2010 New Years' Resolutions Evaluation

So, let's see how I fared with my Resolutions for 2010 (something tells me they didn't go so well).

1.  Complete the 365 Day Photo Project.  Hmm.  I started out well with this...got to March...and then lost my camera.  I tried to pick it up again in August...and then wedding planning got in the way.  FAIL!

2.  Read Through the Bible in a Year.  Again.  I made it to April, and then missed enough Daily Readings that it would be difficult to catch up.  FAIL!

3.  For every novel that I read, read a Nonfiction book.  Well, I didn't read one for one....but I did read a lot more nonfiction this year, which was the point of the resolution. Partial FAIL

4. Stick to my Savings Budget.  So, I didn't stick completely..but I did fairly well considering I chipped in for our wedding and we bought a house.  Finishing the year with some $ still in savings was an accomplishment.  And, I managed to curb my spending. EVEN

5. Attempt a No-Spending Month.  Absolutely didn't happen.  Pretty difficult when planning a wedding. FAIL!

6. Cook a Julia Child recipe every Sunday.  Uh... started out well with this (Boeuf Bourginon, Fish in white sauce, Boullabaisse...) and then...my excuse for the year...wedding planning and house buying!  FAIL!

7.  LOSE 10 lbs.  Oops.  I gained 7.  Of course, at this time last year I was running 30+ miles a week.  Now I am lucky to get in 5...Extreme FAIL!


Obviously, I should have made my resolutions for this year to be Get Engaged, Buy a House, Plan a Fabulous Wedding, and Get Married.  Hindsight, you know?

Stay Tuned for my 2011 Resolutions...

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!

Some Things

Hello, my few and far between blog-readers!  I'm married!  It was lovely.  I now live in Baltimore in my New-to-me Old Victorian house with my husband (Husband!  It's taking awhile to get used to saying that).  My surprise Mini-moon destination was Napa Valley.  It was lovely, as well.

Christmas happened.  My parents and Godmother visited.  We have a humongous live tree.  It's beautiful.

New Years' is around the corner.  We'll get our professional wedding pictures back in a few weeks.  I'll hopefully get some posted here.

Now that I have a new camera and am not furiously house-buying and wedding-planning, I hope to complete the 365 project this year.

Please see my next few posts for a 2010 year-end review (my, my, the changes that have occured!), an evaluation of last years' resolutions, and my resolutions for 2011.

Some More Numbers...November Edition

What's that?  I have a blog, you say?  No, NO!  Blogs are supposed to be updated regularly...

Yeah.  About that.  Oops.  Anyway, in keeping with my last numbers post, I thought I'd add a few more:

Days until the wedding: 16
Tasks on my To Do List to Complete: 26
Tasks already completed from the List: 187
Miles I'm hoping to run before I wear a wedding dress: 22
Days of Work before I'm married (and mini-mooned): 6
Clues from my intended about where we are mini-mooning: 16
Guests attending our wedding: 148 (including us)
Chick-Fil-A Sandwiches I can eat before the wedding: 0
Pieces of Wedding Cake I plan on eating: 2 (one of each flavor)
Bathing suits I need for our mystery-mini-moon: 1
Steps from the street to the 3rd floor in my new house: 58
Pieces of furniture that moved up all 58 steps: 5
Days my muscles hurt after moving: 3

Holy Smokes...It's October!

I love October.  But this year...it's a little frightening!  Simply because we have hit the under 2 months 'til the wedding mark.  Yikes!  Sorry for falling off the 365 wagon.  I had some pictures on my camera...but lost the USB cord to link it to my computer.  Still searching for that...

Anyway, here's a brief little numerical update on what's going on in my life.

Days until I'm no longer single: 50
Wedding tasks completed: 119
Wedding tasks left to complete: 92
Mini-moon facts left to ponder: 51
Concerts to sing this year: 3
Pieces of furniture to move to Baltimore: 14
Boxes to pack: ~20
People who have RSVP'ed YES: 60
Days I exercised in September: 23
Roommates I will miss: 1
Kitties I love: 2
Doggies I will soon adopt: 2
Houses I currently "live" in: 2
Hours until I see my fiance again: 24
Temperature I desire on Nov 20th: 55
Husbands I want to acquire: 1
Daily cups of coffee: 3 (Yikes...used to be 1)

Re-Learning Lessons

After 31 years of living my life, you'd think I would stop re-learning the same lessons over and over again.  Yet, often that is what I seem to do.  Especially when it involves what I need in my life to have balance.  Take for instance...Exercise.  As I've written before, I figured out a year after college that I need some kind of athletic pursuit or exercise to feel in sync with my life.  But in the past few months, exercise has become a serious burden for me.  At least, what I thought I considered exercise...

Training for a triathlon, buying a house, and planning a wedding are not my recommendations for maintaining balance.  At least when you are me.  After my apathetic triathlon, I decided I was not going to force myself to do any exercise I didn't want to.  The bad news about that resolution?  In less than 3 months, I have to wear an ivory wedding gown that shows my figure and exposes my arms.  A gown that was purchased less than a month after I trained for and ran 40 miles in one weekend.  Not really conducive to my no mandatory exercise plan.

So of course, being the all or nothing person I am, I decided to tackle one of the items on my to do list on the right.  Work out every day for a month.  Makes sense, right?  From no exercise, to no days off.  Here is the caveat though...it just has to be exercise.  Not necessarily my definition of exercise which usually means I have to be exhausted afterwards.  My goal for September has been to make it to the gym at least 3 times a week for a "hard" workout, but then doing "something" every day.  I have done a lot of 30 minute walks in the morning before work, church, etc.  Especially when I've been busy with rehearsal, etc.  It's hard because I don't feel like I am "doing" anything, but I started noticing last week that I am feeling considerably less stressed about the wedding, our house, and money.  And even though I'm not working out to my definition of "exercise", as I've been hopping on the Elliptical machine at the gym, I've noticed that it is more and more difficult to get my heart rate up.  It was easier to raise it during triathlon training (working out 3 days a week), than it is now when I am walking or pushup-ing, etc. every day.

I've even lost 4 pounds.  Granted, 3 of them were pounds I gained towards the end of triathlon training, but I'll take it!  On the vain side of things...my first official dress fitting is next Thursday, and I'd like to be down 2 more pounds before then.  Whatever I am body shape/weight-wise at that fitting is where I should stay.  But, if it doesn't happen, I'll still be happy since my dress fits wonderfully as it is and is quite flattering.  Just gotta work on those arms...

So to recap, I've re-learned that exercise in any form is good for me, even if I am not training for something specific!

26/365 Shanah Tovah

A self-taken photo with my Blackberry...pre-Rosh Hashanah Evening service.

25/365 Shanah Tovah!

The architecture at Temple Beth Shalom where we sing High Holy Days services is rather lovely.  This is supposed to represent the scroll of the Torah.

24/365 Navy vs. Maryland

Mids on the field during March On.  Notice all the red from the Maryland fans in the background.  Boo. This was a depressing loss for Navy.

A few bonus pics:

Some Jumbo-Tron Action

I love it when my J gets to come to football games with me

23/365 AFLAC!

IronGirl Aflac duck is watching over my nightstand.

22/365 Sick MacBook

21/365 Beginning of a Long Trip

20/365 Bridal Shower!

I had a great time at my bridal shower/bachelorette party with my college and SC friends!  Thanks ladies!

19/365 Princess Tent

I always wanted to have a pink room and sleep under a princess tent when I was little.  Friday and Saturday night, my wish was granted!

18/365

What does a stunning 7 course meal with wine pairings get you?  An empty glass and a red-wine stained table.  Yum!

17/365

Marcello wants to help us make Limoncello!

16/365 Night on the Deck

Page's Long Day...meet Dark N Stormy.  Best enjoyed on a deck outside with good friend(s).

15/365 I Finished...

The remnants of my completed triathlon.  Doesn't it seem cruel that they write your age on the back of your calf that you then wander around with the rest of the day?  Hopefully, people are shocked when they see that I am 31!

14/365 Triathlon Crate

My triathlon crate is packed...I guess I'm ready?

13/365 This is confusing!

Maureen attempts to sort out her Rosh Hashanah music.

12/365 Still dirty?

My laptop went to the virus doctor.  While it was gone, I attempted to clean my extra keyboard.  Looks like I didn't do a very good job!

11/365 Hebrew Time Again

10/365 The China and crystal is finally put away

The middle shelf is somewhat empty...waiting for more of our Wedding China, I suppose.

Meh.

That's how I feel about the Iron Girl triathlon coming up this weekend.  This is my third year doing it...and the first time I haven't been excited and nervous.  Honestly, if I hadn't paid the $100 entry fee and biked/swam/run for most of the summer, I think I would probably be a no-show.  It just takes up so much of a weekend where I need to get other stuff done!

I guess I should have known that I was less than enthused about the Tri this year when I found out about my eye floaters and asked my eye doc if I'd be able to exercise, (specifically run). I had read that people with floaters and seeing flashing lights should avoid jarring exercise, such as running.  I was disappointed when the doc said I was cleared for all exercise.  Drat!  My built in excuse wouldn't work. 

So, here I am...a month later and still slated to do the triathlon this weekend.  Sure, I've kind of trained...but not the way I would have wanted to.  I have a feeling that my time will be at least 10 minutes slower this year than last.  But that is ok.  I've had a wedding to plan and a new house to buy and care for!

This proves to me even more that I am definitely an athlete whose goals are simply doing something, instead of improving on time, etc.  I've only run 1 half marathon (by itself), and have no desire to do another.  I've run one full marathon (by itself) and have no desire to do another one.  One Goofy Challenge...and -you guessed it- no desire to run another.  Yep, I definitely get a charge from finishing something that requires more endurance, or that I didn't think I could finish.  So...where does that leave me with regard to my next athletic challenge?

As I see it, I have a few options.  A few of them are listed over on the right hand side of the blog.  First, I suppose I could try an Olympic distance triathlon.  I enjoy the tri format...I just feel that I have "conquered" the Iron Girl as fast as I ever will.  I'm ready for more of an endurance challenge.  My issue is that I don't think I will ever want (or have the time) to train for an ultra marathon or an IronMan.  So, I thought it might be a good goal to complete a Century ride (100 miles on a bike), and perhaps one day get into and train for the Great Chesapeake Bay swim.  That one makes me nervous...but I think I could do it!

Anyway, I'll be spending most of my weekend prepping for and racing the Iron Girl triathlon.  Checking in and bike racking tomorrow afternoon...and then getting up at 4 AM to head out to the triathlon Sunday morning.  Check back to see if I actually manage to get myself there and to the finish line...

9/365 Getting Excited...

...for Navy Football Season!

8/365 Crystal

J's Crystal that needs to be washed and put away.  This does not even include mine.  So who is coming over to drink wine??

7/365 New Family

Crazy Kyra

6/365 Crabs and Beer at the Engineer's Club

5/365 Night Out at the Wine Bar

Alfi's Great Adventure

Hi Friends!  Remember me?  Alfio, the Christmas Kitty? No?  Well, I guess that means you haven't visited the Home for Wayward Chorus Girls often enough.  I am usually underfoot there, especially if there is food around.  Anyway, I hijacked one of my mommies' MacBooks so that I could hop on here and tell you all about my exciting evening last night!

There were a bunch of loud women at the house singing until about 9:00 PM.  They said something about "rehearsing" for Page's wedding.  I know not of what they speak...but my brother does not like the loud music and hangs out in the basement when they are around.  I like to know what is going on with everyone, so I stayed upstairs.  Around 11 PM, most all of the women had left.  I'm kind of known as the scaredy cat of the house, so my brother is always surprised that I stay upstairs when so many loud humans are around.  He even double-dog dared me to go OUTSIDE!  He kept meowing "fraidy-cat, fraidy-cat Alfi!"  I got sooooo mad that I surrepticiously slipped out the door when one of the women was leaving!  I figured someone would notice and come running after me...and then my brother would know I'm not a fraidy-cat!

But, no one seemed to notice I was gone!  I sat on the steps for a minute or so, but when all the humans were gone I scooted under the steps of the deck.  I was so scared that I didn't know what to do.  I heard my mommies and my Aunt Lish talking somewhere, but they were really into some serious conversation and I didn't want to interrupt them.  I meowed quietly a few times, but they didn't hear me.  After they went inside, all was quiet for awhile.  I thought I heard my mommies calling my name inside, but I wasn't sure.  Then, they were calling my name outside!  I wanted to come out, but I was so scared that I stayed where I was.  I was also kind of embarrassed...hiding under the deck steps for 2 hours while everyone is calling me and looking for me does sort of make me a fraidy-cat like Marcello said!

Anyway, I heard my mommies (quite upset at this point) talk about getting in the car and driving around the neighborhood.  I didn't want them to go to that much trouble, so when Page came outside to wait for Mo, I tried to meow as loud as I could.  My normally loud meow sounded almost as loud as a newborn kitten's.  I tried again.  Page came a little closer and put her foot on the step where I was.  I hissed at her, not knowing what else to do.  She called Mo over, and said she had either found a cat or a raccoon.  Since they were missing a cat...she decided it must be me.  After shining the flashlight under the deck, they both realized it was, in fact, Me.  They sounded so relieved.  But I was still kind of scared and embarrassed and didn't want to come out. 

Then, they put down some of my hard food.  I came out a little bit and ate some, but when Mo tried to grab me, I ran back under the deck.  Then, out came some soft food.  I was beginning to like this game!  But again, they tried to grab me and I ran back under.  Then, stupid humans, they brought my brother out!  I watched him eating the food, looking at me and saying "Nanny nanny boo boo!"  I got so mad, I decided to come out and eat some food, too!  But my mommies tried to grab me again!  They were starting to sound frustrated at me.  Finally, I went to the other side of the stairs, jumped up on the deck, and waited for someone to open the door.  I sauntered in while my mommies and brother just looked at me incredulously.

Whew!  I was glad to be back inside!  Even though I was mad at my brother,  I snuggled up to him and slept beside him all night long!  When the thunder and lightning started this morning, I was really glad that my mommies love me and stayed up until 1 AM looking for me and trying to get me back in the house!

Thanks for listening to my story!  Since I missed out on some sleep last night, I think it's time for my nap...

3/365 China

My first place setting of my new china arrived today.  Ta Da!  This was a gift from some good friends.  As many of you know, I love china.  LOVE china.  And yes, I already have 2 patterns, but they aren't ones that I picked out.  This is!  It's more contemporary than anything else I have, and J and I both like it.

2/365

Can you guess where I ate lunch today?

New Camera! And 1/365?

Finally, finally.  I bought a new camera!  So...here are a few pics of our new house!  And perhaps I'm restarting my 365 Project?  We'll see...

Front Door

Pocket Doors into "Parlor" AKA the Living Room

Dining Room

Front Hallway and Stairway

Copper Ceiling in the Kitchen

So there is a quick peek at our new house!  I promise to take more during the day when I am up in Baltimore next weekend.

Hypochondria

Hi, my name is Page and I'm a hypochondriac.  No, really.  Something about all of the minor changes occurring in my life (getting married, buying a house, etc...you know minor things) has set off a major case of hypochondria.  Now, I admit, I'm slightly prone to it in normal times, too.  You know, my cheek hurts and I think I have mouth cancer, my spine twinges and I think I have meningitis...those types of things.  But usually, I have a quick flash of hypochondria and it goes away.  But recently, I think my body has been internalizing stress.  And since I don't feel "normal", I'm convinced something is wrong.  And not something minor (like stress, or the flu), but major things.  A few weeks ago, I started seeing floaters in one eye.

**A quick aside: The internet is the worse thing ever created for hypochondriacs.  Some of the descriptions are like "PVCs are usually harmless.  Unless they are due to congenital heart failure.  In which case they could be fatal."  Yeah.  Watch out for those internet health sites.  You will be convinced you are going to die.**

So, I made the mistake of googling them.  "Floaters are generally harmless.  Unless they are due to a retinal tear.  In which case, you should see your eye care professional."  What?  So, of course, I'm convinced my retina is torn.  My eye doc passed away in May, so I had to get an emergency appointment with another one.  He checked me out, all was fine.  He did say, though, that if I saw flashing lights, I should come back.  Lo and behold, while at my wedding dress fitting, I saw flashing lights.  And again the next morning.  So like an obedient little patient, I headed back into the eye doc.  Nothing wrong.  He told me if the flashing lights "increased" I should come back.  What does that mean?

Then, last weekend, I had a headache.  Unlike one I had ever had before.  Only on one side.  As I started to "think" about it, it started to seem like the left side of my face was numb.  And I started to imagine tingling in my left hand.  Can you see where this is headed??  Yep, I thought I was having a stroke.  Ridiculous.  Thankfully, my future brother-in-law is an ER doc, and talked me off the ledge and convinced me it was very unlikely I was having a stroke.  Whew!

Today, I went into slight panic mode again today when I thought I saw more flashing lights.   Maybe I did, but it was a slight flashing light, not like the "all over" ones.  Then, I talked myself off the ledge.

I think I need a vacation...

A Fresh (ish) Start

Hello, faithful readers!  After spending the past month and a half or so splitting my time between two cities, working on settling halfway into a new house, and planning a wedding...I've decided it is time for a fresh blogging start!  I also like the fact that Blogger added a few new templates.  What do you think of the new look? (feed readers...pop on over for a peek!)

If you look on the right hand side, you'll also see I've added a To Do List of 50 things.  Inspired by one of my favorite bloggers, LMB (who is on her way to Vienna as we speak!) I decided to create this to do list, and see how I do.  In a year, she will be able to cross off number 6 on her list, Live in Europe for a year.  Anyway, the list is quite random and covers everything from the vague category of "be a better person" to cooking, exercise, etc.

In non-blog news, we are settling into our new house fairly well.  As I mentioned in my last post in June, it is hard to own a house one place, and live in another!  We are muddling through though.  The only thing left to do until we move my stuff in is put away our china.  And between J and I, we have a lot of china, crystal, etc!  Thankfully, my parents gave us their huge Breakfront, and J's brother passed along his grandfather's corner cabinet.  I still have my china cabinet in the basement in Annapolis, so hopefully those 3 pieces will hold everything!  We will see.  I'd also like to get some pictures hung on the wall.  3200 square feet of space means A LOT of wall space!

Wedding plans are...well, wedding plans.  There is always something little to take care of (even though the major pieces are in place), and just when I've crossed one thing off the list, time ticks on and 3 more items pop onto the to do list for the current month.  As we quickly approach the 100 day mark, I'm getting kind of excited. :)

I'll be doing the Iron Girl Triathlon for the 3rd year in a row in a few weeks.  It has been helpful to have something to train for, but difficult to get training in!  I have a feeling I will not do as well as I did the past 2 years.  It's to be expected, though.

Well, I think those are all the major updates I have for now!

A Tale of Two Cities

...or a city and a town?  I'm talking about Baltimore and Annapolis, of course.  Since J and I have been dating and engaged, I've spent a lot of time on the road between these two places.  It's a 40 minute drive late at night in no traffic, and about an hour or so if there is traffic.  Now that we've bought the house, I am spending even more time in Baltimore!  It's hard, because I feel like my life, time, and priorities are quite divided.

I'll be living in Annapolis until after the wedding, and I'm very happy about this.  I had visions of one more care-free (ha ha!) summer in Annapolis sitting on the back deck with a glass of wine, going to happy hours with my friends, and so on.  Boy was I deluded!  Between wedding planning and house-settling, I'd say my time is pretty evenly divided between being in Annapolis and Baltimore!  I WANT to be relaxing in Annapolis with my girl-friends, but I NEED to be in Baltimore with my future husband doing house-related things.  Well, and I want to be doing those things too.  It's definitely going to be a balancing act.  I'm hoping I can figure out how to get things done for the wedding and at the new house and still have some time for lazy dinners on the back deck of the Home for Wayward Chorus Girls.  Happy Hours may be a little out of the picture since most of my disposable income is going towards the wedding or the house, but that is ok.

The next two weekends I'll be in Baltimore, but then over July 4th J has a concert to rehearse for/sing in, so I think I will definitely spend that time in Annapolis!

Gulp...I'm a Homeowner?

It's official.  As of May 28th, I am a home owner.  A co-owner, actually.  Thankfully, our Settlement was uneventful...if you exclude the fact that J was in France visiting/helping his sister, and I signed both of our names on everything.  He skyped in while drinking wine and eating cheese and bread.  Doesn't seem quite fair, huh?  Don't worry, I'll get some work out of him in return!  Even though we are not married yet, we now are both joined on a legally binding contract.  Good thing neither of us has any reservations about getting married or plans to back out!  Of course, I am rather skilled at jumping the gun on things like buying a house, etc.

So now we own a house.  THE house actually.  This old Victorian seems to have a personality of her own.  I think we are going to get along, but we are definitely still getting acquainted!  I won't be moving in until after the wedding, but in the process of getting J moved in (which is only about 25% complete), I've learned a lot about our house! 

1.  She has high ceilings!  We painted the living room and dining room, and I spent most of the time taping and cutting in the ceiling on an 8 foot ladder.  The first floor ceilings are 12 feet!  The second floor are 10 feet.  Thankfully, we only have one room left to paint on the 3rd floor!

2.  Her kitchen is very inviting.  Copper ceiling, cherry cabinets, stainless appliances...nice and cozy.  J's counter height dining room/kitchen table fits perfectly!

3.  She likes antique furniture.  Luckily, between our two families, we have many lovely pieces that fit perfectly in the house.

4.  She collects dog hair.  Or maybe, the dogs like to give her hair.  In any case, it looks like I'm going to become a 2 times a week vacuumer.  At least.

So at some point, I PROMISE I will post some pictures.  Not having a camera makes it a bit difficult, though!  In the meantime, you'll likely find me painting, organzing, or moving furniture somewhere in our BIG new/old house!

One of the Challenges of Being Engaged to an Opera Singer

There are definitely some challenges related to being engaged to an opera singer, or really a performer of any kind.  During rehearsals and performances of a show, they are rarely available, most evenings are taken up with the performance, etc.  But really, those types of "time together" challenges can be an issue for any engaged couple.  However, today I ran into a challenge that is quite unique to being the significant other of an opera singer.

J is a performer who is very willing to change his appearance for a show.  In the time that we have been together, he has sported quite a few different facial hair looks, almost all for different shows.  A trimmed beard, a bushy beard, a weird Edwardian Goatee, a Handlebar mustache, a 70s pornstache (ew!), and even some clean-shaven times.  Though, the clean-shaven time is generally to get rid of whatever strange facial hair look he was sporting in a prior show.

It's kind of funny how my view on facial hair has changed since I started dating J.  From high school through college and beyond, I was pretty much against any guy having facial hair (any of my college friend readers remember when we painted mascara beards on our faces to protest the facial hair growout of our guy friends?)  However, as I stated above, J has had some facial hair for almost all of the time we've been together.  He even met my parents for the first time sporting the Handlebar mustache!  After we had been dating for about 6 months, he had some time without a show on the horizon and asked me what he should do with his facial hair.  I told him I wanted to see him clean shaven.  So he did.  And you know what?  I really wasn't a fan.  I'd become so used to him with facial hair, that he didn't look like J without it.  Crazy, huh?  For some reason, when he is clean-shaven, it looks like he is trying too hard to be presentable!  My favorite J look is a nicely trimmed beard.  Presentable, but still my J.  Which is what I hope he will be sporting for the wedding!

Anyway, for his current role as Monostatos in the Magic Flute, the director has the vision of Monostatos as a former gang-banger ex con Hispanic chaffeur.  Yeah.  Go figure that one...it's going to be an interesting performance, complete with a hispanic accent.  I haven't seen J since he shaved his beard into these odd L-shaped sideburns.  And then this morning, he sent me a picture of his self-tanned face.  Which in the picture looked rather orange.  Normally, I'd just shrug and say, "Oh well, he'll be back to normal J in a few weeks".  The problem?  We were supposed to shoot our Engagement Photos next Tuesday, in the midst of this Magic Flute run.  I had been so concerned with figuring out what I was going to wear to look most myself (as you are supposed to for Engagement pics), how I was going to do my hair, make-up, etc....that I forgot about J's appearance!

Luckily, we have a very flexible photographer who was able to reschedule for us!  I just want to be able to look back at the pictures and look like "us"...not..."Oh, right, J was in that show where he had wacko sideburns and was orange." :)  So ladies, a warning...if you find yourselves engaged to a stage performer, be sure not to schedule photo-ops while they are in the middle of a show!

More News...

Oh, hi there.  Welcome to the blog I update monthly, I suppose.  I really do have these grandiose dreams of updating this thing daily...or every other day...but life gets in the way.  As many other bloggers have written, "I've been busy living life instead of writing about it".  This pretty much sums up my situation.

However.  You are certainly due an update.  So here goes...

First of all, we are under contract for a house!  What?  You didn't know we were looking for a house?  I think I mentioned in my last update that we were merely thinking about looking.  Actually, it's kind of been a whirlwind search/offering process.  I looked at real estate one day and thought it seemed like a good time to buy a house, mentioned it to J...and we were off and running.  The tax credit ending April 30th had something to do with it as well.  The house is an old Victorian, circa 1890, that has been completely redone from a shell.  The folks who renovated it restored everything exactly the way I would have..black and white tile bathroom, pressed copper kitchen ceiling, etc.  Your next question must be, "How can a lowly software trainer and opera singer/private club membership director afford such a grand home?".  Well...it's in a transitional neighborhood.  Most of the houses around it have been redone, but two blocks over and back is a different story.  I always said that I'd love to live in a historic home, even if the area was not so good.  My only stipulation was that I'd have to be married.  And I will be.

Wedding plans are coming along.  My goal of having most everything planned by Mother's Day is becoming a reality.  Now we just have the fun details to complete.

This past weekend, J and I drove to SC for the ginormous Engagement Party dessert drop-in my parents threw.  Our parents also met for the first time.  It was quite an eventful weekend!  Everything went well, and overall, I had a good time.  The party itself was a bit overwhelming...I haven't talked to that many people in 5 hours ever.  EVER.  I felt like I spent too much time talking to people I didn't know well, and didn't get to spend enough time with those I wanted to.  I guess everyone understood, but it still was difficult for me.  J was a real trooper, considering the fact that he knew almost no one.  Thank goodness he is quite an extrovert!

Well goodness.  I think that is all.  I can't promise an update anytime soon, since I will hopefully be busy living life.  We'll see.

Whirlwind of Life

Oh hello!  Why yes, I am still living, breathing, thinking, feeling, loving, and planning.  Just still not picture taking. :(  However, I will be getting a new camera verrry soon (hopefully this weekend), and I will try to resume my 365 project.  I'm just considering the month of March a FAIL, and moving on.  Anyway, I thought I'd do a quick bullet point update for anyone who has missed me!

• Oh my, I am neck deep in wedding planning.  Enjoying some moments immensely (cake-tasting and wedding discussion time with J)...and others not so much (emailing and calling vendors with no response).  So far, we have a church, a reception venue, a cake, and a photographer.   I have a dress and shoes.  We registered for gifts.  We still need a DJ, official hotel block, and flowers.  But all in all, I think it is going well!

•  On the topic of wedding planning...I find it ridiculous that it is so difficult to get vendors to respond to emails requesting information.  We're in a recession...and I am a potential source of money!  If you aren't going to respond to a contact form on your website, then don't put it out there!  I even had a hard time getting some people to call me back.  I can tell you, though, that I am not hiring anyone who won't call back.  As much as I hate the phone, it makes me nervous to think I wouldn't be able to get in contact with someone before the wedding if I needed to!

• At the beginning of this month, some of my friends threw us a fabulous surprise engagement party!  I honestly had NO idea it was coming.  It was a fabulous party with many of our favorite people...complete with a piano player, bartender (the very same one who witnessed our engagement!), fabulous food, and valet parking.  I was so shocked when we walked in, that I think I was speechless for awhile!  We were so grateful for such a special party, and all the effort and love that went into it!  I must also confess that I broke my Lenten discipline and had wine.  But, I figured it is the only surprise engagement party I will have in my life, and I would regret not having some of the tasty bordeaux and cabernet that was provided.  I always say that I am not legalistic about my faith...and this was a night to prove it! :)

• We are headed to SC in a few weeks for an engagement party that my parents are throwing for us.  I am looking forward to that as well!

• On a non-wedding note, we sang Bach's St. Matthew Passion this past weekend.  I hope I can write more about this piece later, because it really moved me so much more than I expected.  I was fighting back tears through both performances.  I am normally not one to jump on a musical bandwagon, but I am really quite a fan of this piece.

• I am really excited about Holy Week and Easter this year.  I am loving singing in a church choir again, especially one that performs works from composers that lived 200 years ago or more.  I have seriously missed good choral church music.

• J and I are thinking about buying a house this summer.  An exciting and frightening prospect.

I think that is about all I can fit into a 5 minute update.  Hopefully I'll be back to elaborate more soon...

Searching...

Just so everyone knows, I am still here.  And alive.  And taking pictures...through last Friday, at least.  I seem to have misplaced my camera, which has caused a lack of motivation for taking pictures.  I hate the way the pictures come out on my Blackberry, but it looks like I will be using it for awhile until I either find my camera or get a new one...

60/365 Wounded Car

My car was broken into in Baltimore on Saturday night.  Luckily, there was nothing to take but a few CDs, but my poor window got bashed in.  Thankfully, I have a handy fiance who has experience with plastic-wrapping car windows.  While really loud, the plastic wrap does block a lot of the wind.  Now, I'm working from home today waiting on the Safelite folks to come and give me a new window.

59/365 Modern Couple

This is how a modern, quasi-long distance couple registers for wedding gifts.

58/365 Stained Glass

This is one of the stained glass windows at St. Anne's.  I took this while waiting for a memorial service to begin.

57/365 Cat Sitting

This is Koba, the cat who I was taking care of this weekend.  She does not like me very much...but doesn't she look like a princess perched on the pillow here?

56/365 Architectural Arches

Looking up the side aisle at St. Anne's.  I apologize for the graininess...it was dark!

55/365 Goofy What?

Did I really run 39.3 miles in one weekend less than 2 months ago?  Yikes!

54/365 Silver Oak

Tonight, after a good workout at the gym, I went to my local wine shop's Dollar Days sale.  Basically, all wine/spirits/beer are just a dollar over cost.  Last year, I bought 3 cases of wine.  This year, I held myself in check and only bought 20 bottles (3 of which were madeira, and a scotch).  These 4 lovely bottles are from a winery/producer that I greatly admire, but have never tasted.  Silver Oak has an Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, and a Napa Valley Cab.  They only make Cabernets, and are quite well-thought of.

I actually bought my first bottles of Silver Oak at the sale in February last year.  I bought one from each vineyard, and planned to give my then boyfriend wine connoisseur (now fiance wine connoisseur) one of the bottles for his birthday (in September).   I thought I would give him one of the bottles, and keep the other, sort of like a pair.  Then, when they are ready to drink in 5 or 10 years, we would either be together and drink them comparatively, or we would drink them wherever we were in our lives and remember each other fondly.

Well, by the time his birthday rolled around in September, I pretty much felt that we would be drinking them together in 5 or 10 years.  So I gave him both bottles. :)  J always says you should buy 2 bottles of a wine you are collecting to age, that way if you love it, you'll still have another bottle without having to pay top dollar for it, if it is even still available.  So last year at the sale in October, I bought another bottle each from both wineries.  At the sale tonight, I bought two bottles of each that I will eventually throw in J's cellar.  I'd like to collect two bottles of each vintage as we go through the years.

53/365 Bridal Magazines

As a teenager (and later!), I loved looking at Bridal magazines.  I probably bought the very first issues of Martha Stewart Weddings 15 years ago.  I loved looking at the pictures, the ideas...but it probably wasn't so healthy for me to be dreaming about a wedding!  About 8 years ago, I stopped the habit...mostly to keep myself from being sad about not having a wedding!

Well, now that I am planning my own wedding, I have every excuse to read these magazines!  I don't even really get too many ideas from them; I just enjoy the act of reading them.  One or two days a week during lunch, I head over to the Starbucks near my office, grab a latte, and sit and read these magazines.  It is relaxing and exciting all at once!

I have to say though, I'm amazed at how much the things mentioned in the magazines cost!  I'm almost thankful that we are on a budget.  I can't imagine how I would make decisions if cost were not a factor.

52/365 Spa Night

51/365 Souvenirs

This is a pearl necklace I had made in the Epcot "Japan" at Disney World.  You can pick an oyster, they open it for you, and then you get a pearl!  I loved doing this as a little girl when I went to Disney.  Both times as a child, I picked oysters that had twin pearls.  I had earrings and a ring made.

This time, Lauren and I both picked oysters, and had our pearls set in pendants.  Lauren's was a gold color 8mm pearl, and mine was a pinkish 7.5mm pearl.  Mine is set in a flower setting that I really like.  It may be my new favorite piece of jewelry (other than my engagement ring, of course!)

50/365 Life in a Dressing Room

Ever wondered what goes on in the dressing room for a musical?  A lot of makeup, curling irons, and hairspray!  As much as she might kill me for this...I think my friend Phyllis' expression is perfect!  Curling irons?  YUCK!

49/365 O K L A H O M A

Welcome to the place where I've spent 5-6 hours a day/night for the past couple of days.  The chorus I sing with is putting up a production of Oklahoma (the musical).  This scene is from one of our tech rehearsals.  The scene, for all of you musical fans, is the song "Many a New Day".  I actually had a teeny tiny speaking (really just laughing) part in the show.  While somewhat stressful, it's been a fun production, even though we were postponed due to the blizzard weekend/week!

47/365 Crossing Things Off

 

When I start to feel overwhelmed, my trusty Moleskin notebook full of lists helps.  Unfortunately, it doesn't do the tasks for me...

46/365 Ready

 

Think he is ready for potty training?  I'm tired of scooping the litter...

45/365 A First

The place setting at my very first Valentine's Day Date.  Well worth the wait.  As was the company...:)

**Note: Days 43 and 44 are on the camera but not accessible to me today.  I will hopefully get them posted tonight!

48/365 Maybe May?

This is one of the giant, dirty snowpiles in the parking lot near my office.  This is a common sight in Maryland these days.  We've been taking bets on when these monstrosities will melt!  My guess is May.

44/365 Melting

The snow is finally melting!  So sorry that this photo is not rotated...no matter what I do I can't get it rotated here!  It is rotated in my iPhoto...whatever.