Happy: I am going camping this weekend with a bunch of my college friends. I have never been less packed and ready for a camping trip, but I am greatly looking forward to the R&R.
Super-happy: My sister had her baby last night, the first grandchild for my mommy! I am an aunt, now, for the first and second times in only three months. Yays!
Also happy, but less defined: I have officially put in my notice that I am leaving the law office. I’m leaving on good terms, to pursue a different opportunity. What that opportunity is, however, is not yet official, so I’d rather not blog about it at the moment. Between the two positions, I am giving myself a much-needed vacation, from August 18 to September 3, with my cousin’s wedding on the front end and my ten-year high school reunion on the other end of that time, and hopefully some quality nephew-cuddling and sister-assisting in the interim. Maybe I will be able to see some of you, then!
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Friday, July 20, 2007
Long Overdue Update
You know how they say that it takes three weeks to form a habit? So, if you brush your teeth every morning for three weeks, it will become a habit, and you will brush your teeth every morning automatically? Or if you run for 25 miles every morning for three weeks, you will run for 25 miles every morning automatically? It's not true. At least not for me. When I started my job at the law office, I brewed a pot of coffee every morning for almost a month, then one day, I slept in, and the habit disappeared. Just like that. Now I get my coffee from a fast food restaurant. No, I won't tell you which one. But I have tasted around, and I like it the best from this place. Anyhow, I'm the same way with blogging. I get in a groove, blogging regularly, then something happens, I slip out of the habit, and it takes me ages to get back into the groove. I should take up smoking. I bet I would forget to smoke one day, then suddenly be completely unaddicted.
So, my job at the law office. It's going pretty well. I think I'm pretty good at it, I get along with the other people in my office, and it's interesting and challenging work. But I'm really not happy. There is a stereotype in the work-a-day world that somehow, in the progression of growing up and getting more respectable jobs, customer service is low on the totem pole, and eventually, you have to grow up and get an office job. It's a pretty widely accepted assumption, and if you're ever in thr position to review resumes to fill a soon-to-be vacant office staff position, you will notice that a large percentage of the applicants have job histories that start with things like restaurant or retail, work their way up through telemarketing, and eventually settle into office work. I guess part of the reason for that is that a lot of people don't really want to work in customer service positions, they just get stuck there because they have few other options entering the job market at 16 years old with no qualifications.
But you know what? I want to work in customer service. I like people. Being around people energizes me. When I stop to get my coffee in the morning, I pull past the drive-through and into a parking space, simply because going into the restaurant and speaking face-to-face with my cashier makes me feel more connected in the world. I know that probably makes me weird, but I feel like I could make a lifelong career of serving people. So, long story made slightly shorter: I actually never quit my job at Starbucks when I took the law office job. I've been working occasional shifts there, in part because I missed the awesome people I worked with, in part because I wanted to stay up-to-date on the new drinks and products (aside: the new oven-warmed sandwiches are awesome), and, in a big part because those shifts at Starbucks thoroughly brightened my week because they let me interact with people on a larger scale than what I encounter in a small law office. (Another part of keeping myself in the Starbucks loop is that I think Starbucks is a great company, and if I am going to make a career of serving people someday, I honestly can't think of any company I would rather do that with.)
And there I go breaking Dooce's First Rule of Blogging, talking about my job on my blog. But I don't think I have said anything here that I am (or should be) ashamed of, and I definitely am not sharing any secrets.
As for the non-job portions of my life, I may have to come back with a fuller update later, since I need to get to work soon. My beautifully pregnant sister is due in two weeks, but today is my day in the baby pool, so send labor vibes her way for me! My husband is loving his computer geek job, and seems to have really found his groove there. My housemates' wedding was last weekend, and after a very stressful rehearsal day wherein we kept losing essential people, the wedding went off beautifully. We really enjoyed our houseguests, and I was only a little bit sad but mostly relieved that we ended up with only three people staying with us instead of eight. I was especially sad to drive Brian's best men back to the airport, because Portland is a long way away, and I feel like they were totally the kind of guys we could be great friends with. Bitsy almost died on me, and I got scolded by the oil change guys for letting her transmission fluid go completely dry. I have realized that I have no place owning a car, and really don't know the first thing about regular car maintenance. Any advice on this front would be greatly appreciated. Like, for example, how often should I be checking my fluid levels? Someone asked me if a 20-year-old was my daughter, so apparently, the weight I have lost this summer was all in the parts of me that make me look young. I made a trip, by myself, up to Ottawa to see some old friends and Canada Day fireworks. It made me very sad to see how out of the Ottawa loop, well, out of almost every loop, I have been for the past year or so. It was nice to see Geoff and Marg and their adorable twins, though, and to spend some quality time with my brother and his wife. Perhaps, in another post, I can also attempt to explore my bizarre mental state, in which almost everything I do seems to be both sad and nice, like my trip to Ottawa. Until then, know that I miss you all, appreciate your love and support, and wish I was a better blogger.
So, my job at the law office. It's going pretty well. I think I'm pretty good at it, I get along with the other people in my office, and it's interesting and challenging work. But I'm really not happy. There is a stereotype in the work-a-day world that somehow, in the progression of growing up and getting more respectable jobs, customer service is low on the totem pole, and eventually, you have to grow up and get an office job. It's a pretty widely accepted assumption, and if you're ever in thr position to review resumes to fill a soon-to-be vacant office staff position, you will notice that a large percentage of the applicants have job histories that start with things like restaurant or retail, work their way up through telemarketing, and eventually settle into office work. I guess part of the reason for that is that a lot of people don't really want to work in customer service positions, they just get stuck there because they have few other options entering the job market at 16 years old with no qualifications.
But you know what? I want to work in customer service. I like people. Being around people energizes me. When I stop to get my coffee in the morning, I pull past the drive-through and into a parking space, simply because going into the restaurant and speaking face-to-face with my cashier makes me feel more connected in the world. I know that probably makes me weird, but I feel like I could make a lifelong career of serving people. So, long story made slightly shorter: I actually never quit my job at Starbucks when I took the law office job. I've been working occasional shifts there, in part because I missed the awesome people I worked with, in part because I wanted to stay up-to-date on the new drinks and products (aside: the new oven-warmed sandwiches are awesome), and, in a big part because those shifts at Starbucks thoroughly brightened my week because they let me interact with people on a larger scale than what I encounter in a small law office. (Another part of keeping myself in the Starbucks loop is that I think Starbucks is a great company, and if I am going to make a career of serving people someday, I honestly can't think of any company I would rather do that with.)
And there I go breaking Dooce's First Rule of Blogging, talking about my job on my blog. But I don't think I have said anything here that I am (or should be) ashamed of, and I definitely am not sharing any secrets.
As for the non-job portions of my life, I may have to come back with a fuller update later, since I need to get to work soon. My beautifully pregnant sister is due in two weeks, but today is my day in the baby pool, so send labor vibes her way for me! My husband is loving his computer geek job, and seems to have really found his groove there. My housemates' wedding was last weekend, and after a very stressful rehearsal day wherein we kept losing essential people, the wedding went off beautifully. We really enjoyed our houseguests, and I was only a little bit sad but mostly relieved that we ended up with only three people staying with us instead of eight. I was especially sad to drive Brian's best men back to the airport, because Portland is a long way away, and I feel like they were totally the kind of guys we could be great friends with. Bitsy almost died on me, and I got scolded by the oil change guys for letting her transmission fluid go completely dry. I have realized that I have no place owning a car, and really don't know the first thing about regular car maintenance. Any advice on this front would be greatly appreciated. Like, for example, how often should I be checking my fluid levels? Someone asked me if a 20-year-old was my daughter, so apparently, the weight I have lost this summer was all in the parts of me that make me look young. I made a trip, by myself, up to Ottawa to see some old friends and Canada Day fireworks. It made me very sad to see how out of the Ottawa loop, well, out of almost every loop, I have been for the past year or so. It was nice to see Geoff and Marg and their adorable twins, though, and to spend some quality time with my brother and his wife. Perhaps, in another post, I can also attempt to explore my bizarre mental state, in which almost everything I do seems to be both sad and nice, like my trip to Ottawa. Until then, know that I miss you all, appreciate your love and support, and wish I was a better blogger.
Tuesday, June 05, 2007
By way of letting you know that I am still alive
Blogging is a strange world. I miss writing in it and reading in it. But my life has been crazy lately, and I just haven't had the energy to blog for a multitude of reasons. Sometimes I'm just too busy. But more often than not, I have a blog post written in my head, but by the time I get to a computer to write it down, I don't feel the same way anymore, and what it seemed like I wanted to say before no longer seems like what I want to say. Last night, I was going to just sit down for hours and write it all out, but my husband beat me to my computer, so I didn't get to write anything and was left with my frustrated brain lobes swollen and blue.
But seeing as blogging is such a strange world, my own intellectual frustration at not being able to write is only part of the problem. I feel like I owe something to the people who read my blog, because I invited you into my life, for good and for bad, and I know that many of you think of me and pray for me and genuinely care about me. And I want to keep you in the loop.
Since I have to be at work in a few minutes, I know that I won't be able to vent my writing steam, but at a bare minimum, I can satisfy some measure of curiosity about what's happening in my life. Albeit disjointedly...
Jeremy is finally better, after almost a year of being mysteriously sick. He is also finally employed, after almost as long being out of work. He is working at a job that he loves at a university in Philadelphia. I am still working at the law office, and I still won't be blogging about my job. We are still living at the Chrysalis, and a few bumps aside, things are going pretty well there. LOST is over for the season, but my Wednesday night crowd will still be getting together for weekly dinners, and it looks like the RPG we've been planning is finally actually going to happen, over a year after discussions first began. We're still going to our church up in Glenside, and we still love it, even though the trip takes us almost 45 minutes each way. Our walls are still purple, and we still love them. We got a second table for our dining room so that we can fit up to about a dozen people sitting at once. We had Jeremy's parents and grandparents and a few miscellaneous extended family members over for dinner this weekend, and it was a good time. This summer will be my ten-year high school reunion, if the planning ever gets off the ground. I may or may not be coming up to Ottawa for that, depending on when it ends up being. I hope to make it up to Ottawa for Canada Day weekend, so if you're going to be in the area that weekend, let me know, and we can try to meet up. This weekend is my six-year wedding anniversary. I had a whole post written in my head about going to Valley Forge for a semi-surprise anniversary picnic the weekend before last but, alas, it got lost on the way to typing it.
And, alas, that is all I have the time to write.
But seeing as blogging is such a strange world, my own intellectual frustration at not being able to write is only part of the problem. I feel like I owe something to the people who read my blog, because I invited you into my life, for good and for bad, and I know that many of you think of me and pray for me and genuinely care about me. And I want to keep you in the loop.
Since I have to be at work in a few minutes, I know that I won't be able to vent my writing steam, but at a bare minimum, I can satisfy some measure of curiosity about what's happening in my life. Albeit disjointedly...
Jeremy is finally better, after almost a year of being mysteriously sick. He is also finally employed, after almost as long being out of work. He is working at a job that he loves at a university in Philadelphia. I am still working at the law office, and I still won't be blogging about my job. We are still living at the Chrysalis, and a few bumps aside, things are going pretty well there. LOST is over for the season, but my Wednesday night crowd will still be getting together for weekly dinners, and it looks like the RPG we've been planning is finally actually going to happen, over a year after discussions first began. We're still going to our church up in Glenside, and we still love it, even though the trip takes us almost 45 minutes each way. Our walls are still purple, and we still love them. We got a second table for our dining room so that we can fit up to about a dozen people sitting at once. We had Jeremy's parents and grandparents and a few miscellaneous extended family members over for dinner this weekend, and it was a good time. This summer will be my ten-year high school reunion, if the planning ever gets off the ground. I may or may not be coming up to Ottawa for that, depending on when it ends up being. I hope to make it up to Ottawa for Canada Day weekend, so if you're going to be in the area that weekend, let me know, and we can try to meet up. This weekend is my six-year wedding anniversary. I had a whole post written in my head about going to Valley Forge for a semi-surprise anniversary picnic the weekend before last but, alas, it got lost on the way to typing it.
And, alas, that is all I have the time to write.
Sunday, May 13, 2007
A Passel of Partial Posts
I love the purple walls in my house. I will love my house even more when we finally get our shelves this weekend so we actually have a place to put things, and when we get our bed so we can stop sleeping on the floor on an air mattress. (Edit: I wrote this several days ago, but didn't post it yet. Bed and shelves acquired, many things still remain to be put away.)
Okay, I'll admit, it's not always easy, but the benefits of living in community far outweigh the stresses. We take turns making dinners and lunches. The other day, I opened my lunchbox to find a napkin with a note from Erin, "JuJuBi, Jesus loves you. Make good choices. Love, Mommy." It kept me smiling the rest of the day.
The next three weeks or so promise to be just as busy as the last few. I might not be around the blogosphere too much. I apologize for that.
I swear, I had about 10 partial posts to write when I started this, but now I don't remember what the other ones were.
Oh yeah, one of them was this: Twice, I have posted pictures of my baby nephew, and neither time did I mention his name. I'm too subtle. I put his name in the labels section only. Sorry. His name is Trevor. Trevor Jaden. Or, possibly, Trevor Jay, if he wants to be a DJ when he grows up. I'm rooting for Trevor Jay.
Okay, I'll admit, it's not always easy, but the benefits of living in community far outweigh the stresses. We take turns making dinners and lunches. The other day, I opened my lunchbox to find a napkin with a note from Erin, "JuJuBi, Jesus loves you. Make good choices. Love, Mommy." It kept me smiling the rest of the day.
The next three weeks or so promise to be just as busy as the last few. I might not be around the blogosphere too much. I apologize for that.
I swear, I had about 10 partial posts to write when I started this, but now I don't remember what the other ones were.
Oh yeah, one of them was this: Twice, I have posted pictures of my baby nephew, and neither time did I mention his name. I'm too subtle. I put his name in the labels section only. Sorry. His name is Trevor. Trevor Jaden. Or, possibly, Trevor Jay, if he wants to be a DJ when he grows up. I'm rooting for Trevor Jay.
Monday, May 07, 2007
Nothing Day
I've been busy lately. I say that purely as a statement of fact: I'm not complaining or bragging.
Friday night, a spontaneous group of friends went to see Spiderman 3. It was fun. I think I enjoyed it more than most of my companions because I believed that the director wanted it to be campy and silly and hokey, and I thought that he did a great job of doing just that. I laughed so hard at the scene where he came swinging in, and posed in front of the American flag. I thought it was a joke. My companions thought it was a serious attempt at patriotism. So, Jule Ann's assessment of Spiderman 3 is essentially this: it's either fun, or dumb, depending on whether you think the director is taking himself seriously or not.
On Saturday, I drove to the Jersey shore with Jeremy and Jon to help Jon's grandmother assemble the tent where they spend the summer. (Although calling this place a "tent" is about as accurate as calling a canvas-sided Jeep a tent. It's really almost a house.) It was fun, even if it is still a little early in the season to be thinking about swimming in the ocean.
While I was in New Jersey, a friend called me up on my cell phone and reminded me that it was Cinco de Mayo, and that I have a duty as a non-Mexican to go out on the town. So, when we got back from the shore, I brushed the salt-wind tangles out of my hair, put on a skirt and went out dancing. It was a blast. It was also the first time I had driven downtown since we moved to the new house, and I was impressed at how much closer we are to the city, now. It used to take at least 45 minutes, and now it's more like 20. In theory, anyhow. I missed my exit on the way in, and I missed my exit on the way home, so I don't know exactly how long it will take once I figure out how to get from A to B without also visiting C and Q and X. (X was a little bit scary, actually. That was when I decided that it wasn't worth it to stop for directions after all, I could just keep driving and find my way home eventually.)
Sunday, after church, I took a much needed nap, made dinner, then headed to a meeting up in Willow Grove, while Jeremy visited with his dad. And the next thing I knew, it was Monday morning, and I had completely forgotten to get any rest all weekend.
Which brings us to now. We were going to try and go visit the baby tonight, but I decided that I really needed an evening in. I need to put away a bunch of clothes, organize a bunch of boxes I brought over from the other house, catch up on my blog reading, write on my own blog, write more on my novel, pay some bills, do some dishes, clean the kitchen counter, email some people I've been meaning to email, watch last week's Heroes so I can watch this week's Heroes, and I'm going to stop there, because that's only the tip of the iceberg, and I'll get depressed if I recite the entire list.
And now it's ten o'clock. About two hours passed between the last paragraph and this one. In those two hours I did some dishes and ate a Pop Tart. I missed Heroes because I didn't get around to watching last week's episode in time. So I guess I can still make the point I had intended to make when I started this post, even if I did accomplish one or two things from my list. For all intents and purposes, today was a total waste. But I needed that more than anything right now. If only I could make myself stop feeling guilty for the wasted time and relax properly. Fat chance.
Friday night, a spontaneous group of friends went to see Spiderman 3. It was fun. I think I enjoyed it more than most of my companions because I believed that the director wanted it to be campy and silly and hokey, and I thought that he did a great job of doing just that. I laughed so hard at the scene where he came swinging in, and posed in front of the American flag. I thought it was a joke. My companions thought it was a serious attempt at patriotism. So, Jule Ann's assessment of Spiderman 3 is essentially this: it's either fun, or dumb, depending on whether you think the director is taking himself seriously or not.
On Saturday, I drove to the Jersey shore with Jeremy and Jon to help Jon's grandmother assemble the tent where they spend the summer. (Although calling this place a "tent" is about as accurate as calling a canvas-sided Jeep a tent. It's really almost a house.) It was fun, even if it is still a little early in the season to be thinking about swimming in the ocean.
While I was in New Jersey, a friend called me up on my cell phone and reminded me that it was Cinco de Mayo, and that I have a duty as a non-Mexican to go out on the town. So, when we got back from the shore, I brushed the salt-wind tangles out of my hair, put on a skirt and went out dancing. It was a blast. It was also the first time I had driven downtown since we moved to the new house, and I was impressed at how much closer we are to the city, now. It used to take at least 45 minutes, and now it's more like 20. In theory, anyhow. I missed my exit on the way in, and I missed my exit on the way home, so I don't know exactly how long it will take once I figure out how to get from A to B without also visiting C and Q and X. (X was a little bit scary, actually. That was when I decided that it wasn't worth it to stop for directions after all, I could just keep driving and find my way home eventually.)
Sunday, after church, I took a much needed nap, made dinner, then headed to a meeting up in Willow Grove, while Jeremy visited with his dad. And the next thing I knew, it was Monday morning, and I had completely forgotten to get any rest all weekend.
Which brings us to now. We were going to try and go visit the baby tonight, but I decided that I really needed an evening in. I need to put away a bunch of clothes, organize a bunch of boxes I brought over from the other house, catch up on my blog reading, write on my own blog, write more on my novel, pay some bills, do some dishes, clean the kitchen counter, email some people I've been meaning to email, watch last week's Heroes so I can watch this week's Heroes, and I'm going to stop there, because that's only the tip of the iceberg, and I'll get depressed if I recite the entire list.
And now it's ten o'clock. About two hours passed between the last paragraph and this one. In those two hours I did some dishes and ate a Pop Tart. I missed Heroes because I didn't get around to watching last week's episode in time. So I guess I can still make the point I had intended to make when I started this post, even if I did accomplish one or two things from my list. For all intents and purposes, today was a total waste. But I needed that more than anything right now. If only I could make myself stop feeling guilty for the wasted time and relax properly. Fat chance.
Tuesday, May 01, 2007
A Poorly-Written Weekend Summary With Not Enough Pictures
Friday night, we saw Jon Stewart. He was funny. We stayed up too late.
Saturday morning I woke up early and went to worship team practice. Wait, I made rice krispy squares first, then went to practice. Then we went to Phil and Rachel's and spent an afternoon visiting with Justin and Meghan. And Rachel made tasty dinner.
Then we picked up coffee and went to the church for a coffee house. It was fun. Ali sang. She was great. We played some games, and chatted, and stayed up too late again.
Sunday morning was church. After church, I tried to squeeze in a nap, but I only managed to doze for about 5 minutes. I managed to make a tasty pasta salad, however. Then we went to the park and had a surprise party for Jill's birthday. We played frisbee and I fought with a franken-ghetto-kite for far longer than I should have. I love kites, but on a gusty day, there is sometimes nothing you can do. Sunday night, we had a nice evening in with Erin and Brian at the house.
After work on Monday, we drove straight to the hospital to meet the baby.
I was a little surprised to find out that the hospital had a separate parking lot for family members. That was nice.
The baby was cute. I got to hold him. He smelled like baby.
Then I went to bed. Then I went to work. And any minute now, I will be going to bed again. The older I get, the more it seems to take to recover from doing too much. Good thing I don't plan on getting any older.
Saturday morning I woke up early and went to worship team practice. Wait, I made rice krispy squares first, then went to practice. Then we went to Phil and Rachel's and spent an afternoon visiting with Justin and Meghan. And Rachel made tasty dinner.
Then we picked up coffee and went to the church for a coffee house. It was fun. Ali sang. She was great. We played some games, and chatted, and stayed up too late again.
Sunday morning was church. After church, I tried to squeeze in a nap, but I only managed to doze for about 5 minutes. I managed to make a tasty pasta salad, however. Then we went to the park and had a surprise party for Jill's birthday. We played frisbee and I fought with a franken-ghetto-kite for far longer than I should have. I love kites, but on a gusty day, there is sometimes nothing you can do. Sunday night, we had a nice evening in with Erin and Brian at the house.
After work on Monday, we drove straight to the hospital to meet the baby.
I was a little surprised to find out that the hospital had a separate parking lot for family members. That was nice.
The baby was cute. I got to hold him. He smelled like baby.
Then I went to bed. Then I went to work. And any minute now, I will be going to bed again. The older I get, the more it seems to take to recover from doing too much. Good thing I don't plan on getting any older.
Monday, April 30, 2007
Just a quickie before I collapse into bed...
As of 12:34 pm this day, I am officially an aunt. My sister-in-law gave birth to an adorable little boy today (not to be confused with my sister, who is also pregnant but not due until August). We went and saw him at the hospital today, and held his adorable little five-hours-old, still wrinkly from the womb, too worn out from being born to do anything other than sleep body. And I took a bunch of pictures, but I don't have time to upload any tonight. Soon, I promise. Right now, I need to sleep, because I did far too many fantastic and exciting things this weekend and got far too little sleep. And yes, I am a little bit giddy right now, but it's not my fault, the smell of baby makes me drunk.
Thursday, April 26, 2007
Wednesdays
Wednesdays have become my favorite day of the week. What used to be just an evening of watching Lost soon became an evening of watching Lost with friends, which soon became an evening of watching Lost with more friends, which eventually evolved into dinner and games and a crowd of about 8 people. Take that, stupid ABC moving Lost to 10 pm, we're making social lemonade!
Only three more episodes until the season finale, though. So sad. But, when all the twitching and withdrawal symptoms subside, we'll still have Wednesday nights. Maybe we'll finally start that RPG campaign we've been planning for over a year...
Speaking of staying up too late on a work night, I really should be getting to bed. I have a busy weekend ahead of me, and I should start it with some semblance of restedness. Tomorrow night, we're going to see Jon Stewart, and I just found out that some friends from Rhode Island will be coming into town this weekend for a spontaneous visit. Should be fun!
Only three more episodes until the season finale, though. So sad. But, when all the twitching and withdrawal symptoms subside, we'll still have Wednesday nights. Maybe we'll finally start that RPG campaign we've been planning for over a year...
Speaking of staying up too late on a work night, I really should be getting to bed. I have a busy weekend ahead of me, and I should start it with some semblance of restedness. Tomorrow night, we're going to see Jon Stewart, and I just found out that some friends from Rhode Island will be coming into town this weekend for a spontaneous visit. Should be fun!
Monday, April 23, 2007
Photolicious
I miss blogging.
And apparently, some people in the blog world even miss me. Thanks to everyone who emailed me or im'ed me or phoned me to check in and see how I'm doing. It meant a lot to me.
I'd like to start blogging again now, if that's alright with you all.
Some adjectives to summarize my life for the past five weeks: busy, harried, adjusting, covered in paint.
When Jeremy and I were engaged, my dad gave me some words of wisdom for marriage. One of those words was "renovate" and it was used in close proximity to the word "don't". More divorces are caused by paint and wallpaper than finances, children, and infidelity combined. (Note: May not be a real statistic.)
Somehow, though, we made it through this past month of painting and renovating, and no one is dead (and I'm pretty sure none of the injuries are permanent). All it took in the end was Erin deciding that we could host a surprise party for her mom with about 45 people, only a few weeks after moving into a house that was, in every way, the epitome of a "fixer-upper". And actually, Erin was right, we pulled it off (mostly due to her not sleeping for about 36 hours prior to the party). And it was a great party. But the best part is: the house is finally together.
It's not done. If I have learned nothing else from watching other people in the act of home ownership, I have learned that there is no such thing as "done" when you own a house. But it's done enough that I finally dare to post pictures.
And, without further ado, here are some pictures.
This is the Chrysalis from the front. Consider it a "before" picture of the lawn (which is badly eroded and needs to be terraced), and of the sidewalk (that needs to be torn up and replaced because it is being destroyed by the roots of the big, beautiful tree that needs to be cut down).
This is Apollo. He is the guardian eagle of the house. He hung in that same spot on the wall for as long as anyone remembers, quite possibly since the house was built in 1950. We were told that if we took him down, the house would burn to the ground. We decided to brave fate, however, in order to paint behind him. We were greatly amused by the color difference between the wall behind Apollo and the walls around Apollo. THIS IS WHAT SMOKING WILL DO TO YOUR TEETH, TOO!
This is what the bathroom looked like when we moved in. Yes, those are trash bags stuffed in cracks in the tile.
This is that same section of tile after Jer's dad came and spent an afternoon with him. The rest of the tub still needs some work, but the trash bags are gone!
This is the living room before we started to paint.
This is Rachel in the kitchen before we started to paint. The kitchen had been fairly recently painted, so we decided to leave it that color for now. We took a paint chip of the teal with us to the hardware store when we bought the purple so that we could make sure they would match. We also bought a little bucket of the same teal in order to do some accents in the living room. And yes, that is a computer on the kitchen counter. It was the only music we had for the first week or so here, so we kept it central.
This is Erin and Brian in the living room getting ready to paint. Notice that they are still smiling. That's because this was taken on Painting Day 1, not on Painting Day 19. Fortunately for all of us, my camera batteries died and I couldn't find my charger for the next few weeks.
Brian's name is on the deed, so we let Brian put the first stroke of paint on the wall. Please note how utterly horrible the color of the primer is. I think the name was "Murdered by Easter Eggs Purple".
Erin painted the walls nicely for a while...
Then Erin posted important public service announcements on the walls.
(Aside: See that big rectangle on the wall that is a different color than the rest of the wall? There used to be a mirror there, and the last time the wall was painted, they just painted around it. Around Painting Day 12, this idea started to sound really, really smart.)
There is an unexplained cubby hole in the living room. We were told that the family that used to own this house before the person we bought it from raised seven kids in the house. We figure the baby must have slept here, because we have no idea where else seven kids would go in this house. Regardless, random cubbies must be painted, and I painted it from the inside.
And finally, some after pictures...
The dining room. (Yes, it's a little cluttered, I know, but for two days after having a huge birthday party, I think we can be forgiven for having a few "50" napkins still kicking around.)
Erin relaxing on the couch.
Jeremy relaxing on the other couch. (That's Erin's dog Peanut in the foreground.)
Another angle on the living room. We're still not sure what to do with the cubby, so it has a stereo in it for now. We also left the cubby Grandma's Attic Purple for the time being, lest we forget.
(Aside: The banister may change colors again after all. We liked the teal on the door frame, but it's a little much on the banister. We're hoping some purple stenciling will tone down the PeeWee's Playhouse contrast effect a little bit.)
The guest room is the only room upstairs that is presentable enough to photograph at the moment. There are two other bedrooms, which are both much bigger, but also much more lived in. This room has been dubbed "Stuart's Room", even though Stuart doesn't actually live with us. And his name isn't actually Stuart.
This is our porch. It was our salvation during the birthday party, because it has many windows and a ceiling fan, and stayed about 15-20 degrees cooler than the rest of the house all evening. We're currently looking for cheap/free wooden seating to furnish it with.
This is our backyard, which is across a little alley from our house. Consider this a "before" picture with an indefinitely distant "after". The retaining walls are falling down, but that's a pretty big project to tackle for amateurs. We'll see how we do on the front yard, first. For now, our makeshift gazebo is about all the beautification our backyard is going to get. And maybe a fire table at some point.
This is my car Bitsy, parked in front of our house.
And, since I'm posting so many pictures, what's one more? This is a picture Steve took of me at the wedding of a coworker and fellow Canadian, Bronwyn, last weekend. It's the first picture of myself I've really liked in a long time, so I decided to share it with you all.
And apparently, some people in the blog world even miss me. Thanks to everyone who emailed me or im'ed me or phoned me to check in and see how I'm doing. It meant a lot to me.
I'd like to start blogging again now, if that's alright with you all.
Some adjectives to summarize my life for the past five weeks: busy, harried, adjusting, covered in paint.
When Jeremy and I were engaged, my dad gave me some words of wisdom for marriage. One of those words was "renovate" and it was used in close proximity to the word "don't". More divorces are caused by paint and wallpaper than finances, children, and infidelity combined. (Note: May not be a real statistic.)
Somehow, though, we made it through this past month of painting and renovating, and no one is dead (and I'm pretty sure none of the injuries are permanent). All it took in the end was Erin deciding that we could host a surprise party for her mom with about 45 people, only a few weeks after moving into a house that was, in every way, the epitome of a "fixer-upper". And actually, Erin was right, we pulled it off (mostly due to her not sleeping for about 36 hours prior to the party). And it was a great party. But the best part is: the house is finally together.
It's not done. If I have learned nothing else from watching other people in the act of home ownership, I have learned that there is no such thing as "done" when you own a house. But it's done enough that I finally dare to post pictures.
And, without further ado, here are some pictures.
This is the Chrysalis from the front. Consider it a "before" picture of the lawn (which is badly eroded and needs to be terraced), and of the sidewalk (that needs to be torn up and replaced because it is being destroyed by the roots of the big, beautiful tree that needs to be cut down).
This is Apollo. He is the guardian eagle of the house. He hung in that same spot on the wall for as long as anyone remembers, quite possibly since the house was built in 1950. We were told that if we took him down, the house would burn to the ground. We decided to brave fate, however, in order to paint behind him. We were greatly amused by the color difference between the wall behind Apollo and the walls around Apollo. THIS IS WHAT SMOKING WILL DO TO YOUR TEETH, TOO!
This is what the bathroom looked like when we moved in. Yes, those are trash bags stuffed in cracks in the tile.
This is that same section of tile after Jer's dad came and spent an afternoon with him. The rest of the tub still needs some work, but the trash bags are gone!
This is the living room before we started to paint.
This is Rachel in the kitchen before we started to paint. The kitchen had been fairly recently painted, so we decided to leave it that color for now. We took a paint chip of the teal with us to the hardware store when we bought the purple so that we could make sure they would match. We also bought a little bucket of the same teal in order to do some accents in the living room. And yes, that is a computer on the kitchen counter. It was the only music we had for the first week or so here, so we kept it central.
This is Erin and Brian in the living room getting ready to paint. Notice that they are still smiling. That's because this was taken on Painting Day 1, not on Painting Day 19. Fortunately for all of us, my camera batteries died and I couldn't find my charger for the next few weeks.
Brian's name is on the deed, so we let Brian put the first stroke of paint on the wall. Please note how utterly horrible the color of the primer is. I think the name was "Murdered by Easter Eggs Purple".
Erin painted the walls nicely for a while...
Then Erin posted important public service announcements on the walls.
(Aside: See that big rectangle on the wall that is a different color than the rest of the wall? There used to be a mirror there, and the last time the wall was painted, they just painted around it. Around Painting Day 12, this idea started to sound really, really smart.)
There is an unexplained cubby hole in the living room. We were told that the family that used to own this house before the person we bought it from raised seven kids in the house. We figure the baby must have slept here, because we have no idea where else seven kids would go in this house. Regardless, random cubbies must be painted, and I painted it from the inside.
And finally, some after pictures...
The dining room. (Yes, it's a little cluttered, I know, but for two days after having a huge birthday party, I think we can be forgiven for having a few "50" napkins still kicking around.)
Erin relaxing on the couch.
Jeremy relaxing on the other couch. (That's Erin's dog Peanut in the foreground.)
Another angle on the living room. We're still not sure what to do with the cubby, so it has a stereo in it for now. We also left the cubby Grandma's Attic Purple for the time being, lest we forget.
(Aside: The banister may change colors again after all. We liked the teal on the door frame, but it's a little much on the banister. We're hoping some purple stenciling will tone down the PeeWee's Playhouse contrast effect a little bit.)
The guest room is the only room upstairs that is presentable enough to photograph at the moment. There are two other bedrooms, which are both much bigger, but also much more lived in. This room has been dubbed "Stuart's Room", even though Stuart doesn't actually live with us. And his name isn't actually Stuart.
This is our porch. It was our salvation during the birthday party, because it has many windows and a ceiling fan, and stayed about 15-20 degrees cooler than the rest of the house all evening. We're currently looking for cheap/free wooden seating to furnish it with.
This is our backyard, which is across a little alley from our house. Consider this a "before" picture with an indefinitely distant "after". The retaining walls are falling down, but that's a pretty big project to tackle for amateurs. We'll see how we do on the front yard, first. For now, our makeshift gazebo is about all the beautification our backyard is going to get. And maybe a fire table at some point.
This is my car Bitsy, parked in front of our house.
And, since I'm posting so many pictures, what's one more? This is a picture Steve took of me at the wedding of a coworker and fellow Canadian, Bronwyn, last weekend. It's the first picture of myself I've really liked in a long time, so I decided to share it with you all.
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
Further Adventures in Not Blogging
Another brief update on borrowed Internet access...
Still no Internet at the new house. Still not quite done painting, but the purple looks great wherever the second coat is done, and the new house is starting to feel like home. And, as is the tradition with communal houses, we have named the house. So, you can all come visit me sometime at the Chrysalis.
And I did end up buying a car. She's a 1998 Mazda 626 with leather interior and her name is Bitsy. It's the first car that I have ever had in my own name, and it's kindof an exciting feeling. (Even if it did take me five and a half hours to get my Pennsylvania driver's license in order to be able to buy a car, but that's another post for another day when I have more time to rant. While I'm at it, I can talk about how excited I am to be finally registered to vote, as well as registered with a particular party so I can vote in the primaries.)
So much to say, but I guess I'll have to hold it in for now. Hopefully we'll have Internet at the Chrysalis soon, and I can start wasting my evenings on blogging again. I haven't been to my Bloglines account in ages, and I am sure there are 500 posts sitting there for me to read. Sigh.
I miss you all. Drop me an email if something really exciting has happened in your life that is currently buried under 499 other blog entries. Use my gmail.com address, juleannwakeman at. Hope you all had a wonderful Easter.
Still no Internet at the new house. Still not quite done painting, but the purple looks great wherever the second coat is done, and the new house is starting to feel like home. And, as is the tradition with communal houses, we have named the house. So, you can all come visit me sometime at the Chrysalis.
And I did end up buying a car. She's a 1998 Mazda 626 with leather interior and her name is Bitsy. It's the first car that I have ever had in my own name, and it's kindof an exciting feeling. (Even if it did take me five and a half hours to get my Pennsylvania driver's license in order to be able to buy a car, but that's another post for another day when I have more time to rant. While I'm at it, I can talk about how excited I am to be finally registered to vote, as well as registered with a particular party so I can vote in the primaries.)
So much to say, but I guess I'll have to hold it in for now. Hopefully we'll have Internet at the Chrysalis soon, and I can start wasting my evenings on blogging again. I haven't been to my Bloglines account in ages, and I am sure there are 500 posts sitting there for me to read. Sigh.
I miss you all. Drop me an email if something really exciting has happened in your life that is currently buried under 499 other blog entries. Use my gmail.com address, juleannwakeman at. Hope you all had a wonderful Easter.
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