cause it's gonna be the future soon

I've been thinking a lot about buying a house lately, and I daydream about what it would be like. Apartment living is nice, there's nothing to worry about fixing, no driveway to shovel, leaves to rake, or things to pay for (other than rent), but every Saturday as I sit and stare at the beige walls, which match the beige carpets, and the beige kitchen cabinets, I dream what it would be like to roll up my sleeves and make my space, mine. I keep dreaming about what life will be like in a house, and here's what I came up with:

- Recycling. We try, but it's hard here. We don't control our trash/recycling pickup, and so far all we can recycle is newspaper and cans/bottles. Someday when we actually control these things, and have room for the awesome sorting system we want, life will be good!

- Gardening. We made a really great attempt this year, utilizing as much of the 8x12 balcony as we could, and enjoyed fresh cherry tomatoes, and as many herbs as we could fit in a window box (Jack enjoyed the catnip!).....but I can not wait to be elbow deep in dirt planting tomatoes, peppers, beans, peas, and anything else we can dream of.

- Mowing the Lawn. I know as soon as I have this chore back again, I'll retract this statement. There's something therapeutic about being able to see progress in what you're doing, and the nice straight lines make me happy.

- Projects. I want weekend projects. Painting rooms, doing minor repairs, landscaping, and other odd jobs. Other than sewing, I have no hobbies, and beautiful Saturdays inside an apartment make me long for flowers to plant and leaves to rake.

- Outdoors. There's nothing like sitting outside when it's nice. Right now we have a nice deck, but nosy neighbors make sitting outside not all that fun. It's also covered. I want a yard, and outdoor chairs.

feels like i'm flying, wings made of light

So in 2 days I turn 25. It's an age that in college seemed so far off in the distance, and in the blink of an eye, it's here. I have to say that I don't mind, life is good, really good. Don't get me wrong, work is stressful and days are far too long, but everyday I walk into the house to a kitten bounding towards me, and an amazing boyfriend to greet me. Life is good. Bring it on.

and the chair is a ladder-back birch but his friends call him karl

Two weekends ago I got the honor to stand up and witness one of my oldest, greatest friends Steph marry her soulmate Jenny. It was an amazing weekend full of love, friends, family, and wonderful food! Congrats you two, you both looked amazing, and thank you for letting me be a part of your special day!

I've been working what seems like non stop lately, putting in at least the obligatory 48 hours a week, sometimes coming in the form of 11 or 12 hour days. It makes me long for 8 hour days, which seem like a vacation now. I've used a total of 10 hours of vacation this year, and can not WAIT for the holiday shut down for a week and a half of well deserved rest and relaxation (hopefully).

We experimented quite a bit with balcony gardening this year, and were pretty successful. Jack enjoyed many evenings of home grown cat nip, and we enjoyed many meals that included home grown basil, tomatoes, dill (I made pickles!), and parsley. We also had a rogue sunflower that chose to grow above the roofline of our building to find the maximum amount of sun exposure. I swear by the time the wind won out, the thing was 10 feet tall!

In August, Heath and I finally took a day and went to explore Block Island right off the coast of Rhode Island. We took the ferry from New London, CT and spent the entire day riding our rented bikes around the island seeing as much as we could see.

It was a beautiful day, and we figured out that we probably rode somewhere between 10 and 15 miles overall, but we had some great food, took some awesome pictures, and now we'll feel comfortable taking any guests we have there for the day! This was pretty much the only 'vacation' we took this summer, between my work filled weeks, and Heath's work filled weekends.

Now it's autumn, full of apple picking, cider, pumpkin in EVERYTHING, and crisp, cool mornings. The leaves around here have started changing, and my birthday is around the corner!! The big 25 this year, isn't it crazy? It's one of those ages that seemed so far off when I was in college, and now I'm here, it's no big deal, and life goes on.

If you need some new music, Heath and I discovered Jonathan Coulton. A mix of talent and nerd which makes for some great entertainment!! Listen to Code Monkey, it's my favorite (and a sad representation of my job....)

ain't that the way it goes?

What a summer it has been so far! We've been extremely busy, I've been working a lot, and with the school year winding down for Heath (and the impending jobless-ness), we try to sneak away to enjoy life whenever we can. May and June have been a flourish of activity, and it's been great! It started with spending a weekend in the Adirondacks, I took a Friday off and my friend Amie and I (and her fearless pooch Roxanne) hiked Snowy Mountain. It was a great 7 mile round trip hike, although I was feeling it for the next 3 days!!
We had great weather, and it made me miss the mountains that much more. The weekend was capped off by spending it holed up in my favorite kitchen, with some of my favorite people. I love that camp still exists as my small piece of heaven to escape to.

Our friend Andy approached us with the opportunity to head up to Hartford, CT to go watch a send off game to the World Cup, so we took the chance, and saw a great game between USA and the Czech Republic. It was my first experience with an international sport, and I have to say it was one of my live sport highlights. To see 90% of a stadium cheering for the same team was pretty awesome, and goal celebrations were spectacular.
Next up was our Memorial day weekend escape to Boston. We had a lot of fun, spent some time at the aquarium, and then just spent the day walking around and exploring. We don't get to spend much time together with our busy work schedules, so getting away was nice.

Last but certainly not least was last weekend!!! Heath saw that Gloriana (a country/pop band I like, and he doesn't hate) was doing a free show at Mohegan Sun casino, so we went up to check that out, and got really good seats!! All the show cost was $10.50 for 2 beers, and we had over an hour of pretty decent entertainment. I have to say they surprised me, I wasn't expecting much but they sounded great live. That weekend ended with a Sunday night viewing of Conan's live show!! It was hilarious, and I'm really glad we got a chance to go see it. It got us both pumped to see him back on tv, and it was a once in a lifetime opportunity to see him live!

This week my aunt, uncle, and cousins come out to visit from Montana. They're spending 4 days out here exploring the beaches, and other things SECT has to offer. I can't wait, it'll be a fun little vacation for me!

Phew. And to think I thought my life was boring and uneventful.

as he handed her a daisy, she heard him say....

Gillette Castle

So we've been trying to do a little more exploring of Connecticut to see what it has to offer. We both miss the mountains, and are trying to make the best of having the ocean close by, and learn what it has to offer. So far we've explored the boardwalk in Niantic (it was windy and freezing, so the trip was short), Gilette Castle (really neat, we'll have to go back when it's open), and Roger Williams Park in Providence, RI (we tried the botanical gardens, which were awesome.....but my allergies won out, and sneezing with every step ended that trip).

And just because he's so cute, this is Jack. He's a pain in the rear, but he's adorable so I can't stop taking pictures of him.

As of late, a lot of thoughts have been running through my brain. I suppose this is the place to vomit them out. In no particular order, and without explanation, here we go:
a.) When did politics become more about who wins and loses than the platforms that the candidates run on?

2.) When do you give up on old friendships? Do you stop trying when you feel them slipping, or do you try harder?

iii.) How do we live in a world where people have stopped caring about each other? Example: Health care reform. It's a touchy subject, but I think if people would take a second to walk in someone elses shoes, they might change their tune. Swallow this one- without insurance it would cost me almost $1200 every 3 months for medications that allow me to live. If I happen to lose my job due to the fantastic state of the economy, and no insurance company in the world will cover me under an individual policy due to my 'pre existing condition', will all of you people out there who despise the thought of heath care reform send me some money so that I can afford to stay alive? That'd be great. Thanks.

d.) How did I get so fortunate to be able to surround myself with such amazing friends and family? I hope I'm as great of a friend to you all that you have been to me.

5.) I think it's time to start figuring out what I want to be when I grow up. Wait, do I really have to grow up? I would prefer to own a small cabin in the woods and live there.

That's all for now.