It truly has been a dreadful past few days. Y'know how, sometimes, the difference between what you want to do and what you have to do is so vast that it just makes you sick to think about it? Well, I've been feeling pretty sick all week. I thought it would be a fairly mellow week and that I would actually be able to spend some time at my desk getting stuff done. But no, of course not. Murphy's Law.
On a brighter note, last weekend was very nice. We went camping, minus the dogs, and got some good quality time to ourselves with much-needed peace and quiet. And good weather! Very relaxing. Maybe that's why this week seems like it's pretty tough, because all that relaxation surely should have prepared me. I don't think so!
Ryan and I watched "Guru" (Abhishek Bachhan) a couple of days ago, and we both enjoyed it. It was well-made and well-written. I recommend it. I went through this exercise a few weeks ago, I actually took the time to rate and add a few movies to our netflix queue, so I won't have to look at it again for the next year or so!
I can't wait for tomorrow to come and go. To put this irritating week behind me. Saturday we are going on a long crazy bike ride with some fellow HVCC-ers, and I'm really looking forward to it!!!
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
a sigh of relaxation
It seems like it has been a long weekend. Friday I had to go to Milwaukee for a green card thing. Ryan very lovingly accompanied me. It gave us a chance to indulge in some terrible, but oh-so-good “road-behaviors”. That encompassed a rest-stop at Target, with a cheddar pretzel for me, and a ham-n-swiss sandwich for Ryan. The appointment went smoothly and we were on the road again in less than 15 minutes. On our way home, we had the urge to stop at the outlet mall...well, I had the urge, and Ryan glumly followed. But he got some clothes; in fact, he got way more clothes than I did! I was very good, in comparison.
Saturday and Sunday we made up for all the excesses, in many ways. We didn’t use the car at all, for starters, we didn’t spend any money, didn’t shop (even online), and we ate entirely home-cooked food! Talk about living efficiently.
We started Saturday right. Whole-wheat toast with butter and jam for breakfast, followed by a beautiful bike ride to Mineral Point and back…slightly over 20 miles. It was a very scenic trail, but no shade at all! Good thing we put on sunblock. When we got to Mineral Point, we stopped by the farmer’s market, and I got a “lavender eggplant”, and also some “Italian bottle onions”. The lady at the stand said that the bottle onions tasted really good when grilled, so I thought we would make a pizza that night and try them on it! We did take some pictures along the bike trail –
Saturday afternoon and evening we primarily relaxed. We made sushi (second time last week!) for lunch, and it turned out very well. Ryan was happy that his rolls turned out much better the second time. We watched the movie version of “Girl with a Pearl Earring”. Figured it would be a good idea, since we just finished reading the book two weeks ago. The book is MUCH better. For dinner, I tried a new pizza dough recipe – which turned out very nicely – and our toppings were the eggplant and Italian bottle onions from the farmer’s market, and also some tomatoes and banana peppers from my garden. The whole thing turned out very well, and we decided that we will definitely use the dough recipe again. Here’s a picture –
Sunday, I had media duty all morning at church. Afterwards, those of us who had signed up for the praise band jam stayed on to rehearse. We needed to be there by 3, so we had from 1 to 3 to practice. It was a little sketchy, and we probably weren’t as prepared as we could have been. But the event itself was great! We couldn’t hear ourselves because the stage monitors sucked, and I guess I had gotten used to the in-ear monitors….but it was exciting, and we were there worshipping, and it was really cool to see all the area churches come together for one cause. I wish there were more concerts/events like that.
And today we are more than halfway through August. *sigh*
Saturday and Sunday we made up for all the excesses, in many ways. We didn’t use the car at all, for starters, we didn’t spend any money, didn’t shop (even online), and we ate entirely home-cooked food! Talk about living efficiently.
We started Saturday right. Whole-wheat toast with butter and jam for breakfast, followed by a beautiful bike ride to Mineral Point and back…slightly over 20 miles. It was a very scenic trail, but no shade at all! Good thing we put on sunblock. When we got to Mineral Point, we stopped by the farmer’s market, and I got a “lavender eggplant”, and also some “Italian bottle onions”. The lady at the stand said that the bottle onions tasted really good when grilled, so I thought we would make a pizza that night and try them on it! We did take some pictures along the bike trail –
Saturday afternoon and evening we primarily relaxed. We made sushi (second time last week!) for lunch, and it turned out very well. Ryan was happy that his rolls turned out much better the second time. We watched the movie version of “Girl with a Pearl Earring”. Figured it would be a good idea, since we just finished reading the book two weeks ago. The book is MUCH better. For dinner, I tried a new pizza dough recipe – which turned out very nicely – and our toppings were the eggplant and Italian bottle onions from the farmer’s market, and also some tomatoes and banana peppers from my garden. The whole thing turned out very well, and we decided that we will definitely use the dough recipe again. Here’s a picture –
Sunday, I had media duty all morning at church. Afterwards, those of us who had signed up for the praise band jam stayed on to rehearse. We needed to be there by 3, so we had from 1 to 3 to practice. It was a little sketchy, and we probably weren’t as prepared as we could have been. But the event itself was great! We couldn’t hear ourselves because the stage monitors sucked, and I guess I had gotten used to the in-ear monitors….but it was exciting, and we were there worshipping, and it was really cool to see all the area churches come together for one cause. I wish there were more concerts/events like that.
And today we are more than halfway through August. *sigh*
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
two week's worth
Before I proceed to rant about the busy-ness of work, my outdoor enjoyment of the unrealistically short Wisconsin summer, and miscellaneous other things, which keep me away from my computer-for-leisure, I must say, I am grateful for the encouragement of my friends and family who remind me to continue blogging. Every now and then I tend to forget, you see. And, we have been away for the last two weekends!
Two weekends ago, we went to Springfield, IL to visit with Ryan’s extended family. We had the privilege of visiting with his grandmother/aunt/uncle/cousin+cousin’s husband and also, his uncle and wife who were visiting from Alberta, Canada. It was a great weekend, and very very nice to spend time with family. We did take both dogs with us, which made for an interesting road trip with frequent rest stops! Here is a picture.
We went camping this past weekend, sans doggies, just Ryan and me. It was relaxing, and fun! We took full advantage of having some time to ourselves, surrounded by natural serenity. The weather was perfect. Even when it rained a little in the early part of the morning. We were fast asleep and didn’t even know it had started to rain, but we stayed toasty and dry inside the tent – thanks to the rain guard that held up very nicely! We cooked Spam and eggs over a campfire…which makes up the one time a year that I eat Spam! It was delicious, and it is really the perfect camping breakfast! Here are a couple of my favorite pictures from the trip (there are more on facebook).
Last night, we had the pleasure of dining with some friends, who we have not seen in sometime. It may or may not have something to do with the fact that they are proud new parents as of almost eight weeks ago! It was really nice to just sit and catch up over drinks (for two of the four), and Mexican food (for all). I held the baby girl for a few minutes....*sigh*....five more years. Well, maybe four.
In other news – the garden is still thriving! Despite the fact that I sometimes forget to water it. Well, it’s not that I forget – I’m discovering that everything looks and tastes fine whether or not it gets water everyday. Again, I’m discovering, sometimes three or four times a week suffices. I can’t help but think back and smile fondly at my blog from March. I realize now that I am capable of “gardening”, to the degree that I planted things in the earth three months ago, and those things have survived, flowered and borne fruit – all due to my tender-loving care. (And some of Ryan’s but he has agreed to let me take full credit.)
Two weekends ago, we went to Springfield, IL to visit with Ryan’s extended family. We had the privilege of visiting with his grandmother/aunt/uncle/cousin+cousin’s husband and also, his uncle and wife who were visiting from Alberta, Canada. It was a great weekend, and very very nice to spend time with family. We did take both dogs with us, which made for an interesting road trip with frequent rest stops! Here is a picture.
We went camping this past weekend, sans doggies, just Ryan and me. It was relaxing, and fun! We took full advantage of having some time to ourselves, surrounded by natural serenity. The weather was perfect. Even when it rained a little in the early part of the morning. We were fast asleep and didn’t even know it had started to rain, but we stayed toasty and dry inside the tent – thanks to the rain guard that held up very nicely! We cooked Spam and eggs over a campfire…which makes up the one time a year that I eat Spam! It was delicious, and it is really the perfect camping breakfast! Here are a couple of my favorite pictures from the trip (there are more on facebook).
Last night, we had the pleasure of dining with some friends, who we have not seen in sometime. It may or may not have something to do with the fact that they are proud new parents as of almost eight weeks ago! It was really nice to just sit and catch up over drinks (for two of the four), and Mexican food (for all). I held the baby girl for a few minutes....*sigh*....five more years. Well, maybe four.
In other news – the garden is still thriving! Despite the fact that I sometimes forget to water it. Well, it’s not that I forget – I’m discovering that everything looks and tastes fine whether or not it gets water everyday. Again, I’m discovering, sometimes three or four times a week suffices. I can’t help but think back and smile fondly at my blog from March. I realize now that I am capable of “gardening”, to the degree that I planted things in the earth three months ago, and those things have survived, flowered and borne fruit – all due to my tender-loving care. (And some of Ryan’s but he has agreed to let me take full credit.)
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