Grass, what's that?

So I'll start with most recent events and work backwards.

Today was a REMARKABLE 66 degrees and absolutely beautiful. I quickly decided heck no to the gym and went for a run outside. It was lovely! As you can see, that kind of heat melted almost all of the snow today.

From Bryan's 30th

From Bryan's 30th

Never fear though, the weatherman says it will snow again over the weekend!

Last week Bryan was here to visit. He attempted to come on his birthday, but suffice to say JetBlue is absolutely the worst airline and I would encourage everyone to avoid them at all costs. Here is a quick rundown:
-Flight #1 is supposed to leave PDX March 3rd at 11:59pm
-Flight is delayed 2.5 hours, which misses the connection at JFK. The option? Wait at JFK for TEN hours on his birthday. He decides to just move the trip back a day.
-Flight #2 is supposed to leave PDX March 4th at 11:59pm.
-Flight #2 delayed 2 hours, so he'll miss the connection again.
-Smart Tia realizes JetBlue goes to Buffalo, so he gets re-routed there.
-Insert TERRIBLE snowstorm that makes a treacherous drive to Buffalo. On the way, there is a jacknifed semi on the thruway with about 5 semis and 10 cars involved. This SHUTS DOWN the thruway. I sit for 2.5 hours PARKED. Bryan gets in and is stuck there for 2 hours waiting for me.
-Bryan finally gets in 1 day and 6 hours late.
-March 11th flight out of ROC at 5:10pm.
-Online says delayed until 5:30pm (no biggie)
-Flight actually leaves at 7:30pm. Connection to PDX leaving at 7:15pm. Luckily, that connection was delayed as well, so he did get back to PDX, an hour late.
YIKES!

Onto better things :) We had a wonderful time together! We spent 3 days at Niagara-on-the-Lake. Unfortunately we both aren't big picture takers, so I don't have a ton to share. We went wine tasting and got to try Icewine which was good but very sweet. We did end up buying 2 bottles of other wines that we really liked. Only one made it home to drink later :) Wednesday was spent at the spa. It was amazing! We each got a facial, then sat in the hot springs together, then had a yummy lunch, then got a couples massage, then used the gym, then sat in the hot springs again. The entire day was spent in robes and slippers. Ahhh! I would do it again in a heartbeat. It was so relaxing.

In the evening we went into Niagara Falls. It was really cold (about 10 degrees), so we didn't walk around too much, but Bryan got to see the falls, so he was happy.

From Bryan's 30th

From Bryan's 30th

We got some dinner at a sports restaurant and had some drinks.

From Bryan's 30th

We discussed going to the casino, but instead were wooed by our childhood and decided to spend the evening in the really cool midway attached to the restaurant. $20 and we got 3+ hours of fun...way more then we would have gotten at the casino! AND, we came home with a sheep that grows fur (we didn't add the water before he left, so you'll have to remain in suspense for pictures of that) and a Niagara Falls shotglass. Score! The bummer of the evening was this crappy parking ticket because we stayed too long at our meter. Luckily it was only $13.

From Bryan's 30th

Thursday we went to IKEA and bought a bunch of stuff, and Friday we lazied around and then had a fun dinner/games party at night. I should also mention the amazing food that we had at the B&B. Nikki made us the most scrumptious breakfasts. The first day was coffee, OJ, fresh fruit, bran/pineapple muffins, yogurt with syrup and poached pears, and these tart-type things with egg, bacon, and cheese. It makes my mouth water thinking about it! Day 2 was coffee, OJ, homemade croissants, fruit platters, and french toast with real apples baked in. Nikki and her husband Ben were both very sweet and fun to talk to. Ben used to run a hotel in Dubai which is the wealthiest country in the world, and Nikki is from Sri Lanka. They both were very smart and very cultured.

Overall it was a fabulous week and it was very sad to see Bryan go. But I'll be back in Portland May 5th and we'll be driving out here shortly thereafter. For now it's back to the grind at work. Thankfully work keeps me very busy, so the days fly by. The company did get restructured in the week I was away, but I don't think it is going to impact me immensely, and it won't fully take place for 8-12 months.