Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Making a change...

Well, I've decided to sell my house, so it looks like I won't have to paint the guest room and office, which is on my list. Since I don't want it to be "31 in 32", I'm going to replace it with "sell the house". :) I will be painting some trim this weekend to get the house ready for showings, so at least paint is still involved in some way!
I haven't submitted an idea to an education magazine yet, but I did submit something to "Real Simple" magazine. If it gets published, it TOTALLY counts and I will cross that off my list! :)

Sunday, October 18, 2009

An Apple a Day...




I had a GREAT time apple picking in Mexico, NY with my family yesterday! We decided to meet at Behling's Orchard around 11:00am. The drive up was beautiful-- the sun was shining through the trees and the bright oranges, yellows and reds of the leaves stuck out against a clear blue sky. It was about 45-50 degrees, perfect sweater weather and perfect for apple picking!

I arrived at Behling's before my family, so I decided to walk around for a bit. Walking into the main store brought back so many memories. The smell of Fall was in the air-- maple syrup, apples, cinnamon, pumpkins-- it reminded me of visiting the Behling's in Adams, NY as a child. Every year, my Aunt Linda and Uncle Den would take my cousins and me there, and my cousin Christopher would drag me into the haunted house. And, without fail, he would hide somewhere in their house later that night and scare the @!&%!#@ out of me (thanks, Chris)! I also thought of my Grandpa. I knew that I would. This is the same orchard that the ENTIRE Fortunato family went to for apple picking when I was younger. We still have pictures of several family members on ladders reaching into the tree for apples. Those are the memories I savor from my childhood-- the ones that look like a Hallmark commercial in my head. :)
My brother and sister arrived with their kids and we walked around Behling's together. My first thought??? EXPENSIVE! They were charging for everything from a walk through the corn maze to a ride on the hay wagon. I can't imagine raising a family in an economy that is so money starved it has to charge kids to walk through a corn maze. :( Anyways, we headed across the street to the orchard where we got our bags and then the apple picking began! There was a lot of laughter and silliness (another one of those Hallmark commercial memories) and even some booty shaking from Aunt Kristy and Uncle Tim. :) It was even fun when my niece, Jayna, threw an apple, not noticing me on the other side of the tree. Yeah, that's gonna leave a mark! ;) I filled my bag with a mere 7 pounds of apples but my sister and her boys were the winners with 45 POUNDS of apples!
I couldn't leave without eating funnel cake with powdered sugar (which, it turns out, did not have nearly as many calories as I thought it did). By the way-- have you noticed how many things on my list involve FOOD?? ;)
We ended our day with Jayna and Hunter taking pony/horse rides, and then Aunt Tina bought Hunter a HUGE box of popcorn. He was happy! We definitely want to go apple picking again next year. Actually, Tina mentioned strawberry picking. I'm in!

Monday, October 12, 2009

The Anchor Bar






Before heading to Fredonia for my 10 year college reunion, I stopped for lunch at The Anchor Bar in Buffalo, NY. I've always heard great things about it and how it is famous for its award winning wings, which is why I added it to my list for this year.


As I pulled up to the bar, I was quite surprised! I had expected to see a "fancier" kind of place, similar to a restaurant chain of some sort like Applebee's or Ruby Tuesday's. The Anchor Bar was very simple, as you can see from the picture. Not at all what I had pictured in my mind! I walked in and was again, surprised. The atmosphere and decorations were similar to Dinosaur BBQ, with rusty license plates hanging on the walls. The only thing missing were some Harley Davidson's and some biker babes!!! Anyways, I sat down between 2 guys and asked for a menu. I asked the guy next to me how "hot" the "hot" wings were. I decided to get a single order of medium wings ($11.00) and a salad. While waiting, I chatted with the people next to me, 2 couples in town for the Bills game. SO FRIENDLY! In general, EVERYONE in the place was friendly! I did not feel at all uncomfortable sitting at the bar by myself.


My wings came and I took a bite into my first official Anchor Bar wing and it was....ok? Don't get me wrong, it was good, but I wasn't highly impressed. The wings are crispy with not a lot of sauce at all. I am definitely a sauce girl so it might just be your own personal preference as to how you like your wings. I ate 6 wings and most of my salad before I paid for my $20 meal then looked at the souvenirs. I bought an Anchor Bar pint glass since I actually do need new drinking glasses. It was $10, but I figured it was worth it. Every time I drink from it I will think of yet another goal accomplished!