Christmas Day

This Christmas, we woke up to a very grumpy elf that Santa had mistakenly left behind. We gave him some breakfast and a bath and he joined us for Christmas dinner at Michael and Dorothy's.

St Paul's Christmas Pageant

Jack was a shepherd in St. Paul's Christmas Pageant 2008. With two of the three rehearsals cancelled due to snowy conditions, the pageant still went off flawlessly.

"And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.

And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men”. And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord has made known unto us. "(Luke 2:8-15)

Ginger Bread House

Once the Christmas decorations are up, it's time to build our annual gingerbread house. We bought a pre-fab house consisting of the four sides and roof, but all the decorating was done by Jack and me.

This year, we managed to stick to all edible items, unlike previous years where we needed to call upon carpenter's glue to hold our walls together. We discovered the secret to the icing is to microwave for ten seconds every now and then to keep it moist and sticky.

A Charlie Brown Christmas

As a child, the official start of the Christmas season was the night we all gathered around our black and white tv for the annual airing of A Charlie Brown Christmas. I have watched it faithfully every year since, and Jack and Chrissy enjoy it as much today as I did at their age.

Now the the longest-running holiday special on TV, CBS originally created the animation in response to a request by Coca-Cola for a Christmas special to air their commercials. When CBS saw the finished product they were less than pleased with the jazzy soundtrack as well as the highly religious theme. But in keeping with their commitment to their sponsor, they aired the special as scheduled on December 9, 1965. A Charlie Brown Christmas drew in 15.4 million viewers, and won Charles Schulz and animator Lee Mendelson an Emmy Award for Outstanding Children’s Program.

The soundtrack by Vince Guaraldi is amongst my favorite jazz albums.

Jets Monopolize Titans

Our Jets completely monopolized this week's game against the Titans, the NFL's only remaining undefeated team, giving us our fifth straight game and a tie for second place in the AFC.

Speaking of monopoly, the Jets Collectors Edition monopoly game is at the top of my Christmas wish list. The game pieces include Jets helmet, quarterback, linebacker, football, referee's whistle and hot dog.

Can't wait for Sunday's Thanksgiving home game. J-E-T-S Jets, Jets, Jets.

GLHS headed to the state championship!

Max Machado, in his third interception of the afternoon, and third takeaway in the fourth quarter, secured Governor Livingston's 32-28 decision over over Summit with 20 seconds remaining in the game.

The senior quarterback/cornerback also threw two touchdown passes as Gov. Livingston (7-3), earned its second championship-game appearance in school history and its first since a 24-0 loss to New Providence in the 1989 North Jersey, Section 2, Group 1 title game.

See you at Giants Stadium on 12/5 where Chrissy and the cheerleading squad will root for GL's first state football title.

Meet the Parents

This weekend, we flew to Charlotte to spend an early Thanksgiving with Conrad's family. We arrived Friday afternoon and checked into our suite at the Marriott. Unfortunately, Chrissy's bag had been tagged to Cleveland instead and her belongings did not arrive until the next morning.

We headed over to the Honeycutt's home on TPC Piper Glenn golf course for cocktails and dinner. TPC, a lush par 72, 6,853 yard course designed by Arnold Palmer, is also an Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary for its commitment to environmental quality by meeting required standards for protecting the environment, conserving natural resources, and providing wildlife habitat.

Con and I instantly plotted 18 holes on Saturday morning, however the weather, an unseasonably cold 38 degrees, did not cooperate. After a lovely dinner, we headed back to the hotel for an early night.

UNC Charlotte Tour

Saturday we toured UNC Charlotte, Conrad's alma mater and a potential school for Chrissy. One of the interesting sights was the monument at left, representing a giant quill. Much to our amusement, Chrissy and most of the other students on the tour were clueless as to what a quill actually was!

Conrad barely recognized the campus from his days as a Tarhill defensive tackle. In the 25 years since Conrad's graduation, UNC Charlotte has grown from a school with 9,000 students to one with a student body of 21,600 people who are pursuing a wide range of doctorates, master’s and undergraduate degrees.

In 2013, the Charlotte campus will be home to a new Division 1 football team. Not soon enough for Chrissy, though, who has her heart set on cheering in 2009.

Happy Birthday Conrad

After many months of research, my gift to Con was the Bose wireless surround system. Con was thrilled with the state of the art home entertainment system, free of ugly, cumbersome wires. We agreed to defer our installation until the weekend when we could set aside "30 minutes [to perform the] three easy installation steps".

On Saturday morning we eagerly unpacked the boxes only to find a multitude of connector cables and wires. Naively, we assumed that Bose included these wires for customers with signal interference that prevented wireless transmission. But, after consulting the manual, we were still confused and called the Bose help desk, to be informed that the "wireless" capability separated the front and rear components, only, while all others were still connected by the traditional hard-wired connections.

Needless to say, the system went back to the store and until technologies develop a truly wire-free solution, we'll stick with the decent audio on our wide screen high def TV. Poor Con never did received his present.

44th President of the United States

"An American with the name Barack Hussein Obama, the son of a white woman and a black man he barely knew, raised by his grandparents far outside the stream of American power and wealth, has been elected the 44th president of the United States.

Showing extraordinary focus and quiet certainty, Mr. Obama swept away one political presumption after another to defeat first Hillary Clinton, who wanted to be president so badly that she lost her bearings, and then John McCain, who forsook his principles for a campaign built on anger and fear.

His triumph was decisive and sweeping, because he saw what is wrong with this country: the utter failure of government to protect its citizens. " New York Times 11/5/08

Trick or Treat

The annual Beechwood School Halloween parade took place today. Jack was very excited to be Iron man this year. After the parade, the children headed out to the Deerfield section of town to trick or treat.

Mrs. Debby continued her tradition of transforming her garage into a vampire's den complete with smoking witches brew and coffin. This year Jack was able to gather enough courage to select a candy treat from the vampire, but passed on the haunted hayride through Watchung Reservation's deserted village.

One tradition that was not continued today was the annual Halloween display at the gates of Bruce Springsteen's Rumson estate. Instead, he posted a Halloween song on his website called "A Night With The Jersey Devil".

First Snowfall of 2008

With temperatures at Sunday's game in the 60's, I was most surprised to look out my office window in Florham Park today and see a mini-blizzard. By the end of the day, almost two inches were recorded, making it the 5th earliest snowstorm in New Jersey history, behind Oct. 19, 1972 six-tenths of an inch; Oct. 20, 1940, one-half inch; Oct 26, 1962 1 3/4 inches and Oct. 28, 1925, 1 inch.

World Series play in Philadelphia was suspended for the night, so Chrissy and I spent the evening organizing our winter gear and thinking ahead to this year's ski season.

Super Bowl III Reunion

On a beautiful, warm October Sunday, the Jets managed a come-from-behind 28-24 victory over the Chiefs. But today's game was all about Superbowl III, marking 40 years since the underdog 1968 Jets team defeated the Baltimore Colts in the Super Bowl and solidified the fate of the fledgling American Football League.

Members of the 1968-69 team were honored in an on-field ceremony culminating in a standing ovation for the Jets MVP, Joe Namath. Though I was just a child at the time, I distinctly remember the awe and admiration Broadway Joe inspired even as he was denounced for his wild, bachelor ways.

Today, at age 65 with two artificial knees, Joe, the incessant womanizer, continues to evoke the same reaction from fans, old and young alike.

Tiger Scouts

Jack's first Tiger Scout meeting was this week. He looked very serious in his new uniform.

Tiger Scouting is the first year of Cub Scouts, followed by Wolf, Bear and Webelos.

The scouts worked on their first badge, the Bobcat Badge. They recited the Cub Scout Motto, "Do Your Best" and the Tiger Cub Motto, "Search, Discover, Share" and they learned the Cub Scout promise: "To do my duty to God and my country, to help other people, and to obey the Law of the Pack".

Rocket Fishing

For his birthday, Jack asked for the Rocket Fishing Rod. Advertised as "one of the greatest fishing innovations ever!", the rod has a special fishing hook contained within a bobber which, at the push of a button, shoots out 30 feet and releases the hook only when it hits the water.

The rod sat in Jack's toy chest for several months before we finally got the nerve to try it out. After watching the instructional DVD, we packed a picnic lunch and headed for Surprise Lake in the Watchung Reservation. We set up camp by the dam, where, directions in hand, we inserted the bobber into the barrel, and pushed the button. Much to our disappointment, the reel did not release and the bobber became entangled in the line then shot free of the rod into the middle of the lake.

Con managed to rescue the bobber from the lake but the reel was hopelessly tangled so we finished up our lunch and headed on home. A quick e-mail to the manufacturer resulted in a replacement bobber and reel. We'll keep you posted on our next fishing expedition.

Apple Picking at Riamede

With the Jets on a bye this weekend, we had a family outing on Sunday to Riamede Farm in Chester, NJ. Riamede is peaceful, quiet olde-time farm where for the bargain price of $1 you can roam the 35 acres of orchards and pick your own apples.

Neither Con nor I had been apple picking before, so Jack instructed us on the correct technique for picking apples (never pluck - always a twisting motion), while we read up on the 34 different varieties of apples grown at Riamede.

This weekend, about twenty were ripe and ready for picking, and we left with two big bagfuls of green, golden and red apples. We spent the ride home naming all the different apple dishes we could create with our cache.

Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders - Making the Team!

In high school, the ultimate symbol of popularity was a spot on the Westfield Blue Devils varsity football cheerleading squad. Much to the chagrin of Grace and Phil, who as intellectuals renounced such foolishness, I longed for the right to wear the "W" sweater and blue pleated mini-skirt. My high school dream ended when I bolted from the tryouts in a terrified panic (but fueled the ambition for a successful career in corporate finance).

To this day, I continue to be fascinated with the world of cheerleading. So, I eagerly anticipate the new season of "Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, Making the Team" where one can experience the drama, excitement and disappointment of vying for the privilege to wear the most famous uniform in all of professional sports, the white and blue star-spangled outfits of the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders.

I can't wait to see who makes this year's squad !

The Titans of the NFL

Jets-Arizona 56 - 35.

We arrived 3 hours prior to kick off to ensure a spot in the stadium parking lot. This time, we had no problem breezing into lot A where the parking lot attendant offered up his prime spot on the end in return for refuge from the rain under our awning. Just prior to kick off, the skies brightened and we headed in to see the the Jets make history.

Dressed in Titans vintage blue and gold, our darling Brett threw a career-high six touchdown passes — equaling Joe Namath's 1972 franchise record — bringing fans to their feet for a standing ovation at half time and earning him FedEx Air NFL Player of the Week. Could it be that Coach M is finally letting him do his thing ? Well, what ever the case may be, it was what we've been waiting for.

The Home Opener

This weekend we had two home openers.

Saturday marked the annual town-wide garage sale. Con and I talked about doing this for several years now, but this was the first year we actually committed to the event and weeks of preparation. The morning poured with rain so we erected our Jets tent, and (thanks to Con's phenomenal selling skills) had a very profitable day, despite a number of near accidents on our slippery, wet 75 degree driveway: a gentleman in his seventies who insisted on testing the Nordic track on the steep incline; and a young boy who tried out the bike without knowledge of handlebar brakes.

On Sunday we put the Jets tent up again for the home season opener, this time as defense against the beating heat. Unfortunately, the team wasn't quite as successful in their defense, logging a 19-10 loss to the Patriots, and a sore disappointment on the tails of the opening-week win over the Dolphins. We know, though, that the team's on the Favre learning curve and sill time to become a playoff team. Go JETS!

The Events Of September 11

Besides the event that comes to everyone's mind, September 11th also marks the day of my birth in Leeds, England. Other noteworthy events on this day (and precursors to my favorite things) are:

9-11-1609 Henry Hudson discovers Manhattan island (shopping)
9-11-1853 First electric telegraph in use (blogging)
9-11-1875 First newspaper cartoon strip (Family Guy)

This year, I asked for something to help keep me warm during air conditioned days of summer and the frosty days of winter. Con selected two pure cashmere wraps in regal purple and burnt sienna, and a cashmere-silk wrap in jet black. All three luxurious yet practical, and absolutely perfect with jeans and a turtleneck for Saturday errands, with a suit to combat the icy office air, or over a LBD for cocktails and dinner. Well done, Con!

"The Hill" at Galloping Hill

This weekend Con and I golfed at Galloping Hill, in Kenilworth, NJ. We played the 18 hole course, though the facility also has a 9 hole course with lights for evening golf. We were amused by the abundance of wildlife - families of deer in the rough and on the 7th hole a little brown fox surveyed us from a far before popping into a hole in the water hazard.

Characterized by its natural terrain of rolling hills and valleys, the newly renovated course is often referred to as "the Hill", a fitting description for a course that in the 70's was home to a small ski area. I remember skiing here as a child with Grace and Mike on a hill just off the 3rd tee which was accessed from the course's utility road on Kenilworth Boulevard. The ski area had a single rope tow and a small trailer to rent equipment and purchase snacks, and was perfect for kids like us just learning to ski.

Kids at Work Day

My employer celebrated the last day of summer with "Bring Your Kids to Work Day". The office was filled with fun activities such as bingo, guitar hero, musical chairs, a scavenger hunt, and Jack's favorite, a room filled top to bottom with candy, Willy Wonka style. As Jack left Nestle he declared, "Mom, this was the BEST day ever".

I find myself comparing today to "Take Our Daughters And Sons To Work Day", celebrated annually in July with the intention of exposing girls and boys to what parents do during the work day and providing them an opportunity to envision the future and begin steps toward their end goals. Somehow, at Nestle, and many other corporations, this day transitioned from a mentoring experience to a day of play.

I hope in a few years, when Jack joins me for in "Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day" in July, he will have the opportunity to share my work day and form visions of the future, and not just visions of sugar plums.

JETS PSL Plan Announced

We've all been waiting for the announcement of the Jets Personal Seat License (PSL) plan for the new stadium. Well, today the plan was finally announced. At first glance it was a big high five to Jets owner Woody Johnson for not assigning a PSL fee to upper tier seats.

Read the fine print, however, to find that seats in the new stadium will be assigned on a seniority basis, and the upper level "free" seats are up for grabs by anyone with longer tenure. Read on to find that the equity in prime season seats owned can no longer be sold, because season seat transfers are now restricted to immediate family members. The good news, though, is an exorbitant amount can now buy you a seat actually on the field, behind the home bench.

Hopefully, we're safe in our season seats, since the PSL is just high enough to deter trading up (or shall I say trading down to the field). We'll just have to wait and see.

A New Girl In Town

What is all the controversy regarding Michelle Obama? At the Democratic National Convention, she was the epitome of eloquence and confidence, a welcome a change from the nervous, sometimes simplistic speeches of the current First Lady (who, frankly, bores me to tears after a minute).

Yes, Mrs. Obama is opinionated, but then again, degrees from Princeton and Harvard and a career in corporate law entitle one to an opinion. I, for one, agree with Mrs. Obama - we haven't had a lot to feel proud about lately and I'm ready for change and a feeling national pride once again. So let's stop all the criticism. You go girl!

Varsity Red

Go Highlanders! This morning the GLHS varsity cheerleading squad was announced. Despite it being Chrissy's third year on the squad, we still had butterflies remembering sophomore year tryouts, when political correctness triumphed over talent, and she was passed over varsity for a girl twice her weight and half the tumbling skills. She ended the season with a letter, anyway, having earned it as an varsity alternate, but the lesson was never forgotten.

The list was posted at 10:00 am and by 10:01 we received a text informing us she had made the squad. Speaking of cheerleading, we can't wait for the 3rd season of our favorite reality show, Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Making The Team. Now that's one squad that will never relinquish beauty and talent for PC.

2008 Tailgate Kickoff

For Saturday's exhibition game against Washington, Con and I arrived about two hours pre-game, and with temperatures in the mid 80's, it was more like a beach than a tailgate, with many of the ladies in bathing suit tops and shorts. Con directed us to lot 5A and selected a perfect spot that shaded us from the sun. We fired up the grill (with a little hesitation on my part, as I had assembled it myself the previous night) and enjoyed our first tailgate of the season.

We were surprised that about a third of the stadium was empty for Favre’s first game in a Jets’ uniform. OK, so maybe it was pre-season, but shame on all the season ticket holders who expect him to lead the team to a division championship and but were noticeably absent at his debut.

Fight to the Death

I arrived home today to find Chrissy hard at work cleaning out our old aquarium, so after she had finished we drove to the pet store to buy some fish.

We spent a long time choosing from the many species of beautiful fish on display. After a while, we came upon a shelf with about 30 individual cups each containing a lone fish. Chrissy reached to the very back of the shelf and pulled out a small, red Betta fish, obviously on its last leg of life and instantly decided that our mission was to rescue this fish. These are fighting fish, Jack warned us, but we thought nothing of it and selected a matching blue fish as a companion.

At home, we put both fish into the aquarium, fed them and settled back to enjoy their beauty. Before long, a deadly fight ensued, causing us to hastily Google the species. Apparently, these fish, nicknamed "Siamese fighting fish" continue attacking each other, often resulting in the loser's death. We quickly separated them and vowed to never again to ignore the advice of six year old.

Sandy Hook

Con and I took the afternoon off work and headed to the Jersey Shore for the weekend. We stayed at Grace and Phil's condo in Highlands, and went to our favorite beach, Sandy Hook. The 7 mile peninsular of natural beach is owned by the federal government and consists of public beaches (including Gunnison Beach, the state's only nude beach), fishing areas, a windsurfing beach and at the north end, the now-defunct Fort Hancock and the country's oldest light house. We love Sandy Hook for it's beautiful, natural, boardwalk-free beaches, and biking trails.

Afterwards, we relaxed with a drink at The Sea Gulls Nest, an open air restaurant 25 feet above the ground with 360 degree panoramic views. Every summer eve, the owner and founder, Ed Segall, plays the national anthem as the sun sets across the bay and the ocean darkens in the east.

Later that night we dined at Off the Hook, a local restaurant with excellent fresh seafood.

B-R-E-T Bret, Bret, Bret

The Jets' acquisition of superstar Brett Favre was met with mixed reactions with fans feeling extremely bullish about the team's 2008 season, and at the same time knowing that this optimism may be nothing more than a short term plan aimed to "distract from the certain discontent and anguish about the Jets’ misplaced loyalty that will attend their personal seat licenses plan", as the NYT Times recently commented.

Con and I hope that Jets owner Woody Johnson will be kinder to season ticket holders than did the Giants in their recently released PSL plan. Otherwise, next fall, we'll be trading in our season seats on the 30 yard line for our wide screen TV on Sunday afternoons.

These moves will certainly make for an interesting season opener, though, as displaced Jets quarterback Chad Pennington faces his former team mates in the opening game against the Miami Dolphins.

New Home for the Jets

Today, I was driving to work and noticed a brand new building on the site of the old Exxon plant in Florham Park.

A huge sign announced the new home of the New York Jets 27-acre headquarters and training facility. The 120,000 square foot training center, featuring feature state-of-the-art training and medical facilities, three natural grass fields, one field with artificial turf, one full-sized indoor field, and a teaching and learning center, is slated for completion this fall.

I wonder if Florence and Hamilton Twombly (as in Flor-Ham Park) had this in mind when they sold a portion of their estate to Esso in 1957 to build a research campus!

With a brand new stadium in East Rutherford, NJ and new headquarters in Florham Park, NJ - will the team finally change it's name to "The Jersey Jets"?

Mountain Creek Water Park

Con and I enjoyed Mountain Creek this winter, so we decided to check out their summer waterpark, a safe, family friendly park (or not)! We arrived about 11 am, and after a long wait to purchase tickets, headed to the wave pool to cool off. The pool was well guarded and life jackets readily available, however crowded conditions caused both good and bad swimmers to be dashed against each other when the waves began.

We decided to stop for a quick lunch, but the line at both (self serve) restaurants was almost an hour. We settled for hot dogs on the run and proceeded to the kids section of the park, restricted to those under 48 inches tall. Jack's first ride was a two slide ride supervised by one teenage lifeguard. The guard monitored one slide and the other was complete mayhem. At one point, Jack and the other little ones almost fell onto the cement below after a group of adolescents (over the height restriction), shoved them aside at the top of the slide.

These same adolescents later terrorized the kids on the Lazy River ride, ambushing them half way around the river and stealing their tubes. Despite repeated complaints to life guards, this behaviour persisted so we called it a day after a couple of hours at the park. Needless to say, we'll be sticking with the "mountain" and from now on, not the "creek".

Memories of Action Park

Our trip to Mountain Creek brought back memories of my teenage summers when the park (then Action Park) was nicknamed "Traction Park" for its thrilling but extremely dangerous rides. The most notorious, the "Alpine Slide", involved riding the ski lift up the mountain and racing scooters down a concrete bobsled track. There were no helmets in those days, and the only deterrent to high speed derailment and skinned limbs was a teenage guard, who rarely paid attention. The park also had grass skiing, "Motor World" with go carts and motorized boats, and awesome water slides.

The Cannonball slide descended into a pitch black tube and emerged out the middle of a cliff dropping riders into an icy cold pond. The Loop, a vertical 360, required the proper combination of speed and weight otherwise riders stuck in the middle of the loop, necessitating the construction of an escape hatch. There was also a slide with a 90 degree vertical drop and a safety net to stop riders from falling face forward to the ground. The fearful could stand on the bridge half way and watch the riders come down. The Tidal Wave Pool, nicknamed "the Grave Pool", was known for its huge waves that could easily send an expert swimmer into a drowning panic. My favorite was the Tarzan Swing, a spectator spot where we judged our boyfriends' strengths and physiques.

Action Park closed in the mid-90s after many injuries but its memories live on in all of us who came of age in the 80's.

Seaview Bay Course

With travel more of a nuisance than ever, this year we decided to take our summer holiday in nearby Atlantic City. We spend the first half of our trip at the Seaview Resort in Gallaway.

Con and I played 18 holes at the Bay Course, one of the resort's two championship golf courses. Though the Pines Course is the more popular of the two courses, having hosted the 1942 PGA championship, we opted for the Bay Course with its strong ocean breeze keeping us comfortably cool despite temperatures in the high 80's. That afternoon, the girls enjoyed spa treatments at the Elizabeth Arden Spa while we relaxed poolside.

Top of the Trop

We spent the second half of our holiday at the Tropicana Resort in Atlantic City. We reserved two rooms in "the Quarter", the Cuban themed section of the resort. However, upon check in, Con managed to up-grade us to a three bedroom beach front suite in the South Tower so that Con and I, Jack, and the girls each had a room to ourselves.

Con and I played a quick 9 holes at May's Landing Golf and Country Club before heading back to the Trop for a family dinner at Carmine's, famous for their huge portions.

The following night we booked a table at Cuba Libre, an authentic Cuban restaurant modeled after 1940s Old Havana, complete with a live Latin floor show. Afterwards, we saw the new Batman movie, "The Dark Night" at the IMAX theater.

Concert in the Park

Con and I were fortunate to be among the 67,500 fans who flocked to Central Park's great lawn last night for a free concert by Jersey's 2nd greatest band, Bon Jovi (sorry, Jon, Bruce is still #1).

As we checked into our hotel, we heard the line to get into the park was 20 city blocks long. So, we headed to the Rock Center Cafe, for a leisurely dinner and around seven o'clock, we headed to the park. Contrary to the scene five hours earlier, we breezed through security with a half hour till show time. The park was divided into east and west side tickets with three sections on each side. We were in the third section on the west side.

Con decided the show would be much more enjoyable from the front section so, taking me by the hand, he walked up to security at entrance to the second section. Much to the amazement of on-lookers, the officer moved the barricade aside and waived us though. The same happened at the next section and we found ourselves about 100 feet from the stage, where we enjoyed the remainder of the show.

Afterwards, we headed over to the Whiskey A Go Go for martinis. I once again witnessed the power of Con, as we were ushered in the VIP entrance, by-passing the long line of hopefuls waiting on the sidewalk.

Pretty in Pink

Couldn't resist adding to my summer shoe collection. These Sperry Topsider mules are perfect in pink and Con will be happy I've finally tossed my old, worn favorites (well, not really but they are in the far reaches of the closet).

Now, if only I can justify those pink FootJoys. Con, honey, I know they will improve my game, if not in score certainly in attitude!

Bon Jovi Fever

Having spent my formative years in New Jersey, I should logically be an avid Bon Jovi fan. Somehow, I never jumped on the band wagon until this past summer when Con and I were blown away by his performance at the Live Earth concert. Ever since, I've been hooked.

When Con called to report a free concert in Central Park, I knew we had to go. An early morning queue for tickets was not an option, so after a quick purchase on Ebay we're counting down to 7:45 pm Saturday !!

Rumson and Fireworks

We spent a lovely July 4th at Mike and Dor's home "down the shore". I love the scenic drive down the Navesink River, past sprawling estates home to celebrities such as John Bon Jovi, Queen Latifa, and Con's favorite, Bruce Springsteen. No celebrity citings, today, since most were gathered on the banks of the Navesink to watch the Red Bank fireworks display.

Though the weather was a bit rainy, spirits were high both figuratively and literally. The cousins spent all afternoon in the pool while the "grown-ups" enjoyed Mike's grillin': clams, shrimp, chicken breast and london broil, along with his specialty dish, spicy jumbalaya, and Dor's fabulous home made potato salad, followed up with Grandma Grace's famous cheesecake, and a well timed visit from "the icy man".

We made it back just in time for our hometown fireworks, which we watched from a neighbor's lawn.

Take Me Out to the Ball Park

What better way to kick off the holiday weekend than a baseball game at our local Somerset Patriots followed by a spectacular fireworks show.

Though the Patriots were defeated by the Bears 11-6, a great time was had by all. Jack clocked the baseball throw at a screaming 15 mph and spun the wheel of fortune 6 times in his attempt to win the grand prize. He didn't win the big prize, but we did come home with several nice stickers and vouchers to future games.

The most enjoyable part of the night was the firework show set to patriotic music - where else can you sit in a nice comfy seat, (legally) drink a beer, and watch of the best firework shows in NJ?

Shirtless Indians

Today Jack started camp at the Trailside Nature & Science Center camp. His session "Washani, Wigwams and Wampum" focused on the New Jersey Lene Lenape Indians.

The first night, I asked Jack what he had learned. "Mom, girl Indians don't wear shirts," he replied. Hmmm.....I don't remember my girl scout camp counselor ever discussing that fact. It seems that his comment was based on a picture in a book they read on the Lene Lenape.

Seriously, though, the science center is actually extremely academically oriented. In addition to numerous exhibits on mammals and birds, there is a fluorescent minerals show, a discovery room for young children, featuring hands-on exhibits and live reptiles, a huge tank with live turtles and fish, and Jack's favorite, the Theater of the Night.

Jack had a wonderful time at camp and learned much about the local Indian history.

US Open - Go Rocco!

Con and I both love to watch golf. In 2006 we went to the Open at Winged Foot, and though the experience was great, nothing beats watching golf in high def on our own wide screen TV as we did for this year's Open.

You've got to love Rocco Mediate, with his peace sign belt buckle, tourist pins on the cap and frank personality, who, at 45, almost took out the greatest golfer of all time. Oh, and for those who continue to deny that belt buckle is indicative of any political or moralisms......please!

What's with the rule that when you have a tie in the U.S. Open, you have to come back and play another 18 holes? Especially on a Monday, when we all have to return to our day jobs. Why not just play one more hole and winner takes all, or, like tennis, win by two?