Inaugural Girls Weekend Boston 2012

Memorial Day weekend was...wait for it...legendary! So much so that it's taken to me till today to recover and be able to sit down and blog about it. I was exhausted. Plus I had 92 loads of laundry to do.

About a month ago my best friend Cory asked if she could come visit with her daughter Abby, age 3. Love Jetblue for it's cheap flights between Boston and Buffalo...that is something I will definitely miss when we move next year. So then I was talking to another of our best friends from high school, Katie, and she wanted to come visit with her daughter Madison, age 5. She was able to find a cheap flight on Spirit Airlines (I had never even heard of Spirit lol) and our plans were set. Of course I wanted to keep Katie's visit a surprise for Cory, but Katie was too excited and put it on Facebook immediately that she was coming. And of course I immediately got a text from Cory saying please tell her that Katie was coming the same weekend as her. lol

The big weekend was finally upon us. I picked Cory and Abby up at the airport Friday at 4:30pm. Of course driving there I noticed all the traffic building up in the return direction. Yay rush hour! The traffic gods were smiling upon us because it was clear when we left the airport and we made it back in record time. Katie and Madison took the red eye and I got up at 5:15am Saturday morning to pick them up at 6am. You know you love someone when you get up at 5:15am to pick them up from the airport.

After a sugar filled breakfast of the best muffins ever and copious amounts of coffee we headed into Boston for some sight seeing. Cory believed we saw all of Boston, but we didn't even venture out of the Quincy Market/North End areas. We enjoyed a Quincy Market picnic lunch in Christopher Columbus park, followed by walking, harbor seals at the aquarium, Mike's Pastry...oh, and the rudest waitress I have ever encountered. Paul got to play babysitter, along with a large group of homeless people, in the park while we went and grabbed lunch.

We wanted to stop at the Bell and Hand for a beer, but it was super crowded so we went into The Point instead. We found a table in the corner and were able to get strollers of sleeping kids tucked in around us. The waitress came over to take our order and seemed immediately put out. She was so rude that I will A) never go back there, B) asked to speak to a manager. They didn't have one there, but I did tell another employee that when your waitress complains she didn't get a tip you can tell her that my tip is to be nicer to her customers. And for the first time IN MY LIFE I didn't leave a tip and no one else did either.

After that we headed towards Mike's Pastry and then home. Yum, yum, yum. After Mike's Pastry we stopped by the fire station. Abby was asked if she wanted to get in the truck and she said no, but I was all over it! They even let me turn on the lights and sirens!

I made Mexican for dinner and then it was on to wine. I also got to go to the Abby and Madison school of hair design.

Sunday was sleeping in...well, for those of us that don't have kids that get up at 6:30am. Emma doesn't really get weekends. Katie and I went to get delicious donuts and coffee (always with the coffee). We then got ready for a cook out. Paul was on dog poop patrol and I cleaned off, for the second time--stupid pollen, the tables and chairs. We filled up the kiddie pool for the kids and then guests started arriving.

What happens when 3 friends from high school who haven't seen each other in a long time start drinking wine outdoors? Redneck slip and slide of course! Followed by a dip in our pool. haha

Sunday night we sat around the fire and reminisced. Oh and we also drunk dialed our friend Amanda back in Florida. I'm sure she appreciated that.

After staying up much too late and having to get up much too early, Monday morning we headed back into Boston. Katie was obsessed with riding the subway, among the list of 900 other things she wanted to do while she was here, so we took the subway to the Children's Museum. Look at our big girl riding the subway like a pro!

Emma loved the 0-3 play area, as did Paul, and we stayed there pretty much the entire time while Katie and Cory explored the rest of the museum with their kids. Everyone was exhausted and fell asleep as soon as we left the museum. Well, the kids did at least. I felt like I could have.

After the Children's Museum we stopped by the Cheers bar for some cocktails and appetizers and to fortify ourselves for the walk back to the car...why, oh why, did I wear flip flops and a dress? The breeze was a little chilly and flip flops are NOT made for long walks. It was Memorial Day and they had a beautiful display in honor of the fallen soldiers from MA. It was truly breathtaking to see so many flags and there were tons of people out taking pictures.

And as Abby and I have the same size bladder, that of a 3 year old, we had to stop at the Burger King to use the restroom.

Monday night was another late night involving lots of wine and junk food. I was sooo tired on Tuesday. Before we knew it, it was time to say goodbye. Em fell asleep in the car and she was so confused when she woke up on the way home from the airport. It was funny to watch her peaking over the side of her car seat looking around for everyone. Paul got a LOT of use out of his man cave this weekend. It actually may be the most time he's spent down there in over a year. haha It was good preparation for this fall's football season.

And I just included this pic because I think it's so cute to watch her climb in and out of her bumbo on her own now. She loves it now more than when she needed it to sit up. lol

Weekend Update: Garden & Puppies for Sale

Thursday we had 7 yards of mulch delivered. Part of the reason we wanted to get our flower beds freshly mulched was because we are having a cookout next weekend and wanted the yard to look nice. I decided to start spreading it. This was after I had already been to Stroller Strides where the theme was muffin top and back fat. I was so sore by the time I got done mulching that we had to go out to dinner. lol



Friday I did make it to the gym though and did week 2, day 3 of ease into 5k.



Saturday I got up and went to Stroller Strides and Paul got up and started mulching. I was pretty sure it was going to be an entire weekend project, but by the time I got home at 10:30 he was almost done! I put baby goose down for a nap and went outside to help. To give you some idea why I thought it'd take the entire weekend take a look at how big our front yard flower beds are! Behold!









Saturday afternoon our friend/electrician Mike came over with his girlfriend whom we had never met before. Of course she was beautiful and of course I looked and smelled like I had been sleeping outside for a week. So we're all sitting around chatting and she says how she had driven down our road the other day and saw a baby outside in a dog pen while the mom worked outside. Hi, my name is Jenn and I used a dog pen as a play pen for my daughter. We laughed so hard when I told them it was me!

Puppy anyone?



So I had decided not to do a vegetable garden this year. The past three years have been epic failures in the vegetable garden department. I have 4 raised beds and 3 summers ago my tomatoes were out of control. Two summers ago I was in my first trimester and too sick to take care of my veggies. Last summer Paul was in Afghanistan and I was home alone with the baby. Paul asked me if I was going to do a garden this year because he wanted to rip the beds up as we're moving next year. I said give me two weeks and if I haven't gotten the beds planted then you can get rid of them. Initially I thought I'd just do 2 container gardens, one with a tomato plant and 1 with strawberries.



Two weeks came and went and I had done NOTHING in the vegetable garden. Well, today I went over to our neighbors and they were getting their garden ready for planting and of course now I want a garden. So while Emma napped I went outside and prepped 2 of the beds. Plus I washed our patio furniture and raked out under the table. I was en fuego!



I came back inside and told Paul to saddle up because we were heading to Home Depot (after we stopped for ice cream...I've never seen Em use the sign for "more" more than she did for ice cream lol). We get to Home Depot and we also wanted another plant to fill in an empty spot in the flower bed. Home Depot had these cool whiskey barrels so we ended up getting 2 of those instead. Then we had to pick out flowers to fill the containers and then I thought about how my bestie Cory is coming next weekend (along with our bestie Katie). Cory is an AMAZING gardener and her yard ALWAYS looks unbelievable. She just did a big veggie garden and I knew I needed to get my act in gear and get some stuff planted! One of the whiskey barrel containers.



I already had these 2 containers done, but think they were getting too much sun so I moved them to a more shady spot which also frames our basement door. Hopefully the flowers perk up before Cory gets here! I don't want to be embarrassed! Okay, maybe I should swap the one container and propane tank aka grill brush holder.





I also had these containers done by the mud room door. You can't see the pot in the back, but it used to belong to my grandfather. It's an old cauldron and my grandfather used to plant red and yellow flowers in it and then stack wood under it so it looked like a fire. Somehow a friend of my dad's ended up with the cauldron and then last year asked if I wanted it. I was so happy that he thought of me. My grandpa was an avid gardener. When I was a little girl my grandpa owned the lot across from their house and it was entirely vegetable garden. I can remember looking for worms with my grandpa for him to put in his garden.





I love love love hydrangeas and already had 1 from last year, but decided I wanted another one. So, here is a little area near our grill that now has 2 hydrangea, a new Guinea impatient, lavender, and hen & chicks.




I had some leftover flowers and a leftover hanging basket so I combined the two for a new hanging basket of flowers.

Our neighbor brought me over an avocado plant. I decided to leave it in the pot so we could bring it in in the winter and take it with us when we move next year. Please ignore the decripit and uneven staircase and bizarre concrete block wall the people before us did. Our plan is to redo that area with wood stairs and flower boxes. We really would like to do a deck, but aren't sure we want to spend the money.

And finally my vegetable garden. I planted some heirloom tomatoes and lettuce in one bed. I think there are some leftover strawberry plants from last summer in there, too. In the other bed...well, I desperately want to own a pumpkin patch some day so I planted pumpkins, cantaloupe, and watermelon. Ignore the fact that the grass is much too high and needs cut.

Last night we were in bed and asleep by 9pm. I wonder if we'll even make it till 9 tonight. Cory, eat your heart out! (okay, I really should post some pics of her yard because it still is way cooler than my yard. lol)

The Gym

I have worked out...wait for it...every day this week! I ran outside once, ran at the gym twice, and tomorrow will be my second day at Stroller Strides this week. Go me, go me, go me (with a little cabbage patch dancing going on for effect). I even used the dip and chin up machine at the gym today (I hadn't done that in over 4 years and used to love it...my arms rocked when I did it on the regular). Although I am constantly bombarded with the realization that if I don't get my eating under control I will never lose weight. For a year now I've debated going to a food addicts anonymous meeting. I have a friend who went and lost 100lbs, but she had to give up fat, flour, and wheat...no bread, no pasta, no chicken wings, no wine...only eating a very specific menu and I just don't think I have that in me. I could perform brain surgery before I could give up chicken wings and wine. Sigh.

And apparently every person I know who has lost weight recently has done so through major changes in their diet. Why are foods that taste so good so bad for me? Much like my obsession with douchebags in my late 20's it seems. Ugh.

I guess I can continue to make little changes. For example I've given up sugar in my coffee and have started using agave. That is a huge step for me! I used to be a 4 teaspoons of sugar per cup type of person so to use a couple teaspoons of agave is a big deal.

I think the next step is to add more fruits and vegetables into my diet. I really feel like we don't eat a lot of processed foods (which is part of the reason I struggle with couponing. I just don't ever buy the crap they have coupons for). I cook dinner every night (Emma has curbed our dinners out on the weekends), but there are still nights that we order in pizza (a couple times a month). I think adding a green smoothie will help me add in more fruits and vegetables to my diet and help me lose weight.

When I was finishing up week 2, day 3 of ease into 5k today all I could think was how am I going to run 2 straight minutes next week and I think a fat person ate the thin person I used to be. I used to be in such good shape. I lifeguarded, swam during my breaks, worked out, roller bladed to work, ran, walked...I was so active! And over the last 10 years it's almost like my will to care what I look like has been sucked right out of me (and yet surprisingly I met a very handsome, great man who fell in love with me). I've gotten fatter and fatter and fatter as the years have rolled on, but now that I'm a mom I don't want a fat kid. I think it's negligent when parents allow their children to eat junk food (I'm not saying we don't ever let Em try sweets) as a primary meal source or be super heavy. You are the parent. You set the example. I am Em's mom. I need to be an example of a healthy lifestyle for her and I want to be here for a long time for her.

So I am going to secretly stalk my friends who have recently lost weight and made healthy lifestyle changes and do what they do. Please encourage me. Please tell me how you've lost weight. I need the help and encouragement. I've gotten the working out down, but I need to get my eating under control.

My name is Jenn and I am an overeater. Help!

The Real Housewives

I know y'all watch the Real Housewives...at least one of the series. Don't lie and try to act all highbrow. We all have a little trash in us. I may have a little more than the average person. I blame the baby. If I hadn't been on bed rest then I wouldn't have gotten hooked on so many reality shows!

My fave by far is Real Housewives of New Jersey followed by the OC. I don't watch any of the other series, but I have seen bits and pieces here and there. So my overwhelming question is this...who fights like that with their friends???? I have never once in my life had a full out brawl with my friends. Sure we might get annoyed with each other from time to time, but an argument...never.

I'm just gonna give you some of my opinions on this season of RHONJ and RHOC. Keep in mind..these are my OPINIONS. That means you don't have to agree with me. Let's also keep in mind that I'm posting about a reality tv show. No need to get all irate and defensive of your favorite castmate. I'm not judging...okay, maybe I am judging, but you don't have to agree with me. I've seen some of y'all's tweets and I know how strongly (aka irrationally) you feel about your fave castmate.

In terms of a rating system (thanks Sarah and Andy) we will categorize our castmates by the following scale: riff raff, street rat, and dirty brown water trash.

RHOC
Vicki: Vicki turned 50 this year and gasp her grown ass daughter went ahead and got married..the gall of her! I am so excited to see that she married a military man (I may be biased just a little bit) and I hope it works out! Girl, call me if you need any advice (ya know cause I know everything). I typically like Vicki for her go get it attitude and strong business sense, but was sad that her and Don couldn't work it out. I wondered if she had spent as much time and attention on her marriage as she does on her business if things would've been different. I also saw something that implied that Brooks was the gentleman that hung out with Tamara and Vicki in Cabo last season...he certainly did look like Brooks. I do think Vicki is a little bit of a hypocrite because it's okay for her to talk about how awful Slade is, but yet she doesn't own to the accusations that Brooks has done the same things. She can dish it, but she for sure can't take it. Rating: riff raff

Gretchen: Gretchen, Gretchen, Gretchen...Slade, really? You must really have a thing for older men cause he's like your dad's age. And why is there always one housewife who thinks she can sing? I know bad singing and I'm here to tell ya we are the same in this regard sister. You have 10,000 careers going on...pick one already! Rating: street rat

Tamara: I am so happy you finally left that loser husband of yours and have a hot new boyfriend. Boy oh boy are you one loud cookie. I think you'd fit in well with the Girls Next Door (except for the fact that you got your boobies removed which I actually applaud). Rating: street rat

Alexis: You, by far, are the creepiest of all the OC housewives. Between your controlling, creepy husband and your Jesus Barbie looks and your "career" of being a tv personality (tv anchor you ain't sweetie...every time they show clips of your tv segment all I can think is Oh Honey...I can send you some learn to read books if you need them. You seem to struggle with your cue cards) it is sometimes painful to watch your insecurities play out on television. Rating: dirty brown water trash

Heather: Love her! Think she is the classiest housewife ever to grace the OC screen. I think describing herself as an actress is a bit of a reach (when you haven't done something in a million years then it's time to take it off your resume), but I do really think she is fantastic. Rating: fabulous

Slade: Creepy, creepy Slade. Where do I begin? I'm not sure why you are unable to date women your own age. Actually I am sure. A woman your own age would see through your bullshit in a heartbeat and would NOT put up with you. Why do you feel the need to turn every girlfriend you have into a singer? Jo who? I'm not sure what you do for an actually job anymore, but it appears to entail sponging off Gretchen. Let's hope for a Slade free season next year. Rating: dirty brown water trash

RHONJ
Jaclyn: I am so relieved you finally kicked your bratty daughter Ashley out of your house. Yes, she is your daughter. Yes, you love her, but holy crap. She needs a good ass kicking. I am anxiously awaiting your show down with Theresa. I think you are awesome, but I sense you have a little riff raff in you.

Caroline: My fave NJ housewife! I would pay money to meet Caroline and have a glass of wine with her. I love how she is with her family and her marriage and her kids and I think she is a great role model and a little gangsta. She'd kick your ass and not look back. Lauren, stop beating yourself up so much about your weight! You are fantastic! If I was younger, and single, I'd totally want to marry Albie or Chris. Rating: fabulous riff raff

Melissa: I would beat someone up to have your body. Your husband ain't shabby either. Y'all are so funny together and have put up with way more than I ever would have from your sister in law (cuckoo, cuckoo). It is time for the two of you to walk away from that crazy Theresa. Sometimes you gotta love your family from afar and this is one of those times. I see a little street in you and so as fabulous as you are...rating: street rat (except in your case I mean that as a compliment).

Kathy: You are a great mom! You and Melissa are a great addition to the show. I would've loved to have gone to your end of the school year pool party. I do wonder though..what's up with your hubby's weird glasses? Rating: fabulous

Theresa: Holy crazy balls. What has happened to your girl? For all the success you have in your life you seem so insecure and jealous! I'm sure your steroid psycho husband does not help matters (I cannot wait to see the type of men your daughters end up with...I see a RHONJ spinoff in the future) with all his "going away" (how old are you? Just suck it up and say jail. You ain't fooling anyone with your "going away." He wasn't on a club med vacation for pete's sake). You are definitely the Danielle Staub on this season with your crazy accusations and fighting and paranoia. No wonder no one likes you! It's time to grow up and start acting like a mom and reign your bratty kids in and leave that douchebag husband of yours (really what grown man grabs other mens balls? That's disgusting.). I'm sorry to be so harsh, but someone has to say it like it is. As much as I'd like to support you I can never buy one of your books because you're just so hateful and ugly to your friends. Rating: dirty brown water trash

Whose your favorite housewife and why?

Sleep Apnea

Today was my consultation with the sleep doctor. Based on our conversation and review of my symptoms he feels pretty confident I have sleep apnea. Scuba mask here I come! First I have to have my overnight sleep study.

Let's just talk about my sleep patterns for a minute. Since college I've had on and off insomnia. Since I've had Emma I've had terrible anxiety at night. It's getting better, but it's still there. I wake up at the slightest little noise. I've watched too many Criminal Minds so I am terrified of strangers (stranger danger!) and I always have an escape plan in mind (it used to be so bad when I lived in OH and we would have bad weather...holy crap I'd spend hours in bed thinking about how I'd get all my pets into the basement or get out of the house if someone broke in...cuckoo, cuckoo). Oh, and if I can't fall asleep right away then I have to get up and pee every 5 minutes.

So, my sleep study is occurring in an office building. I am expected to fall asleep WITH STRANGERS WATCHING ME SLEEP. How is this going to work at all I ask you??? It's like my worst nightmare. I've already tried to get my friend/primary care doctor to go with me (she said no) to watch over me. Plus if I need to get up and pee then I have to hit a call button next to the bed. I'm sure the techs are going to LOVE having to come in and unhook me 92 times so I can pee. Sigh. I actually asked the front desk girl if I should wear my jammies to the appointment. She said I could if I wanted to. I don't have to be there until 9:30pm so at least I can put Em to bed.

Let me just reiterate STRANGERS WATCHING ME SLEEP. I have anxiety about it already. Oy vey!

Kiss of Death

Pretty much if I like a show it's going to be cancelled. The list of fall tv shows that have been renewed or cancelled just came out and almost all the ones I fell in love with this past season are on it. Let's review shall we.

The River: This was a show about a scientist who goes looking for magic in the Amazon, gets lost, and how his family goes looking for him. At the end of the season they found him, but they couldn't find their way out of the Amazon. How am I ever going to know what happened to those poor bastards now that their show is cancelled? They are going to be stuck in the Amazon forever!

Alcatrez: A show about the closing of Alcatrez and all the inmates and guards who go missing in 1963 that are now showing up in the present day. Well, I can tell you they didn't find all of the inmates last season and now they never will!

GCB: I hate everyone who didn't watch this show. Funny, sarcastic, silly, awesome...y'all let it die. It was soooo good! Why didn't you watch???

Cougar Town: Almost got cancelled, but TBS saved it. Y'all better watch it on TBS. Yes, I know the name sucks, but the show is soooo funny! Everyone needs a Big Carl and I'm not going to explain what that means so you'll have to watch it to find out!

Are You There, Chelsea?: This show improved a lot over the season, yet apparently not enough. If y'all are not familiar with Chelsea Handler then you are missing out. Her book My Horizontal Life is one of the funniest books I've ever read. Read it!

Terra Nova: A show about how we destroyed the world and had to go back in time to start over. Since I liked it I'm sure it'll be cancelled although they haven't said for sure yet.

New Girl: Didn't see anything about this, but I love New Girl and Happy Endings. Hope both are renewed!

American Horror Story: Probably THE scariest show I've ever seen on tv. I've heard its supposed to come back with a new plot line so I hope it does. This show gave me nightmares. I had to dvr it and watch it during the daytime. lol

If the Real Housewives goes off the air then I'm done with tv forever!

You Know That Feeling

So I had the best of intentions this week. I was doing so good working out at home and I was motivated to go meet my mom in Jersey and work out every day at the gym at our hotel. I brought my sneakers and gym clothes and I was ready!

Got here Monday afternoon, saw my Grammy, went to dinner at a local grill, had the BEST chicken parm EVER, and a huge glass or two or three of wine.

Tuesday was determined to work out and my mom told me the gym in our hotel was closed for some reason. I saw the sign on the door. Sadly it was true. Closed. Bah humbug!

Work out outside you may say. Our hotel is on the busiest highway ever. If I tried to work out outside there is a good chance I'd get hit by a car. Tuesday night tried another place we'd never been...2 huge glasses of wine later (what is it with NJ???), filet mignon, lobster, and the most amazing dessert (tiramusu, cheesecake, and chocolate sponge cake in ONE cake covered in chocolate ganache) later and I am happy.

So feasting my way through NJ has continued and now I feel like I may explode. Overeating, over drinking, and a week of being sedentary has made me so uncomfortable. And my mom is coming home with us for the weekend and we are going to Maine for lobsters on Saturday.

Next week...total detox diet. Especially because my skinny minny high school friends are coming Labor Day weekend.

Has anyone ever had a colonic? Maybe I'll ask for that for Mother's Day.

PS Have you checked out my new facebook fan page???

Time to Fly 2012

Many of you probably follow Courtney Roth's blog regarding her son Tripp's fight with EB...the worst disease you've never heard of. Tripp sadly lost his battle with EB, but that doesn't mean the fight is over. Far from it!

PUCK stands for Pioneering Unique Cures for Children and is an initiative of the Cancer Research Fund. The Epidermolysis Bullosa Medical Research Foundation and the Jackson Gabrial Silver Foundation have announced a matching grant for the research team at the University of Minnesota.

Debra, an organization dedicated to helping those with EB, describes EB as Epidermolysis Bullosa (EB) is a rare genetic skin disease that causes the skin to be so fragile that the slightest friction can cause severe blistering—inside and outside the body. Today there is no cure. Severe forms of EB cause patients to live with constant pain and scarring. The worst forms of EB lead to eventual disfigurement, disability and often early death.There are many patients who are diagnosed with milder forms, which, while they can be extremely difficult to live with, are non-disfiguring and non-lethal.

The only treatment for EB is daily wound care and bandaging. The daily routine is a grueling, multi-faceted daily regimen. Caregivers, often parents or family members of EB children, must work in tandem with medical professionals to determine and administer different treatment methods to care for EB wounds.

Christie Zink is an advocate for EB and is fundraising to raise money for the Children's Cancer Research Fund. 100% of the money raised goes to EB research and 100% of the money will be matched. You can visit Christie's fundraising page at Time to Fly 2012.

As a parent I can't imagine watching my child live in excruciating pain, to know that my basic care (bathing, changing a diaper, feeding) is causing pain. A bath, instead of being a time for fun and play, becomes a time of anxiety and agony. Every diaper change is sheer torture. It's heartbreaking. No parent wants to see their child suffer. No child should have to suffer.

A cure is possible. It's within reach. Won't you help us get there?

Go Me!

I finally have gotten back into my work out routine this week, working out 4 days! Twice I went to the gym and completed week 2 of ease into 5k (yeah I'm a rebel...no starting over at week 1 for me, just jumped right in to week 2 and didn't struggle...yay!) and twice went to Stroller Strides which I really enjoy (even though it kicks my behind).

Next week Em and I are headed to NJ, and my mom is going to watch Em while I work out in our hotel gym. Yup, for only the 2nd time ever I will actually work out while being out of town. lol

I feel good working out. I am slowly working on the food I put in my mouth (this week's change was stopping sugar in my coffee and using agave instead) and increasing the number of fruits and vegetables I eat. I want to be healthy. I want to be a good example for Em and I want to live a long, happy life.

Why don't you join me???

New Friends

Kellys Korner Blog (http://kellyskornerblog.com/ why can't I get my blog to post links the correct way????) had a post yesterday on making friends as an adult. I admit that in my 20's most of my new adult friends were people I met at work. The other were people I met through Kappa Delta.

Now that I am no longer working the majority of new friends are people I meet through the Air Force. I LOVE our Air Force family and I am already so sad that we are pcs'ing (aka moving) next year and I hope we get stationed with some of our MA Air Force family (unlikely, but fingers crossed). Don't get me wrong...I do NOT like MA. Yes, living outside the birthplace of our nation is pretty cool, but all the rules and taxes and laws are enough to make me register Republican.

Kelly has blogged about meeting some of her closest friends from blogging. I would freaking LOVE to have a close friend that I met through blogging. That just seems so cool to me (of course I am a big nerd, too).

My name is Jenn. I'm an Air Force wife. I'm a mother and I blog. My friends mean the world to me and I think I'm pretty cool. And funny. Wanna be friends?

Wegmans

We have lived in New England for 3 years now and to say I've been jonesing for a Publix is an understatement. I literally think about Publix at least once a day, usually when I'm craving a sub or macaroni salad or bakery items. If you've never lived somewhere with a Publix then you have no idea what I'm talking about, but if you've been to a Publix then you know, oh yes you know the glory that is Publix.

Anyways, my friend from NY (who has never been to a Publix, but his dad has) was telling me that they opened a Wegmans about 40 miles from my house and that it was supposed to be similar to a Publix. Apparently his mom drove an hour and a half to get there from her current house because she likes it so much.

Of course I have to go check it out so after Stroller Strides on Monday off Em and I go. It takes us about an hour to get there and we were not disappointed. First off there was a Charming Charlies in the shopping center and I bought a super cheap, super cute dress.

How do I love Wegmans? Let me count the ways.

Bakery--delicious. I had yet to find a grocery with any kind of decent bakery section and Wegmans is great.

Organic--a good selection of reasonably priced organic produce and products. I was able to buy organic fruits and veggies without ruining my grocery budget.

Alcohol--I didn't even know groceries in MA could sell alcohol in grocery stores, but Wegman must've pulled some kind of miracle because they had a huge selection of beer, wine, and liquor.

Store brands--You know how Trader Joe's has only store brand products. Well, Wegmans is similar in that it has a TON of store brand products and they are yummy.

Shopper card--great deals for customers with a shopper club card. And I got great coupons for joining.

Food--There was a grill where you could get lunch (like hamburgers, etc), an Asian food buffet (with Chinese and Thai foods), a huge salad bar, a chicken wing bar, an olive bar...I feel like I'm forgetting something. Em and I had food from the Chinese buffet and it was delicious! Oh, and fresh sushi and made to order custom vegetable blends like for stir fry or soup.

They are supposedly opening a Wegmans about 20 minutes from my house and I already know that will be my new go to grocery.

I heart Wegmans.