped by in a bit, so thought it was time. </p>
<p>We did a lot of traveling over the long weekend, spending the 4th going to and from my SIL’s house in RI, then heading up to Maine for Friday to Sunday. Nice time seeing all of my H’s relatives.</p>
<p>Had a long skype conversation with S on Sunday night. He seemed pretty good, if a little bit bored. He spent some time riding his new bicycle, and some time performing surgery on the Ultimate Frisbee team’s stuffed animal/mascot. The mascot is recovering nicely.</p>
<p>Our plans have fallen into place for a visit to MN in August - we can spend time with D, and at the end of our five or six days there, S will come home with us for 3 weeks before the fall term begins in September. I think we are all looking forward to seeing each other, so that is nice.</p>
<p>Safe and happy travels to tx5’s S.</p>
<p>Congrats on your S’s grad school acceptance, 12rmh18!</p>
<p>Sending well wishes to G#'s dads, and to anyone else who needs them.</p>
<p>Happy Tuesday.</p>
<p>Good morning!. S2 made it safely to Greece. There were four of them on his flight so they navigated together to the hotel. There is free wifi in the hotel, but only for one device (and he used it on his phone), so he didn’t have access to his fantasy baseball team, so I was going to have to be the “manager” in his absence. But, he got the Fantasy Baseball Ap for his iPhone, which he struggled with at first since they were asking him everything in Greek, but finally he figured it out so I am off the hook. I am hoping he posts pictures, but I am not holding my breath.</p>
<p>good morning all…coffee is ready!</p>
<p>Good morning iPeeps. thanks for the coffee, P56. I’ll add tea & Pepsi for Checkers if she stops by.</p>
<p>Tx5: I’m glad to hear that your S2 arrived safely. You “coulda been a contender” as the manager of S2’s Fantasy Team. Is there any word on your D1’s interview?</p>
<p>Alice: I’m glad to hear that the patient is recovering nicely after your DS performed life-saving surgery on the Ultimate Frisbee mascot. :)</p>
<p>G#: I’m sending healing wishes for both dads. I hope this week is better.</p>
<p>Life is returning to normal after the 4th of July blowout, except the slip & slide killed the grass underneath it & we now have a 5-ft wide stripe of dead grass across the back yard.</p>
<p>In COLLEGE news, S1 is handing all of his grad school paperwork & bill payments. I just kicked him off our family auto insurance policy onto his very own policy. It is amazing to me how having his own policy as a 25-yr old cut his premiums in half compared with what he would pay if he had remained on our family auto policy.</p>
<p>Good morning, iPeeps. Thanks for the coffee. I can still round up warm lemon water or green smoothie if any feels called for that.</p>
<p>No news from kiddos since Sunday, so nothing to report there. </p>
<p>I’ve been experimenting with a new recipe for the yoga retreat potluck supper on Friday. I decided to try for dairy free/gluten free/nut free/paleo-ish - so I’ve come up with “pasta” salad with spiralized zucchini as the pasta. Last night we practiced spiralizing the zucchini. Well, actually, we did not acquire a spiralizer so we used a very fancy mandoline that H got some time ago and has hardly ever used. Then he made a pad thai peanut sauce for it. It was really good, but I will do a different sauce for the potluck because so many people have peanut allergies. Grocery shopping (and laundry) tonight. I leave for VT Friday morning. Can you tell that this is occupying more of my energy than my work?</p>
<p>Happy Wednesday.</p>
<p>Torrential rain again here (after 2 sunny but humid days). </p>
<p>And I discovered the occasional leak in the basement bathroom ceiling comes not from a bathroom above, but from higher up…probably flashing around the vent in the roof. I need a roofer, not a plumber? 
</p>
<p>Of course, this bathroom has a suspended ceiling that we fixed once before due to a conventional bathroom-above leak. :(</p>
<p>I may have to visit Sinner’s Alley to drown my troubles.</p>
<p>Okay, question for ya’ll. I’m applying to grad school, but there are a few schools on my list that are in areas I’ve never been to, and I know our group has kids or lives in the area of a few of them, so I figured I’d ask! If you want a little college-y task :D, feel free to tell me what you know about the area around these schools (social/political climate, how good is public transportation/how necessary is a car, etc):</p>
<p>Alabama, Kansas, Southern Maine, Western Ontario, Penn State-Harrisburg.</p>