Hmmmm

Well, THAT kind of Monday turned into THAT kind of week. The week wasn't without high points, but having to meet a deadline at work made things slightly stressful yesterday and today. Add in the fact that it's concert week...and I'm so looking forward to sleeping in tomorrow!

High points of the week:

1. Tuesday night I went to the Kennedy Center to hear a dress rehearsal of Lucrezia Borgia with Renee Fleming. And, oh my goodness, was she wonderful! I know all of the "haters" out there (I can't believe I just used that word...) think she's overrated, but wow. Such a beautiful voice...rich tone, supported, steady high notes, amazing control...yeah. I walked out feeling kinda floaty.

2. Wednesday I had a Drs appt, so I "scheduled" a sick day. Meaning, since I had a Drs. appt my boss approved me taking the whole day. It also kind of doubled as a mental health day. I took a nap, laid on the couch, ate McDonald's, read a trashy magazine, and took a bath at 3:00 in the afternoon just because I was cold. I wish I could be "sick" every day...

And now, I'm looking forward to a fun weekend filled with concerts, a Navy game, and hanging out.

Tomorrow, National Blog Posting Month begins, so I'm really going to do my best to post something every day. Wish me luck!

Crazy Monday

After a good weekend...I had one of THOSE Monday mornings...where little spiders crawl under your desk, pumpkins won't sit up straight, and computers and phones have little demons controlling them. However, here are three things that are preventing me from getting too down:

1. Mint.com...a new way for me to obsess about my finances
2. Winter veggie soup...yum!
3. Hoops and Yoyo- A perennial mood-lifter!

Until tomorrow...

End of the Week Musings

I've realized a few things this week:

1. No matter how much easier it is to go into a Friday with no trainings scheduled, having no trainings during the day makes it drrraaaaggggg...

2. After tracking all of my calories in FitDay.com this week, I apparently eat more than I thought I do. No wonder my weight tends to always stay the same, even when I'm an exercising fiend.

3. I cram my weekends way too full of stuff...some of it self-imposed (like chores and organizing), some of it imposed by others (emergency rehearsals), and some of it that is too fun to pass up (dinners with friends, fun shows, and dates). Maybe next weekend I'll finally have some time to lay around and do nothing...oh wait. Next weekend is a concert weekend...

4. I'm terrible at fixing mechanical things. Whether it's my computer moving slowly or my sunroof not closing (oh the sunroof drama I've had this week...thankfully, I found non-residue duct tape) I seem to have a knack for being frustrated by things I can't fix.

5. Fall-scented candles are relaxing mood-lifters for me.

6. I've become a bit obsessed with having an organized closet. It's a little sick actually. Everything is perfectly lined up and soon all the hangers will match.

7. I need to exercise more. I feel so great afterwards...it's just the getting myself into gear that's hard.

8. This makes me laugh. Maybe one of my crafty readers can crochet (or knit) me a Sexy Turkey Hat? Who would've thought that a Turkey Hat could be sexy? :)

So, while it's not been a particularly enlightening week, I did realize a few things...

The Thursday Commute

Laura was on vacation last week, so I was driving to work on my own. I think the fact that I didn't notice anything strange truly proves the fact that I am not as observant when I'm driving by myself. I'm not sure if that is a good thing or a bad thing...

So after last week's carpooling hiatus, the Thursday Commute is back this week with one odd thing we noticed on the road. Window Decals with pictures and writing. I supposed I've noticed them before, but this time the irony of the order of the cars we saw with them sparked a funny conversation. First, a minvan drove by with a decal that was essentially the outline of a naked woman. And you could see everything. It said something about women in spanish over the woman. I'm guessing it must have been "sexy women"...but perhaps not in such mild terms! The next car that passed us had a decal with praying hands on it. I started commenting on window decals; particularly about how I don't understand the "In Memory of..." ones that people put on the back of their cars. And lo and behold, the next car that comes has a decal on the back that reads, "In Loving Memory of ..... 1980-2008". It's especially odd when the car is an old beat up Mercury. You have your beat up car in memory of that person? Is that what you think of them? I mean, I understand a gravestone, or maybe a picture or a plaque...but your car? Clearly, I just don't get it...

What I've been up to since last Friday...

You know, you'd think when fun stuff is going on in my life I'd be able to blog about it. But for some reason, for me, fun=busy...and blogging falls by the wayside. So anyway, here's a quick run-down of what I've been doing:

-Hanging out in Irish Pubs. Or one Irish pub really...just 2 nights in a row...Friday for Happy Hour, and Saturday after the...

-Navy Football game. The Mids lost miserably, and it was freezing. Here is evidence:

Unfortunately, I missed the hooded sweatshirt memo...

-Purging clothes and re-organizing my closet. This took most of Sunday afternoon...but my closet is now much freer and I can actually find clothes I need.

-A Chris Botti concert at Ramshead last night. It was fabulous...he and his band always put on a great show...entertaining jazz, funny commentary, and fabulous musicianship. We had great seats for seeing the stage and were close to the soundboard, so what we heard was really nice. If you haven't heard him live, you should...(and ladies, he's pretty darn easy on the eyes, as well!).

-The normal stuff...rehearsing, running, drinking coffee, drinking wine, etc.

Tomorrow, I actually have some interesting material for The Thursday Commute...

Full Blogroll (Updated Summer 2011)

Well, I've been playing around with a way to easily display the blogs I read on a daily basis along with a little blurb about what they are and why I read them. For awhile there has been a link on the sidebar to my Bloglines account with a list of all of the blogs I read...but no place to add a description. So, I'm going to create a link on the sidebar back to this post, and I'll update it periodically as I start reading new blogs. If you want to be added, let me know!

Theology/Spiritual Blogs
Amy's Humble Musings- The adventures of a Mom of 6 living on a farm and attempting to raise Godly children
Bethany- Friend of a friend of a friend who recently moved to NYC to fulfill her life dream of living in the City
Tim Challies- Blogger, book reviewer and "theologian" extraordinaire
Josh Harris- Pastor and author of "I Kissed Dating Goodbye"...he's now married.
Radical Womanhood- Blogger and Author Carolyn McCulley
She Worships- Edgy and creative thoughts on culture and theology by a former female college minister

Environmental Blogs


Walk Slowly, Live Wildly- Sara is a lovely, green Jesus loving wife and mom

Friends
The Hickmans- Former discipler Steph, her husband Pat, and their super-photogenic kids
The Brooks Blog- Jennifer and Charlie...more college CO friends
Carson Family of Three (by invite only)- CO friends Tracy, Keith, and son Owen...many great photos!
Clement Crew- Former BEP Church friends and their baby (still friends...just former BEPers)
Ewing Family- CO friend Beth
Hidden Glory- CO friend and fellow Mexico Team member Heather
In the World of the Webers- Friend of a Friend Amanda...with 3 hilarious little girls
Josh and Natalie's World- CO acquaintance
Make Something Beautiful (by invite only) - Dear college friend and roommate Rachel...updates and pictures on her 2 precious kids
My life as a Novel- Blogger Rita...I actually followed her over from Xanga
Ginger and Chris- Friend from church in Sparkle City...New Tribes Mission Missionaries in Brazil and new parents
Penny for Your Thoughts- CO friends from college
PJ's Ramblings- Fellow Chorus Girl writes about singing, teaching, and life
Ramblings on Anything- CO friend Jill blogs about her job, her hubby, and life in general
Right Now with the Rocks- Dear college and beyond friend Holly updates us on her life as a new mom...with photos!
The Sanders- CO friend Sara tells us about her life with her family in Texas
Seven Answered Prayers- CO friend Stephanie updates about her life and her son
Shmomo- My roommate occaisonally blogs about her travels
Stacy Richardson Photography Blog- Pastor's Wife and fantastic Wedding Photographer
Thatsathought- CO friend Carrie...wife, mom, artist...a mix of life with her kids and thoughts on Jesus
Thimbly Things -Dear friend Kristena blogs about crafty goodness and her family in Oklahoma
Tracy Revels- My favorite Wofford History Professor blogs about Wofford, teaching, and History


Music Blogs
A Soprano Steps Out- Very funny soprano Jessica blogs about singing and life in general.
Coloratur...aaah- Young coloratura soprano blogs about the singing business
The Concert- My favorite music blog...ACB blogs beautifully about being an up and coming soprano on the opera scene
I am Chorus- Canadian Choral Singer
Ionarts- DC classical music scene
Little Ms. Bossy- Opera Stage Director writes about food, books, a little opera, and Life
The Melear-o-sphere- Conductor Eric Melear blogs about music, life, and photos
The Next Hundred Pounds- Cindy blogs about opera singing and weight loss (and how the two intersect)
Opera Chic- All the news of the opera world delivered with edgy wit and interesting analysis by a young American woman in Milan
Operavision- Aprile Millo Blogs
Podium Speak- Canadian Choral Conductor lends his insights into life, music, and choral musings
Rahree- Opera Administrator blogs about her life...in opera and other pursuits
Singing'rin- Rinat Shaham blogs about traveling the world as an opera star
Singing for My Supper- Baltimore-based mezzo/alto who also likes photography
Sticks and Drones- Two Conductors on the Beat
Trying to Remain Opera-rational- Lovely soprano blogs about the funny stories associated with productions and life
YankeeDiva- Gratitude, stories, and photos from Joyce DiDonato

Personal Finance Blogs
Boston Gal's Open Wallet- Just what it says...posts on finances
Debt Hater- she's out of debt and now working on saving for life
My Open Wallet- An anonymous New Yorker tells the world how much money she earns, spends, and saves
Well-Heeled, with a mission- A 20-something on a mission to climb the net worth ladder, navigate the quarterlife, and find that perfect pair of heels

Random Blogs
Fly Fishes Fly- Wonderfully written blogs about an American family living in India
Journey Mama- Rae's insights on life in India with 4 small children
Nervous Birds- Bird-watcher and musician Dan on birds and life
PastaQueen- She lost half of herself weight-wise, wrote a book, and now wittily blogs on a variety of topics, not just weightloss
Young House Love - A young couple blogs about their DIY home projects (and other stuff)

Raise Your Hand if You Can Follow Instructions...

Has anyone else noticed that people in our society can't seem to follow simple instructions? The unfortunate thing about my comment is that I'm not referring to children...but adults. One of the basic things I remember teachers trying to convey in school was the need to follow instructions. Most students seemed to have issues with this in Middle School...but as they went on to High School following directions seemed to become less and less of an issue. I think that process must reverse as people get older...

It seems that one of the consequences of email is that people no longer read anything for detail. When barraged with email after email, I think we get to a point where we skim for pertinent information and ignore details. I find this happens often with emails I send out for training sessions. I have a few sentences bolded and in red in the emails...most importantly "To ensure that you’re able to login to the WebEx session correctly, please attempt to login at least 10 minutes prior to the scheduled time." Well, most people login about 3 minutes late...and then we spend 10 minutes waiting for the session to load on their computer.

Other people that I work with seem to have the same issue with reading emails. I know that I am a fairly detailed person so I usually read for detail...but the unprofessional mistakes that we accept in the business world these days is astounding. Things like spelling errors (we have spellcheck now!), tardiness, missed deadlines, rude comments...I have a feeling these things would not have been acceptable in the business world 20 years ago. Maybe it's just the industry I work in, but it seems to be a common issue.

Anyway, just had to vent about some things that I've experienced today...

Napping

I love taking naps. I probably have loved them since....well, Middle School I guess. I often took Sunday afternoon naps then...always my favorite! When I was in Middle School and High School, I would sometimes nap in my bed, but more often on the Lazy Boy or the sofa in the Den. On weekends, I was usually napping while my Dad was watching golf or Nascar. The low drone of the Nascar races is very soothing...

Anyway, in college I started taking longer, deeper naps. Probably because, like most college students, I was pretty sleep deprived. My Freshman year, I napped from 1 PM to 4 PM everyday. Later, I didn't sleep quite as long or as hard, but I would still usually take some form of an afternoon nap.

When I started working, I obviously had to do away with the afternoon nap. However, I often still would take a short 15 or 30 minute nap when I came home in the evening. When I moved to Annapolis, that would continue....usually the time between when I got home from work (5:15) and when I had to be at rehearsal (7 or 7:30), I would take a quick cat nap while watching tv.

For some reason, I don't really take regular naps anymore. Part of it is because I don't get home until after 6 now, and I guess another part is that Maureen is usually home...and in order to fall asleep quickly I need complete silence (except for the tv, of course). I find that I get very sleepy around 2 or 3 PM every day. So, I will occasionally go out to my car and take a quick nap in the backseat. My Saturn isn't as comfortable as my 1984 Chevy Caprice Classic (the backseat was like a couch!), but it does the trick. Until my company buys one of these nap pods, I guess I'll have to make do with my backseat...

Movie Education

Maureen says my classic movie education is severely lacking. She came up with a list of movies that I must see...

I managed to check one off last night when I went to see The Godfather at the Senator Theater in Baltimore. To be honest, I've always shied away from actually watching The Godfather for a few reasons. Number one- the strange cult-lore that surrounds it. I have friends who can quote the whole thing...and so many of its classic lines are always repeated (I find most movies that have this quality are not all that entertaining for me). Number two- the length. The movie is usually on a TV station with a marathon of all of the sequels, and I usually have too much going on to sit down and watch it...and then get sucked into the sequels (Reminds me of the Anne of Green Gables marathon weekend that I had just after college).

In any case, I really enjoyed the movie. It was different than I thought it would be...a lot more depth and not as much violence as I was led to believe. I think I'm still processing what I think about it..but I definitely enjoyed it. Mr. Coppola did a fine job. I like his wine (especially the Zinfandel), too.

A Peek into the mind of my iPod

I've recently found the Top 25 Most Played Playlist on my iPod. With the help of technologically advanced playlists, my iPod knows which songs are most often played. I find the results interesting. Keep in mind that I use shuffle on my iPod alot, which would skew the results a bit, and I tend to play songs that I have purchased on iTunes more often than what came from my CD collection.

1. Moonshadow- Cat Stevens
2. Goodbye My Lover- James Blunt
3. Livin' on a Prayer- Bon Jovi
4. Ma Tovu- Danny Maseng (Jewish Worship Song)
5. Can't Help Falling In Love- UB40
6. Hungry Eyes- Eric Carmen (from Dirty Dancing)
7. Hide and Seek- Imogen Heap
8. Jessie's Girl- Rick Springfield
9. Do You Love Me- The Contours
10. Me Love- Sean Kingston
11. Glory of Love- Peter Cetera
12. Make Me Lose Control- Eric Carmen
13. I Don't Know How to Love Him- From Jesus Christ Superstar
14. Song For A Winter's Night- Sarah McLachlan
15. Cry To Me- Solmon Burke
16. Red Red Wine- UB40
17. Stay- the Zodiacs (from Dirty Dancing)
18. Beautiful Girls- Sean Kingston
19. Mickey- Toni Basil
20. Kokomo- Beach Boys
21. Hey There Delilah- Plain White Ts
22. Pie Jesu- Faure Requiem
23. The Loco-Motion- Little Eva
24. These Words- Natasha Bedingfield
25. Love Me Tender- Norah Jones

Pretty eclectic, huh? I was a little surprised, myself. The 80s songs don't surprise me..but some of the Oldies do!

Whirlwind Weekend

I'm kinda shocked to already be back at work this Monday morning. It seems like I left only a few short hours ago...

Which I didn't. But my weekend flew by so fast that it felt like that! Friday evening was a nice, relaxing one...came home to dinner on the grill (thanks Mo!), watched the re-released version of Sleeping Beauty (my all-time favorite Disney movie), and christened my new Riedel spirit glasses with some Port.

Saturday, I got up earlier than I typically do during the week (6:15), and headed over to my church to join up with a group going to work with Habitat for Humanity for the day. As we were standing around, I noticed that my tire looked flat. I walked over and heard the dreaded "sSSSSSSS" sound of leaking air. At some point that morning, I had driven over a nail. Ugh. We headed off to Habitat site, and I was assured by the menfolk around that they would help this Damsel in Distress by changing my tire when we got back to the parking lot.

I really enjoyed the Habitat time (although we were doing my least favorite task...painting). When I worked with Habitat in college, we were always building new houses. Here, they work on a mix of new houses, and then rehab a lot of old rowhouse/townhouse type structures. I think that is so much more beneficial to a community than building a bunch of new houses. The day went by quickly....we sanded drywall, dusted the walls, and painted the entire house! By the time we finished, I was dirty, tired, and already sore from squatting to paint the bottom of the walls. But, it felt good to volunteer some of my time for a worthy cause, and I enjoyed working alongside one of the women who will soon be purchasing a Habitat House. When we got back to the church, the helpful menfolk changed my tire and sent me on my way.

Saturday evening, Maureen and I went shopping...she was looking for fancy shoes for a dress...I needed some fall/transition weather tops to update my wardrobe, some jeans, and brown fall/winter shoes without a huge heel. We were both somewhat successful. After a tasty dinner at Lemongrass II, I fell into bed exhausted around 10:00.

Sunday, I slept through my alarm and missed church. Which was ok, because I had a lot to do for the day...chores, a haircut/color...a visit to the tire place...where I ended up getting 4 new tires. My old ones were 4 years old, and I've known I probably need new ones for awhile. These have a nice ride and are quiet, so I was glad to get some new ones.

When I got home, we had a cookout to officially inaugurate the new grill. We originally thought we'd have a few folks over (3 or 4)...and somehow that grew into 15. It was a very fun evening, though! London broil, tasty salad, yummy apple crisp...impromptu piano bar...I definitely enjoyed myself! I folded some clothes and fell into bed again and attempted to wind down. And then suddenly, it was this morning...

Habitat for Humanity + Shopping

= a tired Page. Will post more about my thoughts on painting a rehabbed house and finding some new clothes later (maybe tomorrow...most likely Monday).

The Blog Topic Stream Has Dried Up

In my quest to blog every day for the month of October (NaBloPoMo), I have to post something today. Since I arrived at work this morning, I've been racking my brain in between trainings and actual work in order to come up with a suitable blog topic. I've had a lot to write about this week (trip to NC, the Opera, the Thursday commute...), but now the blog fodder has dried up. I suppose I could blog on the NaBloPoMo topic for the month...vote....but that might open up a whole can of worms that I would like to leave the lid on! Political discussions can be painful enough in person these days!

I thought about posting what I'm up to this weekend, but that is kind of boring. Chores, Habitat for Humanity (not boring, but I won't have much to say about it until it's over), getting my hair cut and colored, a cookout.....definitely things that are better written about after the fact.

Last week, I mentioned that at some point I want to write about my personality changes as I've grown up, but I'm not feeling reflective or inspired today, so that's not really an option. When I attempt to be deep while I'm not in a reflective mood....it just comes across as cheesy and insincere. That's not something I want to be...

But, hey! Look! Like Seinfeld, I've managed to write a whole blog post about nothing...well, nothing significant, that is. A blog post about not knowing what to post about. How clever!

The Thursday Commute, Volume 3

Welcome to this week's installment of the Thursday Commute. Strangely, we didn't see too many odd things on the road this week. I didn't even see anything odd during my roadtrip to and from NC. So, I thought I'd post a few random pet peeves and odd driving habits that we often see during the commute.

Frogger- Since we have two people in our car, Laura and I are able to drive in the HOV lane for about 8 miles or so until it ends just after the Bowie exit on Route 50. Unfortunately, getting to the HOV lane from our exit is not a simple task! Traffic starts to back up at our exit, and the HOV lane is all the way over to the left. We have to cross 4 lanes of stopped or slow moving traffic to get there. We typically refer to it as our game of Frogger. Some days it's easy, other days it's tough.

Middle Lane Drivers- I get so frustrated at people who drive slowly in the middle lane. They really back up traffic! Generally, if someone passes you on the right, it means that you are going too slow to be in the middle lane.

Cell-phone Drivers- This is really my biggest pet peeve. Almost anytime I see someone do something stupid on the road (change lanes without looking, drive slowly in the middle lane), they are on a cell-phone. As convenient as they are, you really shouldn't drive and talk on the phone unless you are an excellent multi-tasker.

Blinker Busters- One thing I've noticed about Maryland drivers is that they ignore blinkers. In fact, if you are in a lane trying to get over (like during HOV Frogger), most drivers speed up in order to prevent you from getting in. It's as if we are in some contest, and no one can break in line. It really frustrates me...would you rather me cut you off, or use my blinker to let you know I'm coming over?

Well, that's it for this week's Thursday Commute. Hopefully next week I'll have some more funny people to write about!

Sniffing Symphony At the Opera

***Not a review of the performance...just some anecdotes from my evening!***

When we went to Nationals Stadium to see La Traviata last month, Washington National Opera was offering Buy One Get One Free tickets for a weeknight performance of The Pearl Fishers. Since that's an opera neither of us have seen, Maureen and I decided to get tickets. With the BOGOF offer, we were able to score pretty decent Orchestra seats for a decent price.

Really, this was both my first time at the Kennedy Center as well as my first time seeing an opera at a "significant" Opera house. (Sorry Annapolis Opera and various companies in SC...you don't count as "significant"). I thought the performance as a whole was fantastic...a few tiny, tiny musical glitches here and there...but as we all know that happens in live performance. I was blown away by the sets and the costumes...lots of bright colors and excellent lighting. The singing was pretty darn good, as well. I did fall in love with the Tenor/Baritone Duet during the first Act...as predicted by many folks. And, as usual, I got teary at the end. I'm on a quest to find a tragic opera that doesn't make me cry...

In addition to a lovely evening of listening to opera, there were quite a few funny moments that occurred. The first happened when I looked down at my top and noticed that it seemed to be falling down (thankfully, I had a wrap on, as well). Apparently, the strap had broken and I was 2 seconds away from flashing everyone in the immediate area. Oops. Wardrobe Malfunction #2 occurred as I was walking out of the Ladies room during Intermission. As I walked past the mirror, I realized that the back of my skirt was tucked into my undies. Now that would have been embarrassing! The woman behind me as I was walking out got a kick out of me quickly pulling it down and making fun of myself. All in all, not a great wardrobe evening!

There were also some very odd people seated in the House around us. During the opening of Act III, there was a man behind us who kept sniffing. It wasn't like a sniff every now and then, but 3 sniffs in a row EVERY 10 seconds. During the quiet moments in the Baritone's aria. Then, the man next to me kept breathing in and sighing. Maureen and I could barely hold it together we were laughing so hard! It was literally like their own "sniffing symphony"! Thankfully, as the music got louder, we couldn't hear them as much anymore.

This was the second installment of my quest to get out and see more live performances this year. I still have a jazz show to attend (Yay, Chris Botti!), and another opera. Hopefully, the Sniffing Symphony was a one-night only performance!

Weekend Photos

Well, I finally managed to upload my photos from the weekend in the mountains. On Saturday, Jeff, Sara and I drove South towards Brevard, and on our way to the Blue Ridge Parkway, we stopped off at Looking Glass Falls.

The Falls

Jeff and I in front of the Falls (it was cold!)

Another view

View of the mountains from the Parkway
One of the few red trees on the East side of the Parkway

Stunning!
One of the ridge passes on the Parkway

Red tree and blue mountains

Me in front of the mountains

View from the waterfall where we hiked
Jeff and Sara on the way down to the trail
More pretty trees
Sara taking a picture of the plants

The Upper Falls
Pretty trees
Me at the top of the waterfall

Jeff and Sara at the top of the waterfall

The delightful screened in porch and woodstove at the house

Orbit the cat on the deck

Jin playing

Uncle Jeff and Jin

Family Dinner

Road Trips

As cranky as I can be when I get home from a roadtrip, I really do enjoy them. There is something very freeing about being alone in the car, on the open road, with an audiobook playing on my iPod. With 6 or more hours in the car to think, I always find I can solve problems, figure out what I think about various issues, and get a healthy perspective on my life.

Thursday evening, I grabbed a Pumpkin Spice Latte from Starbucks (yay, Fall!), and hopped on 301 S to Richmond, and then 95 to 85. Once I got into NC, there was a gorgeous crescent moon, sunset, and lovely blue turning to midnight blue sky. Anytime I drive South, I always feel any tension drain out of my shoulders and my head. While my life in South Carolina was somewhat boring, it was not particularly stressful!

Anyway, I enjoy my roadtrips South, and am looking forward to my next one in November.

What Sad It Is

Well, today I exchange my mountain paradise for my regular home close to the Chesapeake Bay. Such is life. Thankfully, I'm riding back to Chapel Hill with my cousin-in-law Aris, and then I'll pick up my car in Chapel Hill and head back to Annapolis. Hopefully tomorrow I'll be able to get a few pictures up of the weekend.

Perfect Fall Mountain Saturday

Imagine waking up in a gorgeous house to a beautiful sunrise. Birds are chirping outside the open window. A cool breeze is wafting in through the screen. You go upstairs to find that someone is making you a latte from an expensive espresso machine. A precious 3 year old sits in the window with you to find and watch birthday eCards. Breakfast is put on the table, then you take a shower in a fancy European style bathroom with windows that open to the side of a mountain.

Next, your ex-pat cousin who now lives in Spain with his Spanish wife take some time to spend with you driving on the Blue Ridge Parkway (one of your favorite drives), hiking to waterfalls, and generally enjoying yourself. While driving on the parkway, you indugle in dark-chocolate covered pretzels and some chex mix. The hike is stunning (even after you get a bit cranky about the time...sorry Jeff!), and the western side of the Parkway has fall color a-plenty! Beautiful reds and a few oranges.

After arriving back at the amazing house on the side of the mountain, you get your book and sit on both the deck and the screened porch reading. As it gets cooler, you get a blanket and fall asleep on the sofa for 30 minutes. When you wake up, dinner is cooking- asparagus and mushroom risotto, oven-fried chicken, and fried green tomatoes. Another evening of sitting in the cool mountain air on the screened porch with a fire blazing and a glass or two of wine seems to be in the works.

As you can tell, my day was terrible! Don't think I'll be coming back here eve again...:) Pictures to come when I get back to Annapolis and my USB camera cord.

NC Mountains

I'm currently sitting in the "reading nook" at my cousin's Mountain house in Asheville, NC. The sun is beginning to set in the window behind me, the trees are green with a tiny bit of color at the tips and near the top of the mountain, and my little cousin Jin is playing in the background. Life is good. :)

I'm here visiting my cousin Claire, her son Jin, her husband Aris, and soon my cousin Jeff will arrive with his wife Sara. Jeff and Sara live in Spain, and I haven't seen them since their wedding in March '07.

It should be a great weekend...hopefully I'll have some good photos to post on Monday!

The Thursday Commute- Edition #2

Welcome to the 2nd installment of my weekly post- The Thursday Commute...where I relate some of the strange things my coworker Laura and I see on the road.

Rush Hour Italian- Well, this isn't something we saw so much as heard...Laura purchased a "Learn Italian" CD thinking it would be something like hear a sentence and repeat it. It's more like these silly songs...you'd think it was a children's cd! Anyway, the songs are hilarious...about a busy professional in the shower, going to work, and being busy. Quite entertaining...

Coat-hanger Antenna- We drove past a man who had apparently lost his antenna and stuck a coat hanger in it's place. The coat hanger wasn't even straightened out...it was still in it's original form.

Maxine- We had a Maxine spotting on Wednesday morning. (Refer back to last week's Thursday Commute for info on Maxine).

Clown Man- I understand that clowns probably have to drive to their party/destination in full make-up and costume...but it's a bit creepy to drive past one on Route 50!

Kiss Man- And finally, the best of the past week, Kiss Man. On Friday afternoon as we were headed to Annapolis in the HOV lane, Laura looked over and noticed this man trying to stay even with us in the lane beside us. I glanced over at him and he smiled. I didn't smile back. He looked kinda creepy. He drifted behind us, caught back up and blew us a kiss. We started to laugh. He drifted back again, and then ended up beside us 5 minutes later. This time, he stuck his tongue out at us in a lewd manner. Neither of us particularly appreciated that, so we sped up considerably and got away from him...as we were hysterically laughing!

Well, that's this week's installment of The Thursday Commute. Remember, unless you're stuck in traffic, there are few dull moments on Route 50 if you're paying attention!

October Musings

October is, and really always has been, my favorite month. Warmish days and cool nights, pumpkins, changing leaves, hot coffee, apples, football, concerts...it's just always a great month for me. Also, cool nights let me sleep with my windows open.

As I've written about before, sleeping with my windows open is one of my favorite things to do when it's cool outside. I adore waking up warm and snuggled up under my down comforter while it's chilly outside my window (although this makes getting out of bed particularly difficult!). I also love falling asleep to the "night sounds"...crickets, an occasional owl, cars driving by...those sounds are my favorite lullaby. The window in my room is 5x5 and my bed is right next to it. It's almost like sleeping outside.

As I was lying in bed last night and listening to the night noises, I was thinking about other places where I've essentially slept outside...camping in a tent, camping on a tarp with a sleeping bag, accidentally falling asleep on a couch outside, napping on my parent's screened in porch...but the one I thought about most and hadn't remembered in a long time was going to "sleep-away" camp growing up. For 3 or 4 summers in Elementary School I went to Camp Gravatt- an Episcopal Church camp in Aiken, SC (a few of you who read this blog are former Gravatt-goers, I believe). Anyway, at Camp Gravatt we slept on wooden platforms that had big green canvas tents on top of them. The tents are huge...each one sleeps 8-10 people in metal beds. In the summer during the day, we would roll up the tent flaps to let the air in. If it was a particularly hot evening, we would leave the tent flaps up to sleep. I always loved this...falling asleep listening to the froggies and the crickets with a nice breeze blowing through the air...seeing the lights of the bathhouse in the distance...and waking up to the Bell ringing on the Dining Hall. When it rained, however, we always slept with the flaps tied down tight. Although, one night I fell off my bed, out of the tent onto the ground in the rain, and didn't wake up. This shouldn't surprise those of you who know how hard I sleep...

Anyway, while I was reminiscing last night, I realized that I have mixed feelings about my experiences at Camp Gravatt. My first 2 or 3 summers were great...I had fantastic counselors and loved all of the other girls in my tent. However, my last summer experience tarnished all of the good experiences I had. For some reason, 4 or 5 of the girls in my tent decided not to like me because I wasn't "cool" enough. I was 11, and I think that was the first time in my life that someone didn't like me for essentially no reason. They were mean to me the whole 10 days, hid my stuff, knocked my bed out of the tent...and even told me that I could join their "club" only if I could correctly answer 10 questions about sex (I was 11 for crying out loud!). Anyway, when I think back on that summer, I think it was a turning point for me in relating to other people. Up until then, I hadn't run into very many people who didn't like me...especially for no reason. I think I lost a lot of my innocent views of people and friendships that summer. I stopped being open and friendly. I felt vulnerable, and always wondered if people would like me for who I was. It was an experience I needed to go through, but it was hard. Maybe once I finish processing these thoughts, I'll write more about how my personality and insecurities developed after that experience at some point. It's pretty personal, but I find it cathartic to write my feelings and reflections on this blog. I'm thankful that I've learned what I have so far in my life...and I think that through my experiences, my personality has somewhat gone back to who I was as that 11 year old...with the maturity to understand who I really am and be secure in that.