Recently

I miss Snapshot Sunday! I used to do them almost every week, but lately I've been too lazy. It's Monday...but...better late than never, right?


I worked early Sunday morning, where I was instructed to "seductively" harass customers to donate cans to the food bank.


Then I forced Jared to go to the zoo with me.


We went to Buttonwoord Park, where I pretended to ride a train.


There were approximately 4 animals in the entire zoo, but we got free passes for a future visit. HOWEVER there were these goats, and they put on quite a show for us.


After we left, we ordered Not Your Average Joe's to go and ate it outside. My salad and mustard crusted chicken were so very delicious.


After dinner, we went to Monster mini golf. I won. Except I cheated, so not really.

ALSO: 3 days til Jared and I leave for Niagara Falls/spring break/a week away from the hell that is Stop & Shop! I can't waiiiiiiit. I so need to get away, and it's even better that I get to go with my love. I won't even mind coming back too much, because I get to spend absurd amounts of time being unproductive members of society with Dylpie/Edna.

Thanksgiving & Portland

Thanksgiving:



I made turkey cake pops for dessert. Aren't they cute?!


My mother is insane.


The children and I played a very strange game wherein someone was a singer on tour and all of us had to make sure a plastic doll didn't touch the floor.


This illustrates a streak of a child leaping over me with aforementioned plastic doll.


Later that night, Jarbabe came over.


Then we went to Lauren's house where I found a leopard print snuggie, which is my new obsession. Jared and Dylan were not too pleased.


Portland:


Jared and I left Friday afternoon to spend the weekend in Portland. It should have taken us around 3 hours from Providence, but it ended up taking a lot longer because we took the scenic route.


This obviously paid off--we discovered an old Ames on the way. I used to LOVE Ames. Strangely enough, right before we found this, I asked Jared if he remembered Ames. I assume this is because I am psychic.


Anyway, there was a hotel.


And pumpkin whoopie pies from Two Fat Cats Bakery.



And love. Lots of that.


Also, a bacon candy bar. It was ok, except for the moments after consumption, when random bits of bacon joined together in my mouth to form a circle of bacon fat. OH GOD WHY?!


This is me being excited about going to the bathroom, only to find the most disgusting stalls known to man.


Disgusting bathrooms aside, Portland is the most adorable city to ever exist. Jared and I are moving here immediately.


Did I mention how much I love hotels? Because I do. I want to live inside one.


I think it's because of the ice machine. This is before our journey to obtain a bucket of ice. Do you see how much joy it brings?!


Pretty ocean.


Jared is obsessed with lobsters. I think they're weird and disgusting. My face was disfigured almost the entire meal, as I sat and watched Jared disassemble this poor creature in horror.


I don't really know what happened after that except that we ordered the entire Chili's menu and watched Along Came Polly. This is Jared the next day, about to pee inside a portapotty that hadn't been emptied in a week.


Then we attempted to take a nice, normal picture by the water. But we are not nice, normal people. So instead we have this. I think it's infinitely better.

Hope your Thanksgiving weekend was delicious and relaxing!

Snapshot

More of a "Snapshot Weekend" than a Sunday, but let's not get too technical.


Saturday morning/early afteroon. Autumn prancing.


Part II. I'm always so awkward.


Saturday evening. Booboo learned "On the Bus Mall" for me, which is really very perfect and sweet. Then we went to see Waiting for Superman at midnight, which was depressing and certainly worth your $10.


After the movie we went to sleep and woke up and Jared declared that he hates Snapshot Sunday because I harass his entire life with my camera. I actually do this every day anyway, so I'm not sure why he isn't used to it by now.


We went to Mel's diner which had good reviews but was not good in real life. On the bright side, bad breakfast places with steady patronage make me realize I could probably open up my own breakfast/brunch restaurant and do OK, which thrills me to no end.


Then I went to work and did absolutely nothing except order the boys to grab me grenadine and Sprite from the aisles.


I later used them in a Shirley Temple. Deeeeeeeeeeeelish.

Love,
me

Snapshot Sunday

Rise and shine, morning glory. He was very upset that I took 9 hours to shower, even though I personally delivered a Keebler cookie in an attempt to snuff his complaining. Moral of the story: if you give a Jared a cookie, he's still mean.


After I screamed at my GPS for a very long time in my driveway (because I neglected to write down the address and thought it would be just as easy to run a search), we finally got to the Liberty Elm Diner, which was only 10 minutes away and not very hard to locate at all. I guess I'm the kind of person who enjoys doing simple things in the most difficult way possible.


Anyway, it was a very cute little place. We opted to seat outside, because it was gorgeous out. There was a very loud and vibrant-sounding Spanish church across the street.


They had a pretty trashcan.


They also offered freshly squeezed lemonade & limeade (in addition to more traditional fare), so Jared and I ordered one of each. I got the lemonade, and it was seriously delicious. It came unsweetened so that we could sweeten it to our liking, and she brought out a squeeze bottle of simple syrup in case we didn't want to use the various types of sugar on the table. I had a grand time swirling in cane sugar packets and squirting syrup into my cup. I also tried Jared's limeade which was just as delish.


I ordered 2 blueberry pancakes with a side of bacon & home fries. These pancakes were massive and loaded with blueberries. They were outstanding. The home fries were well-seasoned and cooked how I like them, but they were a little cold. I'm sure they would have been perfect if they were served hot. The bacon was good, but when has bacon ever been bad? Please note the heartbreaking adorableness of the umbrellas and mini syrup pourer thingy. I considered taking it home, but decided to be nice. Note to self: buy one ASAP.


Jared ordered the breakfast burrito (berry toe) with a side of sausage and home fries. It wasn't in traditional burrito form (much to his chagrin), but he said it was "good...a little on the bland side." He declared the sausage delicious, but wished it came with more than one patty.


After breakfast I dragged Jared along for a ride through Barrington/Warren/Bristol. It was all quite pretty.


We also stopped at this gift shop, which is apparently one of the top 25 gift shops in the country. I've always driven by and wondered what it was, but never took the time to stop. It was pretty impressive--they had a candy store, an ice cream shop, and 3-4 levels of cute, quirky gifts.


And cows. Lots of cows.


So I naturally had to drop $5 on a cow pen. It moos when you press its head. I'm in love.


Then I went to work, where things were verrrrrry slow. And dull.


The biggest event was when Cristina and I investigated why the storage room smelled like a sweaty hot dog. She requested I photograph her pimple, though I'm not sure why.


Then we ordered pizza, which I hid in the locker room so the boys wouldn't steal any.


Now it's time for pillow cuddling and reading.
Hope your Labor Day weekend was a fun one!

Counting

I smiled at the warmth and stillness that greeted me when I left the store. I opened my car door and put the key in the ignition and I breathed. It smelled so, so familiar-- my perfume mixed with the scent of summer and car and the air freshener swinging behind the ugly blue bird. How many times had I turned that key last summer? Thousands, at least.

For years, my entire life revolved around shifting in and out of park. It was exciting and it was lonely and it was nauseating. The trips "there" were always fine; it was the ride home that was responsible for destruction. I wouldn't wish it on anyone.

I feel like these past few years define me. I remember places, but not names. I can't even count them. It makes me ill.

Tonight, the ride home is not very long but it is long enough, and now I have you and I have this radio, and I don't have to hate myself anymore because I could never hate anything you love.

How many songs are flung into the void nestled between hope and loss?


That is one answer I'll never care to know.

Odalisque

Today was an eerily pleasant day.

I feel like my new exfoliant had some sort of placebo effect and tricked me into thinking all is well in the world. Admittedly, my skin does seem a bit softer. It was also exceptionally lovely outside, which I suspect had something to do with my inexplicable contentedness.

In other news, I totally left the house and went to class in an ugly hoodie and grandma scarf. It was comfortable and warm, and guess what? No one noticed/cared, and the world did not implode.

Lastly, I kind of want to see this. And by kind of, I mean I CAN'T WAIT and I'm forcing Jared to come see it with me.

2010

2009 was a horrible year. I have lost more this year than I have in nearly two decades. I am coping. It is not easy, but like everything, it will pass.

I was standing in a room full of people I grew up with the other night. People I thought I knew so well, people I was once so comfortable around, people I assumed would be a part of my life forever. I have never felt more awkward or upset. I suppose I feel like I'm someone who easily slips to the bottom of lists. I am not new or exciting or outgoing; I am odd and shy and afraid. And I think most people know and understand that I am not going anywhere, that I will always be around to fall back on when needed. I'm just lonely. My former friends don't answer my calls or messages. I am guilty of ignoring calls and backing out of plans as well, but it isn't because I've found something better to do; it's because I don't know how to adapt.

I stand a stranger in my skin. I keep hearing about people I went to school with getting married and having babies. I see photos of weddings and showers and fuzzy little newborns. And I worry. I want those things, but I can't imagine them ever happening. 2020 is not very far away. I will be almost 30. That is not very old, either, but it is impossible to imagine what my life will be like. The girl who stands at the edge of this decade is still very much the girl who, at 9 years old, could not keep her eyes open long enough to welcome in the year 2000.

And then there are times I realize there is nothing to worry about. I am sitting here, typing, trying to care about semicolons and the sounds certain letters make. My mother is consumed by a Harlequin on the couch next to me. We are absorbed and separate and together and there is the moment we both realize my brother is wailing like a thrasher and has been wailing and he's insane and I turn to her and I roll my eyes and she peers over her novel and we laugh and laugh and laugh and I am home and life is beautiful and there is hope.

Snapshot Sunday

Sort of. Didn't really document much, because I didn't do much. But there was a sunset. And there were cookies. And blankets.

I think that's what Sundays are made of.




You visit the store daily. You remind me of all the people I have ever loved, and your ipod is always in your hand and you openly laugh at tabloids. Your laughter is clear and true and it is familiar. Today, I smiled and I told you to have a good day and I really meant it this time. And then you left. Your hat was crooked and your coat was unbuttoned and you greeted the freshly fallen snow with a perplexed grin. My heart sank and you didn't even know and you will never know and you are my illusion and my secret and I hope that your wife knows exactly how dear you are.

Snapshot Sunday

As I attempted to photograph my delicious home fries, Max decided it was best to pounce on them instead.


After breakfast, I helped CJ create an acronym for his science class homework.


Then I organized my desk drawer. It's full of supplies I have little use for, but they're so lovely to look at!


I desperately wanted to go back to bed, but I had to go to work.


So I did.


We finally found the tape for the nametag maker, so I made myself a few new ones.


I was bored, so I pulled out all of the 5 cent bottle return slips to illustrate that many people redeem them (and not just you, dear boy).


This activity was interrupted once I spotted my most favorite man ever. I had Cristina pretend I was photographing her while I zoomed in on him. He is the most divine man you will ever meet! We're making much progress in our relationship. He asked for my first name, and I asked for his. It's Armand. Perfect.


Later on in the evening, I organized the junk drawer. It was ungodly satisfying.


This is Cristina being adorable.


This is the man that made Cristina's heart stop beating. He didn't say goodbye to us, though, so her love for him diminished.


As our night came to an end, I balanced the lottery. It was even. Hooray!


Then I walked to my car, and creepily took a photo of it. I'm pretty sure the people in the car behind me were noting my odd behavior and cracking up.

The End.