HUGE THANKS to Mr. B who helped me get my own domain loaded and started! I can now be found at http://www.seejeanrun.com/ !!! This is where I will be posting from now on...so bookmark the new site and start posting your comments there.
Given the gi-normous nature of my family and extended family, occasionally there are months where more than three Buckels were born. For these months, the aunts and uncles decide to throw one giant birthday party to celebrate everyone. I absolutely love these events because 1) I get to hang out with all the young cousins though it usually makes me feel really, really old since I babysat all of them when they were wee-little ones 2) There is always a buffet of food, which came on a day Kendra and I ran 17 miles so I was HUNG-GRY! and 3) Aunts and Uncles get all sentimental and tell funny, random stories!
My cousin - Danielle:
My cousin - Kelly
I posted all the Nashville pics under my Flickr account for your viewing pleasure since I cannot seem to get my act together to blog about the trip. The narratives with the pictures will be a better way to read about the fun trip I had with Amita!
Has anyone else been outside lately, sneezed, and had sweat pour out of you from the sheer exertion of sneezing? Anyone?
This past weekend I clocked 626 miles onto Rhonda the Red Honda in visiting my friend Amita in the lovely city of Nashville, TN. Rather than go into all the words it would require to describe the fun, here is the picture diary of the weekend --
Amita owns a Wii. Enuf said. (**Note to Hot Husband: There may be one of these now in our apartment when you get home.)
On Saturday, Amita and I visited Cheekwood - the Cheek family estate converted into a Museum of Art and Botanical Garden - think old, Southern money.
We first traversed the Carrell Woodland Sculputre Trail where we stumbled across random works of art in the forest.
I loved this picture Amita took...it whispers: "Jean...follow the light...follow the light"
And since I need to go to bed right now...I will to say...TO BE CONTINUED! :)
I used to tell my sister Cathy that she was adopted - probably out of older sister spite - but also as you can see, my sister Cathy inherited blue eyes and blond hair. The rest of theBuckel family is brown eyes and brown hair, but if you go to any of my mom's family reunions, I finally understood where the genes came from to create my beautiful sister Cathy.
I fixed my own brake light! Of course this is after having my dad help me figure out what I needed to replace (as well as helping me check my tire pressure), the guy at Auto Zone who pointed helped me find the correct light bulb, then the random dude in the parking lot who gave me the thumbs up that the brake light is functional after I replaced it. But, I am the one who unscrewed the cover and plugged it in!
Her newly put together dorm room
I finished with Human Development, ran 14 miles with my pal Kendra, read Harry Potter (OMG - favorite book of the series!!), and did a *little* cleaning - and this was just Sunday, I do not recall what I did of importance Friday and Saturday! To prove that at least one corner of my home is clean, check out Sparky's newly made bed and lack of overflowing pile of laundry...feels good to be clean...finally!
But instead, I am stuck reading about grief and bereavement in our old age - stupid class - almost done. Though somehow I have managed to get to Ch 10 in Harry Potter - oh it is torture not being able to consume every page until the end!!
I love my dog when he snuggles up on me - he is like a 50-lb warming blanket.
Unfortunately, I have only gotten to Chapter 7 in Harry Potter (so shhhhhhhhhhh though my SIL has me DYING to know who and the world is R.A.B!!???). Tonight, I SHOULD be at Pub Night enjoying some fine dining and beers, but I am playing the "responsible student" and cranking out some homework that is due at 12am on Friday! All that I have left is to start my 3 page paper on Euthanasia (blugh!) and take a test in order to be D.O.N.E. with my Human Development. YEAH!! Microbiology doesn't start until 8/22/07 and Hot Husband is leaving me alone with Harry after this Sunday!
K and I decided to get our 10-mile run out of the way before Beer Fest, as I was lacing up, I noticed the UPS guy outside K's condo. Like a good girlfriend, I give her a call to let her know I think the UPS guy is here to deliver her Harry Potter (do you hear the choir of angels singing when you read "Harry Potter" like me?). But, before she got downstairs, I saw the UPS guy begin to walk away. So, immediately, I jump out of the car to be asked - "do you live here?" I said, "No - but are you looking for a Ms. Kendra Castle?" A little confused, the man in brown looks down at the package only to say, "Why, yes I am." And in a 5th grade, gushing with love voice I explain to the man that he holds in his hand K's copy of Harry Potter and go on to tell him how excited "we" are that it has arrived. I am sure he has dealt with Harry Potter nutzos all morning long, but he laughs and at that moment K arrives to scoop the wonderful piece of literature into her arms. The funniest part of the story is on our run, we ended up seeing the same UPS truck, and the guy leaned out of the truck to yell - "Enjoy the book!" Oh, we will, man in brown...oh we will.
Or at least I thought I would because surely if K's copy had arrived, mine would be awaiting for me! But, when I arrive home, there is no package because I decided to save $1 by going with eCampus.com. When I go to view my order, it is still showing in "Bill Pending" status...meaning - THEY HAVEN'T SHIPPED MY FREAKIN' COPY OF HP!!!! But, as of tonight, I have finally received a tracking number to learn that my copy is in Akron, OH and soon to arrive. I just now need to read two more chapters of Human Development, take two more quizzes, post 4 discussion comments, and write a 4-page paper before I am tempted to begin HP. At least I do not have my PhD dissertation the next morning because if I was my sister-in-law, I would still be reading it anyway. Dedication.
...you go to you favorite, local pub to hear one of the founders of Founders Brewing (ha!) give a talk on how he got started, and of course sample some brew in preparation of a Microbrew Festival you are attending that weekend after an evening of drinking Sangria with girlfriends.
I did not tote the camera around during the Microbrew Festival - but Kendra did so check out her website for future pics!
My last day with my BFF was a sad day. She had taken the whole day off, but the silly weather gods drizzled upon us all day. We made the most of it by hanging out at the local coffee shop reading some magazines:
Then, given my hair was having a really bad hair day, my BFF let me spend an hour getting a new do - which turned out fantastic! Thank you BFF for one of the BEST vacations - the girl time was much needed! I heart and miss you SOOOO much! Don't worry, I am working on Hot Husband in moving us out to the East Coast!!
My favorite part of the trip was the fact we meal'd on some Wendy's my last night - I love it! And since you took this picture - thought I needed to post:
Tuesday I rode into Boston with Lizard on her way to work for a day of sightseeing, eating lunch with Liz, and shopping. Once Liz was able to locate me a tourist map and set me in the right direction before going to work, I was set! I decided to attempt the Freedom Trail, which ended up leading to some great photo opportunities and a little bit of education of our country's history - imagine that - learning something while on vacation. (The Freedom Trail web link on Wikipedia is most excellent as it provides additional links to the various sites I saw!)
Above is Liz on the train next to the dude who got some additional sleep while encroaching in Liz's space. She was kind to feed me my lines of what I needed to stay to the conductor so I didn't look like a complete tourist (though solidified it in the minds around us in taking this picture!)
After a few wrong turns, I finally found the start of the Freedom Trail - Boston Common - aka giant, green park!
The folks who set up the Freedom Trail did it right by putting a bright, red strip on the sidewalk for all the tourists to follow - it saved me many a times! Some other items along the trail:
Massachusetts State House: 
Granary Burying Ground, where Paul Revere and other famous folks are buried:
Whereas people today get on their blog to complain about government, people back in 1742 went to Faneuil Hall to meet and discuss. Now, you can buy an I Love Boston shirt there!
Then, at this point, I saw how the red mark on the map went farther and farther away from where I needed to meet Liz for lunch, so headed back and got an early start on shopping (since that was near where Liz was!) We got some delicious smoothies, then hit up the favorite jewelry store where Liz vogue'd for me a bit: 
For the rest of the afternoon I puttered around Boston Common and some shops. (sorry Hot Husband - I am bringing home more shoes!)
With Liz off to work and Graham sitting in daycare, I used my time to get a *little* bit of work done, then off to explore Salem a little more. My general observations --
-- Salem is a dog friendly town with at least a handful of shops offering bowls of water for dogs:
Has some tremendous history with buildings dated in the 1600s and statues of famous, native novelist --
And, the town, as described by my friend Lizard, is a tourist attraction for all that is Halloween. Salem is known to be a witch town in the history books, and the town is very proud to have dozens of shops for tourists bragging about this history with touristy type souvenirs and some very strange art.
Though I could have waited until 4pm, I seemed to remember Liz saying this morning that if I wanted to I could pick up Graham at 3pm...soooo...2:55pm I was at the door of Graham's daycare ready to pick the cute fart up! Here is the Graham Picture of the Day - and for more just click on "Graham's Pics" because I have been adding my pics hourly...I mean daily.
Here are my attempts at feeding a wiggly worm:
The above picture is testimony to my friend Liz's mad parenting skills already developed in 9 months. Of course, the dinner disaster led to a bath, which was captured on film as well and can be viewed on Graham's link to the right. But, my favorite picture from last night was mom and son:
Continuing the fun on my adventure in Salem, MA, Liz and I hit up Beer Works, a little brewery that is a 1 minute walk from Liz's condo. We made a feast out of a hummus plate and sweet potato (heaven) fries, along with some excellent brews. Liz ordered the Watermelon Ale and I the Haymarket Heft Weizen as seen here --
Then, in a second round I had the Gold Medal Back Bay IPA and Liz the Blueberry Ale, which looked like a lava lamp with blueberries floating up and down. I tried to get it on film, but no luck so you will just have to believe me!
With just two beers in us and the clock striking 11pm (very late for the both of us which we were proud of and did a small high five!!), we walked home full of delicious food and beer in our tummies. Then, early rising we packed a tasty lunch, slabbed on the sunscreen, and snagged a great spot at Deveraux Beach in Marblehead, MA.
I very much wished I had an awesome SLR camera because the views were spectacular!
So...in my amazing time with Liz, I have in my head to check with Chris to see what residency programs are nearby because the city of Salem ROCKS!
I know my Hot Husband does not like public attention so I will reserve the extra cheesy stuff for the Birthday card, but I needed to put something on the blog to honor his special day because I hope he is having a great Birthday (w/o me)!
I hope you take 600 pictures with your new SLR camera today and blast your new iPod speakers until neighbors start knocking on the door. And most of all, I hope the Indiana State Fair judges pin the blue ribbon on one if not all of your beers you submitted for the contest. I hope you have the greatest day! I adore and love you, Hot Husband!
I am having the most marvelous time hanging out with my best friend and her beautiful baby boy! Here is just a *few* of the pics of our day --
The count down is on for the final Harry Potter book to be delivered to my door step! Of course, the SIL and I hit up the new movie on the second night --
And, the fact I am a Harry Potter fan AND have seen the 5th movie, provided nearly enough conversation with the gentleman next to me to fill the entire flight time from Indianapolis to Boston.
And more can be read on K's blog...
