Characters

I've always been a bit of a voracious reader.  As a child, I loved the idea that books took you to another world. Truthfully, I guess that is what I still love about books.  And while I do like the idea of a book providing some sort of personal edification (like the books we read in Book Club), I think I actually read books purely for entertainment.  I am not ashamed to admit that I much prefer a book with a good story to one that makes me think. I love a juicy novel, a beach read...and (shhhh!) even the occasional trashy romance.  Though I have gotten pretty tired of the standard trite, trashy romance plot.

In the past few years, I've turned to audiobooks to pass the time during my commute.  I've calculated that I spend roughly 10-12 hours commuting a week between Baltimore, Beltsville, and Annapolis.  Audiobooks are a great way to be entertained, particularly when I'm sitting in stop and go traffic on I-95.  I really love epic, sweeping sagas that involve travel, intrigue, romance, and thrills.  I also listen to a lot of political thrillers.

Back in the spring of 2010, I was looking for something new to listen to, and stumbled upon Outlander by Diana Gabaldon.  It was billed as a historical romance.  When I read that it involved time traveling, I almost passed it over for something else.  I'm usually not a fan of sci-fi romance-ish books...they are usually a bit unbelievable for me.  Beautiful, independent modern woman travels back in time and falls for chauvinistic, but caring Norse warrior (or some such nonsense). Outlander is 40 hrs long...but the fact that it was one of the most highly rated audiobooks on Audible.com won me over.  And I'm so glad!  It's one of those books where the characters just jump off the page (or in my case out of the speakers).  Over the past year and a half, I've downloaded and listened to all 7 books in the series.  I thought the series had been complete for awhile, and that there were about 10 books.  That is, until I did some research and realized that my current download, Echo in the Bone, is the last completed book in the series.  The author is currently working on the 8th book.  When I discovered this piece of information, I had about 6 hours to go in number 7 and was somewhat distraught!

As I slowly dragged out listening to the last part of the book, I realized how much I've come to regard these characters as friends.  I know it sounds odd, but these are characters that I've been listening to for a year and a half.  They've been with me on road trips, long commutes, and occasional middle-of-the-night insomnia attacks.  And I'm distraught that it will likely be another year and a half until I will hear from them again!  In this world of portable On-Demand everything...it's hard for me to accept that I can't just go download the next book to find out how my friends are doing and have them in my life again!

I guess it is because the characters are so human; and so likeable.  I'm finding that my favorite type of entertainment is that which entertains me AND makes me think at the same time.  Take Downton Abbey, for instance.  It took me awhile to jump on the bandwagon, but once I did...I'm so there!  On the outside, it seems to be a British "period soap opera", but it is truly the characters and their development that make the show so compelling.  We want to find out what happens plot-wise, but also want to check in with characters that feel like real people and friends.

I hope that you have "friends" like mine that entertain you and keep you company.  While I anxiously await news of Jamie, Claire, Lord John, Brianna, Roger, Jem, William, Ian, and Rachel...I guess I'll have to make do and go back in time (ha ha) with Gabaldon's Lord John series.  A few of the characters are the same...and hopefully that will tide me over for awhile!

Crossing something else off my list on the right

21. Spend some time Hiking./visiting in Scotland.

Done.

Of course, we didn't "hike" much per se...I stumbled around a field to take a picture of a cow.  And we walked  A LOT.

I'm counting it.

6/365 MARC Train

Occasionally, I will take the MARC Train into the office instead of driving.  It's a bit more expensive, and I have to impose on a co-worker to pick me up from the train station, but it's a much more pleasant experience than driving.  I put on my iPod, sometimes read a book or magazine, and watch the scenery go by.

Today, I took the train in so that J could pick me up from work and drive us South to Chapel Hill.

5/365 Goin' on a Trip

(I tried to post this last night, but alas, Blogger was down).

I clearly need to learn how to pack lighter for a Long weekend trip.  But...we are going to a wedding...and it's so difficult to decide what to wear for wedding-related events...so I brought a few options. :)  I'm sure the Chapel Hill Southern-type folk will enjoy my mixed-and-matched Vera Bradley bags...

2010 Year-In-Review

I love reflecting on this past year...I think it may have been one of the best of my life!  Even though it was probably the most stressful, as well!

January- I complete the Goofy Challenge (39.3 miles in two days!) at Disney World.  Come home, and J proposes.  I giddily accept!

February- Wedding details are ironed out (date, venue, etc).  I play "Gertie" in the Chorale's Production of Oklahoma! 

March- Good friends throw J and I a fabulous surprise Engagement Party.  We make a snap decision to start looking to purchase a house!

April- Travel to SC for 200 guest Engagement Party thrown by my parents.  We put in a contract on an old Victorian house in Baltimore.

May- Become a homeowner!  I close on our house while J is in France.

June- Begin to settle J into new house.  Do A LOT of painting.

July- Complete many wedding details.  Visit Chapel Hill.

August- Wedding planning and housework are in full swing.  I also complete my third Iron Girl Triathlon (and likely my last for awhile).

September- Everything is pretty much All-Wedding, all the time.  Except for day jobs, opera, and singing. :)

October- Only one month 'til the wedding you say?  Things are fairly under control.  We move my stuff into the Spy House (the name for our new home!).  We host a yummy Cabernet tasting dinner.

November- Did anything important happen in November?  I can't seem to remember...oh, right!  I made a sacred covenant with God and J to be joined to him forever.  Also went on an amazing trip to the Napa Valley for our mini-moon (which, let's be honest, was not so "mini").

December- Sang some (but not as much as past Decembers).  Worked on getting our house in order.  Put up giant, gorgeous live Christmas tree.  Parents and Godmother visited for Christmas.

So...that is my very brief Year In Review.  Here's to a fabulous 2011, as well!

21/365 Beginning of a Long Trip

13/365 Hollywood Hotel Tower of Terror

Today was our last day at Disney and we made it to two parks in the morning. We got to the Magic Kingdom right as it opened and hit Space Mountain. We rode it 3 times and then went back to Hollywood Studios to ride the Aerosmith roller coaster and Tower of Terror one more time each.

12/365 Epcot

Here is a photo of Italy while I was across the lake in China. Odd, huh? Such is the nature of the World Showcase at Disney though. It was a lovely day...upper 50's and sunny. Tomorrow, we head home. :(

7/365 Leaving on a Jet Plane...

I love my "Pack-it" Cubes.  They make packing light for a 6 day trip much easier!  Tomorrow, I head to Orlando for the Goofy Challenge, and some much needed fun time at Disney afterwards.  Since I have my BlackBerry with me, I'll still try to post a photo a day.  Ideally, I'll have some good photo ops at Disney!

Riding in the Motor Car...

My Dad has always loved trains, ever since he was a little boy.  Some years ago, he started volunteering with the SC Railroad Museum where they have real trains and track and run tourist trains most every weekend.   For his retirement, he bought a "motorcar".  When I first heard "motorcar"...I thought about an old style car from the 30s.  This type of car is a car that can ride on the rails and check track to make sure all is well.  Today, we met some friends of my parents and their kids to ride on the motor car and have a picnic.

My Daddy in front of his Motorcar

The whole fam

Daddy barking orders (just kidding!)

Heading down the track

A little further...

Motorcar driver in action...

After the motorcar ride, we sat down and had a picnic in front of the station.  It was another lovely day, if a bit cool.

Tomorrow, I get back on a plane and go home.  Oh well, it's been a lovely holiday!

Giving Thanks in the Holy City

My Thanksgiving this year was one of those days that will likely stick in my mind forever.  The day was stunning, and we spent the bulk of it in Charleston.  Temperatures were in the 60s, and the skies were clear and blue.  After 3 or 4 straight days of cold, gray rain in Maryland, 60s and the sun were rather welcome!

We started the day with a walking tour based on Pat Conroy's novel, South of Broad.  I finished the audiobook this weekend while roasting my turkey breast.  The tour was fantastic and hit a lot of the sites mentioned in the novel such as St Michael's church, the four corners of law, some of the residential areas "South of Broad", the Battery, and more.  Here are a few photos I snapped that show how gorgeous the day was:

St. Michael's

Four Corners of Law at Broad and Meeting St

Looking down the Battery on East Battery St

Me in Battery Park in front of the Cooper River

After the tour and a little more wandering around, we headed to Magnolia's for Thanksgiving dinner.  We met my Godmother and her travel friends, and we proceeded to have a lovely meal.  My Dad and I split a bottle of Pinot Noir...and then had some Fried Green tomatoes.  I had the "Carolina Carpetbagger", twin filets topped with fried oysters and madeira sauce.  Yummy!  Creme Brulee was dessert.

As the sun was setting, we were headed out of the city headed towards Columbia.  I felt so at peace after such a lovely day.  I highly recommend visiting Charleston for Thanksgiving!

Back Again!

Whew! Things have been busy around the Home for Wayward Chorus Girls the past few weeks! Maureen and I had a fabulous trip to Maine that included all of the things a trip to Maine should...eating lobstah, relaxing, reading, watching football, sailing on the Penobscot Bay, enjoying wine by the lake, bonfires by the lake, waterskiing, boat rides, good food, good friends, and good conversation. All in all, it was exactly the vacation I needed!

After we got back, work got busy, and last weekend was the busiest I've had in awhile! I guess that means fall is certainly upon us! Last weekend, I relaxed on Friday night while moving iTunes music files to an external hard drive (quite the task!). Saturday, I ran 5 miles, headed off to Rosh Hashanah rehearsal, came home to breathe for a minute, and then drove into DC to see Washington National Opera's Barber of Seville at Nationals Stadium for their Opera in the Outfield production. It was a fun, fun time! Doesn't get much better than eating a hot dog, drinking a beer, and watching opera! Sunday, I ran 10 miles in the morning and then went up to Baltimore for Baltimore Concert Opera's production of Faust. That was another great opera. Then, I had the pleasure of a quick dinner date with my recently somewhat elusive boyfriend (quite the busy man, as well). This week has been filled with work, rehearsing, and running. Last night, Maureen and I saw Barber of Seville round 2 at the Kennedy Center. I was amazed at how different the production is onstage vs. the simulcast! Not better or worse, we just saw different things onstage that we missed during the simulcast. However, the simulcast is great because you can really watch the performer's expressions.

This weekend? 2 Rosh Hashanah services to sing, 16 miles to run (in 2 separate sessions), some chores to be completed, a Navy game to be enjoyed on TV at the Ramshead Tavern...and hopefully a tasty Sunday dinner to cook! I will hopefully get some downtime at the house as well. Unfortunately, this weekend doesn't include a date...but one is planned for Tuesday!

Ideally, you all now feel caught up on my life the past few weeks! I may have pictures to post soon...but we'll just have to see!

Back From Jacksonville

Last week I trepidatiously got in the car with J and drove to Jacksonville to meet his parents and siblings. All 4 of his siblings. Including his sister from France. And most of their spouses and kids. It was wild! And fun! Ok, so I was kinda excited...not really "trepidatious" at all. Being an only child, I've always thought it would be fun to be a part of a large family as an adult. While things were somewhat chaotic (imagine hyper dogs, tender-hearted children, many independent, headstrong folk...and you get the picture), it was still a lot of fun. One of my favorite moments of the visit was the family dinner in a gorgeous room overlooking the ocean. The kids went down to walk on the beach at one point, and the youngest boy got his pants sandy and wet in the ocean. I looked down and saw him running around with just his shirt on...giggling, perfectly content, and totally enjoying himself. That memory definitely makes me smile!

On the home front, we officially named the kitten Marcello. It's from La Boheme, and seems to fit his personality. His nickname will likely be "Cello". He seems to like it, so it stuck. Marcello in Boheme is a bit of a ladies' man, and since our Marcello is cuddly and the only male in the Home for Wayward Chorus Girls, I think it's appropriate. :)

This week I need to get back into tri-training routine...only 3 weeks or so of training left! I think I'm ready to at least finish the race, but my goal is to improve last year's time by 7 minutes. We'll see...

Re-defining Myself as a Blogger

It's hard to believe that my last post was almost a month ago! It seems that all of my "update" blogs are always at the beginning of a promise to "be a better blogger". But really, I don't think I know what that looks like for me. There are so many different aspects to blogging for different people. For me, I think the part I enjoy most is the writing, and the chronicle I have of my life from the blog. I can go back and reread what I was thinking and feeling at a particular time, and it lets me sort of re-live that experience. I hate turning my computer on in the morning and looking at my blog site...wishing I had the inspiration and discipline to write something. I'm such an all or nothing person, that not blogging every day doesn't quite feel like blogging to me. But since my blog IS for ME, it can be anything I want, right? In any case, I guess I have been busy living my life instead of blogging about it. I miss the chronicle aspect though, which is why I'm going to buckle down and try to be more consistent. Not sure who is still out there reading this...but if you're still around, thanks for sticking with me!

So what have I been up to? Well, my vacation at the beach was much needed and a great relaxing time with my family. While there, my phone died, and I got a Blackberry. I'm enjoying learning how to use it and loving the "all-the-time" internet access it provides. I spent the July 4th weekend with J in Baltimore at a cookout and on a long bike ride. Last week/weekend, my parents were here and we ate lots of yummy food and went to see Pirates of Penzance (great show...catch it this weekend if you can!) This week is full of cultural activities- 2 rehearsals, watching American Idol like Opera Auditions at the Engineer's Club last night, the BSO performing Disney tunes at Strathmore tomorrow night, singing a concert at Gibson Island on Saturday night, and going to see Spring Awakening at the Kennedy Center on Sunday night. I'll probably have the opportunity to see another show on Friday, but it will depend on how I feel. I guess I am doing my part at supporting the arts!

After that update, I think one way I might be able to chronicle bits of my life is by attempting to take a picture that captures the spirit of the day and post it on the blog. Now that I have a cameraphone that takes good pics, it seems that might not be too difficult. We'll see...it will take discipline for me! On that note, here are a few photos I took on vacation:

Sunset during dinner at the Old Fort Pub Restaurant

These signs were all over lowcountry SC...you'd think it would be obvious not to!

My tootsies enjoying an afternoon on the beach

My parents after an evening walk on the beach...married 40 years and they still hold hands!

One is listening to audio on the computer, the other is reading...

Sand castle we found during an evening beach walk

That's all for now...hopefully I'll be back tomorrow!

Away I Go to an Island Fair that Lies in a Southern Sea

***Kudos to anyone who gets the title reference!***

Saturday morning, bright and early, I'm getting in my little Saturn, complete with bike rack and bike, and heading to Hilton Head Island in South Carolina. I've been looking forward to this vacation...oh....since February, I think. A whole week at the beach with nothing pressing to do...divine. Well, I do have to keep up with tri-training, hence the bike on my Saturn...but Hilton Head has so many lovely bike paths that I think that won't be too taxing.

My family has been going to Hilton Head for as long as I can remember. Until I left for college, it was an annual event in June. I have so many fun memories...for me, going to "the beach" always meant Hilton Head. I spent countless hours on the beach, in the ocean, and particularly looking for shells. Most of my beach trips contained quintessential childhood beach memories...here are just a few of my favorites:

• Shelling
• Crabbing
• Watching the shrimp boats come by as we were swimming
• Peering into tidal pools to see the creatures (I had a stage where I desperately wanted to be a marine biologist)
• Watching schools of porpoises come by as we were swimming
• Floating and riding the waves on a canvas raft
• Biking (gonna definitely re-live this one this year...but to the tune of 20 miles at a time!)
• The joy of taking a shower after a long day on the beach
• Eating seafood out (we didn't eat out much when I was growing up, so it was always a special treat!)
• Spending time with my family
• Shopping!
• Playing hide and go seek in the house (I can still remember the time my Dad took the mattress out of the sleeper sofa and hid one of my friends in the sofa!)
• Sitting on the screened in porch for hours...reading, watching people, and playing Crazy 8s with my Grandma
• Feeding the turtles in the lagoon off the porch
• Running away from the alligator in the lagoon!
• Eating ham and turkey sandwiches for lunch (inside family joke)
• Having a TV in my bedroom! (I never, never had this growing up...probably would have never passed any class!)
• Afternoon naps to escape the heat of the day
• Kayaking at Shelter Cove

And many more. Decided I had to end the list, though! In any case, I will be doing some of these things while I'm at Hilton Head, and I can't wait! See you in a week or so!

Page's Trip Around the World

While at Disney, I engaged in a whirlwind trip around the world!

It started at Spaceship Earth in Epcot.

A stop in Mexico included a margarita!


Norway brought a ride on the Maelstrom

Some browsing of the lovely goods in China

We would have tried some beer in Germany...but nothing special was on tap.

Dinner in Italy...and a little perfume testing, as well. Bvlgari Rose Essentuelle anyone?

Japan..again more browsing through the shops

A fountain in Morocco

I spent quite a lot of time in France..and picked up a few goodies along the way

Hiding in a phone booth in the UK

The Rose & Crown...our Friday night dinner spot

Some friends met up with me in Canada

I spent some time gazing at the Tree of Life in Africa

Time travel allowed me to go back to prehistoric times and get attacked by a dino

I did a little shopping to pack for my trek to Everest

Everest..here I am!

A little time in Hollywood is always fun...and transports one to the Twilight Zone!

Of course, no trip to Disney is complete without visiting Cinderella's Castle in Fantasyland (the race actually ran through the Castle as well)

Each night, I got to travel to the Carribean!

Fun Times at Disney World!

Well, my trip to Disney for the Disney Princesses Half Marathon was all I expected and more! We had a fabulous time...tired feet, legs, and all.

Despite a delayed flight, my friend Lauren and I arrived at the Orlando airport and boarded the Magical Express (which, sadly, is less express and more "local"...took 1.5 hours to get to our hotel!) We finally made it to the Carribean Beach Resort and crashed into bed around 2 AM.

After a quick run around the resort, we headed off to the race expo to pick up our race info, bibs, and shop a little bit. We then spent a long, but fun, afternoon and evening at Epcot riding some of the rides and wandering around the World Showcase. Dinner at a pub in the UK included fish and chips...followed by Scotch cake and Irish coffee. Yum!

Lauren enjoying a Margarita in Mexico

Saturday was our crazy day...spent the morning in the Animal Kingdom, scooted over to the Magic Kingdom for a little while...Space Mountain!, and then finished up in Epcot with dinner in Italy.




Sunday, I got up at 3:45 AM (which with the time change was actually 2:45 AM) to catch the 4:30 bus to the race start. The race didn't begin until 7 AM, so we wandered around and took a few photos prior to the race.

Page's Princess gear laid out the night before

On the bus at 4 AM...

Waiting for the race to start...

Corral A....what?!

The race itself was a lot of fun...but tough because we had done so much walking around during the 2 days prior. I finished in a decent time for me (2:33) considering I was run/walking. After a shower and a quick nap, we headed over to Hollywood Studios for the afternoon and dinner at the Brown Derby. We finished the day at the Magic Kingdom...where we were trapped by the same parade twice and the fireworks once. Note to self...do not go to the Magic Kingdom at night between 8 and 9 PM unless you want to watch parades and fireworks!

On Monday, we caught our yet-again-delayed flight back to Baltimore in time for Rachmaninov rehearsal. At that point, I knew the magic of Disney had ended...