man i'm tired!

since nate and i get the benefits of being cast members, we never feel pressured to get our 'money's worth' out of the parks.  if we're tired- we go home!  if we're hungry- we leave, and eat!  but today we headed out to universal studios, our first time paying to head to a theme park in orlando since we've moved here.  it was fun :)  but nate definitely turned into the 'superdad' variety that paid to get in and now wants to make sure we eek every experience we can :)  he packed his cargo pants with granola bars and every time i whined that i was getting hungry, he handed me a granola bar and told me to buck up - lots to do before the parks close at 6!  he finally let me have a hot dog around 3 pm- whew!

:)  our favorite ride?  (we had the same favorite)  the first one we rode, the hulk, at islands of adventure!  it was awesome :)  full on rollercoaster fun and a whole lot of screaming loops.  we also really liked the mummy (dark themed rollercoaster) and the simpsons (brand new vitrual fun).

and now?  i'm home, collapsed on the couch- that was a whole lot of walking and a really long day for just being 9 to 5!  we had some kraut burgers and settled in to watch the penn state game (key feature for me?  the couch!).

oh... kraut burgers?  one of the weirdest things i make for dinner, recipe courtesy of my mother.  i'll post that recipe sometime soon- it's not too complicated ;)

hail hail to old purdue

all hail to our old gold and black!

i was at my old alma mater last week for a recruiting trip and really enjoyed the time.  it's been a long time since i was there (3 years ago for anna & rick's wedding) and even longer since i graduated (6 years ago now!).  it was interesting to remember who i was then and what i wanted out of life since you spend a lot of time in college thinking about where you're headed (or at least i did, i spent a lot of time writing in my journal in coffee shops!) :)

a lot has changed there, several new buildings and WAY more eateries and places to hang out than ever existed when i was there.  it's neat to see the progress and exciting to be part of an institution that continues to get better but part of me wants it to stay exactly the same as when i was there.  silly i know :)

but looking back on everything that's happened since i headed off to college:  has it all turned out the way i planned?  absolutely not!  but i'm 100% happy with how it has turned out and that's all that matters :)

a few photos:

freshman year, day one.  sarah m. and i were potluck roommates  :)

senior year, from the left, sarah s., cyndi, regan and me (we all lived together junior and senior year) :)

also senior year, anna and sarah m. -- they co-oped, so every other semester they were away for work.

 

my home away from home!  (once after a bad break-up, i said to sarah s.... "you know i really haven't been sleeping well since he and i broke up."  she said "do you think that's because you're spending ALL your time at the coffee shop?"  hmmmm.....)

and finally, graduation!  from the left, cyndi, me, and sarah s.

been mia!

sorry y'all, i've been an absentee blogger again.  and i was doing so well!!  i've been traveling, nate's been traveling, yadda yadda yadda.  also our computer is out of commission as far as the internet is concerned.  we still have the laptop but all my photos are on the desktop so no good!

in other news, is it fall yet?  i can't wait for the beautiful florida winter to kick in, when other people are jealous of our weather instead of vice versa!  our porch has been sorely neglected since it's too hot to even think about sitting outside for leisure purposes (although we have had a few cooler nights here and there).

the steelers have kicked off the season with a win, and game two is currently underway.  i'm in the market for a willie parker jersey, one that's cut for a woman so it doesn't go down to my knees like all of nate's jerseys :)  i saw a woman with a really great willie parker jersey that had glittery gold in place of all the usual gold, but i can't seem to find it online.  i'll keep looking :)

lunch break!

i had a late breakfast today so when lunch rolled around, i wasn't really hungry.  since i had no meetings today, that was a pretty long stretch at my desk to i took a shopping break instead :)  i listened to madonna's material girl and destiny's child independent woman on my way over to the outlets to get in the mood (yes, i really am that cheesy) and picked up a new pair of jeans and some cute t-shirts.  it was a nice way to break up the day :)

sorry i've been an absent blogger lately, our desktop pc has decided to no longer get along with the internet so that slowed down my internet usage.

in other news, we finally got cable!!  our phone/internet/cable company had a deal which ended up working out pretty well for us so we decided to try it.  we're enjoying the novelty so far.  tv you can pause?  record?  a guide you can scan through and search?  this is good stuff people!  :)

new blogger to the realm! :)

my lovely sister-in-law, linda, has started a blog :)  you'll find it off the the right, "hey mom, hey mom"

cleo protects me when nathan is gone :)

fay, fay, go away!

so it's been raining since tuesday, pretty much constantly.  last night the volume picked up quite a bit and this morning?  lake ivey!  our porch/backyard doesn't drain well so in continuous heavy rain, it creeps onto the porch.  but today it's practically watering the plants!

 

see how it's right at the lip of the potted plant? 

the rain is supposed to be stopping in a few hours so hopefully the water won't make a break for the house!

funny stuff from mcsweeneys :)

The Proofreader.
by Robert Cantoni

- - - -

Dear Emily,

I enjoyed reading the letter you left on my coffee table. You haven't shared your writing with me since the beginning of our relationship (was I too harsh?), and it's a pleasure to see more of your work. This one is a much better effort, and if I wanted to flatter myself I might take some credit for your improvement. In any case, I'm always happy to give you my feedback; this particular piece has a lot of promise, and I have some suggestions for revision that I think you'll find useful.

You make a strong start in the first paragraph. I particularly applaud your use of the dash. It's a tricky piece of punctuation.

You say you feel "like a zombie." It would be better to say you feel you are a zombie, rather than "like" one. The simile there takes away from the power of your metaphor.

Your mention of your neighbor Henry digresses from the topic of the second paragraph, your desire to "make things work." If you want to mention Henry, tell your reader more about him. What is he like? Where does he live? Is he oafish and unattractive? You hint at his homosexuality when you say he "knows how to talk to" women. Expand on this. Details like these will keep your reader invested rather than threatened by the mention of another man. On the other hand, you might want to exclude Henry from the piece (and your life?) altogether. As presented here, he seems flat and irrelevant.

I like your use of "But" to start a sentence in your third paragraph. It's OK to start a sentence with a conjunction for dramatic effect! Good work there.

Your fourth paragraph needs a topic sentence. You include many disconnected subjects: my "impotence" and "complete lack of sexual function," your "frustration" and "anger," my "pathological avoidance of conflict" (and can such a thing really "kill" you? Avoid hyperbole). Choose the most fundamental issue—in this case, the unreasonableness of your fantasy of "genuine intimacy"—and make that the subject. Forget the rest. Also, avoid the second-person address here—imagine a wider audience. What's really frustrating is the human condition; our collective "impotence" is a metaphor for social stagnation and the increasing disparity between rich and poor.

The ending is a bit abrupt. The last line—"I can't live like this"—is ambiguous and clichéd. Stronger is your postscript, "I'm sorry, for both of us," though stronger still would be the simple "I'm sorry." Say what you want to say with as few words as possible.

A significant revision is in order, but don't be discouraged. If you're not married to all of your original ideas, I can see this going in interesting directions. And, regardless of the quality of your work, I will always be

Your faithful reader,
Bob

yawwwwn!

good morning!  well the hurricane turned out to be no hurricane at all (luckily!).  just a little more debris on the ground than your typical summer storm around here.

we had a great time in blacksburg :)  we were able to spend a lot of time with jeff, cassie's boyfriend.  we got to see the friday nite jamboree in floyd, headed to roanoke for the farmers' market (and hot dog king for lunch, roanoke's throwback of a hot dog stand), and of course no trip is complete without a trip to chateau morrissette :) 

here's a few pictures from arizona (that i still need to post!)

here i am yoga style on the mogollon rim ;)

 

and one of the many sites of our geocaching adventures! 

 

hurricane preparedness!

well it's just like a snowstorm in a way ;)  i headed to target after work with the droves of other floridians looking to buy milk, eggs, and bread.  well, actually i bought yogurt, wine, some new cute pajamas... etc. but it was the same in spirit :)

i moved anything lightweight off of the patio and moved everything else towards the center so it doesn't get rained on.  i also moved nate's lime tree (still potted) in from the yard.  i think that's the only preparation that's necessary for tomorrow (other than digging out our flashlights and weather radio).  we may/may not be going to work- so far the word is that we're on although schools in the area have been canceled.

cleo and i are settling in with a good movie and will wait and watch the storm roll in!

a few old pictures :)

nate and i were digging out some boxes from the garage awhile ago and i ran across an old photo album, one that marty actually gave to me when i was a baby (fun fact:  mom and marty knew each other in highschool and have just celebrated their 20th anniversary) :)

but anyway, i ran across a some photos i thought were funny :)  i must have been an aspiring photographer at a young age, i took several 'artsy' photos of my cabbage patch and other items :)  i like the following picture because you can see me with the camera in it (and dad & anita, you may also recognize your old bedroom in scottsdale!):

and unrelated to my photographic aspirations, but another one from the same album, taken in tennessee (that's cassie in front posing model style and me hamming it up in the back):

which one do you like best?

i'm back at editing the paris photos :)  which do you like better? 

the black and white? 

or the mocha one?

updated pictures!

unfortunately, it's still a work in progress, but getting much closer :) i've uploaded pics from our trip to nashville, brown's wedding, and a work team building event at hollywood studios.

still to come? crash-o-rama, the evolution of the office, canoe races of the world, and our trip to arizona!

here's a pic of nate and nina leaving the sweet sixteenth bakery, a few blocks from drew & laura's.

some exciting upcoming visits

to blacksburg and pennsylvania :)  it'll be nice to get out of the florida summer into a more pleasant summer :)

oh!  and we're getting new carpet.  i'm pretty excited :)  i think nate is having a heart attack over spending the money to do it but it's going to be AWESOME!  several areas in the house have really needed replacing since we moved in and since ari is safely back in virginia, no time like the present!

beans and cornbread!

ever heard of lime pickles?  well my grandparents make the best lime pickles ever.  they're tangy and sweet and super tasty and i've never seen them in the store, they can their own.  this year, my mom and grandma made a batch and i brought a jar home from arizona.  i haven't had them in years!

my favorite thing to eat them with (and i know this is weird) is soup beans.  soup beans are:

1 bag of beans (i like the 15 or 16 bean mixes)
1 piece of salt pork or ham bone
1 packet of lipton onion soup mix
1 crockpot  ;)

and a whole lot of water!  usually it's better if you soak the beans overnight, then drain them, and put the whole mess above into the crockpot for the day.

once you get a nice hot steaming bowl of 'soup beans,' i usually add fresh chopped onion, cornbread, and of course lime pickles.  cassie and i even used to pour some extra lime pickle juice into the beans for taste- sounds gross but it's so yummy!

if you're fresh out of lime pickles, soup beans are almost as good without them.  nathan's been eating them way for years  :)  he says he likes them and i have to believe him because he's pretty good and letting me know when something isn't to his taste ;)  we're having these tonight for dinner, so i'll add some pictures after that!

Concert was awesome!

sent with my cell phone...

my ipod library

is new and improved!  i had a lot of unorganized music, unidentified artists, song titles, etc.  but that's all in the past!  i've spent entirely too much time and now every song has a label :)  also, no more alternate spelling of band names or song titles.  whew!

now time to upload them all to my ipod so i can make my gym list :)  i'm newly dedicated to the gym after a stint of absenteeism.  i might even go to 'body flow' a class focused on tai chi, pilates, and yoga!  we'll see how that goes ;)

tomorrow, nate and i are headed to see wilco in concert!  this will be my first experience and i'm pretty excited to see them.  nate's seen them six times!

happy birthday cassie!

cassie's the big 2-9 today :)  and she's also started a new blog!  'chronicles of m&m' now on the blogroll.  i think she has it set to private, but send her an e-mail and she can add you to the list :)



this is cassie at her homeland, epcot :)  and in a few weeks, i'll be in blacksburg to visit cassie along with my mom and hopefully nate!

We're home!

sent from my cell phone...

florida bound

well after a lovely week in arizona, we're headed home today.  we ended up with a saturday flight which cuts our vacation a day short, but gives us time to get organized tomorrow so that's good :)  it will also give us a chance to pick up cleo who has been staying with a friend this past week :)  i miss her!
i read a ton of my mom's 'cooking light' magazines this week and copied tons of exciting sounding recipes so i'll be testing those out and will post some of my favorites! :)