KNowak

Birthday Festivities Recap.

The cake just never stopped coming.  First there was a cake with my parents over at Matt and Erin's place, then they gave Kelly a cake at work on Friday and half of that made it's way home and finally we'd had cake #3 on Saturday at Lane's and Games. Thank goodness this birthday weekend is over!

Lots of photos tonight; this first set is from last Wednesday [Ash Wednesday] at Erin and Matt's place as we celebrated Kelly's 30th with my folks before they left for Aruba.

                       

               

Check out these flowers I sent over to Kel at the office...came all the way from Cali overnight.  They still look great today.

          

Deb and Steve made the trip up on Friday afternoon and we capped off the weekend with the much anticipated trip over to Jose's for dinner and then to Lanes and Games to hang out. 

              

               

                 

                

             

               

                

Enough with the bowling...time to lose some money on Keno!

               

                          

        

[you know the drill by now...click any of these photos to enlarge]

Okay...time to get some shut-eye, it's going to be a long morning digging out from this 15" of snow we're supposed to get overnight.  Should be a fun ride into work!

Guess who's 30 today?

Happy 30th Birthday Kelly!

I didn't want you guys to hurt yourselves by making you guess for too long.  It's Kelly...she turns 30 today. 

If you were at the rehearsal dinner for our wedding you saw most of these photos, if not, enjoy.  I'll probably be sleeping on the couch for posting these...but hey, she only turns 30 once, right?

Here she is growing up over the years with all the yearly school photos...they get better as they go. 

         

         

         

         

         

    

and just for fun, a few of my favorites of us together from our wedding.

         

I'm sure to have a recap of all the Birthday Weekend festivities sometime next week!

 

Case of the Missing Shopping Cart.

On Sunday Kel and I made our weekly grocery run, this week to Stop and Shop.  We've been trying to go every Sunday and stock up for the week.  Stuff for lunches, dinners, the whole 9 yards.  It beats going down to the store near our house on a weeknight when trying to find a space in the parking lot nearly turns into a version of demolition derby.

So on Sunday we had made our way through the produce section getting ingrediants for a fruit salad, some bananas and a few other things when we decided to split up.  I was going to take a spot in the deli line while Kel was off to get some carrots.  Kel took the shopping cart with her.

The deli line was 10 or 12 deep, so I took a number and waited patiently.  After about 8 minutes in line my cell phone rang, it was Kel. 

I flipped it open and said "Still at the deli, where you at?". 

Kel responded with "Do you have our cart?" 

"No, I left it with you, didn't I ? [knowing full well that she had it]" 

Just as I said those word an announcement came over the store intercom asking everyone to check their shopping carts to make sure it was in fact theirs.  If you had the wrong cart please come to the customer service desk. 

Kel said "Umm yeah...that announcement is for me!"

At this point Kel was laughing hysterically...someone had stolen her cart while she had turned the other direction to bag up the carrots!  She asked a couple of the  produce clerks who were standing nearby if they had seen it and it was they who decided to put out the all points bulletin.  Kel made her way over to the deli, since I was still in line, to fill me in on what went down and could not stop laughing. 

Having spent considerable time in the grocery business myself, I know this type of thing happens all the time in a grocery store.  We didn't have a ton of stuff in the cart, and Kel's bag was on her shoulder, so having to start over really wouldn't have been a big deal, but Kel did walk up to the customer service counter to see if anyone had come clean and admitted to the heist.  Sure enough, on her way up to the front one of the clerks was wheeling her cart back to the produce dept with a huge smile on his face. 

Standing next to the clerk was the woman who had taken Kel's cart...she said she was sorry for the mix up and then asked Kel if she had her cart.  "Ahhh no".  Why would Kel take her cart just because she had taken Kel's?  Made no sense. 

So Kel made her way back to the deli again, this time with only the cart holding her up cause she was laughing so hard!  We got our deli meats and finished our shopping...I kept the cart with me at all times though.

CASE CLOSED.

31.

Hard to believe that I turn 31 today...but it's true.  Nothing too crazy planned for tonight, just dinner with the Kelly, the folks, Erin, and Matt over in the North End. 

Thanks to all of those who called, sent cards and emailed over some birthday wises.  I really do appreciate it.  I do have to share with you one of the funniest cards I've ever gotten.  Deb has taken to making cards at home and created this masterpiece:

    

My patented dance move folks!

I did get some great news this morning over email that gets me fired up every year.  I had gone over to Dana Farber on Monday for my annual visit which essentially consists of a quick chest x-ray, some blood work and a chat with my doctor.  The blood work came back this morning and everything checked out just fine.  Can't get a much better birthday present than that!

- - - -

As many of you know, Kelly isn't a huge fan of pizza.  Never really has been.  Shocking, I know.  Well recently we've started to make pizza at home and she's starting to come around.  Perhaps it's because it's not as greasy as when you buy it somewhere, who knows.  Anyway...this is a shot of last nights final product:  cheese, peperoni, onions and peppers.  Delicious!

  

After our pizza Kel and I decided to have a few bites of our wedding cake.  Apparently you're supposed to eat a piece of frozen wedding cake on your 1-year anniversary.  We forgot.  So we ate some last night.  It was a bit on the dry side since it's been on ice for over 3 years, but a glass of milk washed it right down and it wasn't half bad.

  

 - - - -

I need to give a quick shout-out to my boy Jo Jo who has had one hell of a week.  On Thursday he helped to deliver a baby on some ladies couch [you can read all about that here] and then last night he popped the question to Jill...and believe it or not, she said YES.  Congratulations guys!

Wanna Get Away?

You know those Southwest Airlines commercials right...they have a scenario where someone makes a boob of themselves and then they play that catchy jingle that says "Wanna Get Away?"  I can imagine that's exactly what this truck driver was thinking this afternoon as he nearly tipped over his trailer in our office parking lot.  There's some sort of food production joint across the way and they get deliveries all day long with these 18 wheelers.  With the large snow banks and slick conditions we've been having this guy didn't stand a chance.  The truck ended up precariously perched for about 3 hours until help finally arrived. 

         

         

         

the rescue crew [or big ass two-truck in layman's terms] was able to slide the rear wheels out and "right the ship".

         

3 hours of this guys day down the drain and probably a few hundred bucks for the two, but at least nobody got hurt and his truck didn't get damaged.

Cape Wind.

I assume that most of you know about the great Cape Wind debate here in our Commonwealth.  It has been a 10+ year long battle between those in favor of renewable wind energy and those who want to preserve their private oceanfront views.  That's the short version I guess.  Let me expand the explanation a bit:  What you have is a group, called Cape Wind, who wants to build an off-shore wind farm [the first in the US] that consists of 130 wind turbines in the Nantucket Sound off the coast of Cape Cod.  The turbines would be pretty far offshore, with the closest ones about 4.7 miles away from the nearest beach. 

The group has run into roadblocks at each and every turn, but over the years they've overcome all of them.  Various government agencies have all begun to sign off on the plan and it's looking more and more like a reality. EPA, Minerals Management Service, Fishing and Wildlife, Seafarers International Union, you name it, they've all okay'd it.  But, and it's a big one,...our Senior Senator, Ted Kennedy, still stands in the way.  He's vehemently opposed the project since day one, claiming it would kill birds and endanger sea life [both claims have been shot down by various government agencies] and that it would destroy the areas tourism by damaging scenic views of the Sound.  What he fails to mention is that his families home compound in Hyannis would have a view of the project and that seems to be his biggest issue. 

I use 3D modeling software all the time at work and at home so I decided to see exactly what those 440' tall turbines would look like from nearly 5 miles away. It wasn't that hard to put together and after about 10 minutes, well...here it is.[click to enlarge, though you still won't be able to see much of the turbine]  They'd barely be a half-inch tall out there on the horizon.  And that would be on a clear day, mind you.  I doubt you'd even see them on a typical hot, hazy, humid, summer day. 

   

[Some other great views that Cape Wind has created can be found here]

Now tell me...is seeing a 1/2" tall wind turbine out on the horizon really all that bad?  Is it going to destroy these pristine views that Kennedy talks so much about?  Come on...I don't think so. This is an important project for the state, one that can provide over half the power for the entire Cape as well as Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket.  That's a lot of energy folks, and all with no effect on the enviroment.  It really does seem like a no-brainer, well unless your someone like Kennedy.  [and for the record, I agree with Kennedy on many issues out there, but on Cape Wind, he just doesn't get it] 

I read an opinion piece in one of the papers the other day that hit the nail right on the head. It said that until Kennedy, and others who have massive homes and compounds along the coast, tear them down to preserve theses pristine views, they don't have much ground to stand on.  It seems that he's much more interested in preserving the views of the wealthy and not so much the public interest.   

In any event, it's shaping up to be a big show-down because not only does our governor support the project, but so does our new president!  I think Teddy K will finally lose the battle here and that will be some welcome news. 

So...there you have it, my stance on Cape Wind, which I guess could carry over to most wind farm projects.  I'm all for it.  I'd like to know your thoughts though...leave a comment or two.  Time for me to hunker down for another 8"-10" of snow tomorrow!  Tis the season.

New Hampshire and the Library.

We were up in NH not too long ago to visit with Kristin and Ryan for a bit.  Ryan was working over the weekend but he was still able to get away from the hospital long enough to grab dinner with us and chill for a bit.  On a whim we made a last minute reservation at a place called The Way We Cook in Manchvegas that Kel and I saw on TV Diner a while back.  [You can watch the actual review they did here]  Since our table wasn't ready until around 8:30p they did run out of a few dishes, but other than that the place was amazing!  We met one of the owners, Jim, and our waiter was a riot.  He even threw in dessert for us since they had run out of those dishes.  What a guy!

       

               

        

         

         

        

After dinner we stopped at this little arcade and laser tag joint that is right around the corner from thier house.  It was a riot and we of course won some awesome prizes playign skee-ball. 

           

         

        

Last time we were up in NH over the summer Kristin and Ryan were thinking about converting this space that the previous owners used as children's playroom into an office on one side and a library/reading room on the other.  A great uncle [or something like that] had been up to visit and did a sketch for them of some built-in's on a napkin so they showed it to me to see what I thought.  It was bad.  No, it was atrocious.  I felt it was my duty to help out and after only a few hours we had a much better solution.  A few weeks later the carpenter came and below is the final product.  It looks just great with the yellow walls and the white shelves.  Nice color choices guys!

    

      

    

Up next is an island for their kitchen...it's certainly big enough for one, but I guess the original owners just didn't have enough money to put it in when they built the place. 

Of course after Kristin and Ryan saw our Team Photo's with Nick and Jules they wanted to get in on the action too...so we put the new library to good use as well as the dining room they have with no furniture on it and bright red walls that the previous owners painted!

    

    

    

Don't you just love Ryan's authentic Indiana Jones hat?  As you can tell...I've been experimenting a bit with some color/B+W photos.  I think they look kind cool.

  

House Party.

Our west-coast boy Murph-Dog was in town recently so we decided to have a little get-together here at the casa to catch up with everyone.  [unfortunately his lovely bride had to stay behind so he had to fly solo, literally]  Most of the crew was over and Kel and I made some of her famous stromboli to feed everyone!   Kel made some tasty sides, Val brought a salad and Jill made the dessert.  It turned out to be a great night just chilling with everyone and keeping it real.  We of course snapped a few shots during the festivities:

Who needs a cooler with ice when you've got a few inches of snow out on the deck to do the job!

         

These two shots are a bit of an inside joke from our wedding.  Murph being the funny man he is decided to steal bambi from our rental house and bring it to the wedding ceremony and take it out mid-way.  It made for a good laugh.  I found him one at a store recently so I gave it to him for a Christmas present.  I know, I know, I'm just so giving. 

         

         

         

    

  

NYE 2008-2009.

The photo I posted on 01.01.2009was from our New Years Eve celebration with Nick and Jules.  Talk about a fun night...it was epic.  We stayed in, had some killer appetizers for dinner followed by some tasty desserts and plenty of time on the Nintendo Wii, all before we watched the ball drop.  It was great.  We also had plenty of alcohol flowing which resulted in us staging several hilarious Team Photos of the 4 of us.  They're extremely cheesy, but I think that's why we laughed so damn hard while making them!  You can check out all the action below:

            

          

          

         

        

            

          
         

         

         

    

    

    

    

    

      

           

    

    

    

         

         

        

         

           

         

         

        

         

  

  

Now I'm sure you all think we look like tools in some of these shots, but we really don't care and I'm sure that when we look back on these in 10 or 15 years we're going to laugh our asses off!

[as usual, click on any photo to enlarge.  You'll also note that for 2009 I've added a KRN camera watermark/logo to each photo.  It's a bit annoying, but it'll ensure that any of the photos you see here on KN.com don't end up in the wrong hands without permission.]

  

  

        

  

Merry Christmas.

Hope you all have a great Christmas and enjoy some time with your family and friends! 

Now get off the damn computer...it's Christmas Day for peets sake!