Clyde Life: Our Pensieve

Eire

2012-01-23T20:53:00.006-05:00

This is the last post about our trip this SUMMER - yes it has taken me that long to write about our 2 week vacation. Oh. Well. Also, this is possibly the longest blog post in the existence of mankind - sorry.

I could just sum up this post in three words: Ireland is beautiful. BUT - I'm going to write about it in detail because I want to remember the details. It was so much fun driving around and seeing things at our own pace. We debated before we went about whether or not to just do a big huge guided tour but decided against it and I'm glad we did. I so enjoyed driving around the island, just Ryan and me.

We flew in really really early from Paris to Dublin and spent the rest of the day there. We both really liked Dublin but were also ready to get away from the city since we had just spent over a week in London and Paris. We definitely didn't see all or even most of what Dublin had to offer because we were just "citied out." Mostly we walked around and looked at the beautiful architecture.

Trinity College

River Liffey

(P.S. I love that it's the River Liffey instaed of the Liffey River - I told Ryan we should start referring to all lakes and rivers like that but it just doesn't have the same ring to it in the states..the River Mississippi- not nearly as fun to say)

Dublin Castle

There were these really intricate sand sculptures in the courtyard - I have no clue how people make these.

St. Patrick's Cathedral

We didn't go inside - I kind of wish we had but we were being a little cheap and had been inside many a cathedral in Paris for free so we just walked around the grounds.

Christ Church Cathedral is another beauty as well.

St. Audeon's Church

We kind of stumbled upon St. Audeon's and I'm so glad we did. We got a mini-FREE (I love free) tour of the inside. It is a very small church built during medieval times and is still in use by a congregation. We wandered around the small church. Some of it is in ruins but most is preserved.

Outside of St. Audeon's

After wandering around trying to find a decently priced Thai restaurant to no avail (yes - I was CRAVING Thai food while in Ireland - I'd like to say that is pregnancy related but I just love Thai food more than any other food in the world) we ended up settling on some pretty disappointing fish and chips. I didn't think that was possible in Ireland, but it is. If you go there and want foody advice from us, sorry...we have none.

The next day we headed back to the airport to rent our car and to drive to Cork. It took about 500 hours to get our rental car and I almost (almost) started second guessing our decision to drive around on our own but once we got the car and GPS we headed out on the open road and I felt better. We didn't leave Dublin until the afternoon so only really had time to go to Blarney Castle before we checked into our B and B in Cork but the day was still so much fun. I was afraid Blarney would be this gigantic tourist trap and that we would have to wait in line for hours and hours to tour the castle but my fears were completely unfounded. There were probably only two other families at Blarney when we got there (this may be because we went later in the afternoon and there was nary a tour bus to be seen). I was thrilled and loooved Blarney Castle and the grounds.

Outside Blarney Castle

On our way up to the top

Kissing the Blarney Stone - it makes you eloquent

Even though there are bars that ensure you won't fall to your death and a man holding on to you - I was terrified. He kept having to tell me to go lower so I could kiss the actual stone. Hopefully little B will have the "gift of gab" since his terrified mommy kissed the stone while carrying him.

View from the castle - yes Ireland looks like that ALL over. It is the most beautiful place I have every been and I grew up in the Pacific NW.

One cool thing about Blarney and about a lot of the castles in Ireland is that they aren't preserved the way that Warwick Castle in England was (some are but we didn't visit any of those) - they are in ruins. You still get to wander around and there are little placards telling what room was used for what but you have to use your imagination a bit more. Basically as you're driving through Ireland you see ruin after ruin after ruin - old castles, cathedrals, etc. - very very charming.

We spent quite a bit of time wandering around the Blarney grounds. This would be the Poison Garden - a beautiful garden composed of deadly plants. There are signs all over warning you not to touch or eat ANYTHING. We resisted the temptation and are still alive as you can see.

The Blarney grounds are full of mythology about witches and fairies and curses (so fun). As you walk around you can read about different myths. There is no myth to this walkway - it was just pretty and picture-worthy in my mind.

I'm not positive but I'm pretty sure this is a Neolithic (possibly Megalithic) tomb. Since I teach (well taught) Ancient History I got really excited at any Neolithic site we encountered.

This pretty waterfall was right by an area called the wishing steps. If you walk up the steps backward with your eyes closed, thinking only of your wish, then it is supposed to come true.

Accoreding to legend, fairies live in these trees.

View of the castle

Us with the castle again

Anyway, Blarney was well worth it for us at least. I don't know if it is usually busier though.

We didn't do much in Cork other than walk around the city a bit - we were pretty tired so we attempted to go to bed early. Our bed and breakfast was situated on an incredibly busy road though so we got about 2 hours total I'd say...not happy about that.

After Cork we headed to Killarney and stopped at Killarney National Park. Since we were in Ireland it rained A LOT but we refused to let that dampen the mood - it wouldn't be Ireland without rain anyway. We still got to see a lot of park since there are so many trees (they make excellent umbrellas). Killarney was one of my favorite places. It was nice to hike around and just take in nature.

One of the famed Lakes of Killarney - our camera does not do it justice

Muckross House

Hiking up to Torc Waterfall:

The waterfall

Our attempts at getting a good picture....

Success

Ross Castle

Another one of the lakes

After Killarney National Park we checked in to our Bed and Breakfast (the only one I really liked) and then headed out again to tour the legendary Ring of Kerry. It was a little scary to drive it (very narrow roads) but well well worth it. Plus - Ryan is awesome at driving on really narrow roads. There are a ton of places to pull off and take in the view of the Atlantic.

Lakes of Killarney again...

Cute sheepies

Our Bed and Breakfast was right across from Killarney golf course which was where the Irish Open was held the week before. Ryan was happy. We stopped by the next morning before we left to go to Limerick.

We spent our second to last day in Ireland touring the Cliffs of Moher and the Burren. The Cliffs are incredible - definitely Ryan's favorite part (probably mine too). It was really rainy in the morning and I was completely bummed out because I wanted a good view of the cliffs but the closer we got the more it cleared up. Once we got to the cliffs it was perfect.

We stayed at the cliffs for quite a long time because they are breathtaking and then drove to find the Burren.

The Burren is made up of hills and hills covered in limestone. It was one of the coolest places I've ever driven through.

Another Neolithic tomb...yay!

So a little story about the town pictured below - on our way to Limerick from the Burren we stopped in this cute little Irish town because I saw....THAI food! Ryan warned me that it probably wasn't going to be good. I was very excited though so we ate there anyway and it was undoubtedly the worst meal I have ever had in my entire life. Cute town, gross gross Thai food.

A look at the narrowness of the way:

On our very last day in Ireland we stopped at Knowth and Newgrange (two Neolithic sites). Both were really cool. Knowth is a series of mounds that were dug as burial tombs during Neolithic times, then turned into a farming village, then into a medieval fortress, etc. They have reconstructed the site as it was during Neolithic times.

Rock art!

Inside the tomb (you aren't allowed to take pictures inside Newgrange which was actually a lot more exciting than Knowth)

Newgrange

Newgrange was built so that on the winter solstice, and only on this day, the interior lights up. They show you a re-creation of what that looks like when you are inside but you are basically in complete darkness until it happens. Ryan kind of got over his fear of tight enclosed spaces and ventured inside - he stayed at the back of the pack though so he could leave if needed. He has this unexplained fear of things like tombs or caverns caving in and trapping him. I have many many fears but cannot understand this one.

Entrance into Newgrange

That was basically our last activity. Afterward we checked into a hotel near Dublin airport and flew home the next day. It felt so nice to be back in the good old U.S.A. when we landed but we were a bit sad to be finished with our trip. We were very tired though so it was nice to be back into a normal routine. I have so many wonderful memories of this trip that I will never forget. Trapsing through three countries I had never been to with Ryan was so exciting. We probably won't get to go on a trip like this for a very long time and I'm grateful we were able to go.

And last picture: Ryan with our car. He did SUCH a good job driving on windy, narrow Irish roads. I couldn't do it because we wanted to save money and rented a manual instead of an automatic. Not only did he have to drive on the left side of the road but he had to shift with his left hand. Excellent, excellent job Boo. And thank you for letting me take a picture even though you didn't want one.

Waiting Game

2012-01-19T11:37:00.001-05:00

My last day of work was Monday. This has made for a very interesting week - I really don't know what to do with myself. We have had the baby stuff ready for quite some time so I don't have much to do in that department. I no longer have to worry about lesson plans and grading and lesson plans and grading. These two things (along with actually teaching of course) have consumed my life for the last 2.5 years...what on earth do I do now?

Most of Tuesday I spent unproductively moping around the house. Sure, it's nice to sleep in and nice not to have the stress of teaching but that is what I do. I think about students, I plan for my students, I grade and give feedback, I worry a lot about different things going on at school, etc., etc. Now what? It's really hard to give up such a big part of your life. Wednesday was the first day of the new semester and I kept looking at the clock thinking:

First block just got over

Second lunch just started

My workday just finished

Is that weird? Teaching has a lot of ups and downs. I have thought so many times how awesome it would be to not have the stress of it all but I am very sad to be giving it up for now. I have tied part of my self-worth into being a teacher and into working hard in order to do a good job. Now that is just gone - weird. The transition from work to mommyhood is really difficult, especially since I'm not a mommy yet. I know I'll feel a lot better once Baby B comes but in the mean time I kind of just feel a little useless. He isn't listening to me either when I tell him that he is welcome come right this very minute.

Everyone is telling me to "enjoy it now" because I will never have any free time again for my entire life. I am enjoying parts of it. Ryan doesn't start school until next week so we get to hang out with each other alot and I love that. We won't ever get this time again and we're trying to take advantage. We both feel like we're just waiting, waiting, waiting and I guess that is exactly what we're doing. We are anxious and excited and ready. I'll be 39 weeks on Monday so this waiting game could last for 3 weeks longer. Boo to that.

Yay for knowing that I'll be holding him within a month though! Everyone says the wait is worth it and I do not doubt that one bit. So excited.

Traditions

2012-01-07T10:05:00.001-05:00

I'm not very good at starting and keeping traditions - something I would like to change. One tradition that Ryan and I have kept for 5 years though, and that I am very sad to be giving up, is going to the D.C. Temple lights every year. We started when we were dating and have gone every year since. That's obviously not something we can really do in Texas...sadNESS. I'll have to think of new Texasy Christmas traditions.

We've also documented this little tradition of ours. Proof:

2007: Dating. We look like little babies.

2008: Married and living in D.C.

2009: Married and living in Charlottesville (also notice - wearing the exact same outerwear as year before)

2010: Married and living in Charlottesville (picture taken on camera phone - but still works!)

2011: Married, living in Charlottesville, Baby B on the way

If you're ever in D.C. around Christmas time...GO! I wrote about it here. It is awesome - lights (obviously), creches, beautiful trees, concerts, and of course the temple.

So here is one of my first goodbyes before we move. Leaving Virginia is not going to be easy.

Finals and Other Fun

2011-12-10T16:41:00.002-05:00

It is finals season for Ryan. Since he's a good little law student, he is rarely to be found away from a book/computer/outline. A lot of times though he studies at home so I still get to hang out with him. Well, kind of. He's usually tuning me out with his headphones. We'll look at each other every now and then and speak a couple of words but for the most part he's studying.

Other than when he falls asleep studying:

Unfortunately for Ryan, he has a wife who will whip out the camera when she notices him sleeping at his computer. It was really cute. His finger kept twitching like he was typing in his sleep.

When he woke up from his 15 minute power nap I told him that it looked like he was typing even though he was clearly asleep. Apparently he was - he was still productive while sleeping. Incredible.

Outcome of sleep typing:

I highly doubt it will help him on his finals.

In other fun and exciting news:

Our cutest ever little niece was born and she is a doll. Since she's not my baby I won't post a picture but she is the most precious little thing on earth.

I look like this now - take in the giganticness

33 weeks...still 7 more to go (meh)

Several friends threw me and two other girls a baby shower partAY the other week. They did such an excellent job. It's good that there are super creative people in this world because I am certainly not.

We are all having boys and are all due around the same time - it's going to be fun!!

We leave in a couple weeks to spend Christmas with the Clydes in Vegas/St. George - so excited!!

That's all

Oui Oui Paris

2011-11-30T21:58:00.000-05:00

So....I loved Paris. LOVED it. Ryan was kind of nevous about going since I "Disnify" things and he didn't want me to be disappointed. There was absolutely nothing to be disappointed about in Paris though. It met all my expectations. Did I expect to hear live music on our romantic stroll along the Seine? Yes. Did it happen? Yes. Did I expect to see painters on street corners, beautiful architecture, historical artifacts, gorgeous artwork, and cute/yummy pastry shops? Yes, yes yes. Expection = met and exceeded. We only spent a couple of days in the City of Love but we'll go back someday. Maybe not someday soon but someday.

We left London by way of train and took the Chunnel to France. I was a bit nervous because I have never travelled to a foreign country where I didn't know the language but everything worked out great. We figured out the metro (after a few minor glitches) and made our way to our hotel right near the Arc de Triomphe. We stayed at the Etoile St. Ferdinand (run by Best Western) which definitely wasn't fancy but it was still very charming (hello, it is in Paris). Unfortunately we had no view at all. It looked liked this:

I was still excited about it - such a cute little building (at least it wasn't some ugly run down place)

We didn't get to our hotel until late so we went to bed and got up the next day with big plans to get as much jammed in as possible. We successfully jammed. Our first day included:

A trip to Notre Dame

A walk along the Seine

A small stroll through the Tuilleries

A walk through Montmartre

The Sacre Coeur (one of my favorite spots)

A quick trip through the Louvre

The Eiffel Tower and the Champs de Mars

SLEEEEEEEEEEEP - we got really tired

Oh, and pictures? Loads and loads. I'll post an unoverwhelming amount.

Sparkling Seine - so beautiful

Notre Dame

We didn't go up to the top or see any hunchbacks roaming around but we did go inside and look around. The rose windows were probably my favorite part and cathedral is just...well, just. I can't think of a word to descibe how incredible it is.

Montmartre

Even the metro signs are fabulous is Paris.

The windmill Moulin de la Galette at the top of the hill

The Sacre Coeur - also beautiful inside and out. Ryan loved loved loved it. It reminded him of Minas Tirith.

The views from the Basilica are awesome. After taking them in we walked down the hill, through the park, past the carousel, and by the guys who guilt you into buying cheap bracelets. We need to learn to be mean because we did end up purchasing the cheap bracelets.

After Montmartre we went to the Louvre. It was actually free admission the day we went so it was CRAZY. We had tried to go earlier in the morning but the line was nuts so we decided to go back later. The line in the afternoon was still so so so long but we discovered another entrance that had no line at all and got right in! We only spent around 3 hours in the Louvre which is definitely not long enough to see everything but we were pretty efficient and saw quite a bit. I'm not a stand and stare at paintings kind of person anyway - I enjoyed looking at the statues and different artificats much more. I also forced Ryan to wander around with me as we tried to find Hammurabi's Code. We were successful - I was excited.

Yay

On our way out we took the classic standing where the two pyramids meet picture:

We of course had to get a picture outside the Louvre by the main entrance as well

After the Louvre we went to the gaze at the Eiffel Tower. It did not disappoint. It sparkles in the sun and lights up at night - what more can you ask for?

We took lots of pictures - one with the little baby Boyo.

I made Ryan take a kissy picture - his favorite (ha!). I am in love with this picture though.

We hung out on the Champs de Mars for a while and then went back to the hotel because we were beat. My poor little feet hated me.

Our next day wasn't near as busy - it was actually quite rainy and several museums were closed. We walked by the Arc de Triomphe, strolled on the Champs Elysees, and went to the Musee de l'Armee (saw Napoleon's tomb)

Arc de Triomphe

Dome des Invalides and Napoleon's tomb

We also hung out in the Tuileries, stopped by the Pantheon, and took a trip up the Eiffel Tower

The Eiffel Tower at night was somehow even prettier than the Eiffel Tower during the daytime

I don't know how Parisians ever thought it was ugly - glad they gave it a chance and kept it in place.

We spent most of our last day in France at Versailles - another fantastic day trip! The Palace itself really is so extravagent and lovely but they cram way way too many people inside so it is hard to really enjoy each room. The Hall of Mirrors was still pretty cool though.

We had to stand in line for about 3 hours before entering - but I'd say it was worth it

The ornate lifestyle of an absolute European monarch - craziness.

I enjoyed the gardens much more than the palace itself. We spent most of our time there.

None of the fountains were on while we were there which made me a little sad.

See why I loved grounds so much? By the time we were finished walking around I thought my legs were going to fall off. We had a really early flight the next morning so we left mid-evening and went to bed pretty early. I was so so sad to leave Paris. There is so much we still have to do someday.

After walking around London and Paris for days and days though we were ready for a little break. Ireland was just what we needed - more on that to come!

Mind the Gap

2011-11-13T18:25:00.000-05:00

I am finally getting around to writing about our incredibly amazingly awesome trip this summer - London was our first stop.

Well....actually - Charlotte, NC was our first stop. We got stuck there for a night after U.S. Airways cancelled our flight to London for "mechanical issues." I wish I was the type of person who could just say "C'est la vie" and be okay with it. But alas, I'm not - I cried instead and spent hours on the phone to get us a flight out the next day.

We flew into Heathrow and got to London around 6am and then went straight to our hotel to drop things off. When we got there (and since we had to pay for the hotel the night before anyway) they told us that we got free full English breakfast everyday of our stay - including that morning. Ryan was in heaven with all of the meat, eggs, bread, etc. I think I had cereal and then threw up. Yay. The Hotel Russell was awesome though - so happy we decided to stay where we did.

After breakfast and a little sleep we headed out and walked around to see the sites. We did a fun walk along the Thames, had fish and chips (that were decent, not amazing), and pretty much just took everything in. It was a very laid back day - extremely hard on the feet though. Some of our stops included:

Kings Cross

I will always wish that Harry Potter actually existed

Tower of London

(we didn't actually pay to go inside and now I wish we had)

Tower Bridge

The Thames and St. Paul's.

London Eye

Us with our friend Big Ben

Parliament Building

Westminster Abbey

We couldn't resist taking a picture with the red telephone booths

The next day it rained and rained and rained. We didn't do much outside at first - we ventured to Buckingham Palace and then went to the British Museum. The British Museum is SO spectacular. Unfortunately every other person in the city had the same idea as us and visited the British Museum as well so it was very very crowded.

Our hotel was right by the British Museum so we went back and waited the rain out. It eventually let up so we wandered around Hyde Park (which is gigantic). We found the Pan statue which made my day.

We also went back to our river walk and took in the views of London at night - beautiful.

The next day we departed on a day trip to Warwick Castle, Stratford-upon-Avon, and Oxford.

Warwick was really fun - they've preserved this Medieval castle well and the experience is supposed to take you back to the time period. They hold jousting touranments, archery shows, and have knights and princesses walking around. We only got a to spend a couple of hours there since we were on a bus tour but we really enjoyed it.

There were some gorgeous views atop the castle of the English countryside

Statford (birthplace of Shakespeare) was fun as well - actors performed lines from Shakespeare's plays and we got a quick tour of the home he grew up in.

Oxford is just architecturally magnificent. We only had about an hour so we didn't get to see all of the grounds but it was a definite highlight of the trip.

Our tour bus dropped us off in the evening near Buckingham so we actually got to see it without pouring down rain.

On our very last day in London we had a little bit of time before our train left to Paris so we did some more walking and toured some more museums near Trafalgar Square

We didn't want to leave without taking a picture of our hotel - it was huge and so so pretty.

Ryan in Trafalgar Square

Things I wish we would have done differently:

Spent money that we were too cheap to spend on tours of Parliament and Westminster

Actually planned out when we were going to see a show - it never happened (probably would have if we would have had our missed day though)

Found GOOD Indian food - we spent way too much money on some very subpar Indian food.

All in all, we loved London. I'm looking forward to going back because there is a lot that we didn't get to do/see. Paris was my favorite though. Sometime in the near future I'll post about our time in the "City of Love."

Zeus

2011-10-23T20:36:00.000-04:00

Yesterday Ryan and I drove to the Natural Bridge Zoo to pet baby tiger Zeus and get a picture with him. He was SUPER cute and hungry. I pretty much want a baby tiger now. Wait, I already wanted one before - now the desire is just magnified by 100 or so. Have you ever seen this movie? Baby tigers are the best. I love kitties.

Don't you just want to cuddle him?

Thank you to Ryan for taking me - excellent idea!

Softie

2011-10-09T17:43:00.002-04:00

Over the past 3.5 years that we've been married Ryan has become more and more of a softie. It has been a gradual change - but I think I'll even win the pets in the house argument eventually - WOOHOO!

I have several pieces of evidence to prove Ryan's increasing softiness

Exhibit A:

Christmas 2010 - Ryan lets a cat, yes a CAT sleep with him. Now, granted this isn't just any cat - Tinkerbell can win over the scroogiest of Scrooges. Ryan is certainly no Scrooge so he really didn't have a chance. STILL - if you know Ryan then this is beyond shocking. He'll pet kitties every now and then but this used to be a line that he just wouldn't cross. SOFTIE.

Exhibit B:

Ryan's trusty companion - the planner he has used all year - is a Mickey planner. One of his doodles of choice (among the Duke D and a basketball) is even Mickey himself. He liked Disney before but the like has catapulted into a love. Disney fan = SOFTIE.

Exhibit C:

Recently we discovered a little mouse in our apartment. I'm actually a big fan of mice and their cute little faces but really disliked having one in our apartment. When finding a trap for the little guy, Ryan looked specifically for one that wouldn't kill the mouse. Instead it just traps him in this little container and then you set it free. This morning Ryan caught the mouse, put it in a box, and drove miles away to set it free. Ryan saving the mouse's life = SOFTIE.

He knows it too - he told me so today on the way to church. He also said it's my fault - would he have ever freed a mouse before me? Nope, wouldn't have even crossed his mind.

I've certainly softened Ryan a bit, but our little guy is slowly melting him. I'm excited to see these boys together.

Not much difference....

2011-10-05T20:58:00.001-04:00

I've been taking "tummy/belly" pictures or whatever you call them for a little while now (I kind of hate both words but stomach picture sounds even worse). I saw this cute little idea somewhere on how to document the pregnancy from week to week and have adopted the idea myself. It'll be fun to see the change near the end of the pregnancy but for now I think I pretty much look the same now as I did a month ago. Do you see much of a change?

Even though I don't notice much of a change my students love to tell me every day how big I'm getting. They're so sweet! My favorite thing to hear is "Mrs. Clyde - you look huge today!" It really is - I love it. I'll embrace the "hugeness."

This cutie pie is an active little kicker. Ryan and I started a childbirth class last night and find out the gender on Friday..woohoo!

Europe Trip 2011

2011-09-25T18:11:00.004-04:00

When we got back from our trip in August my big project was to make a book of some (definitely not all) of our pictures. I finished it over Labor Day weekend and it came a couple weeks ago. I really love the result. I'm definitely not a scrapbooker by nature so this kind of thing is much easier for me. Anyway, I didn't know I could "share" it until Sara put one up on her blog. I'll probably still post about each section of our trip but here are some pictures for now! It takes a while to load, sorry. I'd actually click on the link because you can see it a lot larger and it loads way way faster. Shutterfly is awesome by the way.

Click here to view this photo book larger

Hey, Summer Isn't Over Yet

2011-09-18T21:10:00.008-04:00

Almost - Summer is almost over - but not yet. So.....I don't feel bad that I'm just barely writing about it. It was pretty fun with lots of exciting little/big trips. Then we got back and got really busy in about 2.5 seconds and I've been much too tired to write a blogitty post so I just didn't. Whoopsie.

My summer fun started immediately after school let out - I got to fly to Indiana and hang out with these pretties. We didn't take a ton of pictures but had an excellent week picking strawberries, visiting museums, and playing around/relaxing. It was my first time meeting baby Daphne and about a year since I had seen Jena so this trip felt long overdue. We didn't take too many pictures but had some fun frolicking around the strawberry patch with my little camera. Daphne was almost as excited about the strawberries as Jena and me. Jena made an incredible strawberry rhubard pie that we devoured in about a day I think (did it last that long Jen????) Someday I might be able to cook/bake as well as she does...doubt it though. Sorry Ryan.
I also got to fly home to Oregon to watch the Pooks play lots and lots of baseball. My brother is awesome just so you know....he doesn't even mind that I call him Pooka.

Every single person in this picture was mad at me for taking it. What's up with people not liking pictures? I love them.

Ryan and I flew to Utah in late July to see Caitlyn and Paul get married. If you look closely at this picture you can see her shoes. They are by far the best most snazzy wedding shoes I've ever seen in my life.

I like this picture of Ryan looking like he owns the steps of Manti Temple....or like he just won an Olympic gold medal. In all reality, no medal was found...he was probably just goofing off to keep himself from resenting the fact that his right-hand man was MIA (for good reason though...MTC). We all miss Coleman a lot.

Notice that the sisters are oblivious to Ryan's antics. They are very very used to it.

Immediately after this trip we flew to London. I'll be posting about that trip very soon. It was the best.

Lest you think my/out entire summer was spent tripping around all over the place - the majority of it was spent in Dallas, TX underneath the horrible awfulness of the scorching sun. Other than the heat Dallas was great which is good since we are going to be living there in a year!! Yay Ryan.

Now we're just back to school/work life. Things have been pretty quiet around here minus the earthquakes and hurricanes and such. We're also eagerly also awaiting the arrival of this little bundle of joy in early 2012. Isn't the back of his/her head the cutest?

Cute Cute Cute.

Conspiracy2

2011-05-26T20:52:00.003-04:00

So my phone stopped working right after my 2 year Verizon plan ran out. I was really looking forward to paying month to month.

I don't think it's a coincidence. I even told that to the customer service lady on the phone. She assured me that Verizon doesn't commit fraud and has no way to make phones stop working after plans run out. I'm not convinced.

But in all honesty, why do I care? I know Verizon is going to be my carrier for the next few years and I get a phone upgrade now. Still...I'm bugged - very very bugged.

Speaking of bugged. My room at school is filled with flies once again. Last year was filthy. I got these fly trappers that worked so well they were dripping with dead flies after a couple of weeks. It was really disgusting. I put one up yesterday and have caught only 4. They continue to buzz and buzz and buzz around my room. Some boys in my 1st block killed over 15 this morning though. They've created a competition - tally marks and all.

Anyway, a girl told me my fly trap was kind of inhumane. PETA will be knocking at my door any minute.

Now I'm starting to feel bad for those flies. Should I?

Conspiracy

2011-05-23T18:04:00.004-04:00

Have you ever had one of those mornings where you are pretty sure the universe is telling you to go back to bed!?

The problem with those mornings is that you almost always can't go back to bed. Life obligations/responsibilities just get in the way.

Many many aspects of my morning routine conspired against me today. I was in a very grumpy mood by the time 7:50am rolled around.

First my alarm clock decided to stop correctly "snoozing." It went off just fine but didn't go back off after I hit snooze. I woke up 10 minutes later than usual which isn't really a huge deal (definitely not as bad as waking up 5 minutes before I have to leave) but still peeved me a little bit.

Then, while applying my makeup I searched and searched and searched for my mascara. It was no where to be found. I still don't know where it is. While looking I found a really old bottle of mascara with a tiny bit left inside. I used that as best I could. Five minutes wasted. Culprit? Either I placed it somewhere and just can't remember where or the mascara bottle grew legs and hid somewhere. I'll go with the latter.

Getting dressed came next - easy enough. For some reason, though, every single item I tried on this morning looked disgusting on me. Why? I don't know. I haven't figured out whether the conspirator was my mind, body, mirror, or clothes. Many minutes lost.

On to breakfast! I poured my cereal -- no problem. I poured the milk -- no problem. I sat down to check my email and eat my breakfast at the speed of light since I'd already lost 20 minutes of my morning - no problem. I scooped up my cereal and took a bite - big problem.

Sour, nasty milk. Gross. I blame Kroger and their inability to properly label milk expiration dates.

By this point I was not a happy camper. I threw my bowl into the sink, opened a new carton of milk, ate incredibly fast, cursed the stupid wastefulness of my morning, and started to run out the door prepared to deal with a hectic, stressful day.

Oooh - forgot to pack my lunch - ran back into the kitchen, threw my stuff in my paper sack, and then ran out the door fully prepared for a hectic, stressful day.

You know what though? Today was a really good day. The universe wasn't telling me to go back to bed - it was just telling me that I'm not a morning person. Actually, it was telling me I'm not really an alone person. Usually in the morning Ryan wakes me up if I'm not awake on time. He helps me find things I've lost (not that it happens often..wink wink). He tells me I look good when I really don't think I do and he almost always makes my lunch. He evens lets me vent about Kroger NEVER labeling the milk right.

Not that I'm always bright-eyed and ready to start the day when he's here but he certainly makes my mornings a whole lot better.

I really hope this month goes quickly.

Summeritis

2011-05-16T19:20:00.010-04:00

I don't have many Seniors in my classes this semester but the ones I do teach have all come down with extreme cases of Senioritis. This, however, is to be expected. Who hasn't had this before? Many of us have and we all survived relatively unscathed. I contracted the dreaded illness very early on in my senior year of high school and while it didn't affect my academic life, it did significanly influence my every day appearance.

My senior year consisted of rolling out of bed, taking a quick shower (I am unable to start a day without a shower), throwing my wet hair up in an unattractive bun-thingy, sliding into my favorite sweatpants, and heading off to face the day looking pretty disheveled (to put it nicely). I also quit extracurriculars I was involved in and focused only on school, job, and best friends. School social activities/extracurriculars? Forget about it. I was so ready to be out of there. In retrospect though I only caught a minor case of the disease - I still liked the school part of school - just not the social part.

I have discovered an even more threatening disease though. It's called Summeritis. Summeritis has overtaken my school in recent weeks and is spreading like the Black Plague - highly contagious, knocking out about half the student population. Summeritis shows no mercy for anybody, grade level doesn't matter. Yes, it targets Seniors (simply adding to the sickness) but preys on Juniors, Sophomores, and Freshmen.

Symptoms:

Restlessness
Inability to focus
Procrastination
Day-dreaming
Crankiness

Oh yeah - teachers fall victim to it as well.

And i'll admit it...

I've caught Summeritis.

Pray for me

Brickety-Break

2011-05-10T20:16:00.004-04:00

Spring Break was lovely. Isn't any break lovely? It is just so much fun to look forward to a break for weeks on end and then feel completely liberated the moment that break arrives. Ryan and I did make spring break plans but I think I would have been excited even I knew the break would consist of sitting around our aparment doing nothing. Our plans were definitely more fun than that but breaks are just a good thing to have no matter what you do.

We headed down to Williamsburg to soak up some history and fun. I had heard some great things about Colonial Williamsburg but was very disappointed with our experience. The day started off well but it was cold and a little rainy. I'm guessing they don't hold as many programs or open as many shops when the weather is bad because once we got to the "heart" of Colonial Williamsburg all there was to do was stare at old buildings and eat really bad food. Don't get me wrong - I really love old buildings. I just don't like paying over 50 dollars to stare at them.

Like I said though...the day started out well. We walked through the gardens of the governer's mansion. They were beautiful.

This maze was pretty fun too.

And then the rest of the day was like this...sitting, and standing, and staring (in the cold no less).

I'm being a pretty big downer about Colonial Williamsburg. I'm kind of sorry about that but mostly not. It was 50 dollars! I expect a lot when I shell out 50 dollars. I thought the town would be bustling with colonial clad actors and actresses who stayed completely in character and talked to us about the concerns of the time period. This was just not so...not at all. Ryan made up a new word for my really high expectations that are often not met. He says I "Disnify" things. I thought about protesting his new word and his attributing this action to me but I realized that I most deifinitely do this. I know that I do....all the time. I like Disnifying things though so I'm probably going to keep on doing it. Maybe next time I go to Williamsburg it will be Disnified and incredibly fun. I will not give up hope.

Our next stop in Williamsburg was Busch Gardens. It's a European themed amusement park and was pretty fun. My favorite part was the animals (surprised?) of course. This falcon was pretty cute.

Right when we entered this pretty large caged off area a bird flew right to Ryan. It just sat on his shoulder like they were best buds....SO exciting.

After snapping this picture I turned into a crazy jealous person. Why was a bird just chillin on Ryan's shoulder and not mine? I'm the one who likes birds. Animals are attracted to Ryan like there is no tomorrow and he's usually pretty indifferent to them.

Anyway, I moped for a little while and tried to get a bird to come to me but it just wouldn't happen until we bought this crazy expensive bird food. At least I can bribe birds to come.

Pretty, pretty bird.

Our last day in Williamsburg took us to the beach and then Jamestown.

It's been about 3 years since we've been to a beach. I will not be waiting that long again.

I scoured the beach for shells for quite a while (resulting in a fun sun burn for both of us) but found some gorgeous shells that I used to make a souvenir picture frame. I'm thanking Ryan for humoring me because he was ready to leave long before I was satisified with my shell collection.

I want to put up a picture of Jamestown because it rocked my socks off but it has taken me too long to put up these other pictures and I'm sick of writing this post. We had so much fun though, learned an incredible amount from our tour guide, and left wishing we could stay longer. Jamestown was free because it was national park week and I even won a little prize for guessing a question right. Colonial Williamsburg - please learn from Jamestown.

Next break of mine is in about 4 weeks! SUMMER break will consist of living in Dallas for the summer (Ryan has an internship), visiting Jena (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) in Indianapolis, and heading on a two week long excursion to....

........

.........

Drum roll please

........

London, Paris, and Ireland! I am so excited I can hardly concentrate on anything other than planning and thinking about our trip.

Before that though - Ryan has to finish finals and then leave me for a month (insert huge sad face with tears and looks of terror since I hate living alone). That I am not looking forward to. All of the other stuff will get me through though (insert huge happy face).

YAY.

Papa-Paparazzi

2011-04-12T19:56:00.003-04:00

Not much has been going on as of late. The weather has been pretty schitzo, Ryan has been writing a paper, I've started to try and make myself run. That's about it. We are super boring.

The most exciting part of my month has been a new addition to our apartment: Ryan's beard. I love it. No, I LOVE it. Ryan does not love it so much but he's keeping it for now.

On Saturday, however, he said he was shaving it off so I decided to document the Ryan beard. I made up a little game called "paparazzi" where I followed Ryan around snapping pictures and yelling his name.

Our celebrity was just a little camera shy at first... Then I got the "Uh, what are you doing?" look The "Okay, I'm pretending you aren't doing this right now" look An action shot...chug that water! The "I'm laughing at you because you're weird" look

The "I'm angry that the paparazzi is following me around so I'm coming at you with a golf club" look. That one scared me so I quit (kidding...Ryan carries the club around to hit golf balls, not me).

And what is this? Ryan playing golf INSIDE (soft golf ball). This is his favorite thing to do in the entire world. Actually playing basketball is....then playing real golf...then playing golf inside. Ryan almost always has a golf club attached to his hand. Obsessed? It really needs to warm up so we can go play.

We did get to play tennis on Saturday even though it was freezing. I thought we could coax Charlottesville into spring by spending time outside. This strategy almost worked..yesterday it was over 80 degrees. Today...50 something. Tricky tricky mother nature. It better be nice for my spring break. We're heading to Williamsburg and I am so so ready for a break I can hardly contain myself. I love spring break.

Point of this post:

I love Ryan's beard

I love following him around taking pictures

He loves golfing - inside...outside...wherever

I love spring breaks

YouTube

2011-03-26T16:49:00.001-04:00

YouTube videos I like right now...

Ryan winning the UVA Intramural 3 Point Contest

I think it is so awesome that we have a video of this! He is pretty mad about that last rack but the fourth one is insane.

Briefly bragging again....just warning

Ryan also won the BYU Intramural 3 point contest in 2006 and he made every.single.basket.

Champion.

Street Corner Symphony: Down On The Corner.

Acapella CCR masterpiece. I love love love it. For some reason this song makes me want to sit on a porch and drink lemonade. I have no idea why since that isn't what the song is about.

The lead singer's voice is so smooooooth. I could listen to it all day long.

Baby Laughing

So so funny and cute! I hope I can make my baby laugh like this someday.

Surprised Kitty

This one is really old but I watch it at least once a week. I actually showed it to one of my classes before they took a test to help ease some anxiety. I want it...not the video, the cat. Actually pretty much any kitty will do.

YouTube...thank you. You bring so much entertainment to my life.

Champion

2011-03-01T21:20:00.004-05:00

So I'm going to brag a little bit (just a little bit). Ryan just won 500 dollars for winning the UVA Intramural 3 Point Contest. He is good.

He made if to the contest final in January and then shot during half time of Virginia game tonight. Not only did he win, but he looked pretty c-u-t-e while doing so.

I kind of like him (and not just because he just brought home some moola).

In other news...we went to a Duke/UVA game a couple weeks ago. Can you guess who we were rooting for?

It was fun to see them play live! Ryan went to Cameron Indoor at the beginning of January and I don't think any Duke game will every compare to that but he's taking advantage of seeing his team whenever he gets a chance.

Bring on March Madness...

The Horror

2011-01-22T16:07:00.000-05:00

Once upon a time there existed a small village that sprung to life at Christmas time.

The tiny village people lived very simple lifestyles - they knew little more than ice skating, caroling, and playing in the snow.

Visitors were extremely rare in this little Christmas town. It was nestled away high up in the mountains, isolated from the outside world. The inhabitants were content though. They were happy to celebrate in their traditional, child-like ways.

Until one day, they did receive a visitor--a very unique and interesting stranger. Dangerous? Nobody knew. Communication was impossible, for the foreigner was none other than a giant cat.

The villagers at first hoped that the feline was a passerby who would carry on her way soon. The imposing kitten had different plans, however, and became very cozy at the north end of the charming hamlet.

This particular cat seemed peaceful. She even took extreme care not to step on any of the villagers or houses when she walked through town. She was perfectly calm and endearing in her own special way. The townspeople quickly came to accept this strange creature. Some even felt she was sent to protect their beloved home.

False security can be one of the most dangerous distractions. As most owners of these illustrious creatures know, cats can be extremely hard to please. It doesn't take much to send a purring ball of fluffy perfection into a mad rage. To this day no one knows what set the giant kitten off. The trauma left the sole survivor mute and unwilling to write of the nightmare. We only know that one frosty night in the middle of a Yule-tide celebration the unassuming feline struck, suddenly and swiftly.

She destroyed everything in her path, leaving the once vibrant community a ghost town.

Maybe she had a nightmare of her own and woke up in a frenzy. Maybe she grew tired of children playing on her tail. Maybe she was just ready to live alone.

We will never know. We can only mourn for the lovely Christmas village that is no more.

2010 in review

2010-12-30T14:53:00.002-05:00

Well, I thought I would write on here one more time before the new year. We just got back from Oregon late last night and are meeting up with some of the Clydes later tonight so we're having a good break! Two weeks with family flies by way too fast.

In honor of the new year here's a little looksy of some of our favorite 2010 memories

January-February 2010 - Massive snowstorms in Virginia - shut everything down

February 2010 - Ryan and Coleman's first Duke basketball game - many more to come

March 2010 - Ryan's trip home for WA state championship - Yay Hornets!

March 2010 - Wicked in Richmond!

Summer 2010 - Washington D.C. - Ryan working, me taking the summer off :)

Ryan pretty much researched Elena Kagan constantly but we had some fun too!

Bit by the golf bug....

Harpers Ferry w/ Cindy
June 2010 - My trip homeSilver Creek Falls w/ Mom and Jen

Fourth of July in Dallas with the Clydes!

August 2010 - Disneyland trip

August 2010 - Lindsey's wedding

Seeing Erin and Brad in Provo

End of August - Bree's wedding

Fall 2010 - Lost, lots and lots of Lost. (try writing that 5 times fast)

Pretty sunsets atop Afton

Fun at the Apple Orchad

October 2010 - Finally getting into the pumpkin carving spirit

October 2010 - surprise NY trip

December 2010 - Christmas Break at the Curry's - Silver Falls again

Family photo op

All in all it's been a great year - Some pretty incredible experiences and fun times intermingled with a lot of hard, long work and study days. We're so fortunate to get the fun parts mixed with the sometimes not-so-fun parts.

Looking forward to 2011!

Disneyland

2010-11-05T19:34:00.047-04:00

Disneyland

The Happiest Place on Earth

I'm too old, mature, and sophisticated to enjoy Disneyland. Disneyland is for little kids and for people who like acting like little kids. It's a bloody waste of time and money. Why waste your vacation on kiddie rides when you could be educating yourself on American history in Gettysburg, Boston, or Washington D.C.?

This has been my silent, and sometimes spoken attitude toward Disneyland for years. It turns out that I was dead wrong except on this one point: Disneyland really is for people who like acting like little kids. That is, Disneyland is for everyone who on some level misses the innocent, care-free, and imagination-filled days of their childhood (and for those little tykes who are currently living those days, of course).

I loved my 5-day visit to the Magic Kingdom this summer and can't wait to go back. Some of you may chuckle at the thought of me loving Disneyland (in fact, that was the response of many when I told them how much fun I had), but it was the most fun I've had in quite a while. One of the blessings of marriage is having your horizons expanded by your spouse, and Meghan has definitely had a positive influence on me in this way. I'll always love visiting Civil War battlefields, national monuments, and other places of historical interest. But I'm glad that Meghan has introduced a whole new world (excuse the Disney pun) of fun and enjoyable activities and vacations to me.

And a note about kiddie rides - they all make me queasy. So much for being too grown-up.

California Adventure/Mickey

We were really excited that Chris and Tasha were able

to join us for a day.

Chip and Dale - Meghan apparently knows which
is which, but I have no clue.

Meghan was really excited to get a big hug from T-I-double Ga-ER.

Splash Mountain is hands-down my favorite ride. We rode it twice a day. And in case you were wondering, yes my brother-in-law could beat the snot out of you.

Word to the wise, if you are going to sit in the front, do it in the morning so the sun can dry you off.

The Tower of Tower is Meghan's favorite ride. Chris made an insightful observation - it is nearly impossible to ride the Tower of Terror without laughing. Go ahead, try.

Meghan wasn't too scared to ride the Maliboomer, she just wanted to get a picture of me. I think that's what she said.

My initial post actually had a picture of me holding the sword after I had pulled it out, but Disney forced me to replace it with this one.

"A" for effort.

I'm not usually a huge fan of fireworks, but this firework show was pretty cool.

The shows at Disneyland are spectacular. The new World of Color water show was quite impressive. My favorite was Fantasmic, but I don't think we got any pictures of that one.

Tarzan's treehouse.

"C" for Clyde. And Curry. And cute little wife. I didn't post my picture with the "C" because if you look closely, you can find me in this one.

Woody.

There are too many places I haven't been yet,

but I think Disneyland really might be the happiest

place on earth.

NYC

2010-11-01T21:25:00.001-04:00

Ryan surprised me with a trip to New York City this weekend and in a few words...it was awesome!

First off - surprises are fun! They just are, but unfortunately I'm not easy to surprise because I'm a snoop. Congrats to Ryan for pulling it off! He got Friday off work for me by contacting the office at my school. He explained that he is pretty much the sweetest ever and wanted to take me on a little surprise vacation. Everyone was very sneaky. Then, knowing that I'm the biggest stress case in the world, Ryan told me that he had scheduled a dentist appointment smack dab in the middle of the day on Friday so that I would prepare my sub plans well in advance. At that time I was not so happy about this very inconveniently timed appointment but I'd say it worked in my favor.

Yay for surprises and for Ryan.

New York consisted of walking around a lot (cold but enjoyable still), the Staten Island Ferry, Financial District, Times Square, Top of the Rock, Phantom of the Opera, Central Park, food, and visiting some friends.

A picture speaks a thousand words so here's about 20,000 "words." I really can't help myself when I have a camera.

Trinity Church

Ryan in front of Federal Hall

Incredible views from Staten Island Ferry: Statue of Liberty and NYC Skyline

Ryan on the ferry, me in front of the Brooklyn Bridge

More Staten Island Ferry

Times Square by day/by night

Prometheus - in front of the Rockefeller

We'll be heading up that soon....

NBA Store - I can't even palm little baby basketballs - can you tell why?

Now Ryan knows how I feel ---->

TOP OF THE ROCK - wonderful view of the city and sunset

Twinkle Twinkle

Ryan was not a fan of taking this picture...I love it though

Trump Tower - Ryan does a good impression of Trump on the left

Central Park - fall colors are brilliant

Gorgeous!

And finally, PHANTOM. Loved.

I miss you New York! Until next time....

Summer in October

2010-10-16T17:03:00.024-04:00

Yes, I'm still writing about the summer in October...kind of sad. I'm also watching BYU football and Jake Heaps just got sacked...really sad.

My online journal has really suffered lately but I'm going to try and do better because my memory is awful and I think this blog will be a good thing to look back on in later years.

I had the summer off which was rather excellent because I got to go home for a little while. Ryan and I love it out here but we both REALLY love the Northwest and I always miss it there. Add that to missing my family and Oregon becomes pretty high on my list of favorite places to be.

My mom, dad, and Pooka had just barely gotten back from Hawaii (poor, poor people) so I looked like a ghost compared to them. I'm not sure if we even look related in the picture below. Also, please notice how they are all wearing RED in these pictures. If you know my mom at all then you might find that a little odd. It isn't November yet though so I guess I'll give her a break. I'd be happy if my entire wardrobe was red but it's definitely not her favorite.

Alyssa fits right in there w/ me. Ghosts.

My cat is cute and funny...end of story.

Tink is also cute. Word is that she misses Pooks who has moved off to college.

Fate just happened to make it so Jena and I were in the Northwest at the same time so I drove up to Washington and stole her from Bryce to spend some time with moi. We did a lot of sitting around talking but also made the trek to Silver Falls.

Sleeze (Can I call you that still since you're a mom now?) was just about the cutest pregnant woman and now has basically the cutest baby. I think I spent most of her trip with me oohing and ahhing over baby Daphne and trying to feel her kick. Love you both!

Right after I got back from Oregon, Ryan and I headed to Dallas for the 4th of July weekend to spend some time with the Clydes. It was a really quick trip but packed with some fun activities and so much fun to see everyone.

Horse races and downtown DallasThe end of the summer took us to Southern California to spend some time at DISNEYLAND and then to Utah for Lindsey and Joe's wedding.

Happy couple

Emily and Logan/Ryan and me

Good looking group those Clydes. How pretty is Lindsey?

It was also a lot of fun to see Erin and Brad while we were in Provo! I don't see them near often enough. We fed baby ducks and now I want one.

We're looking foward to when we get to see everyone again soon. Never seems to be enough though!

Ryan is going to write our Disneyland post so stay tuned. He loved it.

Summer: The District

2010-08-25T17:51:00.028-04:00

Summer has been over for me for about 2 weeks now and I just can't stop reminiscing. We had a whole lot of fun. Ryan worked but I got to play for most of it...hehe. Now I'm back to work and it's a nice change but I sort of long for the freedom of summer. This longing and reminiscing have led to a blog post...actually multiple because I don't have time to include it all at once.

So...here is some of our D.C. summer.

We lived a stone's throw away from Iwo Jima so we had a wonderful view of D.C.

See?

We stayed in the red brick apartments right behind the memorial (you can sort of see it below)

We also got to enjoy the National Cathedral again. I've missed this place..just gorgeous.

Another thing I REALLY enjoyed was our mule-pulled canal boat ride in Georgetown. It was short but sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet. I highly recommend if you think that you'd find the history of the C and O canal interesting. Even if you wouldn't, I still recommend it.

The tour guide pronounced mule like myu. I loved it. Isn't this myu a cutie?

Here is the water pouring in the lock so the canal boat could raise up. Pretty fun!

Us and our FREE Dr. Pepper (next to me) that was handed to us as we walked through Georgetown to the canal. We were dying of heat (really, we were) so it was incredibly excellent timing. That DP saved my life. If you like us at all thank it.

Being pulled...
And now the last part of the post...the zoo! Animals all over the place...except for when we went. I think it was too blasted hot for them so we pretty much just saw this little guy:
oooh...AND my kitties were out so it was well worth it.

I'll never get enough of the zoo.

As we were heading out of the zoo we kept complaining about how hot we were and how we really wished we could get some free Dr. Pepper again. Guess what was right outside? A cart handing out nothing but FREE DR. PEPPER. Score.

We also took a tour of the East Wing, watched fireflies, Smithsonianed it up, and marveled at the monuments. Ryan had a great experience on the judiciary committee and is about to start school again and I've already begun. Oh the joys of reality! Summers are just so dreamy..looking forward to the next.

Sometime relatively soon I'm planning on posting about some summer trips...stay tuned.

Glee

2010-06-09T20:18:00.006-04:00

Glee just can't go wrong with Journey and Queen. I've even begun listening to the Glee Cast versions more than the originals (and I LOVE the originals).

I told Ryan that next season they really need to start singing some Billy Joel. Glee + Billy Joel would be completely brilliant.

Jen...remember this?

Of course you do....drunk old(er) people all around us. And while Billy himself is pretty inappropriate (sad that we learned this) his music is spectacular.

I'm pretty gleeful right now, if you can't tell. I get to join Ryan in D.C. tomorrow and it is my last day of work for a while as well.

Go summer breaks!

Lum

2010-06-01T19:15:00.006-04:00

I wish I had a Kit to be a lum with

Ryan has a made-up word that he likes to use sometimes -- lum. If you think about it for a second you can probably guess what the word "lum" means. Lum is actually two words combined - lazy, bum. I use this word in my head quite often. Sometimes I think it when I'm staring at a student who is completely shocked that I expect him to bring a writing utensil to class. Sometimes I think it when half of a class does not study for one tiny millisecond for a test. Lately, however, I think "lum" when I get home from work and don't feel like doing anything. It's the end of the year and I don't have a lot of planning to do, my husband is MIA, (in the district), and it seems like every other day I have a headache. My headaches knock me out. For the past couple of weeks I have only succesfully prodded myself to go running once, I am only cooking for one which means I don't really cook, and I am currently too much of a lum to even paint my toenails.

Come on Megs...it only requires a little wrist action!

And yet, I still don't think these nails will get painted tonight.

Through all of this I've concluded that I am ready for a completely lum-less summer break. Summer break is typically the time to be a lum but I intend to be out and about all the time. I want to run and swim and practice cooking and improve my world history lessons. I'm attending a conference on teaching with technology a week after school lets out. I get to go home to spend time with my family and Mama Jena. I also get to spend the summer in D.C. with Ryan who I kind of (understatement) miss right now. There are countless D.C. activities to take part in and I will take part. Then at the end of the summer I get to go on vacation and to Lindsey's wedding with Ryan. Yay.

I kind of also have to give myself a break for my current lumness (so many ways to use this word) because teaching is tiring. It really is. Especially when you teach practically all freshmen and it is almost the end of the school year. They are nuts. They can be fun but fill my day with complete craziness.

I think tomorrow I might even break out of my lum streak early and work out. I can't think about that right now though. I'll think about it tomorrow. Afterall, tomorrow is another day.

Line loosely taken from which film?

Young

2010-05-06T19:04:00.004-04:00

Ryan and I are constantly told how young we look. We're told this both by people we know and don't know who each think that we have never heard this bit of news before. At a certain age I think being told you look young becomes somewhat flattering (say 40s and up) but right now it isn't. I think that most people should realize that other people in their mid-20s do not appreciate being told that they look 15 or 16 (I've even gotten a 13 before). I don't really get offended because I've dealt with the young thing for a looooong time, but I definitely get annoyed sometimes. A lot of times I just think, "Hmmm, you're kinda rude." This reaction most often comes after I get this little quip:

"Wow, YOU'RE a teacher. Do your students even take you seriously at all?"

Chuckles.

Snorts.

Looks of concern.

To which I respond happily, "Oh yes, of course they do! We kind of make a little joke about it in my classes at the beginning of the year and then move on. Students do understand that I am much older than them."

Usually as the inquirer is walking away I go through a different scenario in my head. I could make our little exchange significantly more awkward if I wanted.

Alternate reply, with possible tears for added effect: "No they don't! It is absolutely horrible. They won't listen to a word I say and my classes are completely out of control because they think I am their age. I can't convince them otherwise! Any advice?"

It's kind of funny that it is not considered insulting to tell someone that she/he looks like a teenager when she/he is actually a working professional who has no control over height, lack of wrinkles (which I'll gladly keep), a young looking face, or whatever else makes them look so crazy young. It is, however, a widely accepted social faux pas to do the opposite. I wonder what reaction I would get if I said this:

"You're kidding! YOU'RE only thirty! You look forty-five years old at the very least!"

Chuckles.

Snorts.

Looks of concern.

I would obviously never say that to someone and I'm happy that I can usually laugh off the comments I get. It's also nice to know that I'll really enjoy looking so young later on in life. A lot of us very young-looking folk would probably agree that other people could be a little more tactful when dealing with the topic though.

Reading through this post, I realize it sounds sort of snarky and bitter which is not the intent at all. I just think it's an interesting little double standard.

Spring

2010-04-21T20:08:00.008-04:00

First off...Yay Duke! Yes I know this is a bit late...just know that after the final game it was a very happy night in the Clyde apartment. Ryan has been waiting 9 very long years for this victory. He is devoted I tell you, devoted.

We've had a very busy, albeit enjoyable time the past couple of months. This enjoyment (for Ryan at least) is screeching to a halt as he enters finals season. Dun, dun, dun. It will all be over soon though and then he gets to move on up to the magical land of D.C. (have we mentioned we love it there) where he'll be completing a clerkship with the Senate Judiciary Committee. His summer should be interesting with the impending retirement of Justice Stevens. Hopefully he'll have some fun research projects. I'll be staying here until school gets out in the middle of June and then I'll head up also. I can't wait until summer, but spring has definitely been kind to us.

Fun adventures = Maple Festival, Wicked, sad Cherry Blossom Festival, and Monticello.

Now, I enjoyed the Maple Festival but was kind of let down at the same time. Ryan says it's because I create visions in my head that just don't exist in the real world. Oops. They exist in Stars Hollow though so why not here? Jena once wrote about a strawberry festival that let her down. I envisioned the maple festival to be like her fantasy but subsituted with maple sugar. It was really interesting to see how maple syrup is made and fun to walk around the craft fair but the festival part was just not enchanting.

Maple bucket, droplet, and fresh maple donut

By the maple trees

Our purchase.

Now, Wicked...that is another story. It was exactly what I envisioned and absolutely perfect. Thank you Ryan for an excellent birthday present!

Cherry Blossom Festival

I love the Cherry Blossom Festival but it was another let down...NOT because of the blossoms. I'm sure they were pretty. It was a let down because we exited onto a road that was actually closed, got stuck on Rock Creek Parkway, and couldn't figure out how to get off. We were going to visit the temple after seeing the blossoms but decided to go straight to the temple instead. The temple was wonderful but the blossoms at night are just not as cool as the blossoms in the day time. Bad pictures ensue.
It's better than nothing but you just can't see them in the dark like you do in the light. They are breathtaking.

I am well aware that I look approximately 5 years old in this picture. I can't help it.

Lastly....Monticello! (Congratulations if you have made it this far into the post...I'm guessing my Mom is still reading)

Gorgeous view.

Tulips are my absolute favorite flower and Monticello in the spring has tons.

Patented half smile

Ry guy, Jefferson, and Doug

Anyone who wants to go to Monticello anytime soon, come! Charlottesville residents get in free with a full paying adult so we will go with you and split the cost. Win, Win.

2010-03-22T20:04:00.017-04:00

Allow me to begin my first blogging experience by apologizing to my wife for our disparate post totals: Meghan-43, Ryan-0. I appreciate all the time and effort she puts into documenting our experiences for friends and family, and I sometimes even find myself justifying not keeping a journal because I know she will write a good post about most big events.

I had the opportunity a few weeks ago to fly home to see my little brother, Coleman in his state basketball tournament. Fortunately, my spring break lined up with the tournament perfectly, so I didn't even have to miss class to go. (I realize that normal people jump at any legitimate reason to get out of school, but I am still in the "overwhelmed and utterly confused" stage of my law school experience, so missing a day or two of class is a horrifying prospect to me.) Despite how hard I tried to convince Meghan that she should take a few days off at the end of the week, she only has two personal days a year and is forced to ration them carefully.

Coleman and the Enumclaw Hornets entered the tournament with an undefeated 24-0 record, fresh off a district championship. The team is extremely talented and was ranked first in the state for most of the season, featuring a balanced scoring attack with all five senior starters averaging between nine and thirteen points per game.

Enumclaw beat Meadowdale in Game 1 by six, setting up a second-round matchup against Bellevue. Game 2 was a rematch of an earlier meeting of the two top-ranked teams in the Martin Luther King Holiday Hoopfest. In the first meeting, the Hornets rode a dominating performance by none other than Coleman Clyde and ended up winning by six. Coleman hit five of seven threes and ended with twenty-one points in the win. (For article on the game, see http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/highschoolsports/2010829376_mason19.html). Coleman turned in another solid performance in the rematch against Bellevue, finishing with twelve points on five of six shooting as the Hornets advanced after a 66-63 win. Enumclaw handled Shadle Park in the semifinals, advancing to the state championship game. My little brother had another noteworthy performance, with nine points shooting better than 57% from the field.

The Hornets faced the Union Titans in the championship game on Saturday night. Enumclaw had the better record. Enumclaw had the better players. Enumclaw was the better team. Unfortunately, the better team lost that night. The first half was tight, with the Hornets leading by only one point at halftime. Coleman hit back-to-back three pointers to open the second half, sparking a run that put the team up by nine at the end of the third quarter. The Titans fought back and put themselves into a position where they could take the lead on free-throws with eight seconds remaining. Enumclaw just couldn't answer and their perfect season ended imperfectly, in a one-point loss in the championship game.

Despite the devastating end to a historic season, the 2009-2010 Enumclaw basketball team finished better than any other Enumclaw team has before - 2nd place - claiming the right to be called the best Enumclaw team ever. That is definitely saying something, considering the long tradition of this quality program. I'm extremely proud of my brother and was happy to be able to see him play, and play so well.

Now we are relying on a Duke championship to provide some consolation. There aren't many things better than seeing nay-sayer after nay-sayer quieted as Duke has steadily advanced to the Final Four, and I would love nothing more than to see Coach K win his fourth national championship. Coleman actually flew out to Virginia last month to go with me to see Duke slaughter UVA in Charlottesville. Two more wins and it will be a happy year. Go Duke!

For Jena

2010-03-03T18:26:00.004-05:00

Dear Jena,

I was looking through my pictures I found this one that I took some time ago while walking around the Tidal Basin at sunset. Beautiful huh? Anyway, I immediately thought of you.

So...this is for you. I like to think this bird - shall we call him Florence? (not really a boy name, I know, but it fits) - is posing because he knew he was getting his picture taken.

Silly bird. Takes me back to our days in Provo!

Miss you.

Love,
Megs

I Love

2010-02-14T15:06:00.005-05:00

source

The Olympics are just magical for some reason. I love them, both summer and winter. And it truly truly is winter, evidenced by:

and

I haven't worked in two weeks and am looking forward to going back tomorrow.

Today, though, I'm looking forward to having a very happy Valentine's Day. Yay.

Dinner soon

Finishing off this

Watching Pair's figure skating (how appropriate)

and of course:

*my valentine*

Name That Storm

2010-02-04T22:14:00.003-05:00

I have cabin fever and there is no end in sight!

Oh well, at least one positive of all this snow is that the newscasters get to make up fun names for each storm. The December 19th storm has been termed the "Holiday Punch." Creative! Last Saturday was called the "Saturday Slap" by several stations. Yay for alliteration. Tomorrow we'll most likely be targeted again by Father Winter. Whatever will this storm be named?