Facie’s Ramblings

I took a vacation day yesterday. Things have been slow at work, so I figured I might as well take the day (even though I will probably want/need that day this coming school year when J has about a dozen, somewhat random, days off). J and I were finishing up a visit to my mom's, which included my adorable, but somewhat whiny and very good storyteller, nephew. I did a little cleaning and laundry at home, nothing too exciting. Mostly I was just glad to be off on a Monday because who likes Mondays? Except by "losing" my Monday yesterday, I got punched in the gut by Monday's evil sister, appearing on a Tuesday. It started off as it had for the last week, which was with a slight pain in my back from something (cyst maybe?) that I will now most likely need to have removed. Try not to visualize that too much. After I was nearly ready, I went in J's room to wake her up. I act as her snooze, which allows her to slowly awaken over a period of 5 to 10 minutes. During th...

Yesterday I took my dad and my kid up the incline so we could get a great view of the city. I ended up with some nice shots. I only wish I had thought to have brought my camera; the iphone does not do the view justice. Nice view of Heinz Field and the three rivers (mostly the Ohio and Allegheny) The edge of the Point, with Downtown and the Mon River Mostly the Point View of the Ohio and a little of Heinz Field The Ohio We ate at the Grandview Saloon, which I have not been to, I am guessing, since before J was born. We were fortunate that the waiter got this nice shot of the three of us with the view in the background. dad, J and I, with our fair city and a couple of rivers in the background (plus some random guy to my left) We also took a Gateway Clipper one-hour cruise, which allowed me to get a handful of nice city shots as well. View of Downtown from along the Mon River The Point from the Mon The Point from where the thr...

We had a fabulous vacation in Ocean City, Maryland, last week. I highly recommend doing a mini-week there if you are within six hours away. Being at the beach for seven nights is a bit much for us; my skin could barely take the four days we were there. And by staying just over half a week, we saved money, obviously. But I do admit I would have loved one more day. Food was an integral part of our trip. I love to eat. I really love to eat seafood, so I made sure that was part of every lunch or dinner. I also managed a tasty beverage with every lunch or dinner as well. That is part of what vacation is about. Here are a couple of pics of those: Delicious lobster bisque Strawberry blonde ale at brew pub on the boardwalk Steamed clams from Jonah and the Whale at the end of the boardwalk You gotta love shrimp in your bloody Mary. But the siracha-sauce soaked beans I could have done without! This was from the Crabcake Factory. On our way out of town the last morning, ...