Much Needed Weekend Away

This past weekend, at the kind invitation of Jess, I escaped from the city for an amazing weekend at SPA in Freeport, ME. It would be an understatement to say that I needed this time away with wonderful, funny women and an abundance of cheese and wine. 

The past few weeks have been particularly hard in terms of dealing with my the anxiety of my job search and the frustration and sadness about still not finding work in my new field had really been wearing on me. It's not that I didn't think the search would be hard, it's just that I never thought the search would drag on so long. When I first starting looking for post-graduation work, the economy was just smoldering a bit at the edges, having not yet so thoroughly gone up in flames. And somewhere in the long stretches of not having to get our of my pajamas or put on makeup, I started to forget how blessed I am to have job at all, let alone one that allows me to be a part of such an amazing community and to work with people that I truly love. I now feel like a complete idiot for being so sulky, but I think this sort of thing can creep up on all of us now and then.
So to say that I had high hopes for my weekend away would again be putting it lightly. I had hoped that weekend would somehow snap me out of the doldrums and I was not at all disappointed! Just the overall sense of camaraderie and the infectious laughter made me so happy that I had tagged along for the ride. Meeting new, wonderful people and getting to know friends even better over a glass of wine or decadent snack buoyed me and certainly made me feel like I belonged. And I am so glad that I took the plunge and decided to get a drop spindle! Many, many thanks for Amy and Adrian for their instruction and encouragement! And then, I made yarn!! Here's the proof.

It's one of the 4 pictures I managed to take this weekend and it just makes me smile.
So to all the lovely ladies that made this weekend so fun and who know just how to get in the perfect amount of trouble, THANK YOU!! You're all getting hugs at knitting night next week, whether you want them or not! ;)

Adventures in Baking

For Christmas, Kyle's parents gave my the Sweet Melissa Baking Book and since we've been *trying* to eat healthier, I've satisfied my sweet tooth by just reading the lovely recipes. Oh my gosh, they all look amazing!

Last weekend, Kyle, Janet and I piled into the car with the puppies and headed to my parent's house so that Kyle and Jan could ski. Given my terror of heights and of chairlifts in particular, skiing is not for me. At all. So I stayed home and finally cracked open the cookbook for some special Valentine's Day baking.
I personally think that the name of the holiday should be changed to "Eat Your Weight In Chocolate Guilt Free Day!" but I'm not sure it will catch on.
I decided to go with the "Fallen Souffle Cake" given my chocolate love and desire to learn a new culinary technique. I've never really worked with eggs in any fancy way before so I was particularly excited to learn how to make a meringue and was overjoyed when, with a lot of assistance from my Aunt Val, my eggs formed soft peaks! So cool! Sadly, the cake ended up being a bit overdone but it was still delicious, if not as pretty as it could have been. I can't wait to try the other amazing sounding treats from this book! So pleased!! Here's the entire process:

Chocolate Souffle Cake

Cop Out Post

So I had big plans for a post about my recent knitting (mis)adventures, all the fun things we've been up to and my very strong feelings about "He's Just Not That Into You."* But I'm really tired tonight and have been tagged about a million times about this so I thought I would give it a go. Given that I have little to no use for Facebook, I wanted thought this would work better for me.

25 Random Things

25. I have a crazy memory and can remember in vivid detail events and conversations that happened many years ago. I'm very proud of this fact and when I can't remember something it totally freaks me out.
24. My very first memory is of being in my grandparent's living room while the rest of the family was in the kitchen trying to put out a small fire (burning meatballs). I was hugging my cat. I was three.
23. I once called 9-1-1 because I thought that my grandma and great aunt had fallen into some locks. The scuba rescue team was not pleased when they discovered that they had really fallen onto a little beach.
22. I called 9-1 once because my little brother was chocking on a hot dog but then he coughed it up and was fine.
21. My dad saved my life with the Heimlich maneuver when I was six and choked on melty cheese on my spaghetti.
20. When I was in fourth grade I wanted to be Hellen Keller, I thought she was so cool. In fact, my friends and I took turns playing Hellen Keller and Annie Sullivan after Girl Scout meetings.
19. I really enjoy "true crime" shows like Cold Case Files and American Justice. Kyle often asks if we can watch something "without murder."
18. I am weirdly proud of the fact that I'm left handed and really hope that I pass this on to my children.
17. I find nothing more satisfying than crossing something off of my "do-to" list. I've often written down things I've already accomplished so that I can cross them off.
16. I prefer writing in blue because I think that it's happier, or something.
15. When I was young, my family vacationed at a cabin in Vermont. Those trips provided some of my most treasured memories.
14. I grew up living with my grandparents. I think that has a lot to do with who I am today. I still miss my grandpa often.
13. I knew that Kyle was a keeper from early on, and I was totally right.
12. When I was younger I really thought that I could single-handedly save the world. Now I know that it will be a team effort I spend my entire life trying to do my part for.
11. I can be a little stubborn. Especially with knitting. It's like I think I can will something into not looking like a piece or crap or having mistakes. This hasn't worked yet.
10. I'm a huge history nerd. HUGE. Like I want to live in Concord, MA because of it's awesome historic ties. (I said huge)
9. I spend a lot of time stalking houses on the internet. I really want to be a homeowner.
8. I also stalk doggie day cares in the areas where I stalk houses. I love our puppy and want him to be happy and well adjusted.
7. I love traveling but hate flying. I wish I could get over the irrational fear that getting on a plane equals certain DOOM, but I can't.
6. Sometimes I wish that we could just pull up stakes and move to London for a year or two. I think London is the most magical place I have ever been.
5. I loved planning our wedding and I think that it was beautful and perfect, but I wouldn't want to do it again. Too much stress!
4. I have just started to enjoy red wine. I think this is a sign that I'm growing up. Kyle thinks this means I will someday like beer. That's never going to happen.
3. Our puppy, Russ, is awesome but after watching an Animal Planet program on pugs I'm totally afraid his eyes are going to pop out. It happens!
2. I love boardgames, and Boggle is a favorite. I wish the husband liked them, too.
1. Oh and I hate Facebook, but this was kinda fun. :)

*Whatever you do, don't see this movie. It was AWFUL and reduced men, women and marriage to Neanderthal stereotypes. Ick. Actually, that's insulting to Neanderthal's so scratch that.

Finished Knitting! YAY!

One of the really wonderful things about being done with school is the fact that my evenings and weekends are mine, to fill with whatever leisure activities I choose. No papers I should be writing, no papers to read and NO guilt! Well, there is still "chore guilt" but I'm working on it.
So how have I been filling the hours? With lots of knitting and reading!

First, a pair of warm and cozy socks I started Inauguration weekend in D.C. I love them! And considering that I my feet would never be warm again after Inauguration Day, it's fitting that they are so toasty!

Here are two pairs of socks that I finished knitting last summer but never wove in the ends. So sad, my laziness. But now they are wearable!

Having just finished up the Inauguration socks, I thought it was best to start another pair immediately! It was also a great excuse to play with my new ball winder and swift. Oh my LOVE for these items!! I don't know how I went so long without them! Kyle is pleased that he'll no longer have to ball up my yarn for me because I'm only capable of making tangled messes in less than 30 seconds when left to my own devices. Russ also wanted to get in on the action! He is totally yarn obsessed! Good thing he's cute and (usually) well monitored in the presence of pretty things. :)

Witnessing History - The BEST Part

We've been home for nearly 48 hours and I'm still trying to process the entire Inaugural experience. There's nothing that I can say that will adequately capture the incredible power of being there, among 1.8 million other Americans (and some Canadians waving flags like crazy right next to us!) to witness the Inauguration of President Obama. I'll leave the trite cliches to the media, some of whom captured the day for me but most of whom I felt did a disservice to the dream of Dr. King by declaring absolute victory when as a nation we are still far from the promised land. It goes without saying that President Obama was judged by the content of his character, and this makes me as proud of my fellow citizens as I can possibly be, yet it does not erase the social and economic injustices that prevail across the United States. I absolutely believe that President Obama can and will lead the country down a path towards greater justice and that we can see the true fulfillment of Dr. King's dream in my lifetime.

During the Inaugural Address I was struck by the fact that a candidate whose principles and policies I truly believe in was now assuming the presidency. During the election of 2004, I was unconvinced that this would ever be the case. Kyle and I have been excitedly following the political rise of President Obama since his speech at the DNC that year and I never thought that we'd arrive here so soon. I am SO excited and energized and look forward to following this Presidency with the voracity that some stalk Perez Hilton's celebrity gossip blog. As before, I think that our pictures capture things far better than I can. The rest are here.

Witnessing History - Part 1

So...my last semester of grad school was hard. Very hard. And perhaps I stretched myself more than enough ways to make myself crazy. Hence the absolute silence around here. But, now I have my degree and I would not have changed one thing! Sure, I nearly lost my mind, but in the end it was all worth it! (Not sure if the husband and the puppy feel the same way, not there not really complaining at the moment so we'll assume they're over it).

Now I'm free! This means that we've got the freedom to do totally awesome things, like travel with the rest of humanity to the most amazing thing to happen in my life time - the Inauguration of Barack Obama !!!! Tonight we are doing "Inauguration Day Strategery" which includes things like "Have a positive attitude!," and, "Stuff your pockets with toilet paper! And granola bars!" We've already had an amazing time, box relaxing and braving the city for the Inauguration Concert 2009. Here's the recap:

1.) Arriving at the concert and asking strangers to take our picture. The woman with the guy that took this for us shook her head "no" when asked if they would take the picture. Nice. 2.) Getting interviewed for BBC radio. Lost a bit of respect for the BBC when the reporter asked us to pretend that it was the next day and that we were super excited about Beyonce and Usher. Apparently the UK is not as into Springsteen and James Taylor. 3.) The crowd was HUGE. And we were pretty close to the front. 4.) Singing along with everyone was amazing and made me happy happy happy!!

Overall, I was truly amazed at the spirit and kindness of the crowd. Everyone seemed genuinly thrilled to be there and we were able to chat with people from all over the country that were there to have a good time and share the experiance. It was fantastic! And the amazing line up of performers capped off by a speech by the President Elect was beyond words. And, as the program continually reminded us, we were WITNESSING HISTORY. ;) I can't wait to tell my grandchildren about this!

A New Woman

New bling!  New puppy!  New Hair!

I swear I blinked and the summer is over.  It's been the best summer of my life, and I'm having a tough time taking it all in! 

Hopefully getting settled into our new married life together will lend itself to more blogging, knitting, and spending time with friends and family (although not in that order)  ;)

It's good to be back!!