We're back!

Alright, back on the wagon- love it. SWEET cake, Lyd. VERY cool. It's nice that you have such great friends and I am glad that you were able to drink a glass of champagne.

Magoo, good talking to you. Hang in there. It's tough dealing with all these wackjobs, I mean, all you're trying to do is just plan a big party right?!? Jezzzzz

As for me, all is well. I am stirring up all sorts of drama between me and drew cause I must have some mom in me but thank god he has some Mike in him so everything is fine.

I am so pumped about work again which is really good for me. It's so exciting to actually own a part of this thing so I'm really motivated. Also, I get my own bio and picture on the management page of our new website. LOL. From the people's republic of Boulder to Corporate America.

Love to all.

Update

Hi All! Well we have abandoned the Baja idea for now for a number of reasons. So we don't need to reserve the May 24th date anymore. Sorry for the false alarm. I am now waiting for the next idea to come to me. Hopefully the place will not be in the middle of no where so people can actually get to it! We also need to find a place that is on neutral ground so that all family members can feel at ease (namely, Justin's mom). We don't want any family drama at our wedding! I was disappointed earlier this week but now I am really happy that we are considering other options. I think Baja could still be an option, but not at the Buell casa - too complicated, too many chiefs - not enough indians.

jus and i are both sick but misery loves company so that's good. we've rented a bunch of movies to watch for the weekend. today was a hectic hectic day at work so i am happy tonight is friday eve. i had dinner tonight with my friend simone. she is a really good friend and a good person but i never see her because she is a first year lawyer and she has to work a lot. Lizzie, she is the one that spoke with Drew.

lydia, your cake is very chic. that was nice of your friends to put that together for you.

lizzie, nice talking to you the other day.
-L

Baby Shower

My friends had a wonderful baby shower for me tonight. So fun. The cake was so amazing. Miss everyone.

where my bloggers at?

Yo ladies-

How's it goin'? We have San Fran weather today; gray and rainy. No big news here but I am convinced the rest of our family might be losing their minds. But, as ol' dr. feelgood says "don't let their problems become yours" LOL, love Dr Feelgood.

Saturday is the big dinner party, good lord. Here we go (turn on mouth watering switch...)

• 1st course: chilled asparagus soup with fresh crab meat and avocado
• 2nd Course: Frisse salad with celery root, apples, goat chez and poached egg
• 3rd course: Pan seared scallops wrapped in Prosciutto served in the shell
• 4th course: Mom's kick ass pepper tenderloin and Bearnaise sauce (Make personal trainer appointment now) and some kind of starch
• 5th course: Chocolate souffles

Office is almost up and running. Just struggling with a retarded (and I mean retarded) IT guy.

Love you both. E

Where to start???

Sorry I have been so MIA but I've been pretty tied up. In the last 10 days, I have:

• Been to a cocktail party for seniors 90 and up


• lived in a retirement community for four days


• fried myself next to a pool


• driven a golf cart


• bought an entire new wardrobe at discount


• went to the zoo


• had a picnic


• went to the blackhawks hockey game


• went bowling


• spring cleaned my closet


• started a new job


• disputed a $200 claim at my bank


• planned a five course dinner party for 4 next weekend at my place


• caught up on missed 24 episodes


• watched blood diamond, the illusionist and casino royal

Not bad, eh? I sent you all some pics. It is warm as hell here and it is great. Hope both of you are well. Read up on all the updates. REALLY pumped at the idea of the Mexico idea. Lyd, DYING for Cubs pic of Baker. Hope you are feeling well. You are almost ready to pop! Any updates on names. Lucille, will you resend the final pics of the ballroom?

Love to all.

Napa

I haven't been to Napa since Christmas! Crazy, huh? So I went up today with my friend Leslie. We hit up Guigni's and Meadowood. Lovely day. Jus and I went to Bolinas Friday night and we made a chocolate molten cake. OH MY GOD. I got the recipe out of a magazine. I'll post it. I also found another recipe for salmon that I tried this weekend that was really light and fresh. So I'll email that out to you two, too. Thanks for the update Lydia. Lizzie, need an update from you. We are letting go of one of our employees tomorrow at work so I am little nervous about that. But I think we will be better off without him. I've just been plugging along trying to figure out wedding stuff. I've been drawing out ideas for a wedding dress. It's fun to sketch out this stuff. I've been having wedding dreams so I'm keeping a journal by my bed so I can write them down when I wake up. I spent four hours yesterday listening to i-tunes and trying to find great mexican music. I downloaded the Freda soundtrack and really love it. That movie was really interesting. I watched Devil Wears Prada this weekend and The Holiday. They were both really cute romantic comedies. I'm adjusting back into the work week which has been difficult since our Mexico week. My throat hurts so I hope I don't get a cold. There is something going around right now. Good night.

Hello Ladies

Miss everyone and glad you both got home safe and sound from your vacations. Have had a busy and great week here. Last night there was a Bingo Night and party at the school Baker is going to next year for Kindergarten. He and 12 of his friends from the neighborhood are all starting there together in the fall so they were feeling mighty large and in charge last night. Really quite cute. I don't know if I have ever played bingo until last night, but it was really fun. His school is excellent and feels like a small elementary even though we are in a big city. This morning, Mary Rowe and I went and met Mrs. Lail at Starbucks for breakfast. She is here for the annual wine tasting so it was really fun seeing her. She had flown here from NYC where she was with Shannon at Vera Wang picking out a wedding dress. So fun. After we left breakfast we met Dill and Baker at the Baseball field for Baker's game. He was great. Go Cubs. It was 87 degrees today so I felt like a huge, hot, sweaty, pregnant lady at the game. Hopefully it cools down. Tomorrow is our neighborhood Easter Party, Egg Hunt and Parade. All of the kids decorate their bicycles for the parade so it is really cute. This is the first year that Mary Rowe has one so hers should be dolled up. We are definately hitting Michaels in the morning for supplies to decorate. We are headed to Chapel Hill next week for Easter Week and Spring Break. I am driving the kids and the dog both ways alone which I am not looking forward to since I have to pee every 5 minutes and sitting for 7 hours sucks when you are 8 months pregnant! It will be worth it when we get there. I will just chill and nap and enjoy the week while the Dills and Caitlin wisk the kids off for various activities. Dill has been working 24/7 lately, but loves his new job. He is going to India in 2 weeks and is really looking forward to that. Lets hope the baby doesn't come early! He was interviewed yesterday by a news agency in Africa and as soon as the baby is born he has a series of trips to Kuwait, Dubui and Hong Kong. Very exciting. Luc, got your message yesterday. Yes, I am so sad about John Edwards and his wife. They already had to go through the death of their teenage daughter and his wife's breast cancer and now to have cancer again. I don't know how I feel about him continuing to run. I am quite sure it was a decision that they made together so it must be a dream that they both have. Looking forward to the next 6 weeks to get ready for the baby and for summer. We are all set for Michigan. We rented a house for the week ending the day after the Lobster Bake. I think July 29-August 6th. Very exited. We are going to drive again this year. We loved it last year. I just knit the whole time and the kids loved the view. Dill just listened to old radio episodes of the Lone Ranger and Dragnet that his Dad gave him so we were all very happy. Plus, we had never been to a Bob Evans and Dill got obsessed and so we had to eat at one for Breakfast, lunch and Dinner both ways! Very funny. We don't have them in Atlanta so he is fired up for his first visit. As for California, as soon as this baby is 6 weeks we are jumping on a plane and coming out for 3 weeks. Yippie! Love to all. Sorry about the long winded update.

Home again, Home again, Jiggidy Jig

We're back after a week of serious rest and relaxation. I just spent the last hour or so posting the photos so check them out on ofoto. It's hard to describe this place so hopefully the pictures tell the right story. It's so different from anywhere I've been. It's so remote and quiet and peaceful and serene but stark, harsh and dry and then you look the other direction and you see water filled with life - dolphins, whales, manta rays, and birds, so many birds- all colors, sizes, shapes. And so many bugs, everywhere. That part was a little gross. I'm not so hip with the bugs. the road you take to the house is very scary. It's like driving on Hwy 1 except there are no road barriers so if you take a bad turn, you fall off the cliff. It takes 1.5 hours to get there from Cabo and you go north up the sea of cortez. there is a wonderful family that takes care of the house. They helped me all week with my spanish. I don't speak a lick, but by the end of the week I felt comfortable saying little phrases here and there.

Our friend Will was with us for the first 3 days and then Sabrina and 10 of her friends came the last night and we had a big beach bonfire. We made fish every day for lunch - cevichi - Mmmmmm. I love that stuff. The fishing was fun because we kept stumbling upon all these amazing animals while we were out on the boat. The cock fight was really disturbing, but it was interesting culturally. Justin and I had a lot of free time to talk about the wedding. I think we've come up with some really great ideas. Mom, I can't wait to talk to you about all of this!!

We came home tonight and went straight to an Obama event. Obama was tired but good. I feel sorry that he is away from his family so much. Justin raised enough for us to go to a dinner with him tonight and I got to sit right next to him! I didn't know what to say. I was trying not to talk politics too much because I thought he would want a break from that.

I am really impressed with your yoga mat holder Lydia! Your knitting is to a new level. Maybe all the oojai breathing is helping with your knitting practice. I was shocked to hear that Shannon is engaged. She was always the I'm independent type. Bridget Maloney asked me to be a bridesmaid in her wedding this summer so that was nice. Lizzie, do you have any photos from your ski week? How was the snow? I think it's difficult to spend more than four days with the boyfriend's parents. Clark had to spend a week with Lucy's parents in their house in Kelseyville. That's hard.

Justin got an interview at Stanford re: MBA. He's really pumped about it because it's hard to get an interview and he wasn't expecting it. I'll keep you guys posted! Still no word from Berkeley - which is not a good sign.

Time for bed. xoxo, L

So Proud

I finished my yoga bag and it is amazing. Love it. The first thing I have ever knitted and then felted afterward. Very fun. All is well here. The work started on our house today so we are nice and high from paint fumes. Baker has opening day for baseball tomorrow so he is in a parade at 9 am and then has his first game at 3:30. Lizzy, I will definately take pictures because it will be his first time with his whole Cubs uniform on so I will post it tomorrow. Pretty slow weekend other than that. Love the idea of a mexican wedding Luc. Would we all stay in Cablo do you think? Is that the closest place? Hope you took lots of pictures.

Hello, hello

Lucille- a mexico wedding? I'm all for it. Please send more details. sounds so great. Lyd, glad you are feeling a little better. sounds like you guys are cooking up a storm and bakers school sounds really great. I can't wait to see the patio. make sure to post pics. That change will be huge and will change the house completely. Cheers to Shannon. That's big news.

are you guys planning on going to MI this summer? All is well here. I skied 4 glorious days and hiked 3 other. Being in Boulder was fun but I OD'ed on Drew's parents. oh well. at least I know my limit now. I am off to FL to visit gmother and take her to Chemo on Monday for 5 days. Should be intense.

Love to all.

Hola Conchitas!

Skinning dipping, daily fishing, yoga with views, whale watching, sea turtles, mahi mahi, schools of dolphin, flying manubas, eagles, sunsets on the beach, fresh fish for lunch, cevichi, margaritas, privacy, quiet, stars, bugs, bonfires, snorkeling, fresh torillas for breakfast, homemade quacamole, scrabble, more scrabble, taco night, cock fight, together, romantic.

This place is so special. We have decided to get married here. Punta Pescadero, May of '08. More details soon.

Hey Vacationers

How did dinner for Drew's parents go Lizzy? All is well here. Had ballet today and now the kids have friends over. Mary Rowe and her little friend are still in their Leotards, TuTus and ballet slippers and look adorable! Dill is headed out of town tomorrow and so I am going to continue on my crazy organization kick. One of these days I will be close to done. I really just need to throw everything away! Clothes especially. Luc, I hope you are doing yoga, relaxing and eating awesome food! I am sure you are. Oh, and playing travel Scrabble. Dill is making Cuban sandwiches for dinner tonight. I am very fired up about that. Can't wait until Baker's opening day on Saturday. It is very official. The ages go up to High School so the start the day with a big parade with all the teams in uniform and then the games get started. We also have our painter starting on Saturday so I will be psyched to get that done. Love to all.

The Sister Left Behind

I thought I would write to you ladies as you each were on your glorious and well deserved vacations. I can't wait to hear about the Yoga with incredible views from Luc and the skiing from Lizzy. All is great here. I have been feeling great the last few days, believe it or not. It has been really hot and the kids were out of school so we had a lot of outside time. Yesterday the kids and I had a great day at the zoo. Our Panda just had a baby so that was pretty amazing to see. I swear we go so much that one of these days I am expecting the Elephant to address by name. We had a great dinner party last night. Dill made Greek Gyros, Greek Salad and Strawberry Rhubarb Cobbler and I did a hot artichoke dip for the appetizer. So yummy. Everyone got nice and drunk except me. I was stuck with my non-alchoholic beer. It actually is good, but no fun benefits Then tonight Dill made caramel from scratch and put it over Vanilla Bean ice cream for us and I swear it was the best thing I have ever had! Still on a serious organizing kick. The work on our house begins in a week so I can hardly wait for that. It will be such a load off to finish the indoor painting. It was about time that we accepted that we were never going to have time to finish it all ourselves! The baby seems to be doing great. I am on the home stretch and getting really excited. I can't believe I forgot to blog this, but Shannon got engaged a few weeks ago so we are so fired up about that. Will be an awesome wedding. They seem to be leaning toward a destination wedding but have not picked a location. They are definatley shooting for late summer/early fall. Any news on your possible dates Luc? I know you said it might be a little sooner than you previousy thought. Looking forward to another long day in the sun tomorrow. I have been on a serious gardening kick in the front so I think the kids and I will visit our Home Depot buddies again. I love you all and hope you have safe and amazing vacations. Sorry my blogs have been so few and far between lately. Maybe now that I am feeling better I will get back on track.

I just got a ticket

A stupid stupid traffic ticket. I am so angry, mad - the injustice of it all! I am taking this to court big time. I was so close to calling the police officer and asshole because he was. He said, 'I talk, you listen'. UUUUUGGGGRRRRRGGGGGG. My first ever traffic ticket. I called Justin and he said he would represent me. He's excited about going to court. Great.

Hola

Hello all-

Hope everyone is well. I babysat for Chaz last night and I don't know if I am cut out for babies. Every time I set Lucas down he would start SCREAMING, I mean, I thought the neighbors were going to call the abuse hot line. He was teeething. So, I held him for 3 hours and I couldn't make Oscar dinner cause I didn't want to go near the stove so I fed Oscar apple sauce and string cheese. By the time I put Lucas down, it was 7:45 pm and I made Oscar spaghetti. I just think I inherited mom's geen (sp?). 3+ years is good with me. They can communicate and it's a lot easier but, man, those babies are a crap shoot. I am scared I'll be a bad mom one day. Ugh.

I leave tomorrow for CO and I am so excited. Drew has been the biggest stress case this week and I know he'll be happy to get out of here. I have been working all day on this plan for Sean. Revisions are due tomorrow. My camera is broken and I am so bummed cause I want it for our trip so I am going to get a disposable. I get my laser whitening tomorrow. Yippie! I also got my tix to see grandmother and i have to take her to Chemo everyday I am there. I am terrified but I feel I should go help if I have the time off and Kris got my tix. I just hope I can handle it. Kris even said its pretty intense- I guess she hallucinates a lot during Chemo.

Anyway, Jersey boys comes in October to Chicago, I checked it out. Lyd- I am jealous of your tan. My facial girl at Bliss yells at me about tanning and I tell her that it's just something that's gotta be done!!! Need pic of Baker. I bought frames at Crate and Barrel for my new office.

Jersey Boys

I went to go see the musical Jersey Boys last night with Justin's sister and mom and it was so so good. By the end of the night, we were all standing up clapping and dancing. I really recommend it if happens to come through Chicago or Atlanta. But it's not good for kids Lydia, there is a little bit of swearing. Only three more days...

Friends, snow and sledding accidents

Most pictures ever posted in one post award goes... to lucille. We had a super relaxing weekend up in Tahoe. The snow was fantastic and having our friends up there with us made it even better. We made a delicious dinner on Saturday night and afterwards spend a few hours sledding down this hill close by the house. We all woke up with injuries the next day. Marissa had a huge bump on her head, one of the sleds was broken, my back is killing me, josh had a big scrape on his back. Justin had the fastest sled but somehow came out unscathed.

This is the last week for the Ballroom. I have five days to tie up all the loose ends. I will post photos when it's all finished. We are going to Mexico on Friday for a week - I can't wait to feel the sun on my skin! Lyd, I am so into yoga right now, too. We got some videos to bring down with us next week. I am hoping to set up the lap top outside and do some yoga looking out to the ocean. The desk design sounds faboo. You will have your own little club right in your back yard. I am sure all of Baker and Mary Rowe's friends will love coming over. Your house is going to be the house where all the kids want to hang. Good luck with convincing the husbands to make it annual. That was a great weekend. I think you would make a great teacher. Yoga for kids in big in SF.

Lizzie, glad the meatloaf was success. Justin laughed when he found out you added cheese to the recipe - I told him the Shaw's add cheese to every recipe. Have a great time in Colorado. Don't you love law school spring breaks?! No, no more news from other business schools. Justin checks the mail every day but no word.

Alright, my back is killing me. I've got to hit the hay. XOXO, L

Good update Lyd

Wow, lyd. Hands full. Loving the deck. That will rock. Well, another successful dinner party. I had 12 people over ad i think we drank 2 cases of wine. Goodness. Today is our 7 month anniversary (who's counting) and we're sitting at a coffee shop reading and doing work stuff. 4 days until Colorado and i couldn't be more excited. I am hoping that some of that luck they have been getting in Tahoe will come our way. The meatloaf was a hit and i made it with a Gorgonzola sauce that defiently raised the bar. Carrie made some chocolate mousse pie that was killer. My friend tanner brought me a hostess gift and it was funny because i felt like such an adult. dinner parties, hostess gifts, couple dates, what the hell happened here!?! We went to the HOUSE OF BLUES on friday night with andy and carrie ti see rusted root and that was really fun. its great having couple friends. Except Andy and Drew and real good buddies so now they gang up on me and carrie and make fun of us. the sun is out- this winter has sucked so any sun even in 20 degree weather is welcomed. i am going up north to visit kris tomorrow AND I AM BABYSITTING FOR CHAZ and lena on tuesday night. i have been fake baking up a storm so i am tan. Lyd make sure to get a pic of baker in his cubs uniform and send along. i am going to frame and put in my new office. love to all. Oh yeah, for the record, the sign i saw still has me laughing. ALL UNATTENDED CHILDREN WILL BE GIVEN AN ESPRESSO AND A FREE PUPPY

Where to begin

It has been insanely busy around these parts. We have finally decided to do some much needed home fix ups. Dill has designed an insane new deck that we are getting put in. We are ripping out the old one and doing a huge 2 tiered deck with built in planters, seating, a fireplace, grill, bar, lighting etc. Then we are ripping out the yard and putting in a big area of sod and a basketball court off to the side next to the tramp. I don't think we are ever going to leave it. We are also replacing the collumns on the front of the house, getting it all re-painted and getting the inside painted in all the places we just haven't got to. Finally, we are having the copper backsplash in the kitchen buffed to completely new and then sealed so we don't have to shine it weekly any more. I think it will really lighten up the kitchen. Needless to say, I am so excited to be getting all this done. It will make life so easy having such a great yard when the new baby comes so the kids can just go play for hours. It has been gorgeous here so I am actually really tan. Thank goodness, because my stomach definately has a baby in it now. We are headed to Baker's T-Ball today then Dill and I are going to a dinner party at Anna's tonight. She is having a reunion of my Napa Valley Birthday Trip and we are having all the husbands come. I am bringing Mike's wine, Spencer's wine and 2 buck chuck. Catherine put together albums for all of us from Shutterfly with the captions etc. that she is giving us tonight and we are basically just going to have fun and thank the husbands for sending us in hopes of making it an annual event!!!! Dill has been gone Sun-Fri for the last 3 weeks so we have missed him. He is here this week so we are so happy about that. The kids have Thurs and Friday off so we will do something special and then we have a dinner party at our house on Friday night where Dill is going to make the Lamb burgers and Greek Salad that he and Lizzy made a few weeks ago. I am reading a wonderful book called Eat, Pray, Love. Don't look into the title, it is not a religious book. It is a memoir of a 30 ish woman who after a nasty divorce went to find herself by going for a year to Italy, India and Indonesia. It is great. I am almost done knitting my yoga mat bag. It will be great. I am now considering getting certified after the baby is born to teach, but want to teach children's yoga classes. I do at least 1-1 1/2 hours a day and love it. Have for the entire pregnancy which is probably why I am 7 months pregnant and have gained 9 pounds. The shape of my body has completely changed and I look taller. Go figure. It is actually really funny. They have found that most knitters do yoga randomly enough so they even have yoga knitting poses that you can do while you knit. The Satchmo/Tigger drama still continues so Satchmo is going to a 2 week sleepaway doggie boot camp. Hopefully for Tigger's health it works. Lizzy, in regards to your dinner. Since it is snowing there and your main dishes are meat and potatoes, I would not go crazy with the side. I would do a simple goat cheese and proscuitto wrapped asparagus. Just a thought. Love to all and hope you are all great. Any more word on Justins schools Luc?

Calling for th ebest side dish recipie ever!!!!!!

Ok girls, need your help. I'm making veal meatloaf and garlic mashers for a dinner party. What should my second side dish be? Blog me your ideas!

Go buy

"Something Borrowed", then get "Something Blue", by Emily Griffith. You will love them. She is terrific.