Sunburns

Here we are in the Dominican Republic, two grown ups who have been taking tropical vacations for decades. Its absolutely paradise here, and we couldn't be having more fun... except not entirely. Both of us are completely sunburned. We can handle the red chests and sunburned knees (how weird is that?) but its the eyelids that are killing us. Yesterday Paul woke up with huge swollen red eyelids. He stayed out of the sun for most of the day and his puffiness has gone down a whole lot. In an effort to get rid of my raccoon eyes (i fell asleep with my sunglasses on - dammit!) I spent the day in the sun without my sunglasses. I woke up this morning feeling crustier than usual, mostly in my left eye. I went to the mirror, and sure enough, swollen and sunburned! We've been wearing 15 every day and reapplying frequently. I guess the sun is just ridiculously powerful when you are this close to the equator. We bought some 30 today, and I've slathered it on. It'll be a shady day for me today, and hopefully, my swollen eyes will go down and I'll be able to come home nice and toasty brown instead of lobster red!

The Name Game

One of my friends posted this on Facebook, and I think its pretty funny.

1.YOUR REAL NAME:
Jacqueline Sara (Rosenthal before I married Paul....) Kleinstein 

2. YOUR GANGSTA NAME: (first 3 letters of name plus izzle.)
Jacizzle

3. YOUR DETECTIVE NAME: (fav color and fav animal)
Blue Dolphin

4. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME: (middle name, and favorite place to go)
Sara Honolulu

5. YOUR STAR WARS NAME: (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first name, first 3 letters of mom's maiden name)
Klejakap

6. YOUR SUPERHERO NAME: (2nd favorite color, favorite drink).
Green Rum

7. YOUR MOVIE STAR NAME: (nickname of your grandma/grandpa, and your favorite candy).
Yenkel Snickers

8. YOUR WITNESS PROTECTION NAME: (fathers middle name and mothers middle name.) Vice versa for the ladies
Joe Lynn (I did it backwards because it was funnier)

9. YOUR GOTH NAME: (black, and the name of one your pets)
Black Eliash

10. TERRORIST NAME: (middle name spelled backwards, your mom's name spelled backwards)
Aras Einahpets

11. YOUR PORN NAME: (name of your first pet and first street you lived on)

Fluffy 108

Punta Cana Here We Come!!!

On Friday Paul called to tell me he desperately needed a vacation, and sent me a link from TravelZoo for all-inclusive packages to various tropical destinations. As snobby as it sounds, I'm totally over Mexico. I enjoy it when we go, but I feel like I've been to all the major places at least once, many several times. We've done parts of the Caribbean, but never the Dominican Republic... so that's where we are going. I cannot believe how quickly this trip was put together. We used Paul's airline miles to book the flights, and have a few connections to get there... but I couldn't care less! We are both so excited for 9 nights in paradise!

check out the countdown timer... 

Iphone Project

My boss gave me his old IPhone, with the stipulation that it needed a new battery.  This was a bold task to take on, but with the help of my boss, I was confident I could succeed.  It turns out, that the motherboard in the phone is bad.  I'm now reminded of my childhood cat, Hershey (who still lives with my mom) who was given to us "free" from my sisters friend.  The free cat ended up needing to be vaccinated, nuetered, dewormed, de-earmighted, flea bathed .... long story short, free cat ended up being a fortune.

While I'm no where close to spending a fortune, or even near the cost of a new, or even used Iphone, I will admit to being in over my head with this "little" project.  If I wasn't such a nerd, I'd be really frustrated.  But since I am a giant nerd, I'm actually enjoying learning the inner workings of the device.  The only frustrating thing is waiting for ebay parts to arrive!

Random Food/Drink Encounters

Last week I was standing in the kitchen at work talking to a colleague.  As we chatter, I poured my can on Coke Zero into a glass with ice.  I was clearly not paying any attention whatsoever, because suddenly, I was emptying an individual cup of vanilla creamer into my glass.  I couldn't believe what a moronic move I had just made.  After we both made fun of my stupidity, my friend dared me to take a sip of it.  If you know me at all, you know I rarely turn down a dare, - so of course I took a sip.  Turns out, it was delicious!  It tasted just like a Coke float, but without the ice cream.  I was very excited about my new creation.  No one else at work is willing to try it, and they look it me like I'm nuts when I pour creamer in my soda, but I don't care.  If they knew how wonderful it tasted, they would jump right on the bandwagon.

Then, today, I wasn't hungry for lunch at a normal time.  By about 1:30, my tummy started growling.  I was covering the front desk for the afternoon, so I knew I'd need to grab something quick.  I ran down to starbucks and bought a turkey sandwich, and I also grabbed a yogurt parfait.  I wasn't paying any attention to what flavor parfait I bought, because there weren't many left, and I like them all.  What I didn't know was that Starbucks just came out with a new flavor of yogurt parfait - Greek yogurt with honey.  By the time I got back to the desk, I realized what I had purchase, but decided to give it a try anyhow.  Turns out, it was delicious too.  

I've never been a picky eater, but these are two things I would not have though I would enjoy.  One of them, slightly more gross than the other, but both equally fantastic.  I guess the lesson is that sometimes accidents work out.   Afterall, look at Teflon, Viagra and Microwaves - all products of accidental discoveries.

Happy New Year!

Well, thankfully 2008 is almost over.  I can't wait to see what 2009 has in store for me.  I have all the faith in the world that it will be a much better year for my family.  Afterall, it really won't take that much to be better than the last year.  I'm trying not to be a huge downer, so I've compiled a list of some good things that happened this year.  Here's a few of my favorite memories of 2008:

January 14 - Aaron's 1st Birthday

February 14 - Last minute Valentine roses delivered to my office from Paul

March 30 - Random Spring snow day

April 11 - Jenny's 30th Birthday Party

May 23 - 27 - Visit to the NJ shore to visit the In-Law, Ayelet's Wedding in New York

June 25 - My mom sent me Cookies by Design just because

July 20 - Paul's Birthday

August 1 - Free Lunch at the Smith Tower to watch the Blue Angels!

September 12 - Shrek the Musical with Jenny and Mom

October 11 - Ainsley's 1st Birthday Party

November 12 - My 3rd Wedding Anniversary

November 27 - Hosting my first Thanksgiving with Mom and Jenny 

November 28 - Uncle Danny invited himself over for leftovers :)

December 16 - My Birthday Dinner at the Melting pot

There you have it.  At least one good thing from each month in 2008.  Thats about the extent of it.  

Happy New year to everyone!

Snow Day

I have always loved snow days.  I think that making snow men and snowball fights are a fundamental part of winter.  I'm not afraid to drive in the snow, though I prefer not to.  I don't mind bundling up and treking through the blizzard.  I enjoy watching my dog frolick through the snowy grass.  

This year for the first time ever, my office is officially on "work from home day."  It is 10:40 AM and I am still in bed.  Granted, I've been up working since 7:00 AM, but I am in my pajamas watching TV.  

For the last 2 years, I've fought my way to the office on snow days.  I hike to the bottom of the hill and wait for what seems like eternity for the bus to come.  As I said, I don't mind driving in the snow, but if I can let someone else deal with the hassle of the other drivers, I'm all in favor.  

Its been super nice to be able to work from home this year.  I get cold just looking outside.  Its still snowing - or maybe snowing again - at my house.  The traffic looks miserable, and the weather reports don't show much hope for improvement.  

I'm just awfully glad to be home today, with my husband, working from my bedroom :)