Musical hilarity... from a church?

In other news, I do still exist. I just have sporradic internet accessibility at the moment and am so busy with school concerts and personal concerts and the like. I sang in two concerts this weekend and they went well, except for the fact that I had a bit of a driving adventure tonight. More on that soon, hopefully with a picture!

Enjoy the laugh! I hope to update more in the near future! :)

Thought for the morning as I sip my coffee...

I want them all.

Some of you may remember that three (eek!) years ago at this time my sweetheart took me to the Chocolate Show in NYC. It was an amazing and overwhelming experience of chocolatey goodness.
This past weekend, my aunt was in Manhattan and my mom went in to have some sister-time with her. They actually took my suggestion and went to the chocolate show as well! Being fellow chocoholics they too enjoyed it thoroughly.

Anyway, one of the brochures that my mom brought home was for a chocolatier in Salem, Massachusetts... so very near my old stomping grounds! Bloomsberry & Co. makes an amazingly fun array of chocolate bars - I could buy a specific one for each person on my Christmas list!

Here are a few of my favorites....





So so funny. When I am next in Massachusetts, I will most definitely be stopping by. :)
Mmmmmmm.

Miss President and the Presidental Election

Did you go out and vote today? As a President myself, I certainly hope so!

From Misc Fall 2008

My Dad found this quarter on his way to the polls today. I love his little comment!!
From his lips to God's ears, I say - even if it's a quarter at a time! :)

From Misc Fall 2008

Always interesting to go back and vote at my old elementary school. Good times!

From Misc Fall 2008

Props to Starbucks for giving out free coffee today if you voted. Awesome!

From Misc Fall 2008

Gotta love the free coffee! Wooo!

Too bad the line for the free scoop at Ben & Jerry's was so long.
I had to go to rehearsal so I didn't have time to wait. Oh well! :(

New Shoes for Sheep

As I type this, I am waiting for my dear 'ol Sheep-in-a-Jeep to get some new shoes.

Yesterday, Matt took off my front drivers-side tire in order to take a look at/replace my front brakes. It ends up that they are still in good condition, which is good news (and I have the actual brakes for when that changes) but in the process, he noticed that my tire was in dire need of replacement. VERY dire need. It appears that the evil car dealership probably never rotated my tires in the midst of the thousands of dollars they over-charged me for servicing. (Note: I no longer patronize them, nor do my parents. Or a lot of other people. Don't go there. I go here instead.) The last time I went for servicing, I was warned that new tires were necessary before winter, so it wasn't a huge shock... but the immediacy adds a bit to the stress of the situation. I need new tires... yesterday. All four. A BIG expense. Ugh.

So last night we whipped out the computers and phone and started pricing out tires. The place I went with seems good - with the rebate, I will get one tire free and also a small amount off from the tire company... which is an enormous blessing since the initial bill is almost $700!!!!! AHHHH!

Well, four new shoes for the Jeep or a new pair for me at the same cost.... hmmmm.
I think I'll get more wear out of the tires, unfortunately. Blast responsibility!! ;)

Nelson Mandela, Dali Lama, Ghandi and Me???

I just took The Political Compass Test. I did it on a curious whim. I found the results interesting.

Economic Left/Right: -4.75
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -4.46

I'm supposedly "near" the men listed above. Interesting. Comments??

Six: Iron, Candy or Wood?

On this day, six years ago, I was up in Massachusetts. Two of my dear friends were beginning their life together. Today, life has have taken them on so many amazing adventures - thousands of miles of travel, adventures, life changes, a move, construction, a beautiful little girl and another baby on the way. Happy times, sad times, crazy times, a life.

They give me a lot to look forward to. :)

Happy Anniversary, Mr. and Mrs. Wood! :)

I could survive for 54 seconds chained to a bunk bed with a velociraptor

Created by Bunk Beds Pedia

Thank you, Alisa (aka jot.erella) for this distraction. I'm proud that I would make it that long!

Brilliant. Absolutely Brilliant.

I love Lego Star Wars. It's funny enough on its own. But this is just the icing on the cake.

Food for thought for a Tuesday

Words that are running through my head at the moment... and with which I agree. Often the people who think they are the most important really aren't, and we need to remember that!!

Many a truest word
has been spoken by the Jester
Standing against the tide
Is the noblest of gestures
It’s the little pearls of wisdom
That tumble from the light
That makes us laugh until we cry
Because we know that they are right!

"Company of Fools" from Fortune's Favour
written by Alan Doyle and Russell Crowe (Yes, that Russell Crowe! I was surprised by it when I looked it up!)

Great Big Fun in NYC!

Friday night was spent at the Nokia Theater in the heart of Times Square to see Great Big Sea!

From Great Big Sea @ Nokia - Sept 19

They did two fantastic sets, with the entire concert being around 2.5 hours of singing, dancing and fun. You know you've had a great time when you spend the next two days with a raspy voice from constant singing and sore shoulders and arms from all of the clapping! We finally got our copy of Fortune's Favour, their newest CD, and Matt got me a signed picture of the band. Cool!

From Great Big Sea @ Nokia - Sept 19

The only sadnesses of the day were two... first, there were supposed to be five of us instead of three. Due to two of our number being students at the moment and have classes on Friday nights (oh, horror!), they were sadly not in attendance. The other sadness was a selfish one... I had my little camera with me and I knew the batteries were failing, and they completely died about two minutes into the second set. I would have kept shooting, but sadly could not and didn't have time to buy batteries beforehand. :(

Alan singing From Great Big Sea @ Nokia - Sept 19

Sean (my favorite picture of the night!) From Great Big Sea @ Nokia - Sept 19

Bob playing the accordion From Great Big Sea @ Nokia - Sept 19

They put on a great show and didn't disappoint! I wish more of the US knew about them... if you've never heard them, check 'em out! They have something for everyone!
The rest of the pictures are here... Great Big Sea @ Nokia - Sept 19

I am a tortoise?

Do you remember the story of the tortoise and the hare?

Slow and steady wins the race.

I wonder who I am. I have more behaviors like the hare... easily distracted, wanting to take a nap, impatient. But I do (eventually!) get things done, albeit often through stubbornness or with help. Does that make me more like the tortoise, then? Since things do get done slowly?

Hmmm.

I heart flip-flips and I've got skills.

Two conversations from the past two days. They both made me laugh.



In the car the other night...

Me: I'm a goody two-shoes.
Matt: Oh, you have more than two shoes!
Me: Yeah, I have more than two... and an army of flip-flops.
Matt: You do have lots of flip-flops.
Me: I heart flip-flops!



Today, a conversation with a second grader at lunchtime...

Girl: You were playing the piano this morning.
Me: Yes, I was.
Girl: You play really good... cause you got skills.
Me: Thank you.
Girl: And you didn't choose the piano... the piano chose you.

I'm so far behind on posting!

My posting has been quite lax of late. There are lots of things to be posting about, yet I am swamped with schoolwork. I should actually be doing some work right now, to be perfectly honest!! I will try for more posts soon. :)

From Lunch with Jenny and Will 08-26-08

This is a picture of when Jenny and Will took a quick trip home... Thankfully, Will is now back from his third deployment and this celebration was a good excuse to come home for a few days! We got to have lunch with them one afternoon - so good to hang out, even if just for a little while! The rest of the pictures are here... and when they come stateside again in December (hopefully for a reassignment!) there will be more pics to share!

Farmers Market Find

I went to the Farmer's market again today. (although I was not as green as last time, in which I rode my bike to the location. Mom was with me this time and we have only one bike.) While buying some yellow grape tomatoes, we were convinced to try something new:

This picture is not mine. It comes from here.

These are called ground cherries (other names include: husk tomatoes, cape gooseberries, chinese lanterns, golden gooseberries, strawberry tomatoes, etc. as seen here.) They come in their own little wrappers and taste more like pineapple or something sweet than a traditional tomato.

I can't stop eating them. They are like little balls of happy! Mmmm. I wonder where I can get some more??

Very soggy musings

I am in Florida at the moment, visiting my grandmother. This in itself is hard - to see her so frail and so unlike herself is heartbreaking, and the awful thought of "Is this the last time?" is a heavy weight. And to add to that, it hasn't stopped raining the ENTIRE time we've been here. I mean it. Tropical Storm Fay has set up residence over Florida, so there has been nothing but awful, awful weather. Soggy and gloomy and sad.

Due to all of this, I've had far more time to think than perhaps I should. I have seen happy things happening to several friends lately - not the types of things that are just magical coincidences, but rather things that have been worked on and planned for, but I just didn't know about until it has come to be. I am happy for them, of course, and celebrate with them, as it should be.

Things like this have strangely made me sad, because they are showing me that I still haven't accomplished the things I want to do (or at least try to do). Why haven't I done these things? Fear. Laziness. Fear. Tiredness. Uncertainty. Fear. I realize that I am just too afraid. Afraid of something that might be hard, or expensive. Afraid of failure. That's a big one. I'm too used to being Miss Perfect, which I am trying to escape from... with some help. But it's a very long and windy road.

BackPost 7/01/08: Corning Museum of Glass

I've been meaning to get up the pictures from the trip we took right after school let out, but they have been on the back burner... at least here's a start!

Matt and I went to the Corning Museum of Glass while in upstate NY with Matt's parents. It is an AMAZING museum! We spent the good part of a day there - seeing exhibits, wandering, having lunch, and my favorite thing - making a blown glass ornament! What a fun, fun place. I totally recommend it to anyone and everyone. Truly something for all can be found there!

Blowing my brains out?

TD looks Jumbo-sized!

Beware! Scientific content!

Lots and lots of cool exhibits to see.

The photos from the day are here.

I'd like to thank the Academy...

Marisa of "The True and Tall Tales of My Fantastic and Brilliant Life" nominated me for this award. It doesn't seem to signify anything except a hoax!, but it's certainly cool that she decided I deserved one! (Award, not hoax!) I guess I'll take awards no matter how I get them. :)
Supposedly, there are "rules:"

*Put the logo on your blog.

*Add a link to the person who awarded you.

*Nominate at least seven other blogs.

*Add links to those blogs on your blog.

*Leave a message for your nominee on their blogs.

Despite the hoax stigma, I will nominate people purely because, in my mind, they DO deserve awards. Take it if you want, but other than that, you are welcome to simply enjoy the nomination. I will not, however, nominate seven people. Just the people I want to. So there. ;p

Rebecca of World Wide Wood (Best use of craftiness)

Kate of My life - as I know it - (Bravest - she's moving to Texas!)

"Dolphin" of Jewels - (Brand new "Mommy Blogger")

Eleni of Len's Thoughts - (Literary and Musical diva extrordinaire)

Congratulations, Mr. & Mrs. Strauss!

On Sunday, I got to witness two of our friends tie the knot. Unfortunately, Matt wasn't able to make it - we were up until 4am the night before, visiting the hospital... he got awful, awful food poisoning! So while he slept and recuperated, I traveled down to the Berkley Plaza to see Marisa and Eric become Mr. and Mrs.

The wedding itself was beautiful. I'd never been to a Jewish ceremony before, and found it to be touching and very personal. They both looked so amazingly happy - and I cried! The reception was very nice as well - so much amazing food at the cocktail hour (kudos to Marisa for choosing hummus - a must have when we get together!) and the dinner was lovely, too. Overall, just a sweet and wonderful time. May you have a lifetime of happiness and joy!

My pictures are here.

BackPost 7/30/08: Annie's House!

First thing I should say - Matt is awesome. He remembered that this was a place I wanted to go and made it happen. So cool. Major brownie points. :)

On our last day at the shore, we took a little drive over to Monmouth University, the school where Marisa spent her undergraduate years. Years and years before I ever met her, though, I knew this place. I just knew it as Daddy Warbuck's house in the movie Annie.

Wilson Hall, as it is known at Monmouth, is the actual house (interiors and exteriors) that were used for the film. The house is in the midst of being refurbished, but it is still the same on so many levels. We walked into the great hall, I looked up at the ceiling, and had a moment of awe - my childhood dream come true! So so beautiful. Despite the oppressive heat, we rambled throughout the entire building (including sneaking into original and amazingly beautiful bathrooms!) and I took tons of pictures, all of which you can see here.

Of course, I wanted to play the organ (see it next to the stairs?) but it was locked.

I was an Annie fanatic as a kid.... I knew the movie by heart, could sing and dance my way through the songs (on vinyl, baby!) to the point where I thought I was Annie for about a month! How my parents put up with me refusing to respond to my name (and referring to them as "Miss Grace" and "Daddy Warbucks!") is a feat of parenting I didn't know was possible!

Me... Then. Is this why I still go through times of wanting to dye my hair red?
I especially love the shining, glowing locket around my neck!

Me... now. Can I tap-dance down the stairs, now, Matt?

So yeah. This was a bit of a big deal to me. :) So, so cool.

BackPost 7/26-30/08: A few days at the shore

After the craziness of the workshop I attended (and a lot of other things, too), it was time for a little R&R. We spent the weekend - plus a few more days - down at the shore, and it was WONDERFUL.

On the rainy Saturday, we went bowling, and experienced four power outages while there! Lucky for us, though, the guy in charge was hanging out near us and he was persuaded to take us on a tour of the pin setting area! SO COOL! (Pictures)

Bowling with my "Male Harem" :)

Matt and I also went to Jenkinson's for a bit one day - to play skeeball and eat boardwalk foods, not burn in the sun!

TurtleDuck loves the ocean!

On the last day of our trip, we got up super early to see the sunrise at the beach - something I've wanted to do for a long time. It was hard to get up so early, and was cloudy and hazy, but still beautiful. Well worth it, and something I'll do again!

The calm before the craziness of a hot summer day!

It was a fun time, and I hope I'll get back again once before the summer is over. The ocean calls to me! (more pictures)

BackPost 7/23/08: Marisa & Eric & Monster Golf!

Our friends Marisa and Eric are getting married... tomorrow. We'll be there to celebrate their big day, but we were able to get together more casually before the big day.

We met up for some lunch at California Pizza Kitchen and then planned to head to Monster Golf. Unfortunately, Eric had to go to work, so he could only stay for lunch. But Marisa came with us to play! It was a lot of fun... the vibe is cool and I like the black light concept. Fun times!

Pictures from the wedding will come later... :)

Pictures from the day are here.

BackPost 7/19/08: The Woods come and visit!

The organizational prowess of Rebecca Wood descended on my pathetic room and whipped it into shape before my very eyes! I had a lot of organizational issues and it had completely gotten the better of me, so my sweet friend gave this to me as a birthday present! She is able to work wonders, let me tell you! It was amazing to get to spend some time with her, too - I miss her a lot! We meant to take a "before" and "after" picture of the room, but it didn't happen. It looks wonderful, though - and so much more peaceful! :)

In the evening, we all met together for dinner - Becky, Peter, Catherine, Matt and myself. Fun times, even with a two-year-old who had a VERY long day! She is so curious, and was fascinated by the flashlight on my keyring, leading for a light show!

A future pianist?

Pictures are here.

BackPost 7/12/08: Jenny Leaves Again!

My dear friend Jenny came back to the US to live/work while her husband, Will, was on his third tour with the Army. We had some good times and many cups of coffee... an addiction for both of us!
His tour is just about over (thank God!) and she had to go back to Italy... but before she went, we wanted to hang out one last time, at Cafe Archetypus. Such fun! I'll miss her a lot!

UPDATE: Jenny Will are coming back for a quick visit once Will gets home.... hurray! I'll get to see her at the end of August!

Pictures are here.

A childhood fantasy come true!

I know, I have lots to post about and I've been very lax in actually getting it out there into the great beyond. But I have to share what I did today, as I was exceptionally excited.

I went to Annie's house!


Matt took me to Monmouth University, to see the building used for both interiors and exteriors of Oliver Warbuck's house. Woodrow Wilson Hall, as it is known, has just begun a restoration process, but it is just as I expected it to be! I walked into the great hall and was about five again, believing that I was Annie. (Which had been much to the frustration of my parents... I refused to be called anything other than Annie, if you please!) It was such fun to see it for real!

We wandered all over and took pictures and poked in and out of rooms. While there, I texted my dear friend Marisa, who actually went to school there, and she clued me in to a few key locations... which we snuck into. :)

We also poked around the library, which is apparently haunted! It was exceptionally hot today, but this was such a fun surprise adventure. Yay!
(Pictures are to follow, I promise. I took a lot.)

Thoughts in my brain...

Tiredness, frustration, disgust, fear, anxiety, self loathing.

There is always time for shoes...

...even when you're supposed to be doing schoolwork. ;)

These are my new sandals... they are Birki's Tahiti Paisley Rose. My first pair of Birkenstocks ever. They came home with me from the Windmill in upstate New York. Yay.

Still here.

Hey. Still here. Just taking a graduate class every day for two weeks. It's good and I am enjoying it - Music and Storytelling in the morning and Theatre/Playwriting in the afternoon. Intense sessions and then journaling and fear of the end when all work gets sent away for grading.

I'm around. You can call me or email me and whatever. I am still (somewhat) social. But I'm busy.

There's been a lot to post about and I had wanted to start a project, but it isn't the right time for that... although the overachiever in me wants it all to somehow fit in.

So things like this will have to wait until there's time.

Talk to you soon...

BBQ Family Fun!

On June 1st, we went to a family barbecue at my sister's house. We hadn't seen anyone in a while, so it was good to see everyone and catch up. I had a chance to take a few pictures, especially of the youngest ones. It's not comprehensive, by any means, but several pics in the album were taken by my niece, Kaela. Enjoy!

BBQ at the Donovan's

POTD

Mmmmmm.... Garbage is tasty. Yum Yum Yum.

PS: I know I have a lot to post about, but there is so much going on with the end-of-the-year stuff. I will post a lot of stuff (a lot of pictures!) soon. Stay tuned!

Meh

I am feeling very.... Meh. And I should really go to bed. This weekend will be a busy one, and HOT and HUMID too. I'm not a fan of that. Maybe sleep will improve my mood.

Meh.

Potato-tastic!

I just learned tonight that 2008 is the International Year of the Potato. I suppose I am more in awe of this unusual food item. I read about it first on WikiHow, then I looked briefly at their own website.
It's making me want some Pommes Frites. Mmmmm.....