Isn't it Grand? (Opening)

Here's a pic of me at the Harris Teeter Williamsburg Grand Opening. (For those of you not from around here, it's a higher end grocery store). I poured 4 different wines that night, totaling about 400 samples. I can now say "Clos du Bois" correctly without hesitation.

Which side are you on?
Funny how the perspective on an activity can change when you're on the other side of the counter (or desk).....

Yesterday Eric was watching some episodes of Frasier to find a clip to show about argumentation in his Critical Thinking class. I sat beside him and watched the episode for awhile, then realized I was slacking. Funny thing is, HE was doing the same thing, but HE wasn't slacking. It was part of his work.

I guess it's the same for me...when others drink wine they are relaxing. When I do it, I'm working. (ok, only sometimes.)

Wordless Wednesday

Lunch with Allison at School




Julia at School





Julia writes her name

Would you like a Sample?

I can't believe it's really been since JULY that I wrote my last blog entry. I guess I could apologize over and over, or just get to it and try to write something new.

A Sample of Work

I've started working part-time for a wine distributor. My job is to pour wine samples. Yes, I get to try them too. After all, it is my job to know about the nose, palate, and finish of each one.

A Sample of what I'm reading

Oh, did you notice that I've been reading "Wine for Dummies?" It's one of the best books out there to help me do what I do. I have to admit I got overwhelmed in the chapter about French wine. It's very complicated....but I can now have an intelligent conversation about the second fermentation process of Champagne and sparkling whites: tank vs. bottle.

A Sample of traffic

I drive carpool. Yes, it's official. I'm a grown-up. Every afternoon, my phone alarm reminds me to drop what I'm doing and go get some kids. It wouldn't be such a tricky ride if the main road outside our neighborhood weren't perpetually under construction. They seem to synchronize the lane closures to the exact time that I need to pick up the kids. I've enjoyed the time with Allison, Julia, and our friend Hannah. We have "Joke-day Fridays" where we tell knock-knock jokes for the ride home. (Don't spill my strategy on being joketastic: I print out knock knock jokes from websites and keep them stashed in the glove box to refer to before the kids get in the car on Fridays).

A Heap of Wedding

My cousin Shawn is getting married this weekend. On Halloween. His fiancee', Kara asked our girls to be in the wedding. And she asked me to be one of her bridesmaids. And she asked me to ask my husband if he wouldn't mind being a groomsman for my cousin. She has the whole Cherry-Silverman clan in her wedding, each of whom will be fabulously dressed. Allison's gown is my fave: it has a train and a bustle.



I visited Baltimore (the location of the wedding) a few weeks ago to do the bachelorette party/bridal shower tour. We went to the MD Renaissance Festival as part of the bachelorette party. (see here for another post on the MD Renaissance Festival)

As you might have guessed, I was in charge of games for the bridal shower. Since the wedding is in the fall, and on Halloween, and because the bride-to-be isn't a "toilet-paper-wedding-dress-game" kinda girl, I decided to have a pumpkin carving contest. You can see the fabulous pumpkin brides below. My mom's team won. (Pumpkin on the right) Bridalicious!

My mouth is like the attic....

Julia was eating a snack of fruit Cheerios before bed and said "My mouth is like the attic" Perplexed, I asked her to explain.

"My tongue is the stairs (we have pull-down attic stairs)
The Cheerio is like the box
My mouth is the attic."

I think perhaps we have put too many boxes in the attic. She's getting ideas in her head.

Check out your friends T-Mobile pictures

 

Hello

17329105086@tmomail.net wanted to share these great T-Mobile camera phone photos with you!

Sisters playing on a spontaneous trip to VaBeach.

 

Insert Space

I'm finally doing it. I'm writing another post. I've been negelecting my blog, but this neglect is a sign that I've been ignoring the computer more and my kids less. So it's positive, even if my reader(s) have suffered. I made certain "rules" for myself about what my next post needed to be and since I never got to it, I've been ignoring my blog. Well, no more. I'm inserting a space between the last post and today. Start fresh from here.

...And Mary Brought Me Daffodils. (Silverman Wedding Anniversary #1 of 3)

Today marks 11 years since Eric and I were legally married.

Our story begins in the spring of 1998. During our engagement, just 2 months before the wedding we had been planning, (and on my 24th birthday) Eric was told that he may have cancer. He had been having some back pain, and thought it may be a pulled muscle so he went to the doctor. The doctor found some enlarged lymph nodes on his neck and told him it might be lymphoma, a type of cancer.

After surgery for a biopsy, it was confirmed. Eric had cancer.

We decided to get legally married so that I would be Eric's "next of kin" (for medical/legal purposes) and so that he could be covered under my health insurance.

On Monday, March 23, 1998 Eric called the courthouse to find out when we could go to be married. At the time, I was working until about 3:30 every afternoon. We figured the courthouse would be open until 5 and I could meet him there after work. Eric discovered that they only performed weddings until 3:30 so I had to go ask my boss if I could leave work a little early. The conversation went something like this:

Me: I was wondering if I could leave a little early today.

Boss: Sure, what's going on?

Me: I'm going to get married this afternoon and they close at 3:30.

Boss: {Shrieking} You're getting married! You need to leave now (it was 10am). You'll have to get your nails done, you hair done....Will you need the next few days off for a honeymoon?

Me: No, it's just a legal ceremony. It doesn't "count" as our wedding. It's a legal document.

Boss: {puzzled} Ok, go when you need to.

(Did I mention I had a great boss? Thanks, Nina!)



So I met Eric at the courthouse that afternoon. We were ushered into a room made just for weddings. It had AstroTurf on the floor, mirrors on the wall, a park bench, a white trellis with fake flowers, and I think a cherub shaped statue or fountain. Yes,it was cheesy.

We hadn't invited anyone to attend, since this wasn't our "real" wedding. Our friend, Mary, was a school teacher and was home by that time in the afternoon. We must have left a message saying we were getting married, and she called to ask if she could come. She brought daffodils from her yard and I used them as my bouquet. I wore the flower crown I had gotten from our trip to the Renaissance Festival (read about this here).

I also wore a black shirt and blue jeans. On my wedding day. (Eric wore the shirt in the picture yesterday...yes he still has it and it's in the "normal" rotation. Mine's long gone.)

The court clerk said we were the most in love couple she'd seen.

Afterward, we wanted to celebrate by going to eat in Downtown Baltimore in a restaurant at the top of a tall building but when we got there, we discovered the restaurant was closed. Only on Monday.

So....we went to TGIFriday's instead. I had the "Steak On a Stick Platter". I don't remember what Eric ordered. For almost all of the past 11 years, we have celebrated this anniversary by going to TGIFriday's (in MD, TX, MO, and now we need to add VA) and I always get a Steak On a Stick Platter. It's the pineapple that makes it.






Stay tuned for Silverman Wedding Anniversary #2 and #3. (coming April 3, May 23)