Wisteria Colored Glasses

It's a Jungle Over Here!

2011-06-01T07:44:00.005-04:00

Yesterday morning I was in the kitchen when I heard Bella run face first into the screen at the sliding glass doors. I laughed and went to check out what would make her forget the door wasn't open and there sat a baby bird, just staring her down!

It taunted her long enough for me to snap a few pictures, seemingly unaware that with a flick of my wrist, I could have unleashed the beast on her (or him).

We've noticed this year that the birds seem to be less afraid of us. A couple of weeks ago we saw a bird in the bushes by the front door that just watched us come home one evening, undisturbed by the people walking mere feet from it. I actually thought it was hurt till I noticed later it had flown away.

I guess there's a momma bird somewhere near our yard who has yet to tell her kids not to speak to strangers.

Then, this morning, as Chris goes to leave for work, he finds a groundhog hanging out on the front porch in front of the door! He lumbered down the steps and around the garage upon hearing our voices, but have you ever heard of such a thing?!

Something must be in the water here in Swedesboro.

Flowers Make Everything Prettier

2011-05-18T12:56:00.010-04:00

I have an announcement to make.... (drumroll please)

WE NO LONGER HAVE THE UGLIEST YARD ON THE BLOCK!!!!

This is what the house looked like on moving day:

And with the exception of the pesky hostas that sprouted everywhere the following spring it has remained largely unchanged.

As much as I love designing anything having to do with the inside of the house, I am left utterly clueless when it comes to landscape design. The best strategy I've got is "flowers are pretty", but with all the hostas, there was no where to put them. We have also neglected mulch for the last three years (yes three!) since you couldn't even seen the flowerbeds through the folliage.

Finally, after putting my back into digging up the majority of the most bothersome hostas this spring, when the ground was still soft with rain and before they got extra leafy, I have real flower beds again. Check them out.

On a $100 budget I bought 8 bags of much needed mulch, 2 plastic planters, a flat full of light and dark pink inpatients, and one coleus and mini petunia for each pot. Plus a couple of tomato plants since I can't seem to get through a growing season without hoping that this year, they'll be successful. I even ended up with $20 left over!

What a difference. It makes me so happy I look out the window randomly at my pretty pink flowers. This summer, I love my yard!

Welcome Spring... I Think

2011-04-07T08:18:00.005-04:00

I love warm weather, so any excuse to shed winter coats and multiple layers definitely makes me smile and I'm so happy to smell spring in the air. One of the unfortunate downfalls of spring, however, is making me realize something I've pushed out of my head for three whole months; how awful my yard looks! I know I've complained about hostas before, and really, I'm giving them a bad rap, because they're not all that horrible. I'm just up to my ears in them since the last people to own my house seemed to think they were the be-all end-all of landscaping and put them everywhere. Last year I dug out 8 enormous ones that were smothering my AC unit. The first year we moved in I took out 5 or so that were planted around a dead tree. Now, over three years since moving in, I'm at it once again, hoping that I've started early enough to deal with the rest of them.

There were 18 of them randomly planted along my neighbors fence, and they had been placed so close to it that they were now growing under and around the fence. Even with the softened ground from all the rain we've had, they did not go quietly. One was so stubborn, it chose to die a horrific death; leaves and dirt strewn about like feathers surrounding a guilty looking feline. Yesterday I was a shovel welding superhero ridding the yard of evil, one hosta at a time.

Very Cool Commercials

2011-02-03T20:51:00.004-05:00

It's almost that time of year, the time of year when millions of people settle in to watch the biggest commercial viewing event of the year... the super bowl. Now I'm sure Sherwin Williams doesn't have the budget or the proper demographic to justify a super bowl commercial, but as I was dwelling on the only reason I'll be tuning in to the game this Sunday I remembered my most recent favorite 30 seconds of tv interruptus. Take a look.

When so many of the commercials I see make me cringe, roll my eyes, or even verbally abuse my tv, it's refreshing to be awed by one. I love the concept, the colors, the progression of the animation and am even grateful that there's not a single line of dialog. I want to know every paint color on every swatch and find myself trying to read them as they go by. Crazy, I know, but I can't help myself, I'm a nerd for paint colors!

There's this one too, which I like almost as much as the bee.

A Grown-Up Dollhouse

2011-01-03T14:25:00.009-05:00

Being more of a tomboy as a kid, I was much more intersted in climbing trees then playing with dolls, but how cool is this??

A real architecturally designed dollhouse that swings open, has tiny modern furniture available to furnish them with, and there's even these creepy dolls to live in the houses.
I get that they're supposed to be like the wooden drawing figures, but why the googlie eyes? They also supposedly have muscles that flex like real biscep and calf muscles. I guess so the doll man can invite the doll lady to the gun show?

Check out the whole inventory at Brinca Dada's website. It doesn't take much to make me happy. I don't actually want one; I built enough scale models when I was in school to not need to pay for another one to sit in storage. But I still think it's pretty nifty.

Wish Me Luck!

2010-11-11T15:17:00.007-05:00

I know I've mentioned before how much I love Bakerella's blog because you've seen my attempts at her adorable cake pops. Well, not that long ago I saw her post about a cupcake contest hosted by Scharffen Berger chocolates where they give you a list of adventure ingredients to choose from and you must create your own recipe. Since I enjoy baking so much I figured 'why not?' and proceeded to do a trial and error experiment to see if I could come up with something worthy to submit.

The list of adventure ingredients are stout beer, ricotta, buttermilk, coconut butter milk or cream, saffron, molasses, adzuki bean, fresh beet, sweetened condensed milk, fresh or dried chili pepper, bee pollen, meyer lemon, almond flour, and sumatra coffee bean. I choose to use ricotta cheese and coconut cream in my recipe and I think it could actually be a contender, but even if it's not, I had fun playing in the kitchen.

The end result, and they were just as good as they look! If I do say so myself. So wish me luck, the prizes are pretty sweet!

Here's the recipe if anyone is interested in trying them out. And the site for the contest in case you're interested in doing some baking yourself.

Chocolate Ricotta Cupcakes with Coconut Ganache

Cake
3oz. Scharffen Berger 62% dark chocolate, chopped
1 cup unbleached flour
½ tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. salt
½ cup butter room temp.
1 ¼ cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
½ cup ricotta cheese
1/3 cup milk

Ganache
½ cup coconut cream
3oz. Scharffen Berger 62% dark chocolate, chopped
toasted coconut

Preheat oven to 350.

Put chocolate in heatproof bowl over a saucepan of barely simmering water. Stir till the chocolate is melted and smooth. Remove from water and set aside to cool slightly.

Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl and set aside

Beat the butter and sugar in an electric mixer on medium speed until smoothly blended and creamy. Scrape sides of the bowl during mixing as needed.

On low speed add the melted chocolate till just blended.

On medium speed add the eggs one at a time, mixing till each is blended into the batter.

Add vanilla and beat until the mixture looks creamy and the color has lightened slightly.

Mix in the ricotta cheese until there is no white remaining.

On low speed add half the four mixture until it’s just incorporated. Mix in the milk. Add the remaining flour and mix until the batter looks smooth.

Let the batter rest on the counter for 10 minutes, then spoon into paper liners in a cupcake pan and bake for 20 minutes.

Once the cupcakes have cooled, put the remaining chocolate in a heatproof bowl and set aside. In a saucepan, simmer cream of coconut until it lightens in color and bubbles in the center of the pan. Pour over chocolate and whisk together until the chocolate has melted and is smooth. Spoon over cupcakes a few at a time and sprinkle with toasted coconut before ganache hardens.

Enjoy!!

Learning Something New

2010-08-25T09:11:00.012-04:00

As many of you know, Mom and I recently undertook an experiment in re-upholstery. She had two wingback chairs, I had two more, so we decided we had nothing to lose in taking them apart and trying to put them back together again, only prettier. I think both sets of chairs were very successful, take a look at the process.

There you have it! Hopefully it's inspired you to some creative thinking of your own!

I Need More Stars!

2010-07-24T20:03:00.003-04:00

No, not cake pop stars, although they were very good, I'm referring to those stars you get to rate things like movies and books on sites such as Netflix, Goodreads, and Barnes & Noble. We have an account with Netflix that we love, especially since they've added the watch it now feature which, among other things, helps us cut down on our mailed movies (currently just under 200 which will take us over 3 years to get through).

My complaint, as you may have guessed, is only having five stars with which to rate these movies once we've returned them. Once Netflix receives the viewed movie, they send me an e-mail asking what I'd rate it. Good system in theory, then they can recommend movies for me, plus I can remember which ones we've already seen if I can't recall. But I only get 5 stars (and not even half stars) to use when I rate my movies:

1 = hated it

2 = didn't like it

3 = liked it

4 = really liked it

5 = loved it

I'm sorry, that doesn't even come close to covering it for me! I've always loved watching movies, and I also love being a critic, discussing with whoever else has seen the movie what was good, bad, could have been changed, and if it was a keeper or a stinker. I'm a talker and so probably more then most people I can spin ideas and theories on what could have made it better, why the decision was made to use part of the story in such a way. I especially love when books I've read are made into movies and make Chris crazy by giving him a verbal lashing comparing the print to the visual.

So, I propose a new rating system! 10 choices which split my original 5 stars into halves so as not to totally reorganize the system (I could use monkeys if I wanted to, this is, after all, my blog). So here goes.

0.5 = truly heinous, it'd probably be more fun being fed to lions

1 = congratulations, you turned a semi-interesting story into poo

1.5 = horrible but in an odd way kind of likable

2 = good acting, too bad the plot was garbage

2.5 = didn't suck

3 = predictable yet mildly entertaining

3.5 = had good parts I didn't already see in the trailer

4 = worth adding to my personal collection

4.5 = only Leonardo DiCaprio/Rachel McAdams could have made it better

5 = wow...

Stars and Stripes

2010-07-09T13:40:00.004-04:00

Following up with star shaped cake pops for the 4th of July. I think they turned out great.

And to make them more portable I made a bunch without sticks.

Cake Pops!

2010-06-21T10:44:00.011-04:00

A while ago, okay, over a year ago... I'm such a slacker... I blogged about cake pops. I raved about these little treats on a stick and vowed to make them myself, then promptly neglected to inform my faithful reader(s?) that I did, in fact, make them. And not just once since then, but three times did I try my hand at these and as with anything new, all three had successes as well as things to learn from.

Cake pop trial 1: Crab feast cake pops.

So, I had a theme, and after finding small squeeze bottles, I also had an idea for the decoration of the pops. CRABS, of course!!

I found an image online, printed out a sheet of properly scaled crabs, and used a squeeze bottle to pipe little crabs on the waxed paper taped over my templates.

Then I shaped my mini cupcakes and prepared to dip and decorate.

And voila! (if only it had been that easy) cute little cake pops with crabs on the top!

And the lessons I learned from these cake pops? The sticks were way too long and those, combined with the heavy cake on top, made them bend precariously as they were transported, and resting before consumption...

I also learned that allowing them to harden in the freezer made them sweat when they cooled off and the red and brown bottoms rubbed off on the white tops as they came to room temperature. Which brings us to...

Cake Pop Trial 2: Birthday cake pops

In June we celebrated Chris's Masters from Rutgers, Steph's b-day, my B-day, and Father's Day all in one shot. So I figured it was a good excuse to make more cake pops! This time I simplified the design and instead of shaping mini cupcakes, I just rolled the cake out and used a flower shaped cookie cutter to make these.

They were much easier then the multi-colored (meaning twice dipped) cupcakes from before, and the flower shape with an M&M center was decoration enough for me to be happy with them. This time around I learned that even the fridge is too cold, they still sweat, but the candy hardens fairly quickly at room temperature. They also have to be thoroughly frozen (like overnight) before they're dipped in the melted candy or they fall off the stick. Wrapping them with the cellophane and ribbon made them easy to transport and the shorter, 6" sticks was better at supporting the weight of the cake.

Cake Pop Trial #3: Cheesecake Pops

Not long after the birthday cake pops we had a church BBQ competition and I figured it'd be another good cake pop occasion, but this time I wanted to try cheesecake. Just simple balls shaped with a cookie dough scoop, then dipped in chocolate and rolled in crunchy topping.

They were cute, and yummy, but lasted about 3 seconds in the 90+ degree weather before they became cheesecake shooters in those cellophane bags.

Next to try? Star shaped cake pops for the 4th of July!

Breakfast foods

2010-06-07T10:57:00.003-04:00

Besides coffee, which I drink all morning now that I'm home most days (although I have switched to half-caff so Chris doesn't have to pry me off the ceiling when he gets home) I've never been big on breakfast. I love food and generally enjoy eating, but I just don't really care for eggs, and sweet things like syrup, donuts, or danish make me a little ill. Trust me, I try every once in a while, like Friday afternoon when mom and I stopped at an Amish stand on the way home from Lancaster. If you had smelled those fresh cider donuts, you would have done it too.

In high school I used to skip breakfast alltogether. I'm sure part of it was a teenage girl's crazy way of cutting down on calories, but it was also because I just wasn't a fan of the options. I have since learned how unhealthy it is to skip meals and I try not to do that anymore, but there are still mornings when I think I could just be happy with my good ol' cup o' joe.

I know exactly where I get it from. A perfect example of the apple not falling far from the tree; my dad is exactly the same way. Whether it's because there's an actual gene that rejects syrup and scrambled eggs or if it's because I grew up enjoying breakfast with him when there was leftover lasagna or coconut custard pie, who can tell? But to this day I still count those as some of my favorite breakfast foods, although any cake or pie will do and pizza will take the place of mom's lasagna in a pinch.

So the morning after I turned 30 years old I thought, who says I have to act like a grownup? And I cut myself a healthy slice of leftover birthday cake to have with my first cup of coffee. And it was good!

Snow!

2009-12-19T19:16:00.012-05:00

I just can't believe how much snow I've seen already this year! First we picked out Christmas tree out after a storm left 3-4 inches of snow on my Grandparent's farm in Virginia...

I don't even remember the last time I was in Culpeper when it snowed!

But we still had no problem finding a perfect tree!

This weekend I was going to hitch a ride with Mom and Dad back to the farm for another visit before Christmas. We hadn't gottne more than 20 minutes from their house and Grandma convinced Dad to turn around since they were calling for over a foot of snow.

We get back to Delaware, but rather then let the night go to waste we brought back an old Bartlett family tradition back and Kringled John and Steph with a Christmas tree since it seemed they wouldn't have another chance to get one. We left beer and wings too... a few of John's favorite things. :)

Today I've been watching snow fall steadily past the windows filling up the backyard and making quick work of Chris's shoveling efforts. Church was cancelled last night before the first flake even fell from the sky, and I've been enjoying an afternoon of unhurried Christmas preperations.

Yet another perfect Pepermint Christmas tree!

One picture from our front door...

...and one from as far out in the driveway I can get without being up to my knees in snow drifts.

My Latest Project

2009-11-16T08:24:00.011-05:00

Right around the time Chris and I got married, my grandparents sold their house in Maryland and decided to live full time on the Christmas tree farm in Virginia. It worked out great for us since it gave us a house full of furniture to pick through and fill our new home up with, however, five years later there are still things floating between family members waiting for a permanent home. My mom gave me this wall shelf when we moved claiming I had wanted it but didn't have anywhere to put it in my old house.

But I still didn't really know where to put it in the new house, so it's sat in the basement until I finally got my creative juices flowing and painted a mural down there.

Then it just made sense to use the leftover black paint, and paint the shelves too. So I sanded it down and put two good coats of black paint on it.

I cut craft paper to fit the back shelves and used modge podge to adhere them to the shelves.

Then took them outside to spray them with a coat of lacquer. It took just about the whole can for this one shelf.

Then added new hardware to the drawers and voila! I love it, and I've already got it filled with a lot of my craft supplies that were unorganized and scattered throughout my corner of the basement.

My Favorite Place

2009-10-04T19:12:00.016-04:00

If I were in 9th grade again and going back to school a month ago, I undoubtedly would have been assigned an essay on what I did over my summer break. Fortunately I am not in 9th grade and never will be again, but I did have a most unusual summer break which I'm hoping will be ending soon, one way or another. More on that some other time. But Chris and I did go on our first week long vacation since our honeymoon and having traveled back to the Outer Banks after way too long, I'm inspired to assign myself an essay.

I know there are beautiful, exotic places across the world to visit with centuries old architecture to marvel at and different cultures to explore and be a part of, however brief. And I do hope to visit those places too someday, but I think OBX will always be one of my favorite places on earth, and for reasons no other place could compare to. As a kid we had family vacations every summer with the Bartlett's, and I'm too young to know how the location was selected but we went to Myrtle beach, Disney World, Sandbridge... basically a different place every summer; until we found Nags Head. After that first summer, we never looked anywhere else.

Here's a picture of the cousins on the beach somewhere around my junior year of high school.

My family is crazy, just like everyone else's, but we enjoy spending time with each other, and for a week we got to all be under the same roof half a block from the beach with a pool table in the basement and at least one hot tub on one of the many decks on the house. We played games and got to spend time with our cousins who we didn't see nearly as much as we would have liked to. We body surfed with my Dad and shopped at the outlets and the Christmas shops with my Mom. We stayed up way past normal bedtimes walking on the beach and making new friends with the other kids in the neighborhood. As we got older the tradition continued, the house got bigger so we could bring friends or significant others on the trip. It is hard to explain in words what makes it so special to me, it's such a wonderful combination of history, family, and of course, the beach.

A little over six years ago on the last family vacation to OBX, I invited my then boyfriend to join me on vacation. We arrived very early on Tuesday morning to a sleeping household and crashed so we could enjoy our first day of vacation on some sleep. As usual we were up late with everyone, playing games and having a good time, but Chris wanted to get up early the next morning to see the sunrise. Needless to say, after going to bed sometime after 2am for the second night in a row, I was not thrilled to see him at 5:30 the next morning shaking me awake so we could see the sunrise. I stumbled after him down the street towards the beach, still in my pajamas, rubbing sleep from my eyes, and wondering if this guy was crazy. But as we sat on my favorite beach, watching the sun slowly rise over the ocean, he asked me to marry him in what would have been a very romantic setting had I been awake enough to appreciate it. Watching him slip the ring on my finger however, was better then any cup of coffee I've ever had.

As we walked back to the house, we happened to look up at the street sign as we passed. The house we had rented for the week was on Engagement Hill. So of course, we took pictures. (sorry for the poor quality, it's a picture of a picture.)

Until two weeks ago, we hadn't been back since, but years ago we planned that for our five year anniversary we would rent a house and celebrate with our wedding party plus a few extras. We got an awesome house, right on the beach and I had a fabulous time. Here we are at the same sign post five years later...

High five seemed most appropriate.
But we had to try the sign climb again...

Not quite as successful as the first time. ;-)

It was a great vacation, catching up with friends we don't get to see very often, as well as hanging out with family we don't see as often as we'd like. We played games, enjoyed the cozy hot tub, ran around on the beach, and of course, read while lounging on the beach or by the pool. Ironically, I was awake almost every morning for the sunrise. I have more pictures then anyone wants to see at a time, but these are a few of my favorites.

You've got to try this!

2009-09-03T08:58:00.007-04:00

Several weeks ago I was out and about with my mom running errands and enjoying her company for the afternoon. She was getting ready for the annual crab feast and we were stopping everywhere looking for plants and decorations and any odds and ends she wanted for the party. One of the stops she insisted we make was Willy's which is a garden center, farmer's market, and so much more. If you know me at all, you know I enjoy cooking in general, but especially baking and trying new things, so when I came across these in the bulk foods section, I couldn't resist.

Cinnamon drops (or chips as I've been calling them) sent my mind spinning through the possibilities. I've never heard of these before, what would I put them in? Muffins? Snickerdoodles? Scones? I couldn't decide so they have been in my fridge waiting patiently for me to make up my mind. This week, I finally decided on scones and I have to say, it was the right choice. I love this recipe for scones which hasn't failed me yet. It calls for raisins which I've never used because, well, they're just not my favorite, but I have used craisins & lemon, chocolate chips, sprinkled raw sugar on top, dried blueberries, and now I have made them with cinnamon chips.

I'll be making them again in OBX, and I think I'm going to start stocking up on cinnamon drops to see what else I can make with these awesome little pieces of goodness. Let me know if you have any ideas!

Even More About My Feet

2009-08-27T19:45:00.007-04:00

I'm sorry if you all are sick of hearing about the seemingly never-ending saga of my feet, but there is yet another chapter which I hope, more then anyone, is the very last. I took my month of prescribed anti-inflamitories and my feet were definitely improved, but still not back to good as I had hoped and the Dr had been anticipating, so he got another call from me.

The next step was an MRI, which he had already mentioned at my last appointment, just to make sure there wasn't anything torn or worse. I'd never had one done before, so I didn't know what to expect but I brought a book with me, so I considered myself prepared. Chris was kind enough, and unsuspecting enough, to offer to take me to my 9:30pm appointment, which ended up taking almost two hours. A very long time to sit in a waiting room for them to give you your wife back! But before they could do the MRI, they ended up making me change completely into one of their snazzy paper outfits. I had to take pictures to share...

With the tie at the waist, the entire thing wasn't that bad, and it did hold everything together - and closed - pretty well.

But obviously, these gowns are made as a one-size-fits-all type of deal.

The pants were comically gigantic!

The nurses were all very sweet, letting me take my book with me; even if I could only turn pages when the MRI machine wasn't making noises; chatting with me while they switched feet, and even offered recommendations for some better books then what I was reading. I saw my Dr. a couple of days later who had the good news that the MRI was negative and all I needed was another month of the anti-inflamitories to hopefully get me back to perfect. He was even willing to take care of the toenail that was broken and falling off. Sorry, no pictures of that.

So, I'm going to be optimistic in saying this is the last of my fascitis woes and I will be moving on to new, more interesting topics. I ran almost 4 miles this morning which I'm going to say is a very good sign of healing to come.

New Shoes

2009-07-25T18:24:00.004-04:00

On the heels of my last post, which I had written the bulk of a while ago, I did finally go to the Podiatrist about my feet last week. Fortunately, I got good news, they just needed time, an anti-inflamitory, and new shoes. The Doctor took one look at my Sauconys and said, these are good running shoes, but not for you.

Wait, what? As much as I love getting new shoes, I had never really put a whole lot of thought into buying new sneakers. Suddenly I was getting a whole lesson on my feet and what I have to do to be nice to them. So I left the office with a prescription as well as a list of shoes that would cushion my arch rather then support it and strict instructions to buy myself a new pair. Have I mention I like this guy?

Lots of internet research/shoe shopping later I had decided to get a pair of Asics, but not the Nimbus which had been on the Dr's list seeing as they were $120. Although they did come with the benefit of being able to call my running sneakers nimbus 3000, and were pretty cool looking to boot.
But I still couldn't fathom spending so much on a pair of sneakers, especially if I had to replace them in only 6 months. So moving on I found the Asics Cumulus, which was another cushiony shoe and to my delight came in a snazzy color green. So for $60, I ordered these:
Or so I thought, what I got were these:

But I have been wearing them around the house for the last couple of days and I'm liking them a lot so far. I guess I'll just have to get the green ones next time.

OK, I'm willing to admit it...

2009-07-02T22:01:00.003-04:00

I think I've become a runner. I've been getting into running in the last 8 months or so thanks to a few different factors, the most influential being the awesome Zen player Chris gave me for Christmas. I love this thing, not only does it have an FM radio (take that apple!), it has lots of awesome DJ features, and my personal fav, a speaker that allows me to run and listen without dealing with the headphone wires bouncing around my neck. But this blog is about running, not cool toys.

For the most I've been active my whole life, I love soccer and will play it at any opportunity I get, especially now that I'm an adult and women or even co-ed leagues are fairly hard to come by. Besides playing club ball and high school soccer, I grew up in a great neighborhood for pick-up games and sports. We were constantly running around, rollerblading, riding bikes, and yet every fall when it was time to start running for soccer, I dreaded it. I waited till there was someone else to go with me, and even tried to clip my walkman on my shorts and then spent the whole run keeping my umbros from falling down (another reason I'm so excited about the zen). In junior high I didn't make the soccer team, so I decided to do track. I rationalized it by figuring at least I was still "playing a sport" but the only thing left for me to run was the mile. Ugh, it was torture, I can even remember, to my everlasting shame, not finishing one race. Definitely not an experience that endeared me to running.

Flash forward 16 years and I'm all I've got to motivate myself to exercise, but my choices are somewhat limited since I don't believe I would get my money's worth from a gym membership. I've memorized the Tae bo video, and laughed through a couple other videos I'm embarrassed to mention I own. We purchased a stationary bike shortly after moving into a home that had a better location for exercise equipment then Chris's side of the bed (that's where he wanted to put one at our old house). The bike is good, it does the trick, and I can watch TV, or read, or even play wii while I'm riding, but even that gets boring to me. I really never thought I was this hard to please!

Now with a brand new toy and a very mild winter, I decided to see if maybe my feelings had changed any for my old nemesis, running. Alas, it had not, well, not much anyway. The Zen provided entertainment which kept me distracted from the actual exercise, and was enough initial motivation to keep me going. I wheezed my way through the first few weeks till suddenly I started to notice that I was running further, getting less cramps, and even made myself go out on days where the weather wasn't so mild. Still, I really didn't consider myself a runner since my enjoyment came more from the sense of accomplishment, than from actually putting sneaker to pavement.

So why am I finally willing to admit it? A little over two months ago I hurt my feet. I ran 5 miles, they were sore, but then I finished the job at John's wedding where I wore fabulous 3 inch heels and then went barefoot, dancing and running around all night. My already sore arches were destroyed, and I've been struggling with them ever since; resting and stretching and icing and wearing my sneakers 24/7 and they still kept getting hurt. Sure I was frustrated that my feet were hurt and I couldn't seem to get them better on my own, but I also missed running. I didn't want to get out of the habbit I had formed, and after weeks of shortned runs at a slower pace, I long for the challenge of adding distance and the reward of shaving seconds off my best times. I like running, I enjoy the exercise, and after 28 years, I have officially become a runner.

I could make myself so fat...

2009-05-04T16:56:00.006-04:00

I love to bake, but don't really get to do it very often since Chris and I are only two people and we definitely don't need to eat a whole batch of cookies or pan of brownies ourselves. However, I found a blog that makes me want to go home every day and bake something! Bakerella has the cutest ideas and I am just dying for an opportunity to make cake pops out of something.

Take a look at these!

Visit http://bakerella.blogspot.com/ to see more adorable shapes and ideas! She also takes fabulous pictures of all her goodies.

(and this on the heels of reading Erin's anti-sugar blog. I do agree we have too much sugar in our diets, but these are just the cutest things!!! I can't not make them...)

Weather Whining

2009-04-23T09:13:00.003-04:00

I've been pretty whiny lately, just ask Chris, but I seriously want to know what happened to spring? I used to love summer, but honsetly, show me a kid who gets summers off from school that doesn't count summer as their favorite time of the year. I'm also included in the minority of people who would rather be warm then cold. However, now that I'm an "adult" and no longer have three months of leisure time to go to the pool and rollerblade around the neighborhood, I've started to appreciate much more the beauty of spring and fall over the heat of summer.

Every winter I shiver my way through the season waiting anxiously for warmer weather and signs of new life pushing through the chilly ground. I love planting daffodil and tulip bulbs because they are the first color of spring to be seen, and I'm coveting the beautiful cherry and crabapple trees in my neighbor's yards that are shedding their delicate flowers all down my street. I'm hoping to plant one of my own this year.

However, the weather has been less then cooperative, in my opinion, and I guess I've been complaining a lot about it lately. Chris reminds me there's nothing I can do to make mother nature bend to my will, but somehow that doesn't stop me. Today is actually going to be a beautiful spring day; sunny with big puffy rolling clouds, highs in the upper 50's and breezy. But this is one day, which has followed three days of rain and chill, never really making it out of the 40's, and is to be followed by three days sweltering summer heat flirting with low 90's at times.

The bright side of all this? Next week looks like spring will be sticking around for longer then an afternoon sandwiched between unpleasantness, and Saturday will be the perfect day for a wedding. :) I really should stop complaining, if not for Chris's sanity, for my own. I am not in control of the weather, but I know who is, and it looks like He's got the important stuff covered.

Bachelorette

2009-04-23T09:03:00.002-04:00

Here are a couple of nice group shots of the ladies in Ocean City.

At dinner.

Headed out to the club.

Queen Bee and her Divas...

2009-04-21T08:59:00.009-04:00

This past weekend the ladies of the bridal party took Miss. Stephanie to Ocean City, MD for her bachelorette party and we all had an absolute blast! While I am not at liberty to disclose all of the events that took place; in fact I signed something that limits my descriptions of the weekend to "we just drank wine and talked about the wedding plans..."

However, as all the girls start sharing pictures there's a series from all the sets that include a lurker and seeing him keeps cuing the jaws theme music in my head. I think it's hilarious so I'm going to share this one little piece from our otherwise quiet bachelorette party ;)

Steph having a good time

But oh, what's this? (cue music...du-nuh du-nuh)

DU-NUH DU-NUH DU-NUN DU-NUH

Woah buddy! You are so not the bride, and you're not even cute...

Ok, get your hands off her, it's time for you to go.
Fortunately he did leave us alone, but not until he managed to show up on every single camera we brought with us. LOL

Crazy Cat

2009-04-08T09:20:00.003-04:00

It's so funny to walk into a room and see the cat just sprawled out in the sun...
This is why I have so many pictures of her on my phone, it's usually the closest available camera.

A Better Effort

2009-04-07T12:18:00.003-04:00

I'm still trying to get over my need to have something really important and interesting to say before I initiate a new blog entry. I need to stop, so since no one else will tell me, I'll say it to myself...

"Kim, you're just not that interesting, stop worrying about it so much!"

There, that feels better. This is no longer my blog, it's my glorified facebook status site. Now I feel no pressure to be clever, funny, or entertaining in any way.
I'm just going to be.

Today I'm a bit restless and I'm annoyed with the chill in the air as well as my lingering runny nose and the cough it's turned into.

I hope my readers are have a pleasant day. :)

A Quick Update

2009-01-26T17:05:00.002-05:00

I love Renee’s blog title from last week “It’s Monday, I should blog”. I know the feeling! I always think I should blog but I can’t think of anything to write. No household of crazy kids to report on in our lives, but we’ve been busy nonetheless so I’ll just do a random update.

The holidays were crazy and fun and basically the usual running around and visiting with family. We spent a very hectic Christmas day with my family in Delaware, tore through mountains of presents, watched a movie, feasted, and I ended the evening hanging with mom in the hot tub chatting and soaking away a stress filled month.

The Saturday after, we headed to Massachusetts to visit the DeStratis family, played new games, and enjoyed seeing how much Mitchell had grown and changed since we last saw him. We’re looking forward to visiting again as Cameron is due to arrive very soon! While there I also got to reconnect with Laura, an old college friend, for a wonderful afternoon of chatting over lunch and perusing the isles of Barnes & Noble.

Chris and I got to spend some time relaxing at home since I had taken the whole week between holidays off from work. Chris unfortunately spent a good bit of that week sick, but got to play games and still had energy to hang out with people, so it wasn’t a total bust but still stinks he wasn’t feeling well.

Elin came to visit for New Years so we invited people over, filled the basement with good friends and toasted as 2008 rolled over into 2009. She and I headed to New York the next day to meet up with Sarah, the other original 108 and the three of us spent an unhurried afternoon catching up, eating an excellent lunch and visiting the Guggenheim Then we were treated to her boyfriend’s fabulous cooking and ended the evening playing games before having to drive home.

Not everyone who wanted to could make it to the New Years Eve party so before Elin went back to the bitter cold of Minnesota, we hosted yet another get together. I love having people over to my house to hang out and I love the fact that it’s always so relaxed and laid back. I can only hope everyone who comes over feels as comfortable in my home as I do. All are welcome, I’ll make chocolate chip and blueberry pancakes!

As the last Monday in January winds to a close for me here at work, I’m marveling at how quickly a whole month has elapsed, but if January is any indication, it is going to be an awesome year. I think I’ve already had an opportunity to spend quality time with almost every person who is important to me (including the last week in December). Furthermore this year we’re looking forward to welcoming a new DeStratis baby, Cameron, who will be here before we know it. My brother will get married to a wonderful woman who is already a part of the Bartlett family in every other way. Chris and I will celebrate 5 terrific years of being married. We’re excited to share this with our wedding party “plus” who’ll help us celebrate in OBX, where Chris proposed. I’d love to say I’m going to slow down and enjoy it all, but break-neck seems to be my default speed so I’m just going to buckle in, enjoy the ride and try not to miss a thing!

Facebook Junkie

2008-12-03T09:21:00.004-05:00

I joke a lot about how old I feel, not really because of any mental or physical aging, per say, but because everyone around me seems to be growing up and changing. My baby sister graduated from college in May, decided to continue to live four states away, and got a "real job". My little brother owns his own home and is getting married in May. Youth group kids that I remember from when they were in high school are getting married and one even has an adorable little girl! But 28 is not really that old considering I am hard pressed to remember a time when I didn't have a computer in my home.

Granted I was spoiled since my dad owned his own IT company, so I'm pretty sure we had a computer before a lot of people. And I do remember dos; that awful blue screen, having to remember exactly how to type the file you wanted, and word was basically a typewriter on a screen. Still, I can't remember not having one. If you told me today to write a research paper without using the internet, I don't think I could do it.

Computers have come a long way in my lifetime and I remember things changing as windows was upgraded; now you can play solitaire! The internet was introduced; turn computer on, make sandwich while you wait for dial-up, play on the internet till someone needs the phone. Then there was instant messaging; lose hours of sleep as chatting to all my friends at once replaced talking on the phone long into the night. Now even that has been taken one step further with my new favorite thing, facebook!

I always enjoy chatting with my friends online, and I knew of facebook, however the fact that anyone can just look you up and be your friend was a little unnerving to me. There are people I've known whom I'd rather not find me so easily; for some it was hard enough to sever ties the first time, so that was my excuse not to join. Then I started getting bugged to sign up, and I went to my 10 year reunion and had fun catching up with people there, so I decided that after my exam I would go for it.

Now I'm officially addicted. I've been throwing virtual snowballs, sending plants, getting in bar fights, kidnapping people, and beating up mobsters, and I can't make myself stop! I love seeing what other people are up to through the status updates, checking out people's pictures, and writing on the walls of people I haven't seen in years! I've owned a digital camera for a long time but usually forget it at home, or bring it with me and then forget to take a single picture. Now I want to take pictures of everything so I can post them on facebook, because I'm sure everyone cares about what my cat looks like when she's mad and how many pine needles are already in my house from the giant Christmas tree in the family room.

I have to get myself under control here before I start scanning old prom pictures and making videos of my breakfast...
Anyone want to join my mafia wars family? :)

Phillies Parade

2008-11-13T13:26:00.002-05:00

So I've never been a huge baseball fan, having only really begun to actually sit down and watch it from time to time and go to games here and there since I married an avid baseball player, watcher, & follower. However, I have always been a Philadelphia fan and I did grow up as a huge Flyers fan as well as kept up with the Eagles. I won't get into my crazy fandom history but I've been a Jersey girl all my life and no matter what, will always feel a special bond with the city of Philadelphia.

It's really a great city for so many reasons. Philly is known for some of the best food, sharing it's name with soft pretzels, and cheesesteaks, being home to Tastycake and some of the best restaurants you'll ever eat at. My favorite part about going to South Street when I was in school to get design supplies at Pearl was the fact that it was located directly across from Jim's; my personal favorite cheesesteak place. Philadelphia is also known as a sports town with fans who bleed Eagle's green, passionately hold onto grudges against players who have scorned them, and have the ever-present mantra of "maybe next year".

Throughout the history of sports there have been teams who have dry spells, the Red Sox only broke the curse of the Bambino five seasons ago, the Cubs are still waiting for their curse to be broken, and I could name more then a few teams that, for the sake of the franchise, had better hope there are blue skies ahead. But throughout my lifetime the city of Philadelphia has been practically winless. A quarter of a century and not a single trophy, parade, or team to boast about is a long time for a city with the passionate fans, and longevity that Philadelphia's teams have. We have four teams who have called Philly home for at least 40 years. Teams which have always been at least decent, they give you hope, they have bright shining moments of "almost" for fans to cling to, but always seem to fall just short.

Then the Phillies in the last three innings of a game which began two days earlier ended on the perfect note of a perfect season for closer Brad Lidge as he struck out Eric Hinske to clinch the world series and Philadelphia, with a collective cry that was equal parts joy and surprise, was no longer a city of perpetual losers. I went to the parade here because it was three blocks from my office and I just didn't want to be so close and miss it, so around 12pm, half the office set off to watch. Unfortunately, had we really wanted to be there and see everything, we would have had to be there first thing in the morning. As I arrived to work at 8:30 there were people in the streets with Phillies gear on walking around, yelling, horns honking and becoming the makings of a ridiculous crowd. By the time my coworkers and I arrived we were probably at least 60 people deep and couldn't see a thing. Every time someone started cheering it started a wave of people following suit so I would raise my camera over my head and just start taking pictures. I'll post a couple that I took, but it's really not much to look at. But I was determined to be there and I'm glad I can at least say I was a little part of my favorite city's history.

People gathered in an open parking garage close to where we stood.

This was my view for the start of the parade thanks to the guy in front of me who let his kids take turns being on his shoulders. Not his fault really, but still...

That's the Phanatic through the trees, you see him, right?

I told you so.

Yay Confetti!

That's probably someone important, I just can't see.

Cool Phillies flag waved by someone passing by.

People were climbing anything they though would give them a better view.

Just in case you're interested, I found the Philadelphia team's dates established and the last year they won a championship. Just because I was curious.

Flyers est. in '67 haven't won since back-to-back cups in '74 & '75
76ers est. in '39, haven't won since '83
Eagles est. in '33, haven't won since '60 (!)
Phillies est. in 1889, haven't won since '80...until now!

Reunion

2008-11-06T09:04:00.004-05:00

Back in August I had my 10 year high school reunion which I must admit I was a little wary about going to at first. I didn't really have a good reason not to go, I haven't moved very far away and it wasn't like there was anyone I was dreading to see or I had changed for the worse. So after being talked into it by Andria who insisted I'd regret it if I didn't, I found the perfect dress, awesome shoes, and couldn't think of any reason not to go.

But that was back in August, and I've been meaning to post this picture for a while now. I'm really good at making excuses as to why I haven't, one of which being that I was trying to find a picture that would be a good representation of me from high school, while not being totally embarrassing. I was unsuccessful so picture this: Kim, 15ibs heavier with slightly chubby cheeks wearing baggy jeans and an oversize flannel shirt, long straight hair and rocking bangs.

I have to say, it was a good day. I had a soccer game in the morning and Chris and I asked our friends Andria and Jon if we could hang with them the rest of the day instead of going home just to meet up with them later since we were planning on carpooling. So Andria and I made hair and nail appointments and spent the day being pampered and getting ready to look fabulous while Chris and Jon spent the afternoon playing video games. The reunion itself was fairly uneventful and with the exception of an awful senior video put together for graduation with everyone looking 10 years younger and dorkier (ok, maybe just me) and it reminded people of who wasn't there. It was nice to see people and learn who was married, had kids, living somewhere else, etc. I'll probably go back in another 10 years too, as long as I have no reason not to.

Ahhhhh!!!

2008-10-06T10:06:00.002-04:00

That was a huge sigh of relief from me. After months of studying a giant book filled with all sorts of design trivia and silly practice questions, practice projects and a stress knot in my shoulders the size of a golf ball, the exam is finally over!
I don't even know what to do with myself now that I actually have free time again. There's the house I've neglected to clean for about a month, the basement I still have projects to finish in, business cards to design, books I want to read, fall decorating I want to get done, and probably a zillion more things I could list. Not to even mention all the friends I haven't seen in weeks because I've been in study-induced hibernation.
I will have to wait till probably January before I know if I passed or not, but now that it's all said and done, I think it went okay. I know I didn't remember everything I should have or needed to, but I believe I did enough to pass which is all I could really ask for.
I'll let you all know when I find out!

Muppets are Great

2008-09-11T11:40:00.001-04:00

This just made my day infinitely better! I hope it does the same for you.

Enjoy!

Go See Juno!

2008-08-21T10:22:00.006-04:00

I love Netflix because there's rarely a movie that I just have to see as soon as it hits theaters, and since the turn-around time from theater to video isn't that long anymore I can usually wait to get it in the mail. We also love not having to spend hours wandering around a video store trying to decide on what we want to watch, plus there's no going back out for a movie once you're already home. Although we do still have movies we got for Christmas that we haven't watched yet since we always have one from Netflix to watch, but that's another story.

Of all the movies I count on my favorite genre lists, teen pregnancy films aren't usually a movie subject I want to run right out to see, but I have heard nothing but good things about Juno ever since it became the little indie film that could. Correction, I have heard nothing but phenomenal, rave reviews for it. So after seeing or reading something last week that brought it back to my mind I checked to see where it was on our list and bumped it up to the top.

I enjoyed every minute of the hour and a half long Juno. It was a clever story, every character was dead-on; from Rainn Wilson who makes a quick cameo to Ellen Paige who's a little too witty and calm for a 16 year old, yet somehow the character still lends itself to her mature sarcasim. I laughed so hard I was literally wiping tears off my cheeks at some of the fantastic dialoge and was still touched by an ending I didn't quite expect. Just thinking about some of the great quotes makes me smile and I am going to have to own it so it can join Zoolander and The Princess Bride as my favorite movie-speak movies.

I can't remember the last time I saw such a well rounded movie with comedic elements worthy of any of my favorite Stiller or Ferrell flicks as well as dramatic elements so well played they make you feel like you're actually looking in on someone else's private moment. Needless to say I'm giving it 5 stars.

Politics, of which I know nothing about

2008-08-11T14:35:00.003-04:00

I've never been very knowledgeable on politics and I don't tend to keep up on the issues of the candidates running for office, whatever the office may be. I've been a republican because that's what my parents are and for the most part I know my beliefs line up on the conservative side of the fence. Honestly, when it comes down to it, I am content to just pick up on things from conversations with people I trust rather then do the research myself, and my favorite statement when talking about the upcoming presidential election is "When was the last time people have voted for a candidate, rather then simply against the other candidate?" And I guess this is also my excuse for not making a point of being informed of the issues and the stances the candidates take on them. I know who I don't want as my president so I don't bother to make sure I'm making an informed decision. Also, since I am so ill-informed, I'm afraid to get caught up in someones well-written speech or column and make a bad decision based on falsified information or political double speak where I'm not understanding what's there between the lines. Whew, I'm exhausted just thinking about how dumb I am about politics.

But this article, I feel, pretty much sums up where my views lie, and it's interesting that the author says these used to be liberal beliefs until about 40 years ago. "Why I am Not a Liberal" This is also my new favorite site for reading about the depressing options we have for president, the more I hear about Obama the more disgusted with him I become. Just check out his stance on abortion, it's not for the faint of heart. But unfortunately, McCain doesn't seem to want to take advantage of his opponent's weaknesses, so I guess I'm hoping to see a little more strength in his campaign in the coming months. The person I have been most impressed with has been Cindy McCain. But at least that's something.

Cats!

2008-08-11T10:49:00.003-04:00

This is why Bella isn't allowed in our bedroom!

But she is cute...

Half Blood Prince!

2008-07-30T09:06:00.004-04:00

Well, I said after the last movie that I wasn't getting my hopes up for the remainder of the Harry Potter movies, but it seems I just can't help myself! I don't want to look forward to seeing them like I am and I do a good job when there's nothing teasing me, but I just saw this trailer and a behind the scenes clip on youtube and I don't know how to not be excited for the next movie!

So, we'll see what happens. The fifth one was really the only movie I was really upset with the interpretation for, so I'm hoping it was because the writer that adapted the first four screen plays was to blame because he wasn't available. Since David Yates will be back as the director, I can only hope having the original writer back will put the movies back on track. Since there's no more books to look forward to, I guess I'll just have to be content with whatever they come out with in November.

Na-na na-na na-na na-na BATMAN!

2008-07-22T06:49:00.006-04:00

Oh man, I can't say enough how much I love the latest installment of Batman! We went with a group of people on Friday night after Chris's softball game, and then again on Sunday after convincing John and Stephanie they needed to see it too. I can't even remember the last movie I saw on opening weekend, let alone twice in one weekend. But it was that good.

I grew up with Batman. Those movies, along with Indiana Jones, were my Star Wars; movies that were beloved by most of my generation but I never saw until I became an adult. And just like Chris sat me down to watch all the Star Wars when the first 3 episodes came out, I made him sit with me and catch up on all the Batmen that had gone before. I was never a comic book fan so I didn't know the discrepancies between the Batman movies and the original stories, but I loved the super hero films for what they were. Even when the third and fourth installments were infused with cheese and rubber nipples (just who's idea was that??) I still had a soft spot for the Batman movies. I loved the Bond-esque toys he got to use and the fact that unlike most super heroes he was a regular guy just trying to fight crime with no real super power (unless you can consider being really, really ridiculously rich to be a super power). I even enjoyed the over the top characters that played the villains, Jack Nicholson's Joker and Jim Carry's Riddler being two of my favorites.

In 2005 when Batman Begins came out I was psyched for another take on my favorite super hero and was overall impressed with director Christopher Nolan's version. It was darker then any before with Christian Bale playing Bruce Wayne as more then just a pretty-boy billionaire with an interesting nocturnal hobby. He portrays him as deeply disturbed, a bit necessary when you think about the likely-hood of a grown man dressing as a bat in order to fight crime, and he gave his back story great believability. There was a new underlying presence of mobsters giving Batman an unending supply of bad guys to go after and a little more realism to the story. And there was just something in Cillian Murphy's cold eyes that made him a great villain.

Than around this time last year I heard that the second one was coming out; hooray!! And that Heath Ledger was going to play the joker; what?? Mr. Brokeback Mountain is going to be the joker? Nicholson's mouth was perfect in that plastic-y smile and his laugh along with his jittery, silly movements were just great, how is Ledger going to play this part? Then as time went on I started hearing more and more about the intensity and sheer craziness he was giving to the character, and I started getting excited about it. I really couldn’t help myself, even if his joker couldn’t hold a candle to Nicholson’s, there was still a new Batman movie to look forward to. Of course Ledger’s death in January gave the movie even more hype then it was already getting since the first one was so well done. Than as people started getting advance showings and critics even started talking about an Oscar nod along with a good shot at winning a posthumous golden statue, I couldn’t wait any longer! And I pushed aside the somewhat nagging feeling that I might be getting geared up to be supremely let down.

However, The Dark Knight did not disappoint. From beginning to end it was non-stop action, crazy stunts, cool bat-toys, and a psychopathic Joker who both creeped me out and made me laugh out loud. If you loved the first Batman you have to see this one too. I applaud the well developed characters, the solid acting all around and the fact that they’re not afraid to shock the audience with a death or special effect or plot twist. I may even have to see it again…

Holy Guacamole!

2008-07-16T09:29:00.005-04:00

I have never really been a fan of guacamole. Which is strange since as far as eating green food goes, I generally love it all, broccoli, string beans, and snap peas are just a few of my favorites. However, avocados have always ranked fairly low on my list of green food that I actually want to put in my mouth. I also don't really know what to do with them or have recipes to use them in so I've never bothered with them.

Then, last summer I learned how to make awesome guacamole from a friend's mom and I feel it has now been tried and true since I have converted many other guacamole-haters with this recipe. I've made it here and there for game nights or get togethers with family and friends, and then I read an article that listed the benefits of avocados and now I feel I need to start eating a lot more of this super-food.

One of the common impressions of avocados is this is just a fattening food and there are better ways of getting healthy vitamins and minerals. However in this day and age where everything is way more complicated then just labeling something as a fatty food or a healthy food, I think it merits a second look at how the benefits outweigh the possible negatives.

Consider this:

Avocados contain 20 different vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients (these help prevent many chronic diseases) including vitamins E, K, & C, iron, potassium, foliate, and fiber.
Avocados help enable your body to absorb fat-soluble nutrients from other healthy vegetables when eaten together including beta-carotene and antioxidants. (For example, the healthy beta-carotene in carrots can't be absorbed by your body unless eaten with something containing fat such as salad dressing or dip)
Avocados are virtually the only fruit that contain monounsaturated fats which help lower cholestoral and risks of heart disease and stroke. (They're generally found in oils.)
Avocados contain lutein which help maintain eye health as we age.

So, the next time you're looking for a tasty snack, mix up these ingredients and try out this guacamole recipe:

3 avocados mashed
4 Tbsp mayo
1/2 red onion chopped fine
1/2 lime's worth of juice
salt to taste

Leave a couple of pits in to keep it from browning too fast and enjoy! I also found that it's easier to mash the avocados with a pastry cutter or potato masher rather then a fork, especially if the avocado isn't quite ripe yet.

(Facts found on Hass.com and health.MSN.com, photo from sxc.hu)

Widget, gadget and other fun words to say

2008-07-10T15:55:00.005-04:00

Look at me getting all technologically advanced.
I was so proud of myself for figuring out how to add a youtube video without having to ask Chris to show me first. Now I've added a widget so I can share my favorite books on my blog too! This of course means I now have another site that I have to keep maintained, but I thought it was pretty cool.

Rent!

2008-06-30T10:31:00.004-04:00

I had a fabulous weekend as I got to visit my cousin Jenny in Maryland so we could see RENT at a The Wolf Trap Theater near where she lives, along with her, as she puts it, hopefully someday sister-in-law. This all started last summer when Jenny, her sister Pam and I went to see Wicked at the Miriam Theater in Philly which was amazing and I'd highly recommend that show to anyone. We had so much fun we decided we needed to plan to do it at least once a year. Unfortunately, Pam couldn't join us again, and Megan wasn't able to for the second time either. But I love Rent, it's my favorite show, and Jen had seen the movie and knew how much I loved it, so we just had to see it while it was in town. I am so glad we did.
The Wolf Trap Theater is a non profit, open air theater which allows you to bring outside food and beverages with you and eat on the lawn. I was completely enamored with this concept since at any venue I've been to in Philadelphia, they completely gouge their captive audience with food and beer prices. I felt like I was getting away with something as we carried our cooler full of beer and sandwiches right through the front gates. Jenny even remembered to pack pickles. We sat on the lawn, with lots of other picnickers before the show and ate our dinner, enjoying the laid back atmosphere, and the breeze that made the summer weather slightly less sticky.
Months ago when Jenny first mentioned the show, she had told me that her brother-in-law works at the theater, so we could probably get good tickets, and when we arrived he got us tickets in row F with a senior discount! So naturally, we were thrilled to have cheap seats so close to the stage. Then, not long after we had sat down and started eating, he came over, handed us new tickets and receipts for a refund for the old tickets. We were now sitting in row B, dead center, and it didn't cost a thing!!! This, of course, prompted giggly, faux-snotty remarks of how far away row F was, and how that just wouldn't have been acceptable.
The show itself was fantastic, as usual, and while the performers weren't quite as good as the cast I saw in Philly several years ago, their energy made up for what they may have lacked in talent, which still wasn't much. I soaked it all in, trying hard not to sing along to all the songs, and informed Chris on Sunday when I got home, that I have to get the soundtrack.
While I fought with the inevitable feelings of these actors not being exactly the same as the ones I remember, Collin's voice should be deeper, Angel should have more rhythm, Maureen needs to be a little more leather then denim... I was particularly impressed with the guy cast as Roger who, unlike the original Roger, sort of a grunge rocker al la Kurt Cobane, looked a little like Billy Joe from Green Day sporting guy-liner and bleached blond spiky hair. I liked the image change very much as I had never particularly found Roger attractive as the male lead, but it was this guy's voice that really blew me away. He sang with such emotion and had such vocal control I think I could have listened to him sing the entire show by himself.
Here's a you tube video here of him singing "One Song, Glory" from the show for you guys to enjoy too. And as a fun side note, we read in the program later that he won South African Idol. We thought it was funny, but unfortunately his music is a little boy band-ish, but he did do a pretty good job of keeping his accent in check during the show.
Also, the link to the Wolf Trap theater for anyone who wants to check it out, if you happen to live down there or are planning on visiting. http://www.wolf-trap.org/

Words to live by

2008-06-18T15:41:00.009-04:00

For the past few years I've been meeting with two of my closest friends to share our lives and study God's word together, and while "bible study" is a good, common term for our meetings, over the years it's turned into more than just a bible study to me. A few weeks ago on my way to Kim's house there was a huge rainbow in the sky that I couldn't take my eyes off the whole time I was driving; all the while I was praying that it'd stay till I got to Kim's and fumbling with my camera phone at red lights just in case it didn't. It stretched from one end of the sky to the other and even had a shadow rainbow that shimmered in and out of view next to it. I wasn't far from her house, and the three of us did get to enjoy it together, standing on Kim's porch taking pictures, making the neighbors wonder. What a blessing it was to start our night together with a reminder of God's promises, and such a beautiful one at that!

So we have been meeting for a while and we've studied all sorts of things, different study books, the Proverbs 31 woman, going through various books of the bible. Currently we're in the book of 1 Peter since we started in James and enjoyed it too much to stop there. Last night we were reading the fourth chapter and after reading it and discussing it for a few minutes I realized that I really needed to commit verses 7 - 11 to memory.

"The end of all things is near. Therefore be clear minded and self-controlled so that you can pray. Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms. If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power forever and ever. Amen."

(Words in bold are mine, because those are the things I need to remember every day.)

It's really eye opening to consider the fact that if it's God's will, I may not have tomorrow. Today could be my legacy, the footprints that remain for those I left behind to remember me by. So what do people see? Did I love others despite their attitudes, serve them without grumbling, and go about my day with a grace that transcends my own flesh? Or did I leave a cloud of frustration, stubbornness, and complaint in my wake?

Unfortunately the days I let the little things get to me are not few and far between, but I'm going to be working on that.

NeoCon

2008-06-12T09:43:00.005-04:00

I just got back, last night at 11pm, from a trip to Chicago my office sent me on. Every year the city hosts a huge trade show called NeoCon for anyone in the industry at their merchandise mart which is a huge building on the canal that houses showroom after showroom of furniture, fabrics, carpets, wallcoverings, kitchen & bath fixtures, you name it and there's probably a showroom for it somewhere. It was a great, whirlwind trip, and beyond the merchandise mart I just want to recommend Chicago for anyone looking for a cool city to visit because I can't wait to go back with Chris to do a little more exploring.

I'll give you as much of a condensed version as I can. Our plane landed around 9am, we caught a cab and went straight to the mart where we checked our bags and tried to figure out where the heck to go. The building was huge and pretty difficult to navigate, especially with so many people there. Every time I turned around there was another line for a different set of elevators, it was crazy! I'd like to say we eventually figured it out, but it was just not possible to get the map in your head in less then 2 days. We signed up for a seminar, which was very informative, about the evolution of the open work space and how that will continue to change as the baby boomers retire since we'll have only one new worker coming in for every two leaving. If you're interested in seeing how it's evolving, google "google Zurich office" and check out their office in Zurich, it's pretty cool. We collected as much of the free stuff the showrooms were giving out as we could which was a lot of bags, some notebooks and pens, food & drink, and even teddy bears and my personal fav, soccer balls! That stuff plus all the product literature we picked up and my shoulders are still sore! After a Herman Miller showroom tour and my first ever red bull we finally found our hotel, checked in, and got to relax for a little while & shower before meeting back up with the Herman Miller people for dinner.

Being taken to dinner by furniture reps is always an experience because the company is picking up the tab. They ordered way more food then the 5 of us would ever eat and we drank two bottles of wine which were over $100 each! It was a very nice, relaxing way to end the evening as everyone was very friendly and the conversation flowed well for the almost three hours that we sat in the restaurant. Good stuff. Then I got to watch the last 2 minutes of the Celtics game "which Chris" before bed.

Yesterday I was up way too early which I'm blaming on the combination of not being in my own bed, and the red bull. So I lounged around a little, took my time getting all the junk I'd acquired the day before packed and ready for the plane ride home. We checked out around 8:30, grabbed a quick breakfast and lugged all of our stuff back to the mart so we could hit a couple more showrooms before our time was up. Then we took a cab to Navy Pier and took an architectural ferry ride/tour along the canal which was a great way to end the trip. Still work-related but we got out in the sun, it was a beautiful day, and got to sit down and enjoy the city a little bit.

And now, for any of you interested in seeing Chicago, here are the few tips I have to offer.
1. Try to fly out of Midway airport instead of O'Hare. O'Hare was crowded, had really long lines, both checking in and security, and a lot of connector flights go through there so for a fairly small airport it's full to the brim with people.
2. Take the train! We spent almost $40 on a cab ride from the airport to the mart on Tuesday morning and $2 a person to take the train back Wednesday afternoon. Trains go to downtown from both airports, orange line from Midway and blue line from O'Hare.
3. Check out Navy Port! This is where we took the Architectural ferry tour from, but they had so much more I wish we had had a little time to walk around. There are at least a half dozen different boat tours to chose from, shopping and even some carnival rides, and that's just what I did see.
4. As some of you may know, Chicago was where Frank Lloyd Wright began his career as an architect where among other things, he popularized the prairie style home in the 1900's. I don't want to get into an architecture lesson but there are many different tours you could take to see some of the really cool buildings he designed. I was a little sad I didn't get to see the Robie House which I had done a project on in Design 2.
5. And I would be remiss not to mention the fact that Chicago has two baseball teams to watch, the Cubs at Wrigley Staduim and the White Sox at the much lesser known U.S. Cellular Field (I had to look it up). FYI, Red Sox play the White Sox in August. :)

Update

2008-05-07T16:31:00.003-04:00

So Mason had an unfortunate upset in the first round of the CAA's losing to Towson by one heart-breaking goal. Apparently neither team was down by more then one goal the entire game and Towson scored the winning goal with only 37 seconds left in the game. Unfortunately it seems it just wasn't meant to be as I can't imagine how much closer the game could have been and I'm sure my parents had residual white knuckles for hours.
On a brighter note, Megan did receive one final honor. In a ceremony the night before the game she was one of 11 players in the whole conference, which encompasses 8 teams, to be named to the First-Team All-CAA. She was over the moon, and even I couldn't stop smiling after hearing her talk about it. :)

Bragging Rights

2008-04-29T11:31:00.004-04:00

Entitlement to boast about something; the informal right to brag and boast about an achievement you've made.
Generally speaking, my achievements aren’t much to brag about, especially not on my blog. Getting right out of bed when the alarm clock goes off at 6am; hanging my clothes up as I take them off instead of throwing them on the hooks conveniently located in my closet; actually walking or driving past a Barnes & Noble without going inside and buying another book (have I mentioned how much I like to read?). These would all be small accomplishments for me as I go about my life. But as this semester comes to an end, and more specifically, as lacrosse season ends, I have something truly awesome to brag about.
Megan, my little sister, is a senior this year at George Mason University, which means the end to her collegiate lacrosse career as a Division I starter in midfield for the Mason team. The Bartlett’s have always been athletic, not to mention competitive, which makes us contenders on a field if nothing else, but Megan has emerged as the athlete of the family. I am so proud of her and what she’s achieved in all four years that she’s been away at school, but especially in this past season. She’s always been super exciting to watch when she’s in her element and the Mason team this year is playing as a unit like never before. They ended the regular season with a 12-4 overall record which includes a record breaking 7 game winning streak and a 6-1 record at home. When she finally says her farewell her name will remain on more then a few school record lists including; most goals in a game (5), most goals in a season (26), most ground balls in a career (144), and this is to name only a few. Plus, these are her numbers before the tournaments begin, although I'm not sure if those stats will "officially" count. She will forever have the honors of CAA player of the week and the second player ever from Mason to be named Nike Player of the Week.
I think that whenever the saying “going out with a bang” is referred to, there should be a picture of my sister, because she’s taken on her last season with all the fierceness of a woman not willing to go out quietly. She emerged as a true leader, deserves some of the credit for the way the team has come together this year, and for someone going into a season with just 7 goals total over three seasons, to score a whopping 26, it's just unbelievable!
The regular season is over but Mason is one of 4 the teams to have made it to the CAA tournament this weekend and if they get what they deserve they’ll be headed to the NCAA tournament at the end of May with champion rings to prove their right to be there. Selfishly I want it all for Megan, she’s overcome bad ref’s, misplaced criticism from the coaches, and in my slightly biased opinion, she deserves perfection this season. However, come what may, there’s so much to brag about and I couldn’t be prouder. If nothing else, they'll be playing overseas in June, savoring a trip she's earned and a game she loves to play.
Go Mason! Go Megan!

#24 Megan in action

Mom & Dad escorting Megan on the field for her Senior Day Game

The whole family was able to make it for senior day!

I've Been Carded

2008-04-03T09:42:00.002-04:00

Last night I finally signed up for my Gloucester County Library card! Some of you may think I’m crazy that this is considered a highlight for me, but I was really excited to finally get it. The library was one of the first buildings I saw when we began looking in Logan Township for a house. Ask Chris, I think he was in the car with me when I pointed it out to him with all the enthusiasm of an 8 year old hearing the ice cream truck turn down the street.
I know it sounds strange, but there’s always been something really soothing to me about being around books. Maybe it’s the atmosphere and how in a Library everything seems hushed, almost reverent to the literature housed inside its walls. Or maybe it’s because seeing all those books lined up, and knowing I can take any one off the shelf and experience a story just by turning the pages opens up a world of possibilities to me. I really don’t know, but I love it and it makes me smile to know I’m now a card carrying member.
It also makes Chris smile knowing I won’t be spending so much money at Barnes & Noble.

On a side note, I don’t know about you guys but that bubble-gum pink was getting to me. Unfortunately that was the closest I could find to a purple template so I’m just going to have to be named Wisteria without prominently displaying it. If anyone knows how to create your own template, let me know!

Q&A

2008-03-31T12:50:00.002-04:00

I enjoy writing, and I have lots of opinions, so this should be easy for me. Pick a topic and go! But I can’t seem to think of anything good. I’m also highly critical of myself, so that’s not helpful. But I don’t want to be a one-hit-wonder, forever destined to share that label with the likes of Il Devo and The Lipps. Except, yeah, that’s not really the same since I’ve never been famous and I definitely can’t sing. Anyway, now that I’ve made the commitment to make up a name and put myself out there I can’t fall into laziness and just be content to stop there.

I have a page,
Look at me!
But it hasn’t been updated
Since 2003!

So for now, I’ll get you guys involved. I love hearing what other people think as much as I like having my own opinion heard, so here’s the question. What is either your favorite, or least favorite movie adaptation of a book? If you know me at all you know I love to read. I take a book with me almost everywhere I go, even if I know I won’t have any time to read it. When I go away for a weekend I always bring at least two, just in case. So I have read many books either with the intention of seeing the movie later, or having the happy accident of reading it only to find it is, or will be a movie too. Plus, I’m always interested in hearing about a new author from a trusted source, so have at it.
I’d have to say my all time favorite is The Green Mile; written by Steven King but without all his signature craziness and gore, an excellent story and an excellent adaptation.
Runner up would have to be Big Fish which was really interesting since both pieces can stand alone, but together they expand on each other in a way that makes the story as a whole more complete.
Consolation prize goes to Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, since nothing comes close to reading the books, but for this movie they made really great choices of what to keep and didn’t get too crazy with adding things that weren’t in the books.
My least favorites were Silence of the Lamb and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix simply because the books were too good for the movies they made from them.
I’m currently trying to decide if I want to do the book/movie thing for Kevin Spacey’s new movie 21, based on the book Bringing Down the House which I guess is where this rabbit trail came from.

Welcome and then some

2008-03-19T11:30:00.000-04:00

I must say I’ve been hesitating jumping on the blog-wagon for quite some time, as I’ve been equally unsure of what to name my page and uncertain if what I would say is really important enough to write down. Not a self-esteem issue, but more of a nothing-terribly-exciting-seems-to-happen-in-my-world-lately issue. I missed the opportunity to share the drama of buying our second home, and we don’t have kids, actual or impending, to share about at the moment. And while Chris and I were excited to purchase an exercise bike, it’s not the kind of thing you jump on the internet to share pictures of with your friends and family.
One thing has been on my mind lately though, since in less then a week we get to celebrate Easter. As with any holiday, every time I walk into a store I’m assaulted with all things pastel; baskets, assorted stuffed animals, candy, eggs both plastic and edible, and a multitude of other things they’re trying to sell anyone who unwittingly gets sucked into the vortex of holiday crap that is the “seasonal isle”. This is a natural part of life that I’ve generally come to accept, as I truly believe that some stores would stock road kill if they thought it’d turn a profit, but that’s another topic for another day. However, it seems to me that somehow the holiest of all Christian holidays has become buried under the miles of chocolate bunnies and plastic grass.
Folks, this is it. The Holiday. The one that if you’re going to recognize a true meaning to celebrate, Jesus’ sacrifice for our sins would be the one to raise your glass to. Giving thanks around a table set with a big turkey dinner is a great reminder of how blessed I am. Remembering our nation’s birth by watching fireworks and eating burgers is a lot of fun. The birth of Jesus is a really important thing to honor and thank God for. But when you strip away everything my faith is based on till you get to the one fact that you can truly stand on alone, it is Christ’s death on the cross, resurrection and what that means for me.
A year or two ago I became frustrated enough that I made the decision not to incorporate the Easter bunny in this holiday when I have a family. I questioned the purpose of a giant rabbit hiding eggs and leaving baskets full of goodies and what that had to do with Christ’s sacrifice and my salvation because of it. I not only came up with no good reason for this, I further learned it was a pagan symbol for fertility which got carried over when early Christians borrowed the spring equinox for their holiday.
Now, I was raised in a household where we did holidays right. We got together with family, had good food, gave thanks, went to church, and I have fond memories filled with love and generosity and eating. I am in no way saying that I’ve decided to boycott Easter. There will be ham and cake and chocolate in my house this weekend, as well as lots of family, friends, and love. I even have a small Easter basket to fill with goodies, but I will be the one filling it, and that’s the way it’ll stay even when I have kids. But this is my challenge and I suppose my charge to you as well, to not let the most important Christian holiday be overtaken by a society screaming about the man in the bunny suit and taking all the attention away from the Man on the Cross.
I’m hereby reclaiming Easter for the sake of my Savior.