American in Ithaca

Just another trip to Tops...

2011-08-21T07:28:00.000-04:00

I decided to buy "panniers" or "saddle bags" for my bike so that at school I have a means of shopping without a car. We drive over to the bike shop and when I ask about the bags I am showed a row of options. I pick out a handy pair of red bags that looks something like this. While looking for that link I found this that is a bit more what I was looking for initially but I think what I got will work out quite nicely.

I hooked the panniers onto my bike and took it over to the bakery and then to Tops. No problems along the way until I reached the Tim Hortons Corner (dum, dum, dum, dum, DUUUUMMMM!!!). I pull into the left turning lane and a man who appeared slightly out of it was pulled along the curb. He calls over some comment about staying on the side of the road and I politely tell him I am turning left and therefore need to be in the left lane. He stated he too was going left but he just went out around the outside. I instantly start to wonder what happens when we both try to turn left and images of the confusion as a car tries to turn right flash through my head. As soon as the light turns green and the coast is clear I continue onto Tops. After picking up the two things I needed I leave the store and there is my friend, reeking of alcohol, watching as I hook my pannier back to my bike.

"You got that ok?"

"Yup, I'm fine" I reply though I'm thinking he wouldn't be any help in his drunken state if I did need it. I seriously worry about his ability to stay balanced on a bike and hope he isn't going back the same way he came.

He courteously lets me go first and I ride off into the sunset... no not really... I jump down the curb send my rear light flying into the middle of the road. I watched painfully as the light got run over not once but twice. I discovered that though the panniers work great, my light setup could use some work... and a new light.

Thunder

2011-08-21T07:01:00.000-04:00

woke me up.

And in 30 seconds Saspy cat is in my bed

Similar I imagine to the way I would run to my parent's room when thunder struck as a child.

Then I realized Dad had tilted open the sunroof last night on the way home from the dance.

And I didn't remember him closing it.

No wonder it's raining.

It always rains when Dad leaves a window open.

Better weather predictor than weather.com

I attempted to find the keys to close the window

they must be in his pocket

I don't have the heart to wake him.

The rain is gone for the most part so what really can I do at this point?

Sit back and enjoy this lovely Sunday morning.

Book Review: A Long Way Down

2011-08-05T07:00:00.000-04:00

I got A Long Way Down by Nick Hornby out of the library because I really enjoyed listening to Juliet, Naked but I was sadly kind of disappointed by this one. I found it very hard to get into and once I got into it I again lost interest pretty quick.

The book was based around 4 people who all showed up at the same spot to commit suicide on New Year's Eve and don't end up doing it. The 4 people are very different and are not a likely crew but alas they help each other get through the difficult times in their lives. I wasn't a huge fan of the characters: none of them seemed to be developed at all except maybe Maureen. I understand the book was supposed to be a dark comedy and maybe I just didn't get the joke, but it overall had too many unnecessary swear words and not enough chuckles.

The writing did have some charm to it which makes me decide that it is more the story I didn't enjoy, not so much the author's writing. There were a few moments where there were ideas being thought of in interesting ways. Not to give too much away but I really liked the analogy used when the characters realized whether or not they really could commit suicide about suicide always being something saved in a box for a rainy day only to realize that there was nothing in the box when you decide to use it. Hornby of course writes this in a much more concise easy to understand manner and I suggest you read the book if only for that analogy. It is a different way of looking at death and suicide, I only wish it was written in a more compelling way.

Enjoying the little things in life

2011-08-04T07:00:00.000-04:00

Check out this website on enjoying the little things in life. I think it's important to remind yourself of little things in life that make it a bit more enjoyable each and every day. Be careful, you can waste hours going through this list.

http://justlittlethings.net/

Works in Progress: August Edition

2011-08-03T07:00:00.007-04:00

Some knitters cast on a project and stay faithful right through the end. I, on the other hand, am a very unfaithful knitter who likes to jump around between projects, possibly leaving a project untouched for weeks or months only to come back and be unsure where I left off. I've tried to focus more on the already started projects and make some progress on them.

I can't only work on one project at a time because sometimes I want something challenging that requires almost full attention, like Lacy December Scarf:

But sometimes I need something mindless because I'm hanging out with friends chatting and I know I'll lose count of which row I'm on, such as Smittens:

And sometimes I need something that I can start and finish in a day or two because everything else is becoming too much of a chore, like my newest finished object, Cotton Candy Hat (which I'm including in my works in progress because it went so quick it hardly had a chance to be a WIP):

I almost always have a pair of socks on the needles, like Texture Socks, though I messed them up royally and need to restart them:

And when, amongst all the other projects I have on the needles I have the time, I'll cast on with a group from Ravelry to create something that is a mystery right up to the end. Here is a photo of the first August Mystery project so far:

I have no idea what it is, but my guess is a cat scarf. What do you think?

What friends are for

2011-08-02T16:19:00.000-04:00

Many apologies for yesterday's post. Some days just don't go your way and I just had to write something for fear that I would never come back if I didn't at least post something. I ended up talking to some friends and being able to become less frustrated. It turns out my camera deleted all photos on my memory card so I lost the photos I haven't uploaded. I'm disappointed that I lost the photos but as Erin said: "Well, I guess we'll just have to go blueberry picking again."

And that's what friends are for:

Seeing the positive when you're too frustrated by or too focused on the negative to really see how unimportant it really is in the grand scheme of things.

Being that shoulder on which you can lean and try to explain what's bothering you when it really doesn't make sense to you and saying it out loud makes it seem just plain silly that you're upset in the first place.

Being the one to simply say "let's go for a walk" and then let you rant the entire time and understand you sometimes just need to get things out in the open and maybe a little bit of chocolate.

I've realized this summer that my friends are the best support group I could ask for. They have been there for me whether I want them or not (though this summer I've wanted them around more than ever). They've always said the right things at the right time and been the voice of reason when I was unable to be reasonable on my own.

A week worth of catching up

2011-08-01T20:02:00.000-04:00

I've been MIA for many reasons, but mainly because I haven't turned my computer on for a week. No, I haven't been completely without a computer for a week, I just used my parent's computer. I didn't want to upload photos to their computer so I kept putting off updating my blog. I kept saying: today I will write a few posts and schedule them to go up... but alas it never happened. So I'll give you a quick update on the last week:

My knitting is cursed:

Texture socks went up in flames: second sock pattern proved to be much nicer but I started the sock a size too small. I've decided to get new yarn to remake that pattern because I'm getting sick of the black, purples and greens and feel I'll go insane if I continue to try and make it work. I've made notes of what I did for the second sock and will be remaking them when I get new self-striping yarn.

P.S. I am not using this as an excuse to buy more yarn. My dad actually suggested it!

I was doing great on my December Lacy Scarf... until I lost a stitch and had to go back about 15 rows. I got to confident and stopped using the lifeline regularly and then I messed up. Again I lost motivation on that project.

Smittens are going fine, though I haven't worked on them in a while because I had done the 3 I wanted to do in July so I took a break from them to focus on the above projects. I'm not sure I'm ready to get going on August's 3 yet.

I bought some bulky yarn at the sidewalk sale and started making Shroom only to find out that it was too small and wouldn't be comfy so I ripped that out and plan to redo it. It is a pretty quick knit, but I had spent most of my afternoon on it and don't feel like spending all evening. That shall be part of tomorrow's quest.

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I went blueberry picking with Maddie and Erin and we picked tons of blueberries. That night we made blueberry buckle and my dad and I used ours to make blueberry muffins and blueberry pie. Yum!

We went to a few fellow EA graduates' performance the other night at a bar in Buffalo. It was an adventure for sure. There were 5 bands total: RedBeard was very good as was Arctic Death (the two we knew people in). The other three had some good numbers but for the most part were mediocre. Crush, The Everlasting was on right before Arctic Death and were a good band to bring the crowd back to focus. After 3 bands everyone was getting a bit tired (at least from my crew). We saw bunch of people from EA whom we hadn't seen in years. Overall, fun times.

Uncle Sean stopped by for dinner on Saturday on his way through town to go up to Canada for vacation at the cottage. I get to go next week after Celia's wedding... I'm very excited for both!

... And I would have tons more photos to show you but my camera isn't reading my card. Ugh. The world is against me today. Maybe if it starts to work I'll update with photos at a later date.

A 5K race and some works in progress

2011-07-25T00:21:00.000-04:00

Lindsay Matthews Memorial 5K

If only the race had started at 8 AM it would have been a perfect day for a run. I woke up earlier in the morning to rain, and hoped that the rain would stick around so that we'd stay cool for the run. No such luck. It was in the mid-80s and sunny for the race, which really was nice minus the humidity that made it sticky to breath. Cait came with me and we ran into Katie which made for a pleasant morning despite the heat. Cait took off ahead of me shortly after the first mile and I ended up doing more of a walk/run for the last mile and a half. It started out on the road, wrapped around back to the park it started at and then ran on some gravel, up a hill (short but steep, Ithaca would have been disappointed in me for walking it) and then finished on a soccer field. It was nice to have a change in surface, though running on the gravel when you're not used to it takes a lot out of you. I have to say this race had great food for the after party: pizza, pasta, salad, veggies, fruit, drinks of all sorts. Not that I go to a race for the after party, but it is nice when they provide more than fruit and water. I finished in 33:15 which is reasonable for the heat but not quite fast enough to support a trip to the yarn store. There is another 5K this coming weekend so I think I'll try again and see how things go!

Project: Late February Lace Scarf

I started this scarf yesterday as a break from the easy straight knitting I've been doing a lot of. I had started it back in February (thus the name) but got busy with school and kept having to rip it out so I put it aside for a bit. I finally decided to pull it back out now that my mind is free and I don't have anything to really focus on. It had been going quickly but once I finished the increases I haven't been able to get past line 5 of Chart B. I keep losing a stitch somewhere though I can't figure out where. I'm going to start again from the beginning of Chart B (Thank god for lifelines) but this time I'm going to count stitches every row and be very focused on the pattern: no talking, no distractions. It is turning out very nice and I really hope I can get past this one spot in the pattern.

Project: Smittens

This project is a fun on going project. I'd go insane if I tried to make all 24 mittens at once but I've gotten to the point with the pattern where I almost don't need to look at the pattern anymore. I plan to make it into an Advent calendar and put chocolates in each mitten for my parents and brother. I'll have to finish it by Thanksgiving in order to set it up for my parents before I go back to school. I have 14 mittens done, 10 to go and 3 months to knit them. About 3 mittens/month if I can get one more done before August!

Finished Object: Ocho the Octopus

2011-07-20T07:00:00.003-04:00

Pattern: Octopus by Tamie Snow

in Tiny Yarn Animals by Tamie Snow

Yarn: Sugar 'n' Cream Ombres and Prints, 100% cotton

What I learned: Bent yarn needles are life savers for amigurumi! I had had the parts crocheted for a while... a good week or two, but I was dreading putting him together. First of all the pattern ended with a hole in the bottom of the body which I didn't know how to work with and I couldn't figure out how to place the legs. I finally decided to crochet the hole shut and then use straight pins to pin the legs on to see how they would fit on. This is what I came up with:

I thought he turned out pretty good, I like the stitch definition better with this yarn than what I used for the hippo, but it's also a lot newer yarn so that may have something to do with it. I also really liked how the circumference turned out to be just perfect for the yarn and allowed the red, white and blue to spiral instead of clump on one side like I originally feared it would do.

Saspy meets Ocho:

Elm Street Bakery

2011-07-19T02:02:00.000-04:00

I have always considered East Aurora to be one of those ALMOST perfect towns: walkable, friendly and historical East Aurora has a particular charm you just don't seem to find everywhere. I could go on for hours about all the things I love about this town, but I'll save that for another post.

What is the ALMOST I speak of?

East Aurora has lacked a bakery. I have always dreamed of living somewhere in which I could walk to get bread in the morning for breakfast, or muffins or grab a cup of coffee with a slice of coffee cake. A place that would allow me to live as the French do: never eating a day old piece of bread.

Well, as of July 16th, 2011 East Aurora became a little bit more perfect in my eyes:

I woke up early Saturday morning, jumped on my bike and rode the half a mile to the bakery in order to make them aware that they are wanted in East Aurora. We were most certainly not the only ones who had decided to make this point. When we arrived the bakery had every outdoor table filled and a long line of eager patrons waiting to taste the bread. These lines persisted for the entire day!

We decided to get a few different items in order to get a good idea of what they have to offer. We got zucchini bread, coffee cake and a loaf of Three-Seed Sourdough bread. They also had lemon blueberry muffins, cookies, and a pastry I can't remember the name of. They were serving Gimme! Coffee from Ithaca, NY which made it feel even more like home. They will eventually be roasting their own coffee but their roaster got waylaid en route from the factory. I'm really excited to try their coffee roast!

I have to say the sourdough bread was the best sourdough bread I've eaten outside San Francisco, no joke. It had the distinct sour taste that sadly most breads who claim to be sourdough actually lack. I can't wait to return tomorrow and replenish the loaf that is now just a memory.

I found out that it wasn't really necessary to make the bakery feel welcome: they completely sold out on Saturday and didn't open on Sunday because they didn't have anything to sell! I'm so glad that the bakery received such a wonderful welcome and I look forward to seeing what it becomes in the future.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

2011-07-15T20:30:00.000-04:00

July 20, 2007, 11:30 PM

I sat outside the closed shops of Petaluma along with my cousin, his girlfriend and some of their friends, we lined the streets that led to the local bookstore waiting for midnight to strike so that we could crack open the last installment of the Harry Potter series. Will he die? Or will evil win out over good? Questions of all sorts went through our brains as we discussed possibilities but mostly just enjoyed the community that had come out to celebrate the release of the book. Some people had been lined up for hours at this point with blankets, food, music and chairs. There was such an excitement that went through the crowd as the hour crept closer and closer.

Once I had the book in my hands I started it immediately but unlike most people who stayed up all night to get to the end as quickly as possible I took my time. I enjoyed the prose and let the story develop paying utmost attention to plot twists and answers to the many questions that had been created in past books. When I finally finished the book (took me about a week) Harry Potter's saga had ended. I was sad, but even good things can't last forever.

July 14, 2011, 11:30 PM

I arrived at the Aurora Theater around 11 PM. Crazy lines that were certainly the situations of Regals across the nations didn't exist in this little hometown treasure. I almost didn't get a ticket, but Maddie talked me into it. I'm glad I went, the theater had put together a great event that ran smoothly with only the slightest amount of cheesy humor (Left side say "Harry" Right side say "Potter" "Harry" "Potter!" "Harry!" "Potter!"... "Pick a side! No going both ways"...What?!?!? Somebody didn't edit too well but it at least got some genuine chuckles. It's not as funny typed out, probably had to be there) The theater was full of excitement and throughout the movie there were cheers at points of victory for the good side. One girl a row ahead of us was completely sobbing through the war when the casualties were shown. I'm pretty sure I cried while reading the book but the movie didn't quite do it for me. I enjoyed the movie over all but I can't agree with many fans' opinions that it was "the best movie yet." I thought the movie itself was full of awkward moments that just seemed like the producers needed to fill a few seconds here and there. The fact that they separated the 7th book into 2 movies just shows that they were just trying to get as much money out of fans as possible. They made the romances, not to mention other interactions, between characters utterly awkward and really made them feel fake and forced. My favorite moments included Professor McGonagall overcoming Snape and Neville's speech.

I have always been partial to the books. I always make a point of separating the books from the movies in my mind when seeing them, but still the movies have never created the excitement I had felt for the release of the books. I never went out of my way to see the movies at midnight, though I'd tag along with friends if they were going. To me the movies were just an excuse to make easy money on a mediocre production (the acting has improved, but it was never great.)

It's hard to explain how I feel. I'm not saying I didn't enjoy the movie. I did. I'm not saying I wish I hadn't gone at midnight. I'm glad I did. I'm just saying I don't find the excitement in the movies that I felt in the books. The Harry Potter saga ended in 2007 for me, the movies being a way to revisit the stories in a new medium. I sometimes wonder if there will ever be another sensation like Harry Potter that is enjoyed by all generations, hated by some, obsessed over by others and at the same time a universal symbol throughout society.

Book Review: The Weird Sisters

2011-07-14T20:31:00.000-04:00

See, we love each other. We just don't happen to like each other very much.

I picked this book up because a group on Ravelry were going to be reading it. I ordered it from the library and when I checked it out I found out I only had it for 7 days. I rarely finish books in 7 days because I multitask with books so much that I never really focus just on one book. I sat down immediately and started reading figuring I'd have a chance if I tried to get 50 pages in a night.

The book turned out to be a very interesting read. It was written from the point of view of all three sisters but instead of having sections titled with which sister was telling the story you really only knew by which sisters were mentioned by name. There was no (or hardly any) "I"s in the story and it made for a very interesting perspective. The three sisters traded off telling eachother's stories but never told their own.

Each sister was named for a character of Shakespeare: Rosalind, Bianca and Cordelia. Each sister returned home for different reasons, all hiding under the fact that their mother is sick and needed help around the house. Through the book the three characters discover things about themselves and their family that they never would have known if they hadn't returned home (or left, in some cases). All three sisters were developed throughout the story nicely and though I read a few complaints that "nothing happened" I was never bored with the story. I enjoyed that the plot consisted mostly of the development of the characters and who they were and would become. For me that moved the story forward enough.

All in all this turned out to be a great summer read: quick, engaging and light. Next time you go to the beach you might want to consider bringing this one along.

Progress Report: Run 5K in 30 minutes or less

2011-07-13T11:50:00.000-04:00

In my original goal I set I said I would run 5 days a week even if just for 15 minutes to work towards running a 5K in 30 minutes or less.

Have I?

Not this past week.

I only ran 3 times because of the horrid excuse of heat. And work. And being tired. And I got a book from the library that is due back tomorrow and I really wanted to finish it on time... yeah, you get the idea. I'm the queen of procrastination and excuses.

I am finding it very hard to get myself out there, but I will try again this week. I'm going to edit the goal for the week so that it is more realistic because even though making realistic goals is the first step in creating successful goals, I still somehow don't always make realistic goals for myself.

This coming week I will:

Run 4 times (and hopefully one of them will be a successful 3 mile run!)
Workout a total of 6 days (including days I run)

Found my first sweater pattern!

2011-07-12T19:48:00.000-04:00

Something I have always wanted to do is knit a sweater. I have such a hard time finishing the small projects I often wonder if I'm crazy even to consider making a sweater, but I want to try. I have looked all over the web for the "perfect first sweater" but nothing quite hit me as "the one." (I sound like I'm talking about men at a bar...) But I think I may have found one in the Fall 2011 edition of Knitscene I picked up last night at Tops:

Pattern: Counterfort Pullover by Melissa J. Goodale


Photo copyright of Knitscene Magazine

It is a top-down construction and once I get past the yoke it's mostly shaping so it shouldn't be too intimidating. It might even be easy enough for me to do some knitting in lecture. I'm so excited to make this! I really hope I make my 5K goal soon so I can go splurge on some yarn :)

~Giveaway Opportunity~

If anyone reading this also has a craft blog, go over to The Craft Book Project and fill out a survey and be entered to WIN $100 at Michael's! Even if you don't win it's a nice way to help out a fellow blogger and crafter :)

Finished Object: Beaded Purse

2011-07-10T22:54:00.000-04:00

Pattern: Exploring Waves by Laurie Lee

I made this as part of the group Mystery 220 on Ravelry. Each week the moderators of the group would post a "clue" that we would knit and then wait eagerly for the next installment of the pattern. This was the mystery from January (as embarrassed as I am to admit it).

Yarn: Dale of Norway Baby Ull in a nice heather grey

I'm not usually big on neutral yarns. I'll go for bright colors, fun variegates, or stripes but I rarely go for black, grey or brown. I decided since we were putting beads on this one that I didn't want anything too crazy. Oh, and there's a little bit of blue variegated Yarn Bee Snowflake yarn in the cord which I used to double the yarn so I could crochet the cord instead of making an i-cord as the i-cord was getting on my nerves!

What I'll remember from this project: Beads! I was slightly intimidated by the beads but after working with them a little bit they weren't nearly as hard as I thought they would be. I used the pre-strung method and hope some day to try the other method that uses a crochet hook.

This project really shouldn't have taken me this long but I kept getting distracted, then I brought it home for break and left the yarn and needles when I returned to school. I am glad that I finally finished it and that it turned out nicely!

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Update on 5K goal:

It has been really warm here so I haven't been great about running but I'm trying to make myself go out for a run no matter what, even if its a short run, hoping it will get me used to running in the heat. I'm not sure the 5K on the 24th will be the goal maker but I'm going to do everything I possibly can to make it the best run possible!

Things Sassy Cat Likes

2011-07-09T00:12:00.001-04:00

Moxie has always been a very picky cat loving tuna, cat food and cat treats and pretty much nothing else. Sarsparilla on the other hand will eat (or at least taste) anything and everything my parents or I eat but won't touch the kitten treats unless accidentally digested by them being in her food dish. Here's a sampling of some of the strange (and not so strange) things she just goes crazy for.

1. Greek Yogurt

Mango preferably, but I don't think she's too picky.

2. Homemade Mac and Cheese

I haven't tried Kraft but I fear once she has tried the real stuff Kraft just won't cut it

3. Pepperoni

My aunt cut some pepperoni up for her dog... but Sassy got to it first. Now she gets really excited whenever pizza comes through the door.

4. Tuna

We had a small single serving size of this tuna in the house and my mom dished it out to the cats as a little treat. Moxie turned her nose up (usually Moxie goes crazy for tuna, I'm not sure if it was the brand or what it was that made her dislike it) and Sassy pretty much ate her weight in it... and then went searching for more. While not surprising in itself, it's a good example of how picky Moxie is compared to Sassy.

5. Fried Eggs

Sassy goes absolutely nuts for eggs. I find this very strange. My dad and I both have had to eat our egg breakfasts standing in order to keep Sassy from absconding with the eggs. We're wondering if she had been introduced to them before she came to our home because of how enthusiastic she is about them.

6. Raspberry vinaigrette salad dressing

Sassy licked a plate clean of raspberry vinaigrette dressing after dinner ... I swear, we feed her.

DISCLAIMER: we don't make a habit of feeding our cats "people food". We have just noticed how much Sassy tries to get "people food" and thought some of her preferences were a bit strange.

Goal: Run 5K in 30 minutes or less

2011-07-06T11:08:00.002-04:00

I know I can do this. I've run an 8K at a slightly under 10 minute/mile pace so I know it's possible to run a 5K at a less than 10 minute/mile pace. I need to get out running more often, get used to the heat and not let it become an excuse not to run.

What I need to achieve this goal?

Motivation!

If When I reach my goal, I will:

Purchase yarn to start a sweater of my choice

How I plan to do it:

Go to the YMCA if I don't get up early enough to run in the morning

Run 5 days a week, even if only for 15 minutes

Workout in some way every day

4th of July Weekend

2011-07-05T18:25:00.003-04:00

A weekend full of work, friends and fun.

1. Gardening

My dad has been itching to get our gardens tended to so when both my brother and I were home and both he and my mom were off of work he jumped at the opportunity to get something yardwork done.

I tended to hostas on the side street.

Nate painted the steps with help from Mom.

Dad tended to the garden out back.

I hadn't ever really helped my dad out in the garden but I was pleasantly surprised how enjoyable it was to be out in the fresh air with a pair of gloves, some newspapers and mulch. It felt good to get my hands dirty (well, my gloves dirty) and work in the garden.

Gardening had many qualities that I enjoy in crafts: solitude yet social activity, end result which is visible and easy to measure, creativity/ability to put your own style into the finished product.

2. Dinner and Baking
I made dinner on Saturday while everyone else finished up their chores. I made chicken with Lea and Perrin's Marinade for Chicken as well as tortellini with homemade Garlic Scape Pesto using the garlic scape from our organic farm share. The pesto turned out tasty but the consistency was a bit off. I plan to try again with either more olive oil or less scape. I read another recipe that seemed to think you should cut the top of the scape off, so maybe that is where I ran into trouble. I really liked the chicken marinade: light but flavorful.
On Sunday I made banana bread to take to my CI's house for a party before the fireworks. I should have taken a photo of the bananas I used because they were of the perfect overripeness. Last time I tried to make banana bread my bananas weren't ripe enough (I eat them slightly green so bananas which are turning brown are plenty ripe to me, unfortunately it just makes flavorless banana bread) and the result was horrible. I put a bit of extra walnuts in (something about banana bread and carrot cake: the more walnuts the better!) and didn't over cook the bread. It came out quite tasty!

3. Fireworks!


Photo courtesy of JCW

Fireworks at our local park :) I forgot to bring my camera, but my dad got some great shots with his new camera we got him for Father's Day!

4. Buffalo Zoo

We hadn't been in years so Monday Dad, Nate and I trekked off to the zoo. They had a few new exhibist: sealions, sea otters (who slept the whole time we were there) and a rainforest! The armadillos in the rainforest exhibit were my favorite of the day.
While Moxie is our tiger kitten:

we decided Sassy...

looked much more like an ocelot!

Book Review: Juliet, Naked (audiobook)

2011-07-04T22:43:00.000-04:00

I finally finished Juliet, Naked by Nick Hornby. I say finally not because I didn't like it and was itching to finish, but because I was listening to it at 15 minute increments on my way to and from work through the last month or so. This story really hit home for me. Having just gotten out of a relationship in which I had "gotten comfortable" and had not allowed myself to see that there were better things out there hearing the thoughts of the main character, Annie, on her 15 year relationship with a man who doesn't appreciate her made me look back at my relationship with different eyes. I really felt like Nick Hornby had plugged into my mind in the past few months and wrote down and expanded upon the many fleeting thoughts of confusion and hurt that passed through my brain. One specific part talks about wasted time and Tucker Crowe tries to calculate how much time Annie had wasted, but comes to the conclusion that though she felt that the past 15 years were wasted, there were many things she had to have enjoyed making the time not a waste. This was a fun book to listen to. There are three readers who read in turn depending on who the narrator is focusing on at the moment. I definitely plan to read more books by Nick Hornby, I've actually already picked up my next one from the library: A Long Way Down.

What I Want to Do This Summer (well, the rest of it anyways)

2011-06-30T22:45:00.000-04:00

As I was putting away the "Cryocuff" at my internship this morning I realized today was the 30th of June, which meant not only do I only have 3 weeks left at my internship, but the summer will soon come to an end. So what do I want to do with this last month?

1. Make a hula hoop

My roommate this past year made hula hoops and on a warm sunny day would turn on some Moe., go into the back patio and hula hoop. She did more than just your regular old "circle your hips" hula-hooping. She did all sorts of tricks that were kind of fun to just watch. When I was stuck with homework, unfocused or didn't want to run in the rain, I would grab one of her hoops and hula for 20 minutes as a way to let off steam. I kept meaning to ask her to show me how to make one, but I never found the time. I found a website that shows how to do it, so my first goal is to make a hula hoop to have as a stress-reliever this coming school year.

2. Run a 5K in 30 minutes or less

I enjoy being active but it is still sometimes a real chore to get myself out the door. My best time for a 5K is 32 minutes and some seconds, even though I know I can do better than that because I've done 8K in 49 minutes. I think my biggest problem is that I look at the 8K as a real challenge, while a 5K doesn't seem like such a big challenge anymore because I've done a bunch of them. Then I show up at the starting line out of shape because I "got busy" and hadn't found time to run and start thinking that it was all a big mistake. I've registered for the Lindsay Matthews Memorial 5K on July 24th. I've printed out schedule and plan to place a sticker (yes, a sticker, just like in kindergarten) everytime I complete a planned run. I hope to show up at the race in good shape, ready to run my best and set my PR. Visit this site to register for the race!

3. Finish the books I've been reading all summer

I tend to start numerous books in a time frame and then read snippets of each one until I really get hooked into one and then I finish it and abandon the others for a while. Currently I'm reading:

Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery
Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
A is for Alibi by Sue Grafton
Juliet, Naked by Nick Hornby (Audiobook)

I listen to Juliet, Naked on my way to my internship, it's only a 15 minute drive but its still nice to have instead of having to listen to the radio. The other 3 I have been essentially reading all summer and am at various points of each book. I'd like to finish them and hopefully start and finish another book or two.

4. Finish 3 knitting projects

I have more than a few knitting projects that I have started but have yet to finish. I hope to finish three of them this summer so maybe this fall I can justify starting a sweater! I have a few choices as far as which I will finish (Sheldon, Gloves, Smittens, or Socks) we'll have to see what I'm in the mood for when I get a chance to knit.

I got my photos from these websites:

www.newsdaylaura.com

http://www.eclipsemultisport.com/

www.lindseypollak.com

Finished Object: Little Blue Hippo

2011-06-28T20:41:00.000-04:00

It has been a while since I've had the time to finish a knitting project. I still haven't finished a knitting project, but I started and finished my first crochet project! I'm really happy with the way it turned out, though he is a little bit lopsided.

Pattern: Hippo by Tami Snow

From the book: Tiny Yarn Animals by Tami Snow

Yarn: I used some old Red Heart yarn I bought at Vidler's way back in middle school when I first decided I was going to learn to knit. I've been dragging that yarn to and from school for the past 4 years and finally used it! Unfortunately I'll have to make many a more hippos before I use up that yarn.

What I'll remember about this project: It's my first crochet project I've finished, it's also the first project I've finished within a month in a long time ... if ever. It felt really nice to finish off the animal and have something to show for the time and effort I put into it. I really enjoyed crocheting and though I struggled with counting stitches and rows at first, I finally figured out how to keep track of where I was in the pattern. I had fun taking him outside on a sunny morning to catch a cute photo that makes him look as if he is on the banks of the Shalimar!

I enjoyed making the hippo so much that I have started the Octopus from the same book. I'll post photos when I've finished.

Slightly off-topic:

The newest edition to the family:

Sarsparilla aka "Sassy"

Born: May 2, 2011

Moxie is not pleased, but every day she seems to tolerate her a little bit more, though I could be imagining it...

Weekly Highlight: Savion Glover

2011-03-06T23:04:00.000-05:00

When we have extra time at SAI meetings (which sadly doesn't happen nearly often enough) we each share our "Highlight of the Week" with everyone. I decided to bring this concept to my blog, so that if nothing else, I blog once a week :)

This week my highlight was: Savion Glover

http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/Savion_Glover

A group of us from tap club decided we'd go over to Cornell to see him because, well, do we really need a reason? He turned out to be amazing. I expected him to be really good, but he definitely surpassed any expectation I had formulated in my head prior to seeing him. The show was exactly 2 hours. Savion Glover tapped for about 1 hour and 58 minutes. No joke. Even as he was drinking water his feet were moving, doing some paradiddles, some toes and heels. Then he'd slowly get more intense until his feet were in the air more than on the ground and sounds were coming from no where (we later speculated that perhaps he had someone back stage adding in some sounds... his feet were moving that fast.)

I have to say his incredible show made my feet insist on doing their own moves for the next 24 hours or so, though my own feet just wouldn't move that fast. He really inspired me to move, make up some sounds, and use my feet as an instrument.

A couple days after I saw Savion, my dad e-mailed me a link to a Stomp video (see below), stating "Stomp really blurs the lines between dance and playing music." which I thought was a good theme to go with Savion Glover as well.

Superheroes

2011-02-15T23:29:00.000-05:00

"...And now we do Soulja Boy, what versions do you all know?"

Blank stares.

There are versions?

We were learning the newest dance in our Tap Club repertoire: a Superhero mezcla in honor of Ithaca Relay for Life's 2011 theme of... you guessed it: Superheroes!! We had just learned about 30 seconds of a dance, and our choreographer asks us to do a "Soulja boy"... well, of the 12 people present, only 4 of us including the choreographer knew the Soulja boy dance, we're tappers, not hip hoppers!

But now, after learning the dance that so many people already know, we are more like the rest of the world, except we make sounds when we hop to the sides with our arms lagging behind "cranking" to the beat. Clink. Clink. Clink. Clink. We may look silly doing it, our overall look almost as far from hip hop as could be (only a ballerina could be further) but it was fun to learn something a bit simpler than the more complex numbers we've been learning lately.

As we walked out into the cold after rehearsal, I realized that something about tonight reminded me of why I love Tap Club so much. I love the other members and how we laugh about everything, I love the dancing and I love having a few hours a week during which nothing matters but the neurological connection between my brain and my feet.

Joy of cooking?

2011-02-12T20:12:00.000-05:00

I've unfortunately discovered that I don't really enjoy cooking. I'm not sure if this is a temporary thing stemming from the fact that campus apartments have less than ideal kitchens that must be shared (in my case) with 5 others on a daily basis. Who really wants to make some extravagant thing they've never tried before that takes up every dish in the house, when your room mate is going to be hungry and need that burner on which you are creating your sauce? Or maybe it is more because I'm not very experienced so every minute in the kitchen is one of constant tension as I try to dice the onions without scalding the milk. I really think the reason I haven't been enjoying cooking is because what I enjoy about cooking is the company that comes along with it. Growing up I would help my mom or dad in the kitchen, taking on bigger roles as I got older. I loved helping out to create the family meal. Now I love baking and cooking for Zach and for my family and friends because when I'm done I get to socialize and share my creation. If I'm left to cook it's some variation of mac and cheese, or spaghetti with whatever veggies I picked up at Wegman's that week. When Zach cooks: it's a masterpiece.

Zach actually cooks most often now: he's much better at it and he really enjoys it. He has a couple cookbooks of Jamie Oliver's and everything we have made from them are delicious! While he's cooking I'll sit out of the way and talk to him, or do homework, or knit, ready to lend him a hand when he needs to grab something from the fridge, or just needs a third one. Then my favorite part comes: sharing the wonderful meal :)

Thursday Nights

2011-02-10T20:06:00.000-05:00

I used to avoid the small man-made path up the side of the hill upon which "The 30s" sat. I avoided it during the day for fear of mud and ice (depending on season) and I avoided it at night because it is not particularly well lit. The woods is off to the left and apartments are up above as you practically scale a small cliff. It was creepy.

Then a week ago I was walking home around 8 o'clock chatting on my cell with Dad who says "If you're still outside, look for Orion and to his left is Sirius, a brilliantly bright star." I had my doubts of seeing Sirius or Orion as Ithaca's campus is the brightest place outside of NYC (though I'm not complaining. The well-lit campus makes me feel safe especially when I have late classes). As I neared the end of the path I was on I noticed the thin path through the snow going up the hill. I decided to try out the path and I looked up at the sky. The stars were brilliant! Orion was standing right in front of me in all his mightiness and off to the left... well, off to the left I saw lots of stars, but I picked out the brightest one and named it Sirius.

Tonight as I walked home with the melodic tones of "Dide Ta Deo" in my mind I once again took that path up the side of the hill and looked at the stars. They once again shone down with vibrancy and made me smile in awe of the vast galaxy beyond us.

A run, a barbeque and rain

2010-05-08T20:37:00.000-04:00

Our Greek Life Picnic was scheduled for today at 3 pm. I decided I would run down - It's 4.5 miles and the first 1.5 miles are down hill, so I figured it would be doable. I did it and I never had a better run prior to that. The weather was questionable the entire way down and it started to rain the last 5 minutes of it, but prior to that it was sunny with a breeze that cooled me off as I went. It didn't feel like 4.5 miles and I'm sure its because of the initial down hill part. It's difficult not to run down hill for a mile and half for a run that leaves campus since campus is on a hill. I felt a bit of accomplishment though because normally unless I'm in a race I can't run for longer than half an hour or a couple of miles. Maybe next time I'll have to try running back up the hill :-/

When I got there hamburgers and hot dogs were grilling so I patiently waited for my refueling. After receiving my hamburger, it promptly started to downpour again and people dispersed.

I came back with the intent to study. I instead showered and slept for a couple hours, ate and procrastinated a bit until I've found myself here at 8:30 no further into my studying than I was at 2 o'clock this afternoon. Well, I should probably get to work. Anatomy - here I come!

Last time I'm trusting the box...

2010-04-24T22:43:00.000-04:00

I planned on doing 2 things this evening:

Back up my computer
Clean my room

I only got one of them done.

I asked for an external hard drive for my birthday after hearing one too many stories of people's computers dying on them after 3 or 4 years of use right after they had finished a huge paper. Having bought my computer right after graduation from high school I'm nearing my third year of use and I don't want to take any chances - especially with the 5000 plus photos I currently have on it. Today I went to set it up and it took over 2 hours or so to figure out how to do it after the box advertised easy, straight-forward installation. I probably used up many minutes on my phone talking to my dad trying to figure out what I did wrong. It turns out it would have been much simpler if I had done things in the correct order and hadn't skipped steps (something I didn't realize I was doing as I thought it had already done it automatically when I plugged it in... I never claimed to be computer savvy), but once things were straightened out it was in fact quite easy.

Now almost 5 hours later I have a backed up computer... but an equally messy room - though most things did move location. I guess you can't do everything in one day. The room will have to wait until tomorrow.

-KE

Photo of the day:

Uncle Sean and Emma at Grandma's 80th birthday party

Wednesday, the 21st

2010-04-21T15:56:00.000-04:00

So I have a few minutes before class starts at 4. I haven't written in weeks, well, let's not lie... it's been months since I've had a moment where I felt clear minded enough to sit down and type something out.

The big news from this semester is: I got engaged! Zach and I got engaged on the 4th of April. We couldn't be happier though at this point, with the wedding date (undecided) so far away, nothing has really changed - which is exactly the way I wanted it. We'd had a debate about this for a while - what difference does it make if we're dating for 5 years and engaged for one or dating for 2.5 and engaged for 3? Obviously we decided it really didn't make a difference and since I have 3 more years of school, we'll be doing the latter. He hasn't gotten a ring yet so I'm wearing my great-grandmother's engagement ring that I received from my mother on my 18th birthday. I really like it, but it's not really "me"... so Zach is getting me the real one when he can afford it.

Less exciting happenings in my life: I'm taking a triathlon gym class at school which for the first half of the semester was basically work out (run or bike) in the gym 2 days a week and you get credit. Then our teacher left and we've had real workouts this semester. We had swimming for 3 weeks, and now we're on the track with the track coach, who so far has been great and really helpful in keeping me motivated. Swimming was very tough for me - I've never been a great swimmer as much as I enjoy being in the water. It didn't help I was the slowest one there and everyone was always waiting for me to finish. Physically swimming felt great, but psychologically it didn't make me feel great about myself. Now that we're on the track I'm enjoying it a lot more though I'm still probably slowest. We did some Fartleks today which was fun to finally understand how exactly to do a work out and not just run until I'm tired. I'll just need to keep up the workouts I learn in this class.

Well, it's class time. Hopefully I'll be back to write soon.

-KE

Packing to move back in to Ithaca

2010-01-19T20:23:00.000-05:00

I've started packing and as I add little item after little item to the pile, I start to wonder:

"How in the world did I pack for Spain?!?!"

and...

"Do I really need all this stuff?!?!"

Last semester I survived on what I could fit in a huge suitcase (literally came up to my hips, and was twice as wide as myself), a small suitcase and a backpack. The small suitcase was mostly filled with toiletries, things I obviously could have bought in Granada, but I figured it would open up lots of room for souvenirs that I brought home. The big suitcase was filled with clothes ranging from summer appropriate to winter warms. Truthfully, I never felt like I really needed anything I didn't have. Linens, towels, and general items for my room were supplied by my family in Spain, so that cut down a lot, but I still feel like I have a lot more stuff than I actually need.

Another problem isn't just fitting things in the car, but doing so in boxes that aren't so heavy that I won't be able to carry them inside and up a flight of stairs. If I put all my shampoo and soap in one box, it's way too heavy, but then books are quite heavy too.

I'm staying in an on-campus apartment for the semester, which will be a really nice change from the dorms I've become accustom to. I will share 2 bathrooms, a kitchen, small dining room (basically big enough for a table) and common room with 3 others, we each have our own rooms. Talk about luxury :) I'll have a 15-20 minute walk in to class each day which I look forward to using as part of staying in shape, and once it's warmer it will also be much more enjoyable.

I've truthfully been worried about moving back on campus after being gone for a semester: so much can happen in a couple weeks, let alone an entire semester. Zach was super kind and gave all our mutual friends a heads-up that I was feeling nervous about the return, from which I received texts and Facebook messages full of welcome. It did calm the nerves, but I'm still a bit uneasy about returning. I'm sure it doesn't help I'm facing 3 tough classes this semester followed by an equally challenging summer. I just hope I'm worried for nothing.

More on this later, but I'll be cooking for myself this semester, so if you have any easy recipes to share, please do!

A nice chat

2010-01-13T02:42:00.000-05:00

In a world where texting and Facebook are the main ways of communicating, I have learned to really love and appreciate the times I get to spend face to face with my friends. Being in college, and all of us going to different colleges, these instances have become even rarer. Tonight I spent a whole 2 hours talking one-on-one with one of my oldest friends - we've known each other for about 15 years at this point. Over tea and a peppermint mocha the conversation came so easily, as if often does between longtime friends - thoughts about the present and the future, though they did not dwell on the past as much as conversations used to. I'm actually just realizing how we've started focusing more about the "here and now" than on high school and other times in our childish past. It's as if we've moved on from wishing we were in the simple times of high school, and truly accepted being into a new part of our life. In those two hours we caught up on more of each other's lives than we ever could in a group of people or over phones or the internet. There was no confusion on reflection or tone of the conversation as there often is with computers.

What a nice chat.

Libros de Lunes

2010-01-11T12:10:00.000-05:00

Over the weekend, I did a lot of reading. With a couple friends back to school this week the reality of decreasing free time hit. Once I'm back at school with home work I have little (if lucky) to no time for reading. I was in the middle of two books, but finished one of them: Chocolat by Joanne Harris.

Chocolat was much better than I had been expecting. I had seen the movie, which made the storyline seem much heavier on the romance between Roux and Vianne, and though the other storylines appeared, they weren't as strong as in the book. I suppose I shouldn't be overly surprised, as I have yet to find a movie better than it written counterpart, but in my opinion, the focus of the book was much more interesting than the movie. Harris' writing was fluid and easy to read. She would switch from a true narrator to being narrated by the priest throughout the book, but the switch was rarely confusing, save the first time it happened and I wasn't expecting it. Chocolat was an enjoyable read that always made me hungry as Harris described the chocolates and sweets that Vianne made for her customers. I seriously found myself craving chocolate or making some hot chocolate every time I sat down to read. There was a statement about the inconsistencies of the Catholic (at least I assumed it was the Catholic) Church which though I acknowledge that it is not an example of every church, I did thinkt it was an accurate look at a corrupt portion of the institution (which sadly does exist). Overall I found Chocolat to be very enjoyable and worth reading. Harris has written some other books, which if I can find them at the library, I might just pick them up.

I am still working through "the number series" or "the Stephanie Plum series" by Janet Evanovich (not really sure what to call the series, as I usually just say "the Janet Evanovich books," but she has more than one series). I started this series freshman year of college, and have found they are the perfect read for when your brain is fried with homework, essays, and all-nighters (which I am for some reason incapable of, but that's a story for another day). This doesn't really explain why I picked up Ten Big Ones (or fondly known as #10) in the middle of my month-long break, but I did and I am still enjoying them profusely. There are a total of 15 currently, and since I conveniently got my mom hooked on them soon after I started reading them, all of them are in the house waiting to be read. Maybe this will be the semester I finish... or maybe not.

As one of my "New Year's Resolutions" for 2010 I decided to not buy any books other than textbooks this year, for a couple reasons. First of all, I have so many books that I haven't read. I really, really, really should make a dent in that pile (or at least decide which ones I won't be reading because I have passed the age they were intended for, and donate/sell them). The other reason is that I love libraries. I love the feeling of walking into a library as if it's your own personal bookshelf waiting for you to pick out a book. I can take whatever book I want and if it bombs, well, no harm done. Lately, I haven't been using the library much because I'm only home for about 4 months out of the year, during which I'm working, catching up with friends, etc. and when I am at school, Ithaca's library for some reason doesn't feel "fun reading" books are a necessity. There are about 4 little shelves of New Fiction, and after the books have passed their time on "New Fiction"... they disappear. I don't know where they go, but they either go somewhere else entirely or are impossible to find among the academic books. Another problem is that I normally don't pay too much attention to the books I choose in libraries and I'm more likely to choose ones that aren't too interesting to me. I hope to change this this year as I read through books that I own (or friends own) and go to the library on a more regular basis. On my list of things to do when I return to Ithaca: get a library card to the Tompkin's County Public Library.

A new year, decade, semester, and blog

2010-01-07T13:46:00.000-05:00

I started my first blog (which can now be found here: American in Granada) to keep my family up to date on my adventures in Spain this past semester. I didn't think I would ever keep up with it or find it enjoyable, but I gave it a try anyways. I was wrong on both accounts, I found it quite enjoyable and though I wasn't as up to date with things as I had hoped to be, I blogged a few times a month.

I enjoyed it so much that I'm now starting this new blog to post things of interest, or just ramble about my life, as uninteresting as they may be. I hope to share photos, websites, books and movies that I have enjoyed, interspersed with the stressful and happy times of my life.

Until next time,
Kerry