A few days ago, Lucy and I decided to take a break from the work day and went on a little stroll in the backyard. It was just like any stroll...Lucy leading the way, sniffing everything in site and me yelling at her not to eat the grass.
We were near the gate to the back fence when I happened to see something move out of the corner of my eye. Lucy didn't notice it which led me to believe that it was not a squirrel or a bunny since she sees those critters in her sleep! Nope, instead it was this guy:
He was crawling in our neighbors yard and seemed like he was on a mission. Lucy wasn't sure what to think of him and rather than have her attack the turtle, I decided to lock her up in our yard so that I could take a closer look. I have never seen one of these guys out in the wild and I couldn't get over it.
He was not so excited to see me and booked it all the way from the fence line to my neighbors house and then scooted under the AC unit where I assume he was taking in some respite from the hot sun. I'm not sure how long he stayed, but I was sure that I was in the country as this is NOT something you typically see on the streets of New York. Hopefully we will meet again someday soon!
The morning started with my hand looking like this...
... and about an hour later, it looked like this:
Luckily this was not an injury, but instead, a planned event. I am one of the very lucky people out there that suffers from carpal tunnel. I've had it for a while, and unfortunately it seems to be getting worse. Have I mentioned how sexy it is to wear a wrist brace when you go to bed at night? Add a bite guard and I can't keep Ed off me! :)
But I digress...a side effect of carpal tunnel is a trigger finger and that is what I developed in my right thumb. A trigger finger occurs when one of the very swollen tendons gets stuck, causing a popping sensation. Essentially, my thumb would lock into position and to move it, there would be lots of pain. Not fun.
I tried a cortisone shot about a year ago and it worked for about 6 months, so I decided to bite the bullet and have the procedure that would fix it forever. Hence the bandages. I get to wear this lovely gear for about 3 days and then I just need to keep it clean until the stitches come out next week.
I have to say, it really is not that bad. The pain is manageable and I'm able to type so it's work as usual. My hubby has been so great pitching in and helping when there is something I can't do...like put my hair in a pony tail or do the laundry. :) He has been great. As has Lucy. She keeps looking at my hand and then giving me puppy dog eyes. I keep telling her that Mommy has a boo-boo, but it is okay. That seems to make her feel better. She's even given my thumb a lick or two.
So what do you do the day that you have a minor surgical procedure? Why, you go to see Steve Miller Band at Wolf Trap of course!
We bought these tickets a while back and made sure to rest up during the day so that we can enjoy the concert. And we did! This was Ed's first time to the venue which is a unique one. It's a place where if you have lawn tickets, you can bring in your own food and beverage (including alcohol) at no extra fee. It truly is a beautiful thing.
We did not have lawn seats, but instead sat in the pavilion with a great view of the band. Before the show, we grabbed a gourmet dinner of pizza and hot dogs and took in the crowd. We even got a shot of the bandaged hand in the crowd!
Wolf Trap is a National Park so it is little different than your typical concert venue. They don't open up the seating area until 30 mins before the show starts and they actually ring a bell to alert you that it's time for the concert to start.
We are both fans of Steve Miller and I have to say it was a great concert. One of the high points of the evening was when they told the crowd about the music education program they started called Kids Rock Free. They hated to see education programs continue to cut the arts, so they created this school where kids could go to learn music in exchange for parental volunteering. I think it is fabulous. What was even more fabulous was that they had a 16 year old kid named Matt touring with them so they brought him out for the finale and encore. And he was GREAT!
We enjoyed the night thoroughly ... especially when they played my personal favorite "Dance, Dance, Dance".
I didn't mean for that to sound dirty, but I'm just so excited to show you!! Lookie where we went yesterday...
...and lookie what I got...
I finally broke down and treated myself and I'm so glad I did. My Apple sales guy finally "wow'd" me and showed me all the great things I could do with it. So here it is!!
I decided to splurge and accessorize the with red leather Smart Cover. Not only is it fun to look at, but 10% of the proceeds went to AIDs research as part of the (Product)red program. Love that! I also grabbed myself a stylus so that I can use the thing for business purposes when I'm on site at shows AND a Camera Connection Kit so that I can be on location (aka NYC) and upload photos without needing my computer. Genius!
So now, of course I'm completely obsessed with downloading the coolest apps. What are your favorites?? Help me out here!!
We were very lucky to welcome Joe into town last night as he headed to Richmond for a weekend wedding. It's not often that a Mangiaracina heads this way, so we all get very excited when they do. Especially Lucy. Uncle Joe is hands down Lucy's FAVORITE Uncle (sorry John!). She goes absolutely nuts when she sees him and last night, she did not disappoint. As soon as he walked in the door, she was all over him. From the jumps to the licks to the tail wags, she couldn't be happier!
We didn't have much time since he headed out early this morning, but we were able to catch up over dinner at Guapo's. Afterwords, the boys decided to challenge each other to some PlayStation Move games and boy was it a site. It is hysterical to see two grown men fling those brightly colored controllers around!
Lucy was less than interested in the game...
...so after she took care of business, we decided to get a little sassy with a photo shoot.
Uncle Joe has left the building, but it was really great to see him. I know Lucy had a blast and lucky for her we get to see him again on Sunday as he makes his way back up to NY! Woo Hoo ~ We heart Uncle Joe!!
So as I mentioned yesterday, we decided to take advantage of some of the local sites this weekend and Saturday's destination was Harpers Ferry, WV. I have never been to this place so it was new for both of us - which I loved. It's really cool discovering a cool place together for the first time...something special about it.
We hit the road around 4 pm so it was more of a night trip rather than a day trip. But there was a reason. We were heading to Harpers Ferry to not only take in the sites, but to also go on the Ghost Tour which happens to be the #1 Ghost Tour in America according to TripAdvisor.com. Not too shabby! The drive to the Historic National Park was beautiful and the beauty continued as we headed into the town.
Harpers Ferry is a quaint, historic community, situated at the merge of the Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers. When you get here, it is like stepping into the past. The streets are picturesque and the history is awe inspiring. Famous for being the site of John Brown's raid which precipitated the Civil War, this town has seen a lot. For instance...
George Washington visited the town on his first surveying expedition when he was 17.
Lewis and Clarke started their famous expedition in the town.
The town was the site of 3 Civil War battles.
Not a bad record if you ask me! We had a blast just walking around, taking in the beautiful sites. Not only does it sit on the convergence of 2 rivers, but it is surrounded by gorgeous mountains.
It was a beautiful (and hot) day so the sites were amazing. We decided to take a quick walk over the train tressel which happens to be part of the Appalachian Trail. Now we can say we hiked a portion of the trail!!
From the train tracks, we headed up the street to check out St. Peter's Catholic Church. It was beautiful. It was historic. It was at the top of a ridiculously large hill. :( We braved the very unique staircase and made our way up...and it was worth it. It is a beautiful church with a ton of history. It was built in 1833 and was one of the only buildings in town to survive the war. Want to know why? The very clever pastor at the time hung a Union Jack flag from the steeple and since both the Confederate Army and the Union Army wanted the Brits to be their ally, they made sure not to destroy the church. Very smart man.
After our stroll up the big hill, it was about time for us to head to the Ghost Tour. Ed found this tour on a website and it intrigued us immediately...and boy did it deliver. Our tour guide was dressed in period garb to add to the ambiance of the evening. She took us around the town and not only shared some great historical information, but some tales of paranormal activity. Now, I'm not really a believer in the stuff ~ kind of a "need to see it to believe it" girl ~ but her stories got to me. I am now a "I don't really want to see it to believe it" kind of girl!
Now I can't tell you details of the Ghost Tour (you'll have to check it out yourself), but I can tell you that Harpers Ferry is one haunted place! I guess it is inevitable when several Civil War battles take place and the population goes from 100,000+ down to 300. Lots of spirits floating around the town!
It was a great way to spend a Saturday evening and we already know that we want to go back to do some tubing or rafting on the river. All in all, it was a very successful day trip!
Since we don't have much of a budget to do BIG things these days, we decided to forgo our usual summer vacation and instead, hit some local destinations in the form of day trips. We live in an area that is FILLED with amazing sites - from historical locations, to inner harbors and ports, to mountains and valleys - we got it all! So we have decided to take advantage this weekend with 2 sites: Harpers Ferry, WV and Annapolis, MD.
Yes, it was 90+ degrees both days. And yes, we were outside for the bulk of those days. Are we a little bit cray in the head? Yes ~ but it was worth it! :) There was definitely a lot of sweat and a many a flip flop tan was formed, but we saw some amazing things and learned a lot about these 2 great areas.
So, where are the pics you ask? Well, because we had such a great time, we completely wore ourselves out. So tonight we are going to rest up and tomorrow we will have all the details of our awesome day trips. But to wet your whistle...
Lately things have been extremely quiet around here. And I have to tell you...we have been enjoying every minute of it. The house is finally at a point where we can stop pumping every dollar we earn into it. Lucy is a happy girl enjoying the summer and the much needed air conditioning. And we are just happy spending some time with family, friends and each other.
August is looking VERY busy and don't even get me started on the Fall. With Ed going back to school and my work schedule kicking into high gear, we are going to be flooded with things to share with you. But in the mean time, we are going to continue to enjoy the quiet.
But before we do...I need your opinion. What are your thoughts on my acquiring an iPad 2? I kind of really want one, but am having a hard time pulling the trigger. Thoughts???? THANKS!
