The Salty Blog

Did you ever have one of those heart-shaped necklaces where you had the “be frie” half of it and your best friend had the “st nds” half of it?

I have been blessed with several incredible women in my 32 years who I would give platinum, diamond-studded halves of heart-shaped necklaces to (well, if I had that kind of money anyway). In actuality, what they have brought to my life would make a gorgeous bracelet of vibrantly linked gems.

Thanks to Facebook - the klutzy, more dorky Cupid who everyone made fun of for peeing his pants in archery class - one of those gems is back in my life and being polished off!

It really makes me think about friendships, and what an amazing impact your truest friends can have on your life. Thank you to those women who’ve provided such a good, hard, solid-packed punch as to change my journey forever.

[/end sap]

Okay, so everyone has to take a boat or plane to the Vineyard, but last Monday we had the pleasure of heading over for dinner on our friend’s private boat. I guess I take our Cape Cod location for granted, and we do tend to hit up Nantucket a lot more frequently than Martha’s Vineyard, but there is something entirely too cool about hopping on a boat to just have dinner on an island.

We had drinks along the waterfront in Oak Bluffs, dinner at Jimmy Seas, and beer at Offshore Ale. It was a truly wonderful evening with great friends, and a gorgeous ride back to Popponesset by moonlight.

Thanks Kevin & Danielle!

The little things make my new work life a happier one. Real honest-to-goodness Green Mountain Coffee at my fingertips is one of them. Being able to get whatever damn smartphone plan I want is another. But what really makes me happy is that sarcasm and bluntness are both encouraged and rewarded.

I’m a confident and opinionated person. I say what I feel, for better or for worse, and thanks to my last job, I finally caught on to that “worse” part. For a “creative agency”, I certainly felt dulled, quieted, squashed.

Happy to now be working with an energetic and creative team that has fun and speaks out. Of course no company is perfect, but I definitely belong here right now.

I’m guilty of being one of the hundreds of thousands of first-time politics fans, but the truth is… we’ve had a hell of an eight years to deal with here and I’m now eight years older. I’ve never been more into the speeches, the debates, NPR discussions and Saturday Night Live skits.

Okay, I hate Saturday Night Live.

But I donated $20 this week for an Obama t-shirt on MoveOn.org - it’s really only a $12 requirement. I don’t even care that it has a 4 to 6 week shipping time (I still wear my Team Aniston t-shirt with pride).

If McCain pulls this one off, I’ll be making millions off my blog about how I moved to Canada because of American politics.

As a Cape Codder, who’s parents worked for the electric company, I’ve always jumped with excitement for an oncoming hurricane. I’ve flown kites during Gloria, watched the trees on “Timber Lane” topple down like dominoes during Bob, and cozied up at home with my grandmother while my folks earned overtime pay.

I know this Hanna-Ike-Josephine lineup doesn’t look good to someone in New Orleans… and I recognize my naivite there… but I can’t help but think BRING IT ON, MOTHER NATURE :-)

It’s a good sign that my posting has drifted off, right? I’m busy and loving my new job, and I’m active living life on the weekends! There has been a lot to catch up on…

We spent a gorgeous weekend in Dorset, Vermont with the Hedmans, including some sidewalk sale shopping, a hike and a hilly bike ride. The next weekend was filled with a Patriots pre-season game (thanks Em!) and the excitement of seeing cousin Kate while she was home from vet school. We also managed to get out to Sandy Neck with Kim & Kim for a beautiful lagoon-like cruise in the shallow waters at low-tide.

In keeping with tradition, this past Labor Day weekend was our annual Sarah’s Birthday Alternative Triathalon! Eight of us hiked almost 12 miles across the Monroe Skyline in Vermont - over the summits of Mad River Glen, Sugarbush and more. We camped out in the Castlerock hut at Sugarbush. What a hysterical adventure watching Brewer on his first hike. He was so proud of his backpack, and completely overjoyed at the idea of his humans sleeping on the floor. We closed out the weekend with a bike ride - most of the group on mountain bikes, and Leslie and I off for a road ride through the cows and farmlands.

I’m truly ready for fall this year. We’ve had a full and wonderful summer.

Much more to come back to, but for now I just want to say Happy Birthday to Emily and Sarah… AND a super huge CONGRATS to Emily and Anthony on their engagement!!!!

This just in from our friend Rich (Toro’s our godpuppy, a boxer named after a boxer):

…weighing in at just about 80lbs, wearing an electric fence collar -”El Toro” AAAAAAAAAAngel Hernandezzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz (insert angry mommy and daddy shouting here.)

…and Ladies & Gentlemen, in this corner (under the shed), wearing the black & white stripes, weighing in at 4lbs 7oz. “The Undisputed, Stinky-weight Champion of the Night , Pep-payyyyyy “le Polecat,” (that’s right) “Polecat” (aka: Skunk or the mammal that is best know for its ability to excrete a strong-foul-smelling odor from its back end area) -not to be confused by the Yeti.

Toro, Mommy & Daddy all were knocked out in the first 2nd round. (he didn’t get it the night before.)

Good thing he’s such a loyal friend, I don’t want to miss a second of this smelly fun! He’s resting so peacefully next to me all day, everywhere I go. They say that the “aroma” lingers best when it’s humid and rainy… good thing we have that too!

Send flowers soon,
Rich

The demolition has begun. My parents are gutting and renovating the upstairs of our family home, and this photo is from the bedroom that both my mom and I grew up in. Apparently they’ve found newspaper in the walls dating back to September of 1890, but the house actually dates back almost 300 years as part of a dairy farm in West Barnstable, MA.

The fun thing about growing up in my mom’s old room was the closet she had wallpapered with teen magazine covers in the 60s!

I feel like my first post each month lately begins with “hard to believe it’s already [August]!”

We’re having a great few weeks of guests coming and going, and boating season really is just now upon us (when the dock is less crowded and the fish are more hungry). Leslie joined us this weekend as Dave rode the Pan Mass Challenge - congrats Dave! And newlyweds BG and Sam are arriving for the weekend ahead.

Eric, Jill and the kids were also here with friends for the last week - this time renting a house out in Eastham. Always fun to get some beach time with our favorite little ones!

Meanwhile, we’re happy cheering for Jason Bay and the Red Sox (my favorite sign was “Bay being Bay”, so kudos to that guy if he finds this blog), and I still don’t know who won the Tour de France because we have a few stages left on the DVR. Speaking of biking, we are running what is maybe my fifth sixth seventh? Falmouth Road Race this coming weekend. I think I’ll always register for it, despite the fact that it’s consistently the hottest, most humid day of the year, but I’ve definitely turned my sights more on biking for the future. I’m looking forward to doing a century (100 miles) and a multi-day tour in the near future, and thankfully our circle of biking friends keeps growing! My deepest thanks for introducing me to the sport will always go to Nathan, who passed away a year ago this month.

Lastly, I’d just like to send a shout-out to my Mom & Dad (and Rigley) after another hard-working week as head-honchos for the Barnstable County Fair! They’re already getting ready to head back out on the RV trail again, not to mention the fact that they’ve put a rush on me getting my “stuff” out of the house before rennovations, eek.

I’m a Verizon Wireless evangelist, as many of my friends and family have seen/heard over the years.

This video left me with tears streaming down my cheeks… kudos to Verizon for picking up on the greatest trend in marketing!

Verizon Wireless Surprises Customer - Watch more free videos