and 3 months later... i'm back

here's an update on my life this past three months. i'll make it quick because, let's face it, my blogging endurance is not at it's finest...


september: channeling julia child... boeuf bourguignon

october: halloween partaaaaaay

november: seattle and portland

december: the girls' visit & merry christmas

i'll talk to you soon :) i promise.

back to blogging

has is actually been 20 days since my last blog?? oh geez.

i don't really have any excuses, just add it to the long list of things i always have on my to-do list... i seem to accomplish most of those things, but i guess blogging is dead last and inevitably gets new to-do items shoved to a higher priority regardless of how much time it spends on the list. poor blog. i got inspired to write today when i was doing some eco-friendly materials research at work. i found a website, that had a "check out our blog" section. the blog had ONE entry. from 2007. i vowed right then and there to (try to) not neglect my blog like that.

i've been good about running lately. yay!! i always fall out of love with running during the summer because it's just too damn hot, which my real runner friend, sarah, can attest to. but the last month has been ridiculously good weather, and has inspired me to get back into it for my fall race season. and yes, i do have a fall race season. i love running in the fall and winter, and that's when most of the races are. so i have 2 races each month from september to december, mostly 5k's with a couple of 4-milers thrown in. i have been having great runs each night after work, and each leaves more more inspired for the next. oh, and sarah (running friend) is doing the chicago marathon in october. that is also VERY inspiring.

seattle/portland vacation cannot come soon enough. i am really looking forward to seeing a completely new part of the country and (hopefully) loving it so much we'll want to live there!! now, to be realistic, sean and i have also sat down with a list of residency programs to figure out all of the places in the u.s. that we'd be willing to go... that match program is crazy and you're only screwing yourself if you limit your options. we have cities all over the country- ca, wa, or, co, ny, ma, il, ct, de, nh... you get the idea. i think we'll get some time to visit denver at some point, and probably new york city and boston. very, very exciting and i can't wait to see where we end up!!

and now i'm watching hgtv show #5 of the night. i know, that's a little extreme, but i LOVE these shows. now showing: house hunters international goes to the caribbean. these people and their vacations homes.... makes me bubble over with jealously. earlier, house hunters went to portland, and sean and i got a small education on the condo market there. not cheap. that's all i'll say.

and i really have to get going on my paintings. i've avoided working on them so far, but with a show coming up in november, i'm probably going to regret not getting started when i originally planned to. i'm going image hunting tomorrow so i should have a good bank of inspiration.

as random as this has been, i hope it hasn't been to terribly boring. i've enjoyed getting some thoughts out and i hope i can be disciplined enough to come back soon. wish me luck, dear readers. whoever you are.

seattle

sean and i are planning our first "find out if we want to live here post-med school" trip to seattle!! we're looking at going just before thanksgiving, since sean has that entire week off. we would, of course, be back in time for turkey :)

we got a travel book yesterday, to get the process started, and have also done mucho research on flights, trains and car rentals for a side trip to portland, and a little work on the cost of apartments... just to get an idea of the big city prices. (actually wasn't nearly as shocking as i thought it would be. yay!) so i don't really have any details for you, but we are getting excited about this opportunity to live somewhere else... here are some of our favorite pictures we found while perusing the internet yesterday.

another vacation!! so soon!!

so on friday, i'm leaving work early to head south with the fam... seagrove beach, here we come!! this has been our beach vacation spot for many years now, and we thought it was about time to revisit and reconnect. we'll be spending friday night in birmingham and then driving the rest of the way on saturday morning. we'll be there for ONE WHOLE WEEK!!! YAY!!!! here are just a few of the things i am looking forward to:

pool-side afternoons

shell gazing

walks along the beach

swimming in the gulf

the red bar

fried shrimp and hush puppies

nuestras vacaciones perfectas

just wanted to provide y'all with a couple of stories and photos of our mexican vacation.

first and foremost, i will let you know

that we escaped without the H1N1 flu strain.

(do not call it swine flu... read this)

after starting our trip with a 2-hour flight delay, we finally made it to cancun international airport, jumped in a shuttle and headed to our hotel. pepe, our driver, let us know that if we wanted to stop at a store and get some beers to drink on the way that would be ok. good to know. we had out first encounter with mexican speedbumps, which are literally in the middle of the highway and will tear the shit out of your car. traffic slows down to about 5 mph to avoid total vehicular destruction.

our resort was perfect for us. comfortable and beautiful. with unlimited drinks.

one day we took a long walk...

another day we went snorkeling and to playa del carmen...

and on the last day we went to tulum.

we almost couldn't come home because sean didn't have his tourist card that we had filled out on our arrival (and which they DIDN'T tell us you had to have to leave the country). he basically paid a security guard "under the table" to expedite the process of getting a new one filled out in time to make our flight. the security guard sneakily got the paperwork stamped and signed, pushed us to the front of the line, and then sean paid him $30 USD in the men's bathroom. muchos gracias senor :)

ultimately, it was a absolute perfect vacation. mexico is beautiful and the people are so friendly. i think americans have a certain view of mexico (myself included) that is not really accurate. i hope to go back again someday, stay longer, and see more!!

LET THE COUNTDOWN BEGIN

TWWWWOOOO WEEEEEEKS

YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

gearing up for a girls' weekend!!

i'm super-duper excited for my weekend trip!! i'm driving up to springfield, mo tomorrow for a girls' weekend, and a wedding thrown in there somewhere :) one thing i always love about going back to spfd is that it always has a bit of a "college reunion" feel to it. several of my very close college friends are still in town working, so i get to see them. i think we may take in a movie, definitely some sushi, lots of wine, and girl talk. ooo it's been too long and i'm so excited! oh, and how could i forget the "woody p. snowmonster" at andy's frozen custard??? i would SO blow my diet for that delicious dish. in fact, i plan on it. here are just a few of the things i'm looking forward to:

CAN'T WAIT TO SEE YOU GIRLS!!

(looks like a good time, huh? yeah, i know you're jealous.)

hello again!

well, i'm home from a fabulous weekend in nashville!! it was so nice to get out of the city for a bit and see some different sights. we ate A LOT (peter's sushi, pm, urban flats, fido, midtown cafe, marche... and if you can believe it, i feel like i am leaving something out) and went to all the fun little neighborhoods. i loved "living" the nashville life for a weekend, instead of having the tourist experience that i've had before there. thanks to rachel, her parents, and her friends for showing me such a wonderful time!!

now... because i ate so much, it's time to get back on the workout train (for the millionth time). when i woke up at 7:00 this morning was reaaaally foggy outside, but seemed to have subsided by the time i went to run. i drove to mud island for my run today, and as soon as i turned onto front street, i saw that fog was still blanketing the river, and entire memphis waterfront. the bridge across the mississippi was completely hidden. and it was 10:30!! on island drive, i couldn't see 50 feet in front of the car. once i parked, i took the following pic with my phone:

creepy, party of one?? seriously. i couldn't see the river, any other people, or even across the road... i felt like will smith in i am legend. minus the mutant human animals trying to eat me. and the multi-million dollar paycheck. ugh, if only. but i digress. by the time i finished my 3.5 mile run, it was sunny and clear. and i noticed that the river seemed to be getting higher... i hope it floods again, just like last year!! because it's so fascinating!! here's a pic from the same vantage point as the one above, but from last year's flooded river. and this is before it even got REALLY high!!

this has been a very random post, and for that i apologize.

gettin' outta town!!

i'm headed to nashville tomorrow morning with rachel... be back on monday! yay for long weekends!! well actually, lately i cannot distinguish between weekdays and weekends so... i guess just- YAY!

i'll wait to update you on the weekend until i get back. i'm taking SO MUCH STUFF (!?) that there's no reason for me to take my computer. but if you're curious about some of my weekend events, please see rachel's blog - 23 - where she has so graciously outlined our plans for food consumption. oooooweeeee i cannot wait!!

time to read my guidebook. goodnight!

eternally on hold

this is hardly how i saw myself spending this lovely, snow, sunday afternoon. i have been on hold with expedia for THIRTY FREAKIN' MINUTES.

sean and i recently had a semi-serious breakdown in communication- it was no one person's fault more than the other, but it caused some serious damage to our mexico plans. you see, i was under the impression that we had 2 weeks post-boards to work with in finding a suitable trip. so i found one. as it turns out, we only have one week to travel, and i managed to find a great deal during the week we couldn't travel. and i didn't communicate the travel dates well enough to sean. thank god we realized the mistake this early on. and bought the travel insurance. we get credit for the flight portion and refunded for the hotel portion. but in order to redeem my flight credit upon booking a new trip, i am forced to call expedia, not book online.

FOURTY MINUTES.

i think i found a great deal... even better than the one before. so now i will continue to hold in hopes that this will all work out beautifully and we will be in sunny mexico one week sooner than originally anticipated. i hope.

HOLA RIVIERA MAYA!!

i booked our spring getaway this morning!!! aaaaahhhhhhhh i am sooo excited i can't even describe it. april 26 cannot come soon enough. we've got a non-stop flight, all-inclusive resort package, and a GREAT price. i don't know how much it would cost to do an excursion trip to some mayan ruins, but that would be sweeeet. i now have time to do some research and figure out what all there is to do around the resort. that is, assuming that we could peel ourselves off the white sandy beach long enough to do something else. doubtful.

it is also a priority to figure out how financially likely it will be that i can participate in THIS:

PLEEEEEEEASE.

possibilities!!

SO. in addition to whatever trip sean and i take this spring, there is a very real possibility that i may be going to california to see my family! yay! this is my mom's brother and his family.  they've lived in california my entire life, so we really don't see much of them. they have 4 kids, the youngest of which is still six years older than me. 

they live in palo alto, just outside of san francisco. i swear that palo alto is my perfect place. perfect weather, perfect scenery, PERFECT EVERYTHING. without being repulsively perfect. aside from trips into san fran to see my cousins and do tourist things, we usually spend lots of time in p.a. eating, visiting, looking at my aunt's artwork and walking around stanford university.

side note: stanford is MY university. i am a huge fan of anything they do, mostly because it is such a beautiful place. i wish wish wish i had gone there for college. but 1. they don't have an architecture program, and 2. i'm poor.

recently, my uncle and family built a house in carmel-by-the-sea, ca. we had been to their previous vacation home there, and around that time they were putting together plans for building a new one. i'm not sure if we would go down there or not - i guess it all depends on the amount of time we have. but i sure hope we do. it, too, is A-mazing.

side trips from carmel include:

monterey bay (fantastic aquarium with the cutest little sea otters EVER!!!

and big sur. quite possibly one of the most beautiful coasts in the U.S.

and after all of this build-up, i REALLY hope i can go. i think i have the vacation time, so it really depends on flight prices. yesterday, i found a rt ticket for $250. and that's not bad, but if i can get something better, i'm in for sure. 

i have done this trip countless times, and it's amazing how it never gets old. 

i'll send you a postcard :) hopefully.

frustration is setting in...

sean and i have decided on a low-key, sun-filled, beach-themed vacation in april! yay! sounds wonderful right?? well... i'm searching everything i can think of and i cannot believe the kinds of prices i am finding. 

ARE THESE PEOPLE NOT AWARE THAT WE ARE IN A RECESSION!? 

at least offer me some sort of discount, other than "7th night free". seriously. if i could afford to stay for 6 nights, then i HIGHLY doubt i need discounts to stay for another night. 

maybe i've been too ambitious. maybe i've set the bar too high. but is it too much to ask that i find a nice little place for two, that merely serves our simple need for sand and serenity??? yeah, i didn't think so either. 

and it only took six months

i've just finished a project that's been in the works for almost six months. 

after we returned from europe last summer, sean had a wonderful idea for displaying our photographs. a photo collage of all the places we have been. between the two of us, we've been blessed to travel to greece, italy, spain, france, the netherlands, tanzania, egypt, india, thailand, and throughout the u.s. those are the memories and experiences that have helped us at least try to begin to understand the world around us, and we both feel as though our opportunity is something we should be thankful for and reminded of every now and again. so we went through a few thousand pictures - seriously - and picked our favorites to display above our bed. 

below is the end result, followed by some of my personal favorites.

_________________________

piazza san marco, venice

candlelight at the duomo, florence

graffiti, barcelona

look ma no hands, egypt

sweet children, tanzania