Update
It's been forever so here are the updates.
◘ I'm back to work and it feels wonderful to be on a schedule. It seems like I have great students so far and I have some interesting projects going on besides the teaching.
◘ I've been making tons of pesto and freezing it so we can enjoy some delicious green basil-y flavor in the dead of winter. Plus basil is wonderful and cheap at the farmers market since our crop sucked this year.
◘ Speaking of the farmers market, I'm addicted. I've been buying amazing veggies and gorgeous flowers. I think this year I will have to check out this winter farmers market, something I didn't do last winter.
◘ I've been reading lots. For fun. Don't ask what, it's embarrassing.
◘ Even though the herb garden didn't fare so well, the African violets are looking good.
◘ I stood up in my cousin's wedding. It was gorgeous up on the North Shore, we ate well, had good wine, and danced a lot.
◘ I've had good coffee/tea and conversation with some friends recently.
◘ I finally got the nerve to introduce myself to this cool old lady I always see at the grocery store. She wears all purple every day and wears huge, round glasses with violet-tinted lenses. Her name is Norma and she appreciated my compliments of her outstanding fashion sense.
And here's what I'm looking forward to:
◘ Seeing some friends this weekend that we don't see as often as we'd like.
◘ Cooking and/or drinking wine with said friends.
◘ Going on an early fall scenic drive with Austin.
◘ More reading for fun.
Etiquetes de comentaris: cooking, daily, family, freetime, friends, good things, weekend, work
Bullet Blogging
So yeah, it's been awhile. Lots of things big and small were happening in all spheres of my life at once so I decided to take a blog vacation. Now I'm back and will bullet point some of what I've been up to.
◘ My nephew was born but had a little infection so I spent a lot of time reading his parents' blog and sending positive vibes out into the universe. Conner got to go home on the 23rd so he's doing much better.
◘ I cooked dinner for my inlaws for the first time and it was a success! We were up at the family cabin so I made Shrimp Monterrey and brought fresh greens, bread, and raspberries from the Farmers Market.
◘ I hung out with LeeAnne two more times; one day we went to Anodyne for iced coffees and last Tuesday we had lunch at San Pedro Cafe. It was our farewell since she is moving to Tucson for grad school. LeeAnne also very thoughtfully gave me all of her pantry items that she couldn't move so I got nice stuff like olive oil, interesting vinegars, cake flour, superfine sugar, etc.
◘ My parents came to watch the Mighty Sand Crabs play volleyball. We drank some good wine and went to Coffee Grounds for a tasty breakfast the next day.
◘ I went to my cousin's wedding shower and helped her organize an Italian themed bachelorette party. Anyone been to Pazzaluna?
◘ I worked at The Office.
◘ I worked on campus on some research stuff.
◘ I watched the first tomato of my vines ripen and am trying to decide what to do with it. I also watched my morning glories start blooming, beautiful pinks and purples.
◘ I've taken lots of walks in the company of my Shuffle and with friends. Today I went on a walk with a new friend and we had a great conversation.
◘ I've looked forward to Sharon's wedding in Iowa City for which we are leaving tomorrow morning.
◘ I read Harry Potter!
Etiquetes de comentaris: cooking, family, freetime, friends, good things, work
Summer Visits
I've been really busy the last few days squeezing in lots of visits with family and friends. On Friday afternoon, I found out that my cousin, Danny, was in town from LA. Austin and I were just planning on relaxing since he had had a stressful work week but we were happy to hang out with Danny. We ended up having him and his sisters (plus one baby) over for an impromptu dinner. Danny is a professionally trained chef so Austin and I were a little intimidated but we just threw together a shrimp pasta, green salad, and some good bread. It turned out fine and we had a wonderful visit.
On Saturday, my parents came to visit and we took them out to a pottery place we found in the middle of no where. The artist was home so he showed us his studio and kilns and we got to meet his cat, Earl Grey (if I ever have a cat I want an Earl Grey, both in name and specialness). Later we went out to a tepanyaki restaurant for dinner and it was divine as always.
Sunday was brunch at a fun cafe and then we went to a surprise 30th birthday for Danny out at my aunt and uncle's. It was there that I realized the simple pleasure of having a big deck surrounded by forest; I could have stayed there for hours.
On Monday, I got to visit with Bad Z! She was also in town from LA. We had many adventures, including a long lunch at the restaurant where she had her wedding reception, hanging out with her tiny niece, and tea shopping. It was perfect.
Today I'm back home and had a meeting on campus this morning. Now I'm doing the Domestic Goddess routine in between some reading. Tomorrow is entirely unscheduled! Friday is a full work day at The Office and then this weekend is a family reunion on Austin's side.
Etiquetes de comentaris: family, freetime, friends, good things, weekend
Beware the Mighty Sand Crabs!
Austin and I joined a bar league volleyball team that one of my students organized. Last night was a sort of "open court" event so we had the opportunity to practice together and assess the awesome strength of our combined forces. It was really funny that my student had put this together yet whenever the ball came to her, she literally ducked and covered, shrieking "oh my god!" So what I'm trying to say is that we are probably going to win this whole thing.
We also needed a name. This was challenging since the group is made up of my student and her husband, a psych prof, Sean and Angie, and the Lunderoys. There isn't really an underlying theme that unites us so, after much brainstorming, Austin came up with "the sand crabs" since we play in a giant sandbox. What a beautiful, powerful animal he had chosen! It was immediately embraced by all and then we even came up with our theme: "we come outta nowhere and we pinch you where it hurts." Plus we have even created a sort of pinching hand motion that we do to intimidate the opponents and to rally our team.
Goooooooooooo........ Sand Crabs!
Etiquetes de comentaris: freetime
