Mostly Whatnot

Fortunate

2011-01-02T10:52:00.008-05:00

Déjà vu gave us a knowing look as B and I realized we do this most years: head out on New Year’s Day around 5:30 P.M. ready to shop and walk around at stores that close around 5:30 P.M. Food was the next order of business so I looked up the closest UNO’s because we had this really tasty healthy pizza there the other day. Google said it was Permanently Closed. We then spotted a restaurant that we hadn’t been to in a while, but at a new location. A giant banner announced “Coming Soon! Now Hiring.”

We pressed on.

Down the road a Chinese restaurant we’d never seen before sported three-foot high lettering announcing GRAND OPENING, your traditional-oval Open neon, and a truck out front announcing the same for good measure. This place was most definitely open. We ordered meals we’d never ordered before in the spirit of new, ate nearly all of them and chatted whilst drinking tea afterward. Our waiter delivered two fortune cookies and the bill. I tore the cellophane wrapper and cracked open the cookie to learn that my fortune was...nonexistent. I smiled thinking my fortune is up to me, as it is for each of us.

Happy New Year.

A Baker’s Dozen of Grateful-For Things

2010-11-28T16:17:00.009-05:00

Another Thanksgiving has filled my belly...and my heart.

Here’s a baker’s dozen of the good stuff for which I give thanks:

1. Opening my parents’* front door Wednesday night to the smells of turkey in the oven, apple pie resting on the stove top and homemade Chex mix on the kitchen table. Bliss.

2. My new job and how much I like it. Like any good thing in one’s life, it makes all the other good things even better.

3. Being able to spend the whole holiday weekend with my family. (I wasn’t sure what the paid holiday situation would be at the new job so I was thrilled to learn it was Thursday and Friday.)

4. My mother-in-law’s good health...and her incredible scalloped corn.

5. My mom getting in the kitchen to bake her Cream Cheese Pumpkin Roll. What a surprise treat! You can see it’s half gone in the forefront of the photo.

6. My sister- and mother-in-law hosting the holiday as usual and cooking a delicious spread.

7. How funny people in my family are - they had me laughing to tears.

8. My brother suggesting breakfast Saturday morning.

9. My dear husband, the whipped cream on my life.

10. Shopping at dawn on Black Friday with my dad and B and getting all new socks and a gorgeous, soft scarf I wore all day.

11. Running into old friends and family during that cold, dark morning and enjoying the conversations more than the door busters. What I went for turned out to not be on sale anyway!

12. Equally enjoyable was eating my second turkey dinner, napping and then spending the rest of the evening on the couch watching TV with my parents and B.

13. All the barriers that have been torn asunder this year. Doors I kept pushing on gave way and then others popped open surprisingly - maybe because they finally realized it was a better state of being: open.

I hope your Thanksgiving was a filling as mine.

*My parents just celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary. Cheers, Mom and Dad!

Floating on the Fourth

2010-07-05T17:18:00.004-04:00

The fireworks vibrated our foot pegs as B and I floated on the river. We had the best seats by far.

The Second Best Sandwich in the Country

2010-06-08T20:47:00.017-04:00

Another moment in Seattle: The day before we leave for Seattle, B calls out from the living room that there is this sandwich we’ve got to try while we’re there. It is on one of those Travel/Food Network shows, and Paseo’s Cuban Roast is in the number two slot of some ever popular top whatever list. We are a bit giddy to fulfill a silly goal: to travel to some place to eat what we saw on TV.

Saturday, May 15, turns out to be the day. Paseo’s has a couple locations, and we decide we’ll go to Fremont, a cool, artsy in the let’s-build-a-giant-troll-under-the-bridge-sort-of-way suburb. We know we’ve found the place not only by the blue dot on the Google map, but by the meandering line up the sidewalk. There is no sign. The place is clad in aluminum, has glass front doors and is about 10 feet wide. Okay, maybe 15. We take our place, jaw a bit with some other folks who are here on the same quest and play on our iPhones - the device that makes waiting completely painless. A sign informs us that due to the rising cost of corn a side of it will be extra instead of coming with the sandwich. B deducts that they put it with the sandwich for a reason so he orders two Cuban Roasts with corn. Once his name is called and a heavy bag of roast pork sandwiches is in hand, we head off to a park I located on the phone while we waited.

There are maybe six places to sit in tiny Paseo’s, and unless you enjoy wild-eyed, pork-leering people streaming past as you eat, I highly recommend taking your lunch to nearby Green Lake Park.

We park the rental, locate a spot at the edge of a tree’s shadow overlooking the pretty glacially-formed lake and open the bag. This sandwich is big like a sub on the tastiest crusty-on-the-outside, soft-on-the-inside bread. We both sit straddling the large white squares of meat-packing paper in which our sandwiches rest. The pork is tender and plain. This is not a saucy sandwich, but the juice makes it a drippy, sit-down meal. On top of the pork are super-thick onions. You know when you have a giant onion ring and the whole thing comes sliding out of the crust all in one piece? About 10 of those succulent monsters glisten on each sandwich. Finally, there’s a surprisingly light layer of mayonnaise dotted generously with sliced jalapeños. This pork-and-onion-loving, mayo-despising, might-shy-from-jalapeños gal absolutely loves it. We deem the Paseo Cuban Roast worthy of the wait in line to get it. Heck, it’s worthy of the flight.

We are in a happy stupor afterward, watching people bike, stroll, run and roll by on the paved loop. We do a lot of fun things this week in Seattle, but this is one of my favorite moments, laying back on raincoats for blankets in the grass, bellies full of yum and hearts full of happy as we lay side-by-side.

Since I know you are not content with that ending, still yearning to learn about America’s number one sandwich, I give you this.

Bruce and Brandon Six Feet From the Living

2010-06-07T21:40:00.013-04:00

Another moment in Seattle: Bruce and Brandon Lee lay below our feet. It’s completely surreal. Way back in the day B and I loved martial arts and actually met in a class; we still enjoy watching Kung Fu movies as much as ever. Bruce’s stone looks just like I’ve seen in pictures, but we are surprised to find Brandon right next to him. Brandon’s stone is designed with a space sliced down its middle; I touch it and imagine when it rains that it pours out each side making two little fountains. I remember later that I didn’t touch Bruce’s stone. I have lived three years longer than this man, but he lived so much more intensely.

We took pause reading the too-true inscription on Brandon’s stone: “Because we don’t know when we will die, we get to think of life as an inexhaustible well. Yet everything happens a certain number of times. And a very small number, really. How many more times will you remember a certain afternoon of your childhood, some afternoon that’s so deeply a part of your being that you can’t even conceive of your life without it? Perhaps four or five times more. Perhaps not even that. How many more times will you watch the full moon rise? Perhaps twenty. And yet it all seem limitless.” - For Brandon and Eliza, Ever Joined in True Love’s Beauty

Top Pot

2010-06-06T20:19:00.014-04:00

Intro: I’ve been meaning to put up a nice post about our May vacation in Seattle. Instead, I am going to write tiny posts of excellent moments B and I had over those glorious, rain-free seven days*.

I type Top Pot Doughnuts into my phone just to see if we’re close, and find we’re within a mile of one. It’s our last day in Seattle, and we’re spending it consulting our mishmash list of possible things to see and do. We’ve just left Bruce and Brandon Lee’s graves, and I tell B, “We’re just minutes away from Top Pot. Shall we go?” He says, “Sure," and makes the turn.

We’ve had no dinner and decide a doughnut will hold us over. This is vacation-think and wouldn’t happen in real life. Maybe it is partially inspired by the too true life-is-short sentiment on Brandon Lee’s grave.** We park on the side of street and stroll down to yet another establishment with an awesome neon sign. The Seattle area has a high-concentration of fantastic neon signs, but that is a post for another day.

In true vacationer style, we tell the fellow behind the counter that we’ve come here just to try these doughnuts and learn that we are standing in the original Top Pot without even trying. The Pink Feather Boa is not to be found in the glass case - which we’ve seen promoted in magazines - but coconut and frosting would not be my first choice anyway. I am ecstatic to see a glaze-free cruller and then ask Pleasant Counter Guy what his favorite is. At his mention, I look down and spot it: the fattest Bavarian cream donut I have every been in the presence of. I order one of each and a glazed blueberry for the next morning - fuel for our 6:00 a.m. flight home.***

It turns out Top Pot’s hand-forged cruller is just a fry cake with ridges - not the airy, eggy donut that I love. Undeterred, I cast the remains of it back into it’s cute little sack and bring out the Bavarian. O. M. G. At roughly 3” high, this is the thickest Bavarian cream donut I’ve ever held, and is there just a dollop of ooey goodness inside? No, it is a filled from edge to edge: yummy, puddin’ deliciousness in every bite with a light, sweet-but-not-too-sweet dough all around covered in delicious chocolate fudge - not that crusty, glazey ick you get at most chain donut stores. From the window counter seat, I sit looking at a strange van that has seen better days and probably many adventures. I lick my fingers and wonder if it belongs to Pleasant Counter Guy as I finish the best doughnut I have ever had.

*Also known as summer in Seattle.

**I’ll share this in another post, I promise.

***The later flight was hundreds more, and I squished my face in disgust as I chose the 6:00 a.m. return knowing that would mean a 3:30 a.m. wake time.

Tri-ing is Fun!

2010-05-02T09:43:00.023-04:00

Last Saturday my alarm was set for 4:30 a.m., and I stand by that being the most extreme part of doing a mini-triathlon. 4:30 a.m! Saturday! Way nuttier than any amount of human-powered travel.

When I heard my city was having a race-filled weekend, I was intrigued. When I learned the swimming was replaced with kayaking, I was hitting send on my application.* This was February I think. I hit send knowing full well it could be snowing on April 24. I also made a deal with myself to call it money well wasted to be safe and warm inside instead of risking a dunk in the icy Genesee.

April 24th brought a frigid morning that would warm to the sixties. I couldn’t wait to start running! The 3.1 mile route was absolutely gorgeous on footpaths along the Genesee River near the U of R campus as we crisscrossed over the water on arched pedestrian bridges. I run hills mostly never, but these little bridges offered short little oh-hello-theres to my calves. 28 minutes (and change) later I was on my bike into 20 miles of countryside. This is the event I am least trained for, it’s my third bike ride of the year and the farthest I’ve been on my bike...ever. But to me, this is the spirit of events like this - to see if I can. I don’t visit the course when I do races. Not for half marathons, not for full marathons, not for the one duathlon I did and not for 5Ks. I glance at map for location, usually make sure the course is flat** and just decide I can do it.

Me and a friend of my husband’s*** wish each other well as we head out, him mentioning there are some nice hills on the one road. Hills? Oh, I did not prepare for this, but I am having fun. Glasses and helmet donned, I throw a leg over my mountain bike**** and away I go. I ride like the witch from Wizard of Oz (cue song.) Much less fit looking people with snacks hanging out of their pockets are passing me. The bottom line - mountain bike tires are slooooooooow on the road plus I am not an excellent cyclist, though a road bike would have helped immensely. I suck so much in this section of the race that I don’t get back to the staging area for one hour and thirty-eight minutes. Gah! It was an absolutely gorgeous ride with everything in bloom and entertaining as well as I was being passed by a guy grumbling, “I am never doing this again.” I told him, “Wait until you finish.” That is a fine, fine flavor to have a taste of.

With the bike stowed back on the rack and pulling my long-sleeve Under Armor top off over my head as I run (feels like giving birth to yourself), I complete the 100 yard dash to my kayak. It appears to be the only boat left. I am undeterred. I am thrilled to have finished the biking and be on to my favorite event. The awesome folks who I rented my race boat from put my paddle together and boat in the water as I pull on my new short-sleeve neoprene top and pants. It’s not snowing, but it is guaranteed that the Genesee is freezing. I race downstream and hit my rhythm. Yes, this is the best part. I start actually eyeing people downstream to pick off and power past. This is the first time I’ve been in a kayak this year, but my summer racing makes it feel like yesterday. Thoughts like, 'Sure you can bike better, but you can’t paddle for...' go through my mind as I pass another racer. Hey, it’s motivating and it’s true. I suck at biking, but I don’t suck at this. One guy exclaims to his girl, “Look, she’s got a motor on that boat!” Yes, this part is really fun. I cruise to finish the three miles in 38 minutes.

But it’s not over yet.

Two men warn me that they are going to pull me out of my boat and lift me like they do this every day. One grabs my paddle, they deposit me on my feet and tell me to run for the finish. With my bright yellow PFD flapping, I cross the line about 200 yards away, arms up and exuberant as if I have just won. I always do this; it’s spontaneous and I have won something: the right to stop. This is the most dangerous part because I want and need to keep walking. They make me stop to take off my ankle chip. Has anyone every grabbed your inner thigh just above the knee and squeezed? Have they ever done both at the same time? Holy crap, I can hardly walk and my dear husband asks me where my paddle is. So he can get it. Because he is kind. And I couldn’t care less if it has gone down river and over the falls. This is saying something because I love my paddle. I am anxiously searching out a banana where containers of carrots and cookies sit. Carrots?! I walk aimlessly, mumbling a bit incoherently until mercifully those muscles relax instantly and in unison about three minutes later. And that was the most intense part of the race, but getting up at 4:30 a.m. was still the worst of it.

When the race began at 7:30 a.m., I had three goals:
1. Finish
2. Finish in 3 hours or less
3. Do not got for a swim

I sat in the grass eating my free veggie burger, salt-n-vinegar chips and water, happy to have accomplished all three. I can’t wait to tri again.

*I can and love to swim, but how long I can do it remains to be seen. Actual training would be required here to feel confident in an open water swim. It’s not out of the question one day.

**Uh, usually,...but not this time.

***He has been spinning all winter and this will be a cake walk for him.

****I’m really comfortable on my mountain bike and spring roads are pretty much like off-road - that was my logic in leaving Old Red, my 23-year-old Schwinn with rabbit-ear gear shifting, home.

Oh Happy Day

2010-04-10T12:08:00.005-04:00

It is beautiful today albeit a bit cool. The sky is cloudless. My daffodils are nodding their approval as the wind pushes past.

Have you ever wondered what the weather was like the day your mom was born? Did my gram grab her winter coat or need no coat at all? Maybe there wasn’t time to even think about a coat! It is odd to know so little about the day the person who would be your own mom arrived on the planet. I hope it was as lovely as today. Happy birthday, Mom!

Pecking Away

2010-03-12T20:22:00.004-05:00

My updated resolution list is getting some things crossed off. The bold items are next up, but I’m pecking away at this. I have all year right? How are your resolutions coming?

1. Focus (There are things I think I should do. So I’ve got to pick a thing, focus and do it.)
2. Get Adobe Certified - in anything (That’s one of the things I think I should do.)
3. Make time spent on the computer more productive
4. Tour a real, medieval castle, preferably with a moat (I’d put a moat around my house if it were allowed. They are just cool.)
5. ~~Go to New York with my friend V~~ Trip booked!
6. Surf again
7. Hike to Machu Picchu
8. ~~Get paid for this clean living (My health care plan offers $500 cash back for doing healthy things)~~ Almost halfway there.
9. Go to Hawaii again
10. Visit Venice
11. Be better
12. ~~Be better to my houseplants~~ My houseplants are looking fabulous; I’m checking this off.
13. Move on and forward
14. Snowboard in Utah or Colorado
15. Go on a insanely inexpensive trip to an incredible locale
16. Read more design books
17. Melt glass into beads that I am absolutely pleased with
18. Add something new and interesting to my hobby of doing new and interesting things
19. ~~Get great new glasses to give my eyes a break from contacts~~
20. Take advantage of Lynda.com
21. Knit a pair of socks
22. ~~Print this list and post it in plain sight~~

Words to Eat By

2010-02-23T16:50:00.005-05:00

As I drove past the Third Pounder billboard featuring McDonald’s newest sandwich offering I thought to myself, “I will never eat anything with the word pounder in it.”

Then I began to think of all the words that I will not eat.* Here’s a list with their translations.
Crunchy = Fried
Crispy = Fried (unless it refers to lettuce)
Creamy = Fat
Cheesy = Fat
Melt = Fat
Big = Lots of what you don’t need
Double = Twice what you don’t need
Triple = Three times what you don’t need
Pounder = Seriously?
Liver = It’s an organ - the organ that is a filter. Ick - and I can say that because I have tried it. I like to say, “Ick!” with authority.

*Disclaimer: I love ice cream, and I will have it when I want it. Also, while I have never eaten an order of fast food fries, I love fresh cut curly fries floating (I do not exaggerate) in vinegar from vendors at summer fairs. I’m salivating at the thought.

Remembering Chevettes and Fig Newtons

2010-02-13T12:24:00.012-05:00

I have procrastinated all morning to not clean my house, but finally I’m sweeping my bathroom floor and listening to Debbie Millman’s Design Matters podcast. She remarks that her favorite question to ask her guests is, “What is your first creative memory?” One time after the show a guest asked her, “What is your first memory?” She thought about it for days.

As I fluffed my couch pillows (I go all over the house when I clean) and straightened the slipcover on the first piece of furniture we ever owned with cushions, I started thinking about what my first memory could be. Debbie talked about wonderful times spent with her grandparents. Some of my earliest memories are ones with my Gram as well. She lived in an apartment in a small city, and it had a porch off the back that pigeons would come to. I’m sure they were viewed as pests, but I remember loving seeing them and listening to their cooing. There are morning doves in the countryside where I grew up, but you rarely see a pigeon. City birds, I guess. I remember riding to town with my dad on a sun-drenched summer day in one of our long line of Chevettes - one of which would become my first car. I can remember looking out the window as we rode past the farm where we would get our milk in a glass jug we’d bring to the milk house, everything was green in the fields, and I love the memory for the stillness of myself in the passenger seat utterly content as the world whirrs past the window. Riding in the front seat with my dad was a great treat. I’m pretty sure seat belts didn’t exist yet, and I hadn’t a care in the world.

Those memories are before I was eight, and I’m trying to travel back farther. My mom took tons of photos of my childhood - well, my whole life up to present - and one of my favorite things to do as a kid was pull out all her wonderful photo albums, flipping pages and asking questions. It is hard to differentiate memories from memories of photos. Oh, here’s one though: My other grandmother used to give me Fig Newtons. There is no picture of that. I don’t even like Fig Newtons, but I would always take one and eat it. What a strange, rectangular, gelatinous-filled cookie. Maybe because it was peculiar I found some enjoyment in it. Maybe it was just following her down the hallway to the closet where they were kept.

I’m procrastinating again, and it’s time to go clean some more. I’ll keep thinking.

Oblique Thoughts

2010-01-26T17:41:00.007-05:00

As I was choosing a font the other day, I started thinking about oblique, Helvetica Oblique to be exact. Any font with oblique after the name gives you italics. “Why isn’t the font called Helvetica Italics or Helvetica Slanted,” I wondered.

I Googled oblique to find such adjectives as slanting, skew, indirect, sloping, slant, devious, sidelong, awry, circuitous, roundabout, inclined and the definitions of the word:
1. If you describe a statement as oblique, you mean that is not expressed directly or openly, making it difficult to understand.

2. An oblique line is a straight line that is not horizontal or vertical. An oblique angle is any angle other than a right angle.

Fascinating. Then I thought I’d rather like it if the font were called Helvetica Devious.

Finally, I pondered my abs. Yes, those oblique muscles on the sides of the torso that, it turns out, lay on a slant. Huh. Those are a lot of oblique thoughts I was having that are now perfectly clear to me.

Resolution #19

2010-01-23T13:13:00.005-05:00

Meet my pretty new glasses! Yes, that is bright pink you see racing around the inside. It is a pleasure to wear them this Saturday morning and allow my eyes to wake up before putting in my contacts. After roughly five years of constant contacts, it’s amazing what I forgot about being Four-Eyes: I must move my head to see beyond the edges of the frame (glancing downward/upward/sideways with clarity does not happen for the nearsighted eyeglass wearer) and trying on turtlenecks is a pain, but it’s fun to wear them out and about and catch a glimpse of studious-me reflected in a window. Perhaps it’s a sign of things to come.

Progress Report

2010-01-16T12:07:00.004-05:00

I could wait until I’ve really made a dent in this list, but it gets done bit by bit so I’ve bolded what is in progress and crossed out goals already attained. What’s on your 2010 list? Take action on a bit of it today.

1. Focus (There are things I think I should do. So I’ve got to pick a thing, focus and do it.)
2. Get Adobe Certified - in anything (That’s one of the things I think I should do.)
3. Make time spent on the computer more productive
4. Tour a real, medieval castle, preferably with a moat (I’d put a moat around my house if it were allowed. They are just cool.)
5. Go to New York with my friend V
6. Surf again
7. Hike to Machu Picchu
8. Get paid for this clean living (My health care plan offers $500 cash back for doing healthy things; I’ve earned 1/5 so far!)
9. Go to Hawaii again
10. Visit Venice
11. Be better
12. Be better to my houseplants (This is an ongoing goal so time will tell. I’m just about to water them.)
13. Move on and forward
14. Snowboard in Utah or Colorado
15. Go on a insanely inexpensive trip to an incredible locale
16. Read more design books
17. Melt glass into beads that I am absolutely pleased with
18. Add something new and interesting to my hobby of doing new and interesting things
~~19. Get great new glasses to give my eyes a break from contacts~~*
20. Take advantage of Lynda.com
21. Knit a pair of socks
~~22. Print this list and post it in plain sight~~

*I’m so excited about my new glasses! I’ve worn contacts for the last five years or so, but my over-a-decade-old backup glasses were just good enough for me to drive in in the event of a contact lens emergency. Last week my eyes were feeling kind of dry and crappy with my lenses in and even scratchier with them out. If you Google that sort of thing, horrifying things come up. Don’t they always for any minute medical thing you might wonder about? This made the timing extra good to go get my eyes checked since it was on my list anyway, and since there was a cancelation, I was able to get in the next day! My worries of giant papillary conjunctivitis (google that and click images - yikes!) were unfounded. Besides the ever present near-sightedness I’ve had since third grade, the doctor deemed my eyes perfectly healthy.

Now the fun began! I looked at frames all week at three different places. Two are known for fun and funky (expensive) frames, and the third was right at my eye doctor’s office. I took pictures of myself with my iPhone to show prospective choices to my coworkers and was choosing better looking frames as the week went on. Finally B and I went frame shopping together as I value his opinion most. Even when I put on my old glasses that were deemed by a coworker to look like ones Mrs. Claus* - yes, Santa’s wife - would wear, he said, “Aw, there’s my love” as he fell in love with me when I was wearing big, red, circa 1980’s plastic frames day in and day out. This guy loves me in glasses or not. In the end the key was for me to shop in the kid section. I have a small head; I have a small body to go with it so that’s good, but adult-size eyeglass frames stick out way too far on the sides. After a half hour of pondering, there were two pair I could have been extremely happy with - one matte metal in dark brown with these cool beetle-green nose pad connectors and hinge screws (mature with personality), the other triple-layer plastic in dark brown outside, a thin layer of fuchsia and then very light pink on the inside in a stylish rectangular shape with an almost optimistic upward arc (professional and fun). I was 60/40 for the metal frames when I spotted a woman behind the desk. “I need your expert opinion,” I said. People love to help and she was no different nor was she wishy-washy. She asked me to switch them back and forth a couple of times and decidedly wholeheartedly on the plastic frame. I concurred. This frame made me smile when I had it on. It was also $200 dollars cheaper as I would have had to pay extra to get super thin lenses to fit the thin metal frame. That made me smile even more.

Oh, you want to see them? I’m making everyone wait until next week when I pick them up and that includes you.

*Gold, oval, wire-rimmed frames - she is absolutely right.

I Wish

2010-01-10T17:41:00.010-05:00

Ten days into this new year I’m going to do it. I resolve to make that resolution/wish list.

I resolve/wish to:
1. Focus (There are things I think I should do. So I’ve got to pick a thing, focus and do it.)
2. Get Adobe Certified - in anything (That’s one of the things I think I should do.)
3. Make time spent on the computer more productive
4. Tour a real, medieval castle, preferably with a moat (I’d put a moat around my house if it were allowed. They are just cool.)
5. Go to New York with my friend V
6. Surf again
7. Hike to Machu Picchu
8. Get paid for this clean living (My health care plan offers $500 cash back for doing healthy things.)
9. Go to Hawaii again
10. Visit Venice
11. Be better
12. Be better to my houseplants
13. Move on and forward
14. Snowboard in Utah or Colorado
15. Go on a insanely inexpensive trip to an incredible locale
16. Read more design books
17. Melt glass into beads that I am absolutely pleased with
18. Add something new and interesting to my hobby of doing new and interesting things
19. Get great new glasses to give my eyes a break from contacts
20. Take advantage of Lynda.com
21. Knit a pair of socks
22. Print this list and post it in plain sight

01-02-2010

2010-01-02T11:03:00.006-05:00

Last New Year’s Eve Rick and I were in New York City having dinner at a French restaurant with friends. This year we watched the Food Network all evening, ate plates piled high with carrots, celery, clementines, thin-sliced peppered salame and white cheddar cheese with chipotle peppers and cranberries throughout. This after a gourmet dinner of Cream of Wheat. We like Cream of Wheat and are notoriously lazy about having a New Year’s Eve plan. At midnight we called friends and family, sleeping or not. Those who get woken up by calls from people like me will be delighted to learn I got payback when my brother called early the next morning to send well-wishes. We spent 01-01-10 lazing around, happy that we were, went out for Chinese and then watched Julie & Julia (where we enjoyed watching French food being cooked).

Was last year a much more exciting start to the New Year? Yes, but I was still just as happy as it started off exactly the same way as it has for the last seventeen years - with my favorite person by my side who is the bread to my low-fat butter.*

*That’ll make more sense when you see the movie.

A Card From Christmas Past

2009-12-30T18:15:00.009-05:00

As I was taking down Christmas cards and setting some aside, my husband remarked at me saving them. I am not a saver of things by nature, but if you write me a note in a Christmas card, it’s getting saved and put away with the decorations.

Today as I was flipping through cards from Christmases past, I thought of all the senders who aren’t on this planet anymore and the ones who were yet to be that started showing up on later cards. In addition some folks aren’t with the ones they started out with and now send cards from the current loved ones they are with. Look back, and I’m sure you’ll find that same instances with your friends and family.

One particular card I picked up said, “For Grandson and His Wife at Christmas.” Excited, knowing it was from my husband’s grandparents, Papau and Mamau, I read her handwritten note: “Hi you two. Heard you moved back to Buffalo. Sorry you couldn’t make it up to see us; maybe next year. I know your mom has told you about Papau. He’s still sore but getting better. When you get as old as we are, it takes longer to heal. Rick and Ginger, we love you both and wish you all the luck and happiness in the world. Be good and take care of each other. Love, Papau and Mamau”

I have no idea now what ailment Papau endured, but we enjoyed many more years with both of them in our lives, and when Mamau took leave of this planet, Papau moved in with my mother-in-law so we got to see him quite a bit.

They were two of the coolest people I’ve had the pleasure of knowing. Even into their seventies that sat close together like teenagers and held hands. Every time we’d see them they’d warn us to never get old. While we have no choice in that matter, we can surely “be good, and take care of each other.” Merry Christmas, Mamau and Papau.

Vacate

2009-12-30T00:01:00.004-05:00

Vacation. You can leave a physical place or vanish from your daily routine.

I am in the midst of my end-of-year vacation and am enjoying a good mix of things. I’ve gotten up early and slept in late. I’m staying up late right now. I’ve had lunch with a dear friend, and I’ve eaten fantastic leftovers at home consisting of Christmas ham, white cheddar with chipotle peppers and cranberries in it all topped with onions and grilled on seven-grain bread. I eaten a bit of my dad’s homemade peanut butter fudge every day. This afternoon I did an entire clean sweep of one room in my basement and started the keep, trash and donate piles.

Before I left work, a coworker asked what I would be doing with my days off. I responded, “Two things. 1. Do nothing. 2. Do whatever I want.” It’s working out well so far.

Christmas Present

2009-12-27T16:20:00.022-05:00

My husband and I are back to our serene life after three days of wild family merriment, and the afterglow is a ribbon of warm pink weaving through this day after. I am so grateful to everyone who made my Christmas one of the merriest. The synergistic effect of all these individuals - my mom and dad, husband, mother-in-law, sisters-in-law, brother-in-law and one to be, nieces, nephew, sister and brothers and even the sometimes maddening (for me) dogs and cats - creates a boisterous experience that is not to be missed.

As a kid, the culmination of Christmas was that fantastic plastic or stuffed creation that I’d been yearning for all year long. Now it’s about the fresh baked stuffed mushrooms and thumbprint meatballs made by my dad, pumpkin pie fit for the Gods, walking dogs with my niece and sister-in-law on a mild Christmas Eve afternoon while we terrorize them with Christmas caroling, a gift exchange that makes you appreciate your family’s cleverness and creativity as much as the gift, playing Scattergories and sucking at it, laughter, miscommunication, feeling stupid and more laughter, surprise gifts like the Miracle-Gro my parents got for our Norfolk Pine named Wilson (the only other living creature in our house with a name), homemade fudge from my grandmother’s recipe, more homemade fudge...and truffles even, making crunchy French toast with my brother while my dad sizzles bacon and the wonderful smell that ensues, the smell of dinner later (can someone create an aroma recorder, please?), sharing wine made from sweet Niagara grapes in tiny tasting cups, brunch with my in-laws on Christmas Eve morning, the lovely glass vase my husband saw me admiring in the fall, getting him the thin soft scarf he’s been pining for, love, love, love in spite of imperfection and finally not dwelling on Decembers past. It really is all about the Christmas present.

How I Survived Christmas

2009-12-27T13:30:00.009-05:00

My apologies to Christmas, but Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. It’s like running a half marathon instead of a full - all the fun, half the stress. Like running a half marathon though, it’s half the gratification. Christmas makes you put in all the work, and sometimes when you prepare as you should and all the elements are with you, you get to the finish line feeling really, really good. This Christmas gave me that all-smiles, I-can-stop-now, boy-this-has-been-a-lot-of-fun feeling.

Past Decembers have had some really dark spots for my family. Some events were depressing beyond words. The bright lights and merriment barely made a dent. This year, I found my way through the fog. Here are some things that helped:
1. Gift Ideas List.
Early in the year and every time I heard someone mention something they would like or need, I added it to my Gifts-to-Be list under their name on my iPhone. Or I added things I just know they like in general. When gift-buying time came, it made it much easier. Yes, it may be the thought the counts, but you’ve got to put some effort into the thought.

2. Baking.
When I still had too much to do or sad memories began to creep in, I baked. And I remembered how much I like doing it. There is something immensely satisfying about creating something from nothing in just an hour or two. Spreading a little confectionery cheer is also very smile inducing. Seven kinds of cookies and two pans of gingerbread put me right in the spirit. I also worked the baking right into stocking stuffers so everyone got a colorful one-of-a-kind gingerbread cookie. My inspiration was Starbucks' cute polar bear cut-out. I went with mittens and Christmas cows. It was so much fun.

3. Putting up the Tree.
This seems like a no-brainer, but some years the weeks were just flying by, it became mid-December and “What’s the point?” won out over other thoughts. This year I had to get it up before my cookie party so the house would be all festive. Being a designer, I pride myself on never missing a deadline; it works for more than just projects.

4. Inviting People Over.
Inviting people over made me put up all my lovely decorations (mostly made by my mom), forced me to keep the house spic-n-span and somehow made this month feel less rushed as I baked with friends, had dinner and watched movies with others and enjoyed a whole weekend with my parents and mother-in-law in which we enjoyed a walk in the park to feed chickadees by hand and a TubaChristmas concert that was a couple of the most enjoyable hours of the month.

If you were ever a Girl Scout like me, you learned the secret to life at an early age: Be Prepared. Or at least give it your best effort.

Four. Seven. Ten.

2009-12-15T19:01:00.006-05:00

4 women. 7 cookie recipes. 10 hours - plus me going on to decorate for two more for an even dozen hours to round out this baking marathon. Rows of snickerdoodles, piles of pizzelles, shallow domes of sour cream cookies and more covered my countertops and the smell of the holy trinity - butter, flour and sugar - permeated the walls of my kitchen. Above are some results from my semi-annual* cookie party.

*It takes a hiatus now and again.

December Thaw

2009-12-08T16:55:00.006-05:00

My tree is up, lit and decorated and has been for a week. If you are a Christmas-celebrator, yours is probably up, too, and you might wonder, “What’s the big deal?” I’ve been a humbug, a scrooge, opposite of in-the-holiday-spirit for a couple of years and even the years the tree went up, I often found it a chore.

I used to have an annual cookie party that has been on a two- or three-year hiatus. This Saturday it will be back, and it’s going to be the best one yet. My friends and I often bake from sunup to sundown and eat butter, sugar and dough for lunch. This year we will take it slower, have an actual lunch of cranberry chicken salad on croissants, and I’m going to have the frosting made ahead of time. Snickerdoodles, my specialty, will be the first cookies in the oven.

What has happened exactly to bring on this holly-jolly?

It’s warm, people! 30 degrees. Not 10º. Not 10º below. November was filled with 40 and 50 degree days, and while the temperatures are dropping, my holiday spirit didn’t get frozen solid before December got here. It’s as good a reason as any.

Looks Like Rain

2009-08-30T10:07:00.003-04:00

Every day this summer it seems to have rained or looked like it was going to. Despite that, I have really soaked up every last downward spiraling blob.

Size Matters

2009-08-26T22:00:00.004-04:00

In the world of clothing sizes, I am no longer average. I'm pretty sure I was average once, wearing a solid 7/8 all my teenage years. I can still wear my old high school clothes. (Commence grumbling.) But I do all kinds of things I think are fun to keep fit. Anyway, this post is about clothing sizes, and I needed to give you some background. My point is I have not changed size, but when I look for clothes now, I'm anywhere from a 0 to a 4. What gives? Does seeing a smaller size on a pair of jeans fool anyone? I think not. Same with something costing .99 cents. You and I both know that's a dollar. Trickery.

I am finding it nearly impossible to find clothes that fit in the women's section so I have been shopping in teens for years. Tonight I had a breakthrough after not finding anything there. Girls! Yes, I found two pairs of size 16 jeans that fit like they were tailored for me. The epiphany came when I remembered a favorite pair of capris I have were my niece's; she was tired of them. I figure in another decade I'll be solidly into children's sizes.

Cities

2009-08-20T16:48:00.004-04:00

This year has been filled with road and rail travel, well, filled compared to any other year. It's no wonder I'm still painting my kitchen cabinets and have yet to move on to the walls.

Here's a list of places I've been so far in 2009:
1. New York City
2. Buffalo
3. Boston
4. Boston (again)
5. Reston, VA
6. Washington D.C.
7. Corning
8. Toronto

I'd like a nice Top Ten. Boston can count as one, and Reston and Washington are so close let's count them as one as well so there are four slots to be filled by a world of possibilities.

I'd take any of these candidates:
1. Kailua, HI
2. Venice, Italy
3. Seattle, WA
4. Lancaster, CA (to drive the musical road, of course)

A Sail of Glass

2009-06-17T16:54:00.004-04:00

Over the weekend my mom and I attended the Glass Art Society Conference in Corning, New York at the Corning Museum of Glass. If you've never had the chance to go and you enjoy glass even a tiny bit, put it on your to-do list. If you think you'll be back, ask for an Admission Only membership. It doesn't cost any more and will let you in for free the rest of the year! This image is one I took of a piece that was part of a one-night art installation on the bridge between town and the museum.

6 x 6 x 2009

2009-06-17T16:46:00.001-04:00

A local gallery has a fundraiser every year where local artists and those who want to be donate a 6" x 6" piece of art. They sell them for $20 each to keep the gallery afloat for the next year. It's an inclusive, fun, community event. Above is my piece: Quiet Like Bananas Are Quiet.

I thought about taking it into the computer - and may still - to make it all polished and flashy, but I wanted someone to buy a piece of art that was actually touched by the artist during creation. That's what makes paintings so much better than prints of course. Have you ever seen an actual van Gogh? The texture is amazing!

Maira Kalman: And the Pursuit of Happiness

2009-05-29T18:59:00.003-04:00

Sometimes I come across something wonderful and horrible and amazing. Today it was this New York Times blog post written and illustrated by Maira Kalman. I love her art, her words and her sentiments like, "Don't we need both the warriors and artists on this planet?" and "Everyone is beautiful. Everyone makes you proud. Everyone breaks your heart." Okay, I liked every word and brush stroke.

Eat, Sleep, Draw

2009-05-18T21:14:00.005-04:00

This shoe is probably the best sketch I've done. I hadn't sat down to just draw in a long time and signed up for a class so I would have to. So conditioned am I as a graphic designer, I tend to crave that deadline. The teacher set up this still life with a spotlight and we drew in the dimness. Who wore it? Where did they go? How many public restrooms had the shoe hurried into? Did that shoe get to dance? I wondered these things, and I loved drawing this shoe.

Everyone learns to draw. Then most of us stop. I sometimes forget what a pleasure it is to look, really look, at a leaf, a person, a dream and transcribe it to paper. The process is as magical as a photograph appearing in a bath of darkroom chemicals - maybe more so because the subject is not captured by technology, but by a being.

Synapses fire off to make the finger hold the pencil, jog the line, darken a shadow, while the eyes record what they see to create an image filtered through thought. Click here to see the magic.

Better

2009-05-16T09:03:00.015-04:00

When you are around someone who is bettering themselves in some way, education, fitness, etc., it is hard not to get inspired. Or at least feel inadequate or lazy or both for not doing something to move toward your goals. My husband has acquired a couple Microsoft certifications and is taking a course twice a week to learn C# (sharp not pound, apparently) and .net programming, things I cannot hope to ever understand. I've run a few marathons so I'm crushing him on the fitness (though he's not unfit as I've wrangled him into some 5Ks), but it's time to work a body part I've been neglecting.

I've been a graphic designer for over a decade, but as with most professions, there is always something new to learn - and thank goodness. A month ago I downloaded a 10-week Photoshop webinar and am finally nibbling away at the one-hour classes with accompanying one-hour Q and A. For perspective, I now have to admit a guilty pleasure: I loved school. I loved college. Being in a class is one of my favorite things. I was really disappointed I couldn't take this Photoshop course when it was offered live and was really worried it would be dry and feel less interactive. Maybe that's why I put it off for a while. It turns out that it's wonderful.

The instructor, Jason Hoppe, is excellent; he is concise, entertaining and dispenses so much knowledge about Photoshop it could fill an Egyptian pyramid. As someone who uses the CS3 version of this program, I'm in an excellent spot to soak up more efficient ways to do the things I know, learn some new techniques, see how things work in CS4 (the version used in this course) and get a refresher on skills I learned once but don't have the opportunity to do often. It's like taking toothpaste to tarnished silver; try it - it will shine like new.

As a lover of learning, my second favorite thing is sharing what I've learned. I often e-mail my coworkers tips and tricks. Some they already know and some they don't, but I figure if we all get faster, we have more time for the fun part - being creative! There are so many things I've picked up from this course, such as holding the option key (alt on the PC) while clicking on the eyeball icon on one layer will turn all the other layers off for instant before and after comparison. Fab-u-lous!

This course is still available here. Download all 10 weeks for $65 or just the weeks you want for $15 each. CreativeTechs, a Seattle-based professional Mac support company, is who produces this course and others. Visit their blog for all kinds of useful Mac/design-related information. You can also follow them on Twitter: @creativetechs. Am I in some way affiliated with CreativeTechs? No. I just want you to get better.

SharePoint Saturday, D.C.

2009-05-04T22:45:00.011-04:00

I don't use SharePoint. I have just a basic idea of what it does. Who knew it would take me on a variety of road trips and lead to fun excursions at the destinations? While Rick packs his brain all day at SharePoint sessions, I meander around wherever I am until we meet up with the group later to go out and have fun.

I have now tagged along to two SharePoint Saturday weekends - one in Boston, one in D.C. - or to be more precise, the surprisingly fun suburbs of Waltham, MA and Reston, VA. In Boston last month, I set out on foot and didn't stop until five hours later and then just to have some lunch. While in D.C. this past weekend, we headed into the city to experience the monuments at night. The cherry blossoms littered the ground like delicate pink confetti as we walked from the Lincoln Memorial to the Washington, the spring night air was perfect and the company highly entertaining and welcoming to a non-SharePointer. From an impromptu light saber duel during which a stranger sidled up and joined in for a few jabs to lying at the base of the Washington monument to look up at the top, it had the air of a senior trip. Maybe that's because my senior trip - way back in the day - was there though our bus driver got lost, and we didn't get to all our designated stops.

Rick is really motivated as a user of SharePoint to learn all he can and then share what he knows via blogging and presenting. I had a small epiphany today about getting certified in the design programs I use. Perhaps I could eventually train people if I headed in that direction. It could be worth the mental road trip.

Thank You Fold-Down Seat Inventor

2009-04-14T23:36:00.007-04:00

I have a bike rack. I just decided it would be easier if my bike could
go in my car, and those sweet fold-down seats did not let me down -
just.

If the person who invented them stumbles by my blog and reads
this, I think you deserve a Pulitzer prize. You made it possible for
me to get to a trail where I didn't have to worry about traffic. You
made it possible for me to ride helmet-free, the wind in my hair -
without the usual guilt I'd feel about being turned into a vegetable
for my husband to feed if I were braving the road and got unlucky.
Simply put, you make my life - and those of countless other fold-down
seat owners - better.

Note: For those of you thinking I should be wearing a helmet anyway, it was not a mountain biking trail, but one of those rails-to-trails trails. If you think I should still be wearing a helmet, I'm just glad you haven't gotten a law passed against it for people my age because this normally law-abiding person would break it.

Getting it Done

2009-04-04T00:31:00.004-04:00

It's been another busy week where the majority of the time spent at home was with my eyes closed. Tonight B and I stayed in. I dialed on the dishwasher, got two loads of laundry done and - miracle of miracles - put away, went to the gym, had wonderful conversations with B, got my mom's birthday present, downloaded an online Photoshop course to expand upon my skills, updated apps on my iPhone, made the grocery list because our fridge looks like a bachelor lives here and picked up the last drawer pull we needed for the kitchen and returned some wrong size screws that I'd bought. Whew. Still there are plenty of things that need doing like cleaning the bathroom, putting the dishes away, grocery shopping...it's just never ending isn't it?

Hesitation

2009-03-30T22:27:00.003-04:00

I have trouble connecting things. I hesitate. But some things you have to go right into. For example, when you do a round-off back handspring it is no where near the same thing as doing one round-off or one back handspring. The round-off back handspring is all one creature. The middle is not "pause, bend knees, sit back, JUMP!" It's "land/punch the floor with toes while jumping backward." Fast.

No time for thought - only do.

I am so bad at do because of that lack of time for thought. In the end, that is my downfall because thoughts lead to fear and fear leads to hesitation and hesitation leads to failure. I must try to trust that physical plane and push the mental one out of the way. My brain may be the least flexible part of me because it is the only one that understands the danger I'm putting the rest of the parts in. Understandable brain, but it's unacceptable. Get out of my way.

I <3 Anemones

2009-03-28T17:13:00.006-04:00

It was a lovely day at Boston's New England Aquarium with my folks. My
mom had the fine idea of going, and it's well worth the trip. But go
on a Tuesday - like that commercial that's on right now suggests. By
noon there were more people than fish!

One of my favorite things was this first tank we spent about 15
minutes at. Anemones are such fantastic creatures. I was more excited
to see them than the fish.

The jellyfish special exhibit was excellent. They were the only
creatures I was glad to be seperated from by glass. Apparently
jellyfish are psyched about global warming because they are very
adaptive and thriving. There were penguins, but it's sad to see them
stuck inside. Myrtle, a 70-80-year-old sea turtle so large you
couldn't get it in the back seat of your car, is also in residence.

Over the Hump

2009-03-25T12:51:00.003-04:00

Do you ever get in a better mood seemingly for no reason? That happened me today. I've been deducing that it's Wednesday's proximity to Friday. Or maybe it's because I signed up for a free online course to understand why colors in Photoshop don't print the same as the exact colors in InDesign. Other bright spots on the horizon are that I'm going to wash the winter filth off my car today, and I plan on baking snickerdoodles when I get home. The cookie baking will be very exciting because I just got a new gas stove...with a window!

Maybe I'm just in a good mood because there are immediate things to
look forward to.

Green Things

2009-03-24T18:15:00.004-04:00

Things secret and green are poking up into the world. I extend a tentative finger, touching each one. Hello. They are strong and like upside down divers, hands thrust toward the sun.

The beginnings of daffodils and tulips spear through last autumn's leaves. The weeds are still weeks away, and the rain will provide these first flowers with all the water they need. This is the time that I love my garden. Bulbs I buried under winters long past push through all the dirt and leaves that have been heaped upon them.

Slumbering in silence, shoving aside misconceptions like here there be no flowers, believing there is light in the direction they are heading and standing tall and bright through - and because of - all the rain - this is the ethos of green things.

"Sit, Ubu, Sit"

2009-03-18T18:58:00.004-04:00

I was looking for the Eat, Pray, Love book when I came across Sit, Ubu, Sit by Gary David Goldberg. Gary is the guy that created Family Ties, and this is the story of how that happened, the story of his life.

B and I recently took a road trip to Boston, and since my stereo is too old to know what an iPhone is, I became the audiobook and read it as we traversed the interstate. It was so much fun to read aloud, and B loved hearing the tale unfold. It is clever and upbeat; a love story with life's anvils-dropped-from-high-places thrown in. You know when you're reading sad parts to yourself, and if you're the stoic sort, your eyes may well up a bit, but you just keep reading? There were two spots where I could hardly read aloud. Damn. Dragging emotion outta me. Okay, Gary, you're good, and your story is wonderful, and if nothing as amazing as creating a hit TV show is in my future at least I've got the love of my life with me for whatever comes.

It's Been Days

2009-02-24T16:14:00.002-05:00

It's been days, nay, over a week since my last post! What shall I share with you this time? If you're like me, you've thought about throwing a paper airplane out of a skyscraper. Here's a video of someone who did and recorded their craft's beautiful flight from take-off to landing.

More Than Chocolates and Flowers

2009-02-14T09:36:00.003-05:00

Valentine's Day. Is it contrived? Do you hate it? Do you write a mushy note to your sweetheart? People go all out with romantic getaway weekends with their significant others or swing to the other end of the spectrum to put together highly entertaining anti-Valentine playlists and celebrate the anti-holiday. Me, I'm a sucker for the mushy stuff, and I think anti stuff is fun, too.

Whatever your feelings, this day is about love. Maybe you love the diner down the street and the friendly owners who work hard to make it so inviting. Maybe it's a book that you love written by someone who spent days tapping their thoughts out. Maybe it's that person who lies down next to you at the end of each day. Surely you are not anti those things so broaden your Valentine definition to include more than honey-snuggling if you don't have a honey to snuggle.

I say celebrate. Go to that diner. Pick up that book. Write a goofy note to that person who embraces your imperfections. Love and you will find it.

Fun With Family

2009-02-08T21:32:00.006-05:00

That's Grandpop, a cast of a Giant Tortoise that used to live at the Buffalo Zoo and still lives on in memory at the Buffalo Museum of Science. The last time I saw him - well, his cast - was probably twenty years ago.

Saturday B and I met my parents for breakfast and to spend the day in Buffalo. We'll often end up at a movie or just wandering the Galleria, but my mom asked, "How about we go to the science museum?" What a great idea. We had such a good time. The funny thing is the last time I was there was with them and my brothers and sister in the family minivan, back when minivans were kind of a new thing. It was nostalgic and quiet at first because we got there within a half hour of them opening.

The two exhibits that I remember most are this turtle and the pendulum. You can see it on the first floor and then run up to the second floor to look down at it swinging back and forth. They start it swinging in one direction every day and if you check it out after you've been there a few hours, it appears to have changed direction when in fact it's just that the Earth has spun that much.

Winter Without End

2009-02-02T13:12:00.000-05:00

It's staying lighter longer, but it's still hard to remember days warm
enough to wear a t-shirt right now. When it is reasonably warm, I make
the most of the snow on cross country skiis and my snowboard. Fun as
it is to go flying down a hill, my thoughts keep turning to
surfing...wishing that still, cold slope was the surging, warm ocean
beneath me.

Is it possible one trip to Hawaii has ruined me forever? B is also
done with winter. The only problem is winter is hardly done with us.

Hopefully we will have another day of just the right amount of snow
and warmth to get to this spot pictured. The trail flanked on either
side by maples and hawthorns leads into a grove of pines filled with
shadow and sunlight. It's the kind of place you get quiet in; like
entering a church but better.

No Sunday Blues

2009-01-25T19:14:00.005-05:00

All the Sunday life maintenance stuff is done: garbage collected, fresh towels up, fresh sheets on, lunch made, clothes out for tomorrow and (ugh) alarm set. Now I'm about to chill and read some more of Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife by Mary Roach. Her writing is witty and always chock full of fascinating facts and stories. A previous book, Stiff, is one of my absolute favorites. So the prospect of reading makes me happy plus I'm really excited to show off some logo design ideas on Tuesday for the place I just started rowing at. There was a quote in the movie A Family Thing that goes something like, "Being happy ain't nothing more than having something to look forward to."

Sleeeepy

2009-01-21T00:21:00.005-05:00

What a momentous and hope-filled day. I don't know how Barack is still awake let alone lively looking. I am whooped. It's a let's-see-how-many-sports-I-can-fit-in-one-week kind of week. Sunday - 1.25 hours cross country skiing. Monday - 1.25 hours cross country skiing. Tuesday - 1.5 hours rowing (my first class, indoor tank, way fun). Wednesday - 1.5 hours gymnastics. I'll throw a run in eventually just to show off or maybe I'll just pedal to a podcast at the gym.

Waking up is not pleasant. I have a strong suspicion that bending legs to lift them tomorrow is going to be especially unpleasant. I will sleep well though - from sheer exhaustion and with happy thoughts of the Obamas doing the same in the White House.

Hello Monster

2009-01-18T16:44:00.005-05:00

This is my new iPhone wallpaper. Isn't he cute? He makes me smile every time I turn it on. You can get him or some other one that strikes your fancy here.

If you like design and illustration consider making this your go-to place for amazing quality desktop wallpapers.

Ha ha haaaa ha ha

2009-01-14T22:42:00.003-05:00

A friend sent me an email today that had the kind of joke in it that most people are like "meh" about while it makes me laugh later in the day just thinking about it.

Ready?

If a fly didn't have wings, would it be called a walk?

See? I can just with my face 6" from the screen because I took my contacts out before I thought of posting this. That's funny, too, no? Fellow myopics, do you ever think about how we would be the village idiots way back in the day?

Saturday + Shark Bites

2009-01-10T12:49:00.001-05:00

It's a typical sleep-in Saturday. Breakfast is consumed, fresh towels and sheets, light cleaning and basic life maintenance tasks are ensuing.

I sure would like to get out and enjoy this winter day, but the snow is crusty and it's too darn cold! Now, I am a hardy sort folks. I went cross country skiing at the park yesterday and ended up having to put my toes in warm water when I got home. Visions of surfing danced in my head as I scraped through the forest. It occurred to me that both sports risk body parts: surfing to shark lunch and skiing to frostbite. It also occurred to me that I'd rather have my toe bitten off than frozen off simply because the environment - delicious warmth, sweet ocean, beautiful beach - is a way more pleasant place to have something go horribly wrong. (Of course I could lose more than a toe surfing, but let's not think about that.) Sure, it could be argued that I could simply stay inside to avoid potential frost bite, but that's like saying stay out of the ocean so you don't drown and whatnot. The risk is worth the pleasure of living.

Things I Learned Today

2009-01-06T20:32:00.007-05:00

1) Female ducks have vaginae that spiral with some tubes that are dead ends.

2) Male ducks have penises shaped like corkscrews - that go the opposite way.
(Click here 'cause you know you gotta see this.)

3) Humans who are asked to remember a seven-digit number and then interrupted to see if they want chocolate cake or a bowl of fruit, will most often choose the cake.

4) Humans who are asked to remember a two-digit number and then interrupted to make the same choice almost always choose the fruit.

5) The reason for #3 is because so much of the brain is being used to remember the longer number that the snack decision is made more on feeling than analysis, and that feeling is, "I want chocolate cake!" The folks who only have to remember 2 digits have more analytical power left to think that the fruit will be better for them, less calories, etc.

Where did I learn all this amazing stuff? From WNYC Radio Lab - my new favorite podcast. iTunes describes it: Science meets culture and information sounds like music. Each episode of Radio Lab is an investigation - a patchwork of people, sounds, stories and experiences centered around One Big Idea.

These particular episodes are entitled Sperm and Choice respectively. Go check them out! And see, that chocolate cake picture wasn't as misleading as you at first thought. This is an actual dessert that B had at Max Brenner's in New York City Last week called The Golden Heart. Mine was similar but had raspberries instead of bananas. I'll have fruit and cake whether I am trying to remember number or not!

Instant Gratification

2009-01-02T18:10:00.004-05:00

The weather looked relatively mild in New York City, and I could not fit one more thing in my bag so I decided to leave my hat at home. It's a pretty hat, handmade and knit in the colors of the sunrise: orange, purple and pink. One evening I spent a couple hours looking for it on Etsy.com.

The first day was tolerable walking under gray skies and through the chilly air and so was the second. The third day, New Year's Eve, B and I ventured down to Times Square in the afternoon. We had plans to be inside and warm dining with friends in the evening, but right then the snow had started blowing, the wind was making me squint, I was longing for the hat I had left within arm's reach as we headed out the door three days ago.

B, ever the voice of reason, points out that I could just buy another hat. This kind of thing is irksome when i already own a perfectly good hat, but he is right. So without a Dick's Sporting Goods or EMS in sight, we go into a Gap. Times Square is already filling up with merrymakers, the weather is forcast to feel like 0, and I'm thinking pickings will be slim. They are. I tried on a toddler's hat as I have a small head (don't worry - it's proportionate to the body), but it was just a touch short.

Back into the arctic wind again, we spot a sidewalk vendor ahead selling those cute hats that come over your ears with the braided strings hanging down. I always wanted one of those! The first one I try on is really cute so I try on five more and end up getting the first one. B pays the vendor, and I pull my pretty new hat in cream, olive and deep orange snuggly over my head. Instantly the blowing wind is hushed, my hair isn't blowing into my mouth and my head is warm. There is something intensely gratifying about buying something precisely when you need it. Buying a hat for the possibility of frozen earlobes isn't nearly as delightful as providing immediate relief for ones that already are.

I Love (this) Monday

2008-12-30T06:26:00.002-05:00

In a matter of hours I have become a huge fan of train travel. Sure,
there's the obligatory person with the phlemy cough, but so far it
smells way better than a plane. Plus so many other things are better
than air travel. I got to keep my shoes on and bring excessive amounts
of liquids aboard. Parking is free, and there is no drink cart running
over my foot. For added delight, the conductor looks like he walked
off of The Polar Express.

I miss looking out at great exspanses of clouds and peering at the world below through the holes, but the whole not-going-to-fall-out-of-the-sky is fair and good trade-off.

Merry Times

2008-12-29T08:18:00.000-05:00

It has been half a month since my last post, but all the shopping,
merrymaking and living have filled every minute. Above is my parents'
lovely tree as they celebrated the first Christmas in their new home
that we were working so hard to remodel this time last year.

Despite being coerced to a church service where hot candle wax ran
down my pinky, it was really wonderful spending time with our
families. My niece got Blendy Pens, and we had fun coloring together.
It took me a while to realize that you twist them, but she knew.
Buzzword was a fun new game my sister-in-law picked up, and I did a
couple rounds of No Sleep Til Brooklyn on Guitar Hero.

The gifts we gave were well received and B and I got some nice things,
too. Each year we try to pare down, and the simpler it gets, the
better.

Tiny Plastic Containers

2008-12-14T21:26:00.003-05:00

You know what's awesome? Tiny plastic containers. They're incredibly cheap and cheaply made, but oh, how they will improve your life.

For years our vanity has been a minor disaster, well mildly disorganized. The nail file, the tweezers, the toothpaste, a mirror, potions and lotions have all lain willy nilly in the drawer. They probably had a fine time of it - this one cozying up with that one - then suffered the drama of the toothpaste thrown hastily down to crash relationships apart. No more. I have put an end to this madness. The toothpaste lays with the floss in a long, thin container. The nail apparatus and tweezers get along in a square jobby. It will be a pleasure to start Monday morning in such an ordered state.

Niebu Everyone!

2008-12-13T08:18:00.004-05:00

Okay, you might think I'm pretty geeky to learn I think this is the coolest thing ever, this Neibu. I could tell you what it is, but it's best you find out for yourself here.

Try Something New

2008-12-07T15:12:00.003-05:00

Yesterday I did a couple of things that I've been meaning to try. 1. Get orange streaks in my hair. 2. Blow hot glass. These have both been on my to-do list for some time so knocking them both out in the same day was kind of cool.

First, the orange hue came out awesome: like fire. What isn't awesome is with my current part, it's all hidden under the top layer of my hair. I didn't get it styled before I left so it was wet and I just figured when I blow dried and styled it at home it would show up nicely. I was really unhappy, but then B and I went to go see Bolt and that hamster made me forget all about it for a while. Today I parted my hair on the opposite side which isn't so natural for my cowlick, but the orange looks fab. This may work out after all. For days I want less orange I can just style it the other way. We'll see. I may still call the stylist and see if she can't offer me something to make it look more like the picture I showed her. I thought we were on the same page, but it didn't quite end up looking like that.

Blowing hot glass was really cool - and scary. "Don't suck in!," I kept telling myself. A friend at the studio was showing a couple of us how to do it. We used 1/4 inch hollow tubes, built up glass on the end (picture putting two bird nests together to make a ball), got it all dully orange in the flame and then blew! I blew a hole right through mine eventually and thin glass was flying all over like pieces of confetti. Too funny. With help, I got it all melted back together to try again and and that's when an interesting thing happened. I heard a low vrooming sound - what I thought was a vehicle going by outside - and felt the tube start to vibrate. The sound was coming from the tube! Glass makes a musical hum.

And Now Back to the Show

2008-12-06T09:37:00.001-05:00

It was kind of an impromptu thing to sign up for a holiday show, and I'm just about to head there. If you like handmade artisan jewelry from glass to metal work, here's the info.

On the Avenue

2008-12-04T22:29:00.002-05:00

Horse drawn carriages, grilled chestnuts, carolers, quaint shops: The Park Ave Open House. Every year I've missed it for one reason or another, but the planets aligned tonight! Highlights of the evening were: 1. A new visual for frozen fish. 2. Cinnamon gelato - it's like eating cold cookie dough 3. A lei of garland from the Hawaiian florist and a free book written by the man who works there about his Hawaiian heritage

It was so cold (see frozen fish) that B was physically shaking so we missed the tree lighting ceremony to seek food and shelter. I was unsympathetic. He knew we were going to be out in the frigid air, and dammit, I was trying to be festive. My holiday spirit has been sorely lacking so any damper on it brought out that green monster, you know, the one who steals Christmas from Whos. The damper was short lived as we warmed up with some chai and tasty sandwhiches. It was a great night to be cold together.

Turkey For You, and Turkey For Me

2008-11-30T20:21:00.002-05:00

I hope you all had a wonderful, tolerable or at least uneventful Thanksgiving. Mine was filled with family which was fun, but also tiring. B and I are back in our quiet abode which we spent the whole day in except for working out this morning and a quick drive to the store for milk this afternoon. In between we watched movies under blankets and ate leftovers. Oh, and I almost drove by our house on the way back because B put up some Christmas lights, and I'm used to looking for the dark spot. I like the dark spot. I like that B put up the lights more.

I got to try the Wii this weekend and that was fun. The response of the controllers is amazing. I rate bowling as the most fun, but I didn't get to try tennis. Golf is just as boring as it is in real life and boxing, while highly entertaining, is incredibly difficult to tell what you are doing.

The food which I had been looking forward to for weeks did not disappoint. The stuffing and the pumpkin pie (to me, the only things you really need at Thanksgiving) were perfect. Of course, I love squash, too - boiled and mashed and no funny business. My Dad's was perfect. It was a hybrid of whatever he's thrown on the compost pile; this squash started growing and it was a beautiful orange and sweet without adding a thing.

Who Knew Town Meetings Are Fun?

2008-11-27T11:51:00.002-05:00

I went to my first town meeting on Tuesday to help make the mountain biking community's voice heard. The group showed up in mass. It was a cold night, and I know I would have rather been snug in my house. No one could dispute the local interest in the sport. Currently no bicycles are allowed on the trails in any county park, and we have big parks with amazing trails. Horses and hikers constitute the multi-use along with snowshoers and cross country skiers in the winter. These users' only experience with bikers are those that ride illegally, and you can imagine they haven't been good. We hope they will give us responsible and courteous riders a chance to change their views.

Currently the town is agreeing to giving us access to one section of the park that is too advanced for beginner riders and already run into the ground by illegal riding. Hopefully other areas will be opened as they get used to our presence.

I'd be curious to know what the situation is in your area.

Before and After

2008-11-23T09:13:00.004-05:00

Here a couple of shots of all the pendants below before firing and after. I love how the edges go all soft and round.

Fresh From the Kiln

2008-11-23T08:54:00.002-05:00

The Kiln is On

2008-11-22T12:29:00.006-05:00

Yes, the kiln is on! It has been months since I've made some pendants. I spent yesterday afternoon pulling strings of glass, leaves and cutting. I'm really happy with how they looked going in. Fingers crossed they come out well. I'll post before-and-after pictures when they are done.

Playing With Fire

2008-11-21T23:12:00.001-05:00

I turned on the torch today to pull some delicate strings and leaves
of glass to decorate pendants I'll be fusing. It's always a surprise
to see just how they'll come out. One is a custom order in greens and
browns that someone wants to give to a nature-lover for Christmas. I
hope they love it. Nature-lover that I am, I hope I can part with it,
or I'll be making another. I'll post pictures when they're done!

You Can Buy Happiness - Buy Handmade

2008-11-20T18:13:00.004-05:00

I've received my new lunch tote and scarf from Etsy, and I can't rave enough. Click the link to see pictures and links to the shops.

The lunch tote came in a matter of days and it's washable, durable and gorgeous in every way. Everyone who looked in the office refrigerator commented on its stylishness. How someone can sew like this is beyond me.

My second item took a little longer as it said in the listing to give her just three days to make it and then it had to get on a plane. I've been awaiting the package from Australia all week and was so excited to see it in my mailbox! A 100% Australian hand-dyed wool scarflette was hand knitted for me by Stacey. It's a wonderful thing to purchase something directly from the creator.

You will be hard pressed to find more pride of craftsmanship and amazing customer service than that of Etsy sellers. When you buy handmade you make three people incredibly happy: the artist you bought it from, the person you bought it for and yourself for finding something so amazing and being part of that wonderful triangle. Of course, I was both the buyer and receiver this time - bonus!

Glass!

2008-11-13T23:16:00.007-05:00

Last Friday I picked out some glass rods with autumn on my mind - indigo night skies, the last yellow-orange rays of the day, spongy green moss that clings to rocks, warm ivory whipped cream atop a mug of chai - and sat at the torch to make some beads. Tonight I made them into wearable creations.

I Will Finish That Book!

2008-11-13T00:25:00.003-05:00

First catch up by reading the previous post. You back? Here's the next installment.

I went to the library - a different one than where I got it 'cause I happened to be closer to it - and told them my sad page 906 - page 978 story. People in line behind me made throaty noises of empathy, and one told me his own tales of woe of books on CD where sometimes whole chapters are missing do to maltreatment.

As the librarian looked at the gap, an idea struck. "Do you have a copy of this book?" I asked. Indeed he did! Incredibly pages are missing out of this one as well, but not the pages I needed he nicely pointed out, and I left happy that I'm going to be able to end this.

This Has Never Happened Before

2008-11-11T21:24:00.006-05:00

I have renewed Diana Gabaldon's The Fiery Cross - the fifth of six books in the Outlander series -twice. It's big, I have other things going on, and man, it just seems to be taking me an eternity to finish it. This morning the end was in sight, and I looked forward to finishing it on my lunch. Still, after an hour I had roughly 20 pages left. Undeterred, I looked forward to finishing it tonight. My husband can't wait for me to finish it. You know it's bad when other people want you to be done with a book.

As I downloaded the Dreamweaver CS4 trial, I started down the homestretch. I turned page 906 to find page 978. Shock overruled pissed-offness - I know, that's shocking in itself. I guess it's going back to the library regardless now, which was the goal. I will point it out to them so it doesn't happen to the next poor reader. Hopefully they won't think it happened on my watch. I'm not too proud to find a seat at the book store and work on finishing it up there whenever I'm in the area. I love this story, but am ready to be done with it.

Do Gooder

2008-11-10T23:06:00.009-05:00

I had candles - a whole boxful that were doing nothing for me but taking up space. I picked out the few I wanted, and if waxen shapes have aspirations, I found a place for the rest to reach their full potential. My community publishes a small magazine that lists the wishes of local charities. How great it that? The one in need of candles is called Friends and Family of Murdered Children and Victims of Violent Crimes. No way to shorten or soften that. It's as final and heavy as granite.

This afternoon I walked up to the headquarters - an old mansion with a ten foot tall door and pushed the bell. A lady walked down the grand staircase and greeted me with a smile as she saw my box. She was really thrilled and explained how she saves her pennies to go pick up votives at the dollar store when she can. I apologized that some had been lit, but that was of no consequence as she says they will use them at vigils. A few were brand new like the heart-shaped one I pointed out, and she told me she already had a mother in mind to give that to who had lost her son on Thanksgiving. That my little candle might bring this woman the smallest comfort and a way to remember him makes my day. That cleaning out my cupboard is going to bring tiny points of light to those who need something bright to cling to makes my day. I want my work to be like this. I was so happy to give. She was so happy to receive and in turn will give these little lights a purpose to shine.

Sunday Afternoon

2008-11-09T13:27:00.002-05:00

My bird feeder seems to be abandoned even though it's half full. That got me wondering if Gold Finches leave for the winter. I know they toss their yellow feathers for the drab gray/brown ones. Perhaps they are busy doing just that. Chickadees and Cardinals stay here right through the biting winds, freezing temperatures and swirling snowstorms. If I were a Chickadee I'd find Robins and their ilk less hardcore. Maybe they are simply fair-weather feathered.

I Heart Etsy

2008-11-08T17:00:00.019-05:00

The lining in my lunch bag started falling apart...again. I could have duct taped it because once I really loved it, but it was made of cheap materials so I'm done with it. What do I need and want out of my lunch bag, I thought to myself, and can I find it on Etsy? The answers turned out to be handmade, durable, insulated, machine washable and yes! The material it's made out of is an eco-friendly bamboo/cotton blend to boot! This one should be a keeper. Check out the Naturally Felt shop.

Another thing I've been wanting is a new scarf. Not a long swinging scarf for looks, but one that will sit nicely inside my coat. I also want it to be handmade of beautiful colors to brighten the dark winter days ahead. Etsy to the rescue. Enter the scarflette that even has an opening to thread one side of the scarf through the other. This one is coming all the way from down under! Check out the Sheep's Clothing shop. Crikey, isn't it gorgeous?

There is...

2008-11-04T23:40:00.003-05:00

Hope. Joy. Enthusiasm. Happiness. Relief. Obama.

This link will probably be down in the morning, but hopefully you'll get to check it in time.

Please, Please, Please

2008-11-04T18:28:00.005-05:00

Eyes squeezed tight. Fingers and toes crossed. Hopes through the roof.

Election Day. It felt like Christmas morning when the alarm rang. It's Obama Day!, I thought to myself. From the first time I heard him speak at the 2004 Democratic Convention, I thought, "I want to vote for that man." Did I get caught up in the eloquent words, his poignant story? Yes. Words are power. They are how we communicate, find common ground, avoid wars, inspire people to change, convey our love, desires and hopes; they are how we learn as well as how we teach.

I am so grateful to have the right to vote. I am so proud to cast my vote for the first African-American President in my lifetime. I am filled with more hope than I have ever had after opening the voting booth curtains.

Closing Up Shop

2008-11-02T17:16:00.004-05:00

There were some things that were cluttering up the blog so I just chucked them.

Ahh. That's better. You may notice - or likely not since none of us are buying things we don't need these days - that I have closed up my online glass bead shop, and it is no longer featured at the right. Actually it's on permanent vacation mode until I decide to give it the attention it deserves. You can still see plenty of my work at the right in my Flickr photos.

One day something new will show up.

Neglect

2008-10-26T01:34:00.003-04:00

I sure have neglected my blog this month, and I've neglected reading my faves as well. I really like blogging. There are plenty of things to share. I've just been lazy I guess.

I got to see Kevin Bacon tonight. Un-pixelized. In the same room. He is freaking cute, looks like the type to dance all night and can play a ridiculous number of instruments. If this is news to you, go check out The Bacon Brothers. Of course, that he's cute is not news. One of my favorite songs is Memorize. Beautiful.

I just got an e-mail for NaNoWriMo. That was a complete failure last year. I could try again and aim for consistency. I did write 6,000 words. Maybe 6,005 could be a goal.

Inspiring

2008-10-15T23:57:00.002-04:00

Poetic truths spoken by Frederick Douglass. I had the good fortune of coming across them today on a monument to the man in a park.

Thank You for Raking

2008-10-14T19:50:00.004-04:00

I want to thank that guy who was raking his yard as I went by on my run tonight. I don't care so much that you are tidy. I am just thrilled that you are not using a leaf blower! I heard the quick rustle of the leaves as I approached and enjoyed the sound as you shot a rake-full up a three foot pile. For a split second I thought about jumping in it and how much fun that was as a kid. Thank you Rake Guy for filling the neighborhood with pleasant sounds. Me, I will let the leaves rot right into my lawn and blow all over my neighbors yards come spring. My dear husband is a better person than me though, and once they all fall, he will probably go rake them up. I could be persuaded to help if it's a beautiful day out.

While I'm at it, I also want to thank my library. Not only can I read more books than I'd ever have room to keep at my house if I bought them, but you actually send me an e-mail reminding me the day before they are due. As if that weren't enough, you also include a link for me to renew online in case I won't be able to make it. So, dear person at the library who thought this up and also to the no doubt group of people who made it happen: You rock.

Seriously - Go Play!

2008-10-10T21:05:00.002-04:00

How am I supposed to get anything done with all this fun stuff to play with?

Go! Play!

2008-10-10T20:55:00.001-04:00

I found this on the most fun website ever. The site seems to have no other purpose except to get you to play so it's a very noble purpose indeed.

"You Should Have Heard the Horn Section"

2008-09-29T20:38:00.003-04:00

I listened to classical music while commuting today. It's not completely out of the ordinary for me to do this but to keep it on the station the entire time is.

I once read an article about in inventor who will do something different just for a new perspective. While I felt like I was in a cartoon or that my drive was incredibly dramatic - you should have heard the horn section when I made a left turn - the thought came to me to see if I could keep this up for a week. Classical music is supposed to make you think better. I let you know how that works out.

Hide and Seek: Exchange Art

2008-09-27T15:39:00.006-04:00

I've recently discovered something I didn't know existed: letterboxing. I've spent the afternoon decorating my notebook at left and printing out clues.

Essentially people all over the world hand carve or buy a rubber stamp, put it with a blank notebook inside a weatherproof box and hide it. Then they write up a clue describing how to find it, and post it online. Once located, explorers stamp their own notebook with said stamp and bring a stamp of their own to mark the notebook they found. When I have described this practice, people often ask, "Why?" That question never entered my mind. I only thought, "Where?!" If that's also your first thought, you can start searching (and learn more about its origins in England) here or here.

Most of the stamps are hand carved so it's like going on a scavenger hunt to exchange art.

What's cooler than that?

Happy letterboxing!

Halfway to the Weekend (this time tomorrow)

2008-09-23T22:07:00.004-04:00

I have no news at this moment per say. Per say makes it sound like perhaps I do but am not telling you. Hmm. I am moving forward toward some of those goals in the last post so I guess that's something.

B and I just walked back from the library. What a beautiful evening! If fall were like this most days and lasted longer, I'd be more of a fan. We have been eating better already. Cold air inspires warm kitchens.

Un-resolutions: Part II

2008-09-20T13:08:00.010-04:00

On New Year's Eve of last year I posted this list of un-resolutions - things I'd like to see happen but didn't want to call resolutions due to the rigid commitment that implies and my lack of it. To my great surprise, many of them - including those that seemed the most unlikely - happened:

1. Do Randolph Arts and Crafts Show in June - DONE
2. Go to Hawaii - DONE
3. Go surfing (in Hawaii) - DONE
4. Snowboard on a "real" mountain
5. Lift more - DONE
6. Run a half or full marathon - DONE (just ran a half last Sunday)
7. Be more grateful
8. Don't let P.I.T.A.s get to me
9. Read, read, read as always - DONE
10. Attain Design Certifications
11. Try to get off this computer more since I'm on one all day - DONE
12. And as always, be inspired by one of my favorite groupings of words ever, Desiderata - DONE

That's 8 out of 12. I am extremely pleased by this! Number 2 and 3 were complete, hope-I-do-this-someday pipe dreams. I never believed in this writing things down, but it seems there's something to it. Someone told me it's the Law of Attraction. With three months left in this year, I'm putting a new list out into the cosmos. Who says New Year's is the only time for lists?

1. Attain Design Certifications
2. Go to Venice with B
3. Finish kitchen project
4. Live by the ocean
5. Live in the mountains
6. Swim to the other side of the lake where we stay in the Adirondacks
7. Change my environment
8. Put smashing designs online
9. Stay fit
10. Always have a goal when getting on computer - try not to get sidetracked
11. See lava in person

Sure I still want to be more grateful and snowboard a real mountain, but the old list still stands and the new one just has some new ideas. I make the rules here, right? Do you have things you want to do? Dreams that just idly float around in your head? Feel free to add your list - short or long - in the comments.

Running Fool

2008-09-15T09:38:00.004-04:00

Yesterday it would have been easier for a fish to breathe the air. It was not the kind of day where you wake up and think, "I'm going to go for a nice long run." But that's what I did. It was half marathon day.

Months ago it had seemed like such a good idea. My mileage was slipping, and I needed a goal. It worked, too. I've run 20-30 miles every month. Not a lot by obsessed runner standards, but there are just other things I'd rather do. Like not run - and kayak and mountain bike. You know if you've been reading this blog any amount of time.

At the start I'm already thinking this is going to suck and by mile three I walked a few strides uphill. Then I got in my groove and realized around mile six I probably wasn't going to feel any worse than I did then so kept on. My logic being the more I run, the sooner I can stop.

I came in five minutes off my best time and finished the 13.1 miles in 2 hours 17 minutes. I was pretty happy with that. I have to admit I stopped trying so hard at mile twelve and walked some more. I thought why hurt myself at this point. 120 people needed medical attention because of the heat, and I ran by a guy lying on the pavement with emergency personal asking, "Do you know your name? Sir, do you know your name?" Always a reality check to be an event where people collapse and not know who they are.

Big Typography

2008-09-11T23:24:00.007-04:00

I decided to enter a design contest. I can submit as many designs as I like and can see this becoming addicting. Rules: Use this quote, "What we do in life, echoes in eternity." I really have to get to bed so must stop with my first try for tonight.

Read more about the contest and see more entries.

My Favorite Link of the Day

2008-09-10T22:49:00.004-04:00

hasthelargehadroncolliderdestroyedtheworldyet.com

Alter Ego

2008-09-10T22:06:00.013-04:00

I am safely back from a blissful stay in the Adirondacks where my alter ego did all kinds of things boring old Everyday Me doesn't.

Here's a short list:
1. She ate bacon every day - lots of it

2. One night when offered homemade bread fresh from the oven she couldn't resist a slice. Everyday Me would would jump at the chance, too. But she should would not have painted real butter on it with the provided paintbrush the size of one you would use on the molding in your house.

3. She drank Chardonnay - and liked it

Everyday Me combated the bacon and bread consumption with lake swimming, hikes, walking, kayaking and jogging. I hope I live in a place one day where I can do all those things most days just like vacationing in the Adirondacks. It's such an appealing way of life.

B also went outside his lines and not only read a book for enjoyment, but finished it and played a mean game of Boggle with a group of new friends who invited us.

Grounded

2008-09-06T16:06:00.002-04:00

I took this yesterday morning while taking a walk after swimming in the lake. B and I don't want for activity or food here.

Today we walked this road to the end and back (a two-mile roundtrip), I went swimming (B's not much for polar bear plunges) and then we hiked for couple of hours to the summit of Mt. Sawyer and back. We enjoyed the view (pictured below), chatted and mosied back down somehow making it to the car before the rain started. Then I wanted to stop and look at some artisan-made furniture in craft tents along the road. Moments later we enjoyed a complete deluge that drenched us all the way to our underwear since rain coats really just keep your upper half dry. It was fun running uphill back to the car as tiny rivers streamed beneath our boots.

From Where I'm Sitting

2008-09-06T12:25:00.000-04:00

Spontaneous

2008-08-31T09:16:00.005-04:00

I wasn't going to run because I didn't bring clothes suited for it, but the morning fog in the country was all come hither. So here I am, pajama pants rolled up, manure pungent in thankfully crisp morning air and enjoying walking back home. Hey, there's my dad! Must have come looking for me.

Hey A, this is where we used to stand on the guard rail and pull imaginary cords to get the expressway truckers to honk their horns.

Lilliputians!

2008-08-29T18:48:00.001-04:00

Sayonara Summer

2008-08-22T22:09:00.005-04:00

It's slipping away. Sunday the geese started gathering, traveling in great arrows against blue skies, pointing the way to winter. Underfoot, bright yellow and red leaves are already starting to decorate the roadsides as I run. Just two or three here and there, but that's how it starts. And most telling of all, the Rheent, Rheents are here. What are the Rheent, Rheents? They must be kind of like crickets, but they don't show up until August and they have this incessant question-and-answer session all night long: "Rheent, rheent?", "Rheent, rheent!" They stay high in the trees so I haven't seen one yet. If you have any idea what they are, please enlighten me!

It never ceases to surprise me how this can happen every year. It was so hot and the air so thick when I was running today, and soon I'll be layered in clothes and freezing my nose hairs with each frigid breath. Soon I'll be snowboarding, too and that gives me happy thoughts, but much as I love, love, love it, I've got to be honest. I really love summer. Less clothes, lots of sun, warm winds...I will miss you.

Words. Fruit. Flowers. Ink.

2008-08-16T13:20:00.007-04:00

I heard a fantastic poem on the Garrison Keillor podcast today whilst on my morning run. One was about a couple who should be getting ready for bed, but instead open up another bottle of wine and enjoy each other's company into the wee hours even though they have to work the next day. I love poetry! I love words strung together in such a way that my eyes widen and my heart quickens, or I just sigh.

That got me thinking of all the mediums I and we as humans express ourselves in. Words are not so different from paint, or paint from glass or glass from dancing. Dancing is not so different from growing...fruit, vegetable, flowers. Such beauty in the form of each perfect or wonderfully imperfect form.

As I chose from a rainbow of Zinnias that a vendor had for sale at the farmers market today, she noticed me picking and pondering. "Are you having fun?" she asked good naturedly. I laughed, "Yes, they are beautiful." She said I should come to her house on a Friday night with a flashlight to see how much fun that was. I liked having that imagery in my head that these flowers were picked by flashlight the night before and certainly moonlight, too, because I remember seeing it shining on my kitchen floor. I caught a conversation she was having with another customer about tattoos, another medium we express ourselves in. A unique medium where the creator and bearer of the work are simultaneously expressing. She did not approve of someone who had a toadstool and flower on their leg wearing shorts to show it off and serving the public in some manner. I almost shared my thoughts on how people express themselves with her that had been rolling around my head all morning, but chose to be on my way and share my thoughts with you instead. Ink and flowers growing are not so different I would have told her. Both grow from a tiny speck - a dot of ink, a little seed - and become a full creation to behold.

P.S. I do not have a tattoo, but am enamored by the art. I just can't find something that I'd want to live with forever. I have a strange affection for my scars incurred during athletic adventures though. There is a tiny scar on my left pinky finger that I got from crashing my bike in the bushes on the island of Kauai in Hawaii. I will love it forever: Proof that will back up the fading memories when I am old.

Surf Ski

2008-08-13T21:46:00.002-04:00

Surf ski. It just sounds cool. That is what I tried out tonight at 'yak racing (top). It is like paddling a boat with a knife edge on its belly. It goes through waves like they weren't even there. No bounce, just smooth. Was it tippy? Well, it sure was, but I just have to learn how this boat responds. It is extremely narrow and feels more like something you put on than sit on top of because it just fits and responds to your body.

By the end of the evening I found myself joining the paddling company's inaugural women's race team. "Can I be captain?" jokingly rolled off my tongue, and relieved looks and affirmations were the response. Wait...what does the captain have to do? We start "training" tomorrow. Good Lord. This will be my first attempt at a team sport. Wish me luck. Did I say I meant to do more kayaking this year? Goal accomplished and what fun it is.

Another highlight of the evening was the staff donning electrical tape for war paint and piling into the war canoe for a lap around the course. They challenged anyone to beat their time. Perhaps the Women's Race Team will heed the call.

I <3 Cycling

2008-08-11T21:29:00.007-04:00

Scots and world class cyclists size each other up before the Twilight Criterium bike race this past Saturday.

This is one of the coolest events ever to come to the city: a two-hour, night cycling race. B and I have been meaning to go for a couple of years, and next year seems too far away to wait for the next one. We watched from various corners and straightaways as the amateurs finished. There was a crash of about five bikes, and if you think that is painful to watch on TV, it is cringingly tough from a few feet away. The whir and thunk of bikes and flesh on pavement is not something I want to hear twice. Everyone was back on their bikes, but they had to be hurting.

I leaned along the barricades as the pros started filling in at the start. The mass of cleaned shaved, muscled legs and svelte bodies elbow-to-elbow in brightly colored spandex exuded an amazing race-ready energy. It reminded me of being at the horse races. I asked the closest one if he had done this before, and the Aussie, number 90, said, "No, this is my first time." I picked him as my "horse." They took to the freshly rained on course with a double rainbow arched over it at 8:30 and had a clear spot of weather for about an hour before the a slight drizzle made a return. Some family came from out of town to meet us, but decided not to in the end so we missed the last half hour to greet them at home, but it was incredibly exciting. I am officially a cycling race fan!

And how did 90 fair? He and a small group of others had to stop at the pit early on so no win for him. Maybe he'll be back next year.

Young and In Love

2008-08-06T22:04:00.003-04:00

It was an ego boosting, feel-good night. First I went to get my hair cut after work 'cause it's been since March. Now some hair I had on my head in Hawaii is on the cutting room floor - *sigh.* Since I skipped the blow dry it was just $13 which I was psyched about. I really had no idea how it was going to come out, but looked okay wet and had to be better than what I walked in with. I learned a few years ago that asking for the "Rachel" would get me pretty good results. My hair stylists keep leaving, but no matter who I go to they seem to have a good grasp on that with some variations.

Next I hopped in my car and headed to kayak racing where I set a new PR! My best time yet. Someone asked me if I was a serious racer before I put in. I said I don't know about that, but I seriously try. My time was 23:88 minutes with a 5.02 mph pace which is fantastic for me. I could have gone faster, too so that was satisfying knowing there was still room for improvement. It was also gratifying because I have become steadily slower all summer due to conditions and me just sucking. One woman beat me tonight by .76. Grrr. Still I won a glass from the race series' beer sponsor and a bumper sticker from the kayak place. Besides sips here and there to see if I still hate it, I have only drunk a half can of beer in my life, but it's a nice glass. It'll get filled with milk at dinner time.

I stood chit chatting with everyone after and mentioned by husband, which then sparked conversation about my age 'cause they thought I was just a kid. I got 14, 22 and 17 thrown out there so that was fun. I know it won't last forever, so this thirty-four-year-old will bask in those "you look like a teenager" comments for as long as they do. I think it's more staggering when they hear my husband and I just celebrated our sweet 16 anniversary. The secret I told them: no kids!

Speaking of marriage, my co-worker is tying the knot soon and I just got her invitation. First they are just beautiful; completely designed and hand "die-cut" by her. My favorite part though is a quote inside:

"You don't marry one person; you marry three:

the person you think they are,

the person they are, and

the person they are going to become

as a result of being married to you."

- Richard Needham

That is the truest, sweetest description of marriage I've ever heard. If you are lucky, your spouse makes you a better person just because you want to be better for them and allows you to become all the things you want to be in your own right. (After all they fell in love with you because you were a separate and interesting person.) And of course they love you for who you are even when it's not pretty. If I never win the lottery, I still feel like the luckiest person I know.

Write it in the Sky

2008-08-06T11:04:00.009-04:00

Can't afford to rent a plane trailing a banner professing your undying love or other matters? Do it virtually.

Win a Free Bag

2008-08-05T23:19:00.003-04:00

I love taking my own grocery bags with me to the store. Sure, it helps the planet, but it also helps me carry EVERYTHING into the house at once. Saving time and the planet. Jump on the bandwagon. You could win a free bag here from Flip and Tumble, a company that creates reusable bags that roll up into a tiny ball. Leave it in your car and it will always be at the ready.

Great Monday Night Ride

2008-08-05T22:39:00.004-04:00

Monday made my head hurt, but the evening spent mountain biking with B cured it. First we grabbed a $5 turkey sub at Subway. I stuffed it in the backpack and we mustered up the grueling zigzag incline to the top of the hill. When we made it, B was ready to sit down and eat, but I said, "No! We have to pretend like the food isn't there (which it usually isn't 'cause we always forget) and do some riding while there is still good light." It's gets pretty dark in the forest. I have fancy yellow sunglasses to brighten the shadows that I left cozied in their case right in my bag in the car. Numbskull. Besides that, they are great eye protection, but we were so far in that I didn't bother going back for them and was fortunate to leave with both peepers intact.

We came across a trail labelled T which ran all along the top of the edge of the hill. It was a nice trail to relax and stay or get warmed up on - nothing too scary, trees nearly scraping the handlebars but all in all just an easy hard-packed meandering trail. Lots of fun. Later we got on Chutes and Ladders and that was a blast. Lots of killer hills though and some logs that we'll learn to jump over one day. B can do it, but I am still challenged. There's another trail called Ribbon Candy that feels just like snowboarding - the trail follows the same line a snowboard would with steep-banked turns. We bypassed it this time. We've done it before, but my bike and I don't go down it the conventional way in spots (read sliding partway down hill with bike laying on me and me cursing).

All sweaty and grungy, we popped into Apple store at the mall on the way home to grab my car charger and a case for B. We bought some tea and coffee at Starbucks because it was there and played with our iPhones for a bit before calling it a night. On the way out we had to pass by Lindt's chocolate shop so in we went to see if there were any free samples, and after looking like we were interested for a bit, the woman behind the counter offered them up: deep dark chocolate mint truffles. A sweet ending to the evening. I was still thinking about it today; it was that good.

Bye Ohio

2008-08-02T22:10:00.003-04:00

We are on the road returning from B's family reunion. It was a pleasant day of hanging out with the family I knew and the ones I didn't. Great Aunt Betty was a pretty cool eighty-some year old character. At once candid, brave and funny. I love people like that.

Another highlight of the day was seeing pictures of my husband as a little boy in the reunion photo album. Cute then as he is handsome now with the most sweetly honest eyes that ever looked into you. What a treat to see the little boy he was. My mom took so many pictures of me you could make a flip book and watch me grow before your eyes, but of B I had just seen a couple posed portraits like his third-grade bowl haircut picture. Who knew my tall, dark and handsome had blond hair?

Hi Ohio

2008-08-01T21:37:00.003-04:00

Tomorrow is going to start before the sun comes up. I guess it always does, but I'm going to be awake for it. B and I are off to his family reunion. Yep, I married a native Ohion. We'll meet up with his mom, sister and her kids partway and all pile into her van. Family road trips are always an adventure so I'm sure we'll make some memories. I always love when something so memorable happens that it gets brought up during every holiday get together. Little Miss Sunshine anyone?

The App Store

2008-07-23T23:21:00.005-04:00

My husband has been getting all kinds of Apps from the Apps store, and I've been adding what he's downloaded, but tonight I found a cool one. Comic Touch. It allows you to add comic conversation bubbles to any picture on or taken with your phone. Do you need it? No. But you don't really need an iPhone either - it's just incredibly fun. Oh, there are other special effects and an e-mail photo button as well. If I weren't so tired, I'd post an example so you'll just have to take my word for it for now. You can see how it works here.