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
More Bullet Blogging
I've been behind on blogging so the only solution is more bullet points to bring me up to speed. I kind of like posting that way, maybe that's why I am enjoying my new
Twitter account thingie. Anyway, here's the latest in random order.
Stuff That's Happened◘ I finished my little summer stint at The Office.
◘ I visited with my sister and lots of other fam.
◘ I've gone on lots of walks in the company of my little shuffle or my friends.
◘ I had lunch with Sharon on Grand Avenue.
◘ I've gone to campus several times to work on random stuff. I'll be officially under contract next Monday so I'm enjoying the last days of unscheduled time.
◘ I made my friends
Cath and Siena a tortilla for lunch and Catherine shared French Granny's secret dessert recipe with me. Puff pastry and fresh berries, mmm!
Stuff That's Coming Up◘ My cousin's bachelorette party downtown St. Paul. Anyone been to Pazzaluna?
◘ Fall Semester
◘ My cousins' weddings (note the apostrophe s- two cousins are getting married two consecutive weekends in the Duluth area).
Etiquetes de comentaris: family, friends, good things, work
Weekend
Last Friday, Austin and I left for Iowa City where we were going to be attending a wedding. It was a six hour drive, partly through cornfields, but then we emerged in a cool college town. Most importantly, we got to be there to celebrate with Sharon and Matt. They had a wonderful ceremony in a gorgeous flower garden not to mention the mimosas and
five kinds of dessert that followed!
We had a little bit of time to check out the campus area. We found it very Big 10, cuter than Dinkytown and reminiscent of State Street. Two Indian restaurants, an Irish pub, bookstore, paint-yer-own-pottery place, etc. We really liked the feel of it. (Maybe
Takenob can share more insight.) The bottom line is that UI happens to have a really good grad program for what I want to do and it feels better applying there having at least seen the place.
Then we returned through Dubuque so there weren't that many cornfields. We came back on Saturday so we enjoyed a quiet Sunday and now the week is well underway, flying by. Tomorrow I am meeting Sharon (the bride above) for lunch. I'm looking forward to hearing her impressions of the wedding a week later.
Etiquetes de comentaris: friends, good things, travel, weekend
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
Bayfield Wedding
Our trip to Bayfield was great. During the day, Austin and I got to check out a few cool little shops and galleries and do some sight-seeing. The real reason we were there, though, was for Tom and LeeAnne.
Thursday night was the bachelorette party which had a hot and spicy southwest theme (LeeAnne is going to grad school in Tucson this fall). Friday night was the rehearsal and groom's dinner on Madeline Island, then Saturday was The Big Day! I went over to the island at 1pm for hair and getting ready, kind of funny to be a foot passenger on the ferry in the middle of the day all dressed up.
The ceremony was on the island, then we came back to Bayfield for a reception. Awesome food, awesome Champagne (<--note the capital C, Veuve-Cliquot!), awesome dancing. We partied with the couple until 2am and it was a blast.
Sunday involved much recovery since we were low on sleep. In fact, after all the dancing, we were sore and tired until yesterday! Yeah, I'm approaching 30...
Anyway, it was a marvelous time and I'm glad we were able to be there.
Congrats, Monsieur et Madame Godfrey!
Etiquetes de comentaris: friends, good things, travel, weekend
Blolggin' from Bayfield
We're in Bayfield having a blast. Been to a winery and several art galleries. It's so beautiful not to mention the fun people we keep running into. I have two new best friends now! Tomorrow is the Big Day and we can't wait to celebrate with LeeAnne and Tom!
Etiquetes de comentaris: friends, good things, travel
4th of July
Bad Z is coming to visit today! WOoOOoO!!!
PS I know the Eiffel Tower isn't exactly America but Bad Z and I had a lot of fun together in France and the French helped us gain our independence so there.Etiquetes de comentaris: friends, good things
Relaxing at the Cabin
We spent the weekend at Austin's aunt's cabin, doing a sort of reunion. This year the crowd was of limited number due to life- one branch of the family tree was dealing with a grandma's death while another offshoot was too pregnant to make the trip! Still, a good group of us got together and we enjoyed some time just looking at the lake, sitting around the campfire, and catching up. I did lots of reading too.
We have more fun coming up starting on Thursday when we head to my friend LeeAnne's wedding up in Bayfield. Besides all the nuptial festivities, we also plan on checking out a winery, some art galleries, and of course the good ol' Gitchee Gummee. It's gonna be great!
Etiquetes de comentaris: family, friends, good things, travel, weekend
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
Friday
It's Friday, the only day this week I'm not at The Office but the one day I will be at The Campus. I'll be working with two colleagues on a project that we are trying to complete over the summer.
After that, I'll run a few errands and then do some cleaning in preparation for my parents' visit. They are coming tomorrow and we're taking them out for dinner at a haibachi grill restaurant, something they've been talking about trying for awhile. Then on Sunday, we're taking them to breakfast at a favorite coffee shop where my dad previously had been disappointed by arriving too late for a breakfast sandwich that he was craving.
It'll be a great weekend and then early next week, I get to see my good friend, Bad Z!
Etiquetes de comentaris: family, friends, weekend, work
The Conference
The conference that I attended last week was Friday and Saturday but I left on Thursday to see some friends and run a few errands. First I had lunch with my cousin Lisa (whose wedding I'm in this September) and we met downtown Mpls. It was Thursday, Farmers Market day, so I enjoyed walking around and taking that in. I worked downtown the summer of 2004 so it brought back some memories of my escape from grad school and brief return to the corporate life :-)
That evening, I was able to go to my friend LeeAnne's dress fitting at Brides of France which was really fun and she looked amazing. Then we went to happy hour at Figlio. Ah, the days when I lived mere blocks from $2 wine and $2 gorgonzola fries... That evening, we had dinner on LeeAnne and Tom's terrace and then I crashed early to get up for the conference.
The conference itself was good and LeeAnne got to meet some of my colleagues after hearing me talk for a long time. At every session, I tried to find a possible dissertation topic among all the information and research. Second Language Acquisition and identity and culture acquisition came the closest in that little game of mine.
Friday night, LeeAnne's fiancé had plans so it was just the two of us like the good ol' days. I realized it might be the last time I hang out with LeeAnne for a while since the next time I see her will likely be at her wedding and then she'll be moving to Arizona. We did our usual cooking and sipping wine and just talking way too late.
I woke up a lot during the night and finally got up around 5:30 to get ready for the day. I was presenting with my colleagues at 8:00 so I wanted time to wake up, collect my thoughts, etc. The presentation went well and I stayed at the conference until about 2:00. Then it was home for anniversary stuff.
Etiquetes de comentaris: friends, work
Conferencing
I'm off to a conference for a few days and get to visit with my friend, LeeAnne, who will be getting married on July 7. Mixin' business with pleasure, oh yeah!
Etiquetes de comentaris: friends, weekend, work
