Vanilla Chai is BACK!

Hello all, just thought I'd share my joy as one of my favorite faux-coffee drinks is back on the market. Dunkin' Donuts used to carry a drink called the Vanilla Chai, and I would get it on a regular basis whenever I needed a pick-me-up (from sugar, not caffeine). One day, they told me it had been indefinitely discontinued, until one time when I asked and they said it was gone forever. Oh, how my world changed. It shifted more towards Starbucks. Last night, I drove thru to pick up some b'fast for this morning, and I happened to ask if/when the drink would return...he said, we have it right now. I immediately purchased one, of course.

The Surreal Life

I just lived the most incredible day imagineable. Most of you already know what happened to me, but for those of you who don't, I must introduce you to my TV morning talk show addiction: Live with Regis and Kelly. I adore those two, especially the latter, who is the one that attracted me to watching the show on a regular basis. I watch them religiously, taping the show every day without fail. For the past 6-7 years, I have been entering once a day online to be a trivia caller in which I'd get a crack at answering a question to win a vacation package. Well, those years of relentlessly entering paid off, as I was called around 8:05 a.m. this morning. Yep, I had a conversation with Regis Philbin and Kelly Ripa today. They said my name--correctly! They posted my name and city on the most popular and successful nationally syndicated morning talk show. As if talking with my idols weren't enough, I knew the answer to the question and subsequently won a trip to the La Playa Beach Resort in Naples, Florida! I can't even begin to describe the adrenaline high that has carried me all the way to midnight. I have been on the phone for the majority of the day with relatives and friends who've called to congratulate me. I believe I should also start charging a commission for giving out info on my line of work. That was the topic of discussion with R & K, and I received 3 phone calls and 1 e-mail from people interested in doing standardized test assessment online. I have truly felt like a celebrity today. I believe my 15 minutes of fame have come and gone. Boy, were they sweet!

NYC x 2

This past April, my annual TESOL (Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages) Conference was held in New York. I hadn't been there in a decade--since I went with my friend Leigh for my first visit as a college graduation gift to myself! I must say, the views of the city firsthand are equally, if not more, breathtaking. Sorry that my pics don't do it justice. (Do they ever???) The one of me in front of the Statue of Liberty is the last one that was taken right before I dropped and broke my camera! Good thing it was at the end of my stay...By the way, I've never understood how the infamous "they" could make an entire store and line of products out of a chocolate candy...but they're pretty cute!

Experienced bloggers and/or technologically savvy people--feel free to give me advice regarding photo placement/arrangement.

In-Law Visit

I feel like I have so much to catch up on since we've been quite busy this year. From the beginning of May until mid-June, Fernando's parents came to stay with us for the 3rd time in 7 years. It was a fantastic visit, a true whirlwind from start to finish. Here are some choice photos from all our "field trips." You can click on any picture to see it on the full-sized screen.

Happy 3rd Birthday, Emily Rose!

How could I begin my blog and not talk about my 3-year-old daughter? She's just about the center of our world right now, and she recently had a birthday! Fortunately, she had many family members present to celebrate. Thanks to those of you who sent her cards, phone calls, and L-O-V-E! She enjoyed all of that so much! I must say, as much as I adore her, she's not the perfect child by any means, but she gets excited over the smallest details of life and is truly thankful for those little, precious moments. Here are some pics from her day.

Storme Scare

Most of you probably don't know that last year around this time, we adopted an adult female rescued mutt named Storme (pronounced Storm but now affectionately called Stormy or, my personal favorite, Stormity). She has been a welcome and much-loved addition to our family. This morning, as per usual, the first thing I did was let her out right away. I let her stay out a few minutes longer than usual because she was sick. When I opened the door, she wasn't anywhere I could see her, and when she didn't come after I called her, I saw that our fence gate was wide open. I panicked and ran down to the cul-de-sac to look for her with no luck. I quickly ran back home to wake up and dress Emily so we could get in the van to drive around and look for her. I wasn't even down to the corner calling her out the window when she appeared by the van. She must've run pretty fast and/or far because it took her 30 minutes for her panting to subside. We're so glad that we didn't lose our Storme!

Musings of a Bored, Intimidated Mami

OK, so I have 2 weeks off, and I'm already looking for things to fill up my afternoons while my daughter's napping (when I'm usually working). Many of my friends have blogs, and I see how useful it can be to keep in touch with those far-away but close-to-heart family members and friends. I stopped publishing an annual newsletter to accompany my Christmas card years ago (In fact, I think there was the 1st annual and then none succeeding, sorry about that!). So I'm thinking...most of my relatives and friends probably have no idea what goes on in my day-to-day life, especially given how infrequently we communicate. Very sad considering the facility of communication today. I've shied away from blogs in the past because the upkeep appeared daunting to me. Also, because of the philosophical nature of some blogs, I recoiled. However, I've realized a blog is what you make of it, and since I've always been a utilitarian writer at heart, then by golly, that's what my blog'll be! Occasionally I'm sure I'll post a reflection or two, but my main goal is to put up as many pictures with captions as I can! I hope it facilitates more communication with you, my loved ones!