Not a lame Blog Update (aka The Butlers take Manhattan)

I was accused of posting what was referred to as a "lame blog update" last time and vowed that I would not post again until I had something better to talk about.  So here you go Lorna, this is not going to be lame! 

Last weekend Philip and I took advantage of a free trip to NYC because I had to go for a class for my work.  We though we would kill 2 birds with 1 stone and go see my dad for a night before heading into the city for 4 days. 

On Saturday we flew into Newark and Dad and Rosemary were nice enough to drive through the ghetto to come pick us up.  We left Bermuda where it was sunny and 85 and landed in NY as the sun was going down and it was in the 50s.  Needless to say we were both cold (I realized that I had packed all of my winter stuff and left it at dads so I was wearing summer clothes with no coat!).  By the time we got to dads we were all hungry (because of course they don't even give you that little bag of pretzels any more on the planes!).  Knowing that we are not able to get good Mexican on the island dad took us to  Maya Cafe (oh yes, this blog is getting all sorts of fancy...click on that link!).  After dinner we headed back to dads house and it was like old times...Kelly, Ed and Mr. Norton came over with a couple 6 packs and we all sat around talking for hours.  It was a great start to our trip.  

Sunday started as Philip wishes everyday could...

...TARGET!  anyone who knows us knows how much we love our trips to target when we come home!  1 hour and $300 later we are all stocked up (for about a month!)  

After getting our retail fix we finally got to go see Kelly and Eds house! which we have been keeping on top of through Kelly's weekly blogs (Lorna, her updates are never lame so maybe you should flollow her!) It is amazing the amount of work they have put into it and are almost about to move into their dream house.  We could not be happier for them! 

Kelly and Ed (and Cman!) have missed us so much they decided to take the train with us to the city and hang with us.  This was Philip's first cho-cho train ride ever ( he has been in a subway, but that is so different!)

Philip at the Cold Spring stop on the Metro-North Hudson River line

Ed, Kel and Philip on the train

The train was so packed we were not able to sit together so Philip sat next to Ed so he could point out all the things along the way.  

We arrived in the city and got to the hotel The Carlyle Hotel which is right on E. 76th and Madison over looking Central Park!  It was a really nice hotel (but crazy expensive!) so we decided to venture out for some beers and dinner. Thanks to Kel's new iPhone and yelp we ended up at McKeowns and had a great dinner! (and some free shot from our waitress who may or may not have been preggers)

1st of many beers

Kelly, Ed and Cman decided to spend the night in our room with us (shhhhhhh, don't tell the hotel!) so we had a few bottles of wine and caught up a bit.  It seems it was all too much for Ed to handle....

....we lost sleeping beauty before midnight!

Monday started my 3 days of classes (boo!) so I was up and out the door at 7:30am.  

The rest of the group had an amazing day going down one side of Manhattan and up the the other side (check out Kelly's Blog for all of the fun details of their day) Here are some highlights of what they did while I was bored out of my mind....

Central Park Zoo

Cab ride

they Occupied Wall St!

Philip enjoyed a "liquid lunch"

they were awesome enough to get me a red velvet cheesecake!

We were sad to have to say goodbye to them but alas Cman had to go back to school and Kel and Ed to work on Tuesday.  We did try to talk them into staying, but reality called!

Philip and I decided to venture out in the chilly night to go get some dinner.  We found a really yummy place Uptown Lounge where they had really good food, but even better they had $6 wine by glass specials!  Needless to say we were there for a while.  Part way through dinner they had live music which was even cooler!  We had a really fun night together! (No those are not matching shirts!)

Tuesday I headed back to class and Philip relaxed in the hotel and caught up on some movies on the iPad.  He was nervous about going out in the city by himself (which he got over real quick after ordering a hamburger from service for lunch only to realize it cost $52!!!!!).

Tuesday night dad and Rosemary were going to come to the city and have dinner with us but sadly they both got sick and were not able to make it.  We went to see or friend Brendan Kelly who bar tends at Patrick Conways just outside of Grand Central on 43rd St.  We were able to see him before he got the train home which was great for us as we typically only get to see him once a year on vacation in OBX.  

I think we are starting to see a common theme in these pictures.. Philip with a beer in his hand!

That night we were trying to find a Chinese restuarant a guy in my class had told me about (another thing we can't really get on the island!) but were unsuccessful.  We were both starving and sick of walking so we decided to go into the next place we found.  As it turns out we eneded up in P.J. Clarks   which I came to find out:

For 125 years this venerable New York institution with its colorful history has entertained the famous, the infamous and everyone else who appreciate the ambiance and food of a real saloon. The pay phone is still "Out of Order", the broken cigarette machine remains broken, and the ashes of one of our favorite patrons, still reside behind the bar. Our little terrier faithfully watches "the joint" while P.J.'s famous jukebox plays Frank, Buddy and Sting. The wives' beer window stands open and anyone can say "So, set 'em, Joe" where Johnny Mercer penned "One for My Baby". Democracy reigns in the dining room as the newsmaker rubs shoulders with the CEO sitting next to the ironworker. We welcome you for another 120 years (at least) of good food, good drink and great conversation.

We had a great meal and over the top service.  I would defiantly go back and also recommend to anyone in the area! 

Philip and Bridget

Ed and I

Wednesday was our last full day in the city.  Philip actually did venture out to hit up a deli for lunch (saving us about $40!).  I finish up my final day in class and am proud to say I graduated!!  Not wanting to waste our last night in the city I touched based with an old friend Bridget from high school who had just returned to the city from her honeymoon.  Ed has been working in Queens so we asked if he wanted to come meet us for one last beer as well.  On the recommendation of another old friend (thanks Bud!) we went to Doc Watsons on 2nd Ave and  again it was a great pick!

It was a nice night (not too chilly) so we sat outside.  The service was pretty bad but the company and the food more than made up for it.  It was really nice to spend some more time with Ed (sorry Kel, we really missed you!) and to be able to catch up with Bridget since we were unable to make it to NY for wedding.  

This was our last night and it was a great way to finish up our trip.  The next day we were up early to catch our flight back to reality.  We left just in time as it was rainy and yucky when we got on the plane and snow was apparently not far behind!  

I just want to say a big thanks to everyone who made an appearance in this blog (except for Lorna!) for making our trip more than we could have ever imagined.  Philip has not spent much time in NYC and was blown away by all of the fun things he got to do.  We are looking forward to our next trip!

so Lorna......was it lame? 

I scream, you scream......Cool Licks!

Last Sunday, being the wonderful wife I am, I agreed to once again give up what it typically my only day off to hang out and help Philip on the ice cream truck.  Rest assured this does involve some negotiating before it happens.  The deal is I help on the truck and he has to take me out to dinner that night as payment.  Its really a win-win for both of us!

We were going to a block party in a very fancy neighbourhood on the other end of the island.  As it turned out it was a beautiful day....

...this picture does not really do it any justice (crappy blackberry camera!)  It was sunny and about 85 and the water looked magical it was so sparkly!

Philip is a very cautious driver, which is a good thing, but at times he may go a bit too slow for the locals.  As you can see, this guy did not want to wait....

Once we got there, we switched spot and I took over the drivers seat (sucker!)

and Philip went to the back of the truck to start making the little kids (and the big kids) happy....

It was a pretty lame party for most of the day, but I got to read a lot of my book so that kept me busy.  Plus I also had this amazing view all day, you can't really complain too much can you?

I would like to say this weekend is going to be much of the same, but Hurricane Ophelia is going to be our visitor on Saturday as a category 2 storm!  We will keep our fingers crossed that there is not too much damage to the island.

One Crazy Week!

Here is your warning before you start to read this...its going to be a long one!  After taking a few weeks off I have a lot to update you on.....

So the past few week have been pretty crazy here (hence the blog title!).  We will go back to Thursday August 25th  when I finally got my own ride (fool!) ....

I am still learning how to ride it and with Philip being the stickler he is, he will not let me go out alone until I have my license.  So far I have not crash into anything, so that's pretty good I think.  The funny thing is when you see my bike next to Philips, mine looks like a little dwarf bike as it is about half the size as his.  We have mama bike and papa bike outside our house now!

Friday August 26th was a very sad day.  I had to say good bye to my only friend at Tucker's Point, Sacha.  She had to leave to go and freeze her butt off at school in Canada.  I now have no lunch buddy here at the hotel :( and being that she was the only person keeping me sane, I am well on my way to crazy now!

But then on August 28th was a Sunday to kick off an amazing week which is going to be very hard to top with all the fun (and alcohol) that was had!  Philip and I were invited to our good friends Kim and Chris house for a family BBQ to kick off their wedding week!  We met a ton of amazing and fun people from all over the world and ate really great food.  We continued the fun the next night on a Sunset cruise around the island with them....(see glamour shots below)

don't we look like we belong on a boat?!?! We finished that night with Dinner at Water Lot which is an amazing steakhouse here at the Fairmont.

Tuesday was a recovery day, and was much needed for Wednesday as that was the wedding day! I am sad to say that the wedding was supposed to be on the beach but due to our friends Irene and Jose  (hurricanes) the ceremony was held inside.  Then we had the most out of this world 7 course dinner followed by dancing and a hang over!



Kim and Chris on their big day!

 Again we got the opportunity to spend some more time with both of their families and have managed to get ourselves invited to go visit Kim's parents in Halifax (which we plan do doing ASAP!)

Philip with Joy (Kim's mom)

One would think this was enough fun for one week, but not the Butler's.  We decided to top it all off with a visit from Lorna (or as Philip calls her "the little one").

The weekend kicked off with us spening about 30 mins standing outside the airport wondering where she was, I finally got a phone call from Immigrations, they had her and were not letting her go.  Just kidding!  Turns out she forgot my address so once I very kindly gave it to them, they held her for about another 30 mins  and then finally released her.  Philip and I both expected to see here walking out in cuffs, but to our surprise she managed to keep her temper in check and was released on her own free will!

Since this was her second visit she had decided she was no longer a guest and therefore set a whole list of rules about what we would and would not be doing.  Of course anyone who knows me knows well enough knows that if you tell me I can't do something I am going to do it just out of spite!  One of these stupid rules (along with walking on the opposite side of traffic and switching glasses when you switch grapes) was that we could not go to bars drinking unless they are the bar Philip works at while Philip is working.  This resulted in Lorna breaking my fridge while trying to get more drinks out of it.  Next time, we go to the bar!

The day she arrived was the annual Sand Castle Sculpture contest so we  had fun watching them building while we relaxed and drank beers!

See Lorna's legs above for a preview of what you will see in a pic below of her lobster legs!  It seems it does not matter how high the SPF, her skin is resistant to it!

Lorna wearing her Bermuda Shorts!

Thanks to the impending Hurricane Katia which was heading our way we were able to enjoy some massive waves and spent a lot of the afternoon in the water alternating between jumping them and getting "bitch slapped" by them.  Mostly it was my jumping and Lorna getting slapped.  And being that this is my blog and not hers, I will leave out any stories that may involve myself and the little red thing the lifeguards carry!  

Sunday was basically a repeat of Saturday, resulting in.....

Monday Philip had the day off so we decided to do some touristy things so when Lorna is talking to people about coming to Bermuda she can say that she has seen more than just Cafe Cairo!  We started with lunch at Swizzle Inn (the original, not the crappy one)

Lorna was a trooper and drank her share, but doesn't really like rum too much so didn't actually drink enough to swagger out as the saying goes. 

Since she is "the little one" she was not tall enough to get her head through the circle so we settled for a waving hand instead!

Then we took a ride to St. George's which is a cute little town past the airport.  There are a bunch of shops and stuff, none of which were open because it was a holiday (island living!).  There is also an old set of schakles that Philip enjoyed being able to lock both of us in!

Sadly the next monging Lorna had to leave to go back to boston and I had to return to a Sacha-less office.  It has taken me about a week to recover from all fo the fun which is one of the reasons why it has taken me so long to get to this blog!  My apologies for the delay....hope it was worth the wait!

P.S. Sacha I hope you enjoyed the shout outs! 

P.P.S. Lorna now you can stop bitching that James was in the blog and you weren't

P.P.P.S James you are still my bestie!!

Irene who.....??????

So while everyone along the eastern seaboard is eagerly awaiting the arrival of Irene, here in Bermuda we are expecting a beautiful weekend! It is very ironic (cue alanis morissette)  to me that  it was just about a year ago today that I was in Boston anxiously tracking hurricane Dawn who was making here way here to Bermuda with concerns for Philip.  Flash forward 1 year and here I am sitting in Bermuda worried about everyone I love from VA to NY to Boston (....and even now my new bestie in RI....that was for you Lorna!).  I hope that everyone is safe and is able to weather this storm with little or no damage.

In the meantime, I have once again made my way off the rock for a few days.  Last weekend I took a quick trip to Boston for a few days leaving Philip here living like a bachelor (basically that means he ate frozen pizza and fell asleep on the couch in front of the tv).

The weekend picked up right where it left off for me leaving Boston....



happy hour at Solas

  ....Happy Hour!!   These are the very yummy and way too easy to suck down Sangria's at Solas.  They were my friends while I waited for Lorna to finish her day so we could get to the real happy hour that was already in full swing across town....



happy hour at Whiskey Priest

 are you seeing the theme yet?  We made it there only about an hour later than expected (which for Lorna is almost early!) and I got to see some of my peeps who I miss a whole bunch including Bridgey, Christine and Tom (also known as 51%!) and to my surprise some of my friends from Morton's were there as well.  All in all it was a really fun night!

Lorna and I spent the day on Saturday doing all the things I miss about Boston.  We went to Joe's for lunch, which really was just their bread that I love to eat.  Then we went and got manis/pedis really cheap where Bridgey met up with us again and after that we headed to Stephanies for the yummy Grapefruit Drinks (gray hounds) that they are kind enough to serve to me in pint glasses!

Saturday night began with me meeting my new bestie....




my new bestie James

 we had every intention of going to Howl at the Moon, but when we got there there was already a line out the door and around the block and anyone who knows me that when going out there are 2 things I never do....wait in line and pay a cover.  Lord knows there are more than enough bars in Boston that it is just not necessary!  So we ended up at Ned Divine's and then the Harp which I had never been too.  We had a ton of fun and much to Lorna annoyance, James and I are now officially BFF!  
Sunday morning began as I think every morning should....

wouldn't life be so much better if this is how everyday was? And then continued into shopping, again the way every day should!  I was armed with a very long list of items that I needed/wanted to get while in town.  This would be a good time for me to mention Lorna hates to shop, so she was not pleased to see my list at all.  We headed to South Bay Ghetto and I was able to get my spending on, to all my fellow Americans I did a lot to stimulate your economy last weekend, you are welcome!
Once the shopping was over we decided we needed to rest a bit before heading back out to celebrate our friend Jen's birthday at the Beer Garden.  Then it was up early Monday morning to catch my flight back to the rock. 

It was an awesome weekend that my liver will not be recovering from anytime some!  I am very much looking forward to my next trip back there. 

So I hope that everyone is safe this weekend and get through this storm without any issues.  We will be thinking of all you!

events on the island

The summer has been full of events that I have never had the opportunity to attend while living her before.  Typically I would either be off island at OBX with the fam or working because as we all know people just love to get married on the weekends!  Thanks to having to be back on island to work a wedding, I left OBX early but was able to attend the Non-Mariners Race with Philip. 

Let me start with an explanation of that week.  Every year there is a 2 day (Thursday and Friday) holiday here in Bermuda called Cup Match.  It is basically a big cricket game between 2 different parishes on the island.  Everyone is off from work and either goes to watch the game or spends time with friends and family.  A lot of the locals will camp out for the weekend on the beaches so as you are driving down the road all you see are these big tent communities and people all over the place!  So that's Thursday and Friday.  Saturday is just a normal day.  Then on Sunday is Non-Mariners Race.  Everyone (and I do mean most of the island it seemed) gathers at Mangrove Bay to watch  this race.  Being that it is non-mariners the rules are it has to be a homemade "boat" with no engine.  We watched from the parking lot inside the ice cream truck.  But hundreds of people all tie their boats together and watch from the water.  The whole event is kicked off with a big pipe and drum parade....dressed in drag! (and other outfits)



that person in the pink hat is a man, man!



As you can see in the background there are a ton of boats in the water and the number just increased as the day went on.  All in all it was a fun day  Next year I would like to be on of the people on the boats as opposed to working!

The next event was yesterday and it was the round the island boat races.  It is exactly like it sounds...speed boats race around the perimeter of the island.  Philip and I went and parked the ice cream truck by the airport where the star/finish line is.  It was a hot day and very good for selling ice cream!  I did get to see the boats take off and come back from the truck so it was pretty cool.  I did not have as good of view as these guys though.....

...those would be the steps that are used for people to get on and off the planes at the airport.  I really hope they have more than one because about 5 plans landed while these guys were up there watching!

Today's event...Tropical Storm Gert!

Thank you

I just wanted to start with a very big thank you to everyone who supported Kelly and I on the walk.  Thanks to all of you we were were able to reach our $4600 goal!!  and I believe we even exceeded it.  That is just awesome. 

Now this is where I was going to post a bunch of pictures and tell you all about the walk but as we all know the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry (I sound so smart, don't I???).  This was the case last weekend.  I landed at JFK on time (no thanks to my brother-in-law who I believe just didn't want to see me leave the island and did everything he could to make me try to miss my flight) and when I turned my phone one found I had a bunch of messages from Kelly.  I called to find out that her brother-in-law had suffered a brain aneurysm and was on his way by ambulance to Albany Med. I am very saddened to say that he did not survive.  Kelly and I made the decision together that it would be best to forgo the walk and spend time with our families.  Kelly headed to Albany and I headed to VA to my sisters.  As it turned out that was the weekend that my family heads to the Outer Banks, NC for a week every year.  So I made a quick trip to Target since I had packed for walking and not vacationing and rode 9 hour with my dad and his GF to Williamsburg, VA.  Upon arriving there and seeing my nephews for the first time in 6 months I realized that they are starting to look more like adults (at ages 9 and 7) then kids! 



Ryan



James



  The next day it was back in the car for a 4 hour drive to our home away from home in OBX.....

I was able to spend a very relaxing (and alcohol filled) 4 days with my family and 17 of our vacation buddies.  In total we had 10 adults and 14 kids ranging in age from 9 down to 7 months.  We spent the days alternating between the beach and the pool and beer and tequila punch.  While I was there I was tracking the walk that was still taking place in Boston and due to the extreme heat it was cancelled both Friday and Saturday.  They were experiencing heat index's of up to 115 degrees.  Knowing that no one was walking made me feel a less guilty about not being there. 

I was excited to be able to spend James' half birthday with him which is celebrated every year.  The little girl next to him is Madison and it is almost her half birthday as well.  There is a cake and hats every year!

Although I was sad to miss the walk, I was beyond ecstatic to be able to unexpectedly see my family who I have not seen since Christmas last year and did not expect to see again until Christmas this year.  It breaks my heart still to think about Kelly and her family and what they are going through.  And it makes me really appreciate the extra days I got to spend with mine.  Who wouldn't want to hang out with them....

ok, I know Krys is going to kick my a** if I don't post the nice one too.....

So thank you again to everyone who supported us and Kelly and I look forward to start begging for money for next years walk very soon!  In the meantime, please keep she and her family in you thoughts, they need that support the most right now.