Faithful Friends Who Are Dear To Us, Gather Near To Us Once More

This past weekend was our first visit to New Hope, Pennsylvania.

It was only fitting that our tour guides were two of our closest friends, James and Kat (featured in previous blogs), who also happen to be our only friends who live in "Pennsie"!

The town is lovely and they had a "Polar Express" train running in and out of the station. It was a delightful evening and proof that the four of us CAN have a good time in public without breaking any laws. :)

Here are a few shots - I had some trouble with the flash crossing the bridge, but I am posting the picture anyway because the three of them always humor my rediculous photo shoots.

One of these days I'll introduce Dominick to his camera so that we can have some proof that I am also on these adventures!

Scarlet Bells, Scarlet Bells...It's Christmas Time in New Brunswick

Christmas in our new home.

We've had a hectic but positive December. On the 11th we celebrated Dominick's 26th birthday with a small party at our home, and his parents surprised him by flying up from Florida! It was a wonderful weekend full of family and friends. Unfortunately, we temporarily misplaced our battery charger, so I only have the photo below! But the Stanziones took pictures and I'll be sure to post some of them.

In the meantime, I was expecting to work the Texas Bowl, which would require me to fly out on the 26th. Then a few days later I was told that they had enough staff - then they didn't - but now I am officially (if not cordially) uninvited! I'm sure Houston will be alot of fun - and I am the biggest RU fan around - but I'd just as soon spend the holidays with my family and root the team on from a local bar!

We have 2 Christmas parties left to attend, many presents to wrap, plans to make, and work projects to complete. But who doesn't?

We are blessed and happy, and really, isn't that all that matters?

Tugger Update

Tugger, Tug, Sir Tuggins, Tugaboodle, Tug-You-Little-INSERTEXPLETIVEHERE...he has come to be known by many names.
Tugger has assimilated beautifully into our family - even Ginger has decided that he is not so scary, though he does try her seemingly endless patience!
It's difficult to remember a time when we didn't have him, though it was only a month ago that we were free to come and go as we pleased. Funny how quickly we give up our freedom for our furry little friends - I suspect we will take to parenting with the same gusto when the time comes.
Tug has begun cutting his teeth, which leads to evenings of frustration for all of us - but the little guy hasn't detroyed a thing, save for a few pairs of pantyhose that were really asking for it. He has almost completely embraced the idea of NOT using our oriental rug as his personal latrine; he has mastered the stairs which used to make him howl with fear; he has begun to learn his manners such as "sit" and "off"; he has discovered the art of burying and rediscovering his bones; and he is developing into quite a nice young pup!

Here are a few photos:

The view that I wake up to each morning.


When the first few teeth were breaking through.


With the ever-present Booda Bear from Aunt Margaret - this toy goes outside, inside, to bed, to Grandma and Grandpa's...


There aren't nearly enough of these moments. Photos like these tell me that we made the right decision and that Tug loves his new home.

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Well, the holiday madness has officially begun.

Our running tally:
Holiday parties attended = 1
Holiday parties to attend = 7
Gifts purchased = 0
Gift to purchase = LOTS

Needless to say, I see my christmas card mailing slipping away this year (again!).

We attended our first holiday party at the Dougherty's this past weekend. As always, we had a great time and laughed ALOT.

It's quite remarkable when you arrive at the point in your life where you have things in common with your parents' friends and can truly value them as individuals and hold your own (or try to) in a conversation with these terrifically bright people. Now, to many I am still and will always be "Peggy and Johnny's kid" - and that is exactly as it should be! But I just soak in their stories of college and trick drill and the coffee house...and the more sobering tales of being in the military during Vietnam. I also love to have the opportunity to see my parents in this context: the coffee house manager, the beautiful sorority girl, everyone's friend just having a good time. I think that it is so important to see our parents' many dimensions to fully appreciate who they are.

My parents are so blessed to have interesting, diverse, and terrifically funny friends - and we are blessed to have grown up with them and their children as part of our family.

A Time to Give Thanks

What a wonderful season it is.

I love Thanksgiving - not for the excuse to overload on carbs, family and football (well, ok, those reasons too) - but because it provides the perfect opportunity to reflect on the many blessings that our lives are built upon. Blessings like each and every one of you reading this, blessings like all of the wonderful and supportive friends and family who *would* be reading this if I didn't forget to send them the link, colleagues who have no idea of what our personal lives are like but still play critical roles in our life, our wonderful pets (Ginger, Tugger, and Sid Fishous) who teach us patience, unconditional love, and remind us of the importance of daily walks and belly rubs.

We are also tremendously grateful for the most recent additions to our family (extended and otherwise) and pray that God continues to bless all of our families as they grow, namely: Adriana Grace, Devyn, Megan, Future Baby Chorba, Riley, Ray, Future Baby Lagos, and all of the current and future Dougherty babies!

This holiday was full of family and tradition - bizarre for my family as we typically spend Thanksgiving eating French and Moroccan food in Epcot - and it was magical. Dominick, as usual, made food fit for a NYC restaurant, we decorated and prepared, and we had so much fun doing it! Here are some quick photos celebrating that great day.

Aunt Margaret (my fairy Godmother) and Uncle Davo. Their attendance at our first Thanksgiving was especially touching as they journied from NYC and had to work Black Friday at Macy's Herald Square!

Our Thanksgiving Dining Room

Dom's Turkey

Dom preparing to decimate the bird.

The Aftermath

An Addition to Our Family

We are the proud owners of the cutest beagle puppy in the world! Tugger "Tug" Hogan-Stanzione joined the family officially on November 10, 2005. He's the sweetest thing, though we'll all breathe easier when housebreaking and teething are over. Dominick picked him out and convinced me to make him ours (I played "bad cop" to make sure that Dom was ready...but loved our little Tugger from the start). Tug is Dominick's first dog and he has taken to training and ownership like a duck to water. It's helping us both with a refresher course in organization, good scheduling, and patience.
We love him to bits and hope you all get a chance to meet him soon!

So This is What Top Ten Looks Like...

For those of you who are uninterested in football, you can skip this post. For those of you uninterested in Rutgers - how do we know you and why are you on our blog?
Thursday evening was a magical night for Rutgers University - not just the football team - but the entire institution. We have long suffered the ill effects of having an unsuccessful football program, not the least of which were lack of attention and funding from a sports-minded state government, competition for students from Michigans and Penns that offered a comprehensive university experience, and a lack of pride that permeated the students, faculty, alumni and entire state.

Now, if you look up the Empire State Building on Wikipedia, a portion of the profile reads:

"It was once even lit Scarlet red for a Rutgers University football game on November 9th, 2006, when they played the University of Louisville in what would result in the biggest win in school history.[10]"

And in the midnight hour on Friday morning we all raised a glass to a certain coach who has chipped away at this image..."Chopping Wood" as the entire campus now says...and who on that wonderful night finally split the log of doubt that has hindered our arrival on the national stage.
I'm blessed to be able to attend all of the games through my job, but nobody was working on Thursday night...we were all just fans...crying, high fiving, and staring at the score board that told us that on Monday morning, we would awaken to a top ten listing. And as the Bowl representatives milled around, we continued our chanting so that they saw that the persistence of our players is shared by their fans.

What's more, we have not sacrificed anything to grow our football program. What has not been reported by the newspapers is the fact that our football team, under Coach Schiano's leadership, is ranked 3rd by the NCAA in their academic performance rate, behind Navy and Duke. It is not every winning team - football or otherwise - that can claim that EVERY ONE of its players is on track for graduation. Rutgers can. It may not make the news...but it makes winning that much sweeter.

Horsing Around

Well, we are officially in the Thanksgiving Season, which is now saturated by the overwhelming urgency with which the Christmas season decends (or is pushed) on us.

Before you know it we'll be breaking out the bubbly, counting down, sobering up, and forgetting *not* to write "2006" on our checks.

Obviously, I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed! And whenever I get this way, I like to look to children for a gentle reminder of what it is to live in the moment.

So here are some photos of Devyn on Halloween. While she looks adorable, I think the real beauty of these photos is how completely oblivious she is to the fact that she is dressed as a barnyard animal (those who know her mother expected nothing less).

No, she is not yet cognizant of what Halloween means...and she is too young to eat tubs of candy that would stimulate this kind of excitement...

The real magic is the fact that she is dancing simply because she felt moved to; there may not have even been music playing.

There is definitely a lesson here.

Saying Goodbye is Easiest When Slurred

Anne-Marie and Coley's Farewell Bar Crawl!

The man and woman of the hour...

No...No...Bad Stephanie!

The old Ball and Chain...

All the ladies kept caressing Dom's spikes...He pretended to hate it...

Lisa and her muse.

It isn't every day that you get to see Carmen Miranda being held up at silver-lamet gunpoint by Yosemite Samantha. This never got old...we rediscovered the humor with each Jack & Coke.

It was a great night and a fun bar crawl...but Coley and Anne-Marie will be terribly missed. We do, however, thank them for moving to a REALLY cool place to visit!

Saratoga Springs + Good Friends = ROAD TRIP!

Lazy days...

Things have been same-old-same-old in the Hogan/Stanzione household. We're battoning down the hatches for the blustery weather that is coming in. Our good friends Coley and Anne-Marie are preparing for their move to Sarasota Springs, NY - so we've had a tiny houseguest with us while they try to pimp out their old digs.
Introducing Figaro "Figgie" Campbell, our first overnight guest and the best houseguest EVER. We will miss our friends terribly, but look forward to the excuse to make weekend trips up to NY state!

I'm sure that photos from their farewell bar crawl this weekend will warrant their own entry...so look for more in a few days!

Upstream Redteam!

No more 27 year fluke bowls - Schiano's boys are the real deal.

We're here to stay.

1. Ohio State (63) 8-0 1,623
2. Michigan 8-0 1,533
3. USC 6-0 1,468
4. West Virginia (2) 7-0 1,458
5. Texas 7-1 1,355
6. Louisville 7-0 1,215
7. Auburn 7-1 1,182
8. Tennessee 6-1 1,178
9. Florida 6-1 1,146
10. Clemson 7-1 989
11. Notre Dame 6-1 988
12. California 7-1 964
13. Arkansas 6-1 843
14. LSU 6-2 799
15. Boise State 8-0 608
16. Rutgers 7-0 579
17. Wisconsin 7-1 560
18. Boston College 6-1 526
19. Oklahoma 5-2 497
20. Nebraska 6-2 373

Fall Getaway to the Country House

We spent a beautiful weekend with my family at our home in Sussex County. It was perfect fall weather and we got to see the colors before blustery winds took most of them away.

We also celebrated the 8 year anniversary of the day that Dominick asked me to be his girlfriend (outside class before 7th period), and the 2 year anniversary of Dominick asking me to marry him!

Just a few weeks to our first anniversary as a married couple, we can't believe it!

Ginger striking a pose

We had a great time just running through the fields.

MK enjoying a ride in the golf cart...

A great game of hide-n-go-seek at the Christmas Tree farm

A great way to spend the weekend...

Autumn in the New House

It's officially autumn at the Hogan-Stanzione household and all is well. We are having a great time making the home our own, and are feeling especially blessed now that our heat it on after two visits from the gas company!

We've had a few wonderfully crisp enjoyable days to play outside and here are some shots of our favorite four-legged gal.

No pictures of us due to Ginger's tragic lack of opposable thumbs...

Ginger giving her best "So Busted" face after playing in the pond
Confused as to why she is the subject of yet another amateur photo shoot

Ready for her close-up

We had a visit from our friends Devyn and Kristen. Ginger especially loves Devyn for how generous she is with her goldfish - the favorite snack of one year olds and doggies everywhere!