Hung out with DJ MJ Duke Friday night. He was spinning at Antonio's in Endicott. He was discussing going on tour with a live vocalist - another girl that was there. I immediately volunteered to be the girl hanging out in the dj booth. Duke & the another dj who was there, were like, you could totally do that. (other dj was really cute, but so was his girlfriend...) So I was thinking about it, and, yeah, it would be really fun to just hang out in there. But how much cooler would it be to actually know how to spin? Like, could I be a dj? Seems like a lot of techy stuff to learn... Idk. It was just a thought.
I would also like to learn to play bass guitar.
I'll keep you posted..... But for the time being, I'll stick with being that girl in the dj booth. :)
xo
Monday, June 28, 2010
Friday, June 11, 2010
why is vacation so exhausting??? (part 4)
So I slogged my way thru my post-Seattle trip - working every day, planning my next weekend's trip.
I was planning on being gone for our tea meeting. So Thursday night, I stayed up WAY too late making "Cheesecake Truffle Bombs". It was fairly simple & straight forward. I always forget, tho, and let the chocolate get too hot. And then you can't work with it. Boo. But this recipe has potenital and I'll probably try again & perhaps experiment with different flavors. Friday night was Vestal Festival Parade and Bed & Bathtub Races. It's a great place to catch up with friends & neighbors. Then I got home and had to make a casserole. It wasn't that late when I went to bed, but it should have been earlier.
I woke up somewhere between 4:30 & 5 Saturday morning. Showered & packed up my stuff. Didn't leave the house until close to 6:30. Then stopped at Starbucks and never got on the road until 7. It was a beautiful sunny morning and getting to the exit for my friend's house in Maryland was easy. It was just that my directions and what it said at the junction did not match. So I did a bit of driving around before I actually got to her house.
It was wonderful to see M again. We couldn't remember the last time we had seen each other. She drove to the Metro station & we headed into DC. We arrived above ground on The Mall. I said I needed to eat, so we headed for the Old Post Office. I had a quesadilla, she had a gyro. It was different than I remember it being, but it's been years since I've been there. After lunch, we headed for the National Museum of American History. I wanted to see Julia Childs' kitchen. I was somewhat disappointed because of the lighting and the crowd, but it was still very very neat! We looked at a couple other exhibits, but it was so crowded (Saturdays at museums generally are...) that we headed back outside.
Decided to walk up to the Washington Monument. We didn't go inside. Just sat outside in the sun & the breeze - the weather was lovely. We couldn't decide what to do, so M called her sister and we decided to meet for dinner in Fredrick. We met at an Irish pub. It was neat because it was Fredrick's 3rd Saturday (or whatever they call it) and all the shops & galleries were open late and there was lots of live music on the sidewalks. It was very neat, but we didn't have a chance to wander because we sat in the restaurant until 10. It was So good to catch up with those girls. Our moms grew up together so we've known each other for our whole lives, but have just grown apart. It was neat to reconnect!
Sunday dawned sunny, so we didn't bother taking our umbrellas when we left M's house. After morning meeting - which had about 4 times as many people as they usually have! - most of us went to Bertucci's for salad & pizza. YUM! Then, after much discussion, M lead the way to The White House. From there, we headed to the monuments: Washington, WWII & Lincoln. We just wandered & visited & took pictures. Many phone calls were made as we tried to figure out where everyone was because it was time to head back to the cars. It was very muggy and there was no breeze so no one wanted to walk any farther than was necessary.
We walked past the Vietnam Veterans Memorial on our way back to the cars. We got back to the park near the restaurant. The sun came out and a breeze came up and suddenly, it was really nice out! :) We all hung out there til everyone was back and then sat and visited some more. Finally around 6:30, everyone went their separate ways. It was such a fun day and such a great group of OYP! :)
M & I made our way back to Maryland. We stopped for "dinner" - Baja Fresh for me, Popeyes for her - and went back to her place to eat. I finally left there at 8:15. YIKES! It was good in the sense that there was very little traffic, but bad in that it was 1:10 when I got home. I stopped twice - once for gas and once for a potty break. And still made it to work at 8. The afternoon was rough. I was like totally falling asleep while I was waiting for people to answer their phones. Kinda scary, actually!
But now I'm home for a while. :)
xo
I was planning on being gone for our tea meeting. So Thursday night, I stayed up WAY too late making "Cheesecake Truffle Bombs". It was fairly simple & straight forward. I always forget, tho, and let the chocolate get too hot. And then you can't work with it. Boo. But this recipe has potenital and I'll probably try again & perhaps experiment with different flavors. Friday night was Vestal Festival Parade and Bed & Bathtub Races. It's a great place to catch up with friends & neighbors. Then I got home and had to make a casserole. It wasn't that late when I went to bed, but it should have been earlier.
I woke up somewhere between 4:30 & 5 Saturday morning. Showered & packed up my stuff. Didn't leave the house until close to 6:30. Then stopped at Starbucks and never got on the road until 7. It was a beautiful sunny morning and getting to the exit for my friend's house in Maryland was easy. It was just that my directions and what it said at the junction did not match. So I did a bit of driving around before I actually got to her house.
It was wonderful to see M again. We couldn't remember the last time we had seen each other. She drove to the Metro station & we headed into DC. We arrived above ground on The Mall. I said I needed to eat, so we headed for the Old Post Office. I had a quesadilla, she had a gyro. It was different than I remember it being, but it's been years since I've been there. After lunch, we headed for the National Museum of American History. I wanted to see Julia Childs' kitchen. I was somewhat disappointed because of the lighting and the crowd, but it was still very very neat! We looked at a couple other exhibits, but it was so crowded (Saturdays at museums generally are...) that we headed back outside.
Decided to walk up to the Washington Monument. We didn't go inside. Just sat outside in the sun & the breeze - the weather was lovely. We couldn't decide what to do, so M called her sister and we decided to meet for dinner in Fredrick. We met at an Irish pub. It was neat because it was Fredrick's 3rd Saturday (or whatever they call it) and all the shops & galleries were open late and there was lots of live music on the sidewalks. It was very neat, but we didn't have a chance to wander because we sat in the restaurant until 10. It was So good to catch up with those girls. Our moms grew up together so we've known each other for our whole lives, but have just grown apart. It was neat to reconnect!
Sunday dawned sunny, so we didn't bother taking our umbrellas when we left M's house. After morning meeting - which had about 4 times as many people as they usually have! - most of us went to Bertucci's for salad & pizza. YUM! Then, after much discussion, M lead the way to The White House. From there, we headed to the monuments: Washington, WWII & Lincoln. We just wandered & visited & took pictures. Many phone calls were made as we tried to figure out where everyone was because it was time to head back to the cars. It was very muggy and there was no breeze so no one wanted to walk any farther than was necessary.
We walked past the Vietnam Veterans Memorial on our way back to the cars. We got back to the park near the restaurant. The sun came out and a breeze came up and suddenly, it was really nice out! :) We all hung out there til everyone was back and then sat and visited some more. Finally around 6:30, everyone went their separate ways. It was such a fun day and such a great group of OYP! :)
M & I made our way back to Maryland. We stopped for "dinner" - Baja Fresh for me, Popeyes for her - and went back to her place to eat. I finally left there at 8:15. YIKES! It was good in the sense that there was very little traffic, but bad in that it was 1:10 when I got home. I stopped twice - once for gas and once for a potty break. And still made it to work at 8. The afternoon was rough. I was like totally falling asleep while I was waiting for people to answer their phones. Kinda scary, actually!
But now I'm home for a while. :)
xo
why is vacation so exhausting??? (part 3)
B was organizing Monday's outing. It was predicted to be rather rainy, so many people opted to hang out in Seattle rather than go on the bike ride. BT & I decided that since I was going to have so little time in Seattle, we would go in early. Turns out that was a good decision.
We drove in & found parking on 6th, directly behind Top Pot Donuts. Didn't even go around & go in. :( We went straight to Pike Place Market. Had a nice walk thru. I got Gala Apples from Simply the Best and a ring from the same place as I had my green one made. We were walking back towards downtown when the word came thru that the kids weren't making it downtown before I left. I left BT on the corner of 4th & Pine and made my way to the Transit Tunnel. It was practically perfect - I had time to buy my ticket and get to the platform.
The Metro Transit Light Rail is very clean, very smooth & gives great views of areas I was un-accustomed to seeing while I lived out there. (Maybe I should have taken that apartment down off MLK Way? Rent probably went up since the light rail is up and running!) I need to make you aware of something about the Light Rail tho. And that is this: the Airport Station is a L..O..N..G ways from the "S" Terminal! I walked (& walked & walked), finally got to S, went to the bathroom, bought a bottle of water & they were already boarding my flight. Yikes!
I had a middle seat between 2 guys. The guy on the window was pretty laid back. The guy on the aisle, however, was a different story. I sat down & Larry (the guy on the aisle) says, "I hate to fly." He was very chatty & totally freaked out. He's a bass player in a band who's name I can't remember right now, but they are legit, I checked. He's written some stuff for Anita Baker. And he hates to fly. Hates having gigs on the other side of the country. At one point, I did put my iPod in and took a little nap. There was really bad turbulance landing in Detroit. It was scary and I felt really bad for the guy. He held onto my arm & I just let him. Seemed easier that way.
In DTW, I requested a flight change. I was scheduled to fly into ELM, which is about an hour's drive from home. I asked if there was any way I could get on the flight to BGM. They originally said "No, the flight is already overbooked." About 20 minutes later, they found me and said "A bunch of flights in were cancelled and there's space on the flight. Do you want to go?" Of course I said yes! So I was home by 11:30. Nice! :)
And it was back to work at 8 on Tuesday morning. The weekend happened so quickly that it almost feels like I wasn't there. It's a weird feeling...
Love you girls!
xo
We drove in & found parking on 6th, directly behind Top Pot Donuts. Didn't even go around & go in. :( We went straight to Pike Place Market. Had a nice walk thru. I got Gala Apples from Simply the Best
The Metro Transit Light Rail is very clean, very smooth & gives great views of areas I was un-accustomed to seeing while I lived out there. (Maybe I should have taken that apartment down off MLK Way? Rent probably went up since the light rail is up and running!) I need to make you aware of something about the Light Rail tho. And that is this: the Airport Station is a L..O..N..G ways from the "S" Terminal! I walked (& walked & walked), finally got to S, went to the bathroom, bought a bottle of water & they were already boarding my flight. Yikes!
I had a middle seat between 2 guys. The guy on the window was pretty laid back. The guy on the aisle, however, was a different story. I sat down & Larry (the guy on the aisle) says, "I hate to fly." He was very chatty & totally freaked out. He's a bass player in a band who's name I can't remember right now, but they are legit, I checked. He's written some stuff for Anita Baker. And he hates to fly. Hates having gigs on the other side of the country. At one point, I did put my iPod in and took a little nap. There was really bad turbulance landing in Detroit. It was scary and I felt really bad for the guy. He held onto my arm & I just let him. Seemed easier that way.
In DTW, I requested a flight change. I was scheduled to fly into ELM, which is about an hour's drive from home. I asked if there was any way I could get on the flight to BGM. They originally said "No, the flight is already overbooked." About 20 minutes later, they found me and said "A bunch of flights in were cancelled and there's space on the flight. Do you want to go?" Of course I said yes! So I was home by 11:30. Nice! :)
And it was back to work at 8 on Tuesday morning. The weekend happened so quickly that it almost feels like I wasn't there. It's a weird feeling...
Love you girls!
xo
why is vacation so exhausting??? (part 2)
What with jet lag & time zones & whatever, I only slept about 4 1/2 hours. Got up, showered, and went with B to pick up J on our way to Breakfast. J's reaction was priceless. She about went into shock, as did her brother & sister-in-law. SO fun to see them! Walked into breakfast and surprised everyone there. It was fun. No one was expecting to see me. And the little kids didn't know who I was so didn't care that I was there. lol
Breakfast was yummy, then BA had an short meeting. After that, they made teams for the afternoon activities & packed up lunches and left for the park. B, BT, CJ & I did not go. Instead we went to Trader Joe's - the new one in Redmond!, a chocolatier called Brugge Chocolate - YUM!!!, grabbed lunch at Chipotle & coffee at Peets. Back to MR to eat lunch. Then B & BT got busy working on Luau supper. C, CJ & I decorated. And by decorating, I mean, using everything BT had brought & making the kitchen area as tacky as we could make it. (There's pictures on FB.)
The dinner was fantastic! Pork smoked in banana leaves - I have no idea what they did to it, but it was amazing! Served with rice and lots of salads. After main course, BA had a second short meeting. DJ administered a "long, hard" Bible quiz while we older girls got dessert ready. There was pinapple upside down cake & lots of pies. M&B decided it was too late to start the skits, so we just played games. I learned how to play Bananagrams - FUN!!! LA is such a cheater! But we laughed. A lot.
Sunday dawned brighter than Saturday did. I made myself eggs, B made smoothies for the rest of the girls staying at her place. Went to Sunday School. By the time we sat down for morning meeting, the room was packed. A lot of people came just for the day. It was awesome catching up with BG, but it was much to brief. That Nora is SUCH a cutie! :) It was potluck, so there was lots of yummy food for lunch. There was a Bible reading after, followed by a brief gospel message.
Then "what to do???" for the afternoon. There were too many to take on a ferry ride. They decided to go to downtown Kirkland for frozen yogurt & a walk on the waterfront. B, C & I went to Capitol Hill. We got coffee at 15th Avenue Coffee & Tea (yum!), cupcakes at Cupcake Royale (not impressd w/salted caramel) & had a wander at Elliott Bay Books - recently moved from Pioneer Square (i didn't buy anything!).
For some reason, my browser is not letting me link this morning, but you can visit these:
http://www.streetlevelcoffee.com/
http://www.cupcakeroyale.com/
http://elliottbaybook.com/
Then we headed back to Kirkland for a make-your-own-burrito supper. Fortunately, there was a vegetarian options, tho D&L said they hadn't planned that and to thank someone else (PJ?) for the refried beans. Got cleaned up from supper. BA had his final meeting. Then on to skits.
I wasn't sure about our team to start with cuz I didn't really know any of the boys. But we pulled together a skit of The Stoning of Stephen (Acts 7) that included using Jenga blocks as the rocks we threw at him. Later, in about 5 minutes, we pulled together a skit for Ninevah. EK was a fantastic "Lot's Wife", but Constantin's team "stole the show". It was a very fun evening. Then we went outside (in the drizzly rain) and roasted marshmallows over one of those dish fires. Btw, PF made me awesome, perfectly roasted marshmallows. I don't generally eat them, but that night I ate 3! (So need to get back on track with my eating!!!) Also fun that night? KJ, PF, me & RB giving the Rockettes a run for their money with our kickline... :)
I went to BT's that night. It was like going home - I miss living there!!!
xo
Breakfast was yummy, then BA had an short meeting. After that, they made teams for the afternoon activities & packed up lunches and left for the park. B, BT, CJ & I did not go. Instead we went to Trader Joe's - the new one in Redmond!, a chocolatier called Brugge Chocolate - YUM!!!, grabbed lunch at Chipotle & coffee at Peets. Back to MR to eat lunch. Then B & BT got busy working on Luau supper. C, CJ & I decorated. And by decorating, I mean, using everything BT had brought & making the kitchen area as tacky as we could make it. (There's pictures on FB.)
The dinner was fantastic! Pork smoked in banana leaves - I have no idea what they did to it, but it was amazing! Served with rice and lots of salads. After main course, BA had a second short meeting. DJ administered a "long, hard" Bible quiz while we older girls got dessert ready. There was pinapple upside down cake & lots of pies. M&B decided it was too late to start the skits, so we just played games. I learned how to play Bananagrams - FUN!!! LA is such a cheater! But we laughed. A lot.
Sunday dawned brighter than Saturday did. I made myself eggs, B made smoothies for the rest of the girls staying at her place. Went to Sunday School. By the time we sat down for morning meeting, the room was packed. A lot of people came just for the day. It was awesome catching up with BG, but it was much to brief. That Nora is SUCH a cutie! :) It was potluck, so there was lots of yummy food for lunch. There was a Bible reading after, followed by a brief gospel message.
Then "what to do???" for the afternoon. There were too many to take on a ferry ride. They decided to go to downtown Kirkland for frozen yogurt & a walk on the waterfront. B, C & I went to Capitol Hill. We got coffee at 15th Avenue Coffee & Tea (yum!), cupcakes at Cupcake Royale (not impressd w/salted caramel) & had a wander at Elliott Bay Books - recently moved from Pioneer Square (i didn't buy anything!).
For some reason, my browser is not letting me link this morning, but you can visit these:
http://www.streetlevelcoffee.com/
http://www.cupcakeroyale.com/
http://elliottbaybook.com/
Then we headed back to Kirkland for a make-your-own-burrito supper. Fortunately, there was a vegetarian options, tho D&L said they hadn't planned that and to thank someone else (PJ?) for the refried beans. Got cleaned up from supper. BA had his final meeting. Then on to skits.
I wasn't sure about our team to start with cuz I didn't really know any of the boys. But we pulled together a skit of The Stoning of Stephen (Acts 7) that included using Jenga blocks as the rocks we threw at him. Later, in about 5 minutes, we pulled together a skit for Ninevah. EK was a fantastic "Lot's Wife", but Constantin's team "stole the show". It was a very fun evening. Then we went outside (in the drizzly rain) and roasted marshmallows over one of those dish fires. Btw, PF made me awesome, perfectly roasted marshmallows. I don't generally eat them, but that night I ate 3! (So need to get back on track with my eating!!!) Also fun that night? KJ, PF, me & RB giving the Rockettes a run for their money with our kickline... :)
I went to BT's that night. It was like going home - I miss living there!!!
xo
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
why is vacation so exhausting??? (part 1)
On the morning of May 17th, I was planning on staying on the East Coast for the summer. I had every intention of going to the Mt. Tabor conference for one day. Then everything changed.
It was a typical day of telemarketing. I was poking around online. All of the sudden, I was like, "I wonder if there's anything out there that I could make work to go to Seattle for Memorial Day weekend." See, there's been lots of talk in the Kirkland area about getting me back there. I have been resisting because plane tickets cost SO much and there's the whole job issue, so I just put it out of my brain.
Well, as it turns out, a search on Orbitz.com revealed that tickets had come down. I could spend as little as $300 and not have to miss work. Hmmm, I thought. I could do that. But I was at work, and without a credit card. So I said "Lord, if I'm supposed to go to Seattle, there will be something available when I get home." and left it at that. I got home that night, checked my finances & logged on. There was a ticket! I was thrilled & promptly bought it!
But here's the thing. I wanted to surprise everyone in Kirkland - well 2 people specifically: PF because he's been all over my case about coming back, and C because I thought it would be a fun surprise for her. So I texted B & BT and said "I'm coming, but I don't want anyone to know." They promised to keep it a secret. And then I didn't tell any of the kids here because I didn't want it showing up on Facebook and spoiling the surprise.
It was a fun secret to keep, but I was so worried that someone was going to ask me a direct question. And then, a week later, I woke up with an allregy or cold or something. It totally wiped me out. I didn't miss work cuz I wasn't really sick, but I was exhausted. Finally made it to the Thursday before my trip. By the time I went to bed, I was almost completely packed. I woke up early on Friday morning. Before my alarm, apparently too excited to sleep. I made my lunch and finished packing and was early for work. What's up with that? I am never totally & completely packed so far in advance of my trip. It actually freaked me out a good deal!
Work was fairly quiet. Everyone else, i.e. the people I was calling, had already started their weekends. Finally at 3, they let us go because nothing was happening. I went home, ran some errands, checked-in online, ate dinner. I was really antsy to get to the airport because, well, because I was really excited that I was going to Seattle and I didn't want tto be late. Or something. I can't really remember what it was all about, but finally we were on our way. M&D dropped me off at SYR around 6:45 for my 8:30 flight.
An earlier flight to PHL had been delayed, but my flight was supposed to be on time. I'm not sure how it all shook down, but the announced that everyone who was in the waiting area was to board this completely different flight to PHL, which ended up leaving right around 8:30 anyway. Had 2 seats to myself. I read Vogue & chewed gum and about an hour later, we were in PHL. While there, I finished reading Vogue, had some water, and texted B.
After a gate change, we finally boarded. I was in the back row with 2 guys, but the guy across the aisle had 2 empty seats. I ended up moving over there. Hey, a cute guy should not have to sit by himself. And it was either me or the mother with a 2-year-old. All 3 guys thanked me. :) Other than the fact that we were late leaving, the flight was very uneventful. I slept off and on, as did the cute guy. He let me have the window seat for the descent into Seattle. All I saw were clouds. :(
Not sure how this happened, but we left PHL late and landed in SEA early. Early, as in 1:30 a.m. instead of 2. I also landed the phone number of the cute guy from the plane. B picked me up outside. We got back to her place and snuck in through the garage. All 3 girls in the den stayed asleep and so did C. Of course, sneaking up 3 flights of stairs in the dark does not give one the opportunity to reach a conclusion about the asthetics of the brand new house of ones best friend. :)
xo
It was a typical day of telemarketing. I was poking around online. All of the sudden, I was like, "I wonder if there's anything out there that I could make work to go to Seattle for Memorial Day weekend." See, there's been lots of talk in the Kirkland area about getting me back there. I have been resisting because plane tickets cost SO much and there's the whole job issue, so I just put it out of my brain.
Well, as it turns out, a search on Orbitz.com revealed that tickets had come down. I could spend as little as $300 and not have to miss work. Hmmm, I thought. I could do that. But I was at work, and without a credit card. So I said "Lord, if I'm supposed to go to Seattle, there will be something available when I get home." and left it at that. I got home that night, checked my finances & logged on. There was a ticket! I was thrilled & promptly bought it!
But here's the thing. I wanted to surprise everyone in Kirkland - well 2 people specifically: PF because he's been all over my case about coming back, and C because I thought it would be a fun surprise for her. So I texted B & BT and said "I'm coming, but I don't want anyone to know." They promised to keep it a secret. And then I didn't tell any of the kids here because I didn't want it showing up on Facebook and spoiling the surprise.
It was a fun secret to keep, but I was so worried that someone was going to ask me a direct question. And then, a week later, I woke up with an allregy or cold or something. It totally wiped me out. I didn't miss work cuz I wasn't really sick, but I was exhausted. Finally made it to the Thursday before my trip. By the time I went to bed, I was almost completely packed. I woke up early on Friday morning. Before my alarm, apparently too excited to sleep. I made my lunch and finished packing and was early for work. What's up with that? I am never totally & completely packed so far in advance of my trip. It actually freaked me out a good deal!
Work was fairly quiet. Everyone else, i.e. the people I was calling, had already started their weekends. Finally at 3, they let us go because nothing was happening. I went home, ran some errands, checked-in online, ate dinner. I was really antsy to get to the airport because, well, because I was really excited that I was going to Seattle and I didn't want tto be late. Or something. I can't really remember what it was all about, but finally we were on our way. M&D dropped me off at SYR around 6:45 for my 8:30 flight.
An earlier flight to PHL had been delayed, but my flight was supposed to be on time. I'm not sure how it all shook down, but the announced that everyone who was in the waiting area was to board this completely different flight to PHL, which ended up leaving right around 8:30 anyway. Had 2 seats to myself. I read Vogue & chewed gum and about an hour later, we were in PHL. While there, I finished reading Vogue, had some water, and texted B.
After a gate change, we finally boarded. I was in the back row with 2 guys, but the guy across the aisle had 2 empty seats. I ended up moving over there. Hey, a cute guy should not have to sit by himself. And it was either me or the mother with a 2-year-old. All 3 guys thanked me. :) Other than the fact that we were late leaving, the flight was very uneventful. I slept off and on, as did the cute guy. He let me have the window seat for the descent into Seattle. All I saw were clouds. :(
Not sure how this happened, but we left PHL late and landed in SEA early. Early, as in 1:30 a.m. instead of 2. I also landed the phone number of the cute guy from the plane. B picked me up outside. We got back to her place and snuck in through the garage. All 3 girls in the den stayed asleep and so did C. Of course, sneaking up 3 flights of stairs in the dark does not give one the opportunity to reach a conclusion about the asthetics of the brand new house of ones best friend. :)
xo
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)