Kids and sports.

I was never an athlete. I don't come from a family that really is sportive, though we would bike and take woodsy walks and that kind of recreational athletic activity. I was never on a sports team and I absolutely hated gym class, mostly because I considered myself slower, clumsier, and less athletic than everyone else in the class. Because of this assumption I guess I never really tried to excel at sports, or even tried to do them at all. I did, however, play on my high school badminton team, and I have to say that I wasn't that bad at it, but that never made me want to get more involved in athletics. Maybe all of this is why I am so reluctant to get out there and run - running is what athletes do, and exercise videos in the comfort of my own home are what non-athletes like me do. Anyway, what I am trying to say here is that I am very impressed and proud of my nieces and nephew for actively enjoying sports, and I hope this enjoyment continues. Doug and I went down to see my niece Maddy's last basketball game of the season; after hearing how great of a basketball player Mads is I had to see for myself. And she is very good. She's athletically built and has boundless energy, all of which help her to excel. She is also very eager to get involved and doesn't hold back because of nerves or anxiety, something her dear auntie never mastered. The basketball game was at a local school in her town, and I had never been to an event like this before. There were so many kids and so many parents and grandparents - I was very pleased to see the involvement in the lives of these kids. Plus, it was just fun to see the kids play.

Maddy played on the Huskies this year, and for this game the Huskies were playing the Panthers. The kids warmed up for about a half hour before the game started; they would practice dribbling, practice passing, practice making shots, etc. Once the practice was over, each team was divided into two, and they played two simultaneous games of basketball. Maddy was on a team with her friend and neighbor Jason, and Maddy was really great. Running back and forth, putting up her arms for defense, trying to block the shots of these two burly kids on the Panthers who were rather aggressive and have the potential for becoming ball hogs later in their careers. Maddy made one shot, but tried for many others. I loved that no one yelled or got upset when one of the kids didn't make their shot. You hear all the time about crazy parents who beat their kids on the sidelines if they don't perform well, or don't show their ability to be the next Michael Jordan. Everyone here was very calm, very encouraging, and very welcoming. I liked that. Made me wish I had done sports as a kid! Wonder what that would have done to enhance my life.

I do have photos of Maddy the basketball star. The first few are of her in action; one of her dribbling the ball like a pro, another of her waiting to be passed the ball (note her cool Chuck Taylors; she picked them out herself just for basketball season), and the other of her standing at the basket during the game trying to make a basket. I can't get over the respect on the court - no one's pushing her or getting in her way. She has ample room to try and take her shot. These kids are way too nice.


These other two photos are of the post-game ceremonies. As it was the last game of the season, trophies were handed out. The first shot is of Maddy going up to get her trophy from her coach, and the second is Maddy showing off her bling. With her is her friend and neighbor Jason, who also got a trophy. All the kids did, no matter their ability or contribution to the team. Isn't this great? I like this sense of community.

Back at my sister's house, my niece Maria showed me a picture that she drew for me in sidewalk chalk. I'm on the right and she's on the left. She's wearing a dress, but I seem to have no clothes. And in every picture that little kids draw, the sun is always out. Did you ever notice that? I love the thoughts of little kids.

So good times in Connecticut yesterday! Today we're having good times, too. Doug is eating some fruit: and I'm preparing to do a few hours of work (blogging helps me prepare for weekend work). But before I go, I want to display some photos of the rugs in our bedroom. Last weekend when Chris and Chris were here we went to IKEA. Doug and I have been looking for a different rug for our bedroom for a while now; the old one just washed out the room and seemed to make the space small and confined. I found these small, round rugs in this nice rich purple color at IKEA that day and bought four of them, two for either side of the bed. Doug wasn't convinced that the color would work, or that they would look good, but I knew they would be great. I was right, and Doug agrees - they're much better than our old rug. These circles add color and they lighten up the room a bit. A definite improvement. The rug that was in our bedroom before is now in the guest room, and I think that this is a VAST improvement in the guest room. This new-old rug brightens up the guest room and lessens the severity of the orange in there. You be the judge. Here are some photos of the new and improved guest room - all ready for your visit!

Okay, time to work...

More nothing.

Unfortunately, my life has been rather dull lately, which makes me less interested in blogging. Do you want blogs about what I do all day? Not likely, because they'd all be the same: wake somewhere around 6:20am; pee; floss, gargle, and brush teeth; shower; dress; dance around the woolly bear as he tries to rub against my legs (9 times out of 10 I'm wearing dark pants that really don't do well with his white hair); comb hair and make sure I match; kiss snoring husband; run downstairs to grab my bags; put on shoes and coat; tell cats good-bye and be good; leave house and run-walk to train; take train to city and walk to office; take off coat and shoes, put away bags, and put on work shoes; turn on computer; get breakfast (cereal, fruit, and water); come back to desk and work for 12 hours, give or take a couple hours. Then, once work is over, put coat and walking shoes back on; grab bags; leave building and run-walk to train; get on train and attempt to read for 15 minutes; get off train and walk home; get home, take off coat and shoes; change into pajamas and make bed (if Doug hasn't made it). Now here's where my routine varies. Some nights I feel like I have energy so I do about 20 minutes worth of exercises. Most nights, though, I have no energy, so I grab some kind of dinner (baked beans, cereal, a frozen pot pie, leftover take out, something nutritious like that) and park myself on the sofa to eat and watch TV. Within 20-25 minutes I'm usually fast asleep. Then, around 11:30pm or so, Doug will say, "Babe, it's time to go to bed," and I'll grumble about not wanting to get up, but I will, and I'll go upstairs to the bed. Some nights I'm good and I will brush my teeth and wash my face, but other night I can't imagine taking the extra time to wash my face so I just brush my teeth and fall into the bed, making sure to flick the alarm on. I sleep, usually somewhat restlessly, and then wake again around 6:20am the next day - repeat above. So yes, not really a whole lot of thrilling blog content there.

However, in an attempt to keep blogging and to keep things interesting, I'll now write about something that never really bothered me but now I find to be very bothersome. Here, here's a photo. Do you notice anything missing in it? I do, and it's called a door. This is a photo of the bathroom connected to our bedroom and you'll notice that there is no door. Lately this has been bothering me. Probably because I find the bathroom to be a somewhat private place and without the door it's a lot less private. When Doug's on the toilet I can see and hear everything. When I'm on the toilet he can see and hear everything. Yes, we're married so there's not much we don't know about each other and there's nothing that we don't share, but I still wouldn't mind if we didn't have to share those private bathroom moments. Yes, there is a door to the bedroom itself, so if we ever wanted privacy we could just close the door to the bedroom, but that's only effective if one of us is not in the bedroom. Otherwise, what's the point of closing the door? Something tells me that this bathroom isn't up to code, and it's not just because there's no door. But, because I'm at risk of being showcased on White Whine ("My master bath with double sinks, jet tub and shower with double-shower heads is just so small that I don't even bother to use it..." That kind of whine.) I will say that I really like having a bathroom connected to the bedroom and that even without a door I happily use it. Trust me, I'll live.

As long as we're on the subject of the bedroom, Doug and I hung some things on the wall - Doug's plover print (birds - another bird!) and my stuffed letters, both courtesy of Doug's new favorite store, and I kid you not. Doug actually requests trips to Anthropologie - guys, is this odd? I don't really mind, seeing how this means I can go there more often, but it does get a little weird when I'm ready to go and he's still happily browsing. He does only get excited about the housewares, though. He's not into the clothes yet, but I'm sure that will only follow. Soon I'll be the one sitting on the Victorian sofa reading one of the organic food books and he'll be shopping up a storm. At least Doug's doing his part to resuscitate the economy!

Nothing much.

I don't really have anything to blog about. I was going to blog about the Oscars, but I have nothing else to add to the night; dear Chris summed up the evening nicely with the photos of the pretty dresses. I will say this about the evening, though - we turned it off right after the Hugh Jackman-Beyoncé musical routine and I don't feel like I missed a whole lot. I was pushing for Mickey Rourke to win the best actor Oscar, but that's probably because I have yet to see Milk. I recently read a Rolling Stone interview with Sean Penn, and while it didn't make him seem like a terrible guy I do think that for me he's a little clichéd. He seems to play himself in every movie - slightly gruff, slightly sensitive, a five o'clock shadow personality. But maybe this is why his role in Milk was so great - Harvey Milk may have been his polar opposite.

Anyway, I picked myself up this jacket at the end of season blowout sale at a local sports store and I've been living in it. Literally. I have been wearing it as an extra layer to protect me from the biting winds that we've been having, but then when I come into the house I don't ever take it off. This is a way for me to layer up without having the bulk of a second wool sweater, or of a sweater and hoodie. I imagine you'll be seeing a lot of me in this jacket come spring, even though it's apparently a model from the Marmot fall collection. Fall, spring - what's the difference, really. Spring is just as cold and wet as fall it seems, so I don't think I'll feel too what-not-to-wear this coming season. Plus, I love the color. So bright! So spring! I need all the color I can get in my life right now, so this little jacket is here to stay.

Other than that, I really have very little to say. My mother and brother were here this past weekend for an overnight - our guest bed had its first guest in my mom. She thought the guestroom was very cozy and didn't mind the bed, so that's an endorsement for future visitors... the room won the mom approval award, so please book your stay now! We've put a kitty window shelf in our bedroom, so Meg has been sleeping there at night; you won't have to share the bed with Meg anymore. Though the bed has been no less hairy... I think she still prefers the warmth of the covers during the day when the heat is down low. Never fear, though - we give the bed a thorough vacuuming before the guests come.

Time to do a little work before watching a recorded Antiques Roadshow - Wichita, part 2. Yay!

Fireplace Feast.

In celebration of making it through one month of my new job, Doug's vacation, Valentine's Day, and our one-year anniversary, Doug and I at the last minute decided to trek down to the Salem Cross Inn's Fireplace Feast this weekend. I had been several times with my extended family as a kid and so to do this again was a treat. Nothing has changed about it, either. The first part of the evening consists of a horse-drawn wagon ride around the grounds of the inn, appetizers, hot cider/mulled wine, relaxing in the basement of an old barn while watching your prime rib turn on some kind of colonial roasting device, roasting yourself in front of a roaring fire, and participating in the making of the fish chowder. Once all these things are done, everyone goes upstairs to the top level of the barn to sit around and eat. And I mean eat. There is no end in sight to the food that is served to you, and it's all so tasty that you have no choice but to eat it. This meal is the reason why I had to sleep sitting up - if I lay down my whole meal felt like it was going to come back up from whence it came. Doug and I enjoyed ourselves and certainly enjoyed the food; we just wished we didn't have to drive so far to get back to our house after the dinner. Neither of us could walk, let alone feel alert enough to drive a car for over an hour, so it is a miracle that we are back in one piece. We definitely were in a bit of a food coma after the cheese & crackers, mulled cider, fish chowder (two bowls for Doug!), homemade breads, two giant slabs of prime rib, spinach pie, butternut squash, roasted potatoes, and a heaping helping of homemade apple pie. Just writing about the food makes me ill again. As a matter of fact, I am still not totally recovered from the dinner. I may never again get my appetite back. But it was worth it! Here are some photos of the evening:

I was still in the midst of a food coma the next morning, so I decided to plunk myself down in the beautifully warm sun that shines through our dining room windows. The cats love these sun spots, and since I am convinced - and so is Doug - that I am part cat (the slightly aloof kind, the kind that for the most part keeps to herself until she can't take it anymore and has to attack you for some attention), I decided to see what it was all about. I have to say, the cats are on to something. Lying on the floor with my back perfectly straight so that I could feel each and every vertebrae restoring itself to its natural position was heavenly, and add to that the warm sun... please god, in my next life let me come back as a spoiled little house cat! Of course, one of our own spoiled little house cats didn't take too well to me hogging all of her sun, so she decided to take matters into her own hands: But how can I get mad at this face?

So today is our actual anniversary. Doug and I have been married for one year, and I won't get into all the crazy things that have happened since we got engaged a year and a half ago. Our lives have been running on warp speed since then. It is my supreme wish that things slow down a little this year, but I think that I am just wishing for something that may never happen. When I was a kid I never wanted to be anything but grown up, whatever that meant. I never wanted to be a ballerina, an actress, a singer, a teacher, a nurse, a doctor, a lawyer, a pharmacist, a writer, a director, a hairdresser, a model... nothing. I just wanted to skip childhood and move right into adulthood so that I wouldn't have to bother with the aches and pains of figuring life out. I was such a naive child! Now that I am that "grown up" I wish that I could go back to being a kid. Life moves fast for a kid, very fast, but without all the strings that adulthood attaches. Of course, if I were to go back to being a kid I'd have to relive middle school (the horror), high school, college, the dating game, graduate school, etc. I probably wouldn't have the three little kitties that I have now, or the husband I have now (who has decided to celebrate our anniversary by organizing two Craigslist deals, one that involves a woman named Jean coming to our house to purchase something for $35, and the other that involves us driving to the South Shore Plaza to make a trade in the parking lot like some kind of suburban drug dealers), or the friends that I have now. So I guess I really wouldn't like to go back to being a kid. Maybe what I hope for is just a little perspective - and a little time for reflection now and again.

But, before you come away from this post thinking that I don't love or appreciate my husband, take a look at the flowers I got for Valentine's Day/our anniversary:
Aren't they beautiful? For him I'll spend my afternoon sitting in the parking lot at the mall.

I'm alive!

I finished Killing Hitler and I'm alive. Thank god. Now it's on to The Elegance of the Hedgehog. Here's hoping that I finish this book before I turn 30. That's my goal.

Speaking of my 30th birthday, Doug's been on my case about coming up with a fun birthday activity and I've finally hit upon one that not only makes me excited but should excite everyone else who will be invited (which is everyone. I hereby invite everyone to my birthday celebration.). But, rather than just telling you what I want to do for my fun birthday outing, I'll leave you with this photo as a directional indicator... and don't forget to pencil in "Par-tay!" on your calendars for April 4th!

Killing Hitler is killing me.

I have been reading Killing Hitler for over a month now and I want it to be over already! I was hoping it would be a little more lively, would pump a little life into war history (which I normally don't like and this book isn't helping to change that opinion), but so far it's desert dry. And it's taking so long to read! I only read now on the train to and from work (and some nights I'm coming home from work so late that my eyes sting and I can barely see straight - is there a rule that says one should not stare in front of a computer screen for thirteen hours straight? Because if there isn't, I'm going to make one.), and non-fiction always takes me longer to read than fiction. This means that I've still got about one hundred pages to go. Ahh! Enough! I keep seeing great books that I want to start reading (American Lion for example), but I can't give up on this book yet. So close to finishing... so close to completion. I have a hard time giving up on books. I'd rather skim parts to speed to the end than start a book and not finish it. Does anyone else have this problem? I guess I just feel badly for bad books... it's like I don't want their feelings to be hurt, or I don't want them to hate me for not liking them, for not seeing them through to the end. This probably indicates some serious psychological problem, but hey, I wouldn't be surprised there. I should probably be speeding through those last one hundred pages right now... I've got Elegance of the Hedgehog sitting on my nightstand, waiting for me to open it and dive in. I just can't bring myself to pick Hitler up. I'm just not that into it.

As for movies, well I've been watching a few (or starting them and then falling asleep before finishing). The most recent ones I've seen are The Seventh Seal, the classic Ingmar Bergman film that takes a look at a medieval knight who engages in a game of chess with Death. We're trying to watch more classics, and while I'm not a huge fan of black and white movies (I tend to like a lot of color in my life), I'm getting the hang of appreciating them. I thought this one was good, and I liked that it was in Swedish. Most foreign films I see are either French, Spanish, or an occasional Asian film. Bring on more Swedes!

Then last night I watched 95% of Brideshead Revisited (fell asleep for the last 15 minutes). The movie was good, but only good. Not great. It reminded me of Atonement in that the book was much better than the movie - you got so much more out of the story on paper than on screen. It really irritated me that on screen there was the budding of some kind of romance between Charles Ryder and Julia before their eventual meeting on the oceanliner. Hated that! And the subtleties of the religious tensions and of the alcoholism were not present in the movie. The camera takes in Julia as a whole upon our first viewing of her, and then focuses on the gold cross hanging around her neck. Hmmm, something about religion must be going to happen here! Great foreshadowing.

Anyway, what's up next for cinema? Nothing for tonight at least. Right now the Grammy's are on and I have no desire to watch, but I'm not sure what else we'll put on. I am Trying to Break Your Heart won't arrive until Tuesday, and The Dark Knight not until Wednesday, so until then the little time I have for TV will have to be filled with On Demand. Thank god for cable!

The wonder of it all.

Yes, I am definitely becoming a weekend blogger.

Because I told Adam I would, I'm posting a picture of last Sunday's chicken chasseur, courtesy of ATK's Family Cookbook. I was planning on making it so that Adam would be able to eat it with us, but he wanted to leave earlier than it would have been ready. He missed out! The meal was very good, but we had so much leftover. That's one of the beefs that I have with the America's Test Kitchen/Cook's Illustrated/Cook's Country recipes - they make giant portions. Plus, they invariably call for a teensy bit of some random ingredient that I'm never going to use again but that's wildly expensive and hard to find. And the recipes take (me) a lot longer to prepare than the guideline. For example, I was planning on making this classic yellow cake from scratch today, recipe courtesy of the same Family Cookbook as last week's chicken dish. It didn't call for anything crazy (just LOTS of butter and eggs) and claimed to take only 15 minute to prepare. But by the time I got myself out to the store, did my grocery shopping, and then came home, I decided that I wouldn't really have a whole lot of time to make the cake - 15 minutes of their prep time means at least 45 minutes for me. So no cake. Instead, we have an assortment of Middle Eastern desserts for treats during the Super Bowl... lots of honey, lots of pistachios, lots of yumminess (or at least we're hoping - we've never tried the homemade sweets from Cedar's Market in Norwood, but they sure do look good). I'm also making homemade hummus and pasta with this olive sauce. We'll have plenty of eats, so who cares about the cake.

Since I decided not to work this weekend (not really a conscious choice... more of a mental necessity at this point), Doug and I traveled with Marieke for a quick trip to the Mashantucket Pequot Museum at Foxwoods in CT. I've posted some photos below of the trip, which make the trip seem great. And it was, but I think everyone was a little disappointed in the museum. The museum had a lot of potential, and I believe some exhibits were done well, like the Pequot village with the audio tour. The staff was really not friendly, though - our first impression of the museum was this surly, middle-aged woman working the ticket desk giving Marieke a hard time for trying to get into the museum for free (which she did, because she's a New England museum employee or something like that). Anyway, then when Doug and I tried to buy our tickets she told us that the observation tower would close at 3:30pm, the exhibits at 4, and because it was 1:30pm did we even want to bother going? Now, I suppose maybe she was trying to save us the $30 (yes!) admission to the museum, but still, I didn't think her attitude was very inviting. Despite this treatment, we had a good time. The observation tower gave us nice panoramic views of the nothingness of southeastern CT (all you can see for miles is trees and... Foxwoods!), and the museum taught us that Natives of southern New England liked to plant corn, beans, and squash. Wow. After the museum we did go to Foxwoods, so that was a bonus - we checked out the new MGM Grand and ate at the Hard Rock Cafe, but all that really did was convince us that we didn't really want to be there any longer. We soon after left for home and were happy to wave bye-bye to the casino and southeastern Connecticut.

Today, back safely in Massachusetts, we decided to finally get serious about finding a new vacuum cleaner. Our old Kenmore canister vacuum finally died for good a few weeks ago, and our house has been in desperate need of a vacuum. Doug set to doing some online research and then we headed out to Sears, Lowe's, Home Depot, and BJ's to do some comparison shopping. There was this Kenmore canister vacuum at Sears that was our top option, but then we stopped at Home Depot. There, in a corner where we almost didn't see them, was a small display of Dyson DC17s, the animal vacuum. We have heard very good things about this vacuum, but it was way out of our price point at other stores (as well as online). But for whatever reason, there were three of these babies at Home Depot at a wickedly cheap price - and plus, we had a couple of Home Depot gift cards from Christmas that we could use towards its purchase. Now we're the proud owners of a new, super-sucking machine! Doug is especially excited about this purchase, as he claims to like to vacuum. He's vacuuming right now, actually. Here are a couple of photos of Doug with his new toy.

So, that's the news for now. All we have to have is a Steelers victory tonight and this weekend will be complete.