A Walk in the Park

The Summer That Was

2011-10-20T23:05:00.001-04:00

In honor of my #1 blog fan, who asks about the blog every time we speak (even though my posts are becoming few and far between)…a post! Happy birthday, dad! This is for you:)

Wheew. We have had a whirlwind of a summer and fall is quickly running away from us as well. I’m not even sure where to begin, but I won’t attempt to recap it all here.

Early this summer we took a day trip to NYC.

Back in Rhode Island we enjoyed our first (and second and third) polo match.

We spent our fair share of time on the New England coast. This particular photo was taken in Portsmouth, NH. I think we’d call it one of New England’s best kept secrets. Charming downtown, walkable, beautiful old buildings and it’s right on the water.

We (technically Andrew) consumed our fair share of seafood, much of which was prepared on the grill. Andrew loved grilling.

Andrew and I rode our first tandem bike together, which we decided should be used for pre-martial counseling. It took 100% cooperation and communication to avoid disaster.

We also took a quick trip to the City of Brotherly Love. This is Elfreth's Alley.

I realize a few pictures won’t make up for a summer’s long absence, but it’s been much harder to catch back up than we anticipated.

Although the summer’s warmth has left us for the imminent cold, we have much to look forward to this fall and winter. We’re excited to slow down, relax a bit, enjoy some warm beverages, and hibernate.

Happy Birthday, Dad. I hope to update this more regularly and more thoroughly soon. Promise! Love you!

Zoo Day | 2011

2011-08-22T23:03:00.001-04:00

Andrew and I read a blog earlier in the summer about Top Tips for Taking Photos at the Zoo. We love excuses to practice our photography and learn more about our camera so we headed to our local zoo on a free-for-residents Saturday. We arrived when the zoo opened to try to get good morning light, but since it was a clear day the light was still pretty harsh. For this adventure, an overcast day with cloud cover would have provided the best light and minimal shadows, but since we were just practicing we didn’t mind.

Some of the tips we read were to zoom in close, focus on the eyes, turn off the automatic flash, and fill the frame with the subject.

One thing I wasn’t prepared for was sad eyes. I’m not sure if some animals just have naturally sad facial expressions or if they are under-stimulated in captivity, but I sure felt bad for some of them. It’s amazing how different zoos, circuses, etc. are as an adult than as a kid. As a kid it’s cool to see the animals up close. As an adult I wanted to see them frolicking in Sub-Saharan Africa.

But without further ado here are the animals of Roger Williams Park Zoo:

What we’ve been up to

2011-06-26T22:17:00.001-04:00

Sorry we’ve been so quiet lately. We have been unintentionally unplugged and and to be honest, it has been kind of nice. Less time behind the computer screen and more time grilling out, watching Friends, going to the beach, jogging, entertaining visitors, etc. Sort of just getting done what needs to get done and then relaxing until bedtime. Most weekends I can’t seem to get any posts written, any pictures downloaded from my camera, or any blogs read, but the laundry gets done, dinner gets cooked, trips to the beach are had, and I'm becoming okay with that—especially since summer up here is so short.

We apologize for keeping everyone in the dark for so long; here’s a little summary of life lately.

Lately we have been…

Note—We learned a very harsh lesson about bringing compost into the house. We tried to learn from last year and start our seeds earlier in the year. Unfortunately, us rookies didn’t think through bringing compost soil into our apartment.

We went through phases of insect hatching. First, there was the round of gnat-like bugs. Dozens if not hundreds of them. The vacuum and I became quite chummy. I had the vacuum out regularly and sucked them up morning and night. (I don’t do bugs). It turned out to be great for the cleanliness of our floors though:)

Then there was round #2. Giant house flies. Less in number and more tolerable than the gnats. But still, I vacuumed them up. But then round #3 came. It was the last straw. Bees. Some type of flying stinging-looking insect. This was when I freaked out, panicked, and told Andrew “These plants are going outside today. I don’t care if there is still frost and we are throwing away two months of prep. Out.” And so they went.

That’s a quick summary. More to come later! No promises on timeliness—I’m still hoping to re-cap California;) And since then we’ve been to NYC, Philadelphia, and Maine. Not to mention parent visits, weddings, or future summer plans. Wheew. I just can’t keep up. In fact, tonight Andrew was basking in summer 2011 glory and telling me about how much he is enjoying it and we’re technically only a 5 days in. My first thought was: “We better document this! We haven’t taken many pictures this summer (aside from trips). We’re going to need some proof to carry us through winter!”

Hopefully this weekend…

2011-03-23T23:11:00.001-04:00

I’ll finish uploading pictures from our recent trip to California.

Adorable Cookies

2011-03-03T07:54:00.001-05:00

If Andrew and I were able, we would totally be having a Mardi Gras party to celebrate Fat Tuesday—the feast before the beginning of Lent. We thought in honor of our year of holidays it would be fun, but then realized we aren’t available Tuesday.

I saw some adorable ideas online, so in case you’re interested in carrying the torch, here is a tutorial to make some adorable cookies and some downloadable print outs for your party.

We would definitely be making the mask cookies, although I realize they wouldn’t be nearly as pretty. Decorating with icing is hard. We learned that lesson with our Christmas tree cookies. It’s okay though, we’ll just have to keep practicing:)

photo source

Soup Recipe

2011-03-01T21:51:00.001-05:00

Andrew made some rockin' soup last week. The recipe looks a little crazy (evaporated milk, bbq sauce, etc.), but it turned out great. All the interesting ingredients came together to create a unique flavor and great consistency. It was the first soup we’ve ever made from scratch to have a thick and creamy consistency. It's usually difficult to produce thick soup at home, but this recipe nailed it! I think it had something to do with the evaporated milk, but I may be wrong.

We followed the recipe to the T with the exception of using a green pepper instead of a red one and we cooked chicken breasts instead of using a rotisserie chicken.

Smoky Roasted Chicken and Corn Chowder
Prep/Total Time: 30 min.

Source: Taste of Home Healthy Cooking Feb-March 2009 Issue

Ingredients:

4 slices bacon, chopped
1 cup diced onions
1/2 cup celery, diced
1/2 cup red bell pepper, diced
2 teaspoons garlic, minced
1 1/2 tablespoon fresh thyme, minced or 1 teaspoon dried thyme
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 (12 oz) can evaporated milk
1 (14 1/2 oz) can diced tomatoes, well drained
1 (14 3/4 oz) can cream-style corn
2 cups roasted chicken breast, chopped
1 tablespoon hickory flavored barbecue sauce
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt (or to taste)

Directions:

Cook chopped bacon in a large, non-stick soup pot over medium-high heat until lightly browned but not crisp. Stir in onions, celery, red pepper, and garlic. Cook and stir until vegetables begin to soften, about 5 minutes.
Add thyme and flour. Mix well. Stir in broth and evaporated milk. Bring mixture to a gentle boil and stir continuously until soup thickens slightly.
Reduce heat to medium-low. Stir in remaining ingredients. Cover and let simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Serve hot.

The Year of the…

2011-02-22T23:56:00.001-05:00

Back in January, Andrew and I were discussing our hopes, plans, and dreams for 2011.

Andrew said, “I want to read more this year. I want 2011 to be the year of the book!” And I said, “What? Read more? [Pause. Look at him funny.] Okay.” And with that the Year of the Book was born. Andrew’s goal is to read 10-12 books this year.

Me? I didn’t really have a goal. And I wasn’t interested in reading 10 books. But on Martin Luther King Day it dawned on me. As my Google Reader overflowed with MLK quotes and references to spending the day “on” and not “off”, I decided that I wanted to spend 2011 celebrating holidays with an awareness on their original intention. Holidays honor someone or something; I want to understand and appreciate that. I often spend these days eating hot dogs and playing Wiffle ball without regard to the significance of the day; without celebrating the purpose we were intended to celebrate. So in 2011 I want to focus a little of my attention on the dreams, the causes, and the fights that people gave their lives to. I want to be cognizant of the reasons why I get to sleep in and spend extra time with family and friends.

So throughout this year I’ll post recaps of what we did to celebrate holidays. Some will be more exciting than others. And I know that some holidays have varying traditions or have changed over time, so don’t judge us too harshly on the tribute that we pay.

And to honor the year of the book, Andrew will post reviews and recommendations of the books he’s read.

Nothing too exciting, but a little window into our life in 2011.

First up: President’s Day

This weekend for President’s Day we went to the JFK Library in Boston, MA.

And then we drove past the birthplaces of former presidents John Adams, John Quincy Adams, and George H.W. Bush. While the Adams were born in the same town (later named Quincy), Bush 41 was born a couple miles away in Milton, MA.

And we even tried to eat a few favorite presidential meals. Unfortunately, our detour to Ikea set us back a little and all that was open was Panera. But we didn’t let that stop us! Andrew had macaroni and cheese a favorite of Ronald Reagan and I had a grilled cheese, a favorite of FDR. Panera’s macaroni is amazing. The grilled cheese was pathetic. I think they generally make them for kids meals so it was terribly lame and cheeseless.

And we may or may not have watched the Presidential DVD series my mom gave Andrew two Christmases ago. And we may or may not have watched all three DVDs.

Happy President’s Day!

Election Day 2010

2010-11-02T23:05:00.000-04:00

This may be shocking…but it definitely made me chuckle when I was voting.

This morning as I stood at the voting both I cracked a smile, particularly when I read the names of some of the parties listed under Lieutenant Governor and Congressional Representative. And then I laughed. Out loud. Really? Is that legal?
Only in Rhode Island.

Oh, and yes, that is a straight party voting option. In Rhode Island you can check a box at the beginning of the ballot to vote for all candidates of one party. It’s quite controversial to say the least.

In the Meantime…

2010-07-09T19:07:00.001-04:00

Okay, so it seems that I’m struggling with regularly updating two blogs.

I think it’s safe to say you should check in on our 365 blog more regularly than this beloved one:( Hopefully soon I’ll be back and full of zest and fabulous stories. But in the mean time, stay in the loop at http://portraitofthepiersons.blogspot.com/
[Note: Yes, I realize I’m over a month behind. I’m working on it.]

Spotlight on Shephard’s

2010-06-10T07:52:00.001-04:00

Check it out!

Our photographer did a fun little overview of our reception site. You might even see yourself in the pics:)

http://pilsterphotography.blogspot.com/2010/05/outside-ballroom-shephards-beach-resort.html

Quick Update

2010-05-31T23:02:00.004-04:00

My mom came into town for the weekend. We had a great time tasting lobster rolls, enjoying the sunshine, and relaxing.

Hope your weekend was fabulous as well!

Check out the 365 blog for more updates on our daily happenings. And eventually a weekend recap from this weekend:) I should mention there is a multi-week delay in postings. My goal is real-time postings, but I'm not quite there yet.

Day Trip through RI

2010-05-04T21:31:00.000-04:00

(Day 71)

Saturday.

Adventure day.

We’re working on being more adventurous and spontaneous.
Last month Andrew had to work in the morning at a conference at the University of Rhode Island in Kingston. So we spent the afternoon driving around southern Rhode Island and exploring a few towns.

We had heard of Point Judith on the Discovery Channel’s Lobster Wars and wanted to check out the lobster boats. We also wanted to visit two towns named Galilee and Jerusalem. Who wouldn’t?

So we did. We took pictures. Searched for good seafood. And hung out at the beach. And froze:)

New England beaches are very different than Florida ones. Lots of rocks and little sand.

Andrew played with the camera.

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We drove around checking out the cottages, summer rentals (trailers), and restaurants. We found a lighthouse (not pictured; it was behind fencing and a Dept of Homeland Security sign) and parking area and took some more pictures.

You can’t really tell from this picture, but this is a steep cliff into the water.

Then we hit the jackpot. Point Judith fishing boats and lobster pots.

The streets had hilarious and nautical names.

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After we ate a seafood snack at Champlin’s in Galilee we embarked on the drive home. We decided to take the scenic route US 1 (which runs from Key West to Maine). And we decided that Andrew should practice his driving skills with the manual transmission, so he drove.

I was the worst navigator because I was paying too much attention to teaching and not enough attention to the map. We got lost. US 1-A took us a bit too scenic for our liking. We needed to go north, not due east. And we got frustrated. And hit traffic. So we switched drivers.

But not before passing through the famous Narragansett brick arch. Okay. So it’s probably not that famous. Just to us. When Andrew was visiting a while back we were driving down a road in Providence at night and he insisted that we drive straight. He said he saw a brick arch and wanted to know what was under it. So we drove. About 500 feet later we realized it was just a dense tree canopy and not actually a brick arch. Unfortunately, being new to the city, I didn’t realize the road I was driving on immediately merged onto a highway and bridge crossing over to the next town. We got lost. And now we have a new found fondness for real brick arches.

And that was our Saturday. Nothing too exciting, but we got to explore some new territory.

Time for A Change

2010-04-29T22:41:00.000-04:00

Let’s play a game called….

What is this?

A hint.

Yep. That’s my ponytail. Pretty gross, huh?

I cut off 10 inches to donate to Locks of Love.

I’m not sure why it seems so gross when it’s not attached to your head anymore, but it does.

The new do.

Sometimes it’s okay to dump it

2010-04-22T20:57:00.000-04:00

This conversation just occurred:

[Kim walks into the kitchen]

Andrew: “Bad news. The milk went bad.” [Referring to our two week old chocolate milk from the local dairy via the milk man. The milk that’s not supposed to last more than 7-8 days.]

Kim: “Really? I thought it might have. Did it smell bad?”

Andrew: “Foul.”

Kim: “Oh… I’m sorry. Wait, didn’t you just drink some last night? Was it bad then?”

Andrew: “Don’t know.”

Kim: [Looking into the sink at the empty milk bottle] “So did you pour it down the drain?”

Andrew: [Pauses] “No.”

Kim: “WHAT?! Did you drink it?!” [Assuming the obvious answer is no]

Andrew: [Sheepishly] “Yes”

Kim: [Silent shock]

Andrew: [Proudly] “Hey, you’re living with a man now. We assume every meal is our last”

Kim: “Seriously? I have to go blog about this.”

Andrew: “Tell them I drank rancid milk.”

Much About Nothing

2010-04-22T18:03:00.000-04:00

So I just got home from work.

Andrew is still working.

I don’t feel like starting on the stir-fry.

So I’m eating chocolate chip cookies and milk. Yep. That’s right. And to be honest, I’ll probably not be hungry when it’s time for dinner. Good thing it’s not Tuesday. I feel fine eating this tonight. But on a Tuesday, before an episode of Biggest Loser, not a chance. I’d be eating my cookies with a big fat slice of guilt on the side. Who could watch people work that hard to get healthy and in shape while nibbling away at greasy wafers of sugar and chocolate?

Yea. Wafers. That’s right. The cookies are pretty thin. We had a bit of a baking mishap last night. We’re still not sure what happened. We’ve used the recipe many times before. I’m sure a picture or two will make it up on the Picture Blog. And we’ll be the butt of your jokes, but it’s okay. They taste good.

Well, when I get caught up that is. I’m super behind on my blog postings and I hate that. I have all these pictures and no time. But that’s a good thing. We’re busy getting the apartment ready for Andrew’s parents’ visit this weekend. Gotta make a good impression with the in-laws, right? Can’t let them think they married their son off to a woman who can’t clean or cook! In which case, these cookies should be hidden or destroyed. Nah, just eaten:) They deserve to be loved just like everyone else.

Traffic is a nightmare. There is a new traffic light between my office and our apartment and it’s all the rage. Road rage, that is. Well, to me at least. I told myself I’d start walking again just so I can get home and not want to run someone over. I stopped walking. Did I mention that? No. Of course not. Well, between the cold and the rain and meetings, I haven’t walked in weeks. But this new light. It’s enough to get me walking. Plus it should be warming up soon.

Our neighbors downstairs are Swiss. They speak French. They have three little boys. We have a French school in our neighborhood so they don’t speak much English. They try to talk to me in English and I try to talk to them in French. But I don’t know French. It doesn’t always go so well, but we tell each other our names about every other day. It’s sweet. Right now they are singing at the top of their lungs in French. Not sweet.

What else? We went to a Red Sox game this weekend. The Rays swept the series. It was fun to see my hometown team and my current town team. Except everyone in the stadium was a Sox fan. And I was stuck in the middle.

Oop. Andrew’s home. Gotta run! Time to pretend I was cooking all evening:) JK. He sees me sitting here. With the cookies and milk. Busted.

Bye!

PS He brought home donuts! Stolen from work probably. Yay! Now we’re really gonna feel guilty next Tuesday.

When Emy Was In Town

2010-04-15T21:38:00.000-04:00

(Day 64)

When Emy was in town we kept her entertained, fed, and busy.

We:

Relaxed.

Made delicious homemade waffles (actually Andrew did).

Played Wii.

Visited a Cape Verdean Museum.

Walked the cliffs along the beach.

Played in a tunnel.

And by we, I mean, we told Andrew he looked like a rapper and had to entertain us.

Then I played on the rocks while Andrew took pictures.

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Spontaneous

2010-04-06T22:34:00.000-04:00

This is quite out of character, but yesterday morning (a work morning in the 6:00 or 7:00 hour) Andrew and I sat across from each other with our dueling laptops and spontaneously bought tickets for two concerts.

One is Michael Bublé, which was less spontaneous and much more in character for us. We love him. We used to play his CDs in grad school while cooking and eating dinner together. We played lots of his songs at our reception. And we're excited.

The other: Three Dog Night. Yep. That's right. We'll be the only ones under 55 there. And that's okay. We're still excited. I saw they were coming to RI and had been to a concert of theirs as a kid with my mom (probably kicking and screaming the whole way) so I threw the idea out there. Andrew and I have major problems when it comes to music, so this is a big deal! I like country and 80s. He likes disco and blues. We can basically just agree on oldies and big band stuff, which isn't always ideal to listen to. It's tough for both of us to go on a long ride together. We should get a second car just so we can caravan and jam to our own music. Or use headphones with iPods. I guess that would be the cheaper option, but not terribly safe. Isn't it illegal to drive with headphones on or something? Anyway. Three Dog Night kinda falls in the middle for us. I'm familiar with it. It still meets Andrew's pre-1979 criteria. And we both might enjoy ourselves. Now I just have to convince him that he'd have the best time in the world at a Kenny Chesney concert.

I think we should do a little research and dress for the Three Dog Night concert so we can fit in. What type of followers do they have? Hippies? That could be fun.

And I should note, both are at casinos. One in Rhode Island. One in Connecticut. For some reason all of the venues in Southern New England are event centers at Casinos. Oh well. Maybe we'll just have to play a hand or two of Blackjack:) Ha. Who are we?

Our life as of late

2010-04-03T19:25:00.000-04:00

What have we been up to and where the heck have we been?

Andrew has been working a lot. His projects have kept him busy. We’re pretty thankful about that because his job started as part-time and now he’s working over 30 hours a week.

He also turned a year older and a year handsomer so we celebrated for a whole week (well, almost). The week started with good intentions. Food. Lots of food. Particularly, food that Andrew loves.

The theme of the week was:
The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach

It’s his favorite thing to quote to me so I took him literally and wooed him all week with his favorite foods.

We had breakfast, lunch and dinner plans daily. Bacon & eggs, homemade blueberry muffins, Swedish pancakes with lingonberries, etc. But by the time Friday morning rolled around it took all I had just to roll out of bed, let alone make a fun breakfast. (Andrew gets up way earlier than I do so I had to get up early all week to get the breakfast made on time.) He also got a different present each day. Nothing too fancy—lamps, throw pillows, a giant clock, tools—mostly stuff we were going to get anyway for the apartment, but it saved him from making the dreaded trips to Target and Home Goods. What a kind wife:)

And then we got a Wii. That was the big present on Friday. We were planning on getting one, so when I saw one I just snagged it up. For some reason, they’re still hard to find and it’s not even December!

Emy came to visit. That was fun. We ran around Rhode Island and made lots of food and kept her distracted from her thesis by playing Wii all the time. But that will be covered in another post. Probably a photo essay on the Pierson’s Blog.

And me? What have I been doing? Trying to catch up. I seem to always feel behind. I’ve been trying to catch up on sleep, my BSF homework, reading, writing blogs, relaxing, etc. But hey, that’s life. If I was all caught up I’d be bored.

Well, that’s our quick Saturday update. We took the day off from all things stressful and have lounged around all day. It was glorious. Now we’re off to finish Lawrence of Arabia. Yep. That’s right. We still haven’t finished. You try to watch a 4-hour movie and see if you can stay awake:) Just don’t tell the Savage’s. It’s their movie. We borrowed in in August. Oops!

Friday @ 9pm EST

2010-03-31T17:51:00.001-04:00

Have you seen the ABC show Food Revolution?
Andrew and I saw this TED video about a month ago and were really impacted by it. It caused us to evaluate our knowledge, understanding, and views towards food. The video is very interesting. It’s about 20 minutes, but worth viewing.

Jamie Oliver (former TV chef) won the 2010 TED Prize for his desire to transform the way Americans eat. His goal is to educate youth to prevent obesity and his project in Huntington, West Virginia, is the impetus for the show.
It’s so interesting to Andrew and I. We’re interested in food and health and we can totally relate since it wasn’t that long ago that we were in school. I remember high school having two options everyday: pizza and something else. 4 out of 5 times, I would choose pizza. It just tasted so good. The most popular items at Andrew’s high school were cheese fries and giant chocolate chip cookies (which were only $0.40—he got one everyday).
I’m also excited to see such an important issue resonate with people, cause them to evaluate their lives, and create a little buzz on both the Associated Press and on blogs.
Food Revolution. Think about tuning in this Friday.
Jamie Oliver’s Wish
“I wish for your help to create a strong, sustainable movement to educate every child about food, inspire families to cook again and empower people everywhere to fight obesity.”

Coming soon!

2010-03-26T13:33:00.003-04:00

Plan for tomorrow: update both blogs:)

Stay tuned!

Birthday Blues

2010-03-06T21:37:00.000-05:00

Andrew has a birthday coming up and I'm not sure what to get him.

I had seen a really cute sketch from a photo on a blog a few weeks ago and thought it would be the perfect post-wedding present. I even founds tons of other people who do exactly that on Etsy so I could choose my favorite medium and give him an original piece of art of one of our favorite wedding pictures. But I panicked. I didn’t know which picture to choose and I wanted to pick his favorite. So I told him. And I'm back at square one.

Plus, I put a lot of pressure on myself. He's such a thoughtful gift giver. Do you remember the gifts he’s given me? The 12 Days of Kimberly. The milk box I wanted for months. Paper dolls with my head super imposed on them… Um, did I ever tell you about that? No I didn’t. I intentionally kept it to myself for Andrew’s protection. This past year for my birthday he wanted to buy me clothes, but he didn't know what to get. So instead he superimposed my head onto a paper doll and printed it out. Then he went to all these websites and downloaded pictures of clothes options for me, cropped them and shrunk them to fit the paper doll. It was so thoughtful and adorable. I still haven’t taken that shopping spree, so he really won with that deal!:)

Then there is the wedding gift. Did I ever tell you about that? Probably not. I try to keep my bragging to a minimum. No one likes reading a blog and then feeling crappy about their life afterwards. He made me this picture:

He walked the cold streets of Providence in the dead of winter to find these “letters” and make this collage! Again, thoughtful.

And then there are my gifts. Books. Shirts & ties. A baseball hat. A robe. So lame, so un-original. I feel like I'm flying through life by the seat of my pants and can’t find the down time to come up with something fantastic. Now it's even tougher to find time to be creative, thoughtful, and sneaky because we're married and always together. And don’t get me started on buying it. I’ve added more pressure to myself in that area. Now that our money is our money I feel anxious that I’ll spend too much on something he doesn’t really want, which ultimately comes back to kick him in the butt because it’s his money too! Ha. All the petty things I worry about.

Well, I think I have an idea of what I’m going to do for him. Obviously, I can’t tell you yet since he reads this, but I’m sure it’ll be documented with photos on our other blog. His birthday is Wednesday.

Coffee Filters

2010-03-02T21:12:00.000-05:00

Are you aware of all the uses for a coffee filter?

For Christmas, Andrew’s grandparents put on a little show called Our Favorite Things. It was very similar to what Oprah does and was hilarious. They listed off some of their favorite things from 2009 and then at the end each grandkid/couple got one of everything!

This list included things like a face scrub brush, digital meat thermometer, Footsie roll slip-ons, a baster brush, electric wine opener, etc.

And coffee filters accompanied with a list of 25 uses for coffee filters.

# 7. Recycle frying oil. After frying, strain oil through a sieve lined with a coffee filter.

Andrew and I remembered and filtered our fondue frying oil.

Cookie Cutters

2010-02-21T21:25:00.000-05:00

Remember those cookies we decorated the other night?

We were making my mom Get Well cookies, but I couldn’t tell you that or post pictures of the cookies because it would ruin the surprise. We used new cookie cutters I had just gotten from William Sonoma. I saw them on a few blogs last month and happened to see them when I was in the store and couldn’t resist them.

I should mention that the cookie cutters were not easy to use. The dough stuck to the letters making the cookies less than attractive. Next time we’ll use more flour on each letter each time we press them on the cookies. This is Andrew’s not happy face. (Not very intimidating, but I promise, he was actually really irritated and distressed)

This is Andrew’s reason why. Exhibit A. Giant hole in cookie.

Fortunately all turned out well in the end. We just used the cookie cutter to make the outer shape of the cookie and then pressed the letters on individually with our hands instead of in the fancy cookie cutter like you’re supposed to.

We could only fit so many into an envelope for my mom so we got the extras:) A fun one Andrew put in my lunch:

Others we ate while watching the Olympics with friends:

PS My mom’s cookies were more exciting that just “I Love You” over and over. She got:

Get Well Nancy
Miss You
I Love You Mom
Get Well Soon
and my personal favorite, Surgery Sucks (originally misspelled as Surgey Sucks, thanks to yours truly)

As for me and my feet, we’ll be walking

2010-02-17T20:55:00.004-05:00

As Andrew and I were debriefing our days over dinner I was telling him about things I had read.

I saw this blog. She is one of my favorites. Always great photos. Always encouraging stories. Always wise words. She mentioned Lent. But I thought, “nah.”
Then my co-worker sent my this video. It’s about educating children so they will eat healthier. Did you know that we’re the first generation to have shorter life expectancies than our parents? I had forgotten that fact until Jamie Oliver reminded me of it. Sad. I’m actually working on a Dept of Health obesity prevention initiative so I really enjoyed the video. It got me thinking about eating healthier and exercising more. And then I felt guilty about the tacos I was planning to make for dinner.
Then I saw this title and it said: Simple Green: Go on a Carbon Fast. “Ah ha!” I thought. “I should give up driving to work for the next 40 days! It’ll be healthier for me, greener for the environment, and a daily sacrifice!”
Then I saw this article about the green dilemma and my plan was solidified. I didn’t want to be the person saying one thing and doing another.

So there you have it. An idea was born. I’ll be forgoing driving to work for the next 40 days. In all honesty, I should be doing it anyway. I live a half mile from work. But with the cold weather, rain, snow, wind, construction, tardiness, etc. it’s easy to make up excuses to drive.

Andrew patiently listened and tried to follow as I bounced between my million thought processes and findings that led me to my conclusion. I think we have conversations like this a lot. Me talking about one thing that was derived from a dozen little bunny trails. Andrew looking at me with a blank stare saying: “Wow, I don’t know how your brain works that much.”

He decided that he’d give up his late night snack. He said he loves to stick his hand into the candy jar right before he brushes his teeth. It’s not good for his teeth he decided.

Our conversation ended with me saying, “Ugh! 40 days. That’s how long it takes to form a habit! By the end of this you won’t want candy before bed and I will enjoy walking!”

We laughed.

And he said, “Ugh. Great. We’ll be greener and healthier people?!”

A New Venture

2010-02-16T18:32:00.000-05:00

I know that I struggle to post regularly as it is, but I’ve gone and added more to my plate:) Before I tell you what it is, I’ll tell you that I think this new addition will be enjoyable, not terribly time-consuming, and fun to look back on in a year. I’ve started another blog!

It’s sort of a Project 365 blog, but I’m going into it with the expectation that I won’t actually accomplish all 365 days.

You can read the first post here and then Days 1 through 31. I wasn’t able to post all of the days until yesterday, so unfortunately I’m forcing you to back track and read them in reverse order. Sorry! But now that I’m caught up it will be updated regularly:)

I hope you enjoy a little glimpse into our lives! We won’t always be exciting, but we’ll always be here!

Check it out!

Just What She Always Wanted!

2010-02-15T18:45:00.001-05:00

I realize this post is about 2 months late, but the point of it isn’t about Christmas. It’s updating you on our excitement from last week.
Andrew and I celebrated Christmas early since we spent Christmas in Illinois.
Here is Andrew patiently waiting for me:

We decided that since it was a pretty informal Christmas we'd just wrap everything with newspaper to be more green friendly:D We definitely got black ink everywhere!

I was very excited for the giant box! Check out the adorable bow Andrew made out of newspaper. I was so impressed with him.

Yep. I savored it. I don't know why I opened it so carefully. This is right before I opened the box and saw a gray metal top with hinges on one side. I totally thought he got me a filing cabinet for Christmas, which oddly, I was really okay with. In fact, I was pretty pumped to start organizing! I was only bummed that it wasn't black--We planned to have a black office so I wasn't sure why he had gotten me a gray filing cabinet. You know you're getting old when you're ~~excited about~~ completely fine with receiving a filing cabinet as a gift.

Well, before anyone starts thinking I married a total loser, I'll let you know it was not a filing cabinet at all. It was A MILK BOX. Yep, you read that right. A milk box. Munroe Dairy to be exact!

In Rhode Island we have access to multiple dairies that still do milk delivery. We log in online, choose our groceries for the week, and the milk man delivers them in the morning!! How cool is that? I have a milk man! (FYI he is actually a man so I’m not just being politically incorrect).
I am such a proud owner of this box. Into which the milk man places things like this:

Or local bread, cheese, butter, etc. I couldn't be more excited.
All of that to tell you that Andrew and I have a milk man. It only takes 24 to 36 hours to get the milk from the moo to you! So if you come visit and we feed you cereal for breakfast, know that it’s the freshest you can get:)
Also, this was part of the Christmas week I mentioned a few weeks ago. We had the most exciting week!
As I also previously mentioned, we’ve experienced the learning curve of getting back into a routine, settling back in at work, adjusting to marriage, unpacking, organizing (still no filing cabinet), etc. In this process, we decided to order our groceries online to have them delivered. Peapod is surprisingly affordable. 6-10 bucks flat delivery fee and they’ll get your groceries for you, bag them, and carry them up your stairs to the kitchen. Who wouldn’t pay that to avoid spending 2 hours at the grocery, loading and unloading the car, and then carrying them up flights of stairs?! So Monday night we were elated to have our groceries delivered! Elated partly because it was such a relief to not go, partly because we didn’t have to go out in the cold, and partly because we had probably been home for a few weeks without going grocery shopping yet! This was a great way to start the week.

Tuesday, day 2. Surprise! A KitchenAid waiting for us when we got home! Unbelievable.

Wednesday, Day 3. We awake to a little sprinkling of snow. Awesome. And as any little kid does on Christmas to see if Santa came, I peered out the window to look for footprints in the newly fallen snow. Yes!! Milk man came! It was our first delivery!!

Fresh milk, bread, cream, eggs, and apples. Ahh:)

Thursday, day 4. Our bedding arrived in the mail!

Friday, day 5. Surprise! A wedding gift was waiting for us when we got home from work. Such a cool picture. We love it!

Saturday, day 6. Some dishes we ordered to complete our set arrived from Macys.

That would conclude our excitement for the week. Most of the things were items we purchased for ourselves so I don’t intend for this to be a bragging post, but there is just something exciting about receiving mail/packages/surprises everyday.
PS I wanted to share a picture of my wrapping. For some reason, I found it hilarious to wrap with newspaper and tried to pick stories Andrew would like or pictures that would be funny.
Exhibit A. Ben Bernanke. He’s wearing a bow tie. I tied the bow right over it. Andrew laughed a lot. I was so proud of myself.

Wheew, that was long!
Sorry!
Love,

Slowly, but Surely

2010-02-03T12:39:00.006-05:00

I am experiencing a slow, re-introduction back into the real world, so forgive me for being MIA for so long.

I have much to say and many plans/hobbies/stories to share, but for now I'll leave you with some photos from our wedding:) Once we get unpacked, paint, the bed arrives, the bedding arrives, etc. I'll be back with lots to show and tell!

The wedding day went fairly smoothly--not without a couple of hitches, but overall nothing too traumatic. We enjoyed a week in Marco Island at an amazing resort and then took a mini road trip from Florida to Rhode Island with all of our new goodies and my college crap in tow:)

Here are some links to pictures our amazing photographer put up on his blog.
Part I
Part II

I'll be back soon! I can't wait to update you on our lives. And tell you about this week--I like to call it Christmas Week. I'll tell you more about it soon!!

Much love!
Mrs. Pierson;)

Almost Famous

2010-01-09T17:52:00.007-05:00

Yesterday at work I noticed a blog post on my Google Reader. It was from a wedding blog site called WeddingBee.com. The website features brides from all over the U.S. who document their wedding planning experience. It gives brides lots of good ideas for venues, vendors, decor, etc. I noticed the bride in this post was using the same photographer as Andrew and I. I always get excited when I see something I recognize in a post because that means the bride is somewhere on the West Coast of Florida and I love to see their opinions of the same venues/vendors that I also checked out. Then I noticed a picture of Andrew and I! We're basically famous! haha. Okay, not really. But we were pretty surprised and excited to see ourselves featured on someone's blog as inspiration for choosing their photographer!

I guess that means you'll be seeing our engagement shots. View at your own risk! They're pretty mushy. The photographer said, "when you don't know what to do, just kiss!" It's obvious from the pictures that Andrew and I didn't have a ton of ideas for poses;)

P.S. Can you tell that I'm really procrastinating on final details? I haven't posted in months and now I post 3 times in a week! :D It's the Thank You cards from showers. They are sitting in front of me, staring at me. I'm trying my hardest to ignore them, but I'm really running out of legitimate excuses!

Continually procrastinating,

Post-edit: It's 1:00 AM, but the Thank Yous are completed! All shower gifts and wedding gifts to-date have been written, addressed, and sealed. The envelopes are just waiting for a stamp and trip to the post office! Wow, it feels good!

Grocery List

2010-01-07T22:18:00.001-05:00

I am still away on my blogging hiatus (deep in the midst of wedding details), but I couldn't resist posting this DIY project from one of my favorite blogs: Design Sponge.

There are some great grocery list templates which seem so helpful and functional! You don't have to go all crafty and make a clip board, but print the lists, plan some meals, and make an organized grocery list!

New year, new you!

Enjoy:D

Life Gets Away.

2009-12-30T16:16:00.003-05:00

Between moving, holidays, and wedding planning, life has taken me by storm. I can't believe that I have been too busy to blog! October 31st? C'mon! That's unacceptable. Some people have begun to think that I gave up on them and the blogosphere. Others were concerned that my blog was broken or thought that their computer broke. Fortunately, none are true. Just don't give up on me because I haven't given up on you! I will be back in full force in a few weeks! Maybe a month, if I'm more realistic. Andrew has already instituted the Stress-free Spring and I'm excited. That will mean lots of reading, lots of adventures, lots of days trips, and lots of blogging!

I don't think I was prepared for the whirlwind that was to come! Since I last posted so much has happened. I've been to Florida and back. Attended a wedding. Seen old friends. Enjoyed bridal showers, one of which was the biggest surprise (story to come). Taken on new projects at work. Turned one year older! Completed pre-marital counseling. Andrew and I took a 25-hour Amtrak train from Providence to Chicago. We spent a week visiting with family. My mom flew in and surprised me. We've received fun new presents like a Flip on which I can make an apartment tour for the blog! We've flown back to Rhode Island. He's gone back to work. I've been sick in bed.

Lot's of exciting things to update you on.

But unfortunately they will have to wait a little longer. Right now I have to go work on the ceremony program. Then the list for the DJ. The job of a wedding planner never ends;)

Be back soon! I promise.

Quick Update

2009-10-31T18:05:00.004-04:00

No time to write but I wanted to update you and let you know that:

1) A lease was signed for a new apartment! Very exciting, but it was very unexpected and happened quickly. So this weekend is the final push for the big move.

And 2) Mouse poop. We have found mouse poop everywhere as we move things out. I would like to emphasize that this should not be interpreted as a reflection of my hygiene. There are just holes everywhere in this apartment. In cabinets, for heating pipes, under radiators, etc. That mouse (I like to tell myself it was only that ONE) was on my kitchen window sill, under my bed, in my spice drawer, everywhere. SO THANKFUL to be moving and to not know this until now. Yuck.

Okay, I have to go move some more boxes, but I'll be back soon!

Happy Halloween!!

Wicked Good Times

2009-10-23T23:29:00.001-04:00

Hello again! Sorry I've been gone. I'm drowning in wedding planning stress & guilt. Please don't read that as progress; it's more of that hanging-over-your-head sensation where you feel guilty and overwhelmed by all that needs to be done, but never really make any progress. Yeah. That's where we're at.

Last weekend we set out to book the honeymoon. Dis-aster. We had plans and lofty goals and then they were all trampled on by our little friend, reality. So we are getting married on Saturday evening and were planning to leave Sunday for our honeymoon to maximize our time at our destination and account for traveling back to New England. Our plans may or may not have involved a little trip to a country we like to call, Costa Rica. However, to make a long story short our hopeful plans were thwarted by such details as a two hour post-reception drive to Orlando, an early morning flight Sunday, a full day of traveling both there and back, a 24-hour drive from Florida to Rhode Island, a rental car, a 4-hr drive out of the way from Orlando to Tampa and back through Orlando, and packing said rental car in between. So we're back at square one. Actually, it's a little worse. No one's stressed at square one, you're just uncertain. We're uncertain and stressed. Blah.

On a happier note I plan to figure out bridesmaids dresses this weekend. Finalize. Yes, it's less than 3 months away and I still haven't made the decision, but it's difficult. I'm not wearing the dress, I don't have to buy the dress, my girls may not like the style, and I don't like to make decisions. All of this has equated to another big wedding failure on my part! Ugh.

Rehearsal dinner, now that may be solved this weekend as well. Andrew's mom is headed to Tampa tonight to spend the weekend checking out the church, reception site, possible rehearsal dinner venues, meet the future in-laws, etc.

What else? We have invitations. Maybe a future apartment which will be incredibly wonderful. Hopefully. I always hate to say that when I know I could be looking back at this blog in 9 months cringing at my naivety because it actually turned out to be a terrible, horrible nightmare. Like mice or noisy neighbors or the fruition of my irrational fear of gas heating blowing up the apartment. It happens more than you'd believe up here. At least one a day Andrew insists.

Well the real intention of this update was to inform you of the wicked fun we're going to have this fall courtesy of Andrew's new employment. That's right, his connection to the happenings in and around Pawtucket are wicked awesome. I can say wicked, I've lived in New England for over a year. One of these is a Fall Foliage Train ride. The train will take us through Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and Connecticut, stopping at a Fall Bazaar with antique shopping, crafts, food and fun! We're pretty pumped.

We're also really excited about the restaurant tours/cooking lessons. Restaurants all over the state (we're a small state, don't make fun) offer evenings where they teach you how to prepare a meal and then feed it to you! We can't wait.

Okay, that's it for now. If any pictures turn out tomorrow you'll be the first to see them!! Enjoy your weekend!

Missin' you. No really, I miss writing.

Recipe of the Week

2009-10-15T21:15:00.005-04:00

Meatball Casserole
from Taste of Home

2 Servings
Prep: 40 min. Bake: 20 min.

Ingredients:

3/4 cup uncooked penne pasta
2 tablespoons seasoned bread crumbs
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided
2 tablespoons egg substitute
1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/8 teaspoon onion powder
Dash salt
Dash garlic powder
1/4 pound lean ground turkey
3/4 cup marinara sauce or meatless spaghetti sauce
1/4 cup 2% cottage cheese
1/4 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

Directions:

Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine the bread crumbs, 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese, egg substitute, Italian seasoning, onion powder, salt and garlic powder. Crumble turkey over mixture and mix well.
Shape into 1/2-in. balls; place on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 9-11 minutes or until no longer pink.
Drain pasta and meatballs. In a small bowl, combine meatballs with marinara sauce. Spoon half of mixture into a 1-qt. baking dish coated with cooking spray. Top with half of the pasta, cottage cheese and mozzarella; sprinkle with 1 tablespoon Parmesan cheese. Repeat layers.
Cover and bake at 350° for 20-25 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Yield: 2 servings.

Nutrition Facts: 1 serving equals
453 calories
12 g fat (5 g saturated fat)
66 mg cholesterol
804 mg sodium
55 g carbohydrate
5 g fiber
30 g protein.

For shorter prep time purchase pre-made meatballs.

It's cold and it's fall so start breaking out those casserole recipes! They'll warm your bellies and your heart:D

Worst. Weekend. Ever.

2009-10-13T23:15:00.002-04:00

I was excited and prepared Friday to come home and write a nice happy post. Unfortunately, that has been postponed for a bit while I address more pressing issues, like traumatic life experiences.

After work on Friday Andrew and I had an appointment to check out an apartment. We viewed an incredibly awesome loft apartment (if I can persuade you, maybe you can persuade Andrew) and then walked back to my apartment to make dinner before heading out for our marriage study.

We were pretty hungry so Andrew walked straight into the kitchen while I put my jacket on the coat rack. We were not in my apartment for more than 15 seconds when Andrew shouts and leaps back.

"Oh boy," I thought, "not another one of those creepy-hairy-crawly things again." He had just killed one of those a week ago, but didn't react like that.

As if he's just seen a ghost he turns to me and says, "A mouse just ran across your counter." I think I stopped breathing at this point and was near fainting. De ja vu of last year's mouse fiasco.

I had heard voices in my neighbor's apartment as we walked up the stairs a few minutes earlier so I promptly recruited help. My downstairs neighbor was in the upstairs apartment so they both came to our rescue. They both non-nonchalantly said, "Yea, that mouse ran across both our counters this week too."

Um, What?! That is NOT okay!

1. Mice should not be running around rampant inside our apartments.

2. If mice do happen to romp around inside they should NOT be on the counter! They live in little holes in base boards and wander around the FLOOR! How do they get onto counters?

One neighbor said, "I have traps downstairs. Let's just take care of this." The other neighbor said, "There are humane traps you know. I'm outta here." And just like that, he left.

Andrew and the neighbor spent the next five minutes trying to figure out how to set the traps. Then they put peanut butter on them. "Peanut butter? I thought you were supposed to put cheese out for them," I said (obviously educated by cartoons). While they talked about their strategy for placing the traps that little rodent ran across the counter again. Again!! Ugh. Without getting to eat dinner Andrew and I dashed out to our study hoping for the best.

I could barely concentrate at the study. Between dreaming about future apartment possibilities and panicking about the thoughts of a mouse in my apartment, I was useless. And to top it off we shared mouse stories at the end, including ones about mice chewing off their legs to get out of the trap. Needless to say, we arrived back to my apartment with a plethora of situations to return to. Dead mouse. Mouse feet in the trap. A mouse hobbling around with a trap on it's leg. You name it, I was anticipating it. What I didn't anticipate was what actually happened. We returned 3 hours later and I waited in the car while Andrew went in to remove the dead mouse. Andrew walked upstairs and reappeared a few minutes later. But instead of going to the trash can he walked towards my car and says, "No mouse."

Great. I walked into my apartment, uncomfortable in my own haven. I stood on a chair while Andrew removed items on the counter one by one to look for the mouse. Why does this seem necessary? As foolish as it felt, standing on the chair just made me feel safer.

Saturday Andrew checked the trap. "Um..." he said, while staring in the corner with a flashlight.

"Um, what?!" I shrieked back.

"Um, worst possible scenario. The trap is gone."

"Um, what?! Where is the trap?!"

"Don't know."

I start having visions of a mouse that got snapped in the trap and is hobbling around trying to get through a crack with a big piece of wood following behind. Andrew moves a dresser and sees the trap underneath. He slowly moves the dresser to reveal the trap in its entirety. Entirely empty! The mouse ate all the peanut butter and got away!

"We just fed a mouse!" I yelled. "We just fed him and let him get away!"

Round two. Andrew decides that we'll put less peanut butter on the trap and we'll put it back out. We proceed to spend the rest of the day Saturday around the apartment making phone calls, emailing people, working on wedding details, etc. Mind you, in my studio we were never more than 8 feet from the trap. About 7:30PM Andrew decides to check the trap again. He'd been peaking throughout the day for a mouse near the trap and nothing. In fact, there are two traps. One on the counter behind the microwave where he was hiding last night. He checked both throughout the day.

Trap behind the microwave: Untouched. Trap on the floor 8 feet from Andrew: licked clean. Twice now, we've fed the mouse and let him get away!! Third time is a charm, right? Wrong! Sunday check-up. Clean. Not an trace of peanut butter and he got away. Obviously those traps were useless.

I happened to run into my neighbor in the parking lot and asked if they caught the mouse or if their traps were being licked clean as well. "No, our traps are out and untouched, he assured me. Before I could even walk back up stairs he emerged and said, "Scratch that. We've been robbed." At this point it was not as much of a surprise and almost funny. We'd all been duped by a mouse!

I went out Sunday afternoon and bought new package of traps. A different type of trap. One that assured victory. We set them out and to my disappointed they weren't touched at all Sunday night. It turns out the neighbors downstairs finally caught him on their kitchen counter Sunday evening.

A sad ending compensated only by that fact that the mouse had to have eaten twice his weight in peanut butter those last two days. RIP little guy.

PS The traps are still out in case he had any siblings or offspring. I'm sure you'll hear about it if he did.

This year it's MY fault

2009-10-02T12:37:00.005-04:00

It's definitely fall.

It's so crisp out. Morning. Day. Night. I turned the heat on in my car for the first time last night. It smelled like winter. I can't believe fall is here already and winter is just around the corner. In fact, fall has already peaked in some places! Wow.

Oh, and my apartment is freezing. Now I remember why I spend so much of the winter months under my down comforter, with my computer on my lap, and just my little fingers sticking out. It's pretty much impossible to do anything that requires exposing appendages to the frigid air, which eliminates basically everything except watching the tv burrito-style and washing dishes in hot water. And who wants to do that 24-7?

Well, unfortunately, this year, it's my fault that I'm so cold. My landlord converted the building's heat from oil that he paid for to gas that individual tenants pay for. Simple enough, right? Wrong. You've probably learned by now that nothing is simple with me 0:)

Well, since Andrew is now employed there is a little glimmer of hope that the January wedding will bring with it a sparkling, new, spacious apartment instead of cramming in my little studio. The only problem is that I will have to sublet my apartment. Well, as dreamers do, we starting searching around a little on Craigslist and some other cool mapping websites that utilize Craigslist data. I'm such a mapper, aren't I? Even at home I can't quit mapping. As could be expected we found one we liked. Then another. Then another. Unfortunately, they're all available now. Hmmmm...no predicament is too big to overcome! Maybe I'll just move now.

We thought we'd test the waters to see how easy or arduous it would be to sublet my apartment so that we were prepared. Always planning, aren't we? As much as people want to deny it, Providence is basically a college town, so renting at the start of a semester is ideal. But if I could sublet sooner...I'd just move into the new apartment sooner:) Well, we didn't realize the hot ticket we were sitting on. We had over a dozen responses of people interested in subletting the little studio! BUT I don't have anywhere to go and people want to move in ASAP. Talk about unnecessary stress to add to my life.

For now we're showing the studio and making regular appointments to check out other places as well. We haven't found anything perfect yet, but we know we'll probably have to compromise on a few things. For example, one apartment had a great kitchen, dining room, location, and washer and dryer, but not great bedrooms and a tiny, unattractive bathroom. Another had a great bathroom, great kitchen, but no closet space, tiny bedrooms, and a worse location. For now, we're still looking. There is always the option to hold out, save money, and hope for the pieces to fall into place in January. It's quite the juggle trying to get someone into your apartment and get into another one at exactly the same time! Wheew.

Anyway, all that to say, I've yet to set up a gas account in case I don't stay here too much longer. But at the same time, we've only looked at two apartments and neither were ideal. We'll see. In the mean time I'll keep my whining about freezing indoor temperatures to a minimum since it is my own fault. In fact, I'll probably brag this weekend about making my first fire of the season. I might even take a Christmas-card style picture of me sitting in front of it, in an ugly sweater, sipping hot cocoa. But don't get your hopes up.

I'll also keep you updated on the apartment hunt. The goal will be an apartment with decent size rooms (2--one for a guest bedroom. It'll have your name on it:)), an acceptable bathroom, and a better than average kitchen. A washer and dryer would be icing on the cake:D

That's it for now. Take care and stay warm!

Chillin' (literally),

Today's THE Day!!

2009-09-30T12:30:00.004-04:00

Everybody stop what you're doing! Get ready to stand up and shout!

Andrew got a job!! It's true!! He made it through two rounds of interviews, surpassed all the other applicants, and was offered a position! He accepted the job and started TO-DAY!!

Okay, stop yelling and jumping and check out the website of Andrew's new employer.

Note: Whatever you do, do NOT click "Skip Intro", you will miss the harmonious, glorious, phenomenal song and be directed to more important, but less entertaining information.

(Turn your volume on). This is our new favorite song! We love it. It's music to our ears. Warmth in our hearts. And yes, it's money in the bank! I think my favorite musical genre is "Mens A Capella." Is that allowed? Cause I'm serious. (Remember this A Capella obsession?)

There are actually two organizations he'll be working for in Pawtucket, referred to by locals as, The Bucket. One is at the tourism council and the other is a community development corporation (CDC). He's not doing architecture per se, but he is at least using one of his two master's degrees, urban planning.

He'll be working to improve the neighborhoods, create safe affordable housing, revitalize the community, and promote economic development and tourism. It will be a great experience for Andrew and introduce him to lots of people. If you need to find Andrew over the next 10 months he'll be busy making the Bucket more walkable, attractive, and safe.

That's about all I know for now, I'll keep you updated as he figures out what his job entails. Maybe I'll even dedicate a week to highlighting great aspects of Pawtucket. I'll call it something like "The Best Kept Secrets of the Bucket." [Que Blackstone Valley quartet again.]

In the meantime, basically picture us doing...

A lot of this:

A little of this:

Some of this:

Lots of this:

A little more of this:

All the time. This:

And if we want to take a little jog down memory lane we'll remember this from last year. Some call it The Adventure of the Century, we simply call it, Fate.

This is Pawtucket, my friends. This is Andrew proudly embracing Pawtucket one year ago.

Thankful for the Bucket,

Recipe of the Week

2009-09-24T12:19:00.000-04:00

Chili (Taco Soup)

Ingredients

1 28 oz can diced tomatoes
1 can pinto beans
1 can black beans
1 can kidney beans
2 cups frozen corn
1 pkg taco seasoning
1 pkg ranch dressing
1 lb ground beef (ground turkey)
2 cups rice
Chicken bouillon to taste (2 tablespoons)
Tortilla chips

Directions

Brown beef/turkey.
Stir beans, corn, beef/turkey, taco seasoning, and ranch together in a large pot.
Simmer 20 minutes or until thoroughly warmed.
Cook rice and bouillon as directed.
Pour chili over some rice in a bowl. Eat with tortilla chips (and a spoon when necessary).
Feel free to sprinkle cheese or sour cream on top.

It's one of my favorite dishes! Enjoy!

The End.

2009-09-23T22:16:00.001-04:00

Amidst our usual dinner chatter Andrew and I discussed our days, talked about the crazy people he encountered on the bus, refined items for our registry, and shared in our dislike for endings. I had been thinking yesterday morning about how much I hate when things end. And Andrew had mentioned at dinner that he was coming to terms with the end of his youth with all this wedding planning. We then went on a depressing tirade about all the endings that we hate. I'm not sure at what point it sounded like a good idea to make a post out of it, but I plan to redeem it by promptly posting tomorrow so you don't have to see this everyday for the next two weeks as you check my blog for an update:) You can thank me later.

I don't like that time at the end of the day between 7:30 and bed time. It's as if night just haunts me and lies to me and makes me feel as though I'm already out of time to keep me from being productive with the numerous hours I actually have left.

Sometimes I hate the end of a good book or a good movie. If it's good, I never want it to end. Especially when it's anticlimactic. I walk around feeling like there is something missing. Something unfinished. Incomplete.

Or there is the disdain for the end of life. I don't know if I will ever be able to accept death. It's so permanent and sad. That's the worst ending of them all.

There's the end of relationships--simple friendships or romantic ones. Sometimes it's an obvious, abrupt end. Other times a few weeks passed, then months, then years, and then at some point you realize that it's over. You are not friends anymore. And that's strange.

Then there's the end of life chapters. That's what I'm really disliking now. Putting everything into a mental box with a label, "Childhood," "High School," "College," "London," "Grad School," "Illinois," etc. It's silly really because let's face it, they've been over for a while. I haven't stepped onto the high school football field to cheer in seven years, but everything happened so slowly that it took me a long time to realize it's over. My next role in that type of setting will be as a parent.

There's the obvious, and much lighter: end of the weekend. No one likes to say goodbye to the days and nights of relaxing, socializing, and dreaming.

And what about the end of plant life? Flora, if you will. No one likes to see their bouquet of flowers wither and die. It always happens sooner than you'd like or expect.

Then there's the one most currently despised. Andrew's villain. The end of summer. Fall. The Sunday evening pit in his stomach when he realizes it's 4:30pm, pitch black out, and time for a new week to start. It's cram time. Squeeze in anything you didn't get to do yet. Fun is over. o-v-e-r.

The funniest thing about this fall-induced pity party is that I love change. Right after I thought about all the types of endings I hate, I remembered how much I love change. How is that? It seems paradoxical. Change is inevitably the ending of one thing and the starting of another, but I love it. I love it's newness, it's excitement, it's freedom from boredom. My only guess is that change can come in slowly so that I hardly realize one thing is ending and another is beginning. I guess that's why we get along so well--change and I. It dupes me.

So in honor of this week's big official ending--summer--and the start of his wonderful brother, the favorite child--fall--I'll be posting my favorite chili recipe tomorrow! It promises to keep you warm on a chilly, dark, fall evening!

Go embrace change. Maybe even an ending or two.

Pruning, Nurturing, & Enjoying

2009-09-17T12:12:00.006-04:00

Andrew gardens at the summer cottage of a family who lives in Syracuse, NY.

He worked in landscaping for many summers in high school and college and has the knack for gardening. His mom gardens too and she taught him a lot. He's handy--he knows what to do and how to do it, but he didn't really want to revert back to his high school summer job. And who can blame him?

When the economy turned sour last year right before he was about to graduate early from grad school, he made lemonade with life's lemons. Determined to stay busy and productive while he waited to find a job, he began landscaping. He mows an elderly lady's lawn, gardens in Portsmouth, and even works on a millionaire's yard sometimes! [We think that is so cool]. He is such a disciplined person and a really hard worker--maybe it'll rub off on me someday. I'm proud of his motivation, determination, skill, and accomplishments. I'm a little jealous of his sun-kissed skin, lean muscle mass, and endless hours of pondering life while working in a garden. And I'm thankful for the perks he's gotten us:D

The owners of the Cottage by the Bay (I just named their house-it seems fitting) visit a few times in the spring and then spend the entire month of August at the cottage. On their visit in May they invited us over to meet us in person. Okay, let's be honest, I tagged along. They wanted to meet the gardener, Andrew.

Miss Helpful planting impatiens at the cottage:

The family visited again in July and they invited us back for a 4th of July party where they praised Andrew for his hard work, green thumb, and horticultural achievements in the garden. They also fed us the most incredible food--wild grilled salmon, delectable steaks (and I don't even like steak), amazing homemade salsa, and fancy wine. [Note: the wine probably wasn't even that fancy, but they taught us about sniffing and wafting and tasting and aerating and savoring and that felt pretty fancy.] We learned to play Bocce ball, ate way too much food, and enjoyed a wonderful evening of conversation.

Before they headed back to New York for the winter, they invited us to a final hurrah party in August. It was such a fun and relaxing evening hanging out in the garden and listening to "real adults" (we don't count yet) talk about fine wines, fancy foods, traveling, and other interesting facts. They all have such incredible stories. We all do. One lady was from England, another from France, a few were professors at Harvard or other nearby universities, one gentleman brought his French horn with him and played it for us after dinner. It seemed surreal; almost like a movie or Europe, at the very least. People in America rarely sit around after dinner, in a garden, listening to someone play the horn, and relax. If for only one night, life was slow-paced and allowed to linger.

Our evenings at the Cottage on the Bay proved to be some of our summer highlights. I don't have much more of a story than that, but maybe that is the story. Maybe the story is not a funny moment or a harrowing event, but simply remembering that it's the simple, ordinary things in life that are life. That make up our stories; our life story. The food. The conversations. The gentle glances. The subtle laughter. The relationships. The thousands of little blessings each day. The small moments that often go overlooked are actually the memories. These are the things to file in your vault. And that should be enough.

And if that's not enough, maybe this is: A hibiscus the size of your head. The culmination of working hard and playing hard--pruning in spring, nurturing it throughout the summer, a little water, a little sun, and sit back and watch it blossom. Not even growing up in Florida have I seen a hibiscus so large! Beautiful. Absolutely beautiful.

Stopping to smell the hibiscus,

We All Forget Things Sometimes

2009-09-12T15:32:00.002-04:00

I received a text yesterday from my favorite dramatic counterpart. We like to exaggerate and be extra dramatic with each other sometimes. It just makes for a little added excitement or at the least, provides ammunition to tease each other.

"Arm...so...tired. Still...no...peaks. Not...gonna...make...it." the text read. I paused, "Huh? What is he talking about?" Then I realized that he was making the whipped cream frosting for a cake for that evening's potluck, by hand.

[Light bulb] "Wait!" I chuckled and immediately responded: "Hand. Mixer. Use it or lose it, baby."

Now I realize that six months ago this would have been completely acceptable behavior. However, we made a trip to Target specifically to find a cheap temporary hand mixer just for this type of use.

No response.

He assures me that he remembered about the hand mixer the whole time, but I have my doubts ;)

In his defense, we are all forgetful sometimes. For instance, I like to send myself email reminders throughout the day of things to do or read later in the evening when I get off of work. Somehow, in the 3 seconds delay between hitting send from one email account and seeing the little Gmail envelope pop up on my browser window I forget that I emailed myself. That's right. My short-term memory is not so good, apparently. A little piece of my heart gets excited and then promptly dies when I feel the shame of realizing that I emailed myself. Sometimes I forget things too.

Sunflower Festival

2009-09-09T23:14:00.001-04:00

Where does the time go? Honestly. I'm not sure how it happens. In fact, I'm not sure what happens. I finish work around 5pm. I never manage to get in bed before midnight, yet somehow, somehow, the evenings fly by and I get nothing accomplished that I wanted to. Such as blogging. Well, without further excuses: the sunflower post. Better late than never, right?!

As I had previously mentioned (over a month ago--so sorry!), Andrew and I embarked on an adventure to Griswold, Connecticut to visit the sunflower festival. I had never seen a sunflower field in person and Andrew loves all things sunflower.

Also, I should mention that I absolutely love photography. Andrew enjoys it too. For Christmas last year he got me an advanced digital camera. It's still a point and shoot, but it has some manual features available too. We thought it would be a good stepping stone to prepare for getting an SLR someday. So before we went to the sunflower festival we studied all day to learn about camera settings. We even quizzed each other.

"Okay. So imagine that there isn't much light and the objects aren't in motion, what would you do?" I inquired. "Well, we'd want to slow down the shutter speed and lower the ISO," he responded. "Okay, good. Now tell me what happens if you increase the aperture..."

You get the drift--two nerdy kids who like to learn, want to understand photography, and are not ashamed to act like they're back in high school and doing some last minute cramming before a pop quiz. We were loving it. We had high hopes of refining our photography skills and thought the sunflower field would be the perfect laboratory. We even searched how to use aperture on our quest to capture the elusive "bokeh". Or some other amazing photograph.

Here are some of the sites we studied from:
MckMama's Tutorial
The Pioneer Woman's Tips
A little help from Lolli

We don't mess around. We're talking studied! We didn't get the dream shot we were hoping for, or really anything that amazing, but as they say, "Rome was not built in a day." However, we did enjoy an incredibly scenic drive through western Rhode Island and a little of Connecticut, we saw acres of sunflowers, went on a hay ride past pigs and free range grass fed cows, we supported the Make-A-Wish Foundation, we played with the camera, and we ate locally made ice cream! What more could you ask for?

Here is our day in pictures:

Dressed for a hayride, obviously.

Adorable Calves and Cows

Feeding the Bovine

Sunflowers As Big As Your Head

Acres and Acres of Sunflowers

So excited to see the sunflowers, even if they were end-of-the-season-wilty. Look at those pitiful things. It's like they knew they were about to be ground up for cattle feed.

Farm Fresh Ice Cream

Farm Fresh Consumer

City Girl Lovin' The Farm

That's all for now. I promise not to be gone so long next time! I promise.

Food, Inc.

2009-08-24T22:15:00.001-04:00

Andrew and I saw the most interesting movie last week. I noticed when I was walking past a local theater that there was a movie showing called Food, Inc. I watched the trailer when I got home and I had to see it.

We love to cook, we're kind of foodies, we're interested in environmental issues, we like animals, we eat meat, etc. This was basically the perfect movie for us, sorta. When you leave you want to become a vegan, which means I thought of my sweet friend Caroline the entire time I was there. It took everything in me (mostly a dark theater and strangers sitting close by) not to text her every five minutes about the movie. But I also knew that if she hadn't seen/heard of the movie, she'd probably think I was just crazy.

Did I mention that we saw this documentary at a local movie theater/coffee shop called Cable Car Cinema? It's a really cute little place with coffee, sandwiches, an old fashion popcorn machine, ice cream and a one screen theater in the back! AND the theater is comprised of all leather couches and fancy reclining theater chairs! We love it. It's so unique. So local.

The movie was very interesting. It related to issues I deal with at work with the Department of Health, socio-economic issues such as "why can people get more for their money by purchasing a burger and fries off the dollar menu, than fruits or vegetables?", and it related to me as a consumer and citizen.

It addresses various food issues in the US including meat packing factories, the abundant usage of corn by-products, "intellectual" ownership over food sources, etc. The movie really caused us to stop and think about where our food comes from. We have no idea. We rarely stop to think about what the animals ate, where the plants grew, what's actually in season, etc. The movie totally grossed us out at times and deeply saddened us at others. But as much as we enjoyed the thought-provoking film we are keenly aware that we only saw one side of the issue. We're eager to learn more about what the other side (big producers, large companies, etc.) would say as well. Nevertheless, we enjoyed a little glimpse into the US food industry.

I would definitely recommend checking it out. Although it was a documentary, there were some "characters" that we fell in love with. Two farmer's in particular. It's not playing everywhere, but it is playing all over the US. Check out the list to see if it's playing near you:)

Eat up! Wait. Check the label first, then, eat up:D

Recipe of the Week

2009-08-19T18:32:00.004-04:00

Recipe of the Week: Cheese Tortellini with Tomatoes and Corn

A nice light dish for a hot summer evening!

Ingredients:

1 package (9 oz) refrigerated cheese tortellini
1 package (16 oz) frozen corn, thawed or 3-1/3 cups fresh corn
2 cups cherry tomatoes, quartered
1/4 cup thinly sliced green onions
1/4 cup minced fresh basil
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
4 teaspoons olive oil
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon pepper

Directions:
Cook tortellini according to package directions, adding the corn during the last 5 minutes of cooking. Drain and rinse in cold water.

In a large serving bowl, combine tortellini mixture and remaining ingredients; toss to coat.

Yield: 4 servings.

Nutrition Facts

One serving: 1-3/4 cups
Calories: 366
Fat: 12 g
Saturated Fat: 4 g
Cholesterol: 30 mg
Sodium: 286 mg
Carbohydrate: 57 g
Fiber: 5 g
Protein: 14 g

Enjoy!

A Dangerous Good Time

2009-08-17T22:22:00.005-04:00

Yesterday's church bulletin announced that people would be heading to the beach in the evening to grill out and all were encouraged to join. Since we've had a pretty cold summer, I have yet to make my first appearance at the beach. What? A Florida girl who hasn't been to the beach by August?! I decided that I really wanted to go, but there were a few errands/chores to do in the mean time. One of these was working out.

I've been a total slacker in the "get fit for the big day" department and I had no excuse to not work out yesterday. We planned to head to the gym, but I threw an audible at the last minute with an ingenious plan: "Why don't I go rollerblading? In fact, you could sit in the park and read and I'll rollerblade around on the trail and sidewalk!" This was a brilliant plan, obviously. Andrew would be able to rest and do no physical activity while I get exercise. FYI: He's working too hard landscaping and is getting ubber toned and lean. So an opportunity for me to work out and him not to is the perfect medicine (just like my plan called Andrew Eat's A Snack/Mini Dinner Before I Get Home From Work So He Can Consume Enough Calories).

Seemed like the perfect idea. In fact the park is probably less than a mile from my apartment so I said, "Let's not drive." Well Genius (me), decides that I don't want to get my socks dirty so I put my roller blades on inside [upstairs]. Andrew had to help me down the interior and exterior stairs only for me to realize that the slope of my street is basically a black diamond to roller blades. Let's not be dramatic, I don't live in San Francisco, but yesterday, it might as well have been! After a good chuckle, some white knuckles, and a death gripe on Andrew's shoulders I said, "You might want to run upstairs and grab my shoes and car keys. We should probably drive."

At this point, Andrew is slightly concerned, but still confident. I'd expect nothing less, you know? I had told him numerous times about how I roller bladed in undergrad through Winter Park on the Cady Way Trail. And that I even roller bladed in grad school in Meadowbrook Park in Urbana numerous times. Well a few things escaped me. 1) We're not in Kansas anymore 2) I'm not as young as I used to be.

We made it safely to the park (via automobile), I got all laced up and then I was "off." Sort of. What looks "flat" on foot is not actually flat when rolling on 8 wheels! Warming up looked more like learning to skate for the first time. It was pa-thetic! I looked like a kid on Christmas trying their skates out for the first time, still trying to get that whole balance thing down. Andrew found a nice bench to sit on with his book and said, "Skate around. I'll be watching you."

"Awesome," I thought, and skated away. About 20 seconds into my "workout" I was skating on the trail, up a little incline and realized I was about to go down at a dangerously high speed. I had no idea how steep it would be or how much difficulty I would have stopping. I diverted into the grass and thought it would absorb nicely like a sand pit (it didn't) and I'd make a crash landing (I did). I looked up and saw Andrew sprinting towards me. He couldn't tell that I was laughing and proceeded to sprint the length of the park to check on me. So much for him not exercising. The park continued to be "hilly" and an utter disaster of a trip. I'll spare you the details, but let's just say it involved many panicked detours into the grass, shoulder grabbing saves, and hand-holding down ramps while clutching on the the hand rails. Needless to say, I won't be planning rollerblading as a primary form of exercise in this state. In fact, I was pretty certain that the day would end ugly; with a scraped up Kim sporting scabs or bruises for the engagement shoot in Chicago! Classy.

All in all, it ended well. Except for Andrew. His relaxing day in the park turned into a multi-mile trek with the additional weight of roly-poly-fiance leaning and pulling on him for safety.

Post-edit: I am okay. I actually didn't fall "accidentally" once! Intentionally, yes, but unintended, no:D

Another Weekend, Another Trip

2009-08-06T12:56:00.001-04:00

I hate to put up yet another post about how I've failed again to catch up on my blog and that I'm going out of town again, but it's true. Andrew has a cousin getting married this weekend in Illinois, so we are off to the Midwest!

We are pretty excited about the trip. Andrew hasn't been home in a while, we haven't seen his family since getting engaged and I'm always excited to get a little break from work! Monday is a "holiday," you know. I always feel a little strange telling people, especially Japanese friends like Emy, that I'm off for Victory Day--the day Japan surrendered in WWII. Only two states still celebrate it as an official holiday, Rhode Island and Hawaii; go figure.

On a happier note, things I'm excited about: I get to... make a pit stop in Chicago (on State Street, that great street...). Ride the El. See Emy. Eat deep dish pizza. Raid Andrew's storage unit for lost items. Go out for Indian food. Get dressed up for a wedding. Dance. Laugh. Relax. Sleep. See the new fam. Watch cable (hopefully the Planet Green channel or some other home renovation type). Eat yummy homemade food. Listen to grandparent stories. Talk about wedding planning. And most of all, I get to be on vacation.

I'm also hoping to catch a few rays of sunshine at the pool this weekend. I would love nothing more than a few hours on a lounge chair, a little water on my toes, a frozen drink, and a good book (probably on my iPod 'cause I'm lazy like that). We'll see if the weather and the plans cooperate:) Mostly, I'm just excited for a break from work and a little social interaction with family.

Well, with that being said, my lunch break is winding to an end and I'll be signing off for a few days. I'm overwhelmed by the stories and randomness I want to share with you, but haven't found the time to!! Someday. Until then, I'll leave you in eager anticipation of the sunflower post that I'm looking forward to writing.

Lovin' Pandora,

It's Been A Year

2009-08-04T12:14:00.001-04:00

It's hard to believe, but I've been in New England for over a year! I've survived the transition from school to work, a year in the real world, and even another cold winter. This also means I've seen all 4 seasons come full circle in Rhode Island!

I was so captivated by the view of my daily walk to work that I took a picture when I first moved here to show family and friends back home how beautiful downcity is. Then, as I stood in awe of the changing seasons, I snapped a few more. So, here is a little taste of the beauty I enjoyed over the past year:

Much love from the pretty city, in the tiniest state,

Work 'Picnic'

2009-07-31T20:40:00.001-04:00

I had to work late last week, but I was getting hungry and cranky so Sweet Andrew packed us a dinner of leftovers and walked them to my office:) I was pretty excited and thankful, not to mention I was able to finish my work!!

Isn't he great?

Did I mention that when I flew home a few weeks ago to Florida we had a bit of a bus mishap and I had to drive to the airport at the last minute and park my car there? And that Andrew took the bus to the airport to meet me when I landed? Well, it's true. He took the last Sunday night bus, which leaves downtown at about 7:30 pm, to wait for me to get in on my 10:30 flight. Yep, he's great. It was a super fun surprise! :D

PS Tomorrow is the big day!! The big sunflower day:) We're hoping for good weather!!

Recipe of the Week

2009-07-28T08:51:00.000-04:00

Recipe of the Week + 4th of July Recap

For a 4th of July party at a home where Andrew gardens we made Cherry Berries on A Cloud--4th of July style, of course.

It's a dessert you definitely have to prepare for--it has to sit overnight.

Prep: 20 min.
Chilling: 12 hours
Bake: 1 hour + cooling

Ingredients:

MERINGUE:

6 egg whites
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1-3/4 cups sugar

FILLING:

2 packages (3 ounces each) cream cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups heavy whipping cream, whipped
2 cups miniature marshmallows

TOPPING:

1 can (21 ounces) cherry pie filling
2 cups sliced fresh strawberries
1 teaspoon lemon juice
(We added blueberries to make the flag)

Directions:
Place egg whites in a large bowl; let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Add cream of tartar and salt; beat until foamy. Gradually add sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating on high until stiff peaks form (do not under beat). Spread evenly in a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking pan. Bake at 275° for 1 hour; turn off oven (do not open door). Let cool in oven overnight or at least 12 hours.

In another large bowl, beat the cream cheese, sugar and vanilla until smooth; gently fold in whipped cream and marshmallows. Spread over meringue. Chill for 4 hours. Cut into 16 pieces. Combine topping ingredients; spoon 1/4 cup over each serving.

Yield: 16 servings.

Bake it up and enjoy!! It's amazing!

Stoked About Sunflowers

2009-07-26T20:09:00.004-04:00

So I've gotten quite into this blogging thing. Unfortunately for you, I fallen in love with reading blogs, instead of writing them. I'll work on that. I really miss you, I do.

Since it's been a while, here's the latest:

We've decided on a reception site and date; January 16, 2010.
We're doing engagement photos in downtown Chicago on September 6th with an amazing photographer while we're in town for Andrew's cousin's wedding. (Double apostrophes...can you do that? Oh, well.) So stoked!
I have a beautiful wedding dress to wear. Stoked again.
I went to Restaurant Week 3 times. Yep, that's right. Three. It was amazingly overfilling. I mean, who gets an appetizer, entree, and dessert for lunch usually? No one! Well, I did, three times this week:)

I went to a restaurant called CAV with some co-workers. Great food, delightful atmosphere. Loved it. They have all these antiques in the restaurant for sale, but mostly for decoration. I can't wait to take my future mother-in-law there--she loves antiques.
I went with a friend from church to a cute little French place called Pot Au Feu--great atmosphere, decent food. I think we got the "Restaurant Week" treatment (opposite of VIP treatment), so I'm willing to try it again in the future with the expectation that it will be amazing. Sometimes the service isn't quite the same since they know you're only coming because you get great food for cheap.
Lastly, Andrew and I went out for Mexican (our favorite) in the Italian district at a place called Don Jose Tequilas. One word: Amazing. Some of the best Mexican food I've ever had. He says the food in Cabo is still better, I say, "Prove it." :D

Also, the last thing I'm stoked about is: sunflowers. Andrew loves sunflowers anytime and all the time so I'm always on the look out for them. I have a friend who's family has a sunflower festival in Georgia, but well it's in Georgia and we're not. So, when I was reading a blog that I found on another blog (this is how I get hooked on blogs) I saw pictures from a field of sunflowers. I thought, "Yes! Please let this lady live in New England." So after I spent about 20 minutes trying to figure out where she lives I discovered that it was Arkansas, which was not going to work. But determined, I started my google searches: "sunflower fields New England"..."sunflower fields Massachusetts"..."sunflower fields Connecticut"...BINGO!! Less than an hour from my apartment is this precious gem: Buttonwood Farm. Sunflowers for Wishes, Griswold, Connecticut. Not only is it a sunflower field, but it's for a good cause: The Make-A-Wish Foundation. And as if that wasn't enough, they have hayrides, famous ice cream, and for $5.00 you get a bouquet of sunflowers!! It's a one week event from July 18-26, 2009, that was extended one week through next weekend so we can actually go and see it!! How amazing!! We are so stoked to make a day trip out there. Hopefully we'll bring you back some beautiful pics! :)

Alright, I must go. We're off to watch #95 of The Top 100 Movies!

Restaurant Week? Yes, Please!

2009-07-20T08:45:00.000-04:00

I know Providence may not be the most rockin' town on the planet, but sometimes it's just pretty great. For example: Restaurant Week-- 3-course lunch for 13 bucks or a 3-course dinner for $30!

I'm pretty pumped about getting lunch with my co-workers today and a friend from church tomorrow. I'm not gonna lie, I don't want to leave Andrew out of the mix so I'll probably eat 3 lunches out this week! Totally not in my budget or in my wedding-preparation food regimen, but oh well, you only live once:D

Happy eating! Come visit;)
http://www.goprovidence.com/RestaurantWeek/

PS I have not forgotten a weekend recap. You will get a little run-down after I decompress a bit. 10 reception sites in 2 days + a bridal show = a tiring whirlwind of a weekend!

A Quick Trip

2009-07-16T21:59:00.002-04:00

I'm heading home for the weekend to check out some reception sites and churches, discuss plans with the family, etc. Wish me luck!!

Be back soon!

Andrew, My Hero

2009-07-10T17:46:00.000-04:00

So it's been pretty hectic the past few weeks. As you can imagine, adding "Plan your dream wedding" to an already full To Do list is quite a task. Between juggling work projects, saving a little leisure time, hanging out with friends, baking goodies for 4th of July parties, and squeezing in a wedding movie or two (Father of the Bride and Bride Wars), life has been a bit busier lately. So the icing on my little frazzled cake occurred yesterday.

I was walking to my car after work, ready to get home, relax, look at more reception locations, and indulge in Taco night! To expedite the process I thought I would pull out my keys and parking card, so that I would be fully prepared to exit the parking lot. I get to my car, throw everything on the passenger seat, and head toward the gate. Where is my parking card? I check the cup holder (the usual culprit), nope. I check the pocket in my purse that it lives in (the second culprit), nothing. So I reverse back from the gate to check under my seat--obviously it had fallen between the seat and the console. Not there folks. So now I'm completely confused, frustrated, and hopeless. [Super dramatic, I know]. I push the seat forward, I push it back. I check under the floor mats. I check under the passenger's seat. I retrace my steps. NOTHING. Finally, I do what any wise woman would do, I call my man for help.

"Hi Andrew," I explain in panic. "I just had my parking card in my hand, I got in my car, and now I can't find it anywhere! I don't know where it went!"

Hearing the irrational stress and unnecessary panic in my voice he says, "Okay, calm down, I'll come help you." My fiance sprints to the parking lot arriving winded, but ready to help. Together we continue the process of moving seats and mats and retracing steps and checking pockets...we do it all. Then, sweet little ole me checks the purse, again, this time lifting it to my lap and unveiling the itty, bitty parking card that was hidden under my giant carpet bag purse.

"Oops," I said in a cute little voice, as I batted my eyes with added exaggeration hoping he couldn't resist.

"Not a problem. The sprint was good for me," he assured me as we rode off into the sunset for taco night!

What a guy!

Lessons learned:

Stop and smell the roses a little more.
Take a few deep breaths more often.
Leave carpet bag purse at home for use as carry-on luggage only.
Thank Andrew for being so patient and gracious.
Walk the 1/2 mile to work. It's not going to kill you, who cares if you have to leave 10 minutes earlier, it might make you feel a little better in that snazzy wedding dress, and you might even catch a ray or two of sunshine!

New York, New York

2009-07-01T00:57:00.019-04:00

Late last week Andrew suggested we make a spontaneous trip to New York City. "Hmmm...okay," I thought, a little intrigued by the proposition. Andrew and I are the two least spontaneous people I know. We plan everything to the T. Even the grocery store. In fact, I often re-write the grocery list to lump items into categories corresponding to their location within the store--you know, meat, dairy, produce... So a spontaneous trip to the city made the little wheels in my head start to churn.

I was busy with work so I wasn't really able to contribute to the weekend's plans so he had free reign to determine our schedule. He arranged for us to meet up with some friends from our church in Providence who had just moved to the city last month. We headed out early Saturday morning to catch the Metro North Railroad in New Haven, Connecticut. We made it to the train station smoothly, with plenty of time to spare. We jumped on the New Haven line train, bound for Grand Central Station. We marveled at all the families and travelers headed for a weekend in New York City as well. We played a little Gin Rummy, I dominated, of course. And before we knew it the streets of New York City were beckoning us to come play.

We walked a few blocks from Grand Central Station to our friends' apartment and dropped off our bags. Then the four of us jumped on the subway for a lunch date in Madison Square Park. Any of you that know New York City may guess that we were headed to the Shake Shack. And we were. Shake Shack always has a long line so our friends Ed and Rosalynn offered to hold the place in line while we walked around for a bit. This made me a little suspect. "Don't they want to hang out and talk to us for a bit while we all wait in line?" I thought. But they insisted we see the city and not waste any time so we started to walk through the park a little when I spotted the dog park, "Let's go!" I pleaded. "Are we allowed to go in without a dog?" we wondered. "Will we look like creeps?" we worried. Well, we went in anyway and had a blast.

Dog watching is about 100 times more fun than people watching. Dogs have a lot less inhibition. It was like we were watching carefree kids who didn't know they were supposed to behave properly in public. We watched as a group of dogs all ganged up on one little dog and then watched as the sad owner promptly left the park with her little outcast. We contemplated if the owner felt bad about their dog being picked on like a parent would when their kid comes home crying from school. Then we watched the young New Yorkers come in all dressed up in posh clothes with their little yippy dogs--clearly at the park to mingle and meet other young 30-somethings since their dogs were too busy hiding under the bench to play with others. Or there was the little boxer dog that sprinted off his lease upon release, running around the park looking for dogs to play with. We animated his voice as he went from dog to dog looking for someone to notice him and play with him--Milo and Otis style, of course. Lastly, there was the bull dog that we couldn't get enough of. He could not have cared less about the other dogs in the park. He just waddled his fat self around the park pushing a ball with his nose oblivious of the function of a dog park. Then we laughed about how the owner looked just like his dog.

We sat in the dog park for a good 30 minutes enjoying ourselves and learning about the dog culture of urbanites. We even enjoyed people asking us to pick up our dogs poo and then gleefully told them it wasn't our dog. Before long Ed and Ros called us and told us they were getting close to the front of the line. We headed back and enjoyed a lunch of cheeseburgers and french fries in the park.

Next, we split paths and Andrew and I headed out into the city as Ed and Ros headed to a coffee shop to read. We jumped on the subway and headed towards the infamous Wall Street. Took a few pictures and then headed down towards Ellis Island. We got to the tip of Manhattan and realized that we would have to wait in 3 hour-long lines just to get onto Ellis Island. We decided it wasn't the best use of our time and headed toward the Staten Island ferry. We briskly walked toward the ferry that we saw quickly approaching land and made it on within seconds of it pulling away from the dock. The ride was amazingly relaxing. There was a beautiful breeze, we passed Lady Liberty and Ellis Island, and rocked slowly to the hum of the engine. We took the return boat immediately back to Manhattan and ventured off to our next stop: Brooklyn.

Somewhere in my lack-of-geographic knowledge I thought that Brooklyn and the Bronx were interchangeable. I expressed my lack of desire to go to Brooklyn because it's dangerous, but Andrew convinced me that he found a list of famous people who live there and we had to walk through and admire the architecture and Brownstones. We strolled through the beautiful Brooklyn Heights neighborhood and then ended up on the Promenade overlooking the skyline of Manhattan and the Brooklyn Bridge. We found the perfect bench and relaxed for a while. My wish for the weekend was to spend all day laying in a park and relaxing, so sitting and watching the sunset over NYC was perfect.

As we sat admiring the scenery and the glamor of New York City, Andrew told me he made something for me. He proceeded to hand me a flat object wrapped in tissue paper with a card on top. The card was a collage of pictures of us, pictures of NYC, a poem, and at the bottom was a hint to a location somewhere. I wasn't allowed to unwrap the tissue paper yet and he proceeded to hand me five more of these. The promenade was pretty empty...right up until this point, of course. Then a flood of people began passing by steadily and I began to realize what was going on. After handing me 6 cards with something wrapped in tissue paper under them, he said he had one more. He handed me a blue pouch and began to tell me nice things about me and our future. I knew what was coming next. Unfortunately, I had noticed when we first approached the bench that we were sitting on one of probably two benches (out of a string of 15) that were surrounded by dirt and mud. At this point he began to get down on his knee and I panicked. A combination of gawkers and the thought of him wearing a pair of khakis for two days with a huge dirt-stained knee caused me to beg him to not get down in the dirt. He protested, but like a wise man he eventually obliged. At this point he pulled out the ring and asked me to marry him. I said, "Yes," of course.

The ring I received was my great-grandmother's ring passed down to me from my mom. As part of the gift, my mom gave me a picture of my great grandparents with it. By this time I was pretty emotional, so to lighten the mood a little he said, "Your mom wanted you to have this picture with it." He paused. "...She didn't mention that your great grandfather was Dwight D. Eisenhower!" We had a good laugh and then I was able to open the presents.

There were 6 DVDs of locations we had talked about wanting to travel to someday, but now they are presented as potential honeymoon destinations. [With Andrew's permission I'm putting up a sample of the sweet cards he made me].

Next we began processing and talking about all this entails. We were ready to take some pictures, but of course, it was about to downpour so all passersby whom had been ever-present before were suddenly nowhere to be seen. Typical. We snapped a few shots of us, the ring, our bench, the view and then headed up the hill to a pizza joint in Brooklyn.

We were told we had to try this pizza place right under the Brooklyn bridge. We made our way to the restaurant, had a celebratory drink, and waited out the rain. When the rain let up we walked outside to hear people shouting about the incredibly bright rainbow we had to see.

Next stop: Central Park.

We snapped a few more pictures before sunset and then headed to the Upper West Side for dinner with a friend of Andrew's from grad school. We enjoyed some wonderful Italian food and then exhausted, headed back to Ed and Ros's place. Our sweet friends eagerly awaited our arrival. They ran down to the door to greet us with hugs, champagne, and my first wedding magazine. We all spent the next two hours talking about the day and then passed out from exhaustion.

We had an incredible, fun, and memorable weekend in New York, New York. The weather was beautiful for the first time in a month. Ed and Ros were incredible hosts and accomplices to Andrew's plans. The timing for his proposal worked out perfectly (minus his disappointment for not getting to get down on one knee). And the rest is history!

We aren't certain about any plans or dates yet, but you'll be in the know! Check back often and enjoy the wedding-planning ride with us!

Homemade Goodies

2009-06-23T22:50:00.000-04:00

Homemade Whipped Cream

I've never made whipped cream from scratch before and I'll admit that I was a little skeptical about the process. I really didn't think that beating a liquid could magically turn it into a semi-solid, but it's true! And I did it by hand without an electric beater (aka, Andrew and I took turns. It's tiring on the arm!). This was not by choice though. I promptly bought the cheapest beater I could find at Target afterward. I know it will be well worth the investment.

Working really hard to make soft, foamy peaks. [Still skeptical at this point]

So proud of the product!

Recipe:
1/2 pt. whipping cream
3 tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla

In a large bowl, whip cream until stiff peaks are just about to form. Beat in vanilla and sugar until peaks form. Make sure not to over-beat, cream will then become lumpy and butter-like. Refrigerate.

Happy Birthday, Mom!

2009-06-22T18:48:00.003-04:00

My mom spent a week relaxing on the beaches of St. George Island with family.

Luckily, since she was so far from me on her birthday, her cousins stepped in and gave her the birthday she deserved!

Hope you enjoyed your special day! You deserve it.

Things I love about my mom:

She always took lots of fun pictures of us. (Christmas pictures at Aunt Carol's)

She read books to me and took me to the park.

She gave us pictures to laugh at for a lifetime when we did Glamour Shots together in the 90s.

She took us on lots of vacations. (Cayman Islands)

She went with me to look at grad schools. (Colorado)

She is very generous. (Threw a party for Uncle Frank's wedding)

Happy belated birthday mom! I love you very much!

The Pierson's Come to Providence

2009-06-18T23:42:00.003-04:00

Andrew's parents came into town a few weeks ago and we had an incredible time checking out the sights in Rhode Island. We ate the most amazing food, relaxed, and appreciated New England and all its beauty.

The looming rain storms dictated our plans that weekend. In order to take advantage of the sunshine we whisked them off to Newport right when they arrived on Saturday morning. We toured a couple of the historic mansions and walked around the city a little. The temperature was pretty chilly and we were starving so we abandoned plans for the cliff walk and headed back to Providence. We planned on going to WaterFire and indulging in all its unhealthy glory so we prohibited eating in Newport. Since we couldn't possibly wait until sundown to eat we all lounged around my apartment eating bread and cheese. Andrew and I picked up a loaf of Durum bread from Seven Stars and some fancy cheeses earlier that morning.

A Newport Mansion: (No joke on that mansion part, huh?)

Later that evening we hit up WaterFire. It was the first one of the summer and happened to fall on the Saturday the Pierson's were in town. Great timing! We walked around WaterFire and let them take in all that is WaterFire. People stand around the river in eager anticipation for the lighting of the fires, while gondolas paddle up and down the river carrying couples sipping wine, concessions stands seduce you with their intoxicating fragrances (emphasis on the toxic), and music broadcast over speakers serenades the evening. We searched for the perfect viewing spot and eventually settled on the side of a wall along the river.

Pierson's enjoying our spot on the wall:

We even met up with some friends, Shannon and Andy, affectionately referred to as Shandy. They are friends from church and graciously host Andrew.

Shandy and Kimbendrew:

Late that evening we all retired for the night after realizing his parents had been up and traveling since 3am that morning! Oops. We were so excited to show them Providence that we failed to consider that they were probably exhausted.

Sunday morning we had to skip church to meet Shane. Shane is a lady from NY with a summer cottage in Portsmouth, RI. Andrew is her gardener. She was in town for the holiday weekend and they were meeting for the first time. Poor Andrew had to drag his girlfriend and parents along. He probably felt pretty unprofessional, but we felt extremely grateful. What a sight! The garden is beautiful, Andrew is tending to everything really well. There is a view of the bay (if you can pretend the new McMansion which popped up in their view isn't actually there) with sailboats and the historic Mount Hope Bridge. It was quite a sight!

The garden. Nice angle of the property, bad angle of the garden, sorry! Don't mind that house in the background, it permanently blocks the view of the bay.

After the not-so-brief meeting with Shane (us women can talk!) we headed one town north to sight-see in Bristol. We ate lunch at a popular seafood place, Quitos, and walked around historic Bristol. Bristol is a really cute, quaint town. In fact, instead of painting double yellow lines down Main Street to divide traffic, they have painted three lines--red, white, and blue. Actually, this is quite common in RI, I've discovered. Federal Hill, our version of Little Italy, has red, white, and green stripes to divide the lanes. Anyway, we spent the afternoon walking around Bristol exploring antique shops, parks, and historic homes. We then headed back to Providence and enjoyed an amazing dinner at Parkside Rotisserie & Bar where Andrew and I practically fought over his dad's leftover rotisserie chicken. If you're ever in town, I highly recommend trying some of their famous rotisseries.

Monday was Memorial Day and we decided to stick around town, rather than driving to another destination. Providence has so much to offer and we were really glad that we did. We walked along Wickenden Street and through the historic East Side neighborhood. We stopped at a coffee shop for a snack and did an entire crossword puzzle! The Monday one, of course. Which I was taught that they get progressively harder as the week goes on. We had a blast. The day was so relaxing as well. We stopped by the Roger Williams National Memorial and learned a little about Providence history and Roger Williams. I was most excited to see that they have a garden for traditional Native American farming. It has beans, corn, and squash--The Three Sisters--planted together. The corn provides an avenue for the bean stock to grow up and the squash shades the ground to inhibit weeds from growing and helps keep the moisture in the soil. I'm pumped to watch the three grow together over the summer!

We made a quick pit stop at the grocery store to buy some last minute items and then went home to prepare a picnic. Pulled pork had been simmering all day in the crock pot, so we packed up some meat, fresh fruit, Wiffle ball, and some Nasty-gansetts for Andrew and his dad and headed to Prospect Park.

The men indulged in some Wiffle ball, while Mrs. Pierson and I laid low on the blankets.

Many a balls went over that fence, but the guys were determined to play:

Tuesday was back to work for me. Andrew and his parents headed to Slater Mill, the first water powered cotton textile mill in North America.
I met them for lunch at Bob & Timmy's hole in the wall pizza place, ranked number 5 in the country!

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Then we had our last supper with them and our last good supper for a while:) We ate at a local favorite hot spot, Hemenway's. Everything was divine!

Well, that's about it folks. We had a busy, but fabulous long weekend and look forward to their next visit out east! I hear the 4th of July parade in Bristol is pretty fabulous, any takers?

Watching the Classics

2009-06-07T12:03:00.001-04:00

Want an idea for a fun summer, winter, or date night activity?

Andrew had the brilliant idea that we should educate ourselves, become more well-rounded, and experience a spectrum of movies. He looked up a list of the Top 100 Movies and came up with the American Film Institute lists.

We are planning to go through the movies when we get a chance. So far we have watched The Grapes of Wrath, Singin' in the Rain, and American Graffitii. They were all great films. I actually loved Singin' in the Rain--it was an unexpectedly fun movie.

This process doesn't come easy to me. I've had to be educated by my artsy friends to understand why these movies are great. My initial reactions would be to laugh them off for having terrible effects, silly plots, or seeming insignificant. But when you view them in their context, understand why they are considered great, know the cultural significance, or if it was the first of something, you can appreciate them so much more. Anyway, enough lecturing from me.

Andrew and I waver between these two lists. One is the 1997 version and the other a 10th Anniversary update. Some movies change position in the list, some were added, and some were removed. You pick:

1998 American Film Institute Top 100 Movies

2007 10th Anniversary Edition of the Top 100 Movies

Luckily for me my dad owns lots of these so I borrowed a bunch while I was in Florida:) That will save me rental fees, late fees, and having to watch Gone With the Wind or other 4 hour movies in one sitting! Thanks dad!!

Sorry About the Goo

2009-06-02T22:41:00.005-04:00

Awkward moment of the day:

So I had just sat back down at my desk to continue to sift through Comprehensive Planning assessment tools and decided that my lips were in need of a little Vanilla-flavored pick-me-up.

Of course, I recently ran out of my usual chap stick and in a pro-sustainable effort committed to use all chap sticks I found around my apartment before purchasing a new one. Naturally, the next one I stumbled upon was not a stick option, but a dip-your-finger-in-the-goo lip balm. Not a problem. Well, not a big problem. I'm a bit of a germ-o-phob and it grosses me out sometimes if I haven't recently washed my hands or if I'm out in public. But well, I'll get over it. I'm sure I won't get the Swine or anything. Apparently that's not the only problem...

So not half a second after I dipped my right hand into the Petroleum oil goo I hear foot steps towards my door. I look over my shoulder and see my boss entering with a new intern. He wants to introduce me. Great. And it's not an intern who would shy back and wave, but a confident intern who walks over to me to shake my right hand with his firm grip. Great.

I panic and think, "What do I do?!" I can't quickly and awkwardly apply lip balm while they look at me, but I also can't let my first sentence to him be, "Sorry, I would shake your hand but I just put chapstick on" (that would take too much explaining). So I just smear the goo on my hand and give him my best shake, hoping our hands don't slip apart on account of the Tetradibutyl Pentaerithrityl Hydroxyhydrocinnamate (an actual ingredient in my lip balm. Remind me to get a less toxic and chemically invasive balm next time). Bless his grossed-out little heart.

If he felt one ounce of that slimy residue on his hand he's surely creeped out by me. Think about it. If I were him I'd run through the myriad of options in my head about the foreign substance some lady just wiped on me: snot, sweaty palm juice, grime from not washing her hands in two days, hair grease from twirling her dirty hair on her finger too much...the possibilities are really endless, but a clean hand with a smidgen of Vanilla Pucker Up Lip Balm is not on that list! Great, I've got to look this guy in the eye for the next few months and pretend that he doesn't think I have poor hygiene.

Friday Night Delight

2009-06-01T12:34:00.003-04:00

Andrew and I helped a co-worker of mine move on Friday night. As we drove from her old house to the new one we turned down a street--Orchard Street--and saw police officers lining the end of the road. Confused and hesitant as to whether the road was open or closed for a crime scene investigation or something, I inched the Rodeo forward trying to decide if we could actually get through. The sea of officers parted and requested a signal as to which direction I was going to turn.

I was concentrating too much on not hitting anyone or getting caught without a front license plate that I failed to signal. The officers didn't seem to mind; they probably understood that I was quite discombobulated at the sight. On my left and right were protesters. On one side of the street there were dozens of protesters standing in front of a Jewish temple and on the other side was a group of protesters in front of a parking lot. I saw a sign that said, "Stop spreading hate in our state," but that was all that I saw. Upon turning the corner Andrew read me some of the shocking and hateful signs they were holding up.

Later in the evening my co-worker's husband explained that the protesters were from Topeka, Kansas and are actually pretty famous for their protests. Members of Westboro Baptist Church travel around the U.S. protesting against funerals, Jews, gays, military, and America in general. I had never heard of them before, but the little research I have done since Friday has revealed a heretical, hateful, and unbiblical church. Shocking is the best word to describe it. They traveled around Providence throughout the day Friday picketing the Jewish temple, the state house, Brown University, East Providence High School, and the Naval base in Newport. [If you click on the previous links you can see their horrific press releases for each protest.]

Rhode Island is a heavily unchurched area, so it's a shame that the only perception they get of Christians are radical cult members under the guise of Christianity.

Here is a clip of the group from 20/20 to give you a little idea of their theology, attitudes, and actions:

Recipe of the Week

2009-05-27T19:18:00.003-04:00

This might sound kind of crazy since I'm not a vegetarian or vegan, but Andrew and I love the following recipe. I don't eat much red meat--maybe a handful of times a year--and I have gotten killer stomach aches the past 3 times I've had red meat. Hopefully I'm not losing my ability to digest red meat! It's not really good for you anyway, so I guess it wouldn't be the worst thing that could happen to me. As a substitute, we've found this recipe to be really fun and tasty! The spices and onions give it great flavor, you just can't expect it to have the texture of a regular burger.

(A modified version of a recipe I got from another blogger:)

SPICY BLACK BEAN BURGERS
1 small onion diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (or 1 small hot pepper for spice lovers)
1 tbsp olive oil
2 cups cooked or canned black beans, mashed
1/2 cup lentils
1/2 cup corn kernels
1/4 cup bread crumbs
1/4 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp soy sauce
2 tsp chili powder
2 tbsp fresh parsley
1/2 cup flour

(Feel free to thrown in whatever you'd like: brown rice, sunflower seeds, green peppers, etc.)

Set flour aside for coating.

Saute onion, garlic, oregano and red pepper flakes in oil until onions are translucent. In a large bowl mash the beans with a fork. Stir in the onion mixture, corn, lentils, bread crumbs, cumin, salt, chili powder and parsley. Mix well. Divide and shape into patties. Coat in flour. Cook on a lightly oiled frying pan on medium high for about 5-10 minutes, or until brown.

Serve on a nice fluffy bun with some sliced cheese!

It's About Time I Show Back Up!

2009-05-27T19:12:00.015-04:00

Wow. I am failing miserably on consistently posting lately, huh? I am so sorry for all you faithful readers who keep checking up on the blog to find nothing new!! I will try to work on this:)

A few weekends ago Andrew and I flew home to Florida for a childhood friend's wedding and a nice visit with friends and family. Here's a recap of the weekend:

Coffee date with Courtney, obviously. Lunch date with Becka, of course. Play some games with the little sister, couldn't skip that. Chat with Dad. Shop with Mom. Visit the big bro's abode to see what new changes have been made since my previous visit. Catch some rays (UV, not TBay DRays--I know, they're not the Devil Rays anymore). Bike ride to grandma's. Visit with extended family. Visit a lake to find an alligator for Andrew--success rate: 3 for 3 (Welcome to Florida). Go out to eat with family. Stop by TI to see Erin. Then rush back to work Monday morning and say goodbye to vacation.

So on this trip my dad and I planned to go out to eat. He loves sushi. I love Indian. Andrew, the tie breaker, loves sushi, tolerates Indian. Sushi it was!

This was my first time eating sushi. And by eating, I really mean cringing my nose and being really weirded out by it. My dad loves sushi and always suggests we get it, I finally caved.

This is me before tasting it. I was remarkably optimistic.

This is me after dissecting it a bit and taking a small bite. I mutilated it so much I had to switch to a fork.

Lastly, this is me trying to convince myself to eat the rest of it. I don't think I'm a sushi gal. Too much stuff going on. Keep it simple. I don't do condiments. I don't do multi-textures. Basically, I don't do sushi. Needless to say, it'll be a while before I muster up the courage to delve back into the luxurious world of sushi, but nevertheless, I tried something new!

Andrew and Dad loved it. Andrew said it was probably the best sushi he'd ever had! So I guess if I was going to try sushi, it's a good thing it was at least 1st rate sushi!:)

This is my little sister Kendall. She is growing so fast! Sadly for me she's only 11 and almost as tall as me!! I guess she'll be able to call me "Shrimp" or "Shorty" some day soon:)

Speaking of growing up. Getting older is so funny. Not only do I find myself meeting teenagers and thinking that dreaded phrase I hated hearing as a kid, "I remember when you were a baby!" But friends I met in middle school are now friends I've had for over 12 years.

One of these friends, Nick, got married last weekend. It's funny how you reflect on past "chapters" of life when someone opens a new one. My mom and I talked about remembering when I used to go bowling with him in 7th grade and she would drop me off at his old house. Or when he and I took a road trip in college to Alabama and I ran over an armadillo with his car. Or when he sent me a care package in college with toothpaste, deodorant, and a chocolate eclair donut that arrived looking more like roadkill than a chocolate treat (let alone anything edible)!

Or the year we dressed up like farmers for Halloween at youth group. Nick hid in the back of the picture because the pants he got from the thrift store (we all got our outfits there) were so tight that he never wanted a photo like that to show up and haunt him.

Or when we would meet up at Applebees on Christmas breaks when everyone would come home from college.

And now he's married! Time sure flies!

It was a beautiful wedding and reception at the Tradewinds Resort in St. Pete.

Amazingly, I grew up in Florida and attended many weddings in Florida, yet this was my first beach wedding!

Since Nick is a neighbor my mom was also invited to the wedding. It was so fun having her there.

Andrew and I before the reception. Or should I call him Rico Suave? At one point in the night we were in the reception tent and sitting at our table. My mom pointed out that it was really raining hard outside and you could hear it pounding on the tent roof. Rico Suave leaned towards me and whispered softly, "Oh, is that what that is? I thought it was just my heart racing." To which my mom, who overheard and I, who couldn't take him seriously looked at each other and died laughing. It was a classic Andrew moment.

Lastly, the late night rave in Ybor City. Okay, we were just at the reception. But those lights do look pretty psychedelic in this pic.

A Princess' Tale

2009-05-16T15:56:00.004-04:00

Hello Friends. Sorry I've gone MIA again. I have had a big deadline at work and then I scooted on home to Florida for the weekend. I'm home hanging out with family and attending a friend's wedding. More details to come on my adventures in Florida, but here's a little thought for the day:

My weekend sorta feels like I'm in a movie with a similar premise to Princess Diary, but more extreme. Now don't get me wrong, I really like my apartment and stuff in Providence, but we'll Studio 23 just can't compare with a real grown up's place (like my mom's). I feel as though I just found out that I'm not actually a homeless orphan, but the daughter of the queen. I am currently living the life of luxury: Amazing water pressure. Opening a fridge with lots of food. Sleeping on the most comfy bed fit for a queen. Walking on soft cushioned carpet under my toes. Driving on leather seats with power door locks. Watching cable TV on a huge plasma, no less. Air conditioning in the house and the car. 10 ESPNs (for Andrew, of course). Everything is amazing! I feel so spoiled by simple luxuries I used to take for granted.

But before I waste too much of my pampering time on the computer, I've got to go and enjoy the riches awaiting me in the carpeted living room with palm trees and 90 degree weather peeking in the windows:)

Adios friends! I'll be back soon.

Our Nation's Capitol

2009-05-05T07:51:00.005-04:00

Andrew and I made a little trip to D.C. a couple weekends ago to visit friends of mine from college and get out of Rhode Island for a weekend. Andrew hadn't been to D.C. since he was a kid so he was really excited to see the sights, the tourist attractions, and the urban neighborhoods. Here is a brief review of the weekend shenanigans:

The U.S. Capitol, a few blocks from Kelli's 'hood. Did I mention that Kelli lives in one of the most adorable neighborhoods in the U.S.? "The Hill" is absolutely gorgeous! Andrew and I loved it.

Washington Monument. The mall is pretty amazing, albeit a bit too touristy for me.

Me & the Prez. No we didn't actually get to see the president, but we did get to see two motorcades of important people! That's right, we were feet away from important people, we assume, twice!

We're not sure who they were because it all happens in a blur. Motorcycles fly down the street, wave their arms to get all traffic to stop, zoom forward to the next intersection and continue. A few more motorcycles or police cars come through, blaring their sirens and causing a diversion. Next, a string of about 5 black and gray SUVs fly by and then it's all over and you're left spinning around in a cloud of dust.
Exhibit A. Two black SUVs blowing by us. Andrew got a very nasty glare for snapping this photo. It must be understood that you don't photograph this event. Don't know. We were tourists 0:)

Next we ate lunch at a local place, The Breadline, that I had found on the Internet with great reviews. It was not a touristy place so we ate lunch with lots of local DC workers in suits! We felt pretty urban and proud. Well, minus the whole plaid shorts and polo get ups that made us stand out and scream, tourists!

After a brief refresher, we headed down the mall toward the monuments and memorials. I love seeing veterans at the memorials. The picture below is of a family with three generations--grandchildren, parents, and grandpa. They were pushing their grandfather in a wheelchair, decked out in WWII veteran gear, and posing for pictures with the WWII memorial in the background. I can only imagine the stories he's shared with them and the significance the memorial holds in his heart. How cool.

Next stop: Jefferson Memorial.

On our way we stopped at a park to watch the plans land at Reagan Airport. Every time we saw a green helicopter fly by we were convinced it was Marine One. Below is a brief clip of our siesta:

For some reason, Andrew and I made an ambitious plan to do DC in a day. This was our walking route:

View Larger Map

This was us at the end of the day, bleeding blisters and all. It wasn't until we got back to Rhode Island that we mapped it out and realized that we walked 10.3 miles that day!! Ouch, ouch on the feet!

No time to rest, the party will go on! Next stop, dinner with friends! We went out to dinner on Friday night with Kelli and her fiance Ken, Caroline and her boyfriend Shane, and Andrew and I in downtown D.C. Have I mentioned yet that D.C. is a pretty rockin' town?! It is. It's just great. Fun tourist attractions, national monuments, important people, the hope diamond, Abe, beautiful neighborhoods, great restaurants, and a pretty hip downtown. Dinner was great, although a Friday night dinner after everyone has worked all week was a little rough. I think we were already ready to fall asleep at the table:( BUT it's okay. We will take a rain check, rest up, and get ready for a party in June at Kelli's wedding.

Day #2: Neighborhood day. Visit Georgetown, Dupont Circle, and Kalorama. I really didn't think my body would be able to walk 5 more steps that day.

We started the day by taking the metro from one great neighborhood (The Hill) to another (Georgetown). Metro destination: Foggy Bottom. Yep, that's right, the metro stop is named, Foggy Bottom. It never gets old. It kicks me back to 3rd grade every time I read it or say it.

First stop, an amazing place I ate at before in Georgetown, La Madeleine. I don't do too well on an empty stomach so starting with a little food was imperative. And sitting. That was imperative as well.

Next stop, walk up and down M Street. What incredible facade!

Andrew got a Passport to National Parks as a kid, so we couldn't resist stopping at the Old Stone House to get a NPS stamp for his sweet little passport. Fortunately for us the Old Stone House gave us much more than we bargained for. We got to wander around the 18th Century dwelling and see period relics of furniture, kitchenware, etc. Furthermore, there was a cute little garden in back with many people lounging around relaxing. The perfect invitation for our beat up feet and sore legs! In this garden were amazing, beautiful white flowers the size of your head!

Did I mention that spring hadn't arrived yet in Rhode Island and that DC was an absolute treat?! Andrew seen below enjoying a break for his feet, the sweet scent of pollen, the luxury of UV rays, and the proximity to the giant white flowers.

Next stop--JFK's house. We saw a website that listed all of his prior residences, many of which were in Georgetown. This was the one he lived in last before the white house. For those of you who don't know, for some unknown reason, he is my absolute favorite past president. By a lot.

On our way out of dodge and in search of water (the temp was in the 90s) we saw a little league game in a field. Being exhausted, with sad little feet we welcomed another opportunity to sit. We lay in the grass, further increasing our sunburns from the previous day and watched the little kids play ball. It was cute, we weren't sure how the structure was set up, but one team definitely had less kids so some kids from one team played in the field for both teams. It's so nice at that stage before sports become too territorial or competitive.

Further down our walk we past this beautiful home. Tulips, a red door, and a poodle flag. What more could you want for the American Dream?

Unfortunately our brief stint with D.C. had to come to end. We went to church at Capitol Hill Baptist and then hit the road.

Little did we know the 7-hour drive would be 11 treacherous hours. Andrew would not be as happy if he knew the gloom that awaited us. This picture was taken to confirm our long sought after goal of taste-testing Starbucks vs. Dunkin' Donuts. That may sound crazy to some of you, but it's true. People in Rhode Island are obsessed with Dunkin' Donuts. I'd say there are probably 2 people for every one DD. They are everywhere!! Needless to say they love their DD fiercely. It's the only place to get coffee.

I've also noticed a slight shift in my allegiance. DD is less bitter, I believe. So we put them to the test. We have talked about this test for months trying to figure out when we'd be in the same town and when we could find a DD near a Starbucks. We found a corner in Shane's (Caroline's man) neighborhood and got in line at both!

Well, as was the theme of this day, both coffees let us down. They were both gross. Neither of which we'd recommend getting again. I think the people were just in a hurry and we couldn't figure out if they were comparable or not. Is an ice mocha the same thing as a ice latte mocha swirl? Who knows. All we know is that we have to do a re-do. Next time with plain coffee, plus cream and sugar to decide which coffee--the main base of these fru-fru drinks--is best.

That about sums up the weekend. A lot of walking, 90 degree temps, beautiful sights, great friends, touristy trips, lots of sitting! Oh, and don't believe AAA or Google maps that tell you it's between 6.5 and 7.5 hours from Providence to DC. Wrong! It took over 8 to get down and 11 to get back. Yuck!

Chocolate Cake

2009-05-04T06:55:00.007-04:00

Sunday afternoon:
I needed some good resting and relaxing and Sunday afternoon was the perfect occasion. I sat on my computer for hours catching up on emails, reading, etc. While I sat lazily like a vegetable, sweet Andrew made me a chocolate cake with chocolate frosting. Andrew hates chocolate and hates chocolate cake. What a servant.

Unfortunately, we discovered that using a bar of unsweetened cooking chocolate doesn't properly substitute cocoa powder...just an FYI. The chocolate will not melt and disseminate throughout the cake. Instead, the chocolate will harden with the rest of the cake. Lesson learned the hard way. No one should have a "chocolate" cake that looks more like a chocolate chip cookie filled with specks of bitter, unsweetened chocolate. In the end, it turned out great. The icing completely redeemed it.

Andrew is a great help in the kitchen. He loves to cook and doesn't mind doing the dishes as long as he can listen to a ball game on his computer! At least one Chicago sport is on daily!! Bonus for me:)

Chocolate chip wanna-be cakes are out of the oven:

Time for icing the two layer cake!

Precision.

We haven't quite gotten the visual appeal down pat;)

Chocolate, chocolate, and more chocolate!! A happy girl with cake and milk:D

And the recipe...love the frosting, don't know how the cake actually tastes;) Let me know if you try it and it's good! If I beat you to the punch I'll update you!

Ingredients for the cake:
- 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup sugar
- ¾ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup + 2 tablespoons soft unsalted butter
- 3 tablespoons best cocoa
- ½ cup + 2 tablespoons sour cream
- 2 large eggs
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract

Ingredients for the icing:
- 3 ounces milk chocolate
- 3 ounces bittersweet chocolate
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 4 ounces sour cream
- 4 ounces of cream cheese
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon light corn syrup
- 2 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
- ½ teaspoon hot water

Instructions for the cake:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. Then, using an electric mixer, add the butter.
- Whisk together the cocoa, sour cream, eggs and vanilla, then slowly add this cocoa mixture to the ingredients in the bowl, beating until thoroughly combined.
- Pour the batter into 2 8-inch pans buttered or lined with parchment or wax paper and bake for 20-30 minutes. When they are ready the cakes should start to shrink back from the edges of the tins. Leave for 10 minutes in their pans on racks, then turn out to cool.

Instructions for the icing:
- To make the icing, melt the chocolate and butter in a microwave or in a bowl over hot water.
- Let cool a little, then stir in the sour cream, cream cheese, vanilla and syrup.
- Add the sifted confectioners’ sugar and a little hot water, blending until smooth.
- When the texture is thick enough to cover but supple enough to spread ice the cakes (add more sugar or water as required).

this cake
another option--"perfect chocolate cake"

A Special Aunt Remembered

2009-05-03T16:31:00.011-04:00

Aunt Beth,

Look at you. You are so happy. Delighting in Kendall’s Christmas excitement. Enjoying everyone open presents. Smiling with little cares. Your dad who loves you so much is sitting behind you, your family around you. Who knew that the only photo I would be able to find of you on my computer would be this little corner of a picture? This little snippet in time of a happy moment with our family together? Who knew when this was taken on Christmas in 2002 that you would be taken from us just six years later? No one. No one saw the cancer coming. Cancers just work like that sometimes.

I mourn the loss of your life on so many levels. I mourn that you didn’t get to live the full life we all assumed you would live. I mourn that you aren’t going to be around to watch your nieces and nephew grow up—something you enjoyed so much. You were such a stable person in our family. You were the consistency that we needed when we didn’t even know we needed it. Every holiday, graduation, and memorable event you were there, with your camera documenting every move. I have the most incredible college graduation photos because you were there, because you cared. You waved at me from the stands and took candid ones of me with my friends. You wanted to be at all of these events whether we begged you to come or not because you wanted to be involved in our lives. You were never in a photo, but always behind the lens. You didn’t need to be the center of attention, you just needed to be present. You were so proud of us and you wanted to be a part of our lives. I was often too foolish and self-absorbed to appreciate you back. Can you forgive me? I forgive you for always pinching me when I was a kid and calling me a brat. I wasn’t trying to be a brat, it just hurt sometimes. I forgive you.

At first I wondered what your legacy would be. What would you be remembered by? But now I know. You cared selflessly for others and you treasured life. You supported your nieces and nephew more than we realized. You left behind an ambition for adventure. Whether you were experiencing an adventure in a novel or an adventure down under in Australia, you left no stone unturned. Your curiosity and vivacity inspires others. You left a library of books at your house and grandpa’s house is filled with collages and photos of his children and grandchildren that you created with love. You left behind a legacy of pictures. At every event, you documented life in great detail. Those photos don’t die with you. Your servant’s heart doesn’t die with you. And most of all, the family that you loved lives on for you. You inspire me to seize every day, to seize every moment. To care about others.

Too often we don’t realize how special someone is until they’re gone. May your life never be overlooked or forgotten. You fought an incredible fight against that cancer. Doctors didn’t think you would live as long as you did. You weren’t going to give up. Until your last few days you were still fighting to make it. You were never willing to accept that you were dying. It was amazing, yet hard to hear. I’ll never forget that I was standing outside in Washington D.C., between the U.S. Supreme Court and the U.S. Capitol building when my mom called to say you only had a few days left. What a juxtaposition of justice. Standing near the nation’s epitome of justice, it seemed so unjust for you to go. You wanted so badly to survive. It was too soon for you to go. You still had audio books waiting to download. Sights to see. Pictures to take. Family milestones to attend. You weren’t ready to go and we weren’t ready to say goodbye. I have to trust now in God’s perfect plan and timing. He knew when your first day was and when your last would be. I feel like it’s too soon, like life was ripped out of your grip, but He felt that it was the perfect timing and I have to trust in that.

If I could turn back the clocks, I would. I’d tell you more often that I loved you. I’d tell you that I needed you. I would tell you that I was proud of you. Now you’re gone. It’s too late. If I called your house, you wouldn’t answer. Your cell phone won’t ring. That hurts. It hurts when people are gone; especially if you didn’t value them enough while they were here. I’m so sorry I didn’t give you the love you deserved. You lived an incredible life with a short span. You will live on through your family. Through your friends. And through your pictures. Not the ones you are in, but the hundreds that you took. I will miss you at holidays, milestones, and memorable events. Who will be there to pick up the torch and carry on your legacy?

I love you and wish you knew how much I did.
You will always be missed.

Love, Kimberly

HAIRE, Cynthia "Beth" 55, passed away April 27, 2009, at home under the care of Hospice, after battling cancer for a year. She is survived by her mother of St. Petersburg, Elizabeth Lowe; her brother Jerry Haire; father Fred Haire of Tennessee; many aunts and uncles, nieces, nephews, cousins, special friend and aunt Eloise Head of Fairhope, AL; and her friends at Baycare Health Systems, where she worked for 15 years. Memorial to be at a later date.

A Little Recommendation

2009-04-21T22:17:00.005-04:00

Always check the labels before you purchase prepared food at the grocery store...

In Bertolli's defense, the meal tasted great. However, health is not something I'm willing to sacrifice for taste. Please check out the label for one serving of Bertolli's Oven Baked Meals,

Tri-Colored Four Cheese Ravioli. Heart attack in a bag.

Recipe of the Week

2009-04-18T10:42:00.005-04:00

Sour Cream Fish Fillets

Ingredients

1 lb fish fillet
6 ounces fresh mushrooms, sliced
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1 tablespoon butter or margarine
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
2/3 cup sour cream
4 tablespoons Parmesan cheese, grated
3 tablespoons dry breadcrumbs
paprika
parsley

Directions

Arrange fish in ungreased 12 x 7 1/2 in baking dish.
Cook and stir mushrooms and onion in butter until mushrooms are golden, about 3 minutes.
Spoon mushrooms mixture over fish; sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Mix sour cream and cheese.
Spread over mushroom mixture.
Sprinkle with bread crumbs.
Bake uncovered at 350 degrees F until fish flakes easily with fork, 25 to 30 minutes.
Sprinkle with paprika and parsley.

SERVES 4 -6
Source: Recipezaar

Funny Weekend Moments

2009-04-16T08:22:00.008-04:00

All this and he's witty folks:)
...a few highlights from this weekend:

Saturday:
[noise in the kitchen where Andrew is]

me: [behind a closed bathroom door] "What did you say, honey?"

andrew: [loud laughing from the kitchen]

me: [irritated that he's laughing...at me?...on the phone?] "I'm sorry, I didn't hear you..."

andrew: [louder laughter] "That's because I didn't say anything, you heard my loud fart and thought it was me talking to you!"

Classic boy. He will probably be so embarrassed and not forgive me for this post.

Lunch on Easter:
We went to a small local place for brunch. They had a book exchange. Take one. Leave one. The book shelf behind my head had the following book:

Andrew with poor eyes: "Um, what does the binding of that book say? Oh my! Touch and feel me all the time?"

me: "No Andrew, that's a childrens educational book."

andrew: "Oh. Oops. I thought that was an odd title for a book."

Tuesday:
Andrew is running out of cell phone minutes for the month so I told him he could use my phone to check his voicemail. For some reason Verizon's free Verizon-to-Verizon calling doesn't include calling your own Verizon cell phone to check your voicemail. So Andrew checked his voicemail using my phone while we were at the DMV.

After I was back at work I noticed that I had missed two calls. Andrew called me and left two messages:
1) [concerned tone] "I saw I missed a call from you, just checking to see if everything is alright."
2) [in a serious, but perhaps embarassed tone] "Disregard that previous message. It was me. I called myself from your phone. Oops."

Happy Easter!

2009-04-12T14:19:00.009-04:00

I hope you have a wonderful day spending time with family or friends, relaxing, eating candy, enjoying some great food, and basking in the glory of the cross and resurrection of Christ.

I am not in Florida with my family today, but I'm thinking of them and the good times we've had on Easters in the past! Enjoy Uncle Mike's prime rib, Aunt Heather's ham, Mom's cheesy potatoes, Grandma's green bean casserole, Village Inns pies, and Athenian Gardens Greek salads:D

Memories:
Basket Hunt 1986

Egg Hunt 2006

Cousin Abby reaping her rewards

Me, Grandma, Mom, and Justin Easter 2006

Happy Easter Everyone!
xoxo
KJ

A Long, Cranky Week(s)

2009-04-10T23:53:00.003-04:00

It's been a really long week. Actually a long few weeks. I am so glad the weekend finally arrived. Work has been really busy and really stressful. (Hence being MIA on the blog-front). Lots of new projects are starting up and I have been unable to finish up my current projects.

I started a report last week that was due last week and I've yet to finish. It's terrible writing for 7 hours a day. It's like being a student again except I don't have the freedom to work for short spurts at a time.

I don't do well at anything abstract and we've had a series of four meetings the past two weeks on "strategic planning" for the future direction of our department. The epitome of abstract mission-writing type stuff. Needless to say these meetings kill a little piece of my soul.

I had two meetings this week for which I was supposed to produce some maps, which prolonged being able to get back to my Analysis Plan write-up. I worked on prepping the data, creating the maps, and tweaking the layouts until the last minute and was super stressed rushing around the office and to the meetings.

I live less than a half mile from work and on numerous occasions I had stressful drives home. Yes, when it's cold or rainy or I have meetings, I drive. Seriously though? Stress shouldn't even be possible in that short distance, but Rhode Island drivers manage to prove that it's possible.

I tried to go to the gym one night this week to sign up for the Planet Fitness $10 a month gig, but between pouring down rain and no parking, I gave up and went home frustrated without getting out of the car.

Did I mention that my insurance company gave me 30 days to transfer my vehicle registration to Rhode Island which involves jumping through a hundred flaming hoops?

On Wednesday I had a meeting at the Department of Health (DOH). They seem to have a couple hundred more employees than parking and it always turns out to be a trick finding parking. Afternoon meetings aren't terrible because a lot of people have left or gone to other meetings and the lots are freed up, but 9:30 meetings are the pinnacle of horrible timing for parking.
I miss the appropriate ramp on one of those fun exits with three forking directions and drive 15 minutes out of the way. Note: this is pretty impossible in Rhode Island. 15 minutes usually gets you to Connecticut or Massachusetts. Well, I finally make my way to the DOH and discover that there is some sort of a police meeting as well.
Great, there goes parking at the non-metered meters. I should explain, for some reason all over Providence are sporadic metered spots with the meters missing. From what I've been taught since there is no meter to pay you can park there and not get ticketed. Doesn't seem legal, but it seems to work.
Well, of course I circle the lot, no spots. Circle the buildings and on-street parking, no free meters. Okay, guess I'll have to do the ethical thing and pay a meter. Oh wait, I don't have any quarters they are all at home in my laundry stash so I can pay $2 a load. So I drive home (don't worry, it's less than 2 miles) in a frustrated rage, get quarters and drive back to my meeting. Late. Welcome to my week. Late, late, late for everything.

Hanging over my head is laundry, laundry, laundry. It needs to be done desperately. No time, no energy, no desire. Part of this is my fault, I've been addicted to an online "novel" (details to follow later).

Well as if awkward tension at meetings, traffic, rushing everywhere, being late for meetings, too much to get done in a work day, etc. isn't enough I got a whammy dropped on me.

A friend from church from Brown University's Public Health Department emailed me to ask if I was going to attend a GIS health conference in Providence in June. I responded that I was actually working on a poster with the Department of Health (DOH) for the conference and was hoping that I would at least be able to attend some of it. A few minutes later she responded and said, "Actually, you're leading a breakout session." WHAT?! This is the first I am hearing of this. Sure enough, I look up the conference website to find that I am apparently presenting a poster one evening and leading a session with someone from the DOH another morning. 1) He never told me that I was doing a breakout session 2) I know nothing about attending a conference like this let alone leading it 3) I am a novice to this whole world of professionals and 4) It turns out that he didn't know we were doing this either! Wow. Just thinking about it stresses me out! I feel totally inadequate and unprepared for this prestigious task. People pay good money to learn from experts. I like to think I'm brilliant, but even I admit, I'm not.

Fortunately, I have a positive perspective on all of this. You may find it hard to believe since I just complained about all of the stresses of my week, but I was just trying to provide context. Honestly. So my week has been more stressful than I'd like, work has been busier than I can easily handle, and my free time has been less relaxing than I would desire. So what?

I am so thankful to have a job, and one that is getting busier at that.

I'm not fighting a disease or dealing with sickness like a few of my family members are.

I didn't just return home from a mission trip to Africa only to be hospitalized with malaria--I'm so sorry you're sick Ann:(

And I'm not recovering from a plane crash that burned 80% of my body. This has been my addiction over the past week. Reading the before and after blogs of a woman who survived a plane crash in Aug 2008 and her sister who raised her children while she and her husband laid in a coma in the hospital.

Now in light of all the bigger stresses out there I've got it pretty good. I love my job (most of the time), I have health and happiness, my family and friends are wonderful, the weather is warming up and the sun stays out until after 6:00 pm now.

What more does a girl need?

Making Maps

2009-04-02T09:27:00.003-04:00

So I was working on a neighborhood map and trying to locate a Jewish Temple to make sure that our address locator was putting it in the right place. This is what I saw, a good indication that I was in the right area, how funny!:

View Larger Map

In like a lion, out like a lamb?

2009-03-29T12:49:00.009-04:00

As the saying goes, if March comes in like a lion, it will go out like a lamb. Well, if The Weather Channel is correct, we should have highs above 50 for the next 10 days! What has my life come to that I now think 54 is a warm day? Ahhhhh...I'm finally ready for winter to go hibernate and spring to rear it's pretty little head!

March 1st snow storm...aka the Lion.

Cute street near my apartment.

"The Boulevard"...Blackstone Boulevard

View of Downcity from the Jewelery District.

My "driveway." Needless to say my car wasn't having this. I learned to walk.

Nothing escaped the storm! The inside of my front door.

Once I opened the front door. Wow, wall-o-snow!

I heart PBS Documentaries

2009-03-26T14:50:00.003-04:00

Yes, it's true. My movie choices definitely reflect that of a 50-year old. I love PBS documentaries and I'm not ashamed to admit it. What's helpful is that Andrew enjoys them too. In fact, he enjoys them way more than me. So before you judge me, know you're judging him too:D

I watched a documentary recently for work that was especially fascinating. It's called Unnatural Causes...is inequality making us sick? The series documents America's racial and socioeconomic inequities that affect peoples' health. The RI Dept of Health uses the documentary to educate residents, especially those in low income communities, about factors contributing to their health.

The premise: The western world continues to pour money into drugs, dietary supplements and new medical technologies, but what is really making us healthy or sick?

Unnatural Causes is a documentary attempting to get to the bottom of our health woes. "We're spending $2 trillion a year and rising on health care, more than twice per person than the average industrialized nation. Yet American life expectancy ranks 29th in the world, behind Costa Rica. Infant mortality? Cypress, Slovenia and Malta do better. One third of Americans are obese. Chronic illness now costs American businesses more than $1 trillion a year in lost productivity. It turns out there's much more to our health than bad habits, health care or unlucky genes. The social conditions in which we are born, live and work profoundly affect our well-being and longevity."

The following clip is the trailer which gives you a quick 5-minute summary into the series. It's amazing, albeit distressing, to see where America stands compared to other nations and to consciously evaluate why our health trends the way it does. This video is a good 4-1-1 on Public Health-the view that health is more than your stats at the doctors office; more than a common cold or treating disease. The movement of public health teaches that what you eat, where you live, what type of environment you're exposed to, the air you breathe, the amount of stress in your life, etc. shapes your health.

The videos are short, but I had trouble narrowing down to just a couple so I will give a brief explanation before each and maybe you can pick a few that sound interesting to you.

This clip hits at the core of inequity and social determinants of health. It's what I deal with often at work. We are plagued by problems begotten from previous national policies and programs that weren't healed by simply placing a band aid over them for decades.

I would call this one: The things you don't learn in history class. I have been amazed at how much I've learned about US history since graduating high school. I now see the "hole" in our history books--the sugar coating of our past. Either I was a really bad listener or our education system glazes over the skeletons in America's closet. I can honestly say that I never imagined seeing our president smoking a peace pipe, but I also would never have imagined seeing our role in stifling Native Americans' existence.

If it wasn't genetics, what was it? This clip documents the issue of low birth weight babies in America. This clip tells the story of a well-educated, African-American woman, who even with better economic status, still became a statistic.

I never understood the complexity and irony of health problems in America until I took public health courses in grad school and worked at a non-profit. I never noticed that the majority of fast food restaurants are located in low income areas. I also wouldn't have known that some wealthy suburbs have city ordinances banning drive-thrus, which ultimately prevents fast food chains from coming into the neighborhoods. In planning this is often referred to as NIMBY--"Not in My Backyard". We want power plants, sewage treatment facilities, prisons, homeless shelters, Wal-Mart, restaurants, etc. but we want it to be somewhere else, not near us...not in our backyard. As has been the case, the wealthy can fight back, while the poor can't fight for themselves. The mayor has political clout to keep something from being developed on open land in his suburb, but the low-income communities don't have any resources to prevent the demolition of houses and buildings in their neighborhoods for these same purposes.

Before working with marginalized communities, I never would have known that most low income neighborhoods only have convenience stores or corner stores, but no grocery stores. The families have access to liquor, candy bars, potato chips, and cigarettes, but no fresh produce. What is even more sad is hearing residents explain that they can go to a fast food place and get a whole meal (a burger and fries) from the dollar menu for $2.16 per person, but they can't get a meal out of what that would buy them in produce.

This video is very skeptical of the pharmaceutical industry, but it has some validity to be considered in terms of national agendas and policies neglecting preventative care.

I watched the full episode of this clip with a low income community at a meeting hosted by two students from the local alternative high school. I was so encouraged by how inspired the residents became about gaining knowledge and understanding, learning that their story wasn't unique and they weren't alone, seeing hope for their community, and watching solutions in action in other communities (Place Matters).

"The good news is that if bad health comes from policy decisions that we as a society have made, then we can make other decisions. Some countries already have, and they are living longer, fuller lives as a result."

Recipe of the Week

2009-03-23T19:09:00.003-04:00

I made the most fabulous enchiladas the other night. You have to try them! Mexican is my new favorite cuisine.

Two-Cheese Turkey Enchiladas

1 lb extra-lean ground turkey
1 large onion, chopped
1/2 cup chopped green pepper
1 teaspoon Pure Cane Dark Brown Sugar
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 can (28 oz) crushed tomatoes, divided
1 pkg (8 oz) reduced-fat cream cheese
1/4 cup fat-free sour cream
1 can (4 oz) chopped green chilies
1 cup salsa
8 fat-free flour tortillas (8 inches), warmed
1/2 cup shredded reduced-fat cheddar cheese

Crumble turkey into a large nonstick skillet; add the onion, green pepper, brown sugar and seasonings. Cook and stir over medium heat until turkey is no longer pink. Stir in 1 cup crushed tomatoes. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

In a small bowl, beat the cream cheese, sour cream and chilies until blended; set aside. Combine salsa and remaining tomatoes; spread 1 cup into a 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish coated with cooking spray.

Spoon about 3 tablespoons cream cheese mixture and 1/3 cup turkey mixture down the center of each tortilla. Roll up and place seam side down in baking dish. Top with remaining salsa mixture; sprinkle with cheddar cheese. Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 20-25 minutes or until bubbly.

Yield: 8 servings.

Nutrition Facts

One serving: 1 enchilada

Calories: 329

Fat: 9 g

Saturated Fat: 5 g

Cholesterol:49 mg

Sodium: 776 mg

Carbohydrate:39 g

Fiber:5 g

Protein: 24 g

Diabetic Exchange: 2 starch, 2 very lean meat, 2 vegetable, 1-1/2 fat.

I even managed to create something pretty normal looking:)

Green Thumb?

2009-03-22T15:10:00.005-04:00

So Andrew and I went to the amazing Wintertime Farmer's Market last month in Pawtucket. I purchased 3 plants/herbs for "Bring a Plant to Work Week." I planned for them to serve dual functions: provide our staff with fresh herbs and purify the air. Do small herbs help air quality? Half the purpose of bringing plants was this and I decide to buy little pots of grass-sized vegetation. Big helper, huh? Well, my first goal is to make sure they survive a week at home and then I will bring them into the office. I couldn't handle the ridicule of my agricultural savvy co-workers if I publicly killed them the first week.

Well, the lady at the Farmer's Market urged me not to over water the Rosemary and I took it to heart. Surprisingly, I'm a good listener, and when I want, I follow directions. She said the Thyme and Cilantro love water, but be cautious not to kill the Rosemary. Well, being new to this plant raising business, I balked and dropped the ball. At first we found out that we were both watering it and thought we would kill them by over watering so we made a pact not to water them for 3 days. Before we knew it we had killed the two-water loving plants. Great pact, huh?!

One day I came home from work and Andrew informed me that the Cilantro had seen its better days and was on its way out. I realized the soil was dry and thought the roots may not be receiving adequate water so I immediately took it out of it's cute coffee mug pot, and began resuscitation. Now, reviving a plant is a delicate process when water is involved. There is a fine line between hydration and drowning. Andrew said, "There is no hope for that little guy. Any progress and you'll be an agricultural savior...an agricultural messiah if you will." We laughed, I chastised his heresy, and we continued on with the "saving" business. I placed the pathetic ball of soil and Cilantro in a bowl and began watering it. Ooops, I over watered it and the water was pouring out everywhere. Well, it was time for dinner so I left it in the bowl drowning in it's own filth and excess.

After dinner Andrew walked past the bowl and said, "Didn't you leave this sitting in a pool of water? It's completely dry." We then began trying to over water the plant so we could watch it suck the water up through the bottom of the pot. Brilliant idea, huh? First, let's over water. Then, let's try to do something with about as much visible reaction as watching paint dry or a kettle boil.

Well, no prophetic story is complete without redemption. Within an hour, a third of the stems were standing upright again. Slowly, over the next few days/weeks the plant continued to revive and thrive.

This revival didn't occur without casualties though; there are a few wilted stragglers that never quite came back to life, but all in all, we've got a healthy Cilantro plant. The next step is to take these suckers to work. I've had them for about a month and have yet to adequately utilize them for seasoning my food. I figure I should at least spread the wealth before I kill them again!

Prospect Terrace Park

2009-03-18T22:40:00.006-04:00

I have lived here for almost a year and never knew about an incredible park less than a mile from my apartment. When I saw a picture of it on a friends' fridge I had to see it so Andrew and I went to check out the sunset over the city.

We had hoped for something like this:

Unfortunately it wasn't our night. Nevertheless, it was still beautiful.

We saw the huge statue of Providence's beloved founder, Roger Williams, watching over the city.

We hung out with our coffee mugs checking out Downcity from all angles. The park boasts a great view of Downcity, the Capitol and the West End. This is why people love to live on the East Side...huge hill=great view + great workout.

At this point we're hanging out in a spot hoping to catch the sunset behind the capitol. There is a couple behind us having a dinner-picnic on a bench. We lolly-gag for a bit and then decide to go to a bench further away. When there are only 10 people in the park there's no sense in being in people's space. Well, as we're hanging out and talking I notice over Andrew's shoulder that this couple has gotten all smoochy-smoochy on us. Awkward. I'm a little weirded out and distracted by it until I realize that he's taking pictures of her and a ring. Yep, that's right, as if this guy didn't have enough stress in trying to execute the perfect engagement, two goof balls show up, hang about, talk, take pictures, and stand close enough that he can't give his mushy speech and prolong his torture. (Me: hanging out. Couple on left: trying to enjoy a picnic. Man: mustering up the nerve to ask his woman to marry him with strangers in his way)

You can't really see it, but between the trees is the engaged couple still basking in their excitement and me still being a nosy observer and peeping Kim.

I love it...

2009-03-13T23:28:00.002-04:00

Who knew M&Ms could be so adorable?

That Creep at the Mall

2009-03-12T21:08:00.014-04:00

Today I had a conference for work downtown, about a block from the mall. Naturally, I had to go check out the big sales Emy has been telling me about and stimulate the economy a little bit:D

Well, I had been there for a few hours and had the routine down: check out the sales; look at clothes til your arm gets tired, you can't hold anymore, or they offer to start you a fitting room; head to the fitting room; greet the attendant; politely say thanks for showing you to a room; try the crap on; give back 90%; etc. Well I had been at H&M for a while trying to find some dresses to go with my boots and was ready to head back to the fitting rooms for round two. As a result, I knew they didn't count your items there, so I proceeded as usual.

I walked into the entry and there was a lady standing there where they fold and hang clothes. We made eye contact and I smiled and she just turned down the aisle toward the last free fitting room. Obviously she was tired at the end of the day so I didn't hold her lack of enthusiasm against her. She turned and looked at me as if to say, "Is this room okay?", but of course didn't actually say that. I just smiled again signifying that I was accepting her offering of this fitting room. She looked at me again, I smiled, and then she entered the fitting room to proceed with the usual routine of checking for clothes left by other people before relinquishing the room over to my care.

"SLAM!!"

She went into the fitting room and shut the door!!

"What just happened?" I thought. "Oh...my...gosh. She doesn't work here! She just happened to be standing in the wrong place at the wrong time." I quickly realized that her lack of enthusiasm was actually a mix of confusion and hesitation toward the woman awkwardly smiling at her and following her to her dressing room!! I was that creep!! I immediately turned and proceeded in the opposite direction, to the adjacent row of fitting rooms on the other side of the attendant area. I tried to put this little incident behind me and enjoy the fabulousness of the dresses.

But of course, when I finished in the fitting room guess who walked out right in front of me?! HER! And she looked me in the eye, again, (haven't we done this enough tonight lady?) and I could almost taste her look of disgust. She whispered something to her boyfriend, but he never turned back. I'm sure it was something like, "Don't look now, but the lady who kept looking at me and grinning is right behind us. Probably following me again." They of course walked straight to the register, my destination, so I diverted my path and pretended not to be done so as to never look her in the eye again. Ever.

What a creep! That's the last time I assume the trendy looking woman standing on the little X marked "fitting room attendant" is actually an employee!!

So my plea: If you ever encounter a nice, docile, friendly woman following you around in the fitting room smiling, cut her some slack and just take it as a compliment, you look trendy.

Date in Hell?...

2009-03-11T21:10:00.005-04:00

...Date in Sprawlville!

Andrew received an Olive Garden gift card for Valentine's Day from his parents so we decided to go out for dinner. We looked up the nearest Olive Garden and it was in Attleboro, Massachusetts. No problem, that's only 7 miles away. Interestingly we'd been wanting to go to Attleboro. A friend from church works there and was telling us how terrible the town was. If he was using reverse psychology on us, it worked. We felt so intrigued to see this awful place that we planned on it even before the OG excursion. In fact, we went out to eat while it was light out just so we could see the town. Pathetic, I know.

Well, we had been trying to spend money wisely and we hadn't gone out too much since Andrew's been in town, so we were really excited for this outing. We got all dressed up for our fancy date and headed out on the town. Well, town quickly turned into townie. We soon realized that Attleboro was so sprawled that OG was 3.5 miles from the town center (a big deal when you're expecting a small town). After a few wrong turns, some impolite words, and 20 minutes of irritation, we arrived in the downtown. It was cute, but dying. Traditional, historic storefronts occupied by less than desirable businesses. We drove around in circles for a few minutes and then headed back out to OG for dinner. Not much of a looker. We came, we saw, we went.

We pulled up toward the restaurant and realized that we had to turn onto the opposite side of the street to get to the restaurant. (The little sign is on the other side of the road telling you to go the opposite direction than seems logical to get to the parking lot with the big sign!)

The intersection was so convoluted that they forced you to enter a large parking lot on the left, use the outside lane like a service road, turn left under the highway and pull into the parking on your left...three lefts, aka, what would have equaled a right turn into the lot in the first place except it wasn't allowed. There was no entrance. And to make things crazier there were no stop lights on the main street, no no, they are all in the parking lot. What?! I have to stop at a light next to my parking space?!
Notice that mess of intersections that look more like something you see in the L.A. highway system? That's the parking lot traffic structure! What on earth are all those lanes for?! Really, Mr. Developer, are there that many Saturday morning shoppers in this town? The population is just over 40,000...what do you think, they all shop at the same time?!

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By this point we're absolutely floored by the desolate suburban conditions we're in and we've kicked into psycho urban planner mode complaining about suburbia, blaming the developer for the parking lot fiasco, cursing the city for the entrance dilemma, you get the drift....two planners on a rampage.

Well, when we get done laughing at how horrible our experience had been thus far we notice that not only are we in the world's largest parking lot, but that we're in the world's largest parking lot and way over dressed. We watch people in gym clothes, basketball shorts, cut off jean shorts with combat boots, sweatpants, you name it, walk into OG. We're not trying to judge what the other people are wearing, we're mostly feeling really awkward, overdressed, and out of place. We'll never pass as townies. They'll know we're outsiders the minute we step inside the Italian mecca. Well, we didn't drive all the way there to shrink back with our tails between our legs, so we go in. First, we can't find anything we want on the menu, next our waiter mistakes the salad for soup and gives us about 2 cups of dressing on our bottomless bowl of salad, and then we experience the saddest "Happy Birthday" singing we've ever seen at a restaurant. Usually waiters and waitresses at least pretend to be happy for you, sing, smile, fake well wishes....these people didn't even try.

Full, but thoroughly disappointed, we drag our overdressed behinds back home. No offense Attleboro, but you stink. Thanks for the gift card though, Mr. and Mrs. P.!!

All in a week's work

2009-03-06T14:35:00.001-05:00

I have had a lot of fun this week designing flyers, creating a newsletter, and making a poster for the health groups I work with:D Here's what I did this week! Busy week!

"Focus group" flyers.
A focus group is a meeting with a group of people, often residents of a specific area, so they can get information from people in addition to the quantitative data from the U.S. Census, Dept of Health, City, etc. This group is interested in understanding teenage pregnancy, delayed prenatal care, food insecurity and nutrition in their rural community. I got to make flyers that will appeal to different cohorts: adolescents, parents, etc.

I also created a poster for disseminating the results of a teen medical home study. The big white space is where the handouts (see below) will be mounted. I feel so techy when I get to make stuff like this:D

Small State, Big Problems

2009-03-03T12:47:00.004-05:00

Thank you NY Times for calling us out! I don't regret my move to RI one bit, but to keep you all in the loop, this is what life in the Little Rhody is like: NY Times, March 1, 2009

In summary: Second highest unemployment rate, small state=too much back scratching, high foreclosure rates, less educated residents, mob culture, corrupt politicians, fifth-worst business climate in the nation, etc. etc.

Jealous? Surely not. You don't have to move here, just come visit!:D On a positive note RI does have 11 colleges including Brown University and the Rhode Island School of Design (two top universities), the most beautiful housing stock, hills, green spaces, beaches, you name it. If you can dream it, it's at least within a 3.5 hour drive!

PS This picture from the article is across the street from my apartment! Beautiful building, sad current state. But don't panic, it's on the far end of Main Street away from the busyness of downtown, which by the way, once the highway is relocated will be thriving once again:D And, no that's not Andrew and I walking, unfortunately.

A Walk in the Park

The Summer That Was

Zoo Day | 2011

What we’ve been up to

Hopefully this weekend…

Adorable Cookies

Soup Recipe

Smoky Roasted Chicken and Corn ChowderPrep/Total Time: 30 min.

Source: Taste of Home Healthy Cooking Feb-March 2009 Issue

Ingredients:

Directions:

The Year of the…

Election Day 2010

In the Meantime…

Spotlight on Shephard’s

Quick Update

Day Trip through RI

Time for A Change

Sometimes it’s okay to dump it

Much About Nothing

When Emy Was In Town

Spontaneous

Our life as of late

Friday @ 9pm EST

Coming soon!

Birthday Blues

Coffee Filters

Cookie Cutters

As for me and my feet, we’ll be walking

A New Venture

Just What She Always Wanted!

Slowly, but Surely

Almost Famous

Grocery List

Life Gets Away.

Quick Update

Wicked Good Times

Recipe of the Week

Worst. Weekend. Ever.

This year it's MY fault

Today's THE Day!!

Recipe of the Week

The End.

Pruning, Nurturing, & Enjoying

We All Forget Things Sometimes

Sunflower Festival

Food, Inc.

Recipe of the Week

A Dangerous Good Time

Another Weekend, Another Trip

It's Been A Year

Work 'Picnic'

Recipe of the Week

Stoked About Sunflowers

Restaurant Week? Yes, Please!

A Quick Trip

Andrew, My Hero

New York, New York

Homemade Goodies

Happy Birthday, Mom!

The Pierson's Come to Providence

Watching the Classics

Sorry About the Goo

Friday Night Delight

Recipe of the Week

It's About Time I Show Back Up!

A Princess' Tale

Our Nation's Capitol

Chocolate Cake

A Special Aunt Remembered

A Little Recommendation

Recipe of the Week

Sour Cream Fish Fillets

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Ingredients

Directions

Funny Weekend Moments

Happy Easter!

A Long, Cranky Week(s)

Making Maps

Smoky Roasted Chicken and Corn Chowder
Prep/Total Time: 30 min.