my birthday eve!

well my favorite holiday is approaching! no, not my birthday, halloween :) one of many reasons october is my favorite month. it's time for all things pumpkin. thanks to my early birthday present from mike, i have a new pumpkin candle, hope to soon have pumpkin ice cream too :) i also have a request in to nate to go galavanting out in the country and pick pumpkins off the vine. but aside from pumpkins, tonight is an unofficial fall kick off: libra fest! we had our first cold snap, got down in the 40s lastnight! felt good though to snuggle under warm covers with a cold draft from the window.
i used the word pumpkin no less than six times in this post.

edumacation

so i submitted my application for my masters degree this morning. and even though at this point, i've become fairly apathetic about getting my degree, i couldn't help but feel excited about receiving it :)

man this thing is accurate...

if i took it next week, would it know i was 25?

You Are 24 Years Old

20-29: You are a twentysomething at heart. You feel excited about what's to come... love, work, and new experiences.

What Age Do You Act?

i have a new bike!

thanks to my grandparents and other cash contributors :) thanks in advance gram! if you missed my earlier post about my new bike, scroll down a bit and check it out. now i only have to name it! i want to call it the blue stallion, but nate thinks it should be the blue phoenix (raleigh's logo is a phoenix). i rode my first five miles yesterday, and am taking it up to PA this weekend for some more riding time :) have a great weekend!

my stepdad is way cooler than i am

and he started a company that makes videos on how to maintain your very own dirtbike ;) so although i know no one who even rides them (and especially someone that not only rides them, but also read this blog) i had to brag on him a bit because i'm impressed ;)

American Smooth by Rita Dove

We were dancing — it must have
been a foxtrot or a waltz,
something romantic but
requiring restraint,
rise and fall, precise
execution as we moved
into the next song without
stopping, two chests heaving
above a seven-league
stride — such perfect agony
one learns to smile through,
ecstatic mimicry
being the *sine qua non*
of American Smooth.
And because I was distracted
by the effort of
keeping my frame
(the leftward lean, head turned
just enough to gaze out
past your ear and always
smiling, smiling),
I didn't notice
how still you'd become until
we had done it
(for two measures?
four?) — achieved flight,
that swift and serene
magnificence,
before the earth
remembered who we were
and brought us down.

it's a train! it's a plane! it's a comfort mountain bike!

so i asked for money for my birthday this year to pool together and get a new comfort mountain bike :) nate and i have been looking at them for months now, and i previously had my heart set on a gary fisher capitola with a step through frame-- but east coasters was being a bit of a pain. so we headed up to roanoke today to cardinal bike shop-- they had 20 times more bikes on the floor to look at. i looked at several, and tried two. the one below is exact color and frame and everything- what do you think? i've read reviews and it sounds pretty good :) and it's comfy with a nice big 'saddle' (when did we stop calling them bike seats?). it's a 2006 raleigh venture 3.0 (i wanted pink, but i'll settle for obnoxiously bright powder blue) :)

the ultimate in laziness

so nate posted pics from the wedding :) so if you just can't stand the wait for me to post some, go to his blog!

i'm boring my grandma...

...by not keeping up with my blog! so here i am again ;) school is clipping along -is this week 4 or 5? spent the weekend in PA to see laura (nate's sister) and drew get married :) lots of fun, beautiful wedding! it was a 3-day event complete with all the festivities, not complete of course without either a tube or canoe trip on the river (or both!) i'll post some pictures, and per my mother's request, they will not be "all piled up so i can't even see what her wedding dress looks like" (in ref. to anna's wedding photos). speaking of my mother, she's in hawaii -- she called me last night to inform me that her hotel room overlooks a 26,000 square foot swimming pool in the shape of a flower. you've got to be kidding me. but my time will come :) they sound as if they're having a wonderful time sunning and funning which they deserve :)
in other news, libra (extravaganda) fest is up and coming, so if you live in blacksburg or within driving distance, you shouldn't miss it :) five of us libras have birthdays within 10 days of each other, so we celebrate in style for the occasion(s).

hurricane nate!

well, i was waiting expectantly for hurricane nate to make headlines this year, as "nate" was the slated title for one of the atlantic storms to hit this year. but when i saw headlines go from katrina to ophelia, i realized nate didn't make too big of a splash ;) but here's his history and moment of glory (ending today on 9/10). in all seriousness, it's a blessing he expired at sea.

spam! and not of the mystery meat variety.

i had to add a "comment verfication thingy" (yes, that is in fact the techincal term) to prevent comment spam (which i've effectively deleted now on several occasions) sorry for the extra hassle when you leave your witty comments ;)

whoever said mondays were bad....

must never have been to free popcorn night at the lyric ;) below are some pictures i've been meaning to post from volunteering at the lyric selling concessions :)



me and nate - matching aprons - awwww.

mmmmm... popcorn.

nate, monica, marylou, me, and jamie.

last picture from that evening

don't they look spooky? :)