counting down to 2010...

I'm very excited to have plans, a pretty dress, and a date for New Year's Eve! That's right- Brad is in town and we're ringing in the new year together to help kick off the year when we will finally live together (in a few months) after 5+ years of marriage. in other words, 2010 will be the year we become normal married people!

Hope everyone has a happy and productive holiday weekend. Thanks for being such a supportive community of women- I love my internet friends!

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas...

on the outside at least:



Maybe I'll get my tree up tomorrow since I won't be leaving the house!

Today I'm proud to be a Washingtonian

From the Washington Times:

"The Washington D.C. City Council voted 11-2 to give tentative approval for the Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Equality Amendment Act of 2009, at City Hall in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, December 1, 2009. The bill, if it passes the 30-day review period, would legalize same-sex marriage in the District of Columbia. "
Full text of article here.

I loove Google Doodles!

This week marks the 40th anniversary of Sesame Street and Google is honoring the occasion with a series of Google Doodles featuring some of our favorite characters.



I was always a huge Sesame Street fan- Snuffy was my favorite character (back when he was imaginary). I still love the Muppets and so I confess that I've been searching Google several times a day just for the smile it the doodles create.



Folks have also been posting this fabulous video from 27 years ago- it is Cookie Monster's tribute to the word Google (long before Google was Google). I dare you not to smile when you watch this one...

Don't need nothing but a good time...

Sunday night I joined friends at a real flashback of a concert: Cheap Trick, Poison & Def Leppard. It was magnificent- the music, the people watching, the memories...

Here's a visual from back in the day when Bret Michaels actually looked decent:

Gaping Maw of Sinful Doom...

Absolutely wonderful story from the San Francisco Gate:

"I am sitting here right now smiling just a little, fondly recalling that famously controversial children's book, the one about the gay penguins.

Remember? That positively adorable pair of them, at the Central Park Zoo, who had adopted an abandoned egg and then hatched it themselves and were raising the chick together as a couple, even though the chick was clearly not theirs -- though of course how penguins can actually tell whose kid is whose is still a question. Never mind that now.

The best part: the story was absolutely true. The book, "And Tango Makes Three," was beautiful and sweet and touching in all the right ways -- except, of course, for the fact that it was also totally evil.

For indeed, the penguins in question, named Roy and Silo, were both males. This meant they were clearly in some sort of ungodly, aberrant homosexual relationship, mocking natural laws and defying God's will that all creatures only cohabitate with the opposite sex and buy microfiber sofas from Pottery Barn and eat their meals in silent resentment and never have sex.

Worst of all, the book depicted this relationship, this "family," as perfectly OK, as no big deal, as even (shudder) normal. After all, Roy and Silo didn't seem to give much of a damn. Tango sure seemed happy, what with not being left for dead and all. As of this writing, the Central Park Zoo has yet to be swallowed into a gaping maw of sinful doom. Any minute now, I suppose."

Full Story here

"Gaping maw of sinful doom" is my new favorite phrase- I'm thinking of getting a t-shirt made...one with cute little penguins of course!

"It had to be you, wonderful you, it had to be you"

Five years ago, Brad did me the honor of becoming my lawfully wedded, with the whole old-fashioned "til death do us part" line (even the priest who married us said he hadn't used the old wording for years!)

Among family and friends, and with me dead on time for perhaps the only time in my life, we exchanged rings and vows and made a lifetime commitment. Then we had a kickass party!

Our lives have been far from normal since then, and we still don't get to live together or see each other that often, but despite it all, I know we made the right choice, that we are better toegther (even when we're not together)- our whole is more than the sum of our parts.

I'm sharing some pictures below because I remain enamored of my wedding photos even five years later (thanks Greg!) and in case anyone else wants to check them out. Brad and I are together for the next few days, so my already sketchy posting might get even worse, but I'll be back eventually...

Happy 5th Anniversary Bradley!

new levels of tinkering dorkiness

OK, so I did indeed manage to (1) fix an vintage 8-track player we inherited from my aunt, and (2) jerry-rig it to play my iPod. It is a nerdy insane thing, but it made me so very very happy. I've blogged about it over here:
http://www.unplggd.com/unplggd/how-to/how-to-give-new-life-to-vintage-tech-087722

Check it out for more details and some pictures.

so many books, so little shelf space

OK, I have 7 bookcases with 8 shelves each and yet I am out of shelf space. I've gotten a bunch of free books to review lately which I love, but my goodness they start to pile up. In fact, at the moment, there are lots of piles of books all over my living room. I need another bookcase, but I'm not sure where to put one as I am completely out of space. I also need to purge books from the shelves but am terrified to begin such a project because it will lead to house chaos and I can't face that right now.

I don't know though- I really am beginning to think the books are reproducing somehow when I'm not looking...

Have Passport, Will Travel: A Meme

I wanted this to be an illustrated meme, but my scanner doesn't work with Vista and I didn't want to boot up my old laptop tonight. Maybe in the future...

First trip you remember:
Tralee, County Kerry (Ireland). My mom and I were living in Dublin, and we went to the seaside with family. It was cold and rainy (not unusual in Ireland) but I insisted we had to make sandcastles. I was a well-loved child- we sat on the beach in windbreakers in the rain making sandcastles. I was probably about four, but I remember that day and the donkey cart ride a couple of days later- I was allergic to the hay and I still don't like donkeys.

First trip you took by yourself:
My first solo flight was to VT when I was 14; my best friend's mom moved her family up there from DC and I went up for a couple of weeks at the end of the summer. My first completely solo trip was to Austria my junior year of college. I went to Paris with friends, then separated- I took the train to Vienna, saw Salzburg and Innsbruck, then made it back into France on the last train to enter before a massive railway strike.

First out-of-state (-province) trip as an adult:
If I define adult as over 18, then my first out of state trip was to the Delaware shore for beach week after I graduated from high school. If I define adult as out-of-college-and-working, my first out of state trip was to NYC to visit my then boyfriend. My first out-of-country trip as a post-college adult was my move to Barbados with the State Dept.

Most humiliating travel experience:
I was embarrassed when I got my mom and I thrown off the tour at the Tower of London for proclaiming the innocence of the Princes in the Tower, but my mom just laughed and told me we were better off not sticking with an ignorant tour guide. Heck, a few people left with us because they preferred my running commentary on the Tudors (I was a serious history nerd back then).

On that college trip to Paris I was humiliated by a fellow American at the Louvre who stood in front of the Mona Lisa and loudy proclaimed "You think he could have made it bigger!" You could see everyone around her take one step away...

Possibly best hour:
hmmm...this is really hard. One standout moment was from that college trip to Europe. When my train arrived in Paris, the Metro was on strike so I had to walk around the city. I hit the Eiffel Tower at the same time as a movie crew that pumped the area full of fake fog and made for some magical pictures.

Another standout moment comes from Kuwait of all places. One of the Army tankers I hung out with took a friend and I out into the desert to watch a meteor shower. It was completely dark out in the desert and we laid on the car and watched the stars and when the meteor shower began, I knew it was one of those moments I wanted to keep inside me forever.

Moment that most would have been improved by someone who could pick up a cue:
I can't think of one of these, so I'm going to add in Mella's addition instead.

Travel story most likely to cause the eavesdroppers at the next table to do a double-take:
"I was standing there at Irish immigration, flipping though passports to find the right one..."

Seriously itchy feet...

It's that time of year when I should be getting ready to move. I should be thinking about packing out, about moving on, about life in a new country. I am doing none of those things because I took another job here in DC that will keep me here for another year. I'm happy with the decision for lots of personal reasons, but I have to say I do find myself thinking a little wistfully about hopping on a plane and jetting off into the sunset. My sister rightfully points out that I am in no way prepared to pack out as I still have a lot to purge, but even so I just can't help envying friends who are getting ready to head out. Of course, I'll have the fun of bidding on a new job in October, but until then I'll have to cope with my itchy feet...

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Here's what I did with my evening:
Culkin School of Irish Dance at the Kennedy Center

When I was little and first started Irish dancing, Sean was the star champion of the school, and he still has fabulous footwork.

My mom and I then went to dinner and then stopped by to see my sis at our local Irish bar- packed to the gills and crazy so we only stayed for one drink but Mom was still thrilled. As she said, she hasn't done anything so crazy on March 17th in 20 years. My mom is so cute- I love her!

I oughta be in pictures...

It really IS the happiest place on Earth!

I'm at Walt Disney World celebrating my birthday- it's my first time here and I love Love LOVE it! I may be AWOL til I return next Saturday, but I'm sure I will then have lots to share! Until then, I give you Chip (or was it Dale?) wishing me a happy birthday...

loving Craigslist...

The desk is gone, sold to a young couple who will be moving into a new place in a couple of weeks (actually on my birthday). It is so nice to see some actual empty space in the apartment...

It now looks like I'll be in DC for another year before heading overseas so I definitely want to make some changes to the apartment since I'll be here for another 18 months. Heck if I unload a bit more stuff, I might even be able to move the furniture around- that always makes me happy!

Progress...

A nice young man who just recently moved to DC just took away my box spring to help bolster the IKEA mattress he has been sleeping on since he arrived. A nice young couple is coming to look at the desk tomorrow night; I offered to deliver it if they purchase since they don't have a car. I listed two IKEA desk lamps that I found that haven't been in use for couple of years. I feel progress is being made, and I have a four-day weekend coming up...

Funny how a tiny change can have such an impact...

I don't like to cross reference to ATDC too much, but I have to post about my mom's bathroom. I bought a new faceplate for the outlet there before Christmas, but it didn't fit because of the trim around the door so it has just been sitting there waiting for me to buy a chisel. I finally hit Home Depot this weekend, and this project is officially off the list. I still need to touch up the paint, but that will be done one evening this week.

More pictures and details here:
http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/dc/look/look-finishing-touches-complete-art-deco-bathroom-075503

Domino Delusions

So today I received a letter from Domino magazine that surprised me to say the least. The letter helpfully informed me that my subscription was due to expire in May 2009, and that since I was set up for automatic renewal, my credit card was being charged now for the renewal. Now, I won't even address the fact that it is several months before my current subscription expires making the timing of this a little insane. Instead I would like to focus on the fact that Conde Nast announced this week that Domino is folding and that the last issue will come out in February 2009. February 2009. Several months before my subscription is set to expire. At the moment, I assume I'll be forced to accept some other magazine (likely Lucky) until my subscription runs out in May, but I'll be damned if I'm going to let them sucker me into this renewal. I didn't open my mail until after 11pm, but bright and early tomorrow I'll be making an angry call- I'll keep you posted on developments!

SecState Clinton: "A New Era for America"

This was my morning- my new boss arrived in the building and made some inspirational remarks. I was up close, but must credit my co-worker Melissa for this picture as she had a more direct line of sight. Some of my favorite lines from the speech:

...There are three legs to the stool of American foreign policy: defense, diplomacy, and development. And we are responsible for two of the three legs. And we will make clear, as we go forward, that diplomacy and development are essential tools in achieving the long-term objectives of the United States. And I will do all that I can, working with you, to make it abundantly clear that robust diplomacy and effective development are the best long-term tools for securing America's future.

In my testimony before the Foreign Relations Committee, I spoke a lot about smart power. Well, at the heart of smart power are smart people, and you are those people. And you are the ones that we will count on and turn to for the advice and counsel, the expertise and experience to make good on the promises of this new Administration...

...we want to send a clear and unequivocal message: This is a team, and you are the members of that team. There isn't anything that I can get done from the seventh floor or the President can get done from the Oval Office, unless we make clear we are all on the American team. We are not any longer going to tolerate the kind of divisiveness that has paralyzed and undermined our ability to get things done for America...

I think this is a time of such potential and possibility. I don't get up in the morning just thinking about the threats and the dangers, as real as they are. I also think about what we can do and who we are and what we represent...

For the first time in a long time, I feel inspired, and cannot wait to see where this new adventure takes us.

Freezing my butt off in Florida

OK, so it may be warmer than it is is DC, but still it is damn cold here in Pensacola! Brad and I just double-dated to Chili's and "Paul Blart: Mall Cop"- funnier than I thought it would be quite truthfully...

I have to confess I'm glad to be out of the Inauguration chaos in DC, plus this 5 day weekend seemed tailor-made to spend with Brad. We're having fun hanging out and planning the big birthday trip to Disneyworld next month. Just being with him makes me feel happy and relaxed and a little bit sad because I always know we're close to saying goodbye. One the plus side, his retirement papers are in and his last days should be my birthday next year which is the best present I'll ever get.

I hope everyone is staying warm, 'cause baby it's cold outside!

Bacon: A Love Story

I'm behind on my blogging, but for right now, allow me to share instead wonderful news from one of my crew from college:



You can pre-order here. Congratulations Heather!