More Z's Please!

Game...set...

2012-11-04T18:16:00.001-05:00

Today Mike participated in a charity Cops vs. Firemen volleyball game!

The match took place during halftime of the VCU women's volleyball game

Which meant the VCU pep band was in the house!

I sat with the boys while they waited to play

Watched the VCU 'Gold Rush Dancers'

And cheered my heart out!

The VCU band director is also a firefighter so the band was partial

Caught Mike in action

And the firemen crushed the competition!

But it was all for charity so everyone wins :)

Mike is so happy it's November 1

2012-11-01T18:05:00.000-04:00

I love Halloween so very much. It's definitely my favorite day of the year!!

To celebrate I treated myself to this spooky treat at lunch

When I got home Mike made sure our front porch lights were working (to welcome trick-or-treaters!)

And I assembled our candy bowl!

We actually had a decent crowd this year and we loved all the kiddos in their costumes. I turned the lights off at 7:30 and happy to report no teenage hooligans rang our bell :)

The adults had a few spooky spirits

I rocked my totally glamorous Halloween sweatshirt

And Brooksy guarded the front door, just like last year. I took a comparison shot and just...wow.

Only 364 more days until Halloween!!!

Octoberfest

2012-10-28T10:46:00.000-04:00

October has been jam-packed!!

Brooksy visited Papa at work and took his first ride on the firetruck!

Erinn sent me delightful Halloween goodies :)

I had a ladies night with Libbie and Dawn...

Mike and I finally had dinner at Accanto and it was, no joke, the best meal either of us has ever eaten!

And then we dealt with a jailbreak. I took this picture when I came home from lunch to let Brooksy out of his cage--I opened the bedroom door and was face to face with the escapee.

That boy really loves laundry.

We finished up wedding season last night with Shaun and Jess' ohsocute farm wedding

Jess and all the firemen :)

Needless to say Mike and I are exhausted. Time to buckle down and ride out Hurricane Sandy!

Where in the World?

2012-10-15T18:31:00.000-04:00

We have been so busy lately!!

It seems like every free moment Mike and I have is filled with activities.

Taking Brooksy to the park is a favorite Sunday morning routine

3 weeks ago we headed to Scranton for a family wedding (Mike's hair is sooooo long!)

2 weeks ago we hit up 'Hogtoberfest' with Dawn and Matt!

The day was filled with beer, bands and barbeque

And I finally saw the famous 'River City View'

Our city is so awesome.

The next day we hosted 'Practice Thanksgiving'-- my parents are visiting for Thanksgiving this year and Mike insisted on a trial run.

Everything tasted delish! Judging by all our friends' praises, real Thanksgiving is bound to be a success!

Last weekend we were in NOVA for the wedding of Bryan, Mike's high school friend. Time in NOVA meant time with Mike's family and little Ms. A!

Brooksy kept himself busy

While we partied it up!

On Sunday all the boys went golfing and the ladies went to the park with Abigail. She LOVED me this visit! Everything was "Aunt Devon look at me!" Made my heart melt every time!

We met the fellas for lunch to celebrate the Possanza men's win, and headed back to RVA

The end of the year is jam-packed!

For UB

2012-09-21T21:15:00.000-04:00

Earlier this year Mike and I visited Cleveland twice in two months. At the time I didn’t elaborate because it was really hard to talk about.

In April we found out my Dad’s uncle (who was a huge part of my life) was very ill - the entire family basically dropped everything to visit him while we could. Mike and I flew in to meet my family on a Saturday morning and flew back to Richmond the next day. The six of us spent a wonderful weekend with him and I am so thankful we were able to make the trip.

Sadly, we were back in Cleveland for his funeral a month later. My family constantly amazes me; a trip that could have been incredibly sad was highlighted with lots of love, laughter and time spent with the ones we care about.

I fell even more in love with Mike that weekend because he was my rock and did everything possible to help. There were many times when I would look for him, only to find him consoling a family member. He is amazing.

The point is this: my uncle was an incredible man. He treated my brother and I like his children and was present for every big event in our lives

Most importantly, he was Italian and proud of it! Last Christmas he taught us the recipe for his secret spaghetti sauce. I’ll never forget him telling us “You can change whatever you want in this recipe, but if you do, don’t you dare tell anyone it’s my sauce.”

He was loving and kind, yet didn’t hesitate to let you know when you were out of line. He was outspoken and funny and taught me that family.means.everything.

Mike and I were included in his trust and we received the gift a few weeks back. We spent a lot of time talking about trips we could take, the items we could finally purchase. We knew we wanted to do something in my uncle's honor. In the end, we both agreed the best tribute would be to treat ourselves to dinner at a nice Italian restaurant, with a big bottle of red wine.

Tonight we went to La Grotta and did just that.

And it was amazing.

We know UB would have approved.

Mountaineer Moments

2012-09-19T17:58:00.003-04:00

Last weekend we went to the JMU vs. WVU football game at FedEx Field!

I don't really get college football, probably because VCU doesn't have a football team. But I like to drink and I like to eat, so count me in.

The game was a blow-out. I ended up chatting with Erinn most of the time and leaving in the 4th period.

But it was still a blast!

Always my hero

2012-09-09T15:20:00.000-04:00

Today was the 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb and like last year, Mike participated along with hundreds of other firefighters.

The bagpipes started and the firefighters assembled in front of the Suntrust building

Commemorative prayers were spoken

And off they went, ready to climb 110 stories in honor of the fallen.

This year Mike wore full turn-out gear - it looked heavy and hot!

My favorites were those who carried the American flag with them.

The crowd was much larger than last year and they cheered every time a firefighter completed one of the 5 trips up the stairs. They were even standing in the stairwells to provide more encouragement!

I just barely caught Mike as he finished his climb!

Mike calls this his 'Baywatch Shot.'

I tried to lift his jacket and tank for him and it was too heavy (and drenched in sweat) for me to even lift halfway. I can't believe he climbed in it!

Mike actually had to work today so his crew was still on duty. Halfway up the stairs on his 3rd trip, they caught a call and had to walk back down...only to be cancelled. They turned around and walked right back up.

I'm in awe of the commraderie and determination of all those who participated. We can never forget what these men and women sacrifice to protect us, every single day of our lives.

Splitsville

2012-09-01T09:00:00.000-04:00

Yesterday was casual Friday at work. I walked in wearing my jeans, started my computer, chatted with a friend. When I got up to get some water about 20 minutes later I hear non-stop giggling.

Yes, my pants were split. Badly. And I had no idea.

I ran home, changed and had this for lunch.

Not sure that's gonna help with the future pants-splitting.

Duck Falls

2012-08-30T19:53:00.000-04:00

Yesterday Mike gave Brooksy his first bath.

That's not to say it was his first ever bath; we've just never given him one at home.

He got one when he had his nails clipped and I count all the dips into the various bodies of water we've visited as baths.

We were under the impression that labs weren't supposed to be washed more than once or twice a year, but our vet corrected us on B's last visit. Mike sent me a text yesterday asking if I minded missing his first bath. I told him no and wished him luck. A while later I got this text:

"Well the bath went about as well as I expected but he likes his new after bath duck."

I laughed and sent back "Hopefully that duck will still be in one piece when I get home."

5 minutes later:

"Judging by the holes…….no."

Chew toys don't last long in our house unless Kong makes them, and even then we have to buy the deluxe brand. Brooksy loves those toys that jingle, shake and squeak but I'll be damned if he doesn't have those things torn apart in a matter of 15 minutes.

This one lasted about 20 minutes before Mike had to call it quits.

RIP duck.

U + Me + $16

2012-08-22T17:38:00.001-04:00

Mike likes weird food. He grew up overseas and has a sophisticated palate, so he's not one to turn down food. I am a reformed picky-eater (Mike cooks all our meals so I can't be picky!) but I do have limits. Liver, tongue, brain: no thanks.

When we were dating Mike used to rave about Pho.

source

He would get it when he was sick and suddenly he's cured. Rainy days were made better by a hot bowl of Pho. I was a vegetarian at the time and the idea of beef broth with raw tripe floating in it made my skin curl. Needless to say I didn't get what the fuss was all about.

But over the years I've adapted my husband's motto of trying at least one bite. If I hate it, I don't have to eat it. Who knows? I might love the one food I'm refusing to try. But Pho was still out of reach, as the only options were beef and I haven't had a piece of red meat in well over 15 years.

And then, we found Pho City. And my life changed.

They offer Chicken Pho (Pho Ga for you pros out there!) and with one bite, I understood the years of praise Mike gave it. I finished the entire bowl in record time. A week later I insisted we get it again. And then two days later we had it again. You see where this is going.

Any time we come home after traveling we get Pho. Two weekends in Cleveland meant two Sundays of Pho. Our anniversary meal this year was Pho. When we were at the beach Mike looked at me and said "This trip is great, but I miss Pho."

Every Sunday is now Ponies and Pho Sunday.

We were gambling and getting Pho so often on this one day of the week that it became our first family tradition. And on Monday (delayed Pho Sunday since Mike was working) we hit a milestone. Mike texted me from the restaurant to tell me the server saw him and guessed our order. We are officially regulars!

So Pho-king delicious!

Good eats

2012-08-11T13:15:00.001-04:00

We found a new happy hour spot!

Accanto is close to our house, has happy hour specials and has a cool modern vibe. Everything we look for in restaurants!

We chatted up the bartender as he explained the eccentric menu and local brews. We dug into two appetizers:

Chicken Skin & Gouda Beignets and Fried Bacon-Wrapped Blue Cheese Deviled Eggs

My god. I was literally drooling all over the plate. The beignets tasted like chicken and waffles and the eggs might have changed my life.

AND the bartender made a point to learn our names! All the fixings for a perfect happy hour spot!

Rolling in retrievers

2012-08-07T17:37:00.000-04:00

This week we're in charge of two fur babies!

Brooksy's friend Dusty is spending a few days with us while his mom and dad sneak away for vacation.

Dusty and Brooksy are secretly best friends; they just show their love for one another by wrestling for hours on end. Libbie and Weston have dog-sat for us a few times (I just wrote baby-sat and it didn't feel right….) and they just spent an entire week at the beach together.

You'd think they'd be used to one another by now.

Not really! Every day is a blank slate as they 'say hello' to one another.

This is sure to throw my routine for a loop as I try to manage two puppies!

On a side note: Brooksy has become super protective of me lately. At the beach he barked at our friend Nate and sat in front of me every time Nate walked in the room, just because he wasn't familiar with him. Last night Mike went upstairs without Brooksy seeing him, and when Mike came back down Brooksy flipped out before realizing who it was.

What can I say: he's a Mama's boy!

Back to reality

2012-08-04T18:57:00.000-04:00

We're back from our beach vacation and we had a great time!

Sad it's over but glad we had another amazing year at the Captain's Cottage!

Baby bear's birthday

2012-07-26T20:13:00.000-04:00

Today our little man turned 1!

We can't believe it's been a year since we brought Brooksy into our home.

Who would have thought this little bundle of fur

Would become this giant beast?

We celebrated with an ice cream treat for Mom and Dad

And maybe a lick or two for baby bear

Followed by a birthday Frosty Paw!

Happy birthday Brooksy! We can't imagine our lives without you :)

Trifecta

2012-07-22T17:50:00.003-04:00

Mike has made me love gambling.

There's a bar by our house that hosts off-track betting and today, a bored Mike asked "Wanna go bet on the ponies?"

Yes. I do.

It wouldn't be so addictive if I wasn't SO GOOD at it! My strategy of picking the name of the horses that make me laugh the most is unbeatable!

We ended the day $100 richer. Not bad for a Sunday afternoon!

Caught

2012-07-21T11:02:00.004-04:00

Well, Blogger caught on I wasn't paying for my domain name anymore and I'm not paying the ridiculous amount they want to charge to keep our old website address.

We're back to www.morezsplease.blogspot.com! Sorry for the confusion!

Makin' dough

2012-07-17T19:06:00.000-04:00

This is how I know I'm getting old.

My favorite birthday gift was….

A breadmaker!

It's no secret Mike and I try to eat healthy. We like knowing what goes into our food, so it irked us buying bread with dozens of ingredients knowing it only takes a few to make a loaf.

When I sent my birthday list (yes I still make those) to my family, I knew my Mom would buy me the breadmaker. I was hoping she'd also throw in the "Maid for a Day" request, but no dice.

In typical Casazza fashion, getting my breadmaker was a disaster. My parents had it shipped to a store near us and delivery was delayed. Thankfully it arrived on my birthday and I had it home and baking within the hour!

Here's the part where I laugh at Mike. He can make complicated meals but appliances designed for convenience cooking confuse him.

Microwaves, crockpots, and especially breadmakers:

"How does it mix and cook in the same pot?"
"Do you have to put the dough in the oven to cook after it's mixed?"
"Why do the ingredients have to go in a specific order?"

He was doubtful. I couldn't wait to show him how easy it is to make fresh bread!

Well, it's easy if you read the directions. Which I didn't.

I made him supervise, reading instructions out loud and double-checking measurements.

My big mistake was not letting the unit cool after the initial 'heated clean' cycle. The machine wouldn't start cooking until it had completely cooled off, which left my ingredients vulnerable for a good 30 minutes. And then the little window on top kept fogging up so I couldn't check on the dough!

I was bummed when the loaf came out a bit squatty. It was still delicious! I made it 2 days ago and this is all that remains -

But it wasn't perfect.

Tonight I try again with CINNAMON RAISIN! Guarantee it will be perfect and waiting for Mike in the morning, complete with a "Told ya' so" sign.

Balli-ful

2012-07-15T20:40:00.001-04:00

So this is what 28 feels like.

I had a great birthday! Both my boys were home and I woke up to a pancake breakfast complete with cards. Brooksy got me a sweet card filled with his favorite toy: Q-Tips.

We hung around the house all morning and hit up the park after a delicious homemade lunch (I love my chef husband!)

I think the only word Brooksy really understands is 'fetch.' He loves to play with that ball!

I love walking around the park with B and wearing him out. Also I found this sappy tree on our stroll and it fascinated me!

Attempted a sweet family photo but Brooksy only wanted to photo-bomb us

He loves the water!

After cleaning up Mom and Pop headed to Balliceaux for dinner.

Admittedly Mike and I are restaurant snobs. But seriously people; this place was GOOD.

Mike proclaimed it his 'new favorite Richmond restaurant.' I couldn't stop eating long enough to make a statement.

It definitely didn't suck.

28 is turning out to be pretty great!

From your boos

2012-07-13T18:18:00.003-04:00

You know how they say you spend more time with your colleagues than with your spouse?

Probably explains why these girls know me so well.

Homemade pumpkin ice cream!

Peppermint Patty Cupcakes!

So sweet and thoughtful. Sugar crash followed shortly after.

But totally worth it :)

Water Bug

2012-07-11T18:01:00.002-04:00

The weather’s been odd lately. Two hurricanes rolled through Richmond in one week and it’s been in the triple digits for the better part of July.

As over heated as I am, I feel terrible for this guy. I imagine wearing a black fur coat in this weather isn’t ideal.

Brooksy recently visited summer camp (he stayed with my parents for a week) and was SPOILED ROTTEN. We got daily updates on his adventures, from long walks to vineyard tours and stops at the ice cream stand.

The biggest thrill was his new swimming pool. My parents said he spent hours playing fetch and splashing around.

In 2 weeks we’re headed to the beach for our yearly vacation with friends and Brooksy is coming. In an effort to get him used to water, we visited a park with a lake two weekends ago.

Here’s the part where I mention my parents basically screwed up our entire routine with the dog. During his stay, he was never locked in his cage and he was rarely on a leash. As a result of these actions (DAD--I’M TALKING TO YOU) we were forced to start trusting Brooksy more. He no longer sleeps in his cage at night, and when we took him to the park we let him off the leash.

And he freaking loved it.

We were shocked as we tossed the ball into the woods and he obediently brought it back.

The tricky part came when we threw the ball into the lake. Brooksy is pretty brave (or stupid) but once he hit the water and couldn’t touch the ground with his legs, panic set in and he scrambled back to shore.

Before we knew it he was diving face first into the water and scaling the rocks to get his beloved ball. 30 minutes later he was smelly, exhausted and happy.

As we walked back to the car, he saw the public swimming pool and took off. Thankfully the lifeguard stopped him before he belly flopped in. We’re now taking bets on how long before he or Dusty dive into the beach house pool.

My guess is 7 minutes.

We're baacckk!

2012-07-10T17:53:00.000-04:00

I know. I’ve been MIA for 2 ½ months.

I got the warning from Blogger telling me I needed to renew my website. I didn’t. Yet it’s still here?

My darling husband asked me the other day why I stopped blogging and honestly, I didn’t have a good answer. We’ve had plenty of adventures but I wound up posting the pictures on Facebook and calling it a day.

But then Mike reminded me how funny I am when I write and that was all I needed to get back at it.

So forgive me for the absence. Here’s what we’ve been up to!

A visit to the piano bar, where Weston confronted the players for not picking our songs. You can imagine how well that went over.

Taking in a Squirrels game with my folks

Finding some sense of joy in an otherwise sad visit back to Cleveland

Running the Richmond Fire Department ‘Beat the Heat 5K’ in which I CAME IN 7th! (in my age range but that doesn’t really matter does it?) I did, HOWEVER, beat Mike fair and square!

Getting pumped about VCU joining the A10 division

Celebrating July 4th with our Richmond family

And finding ways to keep our 103 pound furbaby happy in this dreaded heat!

Of course other things have gone down in the past few weeks - Mike went on a work trip to Vegas, we endured two more hurricanes, I dropped my Iphone in the toilet.

You know. The usual.

Lots of exciting things coming in the next few weeks! *ahem MY BIRTHDAY is in 5 days!*

Cleveland rocks

2012-04-30T20:10:00.000-04:00

Mike and I made a trip to Cleveland over the weekend! While it was quick and felt like we were no sooner stepping off the plane before we were back on it, we still managed to pack in some adventures!

Scenes from an Italian restaurant

2012-04-24T17:32:00.003-04:00

We had a wonderful anniversary dinner at La Grotta!

The food was delicious and the company was charming :)

On to year #3!

twenty four months

2012-04-07T19:22:00.000-04:00

Next week we celebrate our 2 year wedding anniversary.

Nothing significant has changed over the past year. Our weekends are still filled with weddings, trips to visit family and adventures with friends.

Mike still makes me laugh more than anyone I ever have/ever will meet. He makes every day fun!

We added a fur-baby to our little family last year...

...and somehow managed to keep him alive the past 7 months!

Brooksy was definitely a big change for us. As much as we love him, that thing caused a lot of tense arguments and flared tempers between Mike and I!

Discussions over his food, his behavior, discipline. Also, mowing the lawn isn't fun when someone 'forgets' to pick up after the dog......(did you guess I was the guilty one?) But in the end we're better for it--we tackled a huge responsibility, succeeded and have a wonderful pooch!

There are times during the day when I think of Mike and just smile. Does that sound sappy? Too bad. It's true.

It's just easy being married to Mike. When I met him I knew I was done for. He gets me. I get him. It really can be as simple as that.

On several occasions over the past year we've been at an event or out with friends and someone will stop us to say how happy we look together. Just last night we were leaving happy hour and a man stopped Mike to tell him how funny our conversations with one another looked and how awesome it was to watch us together. And then he fist-bumped him.

It was weird. But sweet.

We plan to go to La Grotta for our anniversary--site of our rehearsal dinner!

If that's not worthy of a fist bump I don't know what is.

Famous

2012-04-03T19:20:00.000-04:00

Last weekend Mike and I traveled to West Virginia for one of my brother's book signings!

……Yeah. He wrote a book. Check it out. And buy it!

All of us bought a copy and had it autographed.

I can't believe I got to meet the author!!

We helped set-up before the crowd arrived -

The signing was packed! It was so odd to see people who actually think my brother is a big deal.

This is the kid who used to serve me glasses of 'Mountain Dew' and then laugh hysterically when I chugged it, only to realize it was pickle juice.

In all seriousness though, what a great night for Mike C.! We are all so proud of him!!

Now go buy the book!