GPOYW

Cheers to middle age!

GPOYW

We are sharing a "cardamom and ginger shake", so I will give you only 1 guess where I am in this photo.  But, seriously people, look at how he has his hand over mine...I mean, are you kidding me with this kid?  I am so in love!

GPOYW

For my 16th anniversary, My Beloved* gave me 16MB of memories

in the shape of R2D2 and C3PO.

*He so gets me.

Surprises

It began on Friday...

Sullen Nephew on California Screamin' about to go into the loop-d-loop

Followed by more on Saturday of the cute and adorable pictures of my nephews and niece and the Disney characters...

(is being a Disney character the best job in the whole wide world?!)

I was missing it all and I couldn't take it.  By Saturday night, I had cashed in 20K frequent flyer points, made my excuses to work, and packed my toothbrush.    

How could I possibly miss out on this hilarity?!

(those ears light up different colors and patterns depending which part of the park you go into)

Or the thrilling rides?!

Bugs Land

Or the opportunity to wrap myself up in Nephew Love?

If ever there was a time to call in sick to work and drop everything, this was it.  I'm so unbelievably lucky.  One of the best decisions of my life, hands down.  

GPOYW

Easter 1981

(anyone recognize the blue gingham dress on the little one?)

FlatStanely Crawl

FlatStanely rocked Philadelphia's St. Patrick's Day festivities yesterday in his green pants.  All the drunk co-eds screamed his name wherever they saw him.

(E - don't show these to your daughter, yet!  My Beloved is putting together a whole package.)

Love Park

Rodin "The Thinker"

Rocky

The Franklin Institute

Independence Hall

Betsy Ross House

The Shape I'm In

This weekend, a friend and I went to a class at the local adult learning center to learn how to "dress our shape."  This consisted of the not-totally-humiliating experience of sharing our measurements in front of complete strangers to assess our shape:  pear, oval, straight, inverted triangle.  It was so much fun and I'm so glad that I did it.  Here are two interesting take-aways from the educator I'd like to share:

1. She recommended that you find a colorful scarf that you like and use that as a color pallette.  The designer has already done the work of finding the right shades that work with each other. All I have to do is find pieces that match and play with the dominant color.  If it is a mostly red scarf with some white and blue, for example, my look will be different if I pair that with a mostly red outfit versus a mostly blue outfit.
2. Find celebrities with your similar shape and model their styles.  (This is different from finding a celebrity whose style you like.)  I share a shape with the likes of Rihanna, Beyonce, and Kiera Knightley, the pear shape.  To balance our heavy bottoms, pear shapes are supposed to decorate our necks and shoulders.  The teacher recommended looking to how the celebrities (or, more specifically, their stylists!) manage these same challenges to get ideas.  

Vacation Update

Vacation accomplishments:

• volunteered to get bumped and scored $800 in flight vouchers (whoot!)
• ate myself stupid on 1# of hangar steak and a stick of sweet cream butter
• worked 6hrs (whatever)
• did yoga with my sister
• went to the children's museum

And, currently, working on my first claymation motion picture!

GOPYM

These are for My Beloved.

You make my heart melt.

Merry Christmas, my true love. 

Windy City

Chicago promises to be slightly less, ahem, welcoming at this time of the year.  Regardless, I was/am/will be really looking forward to gettin' me some Garrett's while I'm there for 24hrs.  If only the client could make up their minds about which cold and windy day I'm needed at their site, exactly!

Can you spot me and My Beloved?

For Erin E.

Hudson - Against The Grain from Dropbear on Vimeo.

Stuff like this makes me think of you :)

Warm Spot

Today, while working from home, I stepped into the carpeted bedroom onto a square of sunlight-warmed floor.  My breath caught remembering how, every now and again, we'd step on a spot where Scout had been sleeping and be surprised by the warm, lasting imprint of her.  Our house is so empty without her.

For Beaner

So, yeah, its been a bit of a lockdown here on the old folks farm. A whirlwind honeymoon in Chicago (<-loved it, moving there one day), then into the throes of school, and opportunities galore at work that I find myself raising my hand for...all great and very bad at the same time. (Except Chicago which was nothing other than awesome and romantic and a new 100 all time best memory with My Beloved.)

We've met these little people:

new Irish cousins

 And this set of lungs, who had me with her first chin quiver:

And we spent some time with the local fauna getting inspiration for a new 7 Mile Design job:

But now it is [almost] all this all the time.  Good stuff, really, but, still, it's school!  I don't know what I was thinking to wait so long to get an advanced degree, but I'm sure glad I didn't wait any longer.

For Once, We Experience the City in Which We Live

Tanned & Sated

It was like a honeymoon every day.

Except with my parents and half my family there.

Go: http://www.gohawaii.com/kauai.  You'll thank me.

A Spry Young Man

All little girls love their daddy!

And grandsons love their grandpas, too!

My beloved father celebrated his birthday with us last night at the most whacked out Mexican restaurant.  (How can you be a Tequila bar, spend 20" describing all the wonderful drinks offered, and then come back to say that you're out of Tequila?!  It boggles the mind.)  In honor of his birthday, here are top 10 things I love about my dad:

1. Wicked generosity streak
2. Decisive and unhesitating drive to action
3. Super smart with one of those encyclopedic memories 
4. Laughs easily with a warm, infectious "ha! ha!"
5. Firm grasp of reality and doesn't waste a second on regret
6. Crackerjack fisherman and takes me with him if I ask him nicely :)
7. Loves my mother the way she deserves to be honored
8. Sends me postcards from all his world travels so I can pick and choose where I want to visit when I grow up, too
9. Has not one iota of good luck.  Not one.  Every success is his alone.  Success = 99% hard work+ 1% luck?  Not Dad.  100% hard work.  Doesn't bemoan or question his lot (see #2 and #5 above).
10. He can't carry a tune in a bucket, but that boy's got rhythm and can move!

Not Appropriate for Work

I was complaining to a friend recently about the difficulty I have at times with the autocorrect feature on my phone and tablet.  He sent me here: http://damnyouautocorrect.com/.  This is my favorite.

Foto Friday

Tomorrow will be my Gram's 95th birthday. She is a wartime baby, and I mean the Great War, and emigrated to the US from Germany when she was just a school girl.

She's not so much with us anymore, if you get my meaning, and I sincerely hope that where ever she escapes to is a warm and sunny place filled with her happiest memories.  I'm looking forward to holding her hand again, and looking into her blue, blue eyes.  (My mom has her eyes.  I like that I can see my mom in her.) She has gnarled, arthritic hands, which I can begin to see in my own fingers.

I'm also looking forward to seeing my cousins, who I haven't visited in years.   They speak with a southern Maryland drawl, and are quick and generous with their humor.  It's such a different culture, where they come from, and I'm excited to spend some time away from my world and live in theirs for a day.

You Had Me at "Hi!"

Text from my kid sister:

[my son] told Artist BIL that he misses his friends (he means you).

Two things here:
1. How great is my sister for relaying that message?
2. Tell me why I live in PA again?

Friday Fotos

14th Anniversary in Vermont

Locals

Local housing

Local color

Tourist!