As promised...

After three days of steady snow and about 18 inches on the ground, the storm has passed. It was nothing short of unbelievable. Below are a few pictures from the weekend -- including the annual Murphy Family Christmas Party (we missed you Melissa!).







Next up.... LONDON!

Waiting

With all the rain in recent weeks, I had just about given up on seeing any large quantities of the white fluffy stuff before 2009. I have yet to see any flakes out my office window, but the skies are ominously gray, and my co-worker just announced to our pod that the storm hit the 128-belt only minutes ago. The weather channels are predicting heavy snow beginning this evening lasting into the wee hours of Saturday morning, and a snow emergency went into effect at 9am this morning. Schools were canceled across the board and companies are granting early dismissal to their employees. Although many people dread this kind of Nor'eastah, as a devoted patron of public transportation, I just look forward to the peaceful lull that nearly every winter storm brings. Three cheers for the first real snow of the season!

(I'll be sure to post some pics tomorrow -- the one used in this post is from 2007 and is not mine)

In a Fog

We have had three days of very dense fog overnight and most of each morning (luckily no golf delays though). I alerted Colleen to use her fog lamps on the way to school, and to make sure she turned them off when she parked so the car battery wouldn't die. This happened to Melissa in high school and she had to wait for AAA and miss crew practice while the battery recharged. Anyway, I went to a holiday party last night, a cookie exchange where no cookies were exchanged, but some alcohol was consumed. Got up this morning and low and belold my car wouldn't start! Yes, I left my fog lamps on all night and I had no power. AGH. Called Mercedes to come jump my car and found out that my smart car has two batteries, one for the engine and one for the extra stuff. If I used the key fob to start the car and not the keyless start, the car should and indeed did, start! Yeah! I learn something new all the time.

Not having dad around every day has forced me to be somewhat self sufficient in troubleshooting problems that I usually left to him. He probably has found the same thing true as well. I'll be glad when we are back living together every day and we can revert to our own realm of expertise!

What is wrong in this world?

Just read a very small piece in the local paper about the American, a terminally ill 59 year old former computer scientist from Chicago, who recently committed suicide on British TV with his wife by his side. He wanted to lessen the pain and suffering of himself and his family since he was going to die at some point anyway. Apparently he made this decision in 2006 and created a documentary concerning his decision. I don't judge the family decision to end his life, who can say how one would react in the same circumstances. However, why is everyone jumping on the band wagon to put this stuff on TV and/or the internet? Why do people need or even want to watch this sad event? Does everyone need and want 5 minutes of fame? I guess this is just another sign that I am getting older and the generation gap is getting bigger. I really question what direction our world is going in; it seems like it is backwards. Backwards to medieval times and before when it was sport to watch hangings, killings, etc.

Ideas for Londontown

One of my co-workers lived in London for a while and had the following suggestions for our visit:

• Portrait Gallery
• Ben's Cookies
  
• War Museum
• Cambridge/Oxford (day trip if we have time)
• British Museum and Reading Room
• Greenwich
  
• The Globe Theatre
• Kew Gardens - Richmond
• Portobello Road
• Camden for outdoor shopping
• He also suggested two Curry Houses (I thought maybe we could supplant the Chinese Food on Christmas Eve with some good London Curry):
• Khan's (Typical curry house in Bayswater)
  
• Rasa Samudra (all Fish, near Forrester's London office)

Counting down - only two weeks from today until I leave :)

Winter Formal 2008

At last the long awaited Winter Formal pictures! Before the pics though you have to hear my rant. I know winter formal is not at all about the parents, but what a night I had. Jim, Em, and Mel will appreciate this. First we (Colleen and I) had to pick up the fire pit from Sarah's house (at the beach) for the after party. We drove to Veronica's (in Mandarin) to drop it off and pick up some of the kids in Colleen's group. The group was huge, 40 some kids. We drove to Timaquana Country Club (on the other side of the river) for pictures. This is a beautiful country club overlooking the St. John's river with magestic views of downtown Jax. However, it was dark out so don't know why we had to go all the way there, anyone's house with Christmas decorations would have done nicely. It was totally chaotic at TCC, there was another huge group of kids taking pictures as well, juniors (ack, seniors cannot be seen with juniors) and they had a party bus, totally cool. Obviously a parent was involved in planning that group. Then we had to carpool to Five Points. Two limos were picking up the group after their dinner at a restaurant there. The idea being it would be cheaper; good intention, bad plan, too much driving. I think it was a wash. Anyway, back through downtown and out to the beach. I met up with Robyn and Randy Riegler at Ruth's Chris for a much needed glass of wine and some dinner myself. As you young people know, it is a lot of organizing, preping, driving, and they only stayed at the dance for 30 minutes. That's right 30 minutes! One more dance to go....prom!

Okay, here are the pics. Everyone looked great and they all said they had a fun time. Which is, afterall, the point!

Colleen and her date - Bradley. (Melissa, note
the sneakers.)

Mel and her date, Shubert with Colleen and Bradley.

The Farn Family (aka Fearsome Foursome), Haley, Colleen, Mel, and Sarah.

Group Shot

College Bound

Good news!! Colleen had her first acceptance for college today from Florida State Univ (FSU). Jim and I are so proud and hope that this will be the first of many!

This Chicken'z Got Skillz

Turkey Day to Christmas Cheer

What a beautiful weekend of family togetherness, sunny weather, and good eats! However, Melissa was sorely missed by all of us. Here are the two girls out back before dinner. Yes, Mel, Em raided your closet for something to wear as she only brought jeans and I wanted turkey day attire.





I cooked a 18 lb turkey with all the trimmings and I baked apple, pecan, and pumpkin pies. The crust was particularly flaky this year, always a plus. I almost think we only need the turkey to cook the stuffing in as all the sides were eaten by Sunday, but the turkey is still left! We did a little shopping on Black Friday, took several long walks (always a tradition in the Kerrick household), played a little golf (dad golfed a lot), played Scrabble, had mani/pedis and took in the new xmas movie Four Christmases. Our take was a little over the top in places, but silly. Alas, Turkey Day has come and gone; Colleen and I are home alone once again. Dad, Em, and Grammie are back at their respective homes. Here I am at the end of the day...... exhausted!

The fall decorations are all packed away and I have begun decorating for the Christmas and New Year holiday. Melissa, I am missing your help in setting up and decorating the tree!!! I turned the topiary xmas lights on this evening and it looks festive already. Only 3 short weeks until our London getaway!!

Ciao Bella's!

Last week was SPRING BREAK, wooooo!!! Well, it was more like Fall Break.... but you get the picture. Two of my friends from London and I went to Italia for the week. We left Friday night...

 (no Halloween for us ergo no cute costume pictures... Colleen, you need to post yours fyi)

...and flew to Milan. Got in late that night, had to walk around in the rain to find our hotel... not the best start, but the next day was gorgeous and we had a great time exploring the city. On Sunday we went to Lake Como, GORGEOUS, I bought a house. No George Clooney sightings which was a shame, but it was still great. Then Monday morning we got up at 3am so we could catch a bus to the airport to catch our flight to ROMA at 6. Rome was amazing. The Pantheon is still my favorite sight, it is SO COOL!!! Its hard to believe that so much of Rome was built SO long ago... its ancient. We stayed at this great hotel where we met up with another one of our friends from London. Did 3 days of hard core sightseeing and on Wednesday night took a train to Florence where we relaxed until Saturday. All in all it was a great vacation, a little hectic at some points and I was definitely ready to come back to London where I didn't have to live out of a suitcase and knew the language. But I am for sure going to miss the food and wine!

So now Im back in London, back to the daily grind (which isn't so bad when your in london!!!), looking forward to Yoli's visit next weekend, Thanksgiving, and a few day trips out of the city (Stonehenge, Bath, and Brighton). It's getting cold and today we are going to see the lights turn on on Oxford Street, YAY Christmas season! I've already started listening to my music... too soon???

MISS YOU, xoxo Mel.

Fall Fun

Kevin and me at the "To The Max" charity event

Octopus for Halloween!

At the BC football game!

Colleen Goes Low

Well Colleen and I are pooped!! We just arrived home from three days at the Golf State Championship in Lakeland, Florida. Lakeland is a very cute small town about 20 miles northeast of Tampa, 3 hours or so from PVB. They played at The Club at Eaglebrook, a very nice, but difficult course surrounded by, surprise, lots of lakes! Target golf at its best. She was spectacular shooting 85 on day one in windy, temps in the 40s to start and the temp didn't rise about 63* but felt colder because of the windchill, difficult conditions. That 85 included one birdie, a 7 and a 9, so really good playing. That was her career round low for a tournament ...... until day two when she shot 82!! What a star! The conditions were cold, 39* to start, but sunny and no wind. She had a chip in birdie on hole 9 and was just steady all day. The team finished in fifth place (out of around 18 or so teams). Each team consists of 5 players and the top 4 scores from each team are counted. Overall, Colleen finished in the top half of the field which is a huge accomplishment. I'm so proud of the way she finished up her senior golf season! GO COLLEEN!!

Lakeland was a really cute town. I stayed with a few other golf parents at a boutique hotel, The Terrace Hotel, in the downtown area. It overlooked a beautiful lake that had a promonade around it with gardens and a place where they hold concerts in warm weather. It was within walking distance to some good restaurants and the hotel had a fabulous restaurant where we ate dinner after round one. I would say the only downfall was that it was near the train tracks and it seemed like a train went by every 2 hours all night long! So, if you are a sound sleeper, great, but for me, not so great. These 3 days marked a milestone for me as a parent, my last school sporting event! Enjoy the pics.

Quick Update.

So I don't have a ton of time to chat/blog. BUT here are some photos of my AWESOME trip to Leeds Castle, the Dover Cliffs, and Canterbury. SO pretty!

Madrid, Edinburgh, and more London

My passport has been getting A LOT of action these past few weeks...

Two weekends ago, I spent a few days in Madrid, Spain, visiting my roommate Yoli. She is studying in Espania this semester and invited me down to stay with her and her 70 year old host parents. It was a great trip, SO beautiful and different from anywhere I had ever been. Spain has been at the top of my traveling list for a while now, so I am very happy that I got to experience it. 

Yoli's host family was so friendly and accommodating despite the language barrier (they don't speak any English and I don't speak any Spanish... it was interesting). The Senora made us lunch and dinner everyday, it was so interesting (and delicious) to have real spanish cuisine. It seems like Yoli is having a blast in Spain. I can't wait for her to come up and visit London in November!

Last weekend, two of my girlfriends and I traveled up to Edinburgh, Scotland for a little girls trip. What a weekend. Edinburgh is so different from London. Everything is extremely old (or at least old looking) and green! It was a very managable size so I feel like I really got to experience the whole city. I flew up late friday night, and saturday we did a walking tour of the city, went to Holyrood Palace (which is where the Queen stays when she visits), and went on a ghost tour at night. Then on Sunday we toured Edinburgh Castle and went on the Scottish Whiskey Experience before we flew back to London. We even tried Haggis, a traditional Scottish dish of Sheeps liver, heart, and lungs mixed together and boiled in the Sheeps stomach.... needless to say, we didn't finish it. But hey, we tried! It was a great, but very busy, vacation.

Despite my love of traveling, it is great to be spending a weekend in London. I can't get enough of this city, there is just SO much to see. On Wednesday's and Thursday's I have only one class which is over before 11, so I've taken to exploring on those days during the week. Usually I have some sights to go visit for my Architecture of London course so I will go see those then explore the area around them. Yesterday I found this great vintage shop next to a church I was supposed to visit. They are selling real fur rabbit coats for 69 pounds.... I might be making a return visit (mom?).... haha. 

I miss everyone bunches and can't wait to share the city with you when you come to visit. I have a few things lined up that I want to do (ice skating at the tower of london anyone?). I also really want to look into getting tickets to a show (Im thinking Wicked) sometime soon. I think it would make for a nice evening. Hope everyone is doing great up in Boston and down in Florida!

xoxo, mel.

Can we get some authority please?

Revolt of the Nihilists

This op-ed from The New York Times' David Brooks came out a few weeks ago, but I keep coming back to it. We are in the midst of an exciting, volatile, and historical time. Regardless of who is elected president next month, we are in dire need of some real authority - political and economic alike. What we have and have had isn't working, and I feel strongly that change is imperative.

As a nation we have lost a sense of "community" that was at one time representative of what it meant to be an American - high-powered execs and politicians are skimming off the top (even in the face of bankruptcy and the federal bailout, AIG spent 400K on an executive retreat), hostile bipartisanship threatens the effectiveness of our state and national leaders, and everyone is concerned only with number one -- themselves. Where is the unifying thread? The sense that we are all in this together?

I'm not sure that we have hit rock bottom yet, but I believe that as we navigate, and eventually overcome, these economic, social, and political crises, our nation desperately needs some authority in order to emerge hopeful, strong and united.

One Hot Chick

Smart, sophisticated, professional, sexy, ........

My new do!

I got my hair cut today and made (what I think) is a pretty drastic change. I asked for a "hipper" do and this is what I got:



Thoughts?

Full Circle

About 31 years ago dad and I fell in love, married, and started a life together in Boston. We have now officially come full circle, today dad started his new job at Fidelity Investments and we are moving back to Boston! It has been a tumultuous year of soul searching, tough decision making and we are both excited and looking forward to this next opportunity. It will be fun to live in the city and to be able to spend more time on MVY! We moved into the corporate apartment yesterday and it is so nice. The view is spectacular of the harbor and nearby buildings from both the living space and the master and second bedroom. We need binoculars to check out the goings on in the buildings nearby. A bit noisier than expected, the motorcycle at 11:00 pm and the police and/or ambulance sirens seem right out the window, sound travels up. I am looking forward to having all five of us in Boston in December. I have spent the past 15 minutes trying to put these pictures into some tye of pattern to no avail. It is what it is! Enjoy.

Touched Down in London Town

So this has been a long time coming, but I am FINALLY in London, and FINALLY getting around to telling you guys about it....

I got here last Saturday and am SO in love. Im living in a dorm at Queen Mary University with 5 other kids (one american girl, one slovakian girl, and three british boys) who are all so very nice. In our hall of the building there are about three other flats and we have all been hanging out. Its like freshman year ALL over again. The school puts the international students on halls with "regular" first year students which has been really cool. Its a little wierd being so much older than everyone but I think it will go back to normal once classes really start because everyone will be on campus. This past week has been 'Freshers Week', which is like our orientation (except of course with legal drinking, there are like 3 or 4 bars on campus). We've all been going out every night and I think that it is starting to wear on me. Its been exploring the city during the day (today we went to Covent Garden and Bank Street to go shopping, but we've just been doing the whole tourist thing) then coming back to the flat, making dinner, and going out around 830/9 (everything here starts SO early). But its been a TON of fun, lots and lots and lots of dancing (which of course, I LOVE!)

Classes start Monday, which will be nice. Im ready to have a bit more structure in my life. I think that next weekend Im going to fly down to Madrid to visit Yoli. I can't wait. I miss her SO much.

Miss you guys! More to come.

xoxo, Mel.

These are the Best Days of our Lives...

Given that Colleen has just submitted her first application and will be in the midst of applying to schools for much of the fall, I found this NY Times article very relevant:


Don't Worry, Be Students
"Fear and loathing pave the road to college. But ask recent graduates to reflect on their experience, and they advise kids to forget rankings, chill out and get ready to savor the best years of their lives."

I'm sure both Melissa and I can attest to the fact that regardless of what happens during the application process (rejections/acceptanes alike), it's up to you to make your college years count. Get involved early and enjoy the ride. Congrats on the first step Bean!

Blogging 101

I have recently been chastised for not blogging more frequently. This stretches me mentally, but I will try. I think it might help if I perused other blogger sights. I have found one that I find particularly amusing called Mrs. Blandings. I found it quite by accident when I was researching decorators for our new KC digs several weeks ago. I have it in my favorites and check it quite regularly. I also read about another one I am going to check out written by a previously single mom from Jacksonville called singlemomland. Not that I am anything like a single mom, but I find the nations trend towards unmarried motherhood quite complex and perplexing and it is another reminder of the generation gap that seems like it has snuck up on me now that I am in my 50s. That's as deep as it is going to get today.








I am off to the airport to send Mel on her way to London and her new adventure! She is excited but nervous as she knows no one in her particular program. I am surprised that she is nervous because she has done this so many times before with great success. I know she will be fine and the fam will be joining her in December for an xmas getaway.

Openning season for golf was yesterday. We played a scramble, my team came in second ($15 in the pro shop for dad!) and I won the closet to the pin contest and a sleeve a pink golf balls. The luncheon was delicious and I am looking forward to the season.

Dad arrives home tonight for the 3rd weekend in a row. Ike will be in KC over the weekend, and PVB is going to be sunny and hot and humid. A much better place to be. So far, once again, PVB and Jax have been spared the worst of hurricane season. I hope in KC we will be in the same position to escape the worst of tornado season.



Colleen was esctatic yesterday as she turned in her first college application to FSU. Today she is applying to UConn. She is a busy beaver.

Off the ROCK

Hey guys, so I am off the island! I left Monday afternoon with two of my friends (Alden and Josh) and made it to Boston and Emily's GIGANTIC apartment with out any problems.

I can't even believe what an amazing summer it has been, and as sad as I am for it to be over I cant not wait for what lies ahead (yay London)!

I got into the city last night and went to dinner with Emily, Kevin, Alden, Josh, and Emily then back to the Em's mansion to unpack a bit and go to bed. The place is awesome, super huge, great location, and very nice. Emily is so lucky. Today I woke up, got some coffee, then met Emily for lunch over by MIT. What a cool looking campus, very Tech... After lunch I made my way over to Newbury street to do some shopping. No trench coat yet, but I think Im going to go back tomorrow. Cant do everything in one day. Tonight I'm planning on meeting up with a friend from the island.

After Boston Im off to Duke for the weekend, then Home. The weather up here is gorgeous, no humidity and sun sun sun. So, Im not really looking forward to the dampness that waits for me back at school but I cant wait to return to the South.

Talk to everyone soon!!!!

Love xoxo.

Moody Moving Blues

Well folks, September 1st is less than 24 hours away -- the day Bostonians pack up their moving trucks and shift around the city. For those smart enough to stay in their current apartments, Labor Day weekend usually means a long weekend anywhere outside of the city, but for me it's going to be quite, well, laborious. Things are already underway on White Place since we have to be "out" by midnight tonight (the literal beginning of September 1). However, the new tenants can't move in until tomorrow morning, so we are going to crash on air mattresses in our soon to be empty living room.

I have recruited a few strong friends -- the American Gladiators were busy -- to help me carry the heavy stuff (read: all of it). Aunt Nancy sprained her ankle last week so this might be the first time in 5 years that she will not be a part of my move. Melissa is going to be heading to Boston a day early, and as long as traffic isn't too bad, I'll have an extra set of hands/expert design eyes. I'll post some pics of the new digs next week. Perhaps next year I will be one of the lucky ones who gets to relax on their Labor Day long weekend!

Working Hard or Hardly Working?

I spent the past weekend on the vineyard with Melissa and Kevin. What a great way to relax before starting the new job! With two warm and sunny days, we had a hard time pulling ourselves away from the beach. It was just so nice to be down on the island again. I'm not sure there is any other place in the world where I feel so at ease.

On Sunday, Kevin and I stopped at the Eck's to say hi. They were in the process of getting the pekes ready for their annual trek Good Dog Goods in Oak Bluffs -- on bikes. Scooter and Sully were outfitted for the old bike trailer and looked hilarious. Apparently last year Scooter kept trying to push his head through the Velcro enclosure and Kerri was worried that he would fall out. Kevin really took a liking to Scooter. The Eck's are also having a "Peke Pen" built in Braintree so the boys can spend more time outside.

I made it back to Boston in time to get all of my paperwork in and get to bed early. So far I have had a great experience with Forrester. Everyone I met during my day-long orientation today was so friendly and eager to answer any questions we had. They had everything set up for us, so I got my email, phone extension, badges, and laptop right off the bat. I already had 35 emails and am booked up for meetings through the end of the week. There are no offices in the building -- we work in "pods" instead to foster communication and efficiency. Even George F. Colony works in an executive pod. There are fooz-ball and ping-pong tables in the cafeteria and most of the associates I met were around my age or a little bit older. It feels strange to be starting over again, but I am looking forward to establishing myself and all of the opportunities this venture will provide.

At the end of September I will be participating in "Starting Blocks," Forrester's global corporate training program. They fly in new hires from all of their offices for three days, and we will get an in depth explanation of the company's history, values, mission, and best practices. One of the days we will even have lunch with George F. Colony (GFC) and the rest of the executive team - so yes Dad, I will get to meet the CEO.

Here are some pictures from the weekend. Enjoy!

Driving over the Bourne Bridge

Biking to South Beach

Melissa and I

Kevin making friends with Scooter

The girls ready to bike with the Pekes