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Mar 29, 2013

A Friday Adventure

I didn't go on any adventures today (though I got more than my fare share of lectures from my boss) so I felt like sharing an adventure from another day.

A Boston adventure!

Mar 27, 2013

Easter

Night Owl Blog


Neither Ryan nor I am particularly religious.  In fact he's very much against the idea.  I imagine being raised Catholic has something to do with that.  My family usually has a nice meal on the fancy china, and my mom would get us a chocolate bunny or something.  When we were kiddos we'd get a basket with a toy, a book and lots of candies.  Those were great days.  I remember the year I got a 101 Dalmation toy!  So cute!
Anyway, Ryan's family has a big Sunday meal, too, which we'll be going to this year.  Much like most holidays, it's an excuse for relatives to gather together and just have a grand ol' time chatting.  I'm not even sure if any of them go to church or not.

When we have our own family, I think I'll revive the Easter basket tradition because it was totally awesome.  I also look forward to egg hunts and coloring.  In fact I might dye some eggs this year because why the hell not, right?

Now here's a picture of me and my siblings getting ready to head out on Easter morning (back when we did go to church).  Sorry about the photo quality - I need to re-scan it one of these days.


Man, that was such an awesome dress.

Oh That's Right, It's Wordless Wednesday



Alien Seed Case

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Just Dandy


Based on Today

What Ifs

Sometimes I find myself trolling Pintrest for new ideas on how to decorate my house and I wonder what life would be like if I'd veered off in different directions.  What if I hadn't transferred back from Virginia to Boston after my freshman year.  What if my previous boyfriend didn't dump me and I didn't throw caution to the wind and go on a bunch of blind dates (well, OKCupid blind dates).

I wanted to do a lot of things that I simply haven't done, and I know there's still plenty of life left to explore, but I don't think I'll be able to, I don't know, join the Peace Corps (though after hearing about all the rape, I'm not so sad about missing out) or travel Europe solo or something crazy like that.

Maybe it's not healthy to dwell on "what ifs".  I should focus on what we do have and what we can do with it.  What if I focused on my writing?  What if I focused on photography?  What if I didn't just take what jobs I could?

I suppose I'm just in a funk right now because I was chatting with a friend online and I'm pretty sure she was joking, but she said "I know I will never be a happy married woman like you..." and all I can think is that's me?  I've gone from "tortured artist" or "promising photographer" or "award-winning poet" to happily married woman.  It leaves me feeling like I've let everyone down - all my professors who had such high hopes, my friends who are following their academic dreams, my childhood self who thought I'd become anything and everything.  But here I am: a happily married woman and trying to become a mother.  Just another face in the check-out line at Market Basket, trying to get the best deal on groceries.  A person who checks Pinterest for home decorating and gardening tips - who grows lettuce in her bathroom.

I want to feel like I've made something of myself, but my mind keeps telling me that since I'm not a poet or a photographer or anything like that, I've clearly given up on the person I wanted to be.

Boo.

Mar 26, 2013

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Mar 25, 2013

Mundane Monday

It's somewhat dull out there today what with the grey storm clouds and chilly weather.  There's still snow on the ground, though it is melting.  We can see portions of our lawn that haven't been visible since December.  Our fuzzy little house guest is back in her home now, so there's one fewer cats than last week.

There is some good news, though:

First Sign of Spring

Spring is trying to get here, even with the cold weather.

Mar 24, 2013

Hooray! And a Photo Book Review.

I finally have my new computer!  And in the spirit of "My Thrifty Life" it's actually my husband's old computer.  Technically he got the new one.  But this one is still 100x more awesome than my last one was (it hasn't crashed since I started using it, so it's already doing better than my old one).  Also this one came with a two terabyte drive which, along with my external drive, leaves me with THREE!
Think I can fill up three terabytes of space with... stuff!?  I don't know, but I have a whole terabyte devoted to photos now, which is my dream.  I can finally scan in all my old photos and save them online plus make photo books out of them.

Mar 15, 2013

Video of the Week

So this can't ALL be about me.  My life can't be THAT interesting.  I decided to start a new thing where I feature an awesome video each week.

Here's your video of the week!



Good Books - Metamorphosis from Buck on Vimeo.

I hope you enjoyed it!

A Liebster Award!

Hey- awesome!  I was nominated for a Liebster Award by Delectably Dawn and am really happy to accept my stamp of approval:


“The Liebster Award is an award given to Bloggers by other Bloggers! That makes it even more special!”
Can I get a  "whoop whoop"?  No?  Well fine.


Here are the Rules:

1. Each blogger should post 11 random facts about themselves.

2. Answer the questions the tagger has set for you, then create 11 new questions for the bloggers you pass the award to.

3. Choose 11 new bloggers (with less than 200 followers) to pass the award to and link them in your post.

4. Go back to their page and tell them about the award.

5. No tag backs.

Here are the questions Delectably Dawn had for me:


What is your favorite children’s movie of all time? Why? 
Hmm... the movies I watched as a child and "children's movies" don't always sync up, but I'll give this a try.  One of mine and my sister's favorite films when we were wee was Labyrinth.  I STILL love watching Jareth singing with all his little creatures, and I still want to give Ludo a hug because he's awesome.  I considered naming my first cat "Sir Diddimus".  But I didn't.  Oh well.
Do you work outside of your home? Or are you a SAHM? What is your favorite aspect of your job?
Who is the most inspirational person in your life?
I work in a shop near my house - about a 15 minute drive.  My favorite aspect is having an awesome co-worker who I can pal around with.  The most inspirational person in my life is... hm... is it OK if that person isn't with us anymore?  My mom's mom (aka Ma) went through so many trials in her life, even ending up homeless with a new baby when that baby's daddy turned out to be a complete asshole (so did his wife - oops).  So it would be her.

What’s your guilty pleasure? Bad reality T.V. shows? Taboo memes on the internet? A certain food that only a pregnant woman would love?
A spoon full of Fluff is both mine and my cat Ed's guilty pleasure.  She goes CRAZY for marshmallow.
Pepsi, Coke, Coffee, Tea, Water, Juice…or wine?
No caffeinated sodas, and I try to avoid ones that don't have real sugar in them.  Also not much coffee at all.  Tea is my drug of choice.  Also water, juice and wine, ha!
What’s your favorite fruit? Do you prefer it raw, baked, with dinner, in a salad…or with everything?
I love bananas, but I REALLY love sugar apples.  The only problem is those are really hard to get in New England.  And raw for both.

What is your favorite genre of music to listen to in the car?
My phone has a large mix of music from all genres that I love, so it's pretty hard to narrow it down to just one.  Lately, though, I've been listening to NPR.

Toilet paper…are you an over the roll or under the roll user?
I could really care less, but my husband loses his mind if the paper's going under.

It’s bedtime! Are you a side, back or stomach sleeper?
First one, then the other.  Then rotate back over again.

What’s your favorite gadget to use in the kitchen?
The microwave - also the immersion blender.

When you've had a stressful day, what is the FIRST thing you do to unwind?
Put on some fat pants.  You know the ones.  Everyone has fat pants for relaxing in.



OK, so now I need to nominate some people for their own Liebster Awards:

  1.  a Life in Wonderland
  2. Teal In Motion
  3. Love You To The Moon And Back...
  4. A Home for the Hendersons
  5. cuffed for life
  6. bizness is casual
  7. between the chaos
  8. Ema's Grand Ideas
  9. LOVEMEBRIGHT
  10. Charlie The Cavalier
  11. Toby's Tails

And here are my questions for you:
  1. If you could go anywhere for vacation, what would your ideal trip be?
  2. Given the choice between a rescue dog and a pet shop full of puppies, which do you choose and why?
  3. What is the best picture you've ever taken?
  4. How many times a day do you think you frown?
  5. Describe one of your best friends.
  6. What movie always makes you smile?
  7. Do you have a favorite book or author, and if so what/who?
  8. If you could go back to high school and change one thing, what would it be?
  9. What colors do you wear most often?
  10. What was your first pet like, and if you never had one, what would you like for a pet?
  11. What is your morning routine?

OK, folks, I hope you have fun with these and don't think I'm just some sort of weirdo!


Last Week In Instagram

My last instagram update was March 4th, so we're fudging the dates a bit here...

Backyard visitors.

What I Wore Today

Mar 9, 2013

Fuzzy Houseguest

Pippa is happy to have people around and always hams it up for the camera.  She hams it up so much it's hard to get a good picture!

Window Cat

Pipsqueak

Currently I'm locked up in my computer room with our three miscreants while Pippa wanders freely through the house.  Also Zoso is in his crate for eating cat poo because he's a disgusting little mongrel.

Saturday Morning WAYWT