superheroes and caponiers

It has been a lovely weekend, though weekends are a construct for which I currently have no reference point (i.e. I'm unemployed). Interestingly, despite having worked a minimum of seven hours on each of the last two days, Ted still feels like he's had a "good weekend." That speaks to the quality of leisure activities, I guess, when they effectively make a full-time workday disappear.

Saturday, we went to the open house of a home for sale in Dover. We don't particularly want to live in Dover and we're not currently in a position to buy anything (see above mention of unemployment), but still, we look. This one in particular was interesting because it's listed at a price where smaller houses in Portsmouth are just starting to come down to. But because it's in Dover, it's a larger house with a number of desirable features that aren't typically found in Portsmouth for this price range.

That said, if we're going to consider Dover, I would far prefer this house for a mere $25,000 more because it's brand new, way prettier, with a 2-car garage, and geothermal heating/cooling. All moot points: we're not buying today.

So, we walked through the 60-year old house, and it was nice. It's easy to point out the things we liked (huge mudroom, first floor laundry room, great porch, quiet neighborhood), and the things we didn't like (weirdly sloped plot with driveway at bottom of hill and uneven granite steps up to house, narrow stairs both up to second floor and down to basement, original kitchen cabinets). Even though we're not seriously considering this house, this process helps us create the list of things we really want and -- as importantly -- don't want in our future home.

We then went to a movie. Desperately trying to make amends for my last movie choice (the only- marginally- funny- in- spots- and- disappointing- for- the- Judd- Apatow- machine "Forgetting Sarah Marshall," which Ted now describes as two hours of his life he'll never get back), I picked "Iron Man," which I've been eager to see since first hearing about it a year ago. Luckily, I redeemed myself. We both loved it. I seriously super loved it. I'm already thinking about going back to the theater to see it again, which I do rarely (I'm more inclined to overwatch a movie once it's in my possession, rather than repeatedly going to the theater).

I would like to restate for the record that I think Robert Downey, Jr. is truly a great actor. And I'm thrilled to pieces that he's the lead in a blockbuster movie, which will not only give him the opportunity for at least one I.M. sequel, but also the opportunity for more of any movie he wants.

After the movie, we went across the parking lot to Longhorn for dinner. Despite the fact that we've lived here now for what is approaching one year, we had yet to try this restaurant. It was quite good. I had warm bread with a crisp crust, tangy Caesar salad, and the Big Sky Bleu Filet (steak with melted bleu cheese and red-wine glazed portabella mushrooms). Mmmmm, yummy.

After dinner, we returned home and caught up on a couple episodes of Eureka's second season -- in eager anticipation of Season 3 starting July 29th.

Sunday's docket was slightly different but equally fun and interesting. After his stint at the store, we went to our favorite cafe for brunch (brunch = an excuse to eat breakfast at 1:00 o'clock in the afternoon). I had their always reliable sweet pea omelet, and Ted had the French toast. Then we decided to chart a course to York, Maine. Now, we've been to York a number of times and can easily get there and back without benefit of any sort of map. The difference this time is that we wanted to write specific directions with landmarks that we can hand out to customers who ask how to get there. OK, it was an excuse to wander around a beautiful seacoast town in Maine on a Sunday afternoon. We squeezed through the streets of Short Sands before heading over to Long Sands, eventually wending our way back down Route 1A.

Once back into Kittery, on a whim, we went into to Fort McClary, which was incredible. Even without the fascinating military history, it's a huge spread of grassiness on a rocky cliff overlooking the ocean. On an incredible sunny day with that ocean breeze, it was easy to imagine setting up camp and hanging out for a whole day. In fact, we saw several families who appeared to have done just that with folding chairs, beach toys, and picnic baskets. One couple brought along their pet billy goat. I overheard them telling one group of curious onlookers that he's a great pet and has never chased the mailman. Later, we found the three of them resting on the grass -- the billy goat on his own blanket.

We stopped for dipped cones at Dairy Queen then headed back home, where we did a little more Eureka catch-up and had red grapes and rice crackers for dinner (hearty brunch, ice cream... we weren't in the mood for a full meal). We turned on the ceiling fan to create our own summer breeze, and watched the cats alternately chasing sleep and each other. All in all, a lovely weekend. Did I say that already? Bears repeating.

Before I sign off at this ridiculously late hour, I found these two funny YouTube videos while searching for "Iron Man" stuff online. Rated PG, but funny. Enjoy.

#1


#2

hooky

Ted and I took today off. It wasn't skipping school, per se. We planned it in advance, and both of our employers were in the know. In fact, we'd originally planned for last Monday, but Ted's cold waylaid the schedule. So we postponed.

We slept in until 8:00am, which was amazingly decadent! Had breakfast, enjoyed a little leisurely time, showered and dressed, and took a train into New York City. At Zaro's Bread Basket, we shared a delicious (and huge) salad with warm sunflower seed bread. As Rachael Ray would say, yum-o.

We took a cab to Arrojo Studio, where Ted got his hair cut. I thought this was quite adventurous of him, given his historical preference for coiffures of the SuperCuts variety. Nick was there, sporting a light pink button-down shirt and the tiniest of tiny ponytails. But Ted wasn't quite prepared to pay Nick rates for a haircut, so he simply watched him bop around the salon. I was a sideline spectator, alternating between watching Ted's proceedings, general people-watching, chatting with the staff (who are starting to know who I am now), and exchanging stories with a nice couple who traveled from Montreal so Nick could cut the woman's extremely long (hadn't been cut in years) hair.

We cabbed back to Grand Central, arriving just in time to immediately board the train home. We've since had dinner, caught up on some more TiVo, and spent time on our computers. Three guesses what I've been doing on mine. Yep. Uploading music. But now I must go to bed.

Oh! One more thing. I understand from Stacy that today is Half-Nekkid Thursday, when you're supposed to post pictures of your partially bare self.

For anyone who knows me (and even those who don't), fear not! I'm not going to get graphic. In fact, the guidelines suggest not to get too graphic. So my pendulum swings in the other direction. Here's my forearm! It doesn't get much more innocuous than that. You can see part of my dress and its sleeve, as well as the costume of the Polynesian Culture Center employee who was standing next to me at the time.

This was from my trip to Hawaii almost two years ago. I'd never really had a burning desire to go to Hawaii. I mean, it always sounded nice: I just didn't feel the inexplicable lure that so many others seemed to feel about it. But I had the opportunity to attend a conference in Honolulu, so off I went. Luckily, I had enough foresight to add a few vacation days to the end of the trip, because I basically fell in love with Hawaii as soon as I got off the plane. I mean, even the airport is partially open to the elements and has the distinct aroma of tropical flowers (once you get past the jet smell that co-mingles with it).

Honolulu is a big city, so there was noise and smog and traffic congestion. I stayed in a hotel that was one block away from Waikiki Beach, which was packed with people every time I went anywhere near it. Despite these things that sound very anti-paradise, I loved it. The flowers everywhere. The people were so nice (the spirit of Aloha). Even the dense humidity -- something I hate in New England -- was perfect on Oahu. The only things I didn't like about Hawaii were (A) the short amount of time I was there, (B) the fact that I really only saw a couple parts of one island, and (C) the length of time it takes to get there. Oh, some "basics" are pretty amazingly expensive. The two things that stand out in my memory are gas (more than $4 a gallon -- well before it was above $2.25 on the mainland) and milk (more than $6 a gallon).

I want to go back to Hawaii. Now, I understand the lure.

OK, I was going to make it to bed at a reasonable time, until I started talking about paradise. Oh well. 'Night, 'night.

Song count: 8854.

"Fragile" by Sting

a timeless topic

It was only a couple months ago that the NY Times ran a piece about a son and his father. Today, there is a new one by Kevin Brockmeier that is very compelling. I find this dynamic intriguing to read, even though my involvement can only ever be peripheral. I don't have a son to closely witness any such relationship, and my connection to my own father is more of the Daddy's Little Girl sort ("little" being a reminiscent term of endearment). I do get to see my brothers with their sons, and it is a fascinating thing to behold. Sometimes, they seem torn between the oversized love they have for their baby boys and the overwhelming sense of duty to raise them to become responsible men. I think mothers have a similar conundrum, although it seems to tip in the direction of spoiling children (of both genders).

Of course, all of this is theoretical: I have no children. And perhaps it is a tribute to Mr. Brockmeier and Mr. Hendrickson that they wrote their stories well enough to provoke such thoughts in someone who has so little to do with the concept.

Note: This picture is of a mural created completely of corn, and can be found on this year's Corn Palace in Mitchell, South Dakota. I visited the Corn Palace in 1991 on my drive 'cross country. Excepting a 3-day visit at my brother's place in Long Beach, South Dakota was the only state where I stayed more than a day (or even a few hours). If I hadn't been on a planned trek to Seattle, I might well have stayed in the least populated state in the nation. It is beautiful. Beautiful. Beautiful.

juneau

At long last, I'm here to continue my vacation story. So, it's Friday, May 26th (pay no attention to the date on this post). We've just shoved off from Pier 66 in Seattle and are bound for Alaska.


It took approximately 40 hours of cruising to reach our first destination -- Juneau. As we approached the dock, we took quite a few pictures of the surrounding mountains. This was the beginning of the realization that no picture could ever do justice to this scenery. Here is one of the many waterfalls along the way.


For some reason, we were a couple hours late getting to port, and so the excursion we'd booked had been cancelled. Luckily, we were able to get onto another one, and as soon as we disembarked, we boarded a tour bus to head for the whale-watching boat. Even though there were cloudy skies and a bit of a Seattle-like mist, we were pleased with the weather. The temperature was in the mid-60s!

Riding through downtown, we learned that Juneau -- like most towns in the Southern part of the state -- is landlocked: you can't drive into (or out of) town. In fact, we saw directional signs along the lines of "End of Road 3 mi." We also learned that, because the town can only be accessed by air or sea, it has the busiest airport in the United States.

We went past Mendhenhall Glacier. A stop at its visitor center was part of our original plan, which I still would have liked to do, but there just wasn't enough time. I actually took this picture from the whale boat.

*** picture removed until Blogger cooperates ***

The bus driver was quite chatty, reveling in his role as tour guide by imparting trivia and corny jokes along the way. One interesting tale he told (which we heard from several other tour guides throughout the day) was about the airplane that had a mid-air collision with a fish. Apparently, as the plane was taking off, it crossed paths with a bald eagle with a salmon in its talons. The startled eagle released its prey, which then unceremoniously splattered onto the plane's windshield.

We arrived at the dock in Auke Bay to board a much smaller watercraft for whale watching. So certain are they that you'll see a whale, they offer a $100 money back guarantee. And they were right. There were dozens of opportunities to see whale backs, tails, and even a whole body over the course of a couple hours. Contrary to my dark, blurry, and uninspired pictures, it was an amazing ride.

*** picture removed until Blogger cooperates ***

My camera, resigned to its limitations, sat idle while we watched one whale breach the surface completely. It was breathtaking. We also saw a bald eagle being harassed by a huge crowd of seagulls flying erractically all around him, hoping to annoy him enough to drop his fish (which, thanks to the bus driver, we now know they are wont to do). There were a number of sea lions hanging out on bell buoys and a variety of other wildlife in, above, and at the edges of the water.

*** picture removed until Blogger cooperates ***

We stopped at Orca Point Lodge for a salmon bake. My Costco radar was in the red, as nearly everything that was served was Kirkland Signature. The grillmaster even had KS vegetable oil, plastic wrap, and foil at his station.

I made it a point to have salmon nearly every day during the trip (c'mon, it's Alaska!), but I must say this was probably the least inspiring version of it I encountered. Teriyaki. Still good, but it couldn't hold a candle to some of the amazing salmon appetizers, entrees, sushi, and even lox aboard the Mercury.

Anyway, it was an interesting place. A day lodge (no overnight accommodations) run by a couple who were two of only eight people who live on this island. Their house is on a ledge near the shore, and they have to climb a 30-foot ladder to get to it.


After dinner and shell-gathering, we headed back to Juneau. With about 90 minutes remaining before we set sail again, I did a burst of shopping while Ted, Sam, Donna, and just about everyone else went back to the ship. I found the Wal*Mart of Alaskan tourist giftware, where I immediately procured t-shirts for every family member (including myself, which is rare). There was a great store that only carried pieces handmade by Alaskan artists, a trinket store that was a mess of high quality and low quality items, and a jewelry store from which I procured a free watercolor painting of the town (part of a shopping guide deal I joined onboard). I also found the first couple items for the kids' Christmas stockings.

There was no time for anything else. I made it back to the gangway at precisely the moment we were told to be back (9:45pm). A few minutes later, I returned to our cabin where Ted had just gotten off the phone with ship security -- they called wondering where I was! At 10:00pm, we were sailing again.

All in all, we spent about seven hours in Juneau -- two fewer than planned and not nearly enough. Although I was very much enjoying my vacation to that point, I decided the future trips to Alaska would not be by cruise.

Next time, Skagway. I wonder if it'll be August by the time I get around to that entry.

~~~
An aside. I regularly break out into this song whenever I prepare broccoli for dinner. Been doing it for years since seeing the skit on SNL, I think when I was in college or shortly thereafter. Now, our friends at Cute Overload have nicked it to go with this incredibly cute picture. How funny.

blogging, gyrating, procrastinating

Blogger's still having woes. So, I'm using that as an excuse to delay continuation of my vacation stories (although it's certainly valid that I still can't upload pictures). Meanwhile, check out the Evolution of Dance. Apparently, this has been all the rage on the internet the last couple weeks, but I'm just now finding it. Although I find the whole thing very amusing (and am astonished at this man's energy), my favorite is the Brady clip. You'll definitely need sound for this one.

Going to try and go to sleep now. Despite an apparent midnight bedtime last night, I couldn't sleep and so stayed up until 2:15am watching movies (bits and pieces, and most of Hitch). Speaking of which, we decided on MI:III today. It was pretty good in an action movie kind of way. Certainly better than MI:2.

Interesting observation. Although it can be partly attributed to the first weekend for Cars (and the theater we went to had Cars on three screens), I wonder if the Tom Cruise flap is the reason behind a mere eight people attending today's 4:05pm showing. Hmmm. Good night.

seattle, part i

Evidence of my post-travel vacation is indicated by a tendency toward general lollygagging. The most constructive tasks I've accomplished since returning on Sunday are as follows:

• Writing a to-do list (such ambition and optimism!)
• Talking with my husband (a lot; not on the to-do list at all)
• Making dinner (twice; also not on the list)
• Showering (more than twice; nope, not listed either)
• Emailing my siblings
• Catching up with a friend on the phone (200 minutes)
• Hanging up coats (it took three days before I moved them from the railing to the coat rack)
• Folding laundry (Ted did the hard part of actually washing and drying it)
• Uploading pictures from digital camera to computer (wouldn't have taken long except for my looking at every one of the 300+ photos I took on vacation)
• Uploading pictures from computer to Costco (each picture 2MB... took a long time)
• Sending online order for prints to Costco (at 1:30am... because it took so long to upload the pictures in the first place)
• Shopping at Costco (to pick up prints... and groceries)
• Filling the car with gas ($3.149 per gallon)
• Putting away groceries
• Starting to organize vacation gifts (on the list!)
• Watching a movie about quantum physics (this required more work than anticipated)
• Actually doing laundry (it's been so long since I started this entry that more laundry accumulated)

One may question how constructive some of these tasks really were. That same person might also wonder why more pressing tasks (especially those on the aforementioned to-do list) have not been completed.

What can I say? I'm on vacation.

So, to get started on the travel recap, this entry is about our brief first stop in Seattle, from whence the cruise originated. This is the first time I've been back since my friend, Anna's wedding in September 2002. Ted has not been there since moving away in January 2000.

We arrived in Seattle on Wednesday, May 24th around 12:00 noon. We procured a stretch limo to get us to the hotel because it was less expensive than getting all four of us and our eleven bags onto a shuttle. We walked to the Steel Pig for lunch, wandered around the Seattle Center vicinity, relaxed a bit, and headed over to Lake Union for dinner at Chandler's Crabhouse (where, although the whole dinner was amazing, the Northwest Seafood Chowder -- with crab, shrimp, clams, and smoked salmon -- was amazingly amazing).

Thursday morning, we enjoyed the complimentary hotel breakfast (which was actually quite good), and headed off to Pike Place Market. We walked a bit through the park by Cutter's, showing to our friends, Sam & Donna, points of interest in Elliott Bay and taking a few pictures like this one of a ferry (that's West Seattle in the background).

* * * IMPORTANT NOTE * * *

You may notice that I nonchalantly referenced a photograph in the previous sentence, but oddly there doesn't appear to be a picture. Blogger continues to disallow me the ability to upload pictures, and frankly I don't want to wait to post all this fascinating vacation information. You'll just have to come back for the slide show later. Future photo references will merely contain an unobtrusive placemarker, instead of a Blogger rant such as this.

Thank you for your time and attention.
* * *

We wandered over to the Market and proceeded to spend approximately six hours there. A very easy thing to do, considering the vast number of merchants there. I've been to the Market more times than I can count. In the nine years I lived in Seattle, I not only took every visitor there (great souvenirs, views, and touristy experiences), I regularly went on my own (great veggies, fruit, and flowers, all fresh and at amazing prices). It felt very much like home to me, but it was fun to see Sam and Donna taking it all in for the first time.

*** PHOTO PLACEHOLDER #2 - Sam & Donna at Pike Place Market piggy bank ***


*** PHOTO PLACEHOLDER #3 - Pike Place Fish Co., a.k.a. "Flying Fish" ***


We each found a different place to get lunch and rejoined in a central location to partake of it. We wandered Post Alley for a while. After spending ample money and wearing out ample shoe leather (who are we kidding, they were all rubber soles), we made our way back to the hotel to tally the goods and find room in the suitcases. We walked to the closest Pagliacci's to pick up pizza for dinner that we brought back to the hotel and ate in the common area, before retiring for the evening.

That's one of the nice things about vacation: you can do things like retire for the evening.

Friday morning, we were hoping to walk to Seattle Center, hop the Monorail to Westlake Center for a tad more shopping, and then take the Monorail back to go through Experience Music Project before boarding the shuttle van to head for Pier 66. However, our plans were modified by two factors. First, the Monorail is currently not running. Oops! Second, the plan was pretty ambitious considering the time contraints.

So instead, we cabbed to Westlake Center. While chatting with the nice folks at Made in Washington, we learned that there were two stores a couple blocks away that carry a good deal of Seahawks merchandise. Sam headed in that direction while I introduced Donna to one of my favorite stores of all times, Fireworks. I exercised extreme restraint and only spent $90. I have said for years that this will be the first store I visit when I win the lottery. I could easily have spent $10,000 there (and that's no exaggeration).

I also stopped at Rochester to pick up three ties for Ted who, despite months of preparation for the cruise's formal nights, neglected to actually pack his ties (he did pack his new suit). And we went to Bartell's to get motion sickness wristbands and Bonine. I didn't believe that Ted or I would need them, but better to have them and not need them than to need them and pay cruise ship gift shop prices to get them.

Sam came back to Westlake a happy camper with bags full of Seahawks booty. We made our way back to the hotel, quickly reorganized, and hopped the shuttle to get to the ship. It was relatively painless to get through baggage, security, check-in, etc., and before we knew it, the ship was "setting sail."

*** PHOTO PLACEHOLDER #4 - Seattle skyline from deck 14 of the M/V Mercury ***


And thus ends the first Seattle leg of the trip. Will I have time to recap all the Alaska stops and the second Seattle stop over the weekend? I don't know. But eventually, I'll get it all here. I was bad about posting information on my other big trips (Brisbane in late 2004, Honolulu in early 2005). I must get better about such things.

Plans for the weekend (which Ted reminds me is now just an ordinary weekend, not part of vacation) include going to see a movie. Our current options are A Prairie Home Companion, An Inconvenient Truth, Cars, or Mission Impossible 3. I think if we see all four of them, we'll be fairly well-rounded. Other plans for the weekend? Organizing the stuff we bought on vacation (the Christmas storage boxes are ready!). I actually started that today. And relaxing. OK, maybe I can blog the rest this weekend. Depends on how cooperative Blogger is.

For the first time in two weeks, I'm going to bed before 2:00am Eastern time. That gives me three nights to get into the habit of waking up in time to actually, you know, get to work on time. 'night.

a pause

I've been on vacation. Wait, let me revise that statement. I am on vacation. We traveled a bit. In order (without repeating anything), we traveled by...

• hired car
• airplane
• stretch limo
• taxi
• shuttle van
• ship
• tour bus
• tour boat
• mountain railway
• rental car
• and a whole bunch by foot

The places we went along the way were...

• New York, New York (OK, it was really just JFK)
• Seattle, Washington
• Juneau, Alaska
• Skagway, Alaska
• Ketchikan, Alaska
• The Hubbard Glacier (Alaska)

I have pictures and stories, both of which I'll attempt to post during this, the last week of my 3-week vacation. First, I have some errands to run. I'll be back later.

fresh raspberries and party shuffle

We've been to Costco twice this week. That's not terribly unusual, especially when there are several factors such as:

1. Passport coupons to buy great stuff at even better prices than usual

2. Amazing fresh produce (this week: mixed greens, green beans, raspberries, and red grapes)

3. A huge influx of items that make great Christmas presents (yes, we're already well underway for our 2005 shopping with 39 gifts procured thus far)

4. Stocking up on our contribution to pre-season football viewing at our friends' house

5. I love Costco and use almost any excuse to go there

So, Costco, football, and planning for next year's vacation took up a chunk of the weekend. When I was here and working on/around the computer, I was listening to iTunes (easier than setting up my iPod dock or plugging in the earbuds). The "party shuffle" option lists up to 100 of the last songs it has already played and up to 100 of the next songs it's going to play. Cool feature. Here are the last 37 songs it's played:

"Genius" Julia Fordham
"You Know How I Do" Taking Back Sunday
"Devil" Staind
"Nobody Not Really" Alicia Keys
"Freddie Freeloader" Miles Davis
"Bruised" The Bens
"If You Were Here" Thompson Twins
"Heaven" Los Lonely Boys
"Mr. Wrong" Sade
"My Funny Valentine" Constantine Maroulis
"Everything Is Everything" Phoenix
"Say Yes" Floetry
"Edges of Happiness" Harald Johnson, Jarle Vespestad & Tord Gustavsen
"No Matter What" Def Leppard
"Cantaloop" Us3
"There Must Be an Angel (Playing With My Heart)" Eurythmics
"Roof Garden" Al Jarreau
"Chains" Duran Duran
"How'm I Gonna Sleep" Tim Finn
"The First Taste" Fiona Apple
"Haunted" Go West
"Skin" Ephraim Lewis
"Through With You" Maroon 5
"Illusion" Soulstice
"78 Stone Wobble" Gomez
"Night in Tunisia" Dizzy Gillespie
"The Game" Trapt
"You Are a Runner and I Am My Father's Son" Wolf Parade
"Freddie Freeloader" Jon Hendricks
"Future Love Paradise" Seal
"Kaleidoscope" Matt Bianco
"Powerless (Say What You Want)" Nelly Furtado
"Rocksteady" Marc Broussard
"Motorcrash" The Sugarcubes
"Everything" Alanis Morissette
"Mothers Talk" Tears For Fears
"Smooth Criminal" Alien Ant Farm

I'm working on my old computer, which is being incredibly uncooperative tonight (and my new one still isn't set up -- watch this space for an anticipated rant against the maker of said computer, if I don't get those recovery disks soon), so this is all I can do. It's not letting me format the list to make it a bit more readable, and I don't want to just kill the entry (after all, how intriguing to see the combination of music I'm listening to, right?). So, that's it for now. Maybe tomorrow night I'll be busy setting up my new and incredibly fast and cooperative computer, and be back to blogging in style by Tuesday.

tricky

Ya' know, I want to be able to just jump quickly into my blog and put up a 15 minute update. But the blog gods are against me. I spent half an hour trying to figure out why it wouldn't upload my last two pictures (unsuccessfully). If I can't make the tools work for me, then I'm only going to be able to do this when I have big chunks of time to work on all the bits and pieces. And I can't be doing that in the middle of the night on a regular basis.

Here's a minor indication of the scatteredness in which my brain works. There are three half-read books and two poetry anthologies on my nightstand, and I don't even read in bed -- ever. But that's where the books land when I want to remind myself to finish them. Alas, that tactic does not work. I Don't Mean to be Rude But..., Gig, and Autobiography of a Fat Bride were all books I started reading on plane trips. A new poetry book is easy enough to leaf through, and an old one is a comfort. I do have a love-hate relationship with most poetry anthologies, though, so I can be easily frustrated by them.

But the real point is that I can't even finish a silly little book (to call them fluff would be a tremendous compliment).

I'm alone today with no Sunday commitment (rare), and my husband is working a full eight-hour Mothers' Day shift. The perfect opportunity to work on all the house-based projects I've neglected so badly in the past few months. But then I slept late (after the 3:00 am blog entry), and then I wasted some time watching overly sentimental movies (Something's Gotta' Give, Safe Passage). Now I'm trying to clean and organize and 'make home,' and I feel like a complete failure because everytime I pick up an object to determine its fate, I am faced with myriad contingent questions. Even though I know I can't possibly do everything today, I feel like a failure for not being able to do it all in one day. How did I let it get so out of control?

That question will have to be contemplated while I get back to my chores. Both the washer and dryer have stopped, and there's a pile of clothes that need sorting -- those in good shape to give away and those in bad shape to trash.

catching up

I'm not really here to catch up: I couldn't do it justice at this hour of the night. But I did want to poke my head out so it's at least slightly evident that I'm still alive. I was in Chicago most of the past week, and other busy life things continue to require my time.

I want to mention a few important milestones. About a month ago, my parents celebrated their 49th wedding anniversary. Impressive, isn't it? I have siblings with annivesary numbers that are also impressive. One brother approaches his 23rd anniversary this summer, and another hits his 18th shortly after that. My sister reaches her 20th in the fall. I'm the toddler by a stretch, with just my 7th approaching in October.

My nephew, Josh, turned 17 the day before yesterday. That means that yesterday was the 17th anniversary of my college graduation (his parents were understandably unable to attend the ceremony!). Josh is a smart kid with cool hair, a penchant for alternative music, and a soft spot for the youngest cat in their house. No wonder he and I get along so well.


Josh and Cosmo - February 2005

I've also spent a bit of time and most of the last two Saturdays of April working on my Rebuilding Together project. This is the fourth year I've coordinated this, and the fifth project (one house required two years). In all, 45 volunteers from my office participated. This picture is only a portion of the first group, but it also includes the homeowners -- sisters, Gladys (in aqua, upper right) and Vicky (in pink, in front of Gladys).


First RT crew - April 23, 2005

Today is Mothers' Day. My husband has to work, so we will be with neither my mother nor his stepmother to celebrate the day. They both understand, but it's always a bit sad not to be able to spend the time with them.

We made it to New Hampshire a few weeks ago, to visit my family and for Ted to attend an Arena Football game with our friends, Sam and Donna (Josh went in my place). I don't know if we'll make it there this month, but we'll be back in mid-June when my oldest nephew, Andrew, graduates from high school.

This is the moment where a tear or two quietly trails down my cheek. My little punkin... is going to college in the fall. Wow. I have two pictures I was going to put here, but Picasa/Hello isn't cooperating. Perhaps tomorrow.

ADDENDA (a couple days later)


Andrew, my 3¾-year old punkin, in 1990


Andrew, my 17½-year old punkin, with Peg for prom in 2004

All right, for not actually catching up, that took more than an hour. It's now officially the middle of the night (didn't I have this conversation long ago?), and I must get to bed.

Oh, one more thing. A poll. I wanted to put this in my side bar, but it was making it all ugly. And I just figured out how to center the blog again, so I'm not tampering with it. Here is my highly scientific survey. For some unknown reason, there's a ton of blank space between the end of this paragraph and the beginning of the survey -- even though my HTML looks just dandy. I'll figure it out later, too.

What's your suggestion for Kelly's solution to midlife crisis?
	Ratchet up work to "career" status and become Director within one year. Then aggressively pursue executive role.
	Scale work back to "job" status and spend the extra time in leisurely pursuits.
	Keep work the same and just better organize personal time.
	Spend personal time researching how to make a living doing what you love, and do it on the side until it's financially feasible to make it full time.
	Concentrate on reading more books and writing more poetry to soothe the soul in crisis.
	Be brave! Quit work and cash out the 401(k). Take some time off, re-group, then figure out a way to make a living.
	Get over it. Be responsible, like everyone else your age.
	You're not even 40 yet!
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ack! february already!

I underestimate the amount of time it takes me to get reacclimated to all parts of my life any time I return from a trip. It took me two weeks to catch up from one week in Hawaii (details to follow). Part of that was work backlog, and part of it husband backlog. Throw in a dash of sick Dad, and it takes not only keen organizational skills, but emotional fortitude to plow through it all. Dad, by the way, is feeling better.

As for Hawaii, I'd say it was worth it. I just have to be realistic about when things get back to normal. So, when I said the true test of my dedication to blogging would be dictated by my speedy return from post-holiday business travel, I may have been a bit short-sighted. At least I'm here now, offering this meager entry, until which time I can dedicate a few hours to writing a more meaningful one.

mt. wannahuckaleugey

See ya' on the flip side!

lips chapped by the wind

Half of a chicken salad sandwich on wheat bread with lettuce and tomato, a handful of mini pretzels, and a Fresca. It must be lunchtime.

I went to Chicago over the weekend. It was actually a business trip. I stayed at the hotel where we’ll be hosting our big meeting in 2006, met my contact there, and walked through the conference space. I also went to the Field Museum to observe a caterer as it prepared for a formal dinner for 1,300 people. A co-worker of mine who is on the planning committee for this conference volunteered to join me there, as she is not only a Chicago native, but also has actually catered events at the Field!

She was a tremendous tour guide and font of event knowledge. I got to see the Magnificent Mile, including the only buildings left standing after the Chicago fire, lots of great architecture, and more stores than should be legal on one road. We also wandered through lots of cool neighborhoods, including the little one that Wrigley Field is plopped right in the middle of. I had already seen Soldier Field because it’s directly across the street from the Field Museum. It looks like a space ship crashed into a Roman temple. But I digress. She also shared a couple small-but-fantastic eateries, one for Saturday dinner and one for Sunday breakfast (mmm, Smoked Salmon Benedict, yum).

Despite being a mere 24 hours long (I arrived at the Sheraton at noon on Saturday, and was back at the airport by noon on Sunday), it was a good trip. My feet are a bit sore, and I had a killer muscle cramp in my right calf, but it’s all good. And yes, Chicago being windy in the meteorological sense (as well as the political one), my nose was roughened from all the blowing and my lips chapped. I’m keeping Wyeth and Proctor and Gamble in business.

I am already booking another trip to Chicago in February (whose idea was that?) to see another caterer in action, and actually get to taste food from them and the one from this past weekend. If only the convention I’m attending in Hawaii was after my February visit to Chicago. I know... boo-hoo, poor Kelly has to go to Hawaii in January.

Lunch is over. Back to work! Didn't even get in a game of Bejeweled. Oh well.