2009 in Review

Here is a list (that is hopefully in order) of stuff that happened in 2009:


I fretted a lot over not having a job anymore and the daunting task of finding a new one.

I found a new one. And they accepted me! And it was actually my realistic "dream job"!

I went to Las Vegas for the first time and partied it up with my family.

Then I started my new job and commuted from Richmond to Charlottesville for five months.

Josh got a job in Charlottesville, too, and moved there before me.

But then his mom died, which is super sad. I was with him in Delaware for the funeral.

In June I visited Alaska for Allison and Sam's wedding. And saw moose and musk oxen.

I also visited Wisconsin for a workshop-type-thing.

I went back to Raleigh to see friends from grad school.

I finally stopped commuting and actually moved to Charlottesville in August.

Grandpa had a stroke, and my mom came to see him.

Then she came again right after that, with my dad. We did touristy stuff.

In October I went to Illinois for a conference.

And my trip got longer because I had to fly to New Mexico to see my dad, who didn't quite have a heart attack. After that he quit his job and I came back to Charlottesville.

I spent the holidays in Richmond, and my parents came again for Christmas.


It was a pretty full year I would say, with ups and downs.

Happy New Year everyone!

finally

Christmas went well. My parents came to visit, and I spent a week with them and the grandparents in Richmond.

I made another mosaic, which I gave to my mom. She's been wanting one since I started making them three years ago, so she says it's about time.

I don't think I'll be driving any time soon.

"Another Narrow Escape from Burying Alive"

At work I do a lot of historical research. Today I was looking through the microfilm of an 1849 Huntsville, Alabama newspaper when I came across the above headline. Obviously I stopped to read it.

The article begins: "Some four or five appalling cases of this sort have occurred at Cincinnati and St. Louis, lately, in the midst of the fearful rate of mortality from the scourge [cholera epidemic]."

It then tells the story of a man who "was seized with cholera" and died a few hours later. They put his body in a coffin for mourners to see but before the the funeral "the dead man rose from his coffin, to the great terror of those around, and walked out of his shroud." Then the story adds a quip about how the man sent his coffin back because he didn't need it anymore. It ends with this: "This is true, and it is another warning against too much haste in burials."

Indeed.

(The Democrat [Huntsville, Ala.], 22 Aug. 1849)

partay

Last night Josh and I went to a Christmas party.

Check us out:



And in case you're thinking Virginia is warm in December and you're starting to get jealous of our beach duds, just know that it was below freezing outside.

triple A saves the day

This evening, for the first time in my whole life, I left my keys in my car. In my trunk, to be exact. But I finally had a reason to use my AAA membership, other than for free maps (and trust me, I'm all about the free maps [and I guess since I pay for a membership they're not technically "free"]). I was at a bowling alley, but within thirty minutes of calling for help the nice man arrived and voila I had my keys back. And then I drank a beer to recover.

No Rest

Shortly after I moved to Charlottesville Josh and I started working out together, since both of our apartment complexes have gyms. First we did this four-week program for getting a "fighter's physique." Luckily it didn't actually involve fighting.

After that we just sort of did our own thing, but we both prefer a "program" to keep us going, so now we're doing some workout he found online for MMA fighters. I don't even know what MMA stands for, but I think it's some sort of cross between boxing and wrestling. Luckily this program doesn't involve fighting either. But sometimes it involves wanting to die. There are three days laid out for you, and the second day is insanely harder than the other two. It involves sprinting and jumping around and push-ups and mountain climbers and swinging weights around. We also improvise on things since we don't have a full gym, like laying a bar across the side rails on the treadmill to pull ourselves up from a lying position. It's awkward to have to lie down on the treadmill with people walking or running next to me, but I'm getting over being embarrassed about what fellow gym-goers think.

Anyway, today we did the super hard workout. Next to our list of things we're supposed to do Josh wrote in big block letters "NO REST." Sometimes I have to rest a little anyway, because my lungs are about to burst out of my chest and fall panting to the floor. But I try to keep up. The uphill sprints at the end are the worst. Sometimes I think I'm going to puke or die from lack of oxygen, but that hasn't happened yet. And after I catch my breath and stop pouring sweat, I feel pretty good.

holiday spirit

Don't worry, I'm not dead.

But I am getting into the Christmas spirit. I spent Thanksgiving and the rest of the weekend with my grandparents (and aunts, cousins, etc.) in Richmond. While there I helped switch out all the dishes to their Christmas dishes, and I helped decorate the house for Christmas (minus putting up a tree, someone will do that later). Then Josh and I visited the Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden to see all the Christmas lights. I also went out and bought a three-foot artificial tree and a box of ornaments to put in my apartment. I come from a family who always has a fresh tree that gets covered in tons of ornaments collected through the years, so my new tree isn't really ideal. But it's cute, and a girl has to start somewhere.

field trip number two

Today was the second field trip (and final meeting) for my class on historic Virginia buildings. We spent the whole day in Staunton, which was my first visit there (except for the frontier culture museum on the edge of town). Here are some pictures:

We didn't visit this or talk about it, but I liked how it looked.


This staircase is in an old insane asylum.


See the giant crack??? I won't lie, I was a little nervous walking around inside there up there.


This organ is in the upstairs room with the cracked window. Obviously it needs some work.


This old painting was preserved in the bedroom of a house where Jefferson stayed.


A Tiffany window at Trinity Episcopal Church.


Church made out of green stone.


Old house made into a B&B.


Stairwell in the B&B.


Indoor detail in the B&B.


Colorful!


Owl on a house. I heard the eyes light up at night?!


Court House.

familiarizin'

Let's see, I've lived in Charlottesville for...three and a half months. (Plus there were five and a half months of working in Charlottesville but living in Richmond.) I still don't feel quite "at home" in this city, but I'm working on it. Last week I discovered a coffee shop that has plenty of tables, decent food, a parking lot, and stays open past 7pm. The place is also nice enough to give you a sandwich and a latte on the honor system if you don't have cash with you. (Who doesn't take cards these days? Sheesh.) The coffee shop is next to a big vintage/thrift store, so that is good to know about. And Sunday I finally found the recycling center, another important C'ville spot. (Just because I didn't visit until Sunday doesn't mean I wasn't saving up recycling all that time. I had about a million milk jugs piling up in my kitchen.) Last weekend Josh and I also visited the South Street Brewery for the first time, which had terrible service but a fun atmosphere and good beer. Taking that class at UVA has helped get me plugged in a little, though I'm quiet and at least a decade younger then everyone else in the class. And last night after work some co-workers and I went out for drinks and dinner on the Corner (the area by the university with lots of restaurants), so that was a good time hanging out with people outside of work and learning about a new restaurant.

So I'm still getting to know Charlottesville, and hopefully some day I'll feel like I really belong here.

field trip

This fall I've been taking a non-credit course through UVA on Historic Buildings in Virginia. I must admit that I was more interested in the "historic" part of the title when I signed up, and less interested in the nitty gritty architecture part that it turned out to focus on. But I learned a few things, and the best part of the class is the two field trips at the end. Today was the first field trip. We toured the Rotunda and Lawn at UVA (including the private upstairs portion of a pavilion), and then we visited three plantation houses that date from around the turn of the 19th century. Since I still can't tell you much about floor plans and brick bonding and saw marks, I'll just share a few pictures I took.

Halloween nerd

I didn't dress up for Halloween this year, but I did carve this gem (and I'll give you two views!):

leavin' the 505

Dad came home from the hospital on Tuesday. I was planning to fly out Wednesday but when Dad asked me with big puppy eyes "do you have to?" I decided to stay an extra day. So we spent his first full day back home watching TV in our pajamas.

This unplanned trip to Santa Fe included lots of time at the hospital, but I also enjoyed a Mexican dinner, an afternoon with my grandparents hearing about their cruise through the Panama Canal, my first visit to the new New Mexican history museum downtown, and a fancy dinner with Ryan at a new restaurant. He and I also watched the entire first season of Breaking Bad, which is a television show that takes place in Albuquerque. Oh! I also saw where Robert Downey, Jr., is filming a movie downtown (they completely transformed a burrito place into a coffee place). I didn't actually see Downey, but I did see the actor who played scary Magua in The Last of the Mohicans.

hangin' in there

The doctor is now saying that maybe my dad didn't actually have a heart attack, which is good. He's still in ICU but should move down today, and hopefully he can come home tomorrow! When I finally got to see him last night he looked a little harried, but that was because right when he was going to eat lunch they snatched it away from him and told him to lie flat and motionless for four hours. Misery. He finally got to eat and then his family (mom, Ryan, and me) came to see him and he had the Nascar race on the television, so he perked up quite a bit.

history holograms, and a change of plans

This evening I thought I was at Disneyland, but I wasn't. I was at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum. It looks sort of like Disneyland on the inside because they have big fancy recreations of Lincoln's log cabin and the White House, plus lots of mannequins standing around, like the Lincoln family, Frederick Douglass, and John Wilkes Booth. The best and most Disney-like part, however, was the "Ghosts of the Library" presentation. I don't really know how to explain it, but they bring the work of historians to life right in front of you on a stage using the combination of a live actor, holograms, and what must have been magic.

But now for a huge change of subject...instead of flying from Springfield to Richmond tomorrow as planned, I'm now flying home to New Mexico. My dad had a heart attack today, and while things are going well enough considering the situation (he had the attack in the hospital, which is a pretty good place I would say), I'm still going home to see him. Thoughts and prayers are appreciated.

It's cold in Springfield.

I made it to Springfield, Illinois. I've also now worn my winter coat and scarf for the first time this season. I visited Lincoln's house, which was nice. It's the only house he ever owned, and he lived there for seventeen years before heading to Washington to be president. The tour guide made sure to point out, about a billion times, that Lincoln did really well as a lawyer and thus could afford a two-storied five-bedroom house with nice furniture and a fancy stove in the kitchen. No log cabin here.


This evening I attended a reception at the Old Capitol, which has been redone to look like it did back in Lincoln's day with the courtroom, senate chamber, etc. There are plaques and signs on every block of downtown Springfield with something-or-another about Lincoln. He went to church here, he worked there, a guy in this building repaired his buggy, he bought some candy from that store, his son was bitten by a rabid dog near here, and on and on. I think it's safe to say Springfield is a little bit obsessed with Honest Abe.

Lincoln Land

I'm catching a flight at six in the morning (eek!) and heading to Springfield, Illinois, for a work conference. After spending time in Charlottesville, the land of Jefferson, it'll be interesting to see what the land of Lincoln is like. The weather forcast says it will be cold and rainy, but I still plan to walk to Lincoln's house and maybe a Frank Lloyd Wright house tomorrow before the first session of the conference. I'll let you know how it goes...

pea-brained

Yesterday I discovered the game "Big Brain Academy" for Nintendo DS. And by "discovered," I mean I played with a DS for the first time and the game happened to be "Big Brain Academy." If you're not familiar with it, it's a video game in which you answer lots of questions in five categories: Think, Memorize, Analyze, Compute, and Identify. I'm not big on video games (unless it's the original Mario Brothers or Tetris), but a game with puzzles and questions that measure the size of one's brain is right up my alley.

Or it would be right up my alley if I were any good at it. Instead, this game has turned into a giant ego-crusher (probably a good thing) because I have consistently been given C-ranged grades! Ak! I may not be in school anymore (for now...?), but Cs are definitely still not okay with me. I'm just not fast enough. I could probably answer all the questions if only I had more time! But alas, even practicing for two hours straight until my arm went numb from holding the game player wasn't enough to raise my score significantly.

Stupid game.

Weekend where? Richmond, duh.

Saturday evening I babysat Bobby-the-best-godbaby-ever in Richmond. But first I went shopping at the outlet mall in Williamsburg. Very often I have big plans for clothes I need/want and I go shopping for them but after hours of searching and grumbling over prices and hating myself for looking stupid and fat in the dressing room mirror I end up leaving without purchasing a single thing. But not yesterday! The trip was a success, and shopping at the outlet mall in Williamsburg came with the added bonus of hearing a fife and drum corps outside the food court.

The babysitting went fine. Josh and I took Bobby to the mall, where he rode a coin-operated speed boat (which he did not enjoy), and a race car, (which he did enjoy). He also looked at lots of books at Barnes and Noble.

Today after lunch with the family Josh and I went to the Richmond Folk Festival to hear some tunes. Sunni went with us, but she found a friend from school to hang out with and decided to ditch us old fogies. Which was fine. As for the music, I heard a little bit of a lot. There was throat singing, French fiddling, reggae, a trombone band, western yodeling, and New Orleans jazz. There was also cotton candy and limeade. Fun times.

Did you hear? Pistachios are sexy.

Loyal readers here will know that I've loved and followed pistachios for a while. So I cannot be accused of jumping on the pistachio bandwagon, because I started that parade a long time ago.

But pistachios are catching on. Have you noticed the new pistachio commercials with celebrities and not-so-subtle innuendo? Like "newlyweds do it five times a day," "Levi Johnston does it with protection," and "beauty queens do it without a clue."

I don't know what any of that has to do with pistachios, but I'm glad to know I was finally ahead of the times on something!

g-ross

I'm trying to enjoy making good meals out of vegetables. Not that I don't like vegetables, because I do. I'm just trying new things I guess. Last night I baked beets and apples together. It was okay, but I shouldn't have bothered mixing it with bland cous cous. Overall I was disappointed.

And tonight was a billion times worse. Someone at work had an extra spaghetti squash, so I brought it home. I don't think I've had spaghetti squash before, but I thought it would be fine. I found a simple recipe for cooking it and eating it like basic pasta, with a little olive oil, salt and pepper, and Parmesan. Now I don't know if I overcooked it, or what, but it was nothing like spaghetti and adding what I did sure didn't help. It would have been better with brown sugar, like an acorn squash. As it stands, I don't think I can even finish eating my bowlful.

We know this must be serious because I always clear my plate.

Oh! I just remembered that I tried Spaghetti squash once at a restaurant. It was a nice place, and I had high hopes for the squash there, but now that it comes back to me, I remember being super disappointed with it then, too. I guess me and spaghetti squash just aren't meant to be friends.

planted pistachio

Today all my old Richmond colleagues took a field trip and came to visit my new Charlottesville colleagues. It was fun to see them again. My supervisor asked if it was weird being with my old crew, but I said no, it felt like things were back to normal.

The Richmond group knows all about my love of pistachios and fascination with finding them, so not only did one of them make me (or "us," since I'm supposed to share...) chocolate candy with pistachios and dried cherries, but someone also left this little token on my desk:



It doesn't count as a true sighting, because obviously it was planted there, but it was nice to see it after they'd all left.

apple pickin'

Friday afternoon Josh's grandma went to the Carter Mountain Orchard here in Charlottesville and picked apples with her two other grandkids. But then she forgot to take the apples home. So today Josh and I went to retrieve her apples. The timing worked out, because this weekend also happened to be their Apple Harvest Festival. So we walked around the orchards and picked a bagful of apples, drank some cider, ate apple cider donuts, and enjoyed the gorgeous weather.

sunburn in October

Today I went to the Virginia State Fair. I saw expo booths of crafts and stuff for sale no one wants or needs, I saw lots of animals, and I rode some rides. It turns out I also got a sunburn. But the main reason for this post is to rant for a second. Remember when it took me forever to get home from the U2 concert Thursday because we were stuck in a parking garage and traffic didn't budge? Well that sort of happened again today. While leaving the fair we sat at a red light for well over fifteen minutes. There were tons of police directing traffic, and they made us wait a quarter of an hour just for a turn to turn. I'm not saying I was way in back and it took several turns before I got to the front and got to go. I'm saying they didn't give us a turn! Aaagghhh! I understand there were billions of people trying to get into the fair and maybe traffic was backed up on the interstate. But we still deserve a turn to leave! Plus, if they don't let us leave, where will all those new people park? It blows my mind. It's time like those that I *might* have a touch of road rage.

Bono loves TJ, too!

Last night was the U2 show. I have mixed feelings about the whole event. On the one hand, the show was awesome. And not just because Bono came out asking if Thomas Jefferson was in the house. On the other hand, we sat on the interstate for an hour before the show just to move TWO miles. And after the show? We sat parked in a garage for forty-five minutes while no one could move a single foot. By the time we got out of that garage the city was a ghost town. In fact, I just learned my cousin Leslie, who drove to the show from Richmond, made it back home to Richmond before I got home in Charlottesville. The show was in Charlottesville! Ugh.

New Mexican sighting

My brother Ryan texted me a pistachio shell sighting he had "on way to work." I like to imagine he spotted it while going down Saint Francis Drive at 45 miles an hour and pulled over just to snap a picture, but I have a feeling this was just in the parking lot.

blues, indie, bluegrass, and rock

In college I went to a lot of shows (well, looking back it seems like a lot, maybe it was just "several") and I loved hearing live music. I barely saw anything when I moved to Richmond, and Raleigh wasn't much better. But now I'm starting to make up for it.

Last weekend Josh and I went to the Veritas Winery in nearby Afton, Virginia, and danced around to Little Freddie King playing the blues.

Last Thursday we heard The Decemberists at the Pavilion on the downtown mall. I saw them in Seattle a few years ago with my brother. My favorite part was the druming during "The Rake's Song."

Saturday we joined Josh's grandparents at the Frontier Culture Museum in Staunton, Virginia, for the Fortune Williams Music Festival. We heard some great bluegrass and rockabilly country, and in between sets we got to walk around the various farms that are on display. Historic farms + bluegrass = a great day in Andi's book.

Coming up next...U2 on Thursday!

pistachio in a crag?

I've seen about three pistachio shells in the last month or so but haven't taken the time to get pictures or post. None of them were very exciting. But looky what we have here! Allison sent in this picture of a pistachio she and Sam found on a hike last weekend. It looks a little perilous to me, like she had to climb down in a cave or something to get it, so props go to her for documenting this sighting so beautifully!



After they found this pistachio and finished hiking they joined Josh and me in Charlottesville for dinner. That was the dinner when they basically said I'll never see them again. (Well, not never, but not for a long while.) They're moving to the Pacific Northwest, the land where Allison and I originally met so long ago. It's sad to see them go, but I know they're excited about it so that makes me excited for them.

Good luck Allison and Sam, and I'll miss you!

Sunday dinner

Grandpa is getting better in rehab and he gets to go home on Wednesday! That is exciting. But since he was still at the hospital this past weekend Grandma and Aunt Judy decided to put together a regular Sunday dinner (lunch) with a roast and vegetables and salad and rolls and ice cream sandwiches, and take it to the hospital to eat. It was pretty fancy. We took real plates and silverware and flowers in a vase, too, and we ate in an outdoor patio. It was nice, and great to eat with Grandpa at the head of the table again. See:

this weekend I did more stuff!

Saturday I drove to Richmond (not surprising is it?) because my parents are still in town. After a delicious lunch, Josh and Dad and I went downtown and wandered around the state Capitol, and then we went to the Nascar race! This was my fourth race. I decided to root for Denny Hamlin because he's from the Richmond area and I cheered for him the last time I went to the Richmond race. And he won! Unfortunately, my dad's driver (Matt Kenseth) didn't do so hot. Josh didn't have a driver because he doesn't follow racing and this was his first time at Nascar. I thought we were all doomed when it rained before the race, but luckily that went away and everything else went smoothly.

Today my mom made green chili chicken enchiladas for lunch, and they were so good. Then she and I went to the Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden to look at flowers and butterflies. Butterflies are pretty and all, but let's be honest. They're still bugs.

After that the whole family (minus Grandpa, who is still in rehab) went to my cousin Leslie's new apartment for tea. Then we just hung out at the grandparents' house more. My parents go back home tomorrow, so it was fun to see them for so long and their visit was a good excuse to do lots of touristy stuff. Not that I need excuses.

old school style

Last night I went to my first drive-in movie theater. They used to have one in Santa Fe when I was a kid, but my parents never took me and then the place closed. But I can now finally say I've been to a drive-in. I went with some people from work, and we ate at a diner before attending the double feature (The Ugly Truth and District 9. Quite the combo, no?) We sat outside of our cars though, which was pretty nice until the end when I was cold. I'm not ready for fall!

a history nerd's vacation

My parents flew into Virginia last weekend, and after two days in Richmond they came with me to Charlottesville for a mini-vacation. My dad and I are both pretty big history nerds, and lucky for us, Virginia just happens to be chock full of history sites.

Monday we visited Ash Lawn-Highland, which was James Monroe's home. Then Josh joined us and we all went next door to Monticello, which was Thomas Jefferson's home.


After all that we needed a break, so we tasted wines at the Jefferson Vineyards, where TJ and Mazzei first tried to make wine in Virginia. From there we took another short break at my apartment (being a tourist is tiring), then headed to the downtown mall for dinner. However, Labor Day was a terrible day to find restaurants open, so we ended up at Mellow Mushroom for delicious pizza, followed by a walk around the University of Virginia campus. UVA was founded by TJ so it's also historic, and we made the obligatory stop by Edgar Allen Poe's dorm room.

Tuesday we headed out of Charlottesville in the early afternoon (after my parents bought me a new TV!) and drove to Lexington. We checked into a hotel, but then drove on to Natural Bridge.


See? There I am in front of it. If you're not familiar with it, Natural Bridge is a big natural rock bridge, and while it's pretty neat and has more history (George Washington surveyed it and carved his initials in the side, and TJ actually owned it), it's also a giant tourist trap. Dad and I visited the Natural Bridge Caverns, which were caverns but weren't that great (have you been to Carlsbad?!), but we passed up on the wax museum, toy museum, monster museum, safari, Foamhenge (we saw it from the road), dinosaur park with a Civil War theme, etc. etc. etc.


I know it's hard to believe we passed this up, but we did.

After dinner, we went back to Natural Bridge for the night light show. I assumed there would be lasers and silly ridiculousness, but it wasn't that bad.

This morning (Wednesday), we woke up in Lexington and went over to the Lee Chapel at Washington and Lee University. Robert E. Lee was president of the school right after the Civil War, and they have a nice little museum about the Washingtons and Lees and the school. From there we headed next door to the Virginia Military Institute, where Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson was a professor. They also have a little museum, complete with the mangy remains of Jackson's horse, Little Sorrel.


Of course after all this we also had to visit the cemetery where Jackson is buried. If case you haven't heard, he's a distant uncle of mine. See the resemblance?


After lunch in Lexington, we drove on to Lynchburg, where I had great hopes of visiting Poplar Forest, TJ's vacation home. Unfortunately they close at four and we arrived at four, so that was a giant disappointment (I'll go back later). Instead we simply drove on to Richmond, but we passed through the Appomatox Court House National Historical Park on the way, so Dad could read more Civil War stuff.

Now we're tired. But it was a good time.

tidbits

Grandpa moved to rehab a few days ago and is slowly improving. So that's good.

I've been working out again. That's good, too.

Since I was in Richmond a lot last week, some of my fresh vegetables went bad. That was no good. But in general I'm still cooking more than I used to. I made some good tomato soup the other day, and tonight I used more of my frozen pesto in a squash and chicken pasta dish. It was pretty good.

I'm keeping my eyes peeled for a cute little table to put in my entryway, and maybe a coat rack. Let me know if you find anything good.

dino tat in the hospital

Last Saturday was my first day living and actually hanging out in Charlottesville. Sporting a sweet temporary tattoo of a red stegosaurus, Josh and I went to the farmers market and walked around the downtown mall, stopped by an antiques warehouse, and walked around Barracks Road.

But then I got some news that sent me flying back to Richmond. Grandpa had a stroke Saturday afternoon. I don't know much about strokes or what to expect or what's normal, but things seem to be...okay. He can talk, and is clearly still Grandpa. (When he was still in the emergency room Saturday the nurse came in to ask him questions like "what day is it?" and "what's your full name?" He said his full name and then added, knowing full-well what was going on, "what, do you think I've had a stroke or something?") He walked around a little yesterday, but he will need to spend time in rehab. Today he moved out of the ICU.

So I spent the rest of the weekend in Richmond. I also went back yesterday after work and will plan to go back tomorrow. I'm glad I still live close by.

salsa and birthday cake

First, let me tell you that I made tomatilla salsa last night, and it was delicious.

Now that that's out of the way, let me show you some pictures.

Last Saturday was Bobby's first birthday. He's so stinkin' cute. Check out this progression of his birthday cake experience, from skeptical boredome to bathing in bliss.

"Have a seat!"

When I moved into my Raleigh apartment a few years ago I bought a three-piece furniture set with a little table and two chairs. Ever since then my mom has pestered me to get two more matching chairs. Three years and two apartments later, it's done! Now when I have people over to eat we can actually sit at the table on four chairs. And matching chairs at that.

Don't worry guys, I'm supposed to get my own internet soon and then I will post more. Hopefully.

In my food news, I got lots of veggies last week. I made mashed potatoes that were only "eh," and I made a good pasta with yellow squash and chicken and the pesto sauce I'd made the week before.

For dinner tonight I might eat cabbage. We'll see.

re-entering the kitchen

I'm hanging out with my grandparents in Richmond for the weekend (During the first full weekend I could be in my new town of C'ville! I know! But I just can't help myself.), and we just got back from seeing Julie & Julia, the new movie about Julia Childs and a woman named Julie who decided to cook all of Julia's recipes in the span of one year. When we left the movie Grandpa sang a ditty through the parking lot about how boring it was, but Grandma and I enjoyed it.

Watching this movie came at the perfect time for me. I was already getting inspired to cook more (or cook at all, after barely using the oven in my Richmond apartment), so this movie was more of a coincidence than initial inspiration. I don't have a desire to cook French recipes and use pounds of butter every week. But while pineapple in cottage cheese makes a perfectly delicious and acceptable dinner on occasion, I would like to branch out a little more.

Last week I got a fresh and free eggplant at work, so I baked eggplant parmigiana. I even made my own fresh tomato sauce to go with it. So that was exciting. I also got a bunch of fresh and free basil at work, so I made a bunch of pesto sauce and froze it like Katie. From what I tasted pre-freezer, however, I'm not so sure I like how the pesto turned out. We'll see.

Friday I got some okra from work, so I'm going to try to make friend okra this coming week. And I might be getting a co-worker's sister's CSA share for the week while they're out of town, so who knows what meals could come out of that. Stay tuned.

I moved, and then I left town.

Well the move went well. All my stuff is in the new place and I can function enough to go to work and make my lunch. But now I need to get me some internet, because sitting around after work to blog and check Facebook seems a little ridiculous.

Anyway, instead of spending the weekend unpacking and getting settled I headed south to meet up with old friends in Raleigh. Josh went with me and after arriving around 11pm Friday night we went straight to the Jackpot to hang out with the video store gang, even though none of them work at the video store anymore. Saturday Josh and Elizabeth and I went to the popsicle store and ate crazy popsicles (I had Moroccan Curry), left the store to walk a couple of blocks down the street, then went back to the popsicle store for seconds (I had blueberry orange). Saturday evening we went to a cookout with the gang from the night before, and I didn't win the rock-paper-scissors championship. Sunday Josh and I visited the Museum of Life and Science Museum in Durham, which was pretty fun because they have real bears and fake life-size dinosaurs, in addition to the science.

the big day

Today is the day folks. My movers will arrive in less than an hour to cart my stuff over to C'ville. Alas, I will miss my Museum District apartment in Richmond, but I suppose there are exciting things to come with the move. Like not driving 140 miles every day.

packing shmacking

This weekend was supposed to be the big packing weekend. I guess I got enough done. I didn't pack anything Friday, and I didn't pack on Saturday until about 8pm. Before that I got a haircut, bought water shoes, and went tubing down the James River. Then of course it was time for a nap. But books, nicknacks, and most of the kitchen were all packed up after that. Today I think I packed one more box, and then I headed to Deltaville with Josh to visit his grandparents. That involved a great Sunday dinner, lots of Rummikub, and a quick fishing trip in the boat on their pond.

Now I have Monday and Tuesday evenings to finish everything up. I'm not too worried.

last "normal" weekend in Richmond

In nine days I'm moving to Charlottesville, and while that's exciting and all I'm still a little sad and depressed about leaving Richmond. So I'm putting off packing until the last minute (next weekend), and spent this weekend enjoying Richmond.

Yesterday I went for a run, ate lunch with my family, and visited the VHS for their open house and to see old co-workers. Then I spent the evening at Allison and Sam's party, where I got to hang out with friends I haven't seen in a long time.

Today I ate at Millie's for the first time and went for a walk around Church Hill. Then I joined my family to see the play Driving Miss Daisy. Afterwards I browsed around Barnes and Noble, then saw Harry Potter.

It was a pretty good last normal weekend I would say.

I guess all I had to do was ask.

We've had another sighting ladies and gentlemen. My mom found a pistachio shell at work. She sent me this picture in a text message and wrote "On my office floor. Don't have a clue how it got there."



She had to say that because the last time she sent me a pistachio sighting it was from my dad's car and the "how it got there" part was pretty easy to guess. But I drilled her and she swears she hasn't eaten any pistachios at work recently. I guess she also found the other half of the shell down the hall, and she threw them both away.

I'll say this now: I've never thrown away any of my sightings.

whew

Don't worry, they're still around. Josh found this at work.

Science can be fun?

Yesterday I visited the Science Museum of Virginia for the first time. Well, I had been there for various events before, but never to actually go through the exhibits. Josh joined me and we headed straight for the shark exhibit. They had a pretty neat sand sculpture, and we got to pet a shark. We also pet a baby horseshoe crab. Josh claims he has pet many sharks before, but this was my first encounter.



The museum has other fun stuff, too.


Oooh, magic.


Somehow turning this spinning wheel on its side made his chair spin faster. I didn't catch the science of it all.

The museum also has this really fun Mindbender exhibit, with lots of puzzles to solve. You have to go around solving certain puzzles and learning clues, and then if you get them all right you get to have your picture taken and be in the "Mindbender Society." We made it.



After the museum we saw the IMAX movie about sharks. Did you know the manta ray (a relative of the shark) can be bigger than the size of a minivan???

All that shark action inspired us to eat some raw fish ourselves, so we had sushi for dinner. It rounded out the day pretty well I think.