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.

three tidbits

1. Today I ate lunch at a burrito place in Charlottesville and as I headed for a table a girl stopped me and gave me a funny look and said "hey!" She's a girl from Santa Fe and we played in the Youth Symphony together and went to the same high school. Small world.

2. My dear friends Katie and Andrew have started a blog! I am very excited about this. I know that Katie keeps in touch with my life through this here blog, and now I get to keep in touch with her life back. Also, she and Andrew live very different lives than I do, what with all the growing of their own food and stuff, so maybe you guys will like to read it, too. I've added a link over on the side, so check it out.

3. Where are all the pistachio shells, huh? I mean, I haven't seen any in ages.

Why thank you!

My email service's spell checker is very nice. Rather than tell me there are no misspelled words, it compliments me with, "You have perfect spelling."

patriotic tat

So the beach trip was pretty great. Really it was one day at a water park and one day at the beach, which included the best fireworks show I think I've ever seen. Oh, and when I swam in the ocean I saw dolphins nearby, so that was pretty exciting. At least it was exciting until one dolphin appeared to jump toward me, and then I booked it for the shore.

fourth

I'm headed to the beach for the holiday weekend, but I thought I'd share some lyrics I always like to sing on the Fourth of July.

I see fireworks!
I see the pagaent and pomp and parade
I hear the bells ringing out
I hear the cannons roar
I see Americans - all Americans
Free!
Forever more

They're from 1776 the musical, of course, and are sung by John Adams. So remember to have a happy fourth, because John would want you to.

luddite

I finally got my tv's conversion box set up and so far I'm not pleased. Sure, the picture is great, but now when there is bad reception I get that annoying pixilation and the audio stutters. I was perfectly fine watching a slightly fuzzy picture with unbroken audio. And now I can't find NBC! I barely even watch tv, but when I do NBC is a staple. Big. Fat. Ugh.

Gus the firefly

Tonight I saw a whole slew of fireflies in the bushes beside the road while driving home from Charlottesville at twilight. It was pretty neat.

I went to Wisconsin and didn't eat any cheese.

It's true. I spent all of last week (Monday through Saturday) in Madison, Wisconsin, and I didn't have Wisconsin cheese. I did have some beer and a brat though.

I was there for a historical editing "camp" (no camping was involved, however). I learned some stuff, but the best part was meeting other people who do what I do. It was also exciting to meet a couple fellow historians of the westward trails, and I knew I had found my people when we spent a lunch break visiting the grave of the historian Frederick Jackson Turner, famous for his "frontier thesis." Overall it was a fun week of history nerdom.

Flag Day

Today, June 14, is Flag Day. It's also my Dad's birthday. He is pretty excited his birthday is always on Flag Day, and he always wears a flag shirt to commemorate. My Dad has always told me that Flag Day was started in 1949 by President Truman, which is extra exciting for Dad because that's the year he was born (hello 60!). However, I heard a story on the radio on Friday that said Woodrow Wilson started Flag Day in 1916. I immediately picked up the phone to confront my father on this huge discrepancy in the story he has told me my whole life.

Turns out he and the radio were both right. Whew.

You can learn more here, but the gist is that the design for our national flag was approved by the Continental Congress on 14 June 1777, Woodrow Wilson established a national Flag Day in 1916, and the day was actually signed into law in 1949.

Happy Flag Day, and Happy Birthday Dad!

We love us some TJ.

Maybe it's lame, but here are two pictures with the same statue.

My brother Ryan is in town for a couple days, and today we went to Monticello. I haven't been there since I was in the sixth grade, and he went in the fifth grade. So it was about time.

Alaska

I'm back from Alaska folks, and it was great. Allison and Sam got married, and I saw musk ox. Here's how it went down:

Wednesday I woke up before dawn to embark on over seventeen hours of travel, including a 6.75 hour flight in the middle seat of the second to last row in the plane next to a man who coughed and wheezed the whole time. The toils of travel were soon forgotten, however, when the man driving me from the Anchorage airport to my hotel said "Want to see some moose?" And sure enough, right there next to the road on our way into town we saw two teenage moose, and another one farther up the road. Unfortunately I was too embarrassed to get my camera out, so you will just have to believe me on this one.

I checked into the hotel at 10 pm (it was still light out!) and went to bed. Then Josefina came in a couple hours later, and I woke up to talk to her. She and Allison and I went to UPS together and were in a Bible study all through college. We finally called it a night at 1:30 am.

Thursday Allison picked Jo and me up and took us to her house, where a bunch of us set out for Girdwood. The drive there was beautiful, with towering snowy peaks and a big lake. We ate sourdough pancakes at a bake shop, then we went for a "leisurely" hike.



The best part was the hand tram that you have to take to get across a gorge, with a rope to pulley yourself across in a little cage.



Don't look down!



After the hike we returned to Allison's house to hang out and relax for the afternoon. We also played a fun game of Pictionary with her family. For dinner we joined her billions of cousins at Snow Goose. I think after that we just went to bed.

Friday I woke up early, so I walked downtown to a coffee shop, where I had a latte and scone while working a crossword puzzle. Mid-morning Josefina and I went back to Allison's house, where Jo practiced the flute with the pianist for the wedding and I helped wrap chocolate for table favors. The wedding rehearsal was at noon. I was a reader for the wedding, and everyone yelled at me at the rehearsal and told me to go slower. I tried.

The rehearsal dinner (or lunch) was at the Moose's Tooth, a great pizza place and pub. After stuffing ourselves on cheezy bread sticks, pizza, and cake, it was time for a nap. So Josefina and I went back to the hotel. At 6 pm we walked downtown to watch Allison and her sister run a 12k. (Did you catch that? The night before her wedding she ran a 12k. She also went for a hike the next morning before hair and makeup!) We watched them take off, and then we joined some other UPSers (fellow alumni and friends of Allison's) for drinks. We saw Al again after the race, and when she went home for bed the rest of us went out to eat at Orso. I had a beet salad and halibut, and it was seriously delicious. The meal finally ended after 10pm (still light out!), so we went home to bed.

Saturday The big day. Josefina and I walked downtown for a great breakfast at Snow City Cafe, then went to Allison's house for a ladies'-brunch-slash-get-ready-for-the-wedding. Once everyone was ready (Allison looked amazing!) we joined the guys for pictures at a park. The morning had looked pretty dreary but by the afternoon the sky was blue, so it was perfect. After pictures we went to the church. The wedding was very nice. Her grandfather was the pastor. Josefina played the flute beautifully, and I didn't read too fast. Allison and Sam looked great, and it was a really happy moment for everyone!



The reception was at an art museum downtown. There was eating and dancing and an overall great time. After it was all over at 11 pm (it was still light out!), some of us went downtown for more fun. That midnight sun really messes with you.



Sunday Sunday it was my mission to see a musk ox. So I made it happen. Josefina and I checked out of the hotel and went to the airport to rent a car. We were then joined by the UPS group from before and headed north of Anchorage. We stopped at the Thunderbird Falls to take a short hike. Unfortunately there were more mosquitoes there than I have ever seen in my life, and we spent the entire time swatting at them. Seriously guys, there were a ton of mosquitoes. After that we kept driving until we reached the Musk Ox Farm. It's a little non-profit co-op that is trying to domesticate the musk ox so they can harvest it's wool, which they then send out to remote Alaskan villages for women to knit into fancy scarves and hats that cost a boatload of money.



We even got to feed "treats" to the animals. They were super cute.



After the Musk Ox Farm we stopped for lunch, where I ate a BLT but sampled someone else's reindeer sausage. We then drove back to Anchorage and I dropped Josefina off at the airport.

At this point I was on my own but still had my rental car, so I went downtown to visit the weekend market. I wandered around the booths of crafts and food, and bought myself a pair of earrings. Then I decided to look for a moose.

Since I still had time to kill before my flight, and since I hadn't gotten pictures of the moose I saw on my first night, I headed to Kincaid Park, which has the largest moose population in Anchorage. There were lots of trails and stuff, and I didn't really know where I was going, but it was fun anyway. And sure enough! I saw two moose cross the path in front of me. And I got pictures. (But I didn't get the two in one shot, because when I thought I was doing that it turns out I was taking a video with my camera. Oops.)



After the moose I walked on a little farther, and then turned back and headed to the car and to the airport.

pause button

Sorry I've been such a slacker on the blogging front lately. I head off to Alaska in the morning, so I imagine you will get a post when I return.

amazing. evening.

This evening was absolutely wonderful.

First, I got to talk to my brother Ryan. I love him.

Then, I talked to my good friend Katie. I love her, too.

Next, Josh joined me in Richmond and we went to the Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden for...get ready...a Josh Ritter concert! I love Josh Ritter. He's my favorite musician/band.



As you may recall, I saw him a year ago on the day I finished my grad school papers in North Carolina. I also saw him in Seattle in 2004 with my friend Amy. The concert was wonderful, and while I was happy sitting in my folding chair on the lawn Josh forced me to go up by the stage. Which was great.



He also bought a music book so he can get out his ukulele and woo me with Josh Ritter songs.

Memorial Day "ink"

Today's temporary tattoo:

field trip

Today my coworkers and I took a field trip to Montpelier. That's the house of James Madison, or the "Father of the Constitution." We got a private tour and time to wander around (most people hung out in the gift shop at this point, but I went down to see his and Dolley's graves). Then we ate lunch at a nice little French place in Gordonsville. I love field trips.

woot

I just booked a flight to Alaska for some friends' wedding in June. I'm afraid I will see a bear. But I really really hope I will see a musk ox.

Tomorrow I don't have to drive to Charlottesville (like I do every day) because I get to do research in Richmond instead. I'm calling it a field trip. I love field trips.

Tattitude.

This past weekend I sported a new temporary tattoo. Because I'm fun like that.

check out their stash

When it comes to my personal pistachio consumption, my grandparents are my usual suppliers. And as you can see by this shot of their garage fridge, they stay well supplied.

hodgepodge

Last week I got to meet the man whose papers I worked on for two summers at my archives internship. He was nice and I was pretty excited about it.

I also saw a woman speak who ended up winning the Pulitzer Prize for history yesterday.

I'm working on a Mozart piano duet with my cousin Sunni. She's eleven. We might perform it in a real live recital. It will be impressive.

Last night Grandpa and I went to see the Canterbury Choir perform. The choir includes boys and men, plus an organ. It was amazing. And when those little boys with their stiff white collars and purple robes move to rub their nose or scratch their ear, it's pretty darned cute.

You know what's annoying? Apartment hunting.

On Easter my aunt told some of us "big kid" cousins to go hide eggs, but we all said we wanted to hunt for them instead. So the other aunt hid them for all of us. We're definitely not little anymore, but we had fun.

Apr. 13.

Today was my birthday. I also happen to share a birthday with Thomas Jefferson. As part of my present Josh made me some temporary tattoos, and today I wore a special one to work.



Since I'm still the new girl a few people sort of glanced at it this morning but didn't want to say anything. I think they thought it might be real (even though you can tell just from the picture it's definitely not real). One guy came up and asked about it, then seemed relieved it was fake. My boss, on the other hand, was disappointed it was only temporary and thought I was showing true dedication. Overall it was a big hit, if I do say so myself.

The folks at work also threw me a little party with cake and ice cream, which was very nice of them. Then Josh and I went out to dinner. Combined with the party my family threw on Saturday, I'd say I had a pretty good birthday.

sunny weekend

I am loving the warm weather. A lot. It helped make this weekend great.

Saturday I went for a run, and when I got home I opened the windows in my apartment for the first time in several months. Then I headed to Mexican lunch with my grandparents. I had my car cleaned, which I'm pretty excited about, and I bought four books on tape for a total of two bucks at the book sale at the public library downtown (and yes, I meant books on tape because my car still rocks a tape player). I then returned home to take a glorious two hour nap on my couch, before gathering up some laundry and heading back to my grandparents' house. In the evening I accompanied Grandpa to a concert at VCU, which was fun and different.

Sunday I went to church, then over to the grandparents' for lunch. After grabbing gas and an iced latte I stopped by my apartment to change, then joined former co-workers for a walk downtown along the route Lincoln probably took when he visited Richmond on April 4, 1865. It was a fun event, and so great to be out in the sun! I also spotted a pistachio shell on Clay Street in the Court End District. While pistachio sightings are always exciting, this one was fun because friends who read this blog and know my obsession got to experience a sighting first hand.

bad news bears

Don't worry, I heard the news. Stay away from pistachios. However, I mostly eat the pistachios at my grandparents' house (or the ones they give me), and those are grown and processed in Georgia. They are also much more delicious than any pistachios I've had from normal stores ever since I started eating the kind Grandma orders from Georgia. So, uh, I'm gonna keep eating them. But if you don't know that yours came from Georgia and you think maybe they came from California, you probably should hold off. For now. I wonder if this will lead to more or less pistachio sightings???

(In case you haven't heard about the recent don't-eat-pistachios-because-they-may-have-salmonella story, here's the link a friend sent me, since I'm too lazy to look up my own link.)

daf fest

Today Josh and I joined his family in Gloucester, Virginia, for the 23rd Annual Daffodil Festival. We had a pretty solid day.

Unfortunately we missed the parade, but there was plenty more daffodil fun to be had. To start the day off right Josh bought me a pair of daffodil earrings, which I will most likely never wear again but were fun and festive.



We checked out the booths, ate fair-type food (including kettle corn), pet a llama, and saw lots of cute dogs. Of course there were also all the daffodils.



In the afternoon we hopped on a school bus and visited a daffodil farm.


We also stopped by the local middle school to see the daffodil competition. Who knew there were so many different kinds of daffodils, and so many ways to judge them? Not me.



We finished out the day with a good Thai dinner. And yes, there were fresh daffodils on every table in the restaurant.

pie lovin' history nerds

Today at work this email (and the photo) was sent around the office. Awesome.

In honor of President John Tyler’s birthday, [the boss] and I submit for your approval two versions of the “classic” John Tyler pie (aka Tyler pudding, aka Tyler pudding pie, etc.) There is voting of course. Pies should probably be refrigerated when not actively being consumed.

misc.

I have received two more pieces of chocolate.

I cleaned my apartment over the weekend, which was nice. Not the cleaning, but getting it done. I even mopped!

I also walked to Carytown twice over the weekend (once for a haircut, and once for reading at a coffee shop), and that was nice. Now that I'm working in C-ville I like to have time to hang out in Richmond and remember that I still live here. For now.

Speaking of working in C-ville, the commuting hasn't been too bad, except for the much more frequent trips to the gas station.

A few weeks ago Josh saw a DVD for sale called 1776. He wasn't sure, but he thought I might be interested. Haha. Then I told him about how I love that musical and we have the VHS back at home in Santa Fe and I have the soundtrack on CD and I took it to my history class in the 8th grade and made my class watch it and I took it to my AP history class in the 11th grade and made my class watch it and I wrote two papers about it in college and I saw it performed live a couple years ago with a professor of mine. So yeah, I was definitely interested in having my own DVD! We watched it last night, and this copy has more material than my old VHS copy, which means I saw things I'd never seen before! It was exciting.

Today I wore new running shoes for my after-work run. This is only my second pair of running shoes since I started running in 2006, and it was overdue. Now I won't get blisters every time I run!

chocolate sun

So far I have received three pieces of chocolate at work for doing a good job. On the one hand I think "woohoo, chocolate!" and on the other hand I think "why am I getting chocolate for doing what I'm supposed to?"

Also, I'm glad winter is over.

hi-ho, hi-ho

Today was my third day of work at my new job. So far so good. I haven't actually done anything yet, but tomorrow I will transition from "getting settled" into getting down to business. I'm looking forward to it.

Yesterday my boss gave me a t-shirt that our department made a few years ago. The quotes on it help to sum up (in a humorously self-deprecating way) the kind of history work we do:

"to common readers they will appear unnecessarily erudite, and pedantic."

and

"I repeat that I am too tired of the subject to go over it again. so I think I must publish it as it is."

Both were written in a letter from Thomas Jefferson to George Hay, 28 December 1811.

I'm excited.

days gone by

Nothing like driving around your hometown in the wee hours of the morning listening to the Goo Goo Dolls to spark feelings of nostalgia...

SF Rail Yard

Today Ryan and I joined my dad downtown for lunch, and then I hung out around the new rail yard area where new shops and galleries are popping up. I went in some stores, walked through the new rail park, and then headed to a new coffee shop to read. On my way there I ran into a former boss of mine from high school. He said "Hi Andi! We were just talking about you the other day because of that time you had to pick up poop." I haven't seen him since 2002. Awesome.

Last night Dad and I went to see The Wrestler. That movie inspired me to start weight lifting, so I stopped in the rail park to try and pick up a dumbbell.



Then on my way back to my dad's office to meet him and head home I had another pistachio sighting! See that flat brown building in the background? (Haha, most buildings in Santa Fe are flat and brown.) That's the state capitol.

Viva Las Vegas

My Vegas trip has come and gone, and I had a great time. First of all, it was fun to be on a family vacation. Not only were my parents and Ryan there, but so were my Aunt Penny and Uncle Tommy. I only see them about once a year, and I've never been on a trip with them except maybe camping trips when I was really young. So it was nice to spend time with them. They are also Vegas pros so they could show us around to their favorite spots.

And now for the rundown of my trip.

Thursday: Left work for the last time ever in a frenzy as I finished up my project, gathered all my things, said goodbye, and flew out the door to catch my flight. Flew to Atlanta and then to Las Vegas, where I arrived about 12:30am (3:30 Richmond time). Ryan and Aunt Penny greeted me, and we drove down the strip on our way to our hotels. The "adults" stayed at Sam's Town, which is a western-themed hotel and casino about five miles off the strip. Ryan and I stayed in a brand new hotel and casino next door called the Eastside Cannery. Our room was nicer, but their place was more fun so we spent most of our gambling and drinking time over there with the family. Plus, Sam's Town has Mystic Falls Park inside with water falls, a laser show, and fake animals that make noise. Always a plus. Anyway, we dropped Aunt Penny off at her hotel, went over to ours, and went straight to bed.

Friday: Met the family at Sam's Town for a buffet breakfast, then the six of us piled into my parents' five person car and drove way out to see the Nascar race track before making our way to the strip. We rode the roller coaster at the Sahara, then visited Treasure Island and the Venetian.


Uncle Tommy, me, and Ryan in front of Treasure Island.

Around 5:00 we went back to Sam's Town to meet up with Aunt Penny's brother and sister-in-law. After an hour in the casino playing the slots for the first time we ate a big steak dinner. Afterwards we drove downtown to Fremont street for $1.99 shrimp cocktails at the Golden Gate and to see the giant television screen that covers the whole street. We also saw sharks by the pool of the Golden Nugget. After all that I think we just went back to our hotels and to bed.

Saturday: Up relatively early to grab something to eat before heading to the race track. Uncle Tommy, Dad, Ryan and myself spent the day at the Nationwide Series race. (Just in case you're not a Nascar person and don't know about these things, there are two races each weekend- the Nationwide Series on the first day is sort of like the minor-league race, and the Sprint Cup Series on the second day is like the major league. I only went to the first day.)


Dad and me at the race.

I cheered for Denny Hamlin because he's from the Richmond area and I've cheered for him before. At one point he was in first place, but about three laps before the finish someone hit him from behind and there were lots of flames and he was out. That race had tons of yellow and red flags, so every time things started moving again there was another wreck. I also *may* have fallen asleep for a few minutes on Ryan's shoulder. After the race and the long time it took to get back to the hotel, we ate dinner and then hung out in the casino. At one point Ryan, my mom, and I watched my dad play a slot machine and mom said "the family that gambles together stays together." Let me add here that we've never been to Vegas as a family (I had never been there at all and my parents hadn't been in thirty years) and we're not really a gambling family (minus that $4 scratcher I won the other day on my lunch break). We didn't go crazy or anything, but it was fun to gamble pennies and quarters together. Plus, this was our first family vacation since Ryan turned twenty-one. So that made for even more fun times. After everyone else went to bed Ryan and I headed back to our hotel for one more drink and another three dollars at the slots, and passed a pistachio shell in the hall on the way to our room.



Sunday: Up early again so Ryan could join my dad, aunt, and uncle for Sunday's race. Mom and I ate breakfast at the hotel, then headed to the strip for a day of sight seeing. We visited the Bellagio and saw the amazing flowers and Chinese-themed display in the Conservatory, plus the world's largest chocolate fountain. We also visited (in no particular order) the MGM Grand and saw the lions, the Flamingo and saw flamingos, the Luxor, the Paris, Excalibur, Caesars Palace, Planet Hollywood, and New York-New York. We ate lunch at a restaurant in the Miracle Mile Shops (where every thirty minutes there was a thunder storm) and stopped in two hotels for a break at the slots (I won $10 at one and $15 at the other).


Conservatory and Botanical Gardens at the Bellagio

After all that we were pooped, so we went back to Sam's Town for a nap. Two hours later the rest of the crew was back from the race so we went to dinner at the hotel and spent the rest of the night in the casino. I finally grew brave enough to try a card game at a table, so I joined Ryan at three-card poker. It's super easy. It was also special because apparently I sat in the exact same seat Ryan sat in for his first game when he was there a few months ago (with Aunt Penny and Uncle Tommy for the National Finals Rodeo). I lost my forty bucks, but Ryan did really well. After we finally went back to our own hotel I tried the slots one last time and won twenty dollars, so I didn't feel as bad about the forty.

Monday: Up to meet everyone at nine and say goodbye to Tommy and Penny. Went with my parents and Ryan back to the strip so they could see the Bellagio. Dad was looking for some special shop so we tried the Forum Shops at Caesars, which didn't have his store but DID have a talking Caesar statue.


Thumbs up for Caesar!

Grabbed lunch at the Paris before hitting the road for home. Fell asleep in the car almost immediately, but Dad woke me up when we drove over Hoover Dam and made me get out so he could take a picture. Spent the rest of the ten hour drive sleeping or singing Broadway show tunes. Finally made it home to Santa Fe after midnight.

I will miss this place.

We just had my going away party at work. Check out my cake:



I also received a "gold-plated" staple remover hung on a sash that can be removed to double as a paper weight. Awesome.

packin'

Tomorrow is my last day of work, and I'm sad to leave the place. My job wasn't super exciting, but I liked the place, I liked the people, and I think it was a great experience to work there, both as an intern and as a real-live employee. The only nice thing about leaving (other than moving on to another job that I expect to be a little more exciting) is that everyone is being extra nice to me. Last Friday after work my whole department went out for drinks, Monday the crew I eat lunch with had a potluck for me, and tomorrow there will be a cake for my goodbye party. I'm usually not this popular.

In addition to finishing up my project and eating cake tomorrow, I will have to clean out my desk and take home my (meager) decorations. But I won't have time to sulk after work, because I'm going to head straight to the airport and hop on a jet to Las Vegas. No joke.

My parents and brother had plans to be in Vegas for a Nascar race, and the day I was offered my new position and learned I would have a week off between the two jobs I invited myself along for the family vacation. So we'll be there for a long weekend, and then I'll drive back to Santa Fe with them and hang out for the rest of the week. I expect many fun times.

Lovin' Lincoln

Nothing says romance like makin' presidential origami on Valentine's Day. Josh gave me a book on how to make Americana origimi, and tonight we made our 16th president. Because we're awesome like that.

Valentine package

My parents sent me a package for Valentine's Day, and it's pretty exciting. Notice the pink rubber ducky, the chili chocolate, and the heart-shaped pasta. And of course a package from my parents wouldn't be the same without my chocolate milk...

Thanks Mom and Dad!

exciting thing

Remember back in December when I won an iPod but was not super excited because the win was preceded by "depressingly unlucky news"? Well, that unlucky news was that my job would not last nearly as long as I (or my boss) had thought. In fact, it's ending at the end of this month. Yes, the economic crisis hit close to home. This also helps explain why I was so excited about the library, and why I was mad at the heater for resetting to 70. With unemployment looming in my future, I tensed up. A depressing cloud settled over me, and I couldn't seem to get happy about anything knowing my future was so uncertain and scary. I can't even imagine how much worse this feeling must be for all those other people losing their jobs but still having to pay mortgages and support families. These are hard times.

My own future, however, has just brightened. Yesterday I was offered a job, and I am overwhelmed with gratitude and relief. Not only is it a full-time permanent position, but it also happens to be exactly what I've been wanting to do since I graduated from grad school. I won't go into details here and now (unless I know you in real life- feel free to email me!), but let me say it involves history, uses my graduate degree, and is located in Charlottesville. I am very excited, and I'm also very aware of how lucky (or blessed, rather) this offer is at this time.

Sorry about that.

It's been almost two weeks since I last posted, so sorry about that. However, I don't really have much to say. I mean, I could tell you that I went to a violin concert last Friday with Grandpa and the violinist was pretty great, so even though I'm not usually a big fan of the violin I was really glad I went. Or I could tell you I saw a few snowboarders land on their faces Saturday afternoon a few blocks from my house on imported snow. I could tell you about how I went with my grandparents to lunch yesterday pretty far away on the Southside to eat seafood next to a big lake or reservoir or something, and even though the food was average and slow, it was still fun to see the water on a warm day. I could tell you I was sad the Cardinals lost because while some people told me yesterday they had no idea Arizona had a team, I knew because they happen to be my Dad's all-time favorite team and we even put a Cardinals ornament on our Christmas tree. I could tell you the power went out at my apartment twice last week, and it's annoying because when it comes back on the heater automatically turns to 70, which is way higher than I set it when I'm gone, and that costs extra money, which I'm trying not to spend any of. Well, that's about all I could tell you, and I'm sorry none of it was terribly exciting. I'm hoping to have exciting things to share in the near future. For now we'll all just have to wait.

a tossed salad of thoughts and happenings

On Saturday I visited my BFF and his family in Fredericksburg, which was exciting because I haven't seen them since June. I saw the Rappahannock River and it was mostly frozen. That was also exciting because I don't think I've seen a frozen river before.

The contestants on the show "Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?" make me sad for America.

My mom thought she had a pistachio sighting, but I had to ix-nay it because it was in my dad's car. That means he probably left it there himself, and even if it was an accident and happened a long time ago that doesn't cut it. Finding your own pistachio shells doesn't count. And I make the rules in this game.

Sunday Alex and I worked for about two hours on the New York Time's crossword puzzle. We only had to cheat on the internet a tiny bit, and then we finished it! Other family members helped out, too.

I make a mean pizza. It has a homemade crust that makes eleven-year-olds say "this pizza has a crust I will actually eat!"

I took a three hour nap yesterday, which was glorious.

The Anne of Green Gables series melts my heart. I asked for the three-movie collection for Christmas and finished the third one last night. I also watched all the bonus material. I want to marry Gilbert Blythe.

Today they set up a screen at work so we could watch the inauguration live, which was awesome. Unfortunately the CBS newscasters wouldn't shut up or turn off their mics.

dreamin'

When I was a kid I would sometimes daydream about the task of having to pick out new parents. It was like those daydreams when you think: What if everyone in the world had to line up and they would tie your legs together and make you jump over a tub of hot lava, and if you couldn't make it, you died. You know what I'm talking about, right?

Anyway, this particular daydream usually started with the fact that I could no longer keep my mom and dad. I don't think they died, I think they were just taken away from me and I had to choose new parents. So all of the eligible parents I knew would line up. Teachers from school, neighbors, babysitters, couples from church. They would all be standing there in a line looking at me and waiting for my decision. I would go down the line, dismissing some of them easily but thinking hard about others. "Hmm...if I pick that couple I know I'll get to watch PG-13 movies. Or if I pick them I might get to go to Disneyland more often." But in the end I could never choose. None of them could stand up to what I already had. And since what I already had wasn't really a choice in this daydreaming game, I would often get really sad and think about crying, but then realize the whole thing was ridiculous and snap back into real life. My parents never knew it, but those little exercises helped remind how lucky I already was.

snicker

Today I had a mini Snickers bar for my I-can't-believe-it's-only-been-forty-five-minutes-since-lunch-ended-when-will-this-day-end? afternoon snack. It reminded me about how delicious ice cream Snickers bars are, which I haven't had in several years. I could use one of those.

Mosaic No. 5

Hey look, I made another mosaic! I guess technically it's two mosaics, but they go together to make one piece. It's a ukulele, which I gave to Josh for Christmas.

Only four dollars more!

Waiter at the Mexican restaurant: What would you like to drink?

Me: Umm...hmm...well...

Waiter: How about a margarita! We have an excellent margarita with [fill in the blank with excellent stuff because I don't know and I wasn't paying attention]. It's only four dollars more but if you're going to buy a margarita, you might as well buy a good one!

Me: Wait, only four dollars more than the $5.99 house margarita? Are you kidding me? That's a meal.

Waiter: Ah, well, haha...uh...

Me: I'll take the house margarita. Frozen with salt.

Books and movies for free? Who knew?

I don't know about you folks, but I, for one, am being affected by this economic calamity we are experiencing. So I'm working on pinching my pennies. Even more than I used to, which was sort of a lot.

My old penny-pinching mentality? Print off a 30 per cent coupon for Borders, go over there and browse for a book or CD, get too stressed out about spending ten bucks on something I might not love, and very often leave empty handed.

My new plan? Go to the library! I went on Saturday. I checked out a David Sedaris book and, drum roll please, the second season of Deadwood. (I watched the first season with Ryan during my August visit to Santa Fe, and ever since then I've been itching to see the second, but he hasn't bought it yet and I didn't even want to pay to check it out from a video store!) One of the wonderful things about the library is that I don't have to fret over whether or not I will actually like the book (or movie), because if I don't I can always return it and not regret spending money! Because it's free!

Now don't shake your head at me and call me crazy. Yes, I've known about libraries all along, and I've been to them before. Yes, I've talked about becoming a librarian myself. Blah blah blah. The point is, I'm excited that I finally revisited a very obvious way to read books and watch movies. For free.

"on the floor in the nursery at work"

We're on a roll over here. Look what Janelle found at the hospital where she works! C'mon guys, you have to admit it's crazy how ubiquitous these pistachio shells are.

"found amongst a herd of dust bunnies"

Look there folks, another pistachio sighting! Josh found this one in the spray paint section at Lowe's.