Wonkybusker

Onwards and Upwards

A year ago today we were on a plane, on our way to Lauzerte, France to spend the summer.  With a new job and a new puppy, it seems that it will be hard to do again soon, so I'm glad we did it when we could.  It's a little disappointing that we have no big trips on the horizon at the moment, but we have lots to keep us busy here.

And yet, I’ve been bitten by the travel bug.  This morning, I spent a lovely commute daydreaming about what our next trips should be.  There’s no harm in starting to plan early. ;)  Here’s my list:

Argentina, Chile and perhaps Antarctica
Peru, Equator and the Galapagos Islands
Egypt
Turkey
Morocco
New Zealand

Where do you want to go?

Pleasant Sunday

A fun weekend was had by all.  Yesterday was a baby shower and a frisbee game.  Today, we headed down to Post Hunt, a riddle-based scavenger hunt.  I'm so impressed by our team for getting all 5 puzzles and getting darn close to cracking the final clue.  It was tons of fun and I'll definitely do it again next year.  Loki was the hit of the event.  I've never seen a dog attract so much attention!  She's one tired puppy tonight.  She's chewing on a toy while I download my new CAD software.  I'm going to play around and plan what our backyard might look like once we put in a patio.  Anyway, I hope all is well and have a wonderful week!

Quiet Evening

I'm sitting around tonight watching PBS and knitting.  I've suddenly become a little old lady.

Safari

Lately, life has been crazy and a bit in transition.  Chris left for South Africa and I will be joining him soon to go on safari.  When I get back, I start a new job.  Then it will only be a few weeks until Christmas.  Time flies.  I will, of course, be posting lots of fun animal photos here.  So check back in a couple weeks.  In the meantime, I doubt I'll be posting much as I get ready for vacation.

Go Vote...

...so I can ice these.

Peruvian Gourmet Club Dinner

Our dinner group had a Peruvian themed night last weekend.  I had never had much food from Peru before, but it's really good.  I am constantly amazed at how delicious these dinners turn out being.  And, of course, the company is enjoyable too.  Anyway, I wanted to post the link to the recipes Chris and I made for last weekend's dinner.  I made locro de zapallo and Chris made ceviche.  I highly recommend both of them.  Unfortunately, I don't think I took a picture of our feast.  Next time I'll bring the camera along.  It looks like we're going to have a pre-Thanksgiving dinner in a couple weeks.

Election Party

Like so many people this Tuesday, we'll be staying up to watch the election results.  We've even planned a bit of a party.  Today I baked state cookies and will be making red and blue icing to decorate them once results are announced.  I'll have to post a picture of my sugar cookies, they came out pretty well.  Chris was able to recognize most of the states, despite my poor attempt to cut them out without any cookie cutters.   It might be a long night, but it should be interesting.

Changing Domain Registrar

I apologize for being away for so long.  I do have some new blog posts in my head and will get them up soon.  Life is busy these days but I don't want this blog to fall by the wayside.

I've just finished the process of switching my domain registration, so you may have gotten an error message when coming to this site over the last week or so.  That is all fixed now.  It turns out that Yahoo! tripled the cost of registering a domain with them.  They did not offer any additional services to justify any increase, so I went to GoDaddy to get the same thing for a fraction of the cost.  And I must admit, I'm impressed.  GoDaddy is cheap and their customer service is impressively helpful.  No long waits on the phone and the person on the other end does more than read the manual at you.  I was dreading the process of changing over my CNAME settings, but it was actually surprisingly easy.  Anyway, when a company does right by me, I give them a shout-out on my blog.  It's the least I can do to reward businesses that do things right.

Happy Halloween!

Projects

It's good to be back home.  I am so glad we had the opportunity to spend time in France and now I will be happy to just enjoy being back.  Although, I'm going to be busy.  See, I'm a girl who likes projects.  I love being able to focus my attention and accomplish something.  However, coming home, I'm realizing that Ive lined up a lot of projects.  It's exciting and fun, but this fall is going to be hectic.  I'm looking forward to hitting the ground running. :)

More Fun with Photoshop

I'm still working on my photoshop skills and the latest experiment is another back-lit sunset picture.  We took this one with the timer while Anya was visiting.  In the original picture the thee of us are difficult to see.  My goal was to lighten us up just a little to take us out of shadow without detracting from the sunset behind us by lightening the whole picture.

Before:

After:

I'm not sure I succeeded, but it's close to what I was looking for.

Next Adventure

It's official; we'll be going to South Africa in the fall.  Well, we already knew Chris would be going but the big news is that I'll be joining him after his conference and we'll be doing a safari.  Lions and tigers and bears, oh my!  Well, perhaps not tigers or bears, but I'm all about seeing a non-zoo lion.

Photoshop Lessons

This is a bit off track from the current topics on my blog, but with all the pictures we've been taking, it's given me a lot of practice with Photoshop.  And while my Photoshop skills are decent enough for me to realize that every worthwhile picture can be improved with a little contrast adjusting and such, there's a lot that I just haven't mastered.  And it's not for lack of trying.

This morning was a breakthrough.  I took a picture that I knew I needed to fix and I fixed it to look exactly how I wanted, using layers and masks.  This one victory, though small, is encouraging.  I may graduate to the next level of Photoshop abilities yet.

Before:

After:

It's a very subtle difference, but I think lightening the buildings really does help the picture.

Spanish Dinner

Last night was our Spanish themed gourmet club night.

Megan made this salad served in an avocado for a tapas dish.

Unfortunately, I don't have pictures of the other tapas dishes, but Julie made a delicious tortilla dish with a garlic aioli sauce and Laura brought roasted potatoes with a spicy tomato sauce.

Then, Brian created an eggplant and garlic soup, which was fantastic, served with cilantro and yogurt.

For the main dish, Chris created a chicken and andouille sausage paella.

And he also made a seafood paella.
 

He usually makes a great paella, but I think these were his best yet.

For dessert, I made a Strawberry Napoleon pastry.

And, of course, we had sangria to drink.  We should gather and post the recipes from these dinners because I really don't think we've had a failed dish yet.

DC Summer

Things I'm sad to be missing this summer:

Wildwood Beach Tournament - This is my favorite tournament of the whole year and will not only miss out on some great beach ultimate, but where else can I pig out on deep friend twinkies and cheese fries topped pizza?

Summer League - DC summers are awful weather-wise, but it's still nice to get out and play some ultimate and teach new people in rec league.

Gourmet Club - Speaking of which, we're having our a gourmet club meeting tonight, and it will probably be our last until fall.  Chris made paella for tonight's Spanish theme and I made sangria.

Happy Hours - Sure, we'll be sipping wine in Bordeaux, but it won't be the same as meeting friends for drinks after work here.  I won't miss the happy hour itself, but I'll sorely miss the company.

Jazz in the Garden - Although I haven't gone to this as often as I might like, the Friday night jazz concerts in the art museum's sculpture garden are really nice.

Wolftrap - Their getting some really good bands this summer and I'd like to go to more of these shows.

Fourth of July - While we will have a July 4th, it will be just another day and there will be no fireworks, unless we light them ourselves.

I guess you can't have it all. 

Gallery of Light

If anyone is interested in something to do in DC, stop by the new photography exhibit.  Their Gallery of Light exhibit shows photos from the mid 1850s and is really cool.  Chris and I really enjoyed it.

Evening

I'm in a bit of a melancholy mood tonight.  A classmate of mine from high school died recently.  He was 25.  How strange and how awful.  Sad.

On a much happier note, Chris is home again.  It's nice to have him back.  We went to the zoo on Monday and got some great pictures.  I'll have to post them.  Unfortunately, due to the cloud cover, we missed the lunar eclipse a couple nights ago.

I think I'll have to download WinAmp to my new laptop.   I've just been using Windows Media Player out of laziness, but for some reason shuffle on WMP does not seem to mean random.  I'm tired of having to skip through the same 20 or so songs.

I Love My Husband

Chris is the sweetest person ever.  I've been sick this week and he's been taking good care of me.  Right now, he's at the drug store getting me more tissues and cough medicine.  Yesterday, he brought me over a lunch menu with all the things he could make me for lunch if I wanted. 

I'm feeling better already.

Kitchen Redo

Chris repainted the kitchen this weekend.  We went back and forth over the color, but in the end, it looks really nice in the space.

Before:

After:

Blah Blah Blah

I'm just busy researching France, trying French wines, an cracking open the Julia Childs cookbook to try my hand at French cuisine.  It's nice to have something so awesome to look forward to.  We've also been taking a look at potential new houses.  And redecorating our current place, which has been and entertaining project.  I'll post pictures of the before and after once it's all done.

I feel like I haven't offered much new in this post, so I'll leave you with something found on BoingBoing;  utensil pen caps.

There's no Indian word for "Cheers"

Yet we drank up anyway!  Indian night was a complete success with the gourmet club.  We had chicken vindaloo, chicken tikka massala, aloo gobi, homemade naan, simosas, and many other very yummy things.  With a high percentage of our attendees sick, getting sick, or getting over being sick, it was an early night, but still a lot of fun. 

I made a drink for the event that actually worked out quite well.  If you are having Indian food for a party or would like a refreshing and unique summer drink, I would highly recommend it.

Indian Punch
2 cinnamon sticks
8 whole cloves
5 tea bags (any black tea)
3/4 cup sugar
64 oz. bottle of fruit juice (preferably tropical punch)
1 lemon
1 lime
1 cucumber
1 bottle white wine

Pour half the bottle of juice into a pot and bring to a boil, then remove from heat and add the cinnamon, cloves, and tea.  Let that steep or 5 minutes, then remove the tea bags, cinnamon sticks, and cloves.  Add sugar and stir until it dissolves, then add the rest of the juice.  Slice the lemon, lime, and cucumber and add it to the mixture.  Place drink in fridge for at least 8 hours, stirring occasionally.  Before serving, add a bottle of white wine and spike with some vodka if desired.  It makes about 4 quarts.

It is truly yummy and the inspiration was from one of the Indian cookbooks my mom has.  I'll see if I can get the name of it and include a link because the book has a lot of really good recipes.

It looks like February might include a Spanish or French night.  And we may be putting together a recipe book of our successes, which I think would be fantastic.

Happy Holidays!

In the New Year, may your right hand always be stretched out in friendship and never in want.  And may your troubles last as long as your New Year's resolutions.

I'm off for the holidays, but I will write again in 2008.

Website Saturday

Today I spent a good deal of time online since apparently I don't get it enough of it on weekdays.  I added an Amazon widget on my sidebar.  I hope no one's upset by the blatant advertising space.  It's just that if anyone follows the link for their Amazon shopping, that they already do anyway, I get a little money from it.  It's not like I spend a ton on upkeep for this site, but I was thinking that it still might be nice to get a little of it back. :)

It's also time to unveil my other online project. Chris and I have created Guideless Travel.  It is our new site devoted to sharing our travel tips.  Take a look when you get a chance.  There's not much on there yet, but with time it will grow.

In other news, it snowed this week, which is an event that is getting rarer.  It all melted today.  I should have gone out and taken pictures when I had the chance.

Opa!

Greek night was amazing!  Great food, great friends, and tons of fun.  And, I actually enjoyed the ouzo.  The trick is to add a little water.  After playing Taboo and Mafia until one in the morning, we all wandered back home.  It was a good weekend, had by all.  The next one will be Indian night but we'll be skipping a month, so it'll be in January.  I can't wait.

Next: Thanksgiving.  Life seems to be revolving around food at the moment...

Quiet

"Hey there Delilah
What's it like in New York City?
I'm a thousand miles away
But girl tonight you look so pretty
Yes you do
Times Square can't shine as bright as you
I swear it's true
...
A thousand miles seems pretty far
But they've got planes and trains and cars
I'd walk to you if I had no other way"

This song makes me think back to the long distance relationship.  I'm kind of nostalgic but also very glad I was finally able to move down here.

For the very short term, I'm back to the long distance thing, I guess.  Chris is in Minnesota at a conference this week.  As he put it, at least this time he's only one time zone away.  If I had thought ahead I would have put all the romantic comedies that Chris doesn't want to watch at the top of the Netflix cue.  As is, I have 3 DVDs arriving today from the first season of Heroes, so I either have to send them back only to reorder them next week or keep them here and wait for Chris to watch them with.  So it goes.

I will probably be bored here on my own, so come back to the blog later in the week and I'm sure there will be more posts.

Apple Pie

There's something so satisfying about pulling a freshly baked pie out of the oven.  And there's nothing like an apple pie using fresh fall apples.  This will be dessert and breakfast for the next few days.

Wedding Anniversary

One year. :)

Results

Okay, so over the last 24 hours, my poll has gotten 2 votes.  And one was Chris.  He suggested I write about "Snake control: ferrets vs. marmots."  A quick google search tells me that the answer is, in fact, a snake-proof fence.

Thoughts

It looks like our newly formed gourmet club will be postponed a couple weeks, which will be good since I didn't know what we would cook anyway.  In the meantime, there's a Fifi party to cook something for this week and a pot luck wedding next weekend, so between now and our upcoming gourmet get together, we have plenty of cooking opportunities.  Oh, and we finally have everything in the house to start making mozzarella cheese.  Wish us luck!  The vegetable rennet arrived and we got new cheesecloth.  It should be an interesting experiment and if it works, I'll post the recipe.  This has a lot more steps than the riccotta cheese recipe did, so I'm a little hesitant.

I'm looking forward to this weekend, as the weather promises to be beautiful.  There's lots of frisbee coming up too, so hopefully that will help me get a little more in shape.  And, of course, we have our wedding anniversary coming up next weekend.  We want to do something for it, but with a frisbee tournament and a wedding, our weekend is already super busy.  We shall see how it goes.  I guess that's about it.  Work is keeping me busy and I apologize for going without updating for a while.  I'll try to get back in the habit of writing.

Reflections

Once again, I'm excited that fall is on its way, hinted at by these first cool days. Well, perhaps the days aren't quite cool yet, but the sun has already lost some of the sharp glare of summer. This year, I'm flipping the calendar forward and booking up my weekends, smiling at the upcoming season. It makes me want to run out and buy cozy fall clothes and a fresh set of pencils.

It's always a nice time of year and has always been a time of change. For a long time that change was going to school, whether it was a new school or a new grade. Going to college was a big shift and then probably the biggest was after college, not going to school when the leaves began to turn. Three falls ago I started my current job. Three falls ago I also started dating Chris. Last fall was my wedding and it’s hard to believe the one year mark is coming up already.

I feel like I write this same message each year, but being a recurring time of change and transition in my life, it has also been a time of reflection. I look back on the year that has gone by as well anticipate the year to come. This year I can’t really say much will alter as the weather cools, but I'm taking the time to appreciate even more what changes have come to pass that have led me here. All the little things don't matter and the big things have turned out better than I could have possibly hoped. I am content.

Decisions, Decisions

Two books that I've been waiting forever for will be arriving in front of my door Monday, courtesy of Amazon.com.  One, you may have guessed, is my latest Harry Potter fix.  As anxious as I am to read this next (and last) installment, I must admit that I am embarassed to be any part of the frenzy that is this book release.  I have tremedously enjoyed reading the Harry Potter series, but the amount of ink spilled over what promises to be one somewhat decent book has topped even the absurdity of The Da Vinci Code phenomenon.  Enough hype; it's just one book of many good books in this world, after all.  This is ridiculous (except the proposed Harry Potter theme park which will be amazing and I must go).  Especially when you consider the comparitive silence for the release of what I think is in some ways a superior book, in a similar genre.  That's right, the US version of the next Thursday Next book by Jasper Forde, First Among Sequels, comes out tomorrow.  If anyone wants to borrow it when I'm done, let me know.  I strongly suggest reading the first 4 books in the series if you have not.  Again, I have them if you're interested.  And thank you Chandra for first letting me know about these books!  My only problem now is if they both arrive on the same day, which one will I read first?

I can't help but think that they arrived 3 weeks too late.  These books would have made the plane rides to and from Bangkok go by so much faster!

Dog Days

Sunday is going to be a very hard day for me.  It looks like our foster dog has found a new home and Sunday is when he will leave us.  It really is a great fit for him and a better home than we could ever offer in the middle of a city.  I should be happy.  We took him in, took care of him, and we're sending him off to his new home a more socialized and well-behaved dog than we when we got him.  We have succeeded in all we set out to do and I don't know why I still feel like we've failed him.  I'm going to miss him a lot.  I knew it would be hard, but I don't know if I expected to have him this long and get so attached to him.  And soon after Simba leaves, Chris will leave.  It will be very, very quiet here until I leave for Thailand to join him.

In more cheery news, I'd like to wish Rob and Kalena a very happy second anniversary!  You guys are amazing and I hope you have a fantastic day.  Oh, and thanks to everyone who came to my birthday gathering last weekend.  It was quite a surprise and I was so happy to see you all.  And of coure, thanks to Chris for putting it all together.  I still don't know how you managed to pull it off.

Tomorrow is Flag Day Eve, which also means it's my birthday.  Birthdays get less exciting as you get older, but it's still fun.  And because it's almost my birthday, that means it's time to wish Kimmie a happy birthday tomorrow and Laura a happy birthday the day after tomorrow.  And this year, friends and family seem to be adding to the June baby list.  It's a great birthday month and I'm happy to share it. :) 

Update

I haven't updated in a while, so I just wanted to say hi.  I don't know I have all that much of interest to say.  There are a few new pictures posted, so look for the Spring photo album on the left-hand side.  I'm going to Chicago soon to go visit Lauren!  Yay!  I've been getting hooked on StumbleUpon lately and have found some interesting sites.  Oh, and Pandora has a petition to help save Internet radio.  If you like Pandora radio, please sign.  What else is going on?  PBS is having a very interesting series called "America at a Crossroads."  It's really good, but so very sad and frustrating.  The frisbee season is going well, although many games have been rained out so far.  And we've started planning for Wildwood!  This year will have the great improvement of the battery powered blender on the sideline.  Okay, the new South Park episode is on, so I think I'm going to go watch that.  It's not quite what the show was in its glory days, but it hasn't fallen to the level of the current Simpsons episodes yet, so I'll keep watching.  Why does it go that way with so many shows?  You get hooked on a decent show and then watch as it slowly loses quality until you forget why you liked it in the first place.  Well anyway, South Park is still worth watching for now, in my opinion.  Anyway, I'll write later!

It was a dark and stormy day

I love words.  I especially like words that can instantly evoke a melancholy mood.  They're so powerful in their gloom.  For instance, right now it's dreary out.  Isn't dreary a great word?  You don't have to be here to know exactly what I mean.  Well, if you're in the Northeast, you may be able to look outside your window right now and see.  If not, it means you're further up than me and you probably have snow instead.  Snow would be nice.  39 degrees and rain today after 76 and sun yesterday is definitely a turn for the worst.  There are already large puddles, slowly connecting to form small ponds outside.  This level of saturation probably means no Frisbee game tomorrow.  The dreariness is compounded.  Although, I do take a bit of pleasure from the fact that I can stay inside today.

Find a blog, any blog

There are millions of blogs on the Internet and I came to the realization that there is no blog for me.  Anyone reading this probably finds it a bit absurd; obviously this blog is very much for me, in that I write it.  But that's not quite what I mean.  For a while I went to Slashdot, but that's a bit too tech for my taste.  And Engadget is just pointless because I don't need a new cell phone every week.  Boing Boing was my blog of choice for a long time, but there's only so much news I can read about things cleverly remade into iPod covers, what today's photoshop contest is, and what new atrocity Sony DRM has caused.  Again, Overheard in New York is sometimes funny, in the sense that random people talking about sex or having a conversation that can be mistaken for being about sex is mildly entertaining.  It was a lot funnier when I was 12 or 13.  Sigh.  I'm a blogger without a blog...well, other than my own blog.  And I already know what I think, so how fun is it to read that?  How can there be so many sites out there and not one that I'm interesting in going to?

Lonely

I don't sleep as well when Chris isn't here.  I'm glad he comes home soon.

Aspirations of Artistic Ability

Chris and I have completed our map of Valletta, Malta!

SNOW!

I need to look out the window more often.  Chris and I went on a walk yesterday to run a few errands and went outside completely unprepared for it to be snowing.  We went hiking on Saturday and it was sunny and relatively warm.  What crazy weather!  But this morning everything's white and I love it.  It helps that I don't have to go outside, so I can enjoy it from afar.  It finally feels like winter.  Considering it's almost the end of January, I'd say it's about time.  I haven't watched An Inconvenient Truth, but the dvd is sitting here.  I think, like Who Killed the Electric Car, that I'm putting off watching it because it will probably be upsetting and frustrating.  I'll get around to seeing it eventually.

Wedding Pictures!

Need I say more?  Check out the photos.

New Years Resolution

I've already decided on a New Year's resolution.  I know, I'm on top of things.  This year, I'm going to decrease my carbon footprint whenever I can.  I've decided that I'm not going to completely change my lifestyle to do this; I will still take a plane when I go on vacation overseas and I will still eat fresh fruit during the winter even though it has to be trucked in from long distances.  However, in any way that I feel I can, I am going to actively go out of my way to do my part and expend less CO2 by using up less energy, buying locally grown produce, conserving water, carpooling or using public transportation, and any other ways I can.  If you would like to do the same, Slate.com has some great articles on how to help.  Wish me luck!

http://www.carbonfootprint.com/

Marriage Report

I awake each morning to the soothing sound of jackhammers working on the foundation of the new building going in across the street.  I stumble out of bed and turn on the nearest lights.  They happen to be the little IKEA star lights we put up for Christmas.  It gives the room a warm glow.  Before my work day begins, I surf to a few familiar web pages.  It's the same every morning.  And each morning I sigh at the friends that haven't updated their blog or online journals and voraciously read any new posts that might be up.  And as I bemoan the lack of new entries, my blog sits here, unupdated.  If there's anyone out there who is doing the same as me, I apologize at my negligence.  And once in a while, when I don't see an update, perhaps I'll just call you out of the blue and ask what's going on.  Actually talking to you is a much better way of keeping up with your life than reading it on the Internet.

But, if you don't have to time to talk, here's an online update from me.  All the movies, books, and TV shows make you believe that the first year of marriage is hard and all about nagging, arguing, and compromising.  I know it's only been a couple months, but I'd like to report that this is completely unfounded.  Nothing has changed.  There's no fighting.  No nagging.  There may be compromise, but it's only compromises you really want to make in order to make the love of your life happy.  This marriage thing seems to be all about lying on the couch and asking your new husband to bring you tea.  It's kinda nice.

And speaking of wedding/marriage stuff, congratulations Tiff!!!!!!!!  I couldn't be happier!  Much love and I promise I will talk to you soon.  I want to hear all about it.  Engagements are so exciting.

I'll write more later.  For now, life is quiet and we're just busily preparing for Christmas and for the honeymoon to Malta.  But I am pleased to note that I left the house yesterday.  It was the first time since Sunday.  I think I'm going to actively find ways to become involved with stuff and actually venture out into the world every once in a while.  Especially since I'm in the middle of a very cool city.  I should enjoy it.

Blog Negligence

Dear George,

I am sorry I have not written lately.  I also apologize to everyone else who happens to read my blog and has been upset by my lack of new entries.  Here is my life as it currently stands:

Christmas is in one week.  This is amazing and makes me giddy at the thought.  I feel that this should be the case for everyone, whatever their age.  Christmas is just a great day because you get to finally share the gifts that you've been hiding for months, weeks, or days (depending on how organized or lazy you have been).

Friday is almost like Christmas for me as well.  Once I see Chris on Friday, I won't have to leave him again like I've done for 14 months.  Not that we'll never be apart from each other ever again, but that will not be the norm and so it will be different.  On that same line of news, I will be moving on December 27^th.  Yay.  Mostly, yay.

I have the week after Christmas off to set up my new office and settle into my new home.  This is a much needed respite to which I am greatly looking forward.

I think that's about it for right now.  It's tumultuous and crazy and busy, but transition always is.  I'll miss everything about my current home yet look forward to everything about my new one.  My apartment is starting to look sparse and I am excited and apprehensive.  I guess that's the way these things must be.  It is time. 

And that's me in a nutshell.  There's so much big stuff going on that I have no weird links to share or news to comment on.  I wish I had more and I wish I was more entertaining.  That's what a blog's for after all; right?  I was going to add some info, critiques and advice from all the books you sent me, but my head's not really in it at the moment.  Perhaps another time.  And George, thanks for all your support.  You were right a year ago; DC is where I belong.

Happy holidays!

Love,
jess

Writing again

I'm sorry.  I've been a terrible blogger lately.  But I spend my spare time online doing Christmas shopping and it's been busy and I don't know when I'm moving....  I haven't gotten a chance to post and I don't know what I would write if I did post.  My blog is a bit directionless at the moment.  And I guess that's a bit apt.  Right now, I'm kinda floating.  Everything's almost all in place to start a new phase of life in a new place, but still not quite there.  Once I get through all this transition stuff and land on my feet, I'll have more motivation to post, I promise.  It's all good change and I'm terribly lucky on many counts.  I just need to be patient as everything falls into place.  In the meantime, it's very hard to make solid plans and I feel like I've lost touch with more than a few people.  You guys mean the world to me and I'll be back.

Guy Fawkes Day

In case I don't get to blog tomorrow (I'll be playing ultimate all day) I just want to wish you all a very happy Guy Fawkes Day!  Burn lots of guys in effigy.  Have a great weekend!!

"Remember, remember the fifth of November,
Gunpowder treason and plot.
We see no reason
Why gunpowder treason
Should ever be forgot!

"Guy Fawkes, guy, t'was his intent
To blow up king and parliament.
Three score barrels were laid below
To prove old England's overthrow.

"By god's mercy he was catch'd
With a darkened lantern and burning match.
So, holler boys, holler boys, Let the bells ring.
Holler boys, holler boys, God save the king.

"And what shall we do with him?
Burn him!"

Aromatherapy

Tonight, on the commute home, I sat next to someone who had a magazine.  I don't know what magazine it was, but it certainly wasn't a fashion magazine.  The smell wasn't that distinct mixture of perfume ads and glue.  Instead, it was a slightly musty paper smell.  And as soon as I sat down, it took me back to late nights, curled in bed with a flashlight, reading my star wars novels in middle school.  Yes, I was a big dork.  There was something comforting and exciting about staying up until 3 in the morning reading novel after novel.  And catching that scent again made me as happy as I had been curled up with a good book in the dead of the night.  One scent and in my head I was back under the covers, eagerly turning the pages.  Smell is an amazingly strong sense.  And even though I know that, sometimes I don't realize that.  I think because scent is so difficult to place and describe and share.  But it's tied quite closely to memory.  Like the smell of my office building.  Work smells like work and every once in a while I walk in and it takes me unaware and I'm drawn into a flashback to walking into work my frst few days there.

Anyway, I'm tired and it's becoming increasingly apparent that I won't be getting any trick or treaters tonight.  Alas.  More candy for me.  I'm off to bed.  I'll ttyl.

Preparing for Halloween

I haven’t seen The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown special this year. Perhaps it’s because I don’t have cable…. Although wouldn’t it be on a network? Ah well, perhaps it’s because I don’t watch TV in general these days. What’s Halloween without a little Great Pumpkin? My favorite is, “It’s Arbor Day, Charlie Brown.” I actually haven’t seen it, but how could it not be the best Charlie Brown ever? Arbor Day. Genius. They must have spent forever trying to figure out how many other holidays they could create a seasonal Peanuts cartoon about. Then they ran out of ideas. And then they made one about Arbor Day. Anyway, I just wanted to lament my Great Pumpkin-less Halloween. Also, I need Halloween costume ideas. Thoughts? And while we’re discussing Halloween, it’s my first year giving candy out to kids from my own place. I’m very excited and doing a little decorating. I want to be the cool apartment on the block, so what kind of candy should I give?

In 5th grade, we learned a Halloween song in French. It went:

"C’est l’halloween, c’est l’halloween….” It went on to sing about skeletons and bats and ghosts, but that’s all I can remember. It’s funny how I suddenly take to things when they’re in song form. I still remember the tune and that little part of the chorus of one silly little song from one once-a-week class.

Anyway, Halloween is one of my favorite holidays. It’s a little disappointing to no longer be trick-or-treating. Just to make sure I’m not missing out on some prime door-to-door candy claiming, how old is too old to trick-or-treat? I suppose once you’re out of college and have your own place that you no longer qualify. Alas. I suppose I’ll just have to buy some extra candy for myself. Yeah, like I need more sugar.

Co-Decorating

It looks like I actually will be headed south to DC.  Not right away, but in the coming months.  In the meantime, I've begun to wrap my head around planning.  Moving in, making new friends, getting adjusted, combining 2 apartments worth of stuff, etc.  It's the stuff that I've been contemplating specifically today.  Here's the dilemma; I have a bright red couch with red chairs and red decorative accessories.  Chris has a burgundy wall, rug with a good deal of burgundy, and basically the same range of colors, except they're all dark and muted instead of the bright, rainbow-y colors that I have.  What shall we do?  I know it's a little detail that doesn't matter much, but still, meshing two styles is not always easy.  Do we get a chocolate brown slip cover for my couch?  Do we put on pillows that have both red and burgundy, trying to bring the two together?  Do we live with mismatching colors now, knowing that when we eventually move to a house there will be room for both color schemes?  I'm not entirely sure.  I know we've discussed where everything will go, but somehow, I still can't seem to picture it all together.  However, I couldn't do that with my current apartment either until I actually saw the furniture all set up.  Silly things to consider, yet important, nonetheless.  Ideas?

Autumn in New York...or Jersey, whatever

So I've finally settled back into life back stateside.  I had a very relaxing weekend that was only slightly interrupted by my realization that I am now an adult.  I know; I was surprised too.  I bought groceries.  Not just frozen pizzas but groceries that involved meal planning beforehand.  I got stuff for lunches and dinners and even everything to bake an apple crisp.  And a plant for my table.  I got it all with the money I earn by working every weekday.  Amazing.  And I cleaned my apartment and reorganized everything that had gotten out of hand.  I unpacked my suitcases and kicked my jet lag.  I spent time outside in the sun and talked to my neighbors as they passed by.  It was by all definitions an adult weekend.  Strange and yet rewarding.

All is not lost

My car has been recovered!  It was towed around DC and left for dead in an illegal parking spot.  Stupid company starting stupid work on the street where it was parked while I was away.  It was nice of them to inform me, or DC, or anybody.  Great job.  Fortunately, Chris located it by tracking the tickets it had been accumulating.  What a hassle, but Misty is once again in my posession.  And Chris is my hero.  So with a light heart and a pretty car, I will soon be posting pictures and writing about my trip.  I know you're all excited.  That is, once I can get back in my apartment.  In the rush of getting my car back home and getting to work, I managed to lock myself out of my apartment.  In a couple hours from now I will attempt to break and enter my own home.  Fun stuff.  Although in comparison, I'd rather break into my apartment one night than have lost my car.  I'll take it.  And if I'm not sound asleep as soon as I fall through the pried open window, I'll write more.  Until then.

On hiatus

To my friends and loyal readers,

I know I haven't updated recently and I appologize profusely.  Thank you to the people who still come and check out my site on the off chance that I've stopped being lazy and given you something to read.  And special thanks to Elena and George for leaving me comments.  They always make me smile.  You guys are the best.  Life in Jess-Land is actually going quite well.  I'm getting my car back on Saturday, I have a phone again (same number), and I leave for vacation this weekend.  Yes, I know what you're thinking, what about your blog posts?  Well, it will once again be a little while because I will not be updating while away.  I'll be back a week from Wednesday.  I will have to tell you all about Greece then.  I'm sooo excited.  Oh, and in other news, I have a date and place for my wedding.  That has been a wonderful piece of the puzzle to figure out.  We're getting married at the Audubon sanctuary and it's absolutely gorgeous and just right for us.  I couldn't be happier.  Once we get back from our trip, we can start figuring out the next steps, but the location was the big thing and now we have some time.  Eventually I'll work on getting a wedding site up and running for us.  Hmm, what else is there to tell you?  I'm sure I have funny stories to update you with, but I can't remember them offhand.  I'll have to have a more complete entry later.  Then I can regail you with stories and adventures.  For now, I'm here, I'm doing well and I'll be back soon.  I'll miss you all and I know there are a lot of you that I've been meaning to get together with.  It's been too long.  We'll figure all that out when once I get back.  A bien tot!

Love,

Jess

wedding antics

hello.  Sorry I've been gone for the weekend.  I'm back now.  I don't have too many exciting comments or insights to introduce into discussion today.  Come back in a day or two and I'll have more fun stuff to share.

However, I do have an update from my weekend.  My brother's wedding was really really nice and pretty and fun.  I had a good time, took lots of pictures and shared an amazing day.  I can't believe my brother's married.  It's crazy; everyone's getting so old.  But on the other hand, it's soo wonderful and they're soo happy together.  I couldn't imagine a better couple and I wish them all the best.  They also had one of the cooler wedding soundtracks to date.

In other news, today is my birthday!  This year, in lieu of presents, please help get me links to this site.  That is, if you feel this site is worth being linked to.  Which it isn't always, I'll admit, but some of the posts have had definite merit, I think, and I'd like to share them with whoever will listen.  Anyway, it would be greatly appreciated.  Thanks so much!