yeah, i'm still here

my sincerest apologies for the lack of posting lately. there's lots going on. including, but not limited to, painting for the show, boyfriend back in town, holiday celebrations, ribs at the parent's house, cleaning the house... and it has all swallowed me whole. but i will do my best to get back on track.

tonight, sean and i resume our pre-chattanooga workout regimen with a few games of racquetball. looking forward to that. then i'll probably make this new shrimp dish i've been eyeing for about a month.

for now, though, i'm just tryin to give myself a pep-talk for the week ahead. i love 3 day weekends. not 5 day work-weeks. and now it's time to leave... meeting the boss and the client for a site visit. i know you're jealous.

happy monday!!

the run-down

my boss brought his dog to work today and she sat in my lap while i worked. finally finished getting the house clean over lunch. it's been a weeklong endeavor. kept getting distracted at work by the fun that shall inevitably ensue this weekend- sarah is in town and our usual routine includes lots of delicious food and wine, sandwiched by fantastic conversation. the bldg super came in to warn of the massive and violent storm headed our way. "might be good to get outta here" so we did. spent 45 minutes sitting in a friend's basement waiting for the tornado sirens to STOP. stayed on the phone with susan and we weathered the storm together. trees down on the way home. crap alllll over the streets. luckily no lights were out so the drive was easy. zoe sleeping next to me. her little leg draped over my arm. i wish ppl could see this side of her. not the side where she attacks your face at full force. waiting for sarah to arrive at mi casa. starving... constantly thinking "what will we have to eat"... looking forward to a girly night with my bestie, wine, and sex and the city.

home again

we had a wonderful family vacation to seagrove beach. sb has been our go-to-destination for the past 15 years or so. it is such a wonderful area and the beaches are beautiful. all of the little beach towns are fairly close together, so it is really easy to town-hop for shopping, beaching, eating, etc. on our way down there, we heard the weekly forecast and it looked very very dim. rain. every day. for the next week. but somebody else had different plans in store for us... it rained ONE morning. that's it. the rest of the time was sweet, sweet sunshine.

on the one morning that it did rain, mom and i went out for a walk and got caught in the downpour on the way back. we finally got back to the condo and looked like we had entered the most intense wet t-shirt contest ever. we felt pretty hardcore.

highlights:

1. reading beachside. finished twilight and started the fountainhead. talk about opposites :) i've been telling myself i'll read the fountainhead for some time now. and despite the fact that i was semi-intimidated by it, so far i really like it. i'm about 250 pages in and going strong.

2. "the blue giraffe". a fabulous art and jewelry shop in neighboring watercolor, fl, which singlehandedly inspired me to PAINT PAINT PAINT!! by far my most favorite shop in that area. www.thebluegiraffeon30a.com if you're interested.

3. angelina's pizza. this little pizza place stole our hearts on our very first trip to seagrove. they make the best pizzas around, and have such a cozy atmosphere. nothing fancy, just good food. we ate there twice this time :) on our first night... and our last.

4. man vs ocean. on our last day, the ocean waves were especially sizable. nothing compared to hawaii or anything, but big enough to toss you around and knock the girls loose from the swimsuit top... at one point, our entire family was out there, trying to bodysurf the waves and/or just survive getting hit by one. SO MUCH FUN. and then... we spotted another family riding the waves nearby... a family of s t i n g r a y s. so we "calmly" made our way back to our safe, comfy towels and continued our sun-soaking regimen.

5. quote of the trip. "i had no idea i was so cool!" -dad

so here i am. back in memphis. happy to see my cat, zoe, but wishing i was still on the beach. one thing i have to comfort me is a LOT of reading choices that i collected today. of course i still have the fountainhead, which i plan on diving into after this post. at borders this afternoon, i bought 2 magazines, metropolis and vogue. architecture & design and fashion. fabulous!! i picked up the memphis flyer at lunch with the fam at the bagel company, and i have a new women's health that rachel so graciously housed for me while i was out of town. my goal is to stay motivated for a bikini body even though my beach vacations are over for this year. i am also going to make an effort to actually READ the magazines i get, instead of flipping through and only looking at the pictures. there's interesting stuff to be learned and i intend on doing so.

it is good to be home. there's something comforting about your own house, your own spaces, that even vacations can't compete with. yet without the existence of both, each would lose its meaning. i am so thankful for a wonderful family to share that vacation with, and a wonderful place to come home to.

not good at all

yesterday, sean's tv fell off of the wall in our bedroom. the little gadget that held the tv to the arm on the wall just snapped. it crushed a lamp, sent glass all over the room, and scratched the tv screen pretty badly. zoe is completely freaked out by the tv now, and won't go anywhere near it. judging from the chaos that i found on my nightstand- lamp, picture, remotes strewn everywhere- i'm guessing she was lounging on the bed when it happened. i checked her little feet for any glass but she's ok. i called sean last night to tell him and he was asleep in the on-call room. i'm sure that's exactly the wake up call he wanted...

a whole bunch of things

a lot went on today, and i'm here to give you the exclusive scoop!! i bet you feel lucky...

work went well- we're staying busy and i'm learning lots. i get to do a larger variety of stuff at this new office. and it's refreshing to have something different to do everyday. after work i went down to mud island for an evening run with rachel. things have been busy lately and we haven't had much hang out time, so it was fun to get together for a bit. the run was nice, too. the weather has been perfect for the past couple of days and that helped a lot with my endurance since i haven't been training as methodically as i should have been. the zoom through the zoo race is on thursday. it's a 4-miler. i know i can do it, i just hope it's not so hot that it's unenjoyable.

zoe has been grooming herself for the past 45 minutes. after talking with sean on the phone tonight, i noticed zoe has a bit of a stench to her... just a little accident... ew. so i had to give her a bath. yes, i gave my cat a bath.

BEFORE

AFTER

she didn't really want anything to do with me since then, although she made sure to stay within my line of sight so i could see what i'd done to her. i think she has finally forgiven me and is laying with me in bed. cuddles.

but before all this craziness, i had a fabulous dinner. SIMPLE, SUMMERY AND SAVORY. i shall share :)

BLACK BEAN, CORN, AND AVOCADO SALAD

serves 6

1 (30-oz) can black beans, rinsed and drained

2 cups corn kernels

1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved

1 avocado, chopped

1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced

1/4 cup fresh lime juice

2 tsp grated lime zest

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1/2 tsp salt

combine all ingredients in a bowl. serve at once.

i put the mixture on a bed of lettuce, along with some baked tortilla chips.

another fabulous weight watcher's recipe: 283 cal per serving

you can also make your own tortilla chips... cut reduced fat flour tortillas into strips or triangles and arrange on a sheet of foil. bake on the middle of a pre-heated oven at 375, until toasted. about 5 minutes.

that's a good note to end on. so i will.

nightcap

my night has been very random. but enjoyable.

1. delicious homemade enchiladas with rachel and adam

2. met dad at poplar and highland to pick up my social security card and birth certificate for tomorrow morning. see #6.

3. got the low-down on rotation day #1 from sean. bottom line, he sounded tiiiiiiired.

4. sorted laundry, started laundry, cleaned zoe's litterbox.

5. painted :)

6. gather information for my morning of job applying. i'm "hoping" to be on the day-sort out at the airport for FedEx. work part-time, get benefits, still can work contract for the architect i'm working with now. good deal. i don't know if FedEx hires people with architecture degrees. or people who can't lift 75 lbs. but we'll find out soon enough.

and that brings us up to date.

i will now proceed to go upstairs and put the whites in the dryer, then wash my fash, brush ym teeth, and curl up in bed with my zoe and a movie.

home again

it's been a while since we've talked. sorry about that :) life post-mexico has been a whirlwind- engagement parties, family visits, cookouts, birthday parties, and wedding showers.

E V E R Y . S I N G L E . N I G H T.

regardless, of the hectic week we've been having, it's been absolutely wonderful. sean and i are living a "normal" life together!! if only for the week....

sean and i had a fabulous time in mexico, and escaped without swine flu!! i will dedicate another post to mexico soon.

early saturday morning, sean leaves for chattanooga and 2 months of intense surgical rotations. while i am going to miss him tremendously and i wish i could be there to support him and lend a helping hand when he needs it, i am also aware of the fact that it is a blessing for me to not have to witness the hell he's going to be put through. i just get to listen to the awesome stories.

there's your brief update on life in memphis. stay tuned for the details.

i love obama

so i got a $44 check from the government... and my weekly check was supposed to be, well, MORE than that... so i went to my local unemployment office to inquire about the check and i discover that this money is from president obama's stimulus package!! i don't know if this is a weekly check or not, but it makes me smile to know that my president is thinking about me :)

AND here's my order from j.crew!! i've finally purchased my bathing suits for this summer- YAY!

and for a little variety...

and for those of you thinking "so, uh, she's buying j.crew swimwear and collecting unemployment??"... i have two words for you:

GIFT CARDS.

i love it.

happy birthday weekend to me :)

it has been a fabulous day. the weather is un-freakin'-believable and i cannot believe that less than a week ago there was 6 inches of snow on the ground. i am sitting in our backyard blogging. on the deck, with the dog by my side. how incredibly lovely.

sean is taking me out for my birthday tonight (my bday isn't until sunday) to the tower room, which is at the top of this building:

yes, please! we tried to do this restaurant for valentine's but, as you can imagine, reservations filled up quickly.

earlier, sean's sister and her boyfriend came over for a couple of drinks. we sat out on our back deck with the dog, the cat, and some beer and had a grand ol' time. it truly feels like spring... and that makes me immensely happy :)

i love birthdays that flank the weekend, because then you really get several days to celebrate. tonight is our romantic "just the two of us" night, tomorrow is girl's night (i think mollie fontaine's is the plan), and sunday is family night (special dinner, cake and ice cream! yay!). I LOVE IT. maybe things will change as i get older, but i love birthdays and i loooove making them last as long as possible.

happy anniversary to us

the best 4 years of my life.

oh god.

my driver's license expires on my birthday so i logged onto tennessee.gov to renew that bad boy. i was debating whether or not to get a new picture, since my current one was taken circa unstyled hair and 5 yrs younger. and i'm thinking i'll probably want a new picture on my i.d. since it won't expire til 2014. and let's see, in 2014 i'll be... oh dear god.

30

in2014i'llbe30in5yearsonlyfiveyearsthat'snotverylongfiveyears. 

t h i r t y . 

SO i decided to keep my current picture. end of story.