Cori and her...

loving our attic!

2010-11-06T14:44:00.000-04:00

attic work

2010-11-06T14:34:00.001-04:00

Tomatoes are my favorite food!! :)

2010-10-07T22:50:00.001-04:00

garden goodness!

2010-10-07T22:41:00.001-04:00

Making her first omelette :)

2010-08-12T09:09:00.003-04:00

Cutekins cracked all the eggs (and checked for shells in the bowl), cut the fresh chives from the herb garden, stirred it all together, and sprinkled the cheese on it while it cooked. Yummy! :)

Fun with Cutekins! :)

2010-08-10T17:58:00.000-04:00

I love summer!

2010-08-05T15:49:00.002-04:00

Some veggies from our (community) garden (plot).

Double happiness in my sister's garden.

J pancake with fresh berries! :)

Our new headboard! Made by J :)

2010-07-21T15:04:00.002-04:00

my handyman!

2009-08-27T12:01:00.003-04:00

J has stripped the paint off our stairs, built a new shoe shelf, and is currently working on a head board for our bed. Wow! :)

freezer jam and front porch steps

2009-08-25T11:02:00.008-04:00

The jam is spicy mixed berry and ginger peach. I highly recommend making freezer jam. It's quick, easy, and delicious. :)

And don't the stairs look much better now?

end of August.

2009-08-24T22:43:00.010-04:00

July was our time to relax. August has been filled with family, friends, and home projects. September will take us back to our full speed ahead mode soon enough.

I have about a week left now until my school year officially begins. There's so much I want to get done before then.

I have cleared out my home office and it's ready to be painted. Going from an icy blue gray to a very soft brown. Should go nicely with the dark wood floors, white trim, and my new neutrals big floral print area rug from Crate and Barrel.

J is working hard on turning two old oak wood doors into a head board for our bed. It's a major project and he's doing really well with it. I'm so excited! :)

J tore up and re-built the front porch stairs. They had some serious rot. Now they look great and are sturdy too. The neighbor men all gathered for the fun tearing it up part - so funny.

We re-did the hallway windows with some cool wisteria faux stained glass in the top bits and a frosted bottom pane. I think it looks pretty cool. (photos above)

I made my first 3 batches of freezer jam and was pleased with them. The spicy mixed berry was chunky and good. The ginger peach was a little runny, but still yummy. I'm going to try this again soon, b/c I've given nearly all of my first jars away.

I also really wanted to find time to fit a little scrapbooking in, but that will have to wait until my office is all back together. We'll see.

Amidst these fun home projects we've still managed to schedule time to see family and friends and that has been wonderful! What a great summer! :)

great heron snaps by J

2009-08-24T12:44:00.001-04:00

kayaking near Ellison Park

2009-08-24T11:50:00.002-04:00

Ukuptupu

2009-07-27T10:44:00.006-04:00

water lap lapping
geckos splat splat
ball game cheers & clapping
motor boat zips by
whistles, shouts and cheers
dogs bark barking
cane door slams shut
waves coming in
hammering hammering
thunder grumbles low
clickity click crab runs
generator hums
sprinkles tip top tin roof
talking and laughing
water lapping, lapping

my experience listening to life on the island of Ukuptupu
(indigenous Kuna Yala people land) - San Blas, Panama

Panama

2009-07-25T00:15:00.005-04:00

friendly
humid
tranquilo
agouti
rainy
ceviche
patacones
islands
boho
water
mariscos
chinitos
sloths
rainy
mangroves
gallo pinto
bats
wet
muddy
sandy
fruit trees
tree frogs
sting ray
guanabana
batidos
jungle
soccer
geckos
lomas

each day i recorded a word or two to sum things up. here's my list.
Photo by J.

first day back

2009-07-24T10:55:00.008-04:00

today is filled with:

unpacking and laundry

photo sorting :) -> will share more here soon and on flickr

re-appreciating: house, gardens, neighborhood, country, fresh air, lower temps., space, clean clothes, my own kitchen, cute pets, recycling, knowing how to get around, very few bugs here, biking, driving...

re-acclimating to my "home"

missing Panama: fresh seafood, friendly people, new adventures each day, amazing rain forests and animals, great fruit drinks, someone else cleaning, someone else driving, pristine beaches, caving adventure, working in Spanish, hot sunny days...

looking forward to catching up with friends soon. it's good to be home. :)

greenery and the great outdoors

2009-06-07T08:16:00.003-04:00

We had such a great and relaxing time visiting my Dad at the cabin he rented on Canandaigua Lake Memorial Day weekend. We hiked, played frisbee, read, cooked, did some boating and fishing and enjoyed being outdoors and away from our to do lists. Such a well-needed break from all the hustle and bustle.

Here's a snap of the herb garden we planted on our back deck. J built the wooden stand for it. I'm cutting fresh herbs for cooking and loving it! :) Sweet 100 tomatoes went in this weekend. Photos coming soon...

our new garden plot

2009-05-27T17:26:00.005-04:00

we are so excited that the SWPC started this community garden. we've always wanted to grow our own veggies.

we planted tomatoes, green peppers, eggplant, cabbage, onions, and cukes. might put carrots in later. marigolds are to keep away the urban wild life. we'll see!

we put an herb garden on our back deck too. will post photos of that soon.

our new sink!

2009-05-26T18:15:00.005-04:00

While I found the color of our olive green sink charming, the shape and functionality left much to be desired. Our new large one basin is divine. I love it! And it matches our cabinets perfectly.

Camping snaps from Labor Day weekend

2009-03-02T18:24:00.001-05:00

good & busy weekend!

2009-03-01T12:57:00.003-05:00

neck pain is getting better slowly. i'm able to do most things for myself now. J has been a great help. where would i be without him? i'm so blessed and so happy to be married to J. life is good (even when it's tough).

this has been a fun-filled weekend. we had dinner at Gusto w/ friends on Friday. hadn't seen them in several months. it was good to catch up and fun to remember our wedding rehearsal dinner there almost 8 months ago now.

we got to see Milk at the Cinema. it was well done. i watched a documentary called The Times of Harvey Milk on Wednesday when i was home sick (well, immobile) and it was neat to pair the two and compare them. such a tragic story.

Saturday we had a visit from dear friends who we hadn't seen in months either. they brought their gorgeous new-born baby and it was a treat to meet her. also, they delivered an amazing hand-crafted book case as a belated wedding gift. he made it and it's mission style. our dining room is so much prettier now. i can't stop staring at the book case complete w/ glass front door, lock and key with tassel.

had a chance to visit J's grandma on Saturday afternoon and that was good. she's doing alright. she's one strong lady. felt a little sad for me to be at her house w/o J's grandpa there now.

my Dad gave us tix to the Phil Keaggy concert on Sat. night and we loved it! he is such a talented musician. what a treat to hear him live. we hadn't been to a concert in ages!

now J is hitting the books hard and I'm cooking like crazy for a big school pot luck tomorrow. we have church tonight. what a great weekend!

i still need to write about our trip south over winter break and share some fun photos from our time with friends there. will do that soon.

and just last night i was being so grateful for my health

2009-02-25T08:29:00.003-05:00

Not being able to put my own deodorant on this morning, does not bode well for an easy day.

Here we go.

Remembering autumn:

2009-02-09T22:11:00.005-05:00

Highland Park pile of leaves and post Halloween party- Captain Smith and Pocahontas.

sunshine on my shoulders...

2009-02-09T08:39:00.002-05:00

it's a new day and the sun is shining! was good to walk outside yesterday, it's on the books again for today. how refreshing to breath air that doesn't bite my throat and lungs. looks like a milder weather week here. i'm so glad for that. woo hoo! i love to be outdoors. i've been missing the park this winter. can't wait for daily trips, when we hit spring time.

bumper cars in my brain

2009-02-07T12:17:00.003-05:00

my head is so full it hurts. thoughts are swimming around and crashing into each other today. it's like bumper cars in my brain. ouch! my stress level is too high and i'm sure that's part of my back pain problem. i'm having one of those "when it rains, it pours" kind of weeks.

i can't even sleep with all the turmoil. when i'm not thrashing around, my dreams are very strange. my mind is trying to process through all i can't handle during waking hours, i think. too much.

also our fish died this morning. his name was Le'et - Ukrainian for ice. he was about 3 years old.

on a positive note, my lia sophia jewelry order came in. that was exciting. i have lots of pretty jewelry to distribute. if you ordered from my party, let me know how you want to schedule pick up or drop off.

my house smells great this morning b/c of the church baking i've done. that's nice too. :) Mmmmm - pumpkin spice cake and pb brownies!

and i have a shushi lunch date. (i guess it's not all bad.)

sorry to be such a downer. things will get better.

a new look

2009-01-14T20:37:00.006-05:00

for any friends who aren't on facebook, here's my "new do". when she sent me home, it was styled so wild, i was a little worried. i'm learning how to tame it now though.
seems like i should be colder, but i'm not. my hair still covers my ears and is (as always) very thick.

hair today, gone tomorrow!

2009-01-10T12:27:00.002-05:00

two-fer

2009-01-01T19:17:00.002-05:00

i forgot to tell you about my new discovery -the neti pot! it has really helped with my long term (7 weeks!) sinus infection. initially it seemed kinda gross, but it actually works well and feels good. i highly recommend it. :)

will blog more often this year

2009-01-01T18:36:00.006-05:00

wow have i ever been a delinquent blogger. i think my blogging time was devoted to facebook this fall/winter. it's fun to see what so many are up to there, and so fast and easy to post a one line update. also, i've found old friends from college, high school, grade school, and yes, even pre-school there. wild.

tonight i'm staying in, same as past three nights, b/c J and I are both recovering from being sick. we sadly had to cancel our NYE plans and postpone a game night. :( the only place we've gone lately is to our local library, and thankfully we can walk there for books and dvds, b/c neither of us had the energy to dig the car out yesterday.

in the past few "we have no energy for anything" days we've watched:
About a Boy
Being John Malkovich
Better Off Dead
Monster House
Proof
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

finally got to some dishes and laundry today and got the driveway cleared. bit by bit we're getting back to normal. i think we're planning to run some errands tomorrow.
also, i have a CT scan scheduled for early tomorrow morning and am a little nervous about it. i'll keep you posted if there are any interesting results.

we did have a great trip up to Toronto just after Christmas and I'll post some photos from that soon. we had so much fun! such creative theatre, amazing food, good shopping, and a neat museum to tell you about. i need to sort through photos.

happy new year! :)

Rock skipping at Chimney Bluffs :)

2008-10-20T23:07:00.004-04:00

Chimney Bluffs - one year later!

2008-10-20T22:48:00.008-04:00

We went hiking at Chimney Bluffs last weekend and the weather was gorgeous!!! My knees were fine for the whole trek - woo hoo!!!! It was fun to reminisce together and agree that last fall seems like ages ago to us. So much has happened in a year. Life is good and filled with love! :)

A few of our wedding photos...

2008-09-29T21:13:00.004-04:00

I've finally posted some of our wedding photos at my flickr spot. Check them out! :)
We think Paul D. VanHoy rocks!!!

Pink! :o)

2008-09-29T19:52:00.004-04:00

Go Pink for October!
~ Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
Thanks, Alex, for sharing this info.

Kara's wedding - August

2008-09-29T18:51:00.003-04:00

the last week of (my) summer.

2008-08-25T16:35:00.004-04:00

ESL Summer School was a great success again this year. Can't believe we've run the program for 4 years already. Love it! :)

Now I have a week off - yeah! Just enough time to relax and be ready for the school year. I have house projects and cleaning on my list for this week, along w/ some errands and time to spend w/ friends. I'm glad for a week when I get to not set my alarm clock - yeah! :)

Today was grand, I stayed in my p.j.s until about 2p.m. I got plenty done at home though: cleaning, baking, more unboxing, did my nails, sorted mail, and finally figured out how to change my name on Facebook. I think I've made it through most all of my name change documents now. I only have my library card and passport addendum left. Whew. What a lot of phone calls and paper work.

Tonight we're going to walk to Open Face for dinner. Can't wait! I love it there. I've said it before, but here I go again: amazing food, good prices, great people, cool music and atmosphere - :) ! I only wish they stayed open later. They close at 7. I love all the places we can get to on foot. We've got the greatest neighborhood and very cool neighbors too.

We took part in an impromptu street sale on Saturday. They had planned for it and advertised, we thought it was to be on Sunday and were surprised by the extra traffic a day early. We went out to see folks and bought some lovely old wooden furniture. Decided late morning to put some of our stuff out just for fun and ended up selling plenty of our extra stuff. In the end we spent about as much as we earned. It was a gorgeous sunny day and I was very glad to be outdoors. We had some nice conversations w/ folks on our street. :)

Will share more photos soon. :)

life is so good! :) :)

2008-08-11T21:29:00.004-04:00

Photos here are J and I on my Uncle Chuck's boat - Canandaigua Lake last week.
J and I at Kara's rehearsal dinner on Friday.
Kara and I Saturday afternoon - her wedding day!!!

All is well here. ESL Summer School is in full swing and it's *great* to be back w/ those precious kids again. They're enjoying the fun and learning. It's so nice to work just mornings this month. :) Here at home we continue to work on projects and sorting and organizing things. Along w/ this is the usual new home (and yard and driveway and garden) ownership tasks -sealed the driveway, put in new shelves and closet bars, and towel bars, lawn mowing, weeding, watering, trimming. So glad there's two of us! :)

We were away in NC from Thurs. to Sun. for Kara's wedding. She was gorgeous and the whole event was so elegant! Their wedding location, Barclay Villa, was amazing too.

Put a few garden snaps on flickr today. I'll post more photos on flickr soon.

wedding photos!

2008-07-29T10:37:00.004-04:00

Paul D. Van Hoy, owner of Fotoimpressions wedding photography did an AMAZING job w/ our wedding photos. (Thank you, Hannah for giving us his name!) I highly recommend him! He's professional, friendly, and so so talented! His work is art. He really captured the essence of our day. Love it!! Yeah! :)
Here's Paul's main site: http://www.fotoimpressions.com Check it out. He's great!

p.s. our wedding gallery has 146 photos, so it may take some time.

honeymoon photos!

2008-07-29T10:13:00.002-04:00

June and July have been very busy! All the hard work paid off and our wedding went pretty smoothly. We were pleased with the day and the joy and love that wrapped it.
Our trip to the Domincan was good too. We were away for 15 days and managed to relax a bit. We ate amazing seafood, saw pristine beaches, had some travel adventures (of course!) and have returned w/ good stories to tell.

Here are my D.R. photos from our honeymoon.

And here are my husband's D.R. photos from our honeymoon.

Enjoy! :)

p.s. we continue to unpack and sort and get the house in order. hoping to do some entertaining soon. love love love the new neighborhood! yeah. :)

a typical nearly-wed day

2008-06-23T22:07:00.004-04:00

went to work this morning.
had my ultrasound appt. at the hospital. all organs are ok!
got our wedding program paper from xpedx - love them!
wrote some thank you notes.
prettied up our guest book.
went to Canandaigua to pick up my wedding gown. yeah! :)
went to the tractor store and found the metal tubs i've been looking for.
shopped for smokeless, dripless, unscented candles (at three stores today w/ no luck).
found candle holders, citronellas, and flower pins, while searching.
ate a large chic-o-stick in the car for dinner along w/ some cherry coke.
talked rehearsal dinner details w/ our restaurant.
came home to have some real food.
chatted w/ J for a while and ate great strawberry pie from JonJohn's.
met another friendly neighbor.
looked through our ceremony document and program plans.

i'm ready to collapse and it's only Monday!
all is well. i'm tired and VERY happy. :)
there are so many details... things are coming together nicely though. :)

"beautiful beautiful organs"

2008-06-23T13:24:00.003-04:00

Went in to Highland today for my ultrasound to check out my gall bladder and see if there's an answer to my mystery pain. The dr. I saw was great! Her name was Valentina and she told me (in her lovely Russian accent) that I have "beautiful beautiful organs - just like from an anatomy textbook." The visit was fine. I was glad to have J there with me. The ultrasound machine is cool. Valentina checked everything: my pancreas, spleen, kidneys, gall bladder, heart... She said that all looks good. She told me I can "eat all the fatty things I want at my wedding." Woo hoo! :)

joy!!!

2008-06-20T09:26:00.002-04:00

so the ultrasound wasn't scheduled for today, but for Monday mid-day. had a painful attack during the night from about 3:30 - 6a.m. not so fun. but what i thought was poison ivy on my face, seems to be clearing up and it's friday! field day at school won't get rained out afterall. things are looking alright.
i've decided that i'm not going to let anything (not even horrible mystery pain) take away the joy i have right now. this is a very exciting time in my life. i'm getting married in two weeks! Wheeeee! So happy and so in love! :) :)

ultrasound tomorrow

2008-06-19T21:16:00.003-04:00

15 days until the wedding and I had to go in to the doctor's office again tonight. what we thought was an ulcer last week, is now seeming like it could be gall stones. i'll go in for an ultrasound at the hospital tomorrow morning. please pray for me. less pain and some answers would be great!
here's hoping, Cori :)

Bela Bartok

2008-06-17T02:28:00.003-04:00

Yes, that's the name of our scooter. And no, it isn't from Hungary. It's a 2003 50cc Kymco from Taiwan. We are loving it! Only costs $4.35 to fill it up with gas and it's perfect for all the zipping around the city that we do.

This photo was taken by my sister, AidaMarie.

Vroom, vroom! :)

brides! :) :)

2008-06-12T00:35:00.006-04:00

i'm up later than i should be. i was going to post some new house photos, but when i looked through my snaps i realized i haven't taken any new house photos. i have several of us de-ivying the garage and will put those on flickr soon. i have several of hair dos for the wedding and many of my wedding dress too, but i won't post those here until afterwards.

so here's a snap of Kara (my maid of honor) and me from her shower in NH in May. and a snap of us at a shower of mine in NY, also in May. Kara's getting married about a month after we are. happy happy times! :)

what next?!

2008-06-10T22:04:00.004-04:00

so they're suspecting an ulcer and have given me some prilosec for it. had blood work done and will wait to hear if there's a bacteria called h. something in my tummy. if so, i'll get two antibiotics to take.

i'm on a no citrus, no dairy, no fizzy drinks, no spicy foods, no fun diet.
i'm supposed to eat toast, mashed potatoes, plain pasta, crackers. yick. i'll obey though b/c maaan was that pain at noon today scary! i thought i was going to explode or die. i actually was crying on the phone w/ the receptionist. she couldn't understand my name. so sad. they advised an emergency room visit, just before my symptoms let up. i didn't go to the hospital but my afternoon appt. w/ the nurse practitioner was great! she was helpful and thorough and kind. i'm only uncomfortable at this point. i can totally live with that, for now.

on to thinking about report card writing. no time for photo posting yet. sorry.

on a happy note though, i had a fun and successful hair appointment tonight. two friends joined me there and i liked the up-do the stylist did. it looks natural and pretty. yeah! check that off my list. making progress. :)

tummy trouble?

2008-06-10T13:42:00.003-04:00

had to leave school mid-day b/c of some horrible stomach pain. i narrowly escaped a visit to the emergency room (read: the nurse told me to go, i waited until the pain lessened and then justified not needing to go in) i have an appt. at my dr.'s office soon and hope to get some answers, if not relief. things haven't been right since saturday. i'm guessing it might be an ulcer. we'll see what the professionals say. i'll let you know.

all i've gotta say is please please don't let me need something crazy like an appendix out right now. that might put me over the edge...

p.s. found that cord so i can post pictures soon. as soon as i find a bit of extra time...

house happenings

2008-06-09T22:29:00.003-04:00

since things are looking great around here, i would post some more fun house photos for you to see, but like many other things, the connecting cord is lost somewhere in a box (for now). did i already say how nice the furniture looks here w/ the dark wood window frames and such? i really like it. it looks good.

all is well here. it's hot and sticky like most places these days, but with the sleeping porch doors open for evening ventilation, it's pretty comfy at night. i'm getting used to my new neighborhood sounds and the routines of taking care of a house are on their way to being more routine.

the gardens are looking very nice. we're learning a lot about plants and bushes and flowers and the lawn and trees. nothing has died on us yet. the trimming and watering and weeding takes waay more time than I realized, maybe especially since it has been so hot. we recently had poppies in the front yard and it looks like daisies are soon to bloom too. there are many other flowers and things blossoming right now, but i haven't had the time to look them up to find out what they are. one of the neighbors "kindly" informed me that the previous owner always put her sprinkler out at night for a few hours to water everything evenly. hmmm... not sure we want to use that much water on our garden, pretty as it is and all, it's just a garden. so many people don't have drinking water.

we had an ant issue out by the garage door over the weekend. wanted a non-poisonous remedy and learned that black pepper or scented baby powder do the trick. used both on them and things seem fine now. they've moved on and i didn't notice any casualties. :)

the dining room table is set up and looks nice. the pantry is pretty well organized. with that and the kitchen in good order, i'm able to cook once again. hooray! it's soooo nice to sit down and have meals at home instead of eating cereal, twizzlers, and cheese.

i'm LOVING being able to do laundry w/o quarters and at any time I choose. no waiting for someone else's wet pile that has been there for hours and no one else touching my clothes. (oh, how i hated that!) Yeah for our washer and dryer! :)

i'll have to write more later to tell you the story of the robin's nest in our wisteria. it's never boring here!

i love this house, even though i'm still adjusting to it. many days i just sit and stare at the walls, trying to soak it all in. it will take me some time. i can't wait for J to be here with me. i'm sure that will make it feel more like home.

about 3.5 weeks now... wow! :o

Living here

2008-05-29T23:15:00.004-04:00

I'm in our new house. It's great! I love the look of it with our furniture and things here. Even though there are still many boxes around, it just feels so right. I wish I had the energy to organize the kitchen, but I don't. Maybe I can take a stab at it this weekend in stages. We'll see. Would be so good to be able to cook again. I don't know how people deal w/ kitchen remodels or what not when they can't have kitchen access for weeks and months. I would go crazy.

I'll post more photos soon. Things are lookin' good here. Well, and then there's the boxes. Did I mention them?

I'm excited about having my first house guests this weekend too! :) Yeah!

our new colors !!!

2008-05-22T00:17:00.003-04:00

we're both soo happy with how the colors turned out! woo hoo!!! the rusty pumpkin is in the 1st floor bathroom, the chocolate pudding is in the kitchen, and the spirit blue is in the 2nd floor bathroom. yeah! yeah! yeah! :) things at the house are looking awesome!

stress relief! :)

2008-05-15T22:07:00.005-04:00

invite mystery has been solved. the invites that i mailed out on may 1st were resent out today. big sighs of relief over here. so glad that crazy stress is over (couldn't have handled it much longer...) whew!

now on to my weekend in NH and MA. i'm really looking forward to seeing Kara again and spending time w/ her family and friends. yeah! will drive out tomorrow w/ her future mother-in-law. should be fun. :)

next weekend is my moving date - hard to believe it's nearly here. i've been boxing and moving stuff all month, so things shouldn't be too hairy that weekend. mostly furniture and kitchen items, i think. if you're free on saturday afternoon (5/24) let me know. the more the merrier! the house should look great by then too, if you want a tour. :)

house progress photos finally !

2008-05-14T23:51:00.005-04:00

For photos of (tons!!!) of progress on our new house, check this out!
We have many "final" shots yet to post, as our home is still under construction. I'll keep you updated though. Exciting times.... Woo hoo!!! :)

may 3 shower

2008-05-12T23:55:00.001-04:00

circa 1976

2008-05-12T23:49:00.003-04:00

have been promising some house photos, but they're not in my computer yet. all is going well w/ the house. tons and tons of progress. things are looking great! will get some photos up soon, honest.

here's a snap of an old snap for ya.

lots of house progress!

2008-05-04T09:36:00.003-04:00

thanks to J, his dad and bro, here's the house update:

kitchen floor completely torn up (all 5! layers)
hardi backer all down and leveled new floor in kitchen
all appliances out of kitchen
wall paper completely scraped off kitchen walls

1st floor bathroom toilet and sink removed
new pipe work for sink
all linoleum up from bathroom floor
hardi backer down and floor leveled
all wall paper scraped off

carpet torn up from stairs, hallway, master bedroom and study

wall paper is coming down from 2nd floor bathroom too

they've made amazing progress so far! J is a man on a mission. i love it. :)

i'm just continually boxing and moving all items i can over. tried a bit of scraping last night, it's not my forte, to say the least.

have chosen tile for the kitchen and 1st floor bathroom and am happy w/ the decisions. we're thinking a light brown maybe "iced tea" for the kitchen walls. dreaming of a burnt copper orange color for the 1st floor bathroom walls. and have decided on an indigo hue for the 2nd floor bathroom - i say it's purple, J says it's blue- whichever way we both like the color! :)

i'm 1/2 here and 1/2 there, but so happy about it all. such an exciting time in our lives. i'm thrilled to have the time for the house renovations before i officially move in at the end of the month. speaking of which, if anyone will be in town and have a little time to spare memorial day weekend, please let me know. we'll need a few extra hands to help carry furniture. thanks! :)

i'll post some house in progress photos soon.

visitors! :)

2008-04-27T23:19:00.003-04:00

had some family and friends stop by the new house this afternoon. that was so much fun! :) giving tours and talking about the house and its history make it feel real. it's ours and i love it more and more each day. visitors helped us identify many of the plants, bushes, and flowers in the front and back. i have so much to learn. glad that she had such beautiful gardens set up.

i think we've chosen our tiles for the kitchen and for the 1st floor bathroom. yeah! i think we've also decided on new wall colors for those two rooms (after the current wallpaper is down). we will wait and see about the stairs and upstairs floor. we're hoping the wood underneath the current carpet is salvageable. if not, we'll re-carpet two bedrooms, hall, and stairs. we want to take down wallpaper in the upstairs bathroom too and paint there, though we're not certain on that color yet. the rest will stay as is for a while.

took a walk in our new neighborhood and discovered that we are super close to the park. we got to a nice trail there in about 5 minutes. yeah! have met some neighbors already and they seem very friendly and welcoming. can't wait to meet some more.

this is all so much fun! thank you to folks who came to visit and share in our joy today. we're so excited! :) :) :)

house happenings

2008-04-25T23:04:00.003-04:00

The walk through on Thursday was good. She left the place spotless! We like it even more than before. :) The closing today went very smoothly. All is set. Many papers have been signed and it's final - man does that ever feel good. I'm thrilled with home-ownership so far. Am thinking about starting a new house blog. Will let you know. WOO HOOOOO! :) :) :) :)

we'll see...

2008-04-23T23:58:00.001-04:00

walk through on Thursday. closing on Friday. they say it's all set to go. can hardly wait to sign those final papers and make it real. will keep you posted.

such joy and love !!!

2008-04-21T23:51:00.003-04:00

there's so much good happening all at once, sometimes i feel like i will burst w/ the joy of it all! each night i can't get myself to go to bed b/c i'm just wound up and so excited.

we close on our house this Friday. can't believe it's really happening. i didn't have the time or energy to be happy about it before, but now i'm just overflowing w/ the thrill of it!

also i can't wait to get married to J ! thinking about it gets me all misty eyed. sigh. i wish the date would get here faster (even though i really need every day between now and then). i'm so excited to become his wife! ( <-- can't even believe that sentence is coming from me!)

what joy and love fill my heart! i'm blessed beyond belief.

finally peace of brown paper

2008-04-17T00:09:00.005-04:00

Yeah!!!! My paper stress is over. The paper source came through for me, even if fedex wasn't as zippy as I had hoped. My new dark brown paper is just the right shade and just the right thickness. Will work perfectly! I'm soooo relieved to have this finally settled. Who knew it would be such an ordeal to get some decent dark brown paper? Whew! I'll be coasting for a while now...

Making your own invites takes lots of time and work. I'm still glad I chose this option, even though it's not cheaper or faster than ordering them. I'm sure these will be quite original. :)

Thank you to friends and family who have been helping w/ cutting and paper punching and addressing envelopes. It's so much more fun to do those kinds of things together.

NYC trip was great!

2008-04-13T10:47:00.005-04:00

The TESOL conference drew 15,000 ESL teachers - insane! Went to some good ESL workshops. Got a chance to visit friends, went dancing, ate good food, and saw an amazing play August: Osage County , that I highly recommend. The trip was full and good. I even enjoyed the train ride to and from.

p.s. yes, that slice of cheesecake is larger than my face!
and no, i didn't finish it.

a good sign !!!

2008-03-29T09:38:00.006-04:00

so i think that the end of the house searching chaos is over.
drove by our future home yesterday and there's a SALE PENDING sign out front. good sign, right? things are coming together. there's soooo much to do in the next 2-3 months. if i think about it for too long my head starts spinning. thankfully my healthy is improving, so i can continue to work my way down the long long list.

J has posted some snaps of our NEW future home on flickr. (i'll share more about the story w/ the former future home later) check em' out! it's just what we were looking for. we are soooo excited!!! yippeeee!!! :) :) :)

progress

2008-03-25T12:10:00.006-04:00

today i measure progress in that i was able to wash my hair - woo hoo! and move my computer from my bed to the table. i am able to be up and around a little bit. was in bed since saturday afternoon. still am only eating crackers and ginger ale.
i would like to banish the flu. any objections?

AKA Wedding

2008-03-20T07:26:00.003-04:00

Happy happy times. What a wonderful day this was. What a perfect celebration. :)

Spring!

2008-03-20T07:18:00.004-04:00

Happy first day of Spring to all! Woo hoo!
I love longer days and warmer temps. Bring on the birds and blossoms.
Woke up at 5:40 today and got to wait for and see the first light. :)

one day at a time:

2008-03-19T23:32:00.006-04:00

deep breaths... deep breaths...
one foot in front of the other.
sigh.
i need a backrub and maybe a drink.

House happy!

2008-03-11T11:41:00.004-04:00

I'm so house-happy today! :) Last night we signed papers on an 88 year old house. :) It's exactly where we want to live. It seems just right for us. I'm hoping inspection and all else goes smoothly. Glad our hunting is over. I'm SOO thrilled for this home that, God willing, soon will be ours!

I will keep you posted.
Is it bad luck to post a photo before it's all said and done?... hope not.

back from Boston

2008-02-27T23:10:00.005-05:00

happy and tired.
was a good trip. nice to see my sister, Robin. loved the museum of fine arts, once again. the EE weekend was intense, but good. lots of growth and learning. i just love J so much!
will post some photos soon.
i'm off to sleep in my new bed - woo hoo! my back is soo happy.

so glad for break week! :)

2008-02-19T11:10:00.003-05:00

it's good to have some time off right now. didn't realize how much i needed it. i'm glad for time to catch up and clean up and just breathe.

my stress level is high.
think i need to get outdoors and walk. fresh air and movement/activity always seem to help.

there are some lovely snowflakes outside my window today. :)

great weekend (still going) !!!

2008-02-11T09:15:00.001-05:00

Had a wonderful weekend! It was the perfect mix of being productive and taking time to rest and refresh.

Saw the film Persepolis at the Little and I highly recommend it. It's an autobiographical story by an Iranian woman. She wrote a graphic novel and then this film was made from it. If you go to see it, be sure to go early. We were there 20 mins. before the show time and it was very busy. Almost every seat in the theater filled up!

Went to some more open houses. I enjoy this. It's fun to be house hunting. I learn about more of what I like and dislike as we go. We've spend plenty of time searching over the past few months. I'm hoping that just the right house will turn up soon.

Got some long over due time to hang out with my Dad. Was good to chat w/ him and do some catching up. He has been into jewelry making lately and I got to see a couple of his latest silver creations from the studio where he was having them fired. Very cool. I might like to learn this skill myself. Maybe later when I have more free time. I think I would really like it.

Went to the gym, got an oil change, did some laundry, took a walk, made a yummy soup, got my registration done for a TESOL organization I'm joining.

Just found out on Wednesday that I've been chosen to attend the TESOL conference in NYC this spring. I'm very excited about this opportunity! The conference is usually held very far away and we're not allowed to go b/c of the high price of the workshops and travel, not to mention missing 3+ teaching days. Since it's in NYC this year, it's the chance of a lifetime/ESL career. There will be two of us going, one secondary and one elementary teacher. We've been given the responsibility to reteach and share what we learn when we return. I'm sooo excited!!! :)

Started watching a fabulous BBC tv series called Bleak House. It's from 2005 and we're watching the dvds. It's based on a book by Charles Dickens. It's "a suspenseful tale about the injustices of the 19th-century English legal system." I love it! Interesting characters, really good plot with lots to figure out along the way. So different from modern stories too. Was noticing how much more people respected and valued life then. Even the "bad guys" don't really want their enemies to die and show compassion for those who are near death. It's not filled with senseless killings. There's a depth of character and the way people are connected to each other is really interesting. The whole thing is 510 minutes long. We're about 1/5 of the way through it so far.

J and I finally got to go out x-c skiing. We got skis for each other for Christmas, and this was the first opportune weather day we've had. It was bitter cold on Sunday and the "trails" at Durand Eastman Park weren't as groomed as we had been told they would be. Even so, we enjoyed some time out in nature and stopped at a little diner up there too afterwards.

Church at Community of the Savior Sunday night was good. I enjoy it there - the liturgy and community feed my soul. The music is refreshing, there's good teaching, and peace in this place.

Pablo is doing well. He's trying out new foods. So far he enjoys chicken, scrambled eggs, grapes, and cheerios, but he's not too keen on bananas. He doesn't like these chilly winter days and nights either. I'm trying to keep him extra toasty with his pet disc warm and the hot water bottle next to his favorite tube. Planning on building him a maze or a play fort. Maybe I'll do that today, if I can find the right materials. Can't think of anything better to do w/ a free day off!

Yep, today I have a SNOW DAY!!!! Woo hoo!!! Nothing could make me happier than a 5:30am call on a Monday morning telling me to go back to sleep. Yippee. Today will allow me to do some wedding planning and prep. that I've been unable to tackle yet b/c of shops being open only during "work hours" when I'm in B'port. I'm sooo glad for the unexpected 3 day weekend and to be able to be mostly indoors on this frigid day. What a treat and a blessing. :) Yippee!

feeling better

2008-02-03T17:57:00.001-05:00

All is well here after a few days of rest. Glad to be healthy again. I'm still sleeping a lot, but that's fine with me. My nose is peeling from the crazy amount of tissues I went through on Wed. and Thurs. but that's also temporary and okay.

Pablo is doing well. More and more social these days. He's so funny and so fast. He loves to explore and eat dust bunnies - eew! He's friendly and not so scaredy lately. His fav. thing is to take naps curled up inside my fleece blanket. Soo sweet.

home sick

2008-01-30T15:58:00.000-05:00

I'm at home and sick today. (just to clarify that i'm not homesick) This bug is a nasty one! A friend and a student seem to have had the same thing recently. I hope I'm healthy soon.
No doubt stress has weakened my immune system. I'm working hard to rest (have been in bed ALL day today) and drink plenty of juice and tea. I hope this helps. There's lots to be done at school these days, I don't want to miss any more time there, or things will really pile up. Baaaaaa! I hate being sick. Will write more soon.

baby photos

2008-01-19T11:55:00.000-05:00

Heeeeeeeeeere's Pablo! In all his prickly cuteness! We are having such a blast with this little guy. What fun!
Enjoy! :)

a few fun photos!

2008-01-17T23:11:00.001-05:00

catching up w/ photos...

2008-01-14T21:39:00.001-05:00

I've put up my Christmas Album.
And here is my Toronto Album.
Will post NY Eve and fun hedgehog snaps soon.

All is well. Life is good.
Pablo is fun. J is awesome! :)

Too cute!

2008-01-10T23:01:00.000-05:00

I'm currently a tad obsessed with this adorable hedgehog. Please forgive me.

Here are a couple of snaps of J holding him tonight. In the first one, he's licking his lips. He does this a lot - so sweet. In the second he's mostly in a ball. Soo funny and cute. :)

I still want to post photos from Toronto - what a blast! and New Year's Eve - also great fun! I'll do this soon, I promise.

Pablo!

2008-01-07T23:17:00.000-05:00

Max, Starver, Spike, Squeaker, Cody, Stewart, Rocky, Ruedle, Smith, Hedgie, Snowflake, Josh, Drake, Jr., Sneezy, Rascal, Pumpkin, Softy, Ho HoHo, Ruslan, Mitten, Sharpie, Sticker...

These are only a few of the many names my students suggested for our baby boy hedgehog. Tonight we named him Pablo, after one of our favorite poets.

He's doing well. Much more social now. He seems to recognize us both. He's moving around and exploring lots. Pablo is so much fun! :) He loves to climb into shoes, twist all around inside them, scratch on the leather, and lick them - eew! He likes scrambled eggs and oranges. He likes to burrow into my armpit any chance he gets. His litter training is going alright. I'll keep you posted. J built him a quiet running wheel from a bucket and parts he got at the hardware store. Very cool. :)

Will post photos soon.

baby boy w/ prickles

2008-01-05T00:16:00.000-05:00

Okay, here is J's blog if you want to see photos of our prickly darling. J already put a photo and flickr link there.

What an adventure tonight was, getting all his supplies and food and such. I think we went to 6! pet shops in 7 different locations for the many items. I guess hedgehogs aren't a common pet. We were searching for items usually used for rabbits, cats, hamsters, even birds... He's getting settled in though and seeming less afraid of us. Man is he ever a cutie! Yeah! :)

We're parents!!!

2008-01-03T21:44:00.000-05:00

We adopted an adorable baby boy hedgehog tonight. Haven't named him yet. He's precious and prickly and tiny. Will post some cute photos soon. Weeee!! So exciting! :)

Happy New Year! :)

Merry Christmas!

2007-12-23T11:11:00.000-05:00

Like our cheesy Christmas shirts? We thought you might. Enjoy! Merry Christmas to you and yours! :)

sweet house!

2007-12-16T23:44:00.000-05:00

What a fabulous weekend! Got lots done and had plenty of fun too. Here's one of many lovely gingerbread houses on display at the GEH. I was there twice today! Once to catch the houses (their last day) and then again for members' night (popcorn!) film The Man Who Would Be King. Fun exhibit and great movie.

My Christmas shopping and baking are done. Yeah! :) I have plenty of wrapping to do and cards to try and send out - we'll see. All is well here. :)

"clunk and dunk"

2007-12-16T11:36:00.000-05:00

i've been meaning to write about this for a while - i think this was last week at church. really like this church we've been attending on Sunday mornings. they have communion only a few times a year, so this was a rare occasion. we waited for some time to walk up front to the altar. there were several people giving out communion, since the congregation is so large and it takes quite a while for everyone to partake. once at the front we were ushered to a place to kneel down. i was hoping for a few moments of quiet there, but suddenly a man clunked the communion plate down on my hands - this was startling, since my eyes were closed. i guess it's a speedy process once you're kneeling at the altar b/c as soon as I had the bread another server came and "offered" me the cup, but not only did he hold this out for me to dip into, he pushed my hand down into the cup. i have to say i didn't like my hand being touched by a stranger or being dunked, even for communion. i also found the rush-rush feel of this a bit bothersome. reflecting on the experience, i deemed it the "clunk and dunk" style communion. not my favorite.
i still very much appreciate this church, it was just a strange communion experience. i'm glad for the weekly Sunday night liturgical services we go to where there is always communion sans clunking and dunking.

old friends

2007-11-25T15:43:00.000-05:00

Got to spend time w/ an old college friend (Kelly) and her husband (Steve) yesterday. Hadn't seen her in about 7 years. It was so nice to chat and catch up. They were visiting her family in Syracuse for Thanksgiving and passed through Rochester for a day. They live in Virginia. We had a yummy dinner at John's Tex Mex - love that place. Mmmmm! :)

Art from Albany - by Joan Steiner

2007-11-24T09:58:00.001-05:00

*Here is a sampling of art work by Joan Steiner from her Look Alikes exhibit currently at the State Museum in Albany. It was cool. We had so much fun looking at artwork from far away and then getting up close to see what she had used to create it. The three of us kept calling out things we saw. Fun times.

If you want to see more photos from her exhibit, check out my flickr page. There's a link in the top R corner of my blog page. Enjoy!

just odds and ends...

2007-11-19T22:40:00.000-05:00

no news on the funny chemical smell in my apartment last week. it's gone though. that's good.

only have two days of school this week. things should feel lighter, but maan are these kids wound up. I think it must be the very long weekend b/c this holiday doesn't get them presents or candy. I'm not complaining though.

went to Albany for the weekend to visit one of J's sisters. it was a fun-filled trip. we drove through a mini-blizzard on Friday night to get there. it was nice to be away and good to hang out w/ Rachel. we saw a very cool traveling exhibit at the state museum. I'll post a photo or two soon.

oh, saw another movie that I can recommend. The Darjeeling Limited - very funny and touching and good. it was set in India. neat colors and wacky family interactions.

it's a little sad when I have to leave people I like and wonder if I'll ever see them again. got news that a friend from Fuzhou, China (met her this summer) might be moving to Canada for university, but near Niagara Falls. that is super exciting! she would be so close by. we could visit each other. i hope it all works out. i think she would love Canada. i do. :)

movie plug

2007-11-14T21:29:00.000-05:00

Went to see a film tonight called Lars and the Real Girl. I went into the movie w/o having seen trailers nor having read too much of the plot.

(okay, so i didn't have much time to prep for the film, b/c my main reason for going was to get out of my apt. fast b/c it had this funny propane chemically smell going on and i was getting a bad headache. i called my landlord already. i'll keep you posted on what happens w/ that.)

Lars and the Real Girl was wonderful! Charming, moving, sad, heart-warming, refreshing, sweet. You should see it if you get a chance. If you've already seen it, let me know what you thought. I really liked it. :)

Going in to the movie I ran into an old friend and leaving the movie I ran into a new friend. I love the size of Rochester and that I can run into familiar faces all over. I love my neighborhood too. It's great to be able to walk to so many cool spots.

So happy together! :) :) :)

2007-11-03T11:53:00.001-04:00

Even though, I've been sick this week, I'm still smiling.
I love autumn and I love J!
Woo hoo! :) :)

*photos taken behind my apt. by Aida Marie

Happy Autumn!

2007-11-03T11:48:00.000-04:00

punkin time w/ Ellie!

2007-10-29T19:22:00.001-04:00

Had fun w/Cutekins at Powers Farm Market over the weekend. The corn husk tepees are up and filled w/ jack-o-lanterns. There are animals to pet and tons of pumpkins. Her new favorite word just happens to be "pumpkiiiiiiiiiin!" She's so cute. :)

my new friend "Asscher"

2007-10-27T00:13:00.001-04:00

Yeah! I just adore my new ring. Sorry for so many photos. Want to make sure my friends far away get to see it. :)

p.s. No, I didn't name my ring. Asscher is the cut of the diamond. And this one came from Canada! Well done, J!

Chimney Bluffs Engagement

2007-10-26T09:01:00.000-04:00

What a perfectly gorgeous day! Weather on Sunday couldn't have been better. Here are a few shots of the bluffs. Just love it there! :) Did I mention we're engaged?!!!!
Still smiling and smiling! :) :) :)

Engaged!!!!!

2007-10-25T08:35:00.001-04:00

We got engaged at Chimney Bluffs over the weekend and Tuesday was my birthday. It has been a very exciting few days. I'm soo happy and soo tired. Will write more soon. Woo hoo!!!!!! :) :) :)

'tis the season...

2007-10-24T17:33:00.000-04:00

I'm bringing candy corn to lindy jam tonight. Hope to see you there. :)

Fun times!

2007-10-21T08:50:00.000-04:00

Have I mentioned how much I love the restaurant Open Face? I really do. We went there on Friday - yummy. The food is creative, delicious, and pretty, with many good vegetarian options. The people are cooler than cool and still friendly. (Pauline rocks.) The place is simple and fun. You have to check it out, if you haven't been there. It's on South Ave. closer to the city than Beale Street and the Green Grocer and on the same side as those two. It's a small place, so a lil' tough to spot the first time or two or three, but there's usually at least one scooter parked out in front of it. Their soups are amazing and don't pass up their ginger carrots - zing! They have "scooter club" every Wednesday night , sell gin gins (my new favorite sweet treat!) and bottled Moxie, need I say more?

Okay, shameless restaurant plug behind me, got to see my former students yesterday. Five girls in this Ukrainian family. They are sweet and funny. It was nice to see them again. There's nothing quite like sharing a large trampoline with six other people! Fun times! :) And the leaves out in Holley are very bright. Lots more yellows and reds than here. It was beautiful. Also, got to catch up with J's fam. That was nice. His Dad makes a killer veggie chili with tofu! And, finally went to the infamous tower in the Albion cemetery. It was well worth the wait. Autumn was gorgeous from up there. Will post more snaps from these fun times on my flickr site soon.

adventure in a corn field...

2007-10-15T20:41:00.001-04:00

all is well

2007-10-02T23:20:00.001-04:00

my school year is off to a very good start. as usual, i have wonderful students. :) i'm again splitting each day between two elementary buildings - i like this. my schedule is great! i have sufficient planning time and the student groupings are working out well. i'm hopeful for lots of great learning and language acquisition this year! i even have time for lunch and bathroom breaks during my school days. life is good. woo hoo! :)

haven't bought a new (to me) car yet, but am considering a scion, honda fit, small subaru, or vw golf. any one have any good info. on any of these cars? just let me know. these seem like good options and i don't have to rush to choose one. we'll see. i'll keep you posted on any progress i make.

have been hiking a bit locally, as my knees allow. i'm loving the warm weather and am outdoors as much as possible. have been to tryon park, webster park, and ellison park recently. rochester has some lovely outdoor spaces and i can get to most of them pretty quickly. i like the size of this city. i don't like the lane reduction on 490! i've been spoiled by years of virtually no traffic to speak of until now. " yuck!" is all i have to say about that.

tomorrow is international walk to school day. it's going to be a long hike for me. i'll let you know how it goes. ;)

us - hiking at Glenora

2007-09-23T10:08:00.000-04:00

Saturday we decided last minute to take a little day trip. We drove down to Glenora near Watkins Glen. J has an aunt and uncle who live there. It's beautiful. The temperature was perfect and some yellow leaves were turning and falling. The waterfalls and stream sounded lovely and there were many creatures around. After doing some creeking and climbing (and a little swimming) we had dinner in Watkins Glen, watched a sunset and drove home. Great day!

Glenora - Watkins Glen

2007-09-23T02:34:00.001-04:00

Art Walk Alive!

2007-09-17T18:36:00.001-04:00

This annual arts celebration on University Avenue was entertaining once again. Pictured above are drummers and dancer from Bush Mango on Elton Street. There was jewelry, food (a caramel apple for me!), dancing, books, and music. They unveiled the umbrella bus shelter on University. It is one of three new designs. The other two are by the MAG and by Gleason Works. All are pretty cool.
I have to say my favorite part of this young festival was a group called the Varnish Cooks. Listen and see what you think. Not the kind of music I'm typically drawn to, but they were really wonderful! Their sound and feel and energy were just right. Couldn't help but stay and listen to them. :) I even found myself grooving to several of their songs.

It was another really wonderful weekend. I'm not sure if I've ever enjoyed weekends so much as I'm enjoying them lately. Life is good! :)

The Genesee Abbey

2007-09-03T22:57:00.001-04:00

This is one of my favorite places. It's so peaceful and lovely. The Monk's bread you can buy at Wegmans (or where ever) is made right here by the monks who live at this abbey in Piffard (near Geneseo). They have a nice bread shop on the premises with brownies and cake and other goodies too. They have a neat little book store and nice trails. You can even attend some of the services in their chapel.

Slader Creek State Forest

2007-09-03T22:15:00.000-04:00

a very cool place to tent out. so beautiful and peaceful. it was great!