Spring Break Visitors

We had our first visitors March 18-21...Angela & Paige! It was such a blast to have the two of them out here in the Burgh! We had fun exploring different areas of the city we had not seen yet. On Thursday night we took the Incline up to Mt. Washington and had dinner at a restaurant that has a great view of the city! Friday we headed to breakfast at a place called The Original Pancake House and it was so yummy! The servings were huge! That will for sure be a stop next time we have visitors. Then we headed to the zoo & aquarium. The zoo was not that exciting but Paige loved the aquarium (it was her first trip to an aquarium)! We headed to an Asian restaurant for dinner that Vince had discovered a few weeks back with clients. It was a great dinner! Saturday we made breakfast and headed down to the strip district for some shopping & lunch! Paige got a super cute hat and some souvenirs for Lakin & Reece. And we got some fresh veggies for dinner at the produce market. We had lunch at Bella which has amazing pizza! It is another must have when visitors come! Saturday night we grilled out and relaxed with a movie. We were so sad to see them leave on Sunday. Especially Miles-he was Paige's shadow all weekend! I think Vince really enjoyed having a good workout buddy for a few days. They found some great trails right outside of our neighborhood!

Happy St Patricks Day

Ft. Lauderdale

Vince & I decided that we needed a break from the harsh PA winter so we booked a long weekend trip to Ft. Lauderdale for the first weekend of March! We left Thursday late afternoon and arrived about 10 pm in Florida. We stayed at the Atlantic Hotel which was right on the water. It was a very nice looking hotel but we both agreed that the customer service needed some work. I don't think we would stay there again but we don't regret staying there for this trip. Friday was a bit chilly & windy so we ate breakfast and went on a nice long walk. We tried to lounge by the pool and eat lunch but it was so cold and windy that I couldn't even take my fleece off. We went to dinner at a restaurant the concierge recommended and told us to tell the owner Mario that he sent us. We did as instructed and Mario insisted on not letting us see the menu and "cooking for us". We decided what the heck this guy isn't going to take no for an answer so lets see what happens! He first brought us a pitcher of sangria and let me tell you he never let our glasses get half way empty without filling them back up. He made us a very tasty 4 course meal and we ended up making some new friends with a couple also staying at the hotel. The four of us go the shock of our lives when the bill came-it was $189. We thought it was for the four of us since we had all joined the same table. But boy were we wrong the total per couple was $189. I about fell out of my chair. The dinner was good but by no means worth almost 200 dollars. So the four of us left the restaurant still a bit dazed from the bill and headed back to the hotel. Saturday the weather was much nicer! We ate breakfast and headed straight to the pool! And that is where we spent the entire day! We had dinner at a great seafood place called Charley's Crab. It was awesome! I would love to go back! Sunday I woke up with the worst sunburn I have ever had. Not fun. So we ate breakfast ocean side and then took a stroll down the beach and found a nice spot for lunch. Then we headed off to the airport to the 4 feet of snow we left. Luckily to our surprise the temps in Pittsburgh had been mild while we were gone and the snow was quickly disappearing! All in all it was a great escape from the winter and I am sure we will be doing it again next year!

Vince's New Car

Well the crazy winter we have been having pushed us to trade in the Camry and get another SUV. Vince has hated that car since he drove it off the lot so I knew we wouldn't be keeping it long. And we have a steep driveway and Vince couldn't even make it up the driveway some mornings with all the snow and ice. That meant that he would take my 4Runner and then I was stuck without a car. So after about a month of research and test driving we narrowed it down to the Nissan Murano and Honda Pilot. We ran into some problems at the dealerships because of all the Toyota recalls and our Camry being on the list. We knew we would have to take a hit but some of the offers we down right offensive. Vince happened to stumble across a Nissan dealership we hadn't checked out yet and they had a 2010 Nissan Murano on their used car lot. A woman had bought it 3 weeks before and decided she wanted leather seats so she traded it back in with 600 miles on it. Crazy! I don't even want to think about how much money she lost on that deal but it worked out great for us! So after one very long night we got the deal done and Vince is very happy! And as "luck" would have it we got another snow storm and Vince got to see if his new car could make it up the driveway and it did!

February 2010 Snow Storm

February 6, 2010...We woke up with 2 feet of snow and no power. Vince & I decided this is the biggest amount of snow we have ever seem in KC or PA. The weatherman predicted 4-7 inches-not a huge shock they were WRONG. So after 4 hours of shoveling and a little help from our neighbors snow-blower we dug ourselves out! At this point we made the decision to try to find a hotel. I had to sit in the car and plug the computer into the 4runner so I could look up some options. After a few calls to places that didn't have any rooms, didn't take pets or didn't have power, I finally book the 3 of us a room at the Hilton downtown. We braved the roads which were ok until we got on the highways which had not been plowed in like 12 hours. It was a bit scary but we made it and have been warm & toasty in our hotel room for the past few hours. Vince has booked us here for 5 nights to be on the safe side but I am really hoping we can go home tomorrow. I keep calling the home phone praying that it rings but it keeps going to voicemail-meaning we don't have power yet. But we are counting our blessings as we enjoy our "camping trip" at the Hilton!

House Pictures

We finally finished painting! We ended up painting every room-once I started I couldn't stop! But we are pleased with the results! We still have some projects like hiding the TV wires, getting some lights installed and putting a fence in for Miles but we are taking a break for a bit! Here is the link to the pictures...


http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery/creativeapps/slideShow/Main.jsp?token=781132778308%3A1530465160

Happy Birthday Vince!

Wednesday was Vince's #31 birthday! He requested a nice dinner at home, so I made his favorite dinner (Cuban Chicken) and a birthday cake. It was a great night and I think he enjoyed his special day with me & Miles. Saturday night we went to a nice restaurant downtown called Hyde Park to continue the birthday celebration. It was a very nice dinner and then we went and checked out one of the casinos nearby. Of course lucky Vince turned our $100's into over $400. He has such good luck on slots. I of course lost all my money! But all in all it was a nice night out in our new city!