Winner Winner Chicken Dinner

Here are a few pictures when Scott and I meet up with Casey and Kelly Mudd over Memorial Day weekend in Las Vegas.

The Mudds

The Mcs

Dinner at Craftsteak... More food than you can imagine.

and forking leads to ______. ;-)

A little less conversation, a little more action

Taking Care of Buisness

Cabana for the day

Few Pics from Hawaii

Fourth of July at Hoakalei Country Club

Being silly at the grocery

Duke Kahanamoku statue in Waikiki

Pretty Palm

View from Diamond Head

Overdue Update...

There will be no excuses for not posting on the blog. I just need to do it and sometimes I forget. Wait, is that an excuse? My bad. ;-)

Here is a quick update on a few things...

Car

My car made it! Safe, sound, and extremely dirty! She, yes my car is a girl, was loaded to a truck, driven across the country, loaded onto a ship, sailed across the ocean and then unloaded at the docks. She spent a few days in customs before being delivered to the apartment.

Animals

Our beloved pets (well, some more beloved then others) are still in Kentucky. It didn’t make sense to try to move all three animals into our 2 bedroom apartment when not all of them get along with each other. It would have been a nightmare! Miss G might have killed us in our sleep. Seriously, she would have been pissed. So we are waiting until we move into our house. The other night Scott was sitting at the table and I was on the couch and we both realized that if the animals were here Virgil and Bob would be on my lap cuddling with me and each other. Miss G would be sitting staring at Scott mentally telling him, “It could be just you and me. Just get rid of them.” I really missed them. But the feeling quickly went away when I realized that we don’t have air conditioning and cuddling on the couch would not be any fun;-)

House(s)

We still have our house in New Jersey! Yup the sale in April fell through at the last minute and we are hoping for another sale to go through this week or early next week.

We have started the process of purchasing a house here in Hawaii - it is brand new construction and we should close on the house August 15.

Oh and here's a quick Baby-Belly Pic...

Making Hawaii Home...

While 99.9% of our stuff is somewhere floating to Hawaii we had to bring a few items to help make our temporary apartment more home-y

I must have a blanket, no matter the weather so of course I brought one. We also have to have books in our house. The red phone is from Scott's office in New Jersey, and of course pictures of Virgil;-)

A reminder of Paris - no matter where Scott goes Paris, KY and what he learned from there goes with him.

Mom mailed this to me one day in college and it has been in my bathroom since - I read it EVERY morning to help make me start my day better. (Mom cut it out of an egg carton)

The Top 10 Things We'll Miss About Jersey

10. The Fresh Bagels

9. The Mulligans

8. Going to NYC in the Spring, Fall & even Winter

7. Living in a cool place where people want to come visit (oh, wait... skip this one)

6. Ability to Pump Your Fist for any reason and not feel out of place

5. Cafe Alfredo's Slices (Buffalo Chicken for Scott, Cheese & Black Olives for Alex)

4. BROADWAY!

3. Three Words... Stuff. Yer. Face.

2. Our NJ, NYC & PA friends

and....

1. Not Pumping Your Own Gas

Island Move Movie Trailer

What happens when Scott is in New Jersey, but still on Hawaii Time and can't sleep.

Macbook Time...

(you will want to stop the music at the bottom of the page before playing, sorry)

Telling the Families

This is the story of how Scott and I told our families -

Scott and I knew we wanted to do something fun and memorable in telling our families we were having a baby. For my side this is grandbaby # 7. For Scott’s this is grandbaby # 1. So we wanted a fun story that can be retold over and over again.

Coming up with the plan -

We knew we were going to Kentucky for a weekend, we knew our families liked to eat, and we knew we wanted to tell everyone at the same time. We would have one shot at all of us getting together at the same time - Our traditional Sunday morning breakfast at Ramsey's.

We had hatched the plan about 2 weeks before we went to Kentucky - Scott went and had copies made of our first ultra-sound to give to everyone - the plan was going to work and be AWESOME!

The Plan -

We didn’t want to do anything to elaborate or complicated. Simple is better. We would all arrive at Ramsey’s for breakfast, try to figure out where everyone was sitting, wait on those who are late, and then before we order our food we would make the announcement. Simple!

What went wrong -

There is no doubt it is MY fault this plan fell through. We arrived in Kentucky on Saturday and went straight to Scott’s parent’s house to drop Virgil off before heading to my niece’s birthday party. As soon as we walked in - I looked at Scott and smiled. I don’t know what happened. I couldn’t hang out all day Saturday surrounded by my family and wait until Sunday at breakfast to tell them the news. There was NO way! I was too excited and too happy!

So after a mental debate between Scott and I (think Lilly and Marshal from How I Met Your Mother), he gave in, and we told his parents. Then in the car on the way to my niece’s birthday party we called my Dad to make sure he was going to be there - he said NO! So I ended up telling him over the phone. Then, my step-mom at the birthday party and my sisters Julie and Casey towards the end of the birthday party. There were only 3 people who we ended up sticking to the original plan - My brother and sister-in-law and Scott’s youngest brother. And the only part of the plan that we stayed with was that we told them at Ramsey’s on Sunday :-).

Moral of the story -

Calling an audible and being able to change your plans at the drop of a hat is one way to prepare you for parenthood. Well, that’s what I am telling myself anyway :-)

I'm What?!?!

Here is the story about how we found out I was pregnant -

On Wednesday February 9th I was having a pity party for myself because it was my birthday, Scott was in Las Vegas for work, and I was alone. I was looking at my calendar at work figuring out when Scott got home when I realize "um, I am a week late". For the next 4 hours at work I was trying to calculate how that couldn't be. I mean, I am horrible with math so, of course, I just added, subtracted, multiplied or divided wrong. Right?!?!? I was in complete and utter denial. I went home and ate a pint of ice cream for dinner. It was my birthday after all I could eat whatever I wanted! I was the same way on Thursday, trying to figure out how I had some how added the days up wrong - this continued through Friday afternoon. By lunch on Friday I decided that I would buy a pregnancy test after work. I would only have to know for a few hours, if I was or wasn't for a few hours before Scott got home.

Um no one ever told me how expensive pregnancy tests are! I decided that since I was going to pee on this thing and then throw it away I was getting the cheapest one I could find and if needed I would come back and get another kind if I didn't like the answer.

Took the test and before the 2- minutes were up the + sign showed up. Huh - I guess I am pregnant! And then Scott's plane gets delayed! Are you kidding me!?!?! So around 11:00 Scott walks in the door and both he and I are exhausted. We sort of talked and then went to bed. I didn't want to tell him when I knew he was tired (aka - hung over).

At 6:30 Virgil and I get up and go downstairs. I am telling Scott as soon as he wakes up! The longest 3. HOURS. LATER! I hear Scott get up and go into the bathroom. I run up the stairs and both Virgil and I jump in the bed, patiently, NOT, waiting on Scott to come out.

When he comes out I tell him that I need to tell him something - I am pregnant. He gets this goofy grin and says really? and I just shake my head yes because I start hysterically crying. And I mean, not able to breathe, sobbing, snot coming out my nose, face contorted crying! Scott was just hugging me saying he was happy.

Our First Final Four

After being apart for the past few weeks, Alex & I decided to take advantage of the Kentucky Wildcats’ Final Four run and make the trip to Houston. I vividly remember the past 3 UK Final Fours (1996, 1997 & 1998). I was in college and I thought… you know, it would be great to go one day. In fact, once I graduate, I’m going to the next one. Little did I know that it would take 13 YEARS for that to happen again. Of course, there was no way I was letting this chance pass by.

Obviously, it would be a great time seeing the Cats make a run at the Title, but more importantly, we would be able to see each other for a few days. So… I took the red-eye flight from Honolulu to Houston and Alex took the “Early A$$ Saturday morning flight” from Newark to Houston.

We took in the Semi-Final games on Saturday night (Go Butler…. Boooo UCONN). Ventured downtown to the Jamfest on Sunday to see Uncle Kracker & Kenny Chesney in concert and lastly cheered for Butler as they fought against UCONN on Monday night in the Finals.

Although the Cats weren’t able to bring it home, we were able to watch great basketball (at times), meet up with one of Alex’s good friends AND….. See Kenny Chesney in Concert.

All in All… Not a bad way to spend a few days with the best looking Kentucky Fan I know.

A lot Going On

It has been a busy couple of weeks in the McConnell house.

The weekend of February 25 Sheila, Bill T and Todd drove up to help Scott and I clean out our basement. The basement has been growing and growing with “stuff”. There were boxes from Scott’s move from his condo in Somerset and I found my ballet costumes from waaaayyy back (that was a fun box to open!). The weekend went by fast and to reward ourselves for all the hard work we had dinner Sunday night at Harold’s Diner. If you have never been or never heard of Harold’s look on Scott’s, Bill T’s, or my Facebook to see the HUGE deli sandwiches or the HUGE bowl of matza ball soup (my personal fav!). As a second reward Miss G and Bob hitched a ride back to Kentucky to stay at my Dad’s house. THANKS McConnell’s for coming to help get our basement in order and taking the cats to my Dad’s! THANKS Dad and Jill for watching Miss G and Bob!

With the basement and a few pieces of furniture removed Scott and I were able to focus on getting the house ready to put up for sale. On March 11 our house was officially on the market. (Anyone interested in a townhouse in Jersey?)

Also on March 11 we loaded up Scott’s car with Virgil and all his stuff and headed to Kentucky. We spent a great weekend in Kentucky with both families, ate at a few of our favorite places (shout out to Ramsey’s, Shamrock’s and Harry’s!), and caught up with a few friends. Virgil spent the weekend checking out his temporary digs (The McConnell’s house) and Scott and I cleaned out his car to leave in Kentucky to try to sell (anybody interested in a 2005 volvo? Call Scott!) Before we knew it we were flying back to NJ

Once back in New Jersey we did laundry as fast as we could and ran last minunte errands before we started to pack Scott up for his move to Hawaii. Tuesday was spent making sure the house clean and then back on a plane Wednesday to come to Hawaii.

Our apartment was not ready until March 20 so we stayed at the Hilton Vacation Resort. Its is so nice and pretty it was hard to leave. Sunday we spent at the apartment, shopping at Wal-Mart and Target (they sell wine, beer and liquor!) for supplies and Monday (today) we spent running a few more errands and grocery shopping. Oh, did I mention that Scott also had to work? Friday and Monday he had morning conference calls (5:00 am is a little early for me). Shew - we are exhausted but really excited. The apartment was bare and then we bought a few pillows, added some pictures from home, rearrged the furniture and it really looked much better. I think the only thing missing is me! I think Scott would say the only thing missing is Virgil ;-).

So I am sitting in the airport in Honolulu getting ready to board my flight back to New Jersey and I found I had a few mintues to type. Scott and I are excited and ready to both get out here and start our next adventure. It has been a busy few weeks and I am sure there will be more but being out here just makes us realize that this was an awesome choice for us...

Tempatures

Somerset NJ 35

Lexington KY 58

Honolulu HI 82

Believe the Skype!!!

As our (my) travels have increased over the past month, Alex & I have been spending more time apart than normal. So to help with seeing each other, we’ve turned to Skype. I know somewhere my work is screaming that Adobe Connect is the way to go, but right now Skype seems to be working great. I mean, come on, Oprah loves it (“Myyyyy Faaavvvoooorite Thiiiiiings!!!” **Oprah Voice**)…

Alex and I found that the time zone difference made it a bit challenging, but I was able to log-on early (very early) in the morning to chat with Alex. It allowed me to make sure Virgil is being taken care of too. I must say it eased the difficulty of being away to see Alex and the pets during the week.

Now don’t think that we’re only saving Skype for our conversations though. In fact, I’ve used it a few times to chat with Mom & Dad back home in Kentucky. And if you’re wondering how easy it is to use… Mom would attest to the fact that we got everything up and running in a matter of minutes. Finally, the true test of Skyping came this afternoon as Alex & I were able to chat with our friends Casey & Kelly Mudd (Muda & K. Muda). And by chat… I mean a 2-hour conversation that covered topics such as planning a Vegas vacation, our Hawaii move, the pets and even the final laps of the Daytona 500. There was even a rumor that Alex and Kelly have scheduled an Oscar Watch Party over Skype for next Sunday… stay tuned for more details on that.

So, we’ve found that regardless if you only want to quickly catch up or if you’re looking to critique celebrities on the Red Carpet… Skype is a great way to go.

Download, Log-on and join us… ScottyMc22 (me) & asilvergoose (Alex).

Check!

Scott and I crossed one more item off our New Jersey Bucket List! Sandwiches from RU Hungry Grease Truck. I ordered the Fat Cat and Scott ordered the Fat Darrel.

Fat Cat - Double cheese burger, french fries, lettuce, tomato, mayo and ketchup

Fat Darrel - Chicken fingers, mozzarella sticks, marinara sauce, and french fries

I can totally see why people LOVE these sandwiches. We overheard one girl say as she was leaving “time to go home, eat, and lay in bed all day” So true! Full belly nap is calling my name.

To give you an idea of what we just ate - I found this quote - "Dietitian Marcus Garand has pointed out the Fat Sandwich's general unhealthiness: a Fat Darrell, has about 1,718 calories, 143 grams of carbohydrates and 78 grams of fat. Garand stated, "This sandwich is like a nutritionist's worst nightmare. I couldn't figure out a way to make it any unhealthier. ... This is probably the unhealthiest sandwich you could ever devise."

But sooooo good!

Appointments, Appointments, Appointments

This week has been all about making appointments

Friday Bob and Virgil go to the vet to start their paperwork and blood work. Next Tuesday Miss G goes in for her appointment (we all know she has to have her own). And Wednesday I meet with the first of two Realtors.

Bob and Virgil together at the vet will be an adventure. They love each other but have completely different ride-in-the-car styles. Virgil - LOVES IT! Bob -not so much. I am sure many of you have heard me tell you the story of Bob on the ride to New Jersey when we moved here - for those who haven’t heard the story - Bob meowed the. whole. way. to. Jersey. People would call to check in and I would whisper or not answer because Bob would meow louder and more frequently. At one point Virgil stood on topof Bob’s cage, trying to will him to be quite. It did not work. It was the longest drive of my life.

And we all know why Miss G is on her own - she scares me

First Post

Well here is our attempt at blogging - we decided it was easier to start a blog to updated everyone on our move to Hawaii.

As of today -

Scott has cleaned out his side of the closet and I have started the blog. Not much progress but it is progress.

Monday Scott leaves for Las Vegas to attend the National Sales Meeting as a DSM! And I will be taking all the animals to the vet to begin the entry paperwork...

It is currently 34 in Somerset New Jersey and 68 in Honolulu Hawaii