Memorial Day Weekend

My friend, Erin, and I decided to go on a little roadtrip this past Memorial Day Weekend and our plan was to drive to Montreal after hitting the White Mountains in New Hampshire.

We were really looking forward to taking a little break from our NYC lives.

I'm so excited!

Montreal is going to be amazing!

But, three hours into our drive, we hit a little hiccup:

Oops, Erin, I forgot my passport.

Oops, Janice, I forgot my passport.

Oops, we're not going to Montreal.

Then, ever the optimists, Erin and I thought there was a possibility we didn't need our passports to cross the border.

And, we were right, passports aren't required to enter Canada.

We just wouldn't have been able to come back into the United States without them.

It's the tiny, important details that foil us.

At least we forgot our passports together?

It would've been awkward if only one of us left it at home.

Mac & Cheese. And My Sister.

Tiffany and I are 16 months apart.

That means when our college years arrived, we overlapped by two years.

Our campuses were conveniently 12 miles away from each other so we often got to hang out together.

One day, during Tiffany's first year of college, I get a call from her:

So, of course, the "next time" turns out to be the next day. Because who waits on the promise of free and delicious food?

I arrive at Tiffany's dorm and we head down to one of the kitchens where I'm giddy with excitement, wondering what magic my sister will wield over a dorm kitchen to produce the BEST mac & cheese. And because I have faith in my sister, I believe this mac & cheese will make my taste buds rejoice, my palate sing, and my mouth die of ecstasy.

In short, I am expecting this mac & cheese to change my life.

I might've had high hopes.

So, we're in the kitchen, Tiffany rummages around in her basket of supplies and guess WHAT she whips out.

In case you've never had the pleasure of consuming an Easy Mac snack packet, you pour the contents into a bowl, add water, microwave, and add the cheese sauce.

This was what my sister meant by making the BEST mac & cheese.

And, she had a whole box of 'em.

My anticipation might have set the bar a little too high.

I should've known Tiffany's "making" meant "microwaving."

Celebrating Mothers Over the Weekend

After celebrating Mother's Day with my mom's side of the family on Saturday, I spent Sunday with my dad's side of the family.

I was really glad I wasn't one of the older, unmarried grandchildren of the family.

Because, I escaped something that went like this:

His name is Paulina.

Aunt Florian and Aunt Alistair.

Cousin Wilma

Uncle Faye

And so forth.

For the next two hours.

I froze for a minute when my Grandma turned to me and asked:

Do you have a boyfriend, Janice?

I had to whisper Nope and hope nobody else heard.

Sorry, Paulina, I'm glad you were there to take the brunt of the dating questions and matchmaking.

But I know when you get married, I'm next in line for the interrogation parties.

Um, you like being a bachelor, right?