Measure out my life in...snapshots.

No one read my previous blog rant because it was soooooo long and heavy, so let this be a hopefully pleasant counterpoint to that - light reading.


Paul and I just finished watching Stranger than Fiction, which was totally adorable and wonderful and satisfying, and which I highly recommend to everyone I know unless you only like action flicks.

After that, I looked up the weather for tomorrow morning, and decided that 31 degrees is still too cold to ride my bike to work. Same excuse for Thursday morning. Hopefully soon, tho.

To help me ride my bike to work, in the mail today came the other half of my most recent Amazon.com order. The first half was two CDs, John Mayer's "Continuum" and Jack Johnson's "In Between Dreams"; two good, solid, laid-back, guitar-driven, relaxing albums, just what I was aiming for. I seriously don't think Jack Johnson can write a bad song. But I digress. The second package contained the book I was ranting about previously (see below), and also a small, sporty AM/FM radio that will allow me to switch off bike rides between my iPod and NPR. I envision a kind of psychological experiment: which makes the ride seem quicker and/or easier, NPR or a 23-hour-long playlist containing all of my favorite mp3s?

That's today...but I've been meaning for a while to post a brief summary-in-pictures of my recent goings-on, so that's what the rest of this blog entry will be...


This is the garlic bulb that sprouted in my closet, on the right soon after sprouting and on the left this evening - it's grown so much! I might get a long window box, separate the bulbs, and plant them for real!


This is my new computer set-up at work - both monitors act as one, and I can move my mouse between them and see way more at once - it makes work so much cooler!


Also from work, my Norfolk Island Pine that I bought soon after moving down here to VA in August 2005. It wasn't happy in my apartment window - not enough sunlight - but now that it's in my office with two plant-friendly lightbulbs pointed at it for 14 hours a day (I have the lights on a timer), it's so happy that it's getting a new tier of branches!


This is a photo of some hydrangea at the flower shop that's doing my wedding flowers. I had been fabric shopping with Paul's sister Megan and my mom, and thought I had setteled on a dark, warm, crimson color for my bridesmaids, but then my mom didn't like it and Hannah didn't like it, and they were trying to talk me into brown, which I definitely don't want. While I was at the flower shop with my mom two weeks ago, I had a small epiphany, and my new chosen color is about what you see here (altho the camera didn't quite reproduce the color 100% faithfully): deep periwinkle with a definite hint of purple, just enough that it's definitely not blue, just a good, vibrant, beautiful color for my wedding. I love color, so I knew my bridesmaids needed to be wearing something other than brown. The flowers they hold might be pale green hydrangea (the color they are before they turn the color of the dresses), small sunflowers (nice deep vibrant yellow), and who knows what else.


Flash forward one week to Hannah and Addy taking a nap on Addy's bed after Katy's wedding shower so they will feel refreshed for Ninny's 50th birthday party, which took place the same evening. This all took place this past Saturday, after I spent 4 hours in my car Friday evening driving thru rain, sleet, freezing rain, wet snow, and heavy snow to get home for the busy weekend. Oh, and while I was sitting in barely-moving traffic on 270 North somewhere in Maryland, I was passed by George W. Bush's motorcade, comprised of over 20 big, black Chevy Suburbans (so that no one could tell which one contained the prez). That's right, I was within 15 feet of our not-so-esteemed leader, altho I didn't know it at the time.

So that's it for my life recently. Oh, one more thing: Paul and I have pretty much FINISHED the GUEST LIST for our WEDDING, and so I will soon be able to send save-the-date e-mails, and also start on the really fun wedding things like REGISTERING for COOL STUFF such as various kitchen accessories that we covet. I'm taking suggestions!

Time for bed!