Weekend Redux (with pictures!)

Thanks to fortuitous timing (okay, fine, it was mostly deliberate), I find myself with nearly three weeks of "vacation" between the closing of one chapter in my work life and the opening of the next. I'm loving the break. And of course, in true Jule Ann form, I have packed the break so full of activity that I will probably be more tired when it is all over than I was to begin with. But that's just the way I am.

To be fair, several of my planned activities involve relaxation. I spent most of the afternoon last Wednesday at the pool with Ali to start things off, and it was blissful. Then, on Thursday, Ally and I went thrift store shopping, because I needed a dress to wear to a wedding this weekend. I found a great dress, and had a great time. I also found an awesome corset, which, of course, I purchased, because there is a moral imperative to buy a corset that actually fits you when you find it for $4.50.

As an aside, for the curious, and/or for those who think that I am simply an inconsistent speller: I do have two different friends whose names sound like a small street, and one spells her name Ali and the other spells her name Ally. Which either clears up or adds to the confusion, I'm not sure which, but I like to think it's the former. I was going to attempt to clear up / add to the confusion even more by posting some pictures of me with Ally and me with Ali, but I somehow can't seem to find a picture of me with Ali, so here is one I stole from Ali's Facebook:


And here is one of me with Ally:


And now, back to our story.

Jeremy took Friday and Monday off of work in order to make this weekend a nice, long one. Friday we drove up to my mom's cousin's cottage at Silver Lake, Western New York. We were hoping to get there in time for some lakeside relaxing / swimming, but we got a late start, took a long lunch break, and then arrived at the Lake at about the same time as a huge windstorm, which dropped the temperature to well below comfortable swimming temperatures. Fortunately, we also arrived at the cottage only a few minutes after my brother and his wife, so we had a nice visit with them before heading up to my uncle's house at about 7:30 for the after-rehearsal-dinner party.

It was nice seeing everyone at my uncle's house, even if everyone else was mostly pre-occupied with last-minute wedding preparations, which it was kindof nice to not be part of for once. I was mostly pre-occupied with meeting my nephew, Nicholas, for the first time. Such a cutie. Here, have a picture:


Actually, that picture was from Saturday, because I was too busy holding him and cuddling him and loving him to take any pictures on Friday. So, why don't we skip to Saturday in the narrative, so that I can post the rest of the pictures.

Saturday morning was nice and relaxing. We all fought over took turns holding Nicholas, until he and Jeremy fell peacefully asleep together on the couch, and no one had the nerve to disturb them.


The wedding on Saturday was beautiful, but my camera sucks, so none of my ceremony pictures turned out. We sat in the back row with Alana and Nicholas to keep them company while Eric was taking pictures, which meant that we were the last people to be released from the church. So, we did what bored people do, and took pictures. Here is one of Nicholas with Grandma Jill:


And here is one of me kissing Jeremy, which I am including in part because it is fun, and in part because it is the only one I have of myself from this weekend:


After the wedding, I accompanied my sister to the nursery while Eric was taking the wedding party photographs, which really doesn't add anything to this story other than context for this picture of Alana and Nicholas:


The reception was held on my uncle's property, in a pole barn that was constructed specifically for this occasion. In case you ever wondered about my tendency to take on enormous projects that sound like a great idea at the time, end up being more work than I thought they would be, nearly drive me crazy trying to get them done, and then end up being finished just barely in the nick of time, this is proof that I come by this trait honestly, through my father's DNA. The building was gorgeous, perfect, and completed mere days before the wedding:


And yes, for the more observant car enthusiasts among you, that is a 2007 Mustang convertible that Alistair and Heidi made their entrance in. With "Final Countdown" playing in the background. My family is awesome.

There was a lego competition, and our table's entry, an homage to the word "poop", earned honorable mention. There was a wedding cake on every table, which enabled my Aunt Ester (the one who brought the parachute to my wedding) to dig a little hole in our cake for Mr. Mouse to set up his home.


And, while we're on the topic of cake, here is the only picture I got of the bride and groom that is even remotely good enough to post (I really need a new camera):


What was that? You want another picture of Nicholas? Okay, here is one of him with his Auntie Trish:


Alright, this post is getting to be pretty long, so I will rush through the rest of the weekend. We got to spend some quality after-wedding time with the extended family, and said our goodbyes to everyone but my mom on Sunday morning. Then we headed to my mom's sister's house with her to have lunch and visit with my mom's side of the family. It was especially nice to see my cousin Sean and his wife Melody, along with their four boys, who are about twice as big as they were the last time I saw them.

And then, in case we hadn't packed enough into one long weekend, we stopped by Liverpool on the way home to see Dora and Scott and their boys, whom I also hadn't seen since they were about half the size they are now. It was a really nice visit, and it was really great seeing them all again. Hopefully, now that they are only four hours away, we will see more of them in the future.

Living with me means you get to have conversations like this...

"I smell like a dirty hippie."

"What do clean hippies smell like?"

"No one knows..."

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Star-Studded Weekend

Friday night, I made star-shaped meatloaf. And star-shaped biscuits. And I attempted to make star-shaped cucumbers, but they fell apart.

Unfortunately, I was then too tired to go to a 10 pm showing of Stardust. So I went to bed.

And I cleaned the house for five hours on Saturday. Which sadly doesn't involve any stars. But Saturday falls in the middle of the rest of my weekend story, so there you go.

Church picnic on Saturday afternoon didn't involve any stars, either. But it did involve me going into my pastor's pool fully clothed.

Saturday night I made flan for Dan and Ally. And it wasn't star-shaped, either, unless stars are yellowish tasty blobs of goo and caramelized sugar. Which they might actually be. I don't know. I've never tasted a real star.

But I did go see Stardust on Sunday afternoon with Jeremy's family. And I loved it. It instantly went in my top ten favorite movies of all time. Right alongside the Princess Bride. There are now two amazingly awesome fairy tale movies out there to choose from.

And to round things off, we went to the secludedest field we could find with a bunch of friends and family on Sunday night to watch the Perseid meteor shower. And we saw one really good meteor, and a few little ones, but then the clouds moved in and kept us from seeing anything remotely close to the promised meteor-a-minute. But meteors or not, it was fun to spend an evening in a dark field with friends. Just don't trip over the hose.

Actually, that didn't even round things off completely. Monday night, I worked at Starbucks, which is starrish, too, and therefore may be tacked onto my starful weekend. It was an important shift, too, because it was the last time I will ever be working at Starbucks as a barista.

And today involved no stars, although I am wearing my star t-shirt, and I am sure I could come up with some sort of star metaphor for working my last day at the law office. But I won't. Feel free to make up your own metaphors: I am on vacation.

Stage one of my vacation: Laying by the pool with Ali tomorrow.

And then, this weekend, at my cousin's wedding in Rochester, I will finally get to meet my newest nephew, Nicholas. Yay!

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Interesting

It's been a while since I checked my statcounter, and even longer since I blogged about it. I know it's dorky and overdone, but I find it amusing, so bear with me as I post a list of what keywords have recently brought people to my blog:

1. jule ann wakeman


2. how do you make a starbucks strawberry blended lemonade


3. starbucks black and white mocha


4. the most complicated starbucks drink ever


5. jule ann


6. i am happy letting you know


7. confessions o a starbucks barista


8. starbucks drinks number of pumps shots


9. starbucks barrista hacks


10. starbucks cool drink combinations


11. starbucks white mocha 2 pumps


12. starbucks


13. how many calories in starbucks peppermint mocha frappuccino, no whip


14. creative starbucks drinks


15. starbucks drink statistics


16. blended strawberry lemonade starbucks ingredients


17. multicultural being


18. black and white mocha starbucks


19. jule, annwashington


20. calories starbucks strawberry lemonade frappuccino


21. salvadoranean tamales


22. make starbucks iced white mocha


23. trichenosis


24. number of syrup pumps in starbucks


25. starbucks drink calling


26. making decisions for myself

The moral of the story? I really should blog more about Starbucks. And less about trichenosis.

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Shorties

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!

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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.

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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.

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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.)

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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