Snow, Snow, Snow, Snow!!!

Snow and lots of it! We got anywhere from 20" to 24" of snow in a 24 hour period. However, there was so much wind with this storm it was hard to judge because of all the snow drifts. Of course, Jason and I are being blamed...."it never snowed like this before you moved back..."

I had to throw this picture in because of Joplyn....if you look on the steps, she is sitting there. Which is as far outside as she went....Little Miss Priss!

Winter Wonderland! Good timing for Christmas


Jason and I took a walk with Jersey, the next few pictures are of our journey

Oldman's Creek

Jersey is the opposite of Joplyn and she adores the snow.

This is my "action" shot

The pictures really do not do the snow any justice. It is absolutely gorgeous here at the moment. Tomorrow we fly back to Indiana for Christmas and my understanding is that it is snowing there right now!

Merry Christmas to everyone!

Christmas Party

We had a Christmas Party for Jason's work at the DuPont hotel....absolutely beautiful!!!! It was a good time and all of the people he works with seem very nice.

****Lots of pictures of SNOW to come....check back soon!

Limoncello

As many of you know, my father makes homemade limoncello around Christmas every year. Because Jason & I were here this year and probably because we are cheap labor, we helped make the World Famous Pino Limoncello.

First comes the lemons
And lots of them!

I had to thrown the "action" shot in for my hubby

Like I said, lots of lemons

And lots of liquor

Now we have to wait 10 days for the finished product....Yummo!!!!

Shower

My sister Linda is getting married. We recently had a shower for her. Thank you to our gracious hosts, Aunt Joyce & Uncle George.


















She is getting married in the Caribbean. So the theme was tropical

















Poor Aunt Joyce getting in on the "turtle" war....she has no idea what she is getting into!
















The Fam
















I was making her hold up everything & take a picture....it got a little old after a while.

Her beautiful bouquet, which I cannot take credit for....Our sister in law Alison is sooooo talented! You should see it, she took tissue paper and rolled it into flowers. It really was beautiful for a bow bouquet.

Pay back is a bitch!!!

Isn't she booo-T-iful. Congrats!

Catch Up

Oh Jersey, my goofy dog, who if you say, "Jersey you want a bath?" will go & jump in the tub. What dog likes a BATH???

Ok so I will not bore everyone with our cross country road trip pictures, but look at poor Joplyn. She had to be drugged for the car ride otherwise she would have been miserable. Poor baby, she was pretty pathetic. Then there is Jersey, she is not drugged and is passed out in the back..

Joplyn and Jersey absolutely loved the empty house...they were running around like crazy animals. Both dogs have adjusted very well to NJ. I was more concerned about Joplyn because she has never been allowed off of the leash and here she just get kicks out the door to run. She has been doing fabulous....she loves to run and run and run. I actually got a phone message from Joe the other say stating he couldn't get her inside...

My poor empty house, so sad. I still do not think that it has hit me that I will never be in my home again. At this point, it seems like a long vacation.

Well we did move....this is our lovely moving company. I must say that once you have had the pleasure of moving with professionals, you will never move yourself again. BUT you must be careful. They packed my slippers, sneakers, and a book I was half way through. If it wasn't nailed down, it got moved....They did a great job.

New Jersey

Well it is official....I am homeless & jobless. Everything went smoothly with closing and the move. We have been in NJ for a few days now. We have sucessfully moved all of our things into 1 bedroom. The dogs have adjusted well. They seem to love the large yard to run around in. Jason and I spent the morning of Thanksgiving unpacking and sorting. Then we attended the 2nd annual Turkey Trot at my father and Chris' home. (I am very disappointed because I forgot the camera.) Dinner was with my mother and Joe with my sister and her family. Everything was delicious. Last night Jason and I got to relax and we went to see a local blues band (once again I forgot the camera!) Just a short update for now....check back soon for more updates and pictures.

Dilemma

Many of you probably know or have heard me talking about my employment dilemma. What to do? What to pursue? Do I go back to school? Do I find something I love?....what do I love? And then I read my horoscope. I am not about to sit down and let Gypsy tell me my life's fortune, I will read the newspaper and take some wisdom from whatever it says.

Scorpio
You are standing at a fork in the road and you must choose whether to take the difficult route or the easy one. On the surface, it seems like a straightforward decision, but the path before you is a winding one, obscuring your vision. No matter where you want to go now, you'll have a better chance of reaching your destination if you stick to the map. Ultimately, it's not about picking your level of difficulty; it's about simplifying your life.

Interesting....mmmmm

The News

For those of you that may not have heard, here is the official announcement. We have finally sold the house, so I believe we may have crossed the last hurdle toward the move east.

In celebration of this, well honestly it is the only excuse I can find right now, Karen and I are organizing a little get together this Saturday evening, November 21st. It will be known as our farewell, once again outing. If you are able to join us, I would be elated, however I understand it is a little last minute so no pressure.

Our thought is to go to the brewery in downtown Hobart, in the evening about 4:30 or 5 p.m. They have a decent menu and all the cuisine is really reasonable. Additionally, and maybe most importantly, they have delicious micro-brew beer! Afterward, we will be glad to have anyone back to the house who is yearning to say goodbye to 59 N. Linda St. Estimated arrival 7p.m. for those who may not be able to make dinner.

We hope to see you there! Here is some information on the brewery.

Brickworks Brewing Company

www.brickworksbrewing.com

327 Main Street
Hobart, IN 46342
(219) 942-2337


No RSVP Required.

The Move

With time passing so quickly, we just wanted to keep everyone updated. We have sold the house and if all goes well, we will be closing on the 23rd of this month. I met with a representative from the movers this morning, Gary. Gary and I are on a 1st name basis, he is my new best friend. I have never used movers before but from the sounds of it, I will never move by myself again.......I do not have to pack a thing! I do not even have to pack my unmentionables. So far everything is a go. Please keep your fingers crossed for us. We will be closing on the 23rd and moving out on the 24th. No worries though, we are back for a week at Christmas.

Happy Halloween

Just wanted to wish everyone a very spooky Halloween.

This is a picture of the Seven Stars House. It is one of the oldest houses in Salem County. It was used as stage coach stop during revolutionary times. People would come to the tavern, and stay for the night at the inn.
Currently, it is said to be haunted, and the present owners leave a light on in the attic every night to scare the haunts away.

Well, I had hoped this day would come, and now that it has I am both excited and saddened. Our counteroffer was accepted on our first home. It is amazing how this happened! Karen was in New Jersey to celebrate her birthday with the family, and on the plane flight here she got a phone call from our realtor with an offer from a perspective buyer. We counter offered the following day and he gracefully accepted several hours later. I am ecstatic, that my family will be complete again, yet sorrowful that my last Indiana presence will soon be gone. We had many good memories in our first home. Many of you are part of them. Now, I can start the next chapter, I will refer to it as the New Jersey chapter. You never know just where that might lead me....

Calm Before The Storm

Well, I am busy with work and one of the guys on my project will be retiring on Friday so I am sure that means more tasks for me. Not complaining, I would rather stay busy. I have just finished two classes and will start an accounting class next Monday. Getting closer by the minute but the finish line is still far off. I am getting the hang of direction around here. I can make it too and from the office without the GPS and I am becoming quite familiar with North Delaware. Well that is to say, I can usually make it around the traffic. South Jersey is a different story... I can get to several places but I often put the GPS on and take different routes to get to the house.

I snapped this picture two days prior to the Nor Easters' and it has been raining since. The house is the neighbor of Joan & Joe. Fall is coming into form in South Jersey. I am sure it will be spectacular in the next couple of weeks. Maybe tomorrow we can see the sun again?

On a rainy day in New Jersey

Ok, so I can hear the rumblings about my procrastination 700 miles away, but in my defense I did have two classes this session keeping my busy.

I know its been a while, so I took a road trip on Saturday! Well, it was only about a 30 minute drive to New Castle, Delaware. But there is a lot of history there, like most of the east coast. So, I figured that I would see what was around. This is what I found...

This is my web photo album of my adventure.

New Castle Delaware

Hope you all enjoy! Let me know if you have any questions.

Cruise 2010

It has been decided. We are scratching the 1st plan and changing directions with the cruise. We have opted to leave out of Ft. Lauderdale on August 28, 2010. Below you will find the itinerary. It is an 8 day cruise of the Western Caribbean. I hope it doesn't disappoint anyone that we are not going to the Bahamas, but I thought this one was a little more exotic plus it is a day longer. It is the week leading up to Labor Day. We arrive back to Florida the Sunday of Labor Day weekend so we will all have Labor Day to recuperate. As of right now prices start at $489 per person for an interior cabin. Of course it is more expensive for the balcony or exterior cabins. The longer we wait the more expensive it will get. Also, by booking it this early, if the price goes down, we will get on-board credit. If we get more then 16 people (8 cabins) one person is free. We will simply divide the savings among everyone.

• Saturday, Aug 28 Ft Lauderdale 4:00pm
• Sunday, Aug 29 Fun Day At Sea
• Monday, Aug 30 Cozumel, Mexico8:00am - 5:00pm
• Tuesday, Aug 31 Fun Day At Sea
• Wednesday, Sep 01 Limon, Costa Rica 10:00am- 6:00pm
• Thursday, Sep 02 Colon, Panama 7:00am-4:00pm
• Friday, Sep 03 Fun Day At Sea
• Saturday, Sep 04 Fun Day At Sea
• Sunday, Sep 05 Ft Lauderdale, 8:00am

Jason and I along with a few other people are booking as soon as next week. If you are interested please let me know asap so that I can work out the details. Remember if you are unsure, you can always book at a later date on your own.

In order to book your cruise for you, here is the information required:

Name, DOB, address, phone #, & deposit.

Deposit for this cruise is $300.00 per person. The balance is due 75 days from the booking date. Taxes are $56.09 and insurance is $95.00

Check out additional information at www.carnival.com

Over the weekend

Hello All!

I am a little mad at myself that I didn't get any pics of my first auction (that I worked), but it was fun and interesting. First I helped set up, well gather and move all of the items that were to be sold. I was not too sure how to organize anything, but I caught on quickly. Soon there after, the auction started and I had the opportunity to bid for someone that couldn't make the beginning of the auction. He had left a list of the items he was interested in and a set price, and I had tried to spend his money but didn't succeed. By the end of the day Saturday, I had set up the auction, bid on some items and helped in the office, mostly organizing the sales receipts and a little cashiering. I may be invited back for another opportunity so I must not have screwed up the process too bad.

On Sunday, I took a little drive around Woodstown, NJ to look at some houses. there are a couple of nice ones in the area, but they might be out of the price range. This is a barn that was on one of the properties. I kind of like it. It looks old, but I am not too sure of the age.
I am in no hurry to find a place. There is plenty of time for that. We will find a house that is just perfect. I know it.

Congratulation's Jason!!!

Congratulations is definitely an order to my handsome husband.....he got a PROMOTION!!!! He is now a Senior Designer (doesn't that sounds so official). I am quite proud of him and I am sure most of you are too!

Unfortunately, I have not had too much to post about. Jason took the camera with him to NJ. And although he had been doing the "fun" things, like an Eagles game, he has not posted. This has not been an easy transition for us but we do get to see each other in 8 (yes I have a countdown) days.

We have not sold the house yet, but according to my horoscope (at this point, logic is out the window!) we are not meant to make any large financial decisions until October. Thank God it is just around the corner.

Better Late Than Never

So, I finally got around to getting my pix off of the camera and a few minutes to talk about my trip to New Jersey. Overall the traffic was good, even on Labor day! A little bit of rain in Ohio, and a whole lot of cops. PA is still a big A** state.
Here are a couple of pictures from the drive out. So enjoy your trip through my eyes!

P.S. Don't complain about the quality of the pics. I was sort of busy..... Driving!

The sign says Welcome to New Jersey

Leaving Indiana

Cool Bridges in Ohio

1st of 3 tunnels in Pennsylvania

The Commador Barry Bridge

1st Day of Work

So today is Jason's first day at his new office. He hasn't called me yet but I have had 3 emails so far.....Apparently, he is going to be in meetings all afternoon and they were told they would be there until the problem is "fixed." I guess they are going to put him to work from the get go. I am sure he will shine.

I joked with him last night that "if" I were there, I would take a picture of him on his 1st day at work. Just like your mom did when you were little and going to school the first time. Well Jason did it for me! Isn't it great! It sure put a smile on my face!

A Sad Day

So today I watched my husband drive away from our first home to my mother's house. Ironic how the world works right???? It is a is a sad day at the Rubino household. But Joplyn, Jersey, Eos and I are trying to keep ourselves busy. I have a long list of things that I want to accomplish before Jason comes back for a visit.

• Sell the house
• Teach Jersey a new trick
• Teach Joplyn anything
• Eat HealthierLose 10lbs (ok so that might be a little ridiculous but you have to set your goals high)
• Walk everyday

Wish me luck!

Although Jason left this morning, we were able to spend some quality time with those near and dear to us before he left. On Saturday evening, Gail and Scott graciously threw us a going away party. Thanks Gail and Scott!!! Then on Sunday was the Labor Day picnic, so we were able to see the other side of the family and say our "goodbyes."

Friday Night

Our Host....thanks again guys!

Our Co-Hosts: Kristin and Taylor

Everyone eating! Oh my, was the food delicious and like always, there was so much to try. Thanks to everyone who brought stuff.

Aunt Amy and Uncles Russ

Randy, Tim, and Dave

Gigi and I

Jason and I (isn't he good looking)

Ronnie and I

Scott and Randy (Poor Scott, he worked all day long that then was gracious enough to have a house full of people until the early morning hours)

Jason and Gail

(Which I have to give Gail Credit too, she didn't cry once!)

Saturday, Labor Day Picnic

So Rachel and Paul hosted the Labor Day Picnic this year. The theme was Fiesta; a very delicious theme by the way

Lauren, Robert, Aunt Linda, Uncle Jeff, and Jason

Kevin, Rachel, Paul, Zach, Beth, Jason, Karen, and Doreen