A Very Important Anniversary and the Return of the Blog

I can't believe that I haven't written since December 31st...oops.

To get back into the swing of things, I present a very short post.

Oliver, August 2010

I love your cute puppy face.

I love how when I try to kick you off of our bed in the middle of the night, you just snuggle up even closer and sigh with contentment.

I love watching you catch the frisbee like a champ.

I love knowing that when I walk in the front door of the apartment, I will be greeted as though I've been gone for years.

I love that you follow me from room to room and lay down in the bathroom every morning while I'm getting ready for work.

I love that you have gotten us outside more so that we can actually enjoy our beautiful neighborhood and Frick Park.

I love watching you try to figure things out.

I love knowing that you love us.


Happy one year adoption anniversary, Oliver!

2009 in Review

The end of 2009 has been a complete whirlwind...I'm not even sure where December went! To pick up where I left off, on November 23rd, we got engaged (see blurry picture of ring below)! It was very sweet (and very "us"...rather than just being easy and accepting his offer of a glass of wine (which actually turned out to be a bottle of champagne that he was trying to quietly open before the proposal), this is how the beginning of the conversation went:

PJ, from the kitchen: "Do you want anything to drink?"

Me, from our bedroom, where I was busy putting his sweatpants on, not knowing that this might not be the best night to look like a hobo: "Yeah, just a beer"

PJ: "Um...are you sure you don't want wine? I don't think we have any cold beer."

Me: "Ughhh...just put ice in it!"

Classy.

But in any case, he still decided to propose and I couldn't be happier about it. We've chosen October 8, 2011 as our tentative date...that way we'll have plenty of time to save up and have a really fun, beautiful night!



December was full of getting ready for the holidays...I wrapped up the first semester of my MBA (4.0!) mid-month and had a lot going on at work and PJ was pretty busy with work as well, but we still made some time to make cookies (of course). Unfortunately, I can't put pictures up of the ones that PJ made (other than the tree below) without a censor bar. Those poor snowmen. Very tasty, though.


We had a very holiday-ish night right before we left to go to New York--"It's A Wonderful Life" was playing for free at the old movie theater down the street from us, so we went and watched that and as soon as we walked out of the theater, it had started snowing. The neighborhood looked so beautiful--just like Christmas. Then we went home and opened our gifts to each other before heading off to New York for a week. It was a week full of family, friends, good food, good drinks, and horribly ugly Christmas sweaters.


And so, here we are in the last few hours of 2009. For the most part, I'm very happy with how this year went--I got my first Master's degree, ran my first 5K, got a dog, saw Pearl Jam, did a better job saving my money, got engaged, finally moved into a decent apartment...it's been a pretty good year! I don't think that I'll make any official resolutions for 2010, since they rarely stick, but I do want to put this out into the universe--

I want 2010 to be a positive year. I want to spend more time having fun, and less time worrying. I want to spend more time with my friends and family, especially those who live far away. I want to be more careful with how I treat myself and those I love.

I want 2010 to be a

really

great

year.




I wish everyone a wonderful, peaceful New Year!

The New 70

Grandma Barb

Isn't she beautiful? This is my grandmother, who will turn 70 tomorrow (I can only hope to look this good when I turn 70!) We had a surprise birthday lunch for her in Buffalo on Sunday, and it was well worth the 3.5 hour drive back and forth! The look on her face when she walked into the restaurant was priceless...rarely have I seen my grandmother even tear up, but she looked completely overjoyed.

And so, in honor of her birthday, here are 5 of my favorite things about Grandma Barb:

5. She is an amazing artist...how many people get hand-drawn birthday cards from their grandma?

4. She knit an entire afghan for me and has enough patience to have tried to teach me to knit several times. However, her attempts were futile as I can't even knit one row without dropping a stitch and angrily ripping the entire thing apart.

3. Although she has a dishwasher, she refuses to leave any dishes dirty for longer than 30 seconds. The dishwasher is only used as extra storage space (which I'm sure she would really appreciate me telling people).

2. She loves to take pictures, but is very concerned about the lighting aspect of the picture, so, for instance, if you are sitting in a chair and reading a book, she will jump up, grab her camera, and say, "hold it!"..."wait, tip your head a little to the left...no, to the right now...look up a little...stop laughing, you're ruining the picture!"

1. No one else makes the song, "You Are My Sunshine" sound quite as beautiful. Also, no one else makes me harmonize on this song, regardless of where we are standing at the time. In the middle of the mall? Let's harmonize!

Happy birthday, Grandma! I love you!

The fam, after the birthday lunch

Beaner

Jillian and I, posing before our Senior Prom

June 2001

Some days, it is so, so good to have a friend who just "gets" you.

Pearl Jam!

Finally.

Last Friday night, I FINALLY got to go see Pearl Jam. I have been waiting for years to see them in concert, and for one reason or another, just haven't been able to go. But this year...ohhh, this year was different. I finally got to see them in concert with my friends Steph, Justin, and Gabe in Philly and the concert was SO AMAZING.

The setlist included some of my favorites, like "In My Tree," "Light Years," "Breath," and "Given to Fly"...some awesome new ones, like "The Fixer" and "Just Breathe," and some oldies but goodies, like "Jeremy" and "Alive."

There were so many points at which I, a) got teared up, b) grabbed my face in a Kevin McAllister/Home Alone-style "AHHHH!!!", or c) did all of the above, while simultaneously praying that by some stroke of luck, the concert would never end. I remember that at one point, while they were playing "Jeremy," I just stood there in shock. That was the first Pearl Jam song that I ever learned, the first one of their videos that I ever saw, and I was watching them play it live.

Great, great night. I'm so thankful that I got to go!

And even though they didn't play it, I leave you with some lines from my favorite song off their new album:

once outside the undertow
just you and me and nothing more
if not for love I would be drowning
I've seen it work both ways but I am up

riding high amongst the waves
I can feel like I
have a soul that has been saved
I can feel like I've
put away my early grave

gotta say it now
better loud
than too late
~

Pearl Jam, *Amongst the Waves*

Football and Politics...an Unlikely Combo

Tailgating at our first Steelers game!

October 25, 2009

I just had such a fun weekend...on Friday, we went to our friends' pumpkin party, on Saturday, I went for a run in the beautiful weather with Oliver and we went to The Sharp Edge for appetizers and drinks with some new Pittsburghers, and yesterday, we went to our very first Steelers game!


The game was AWESOME...huge win over the Vikings, although I do have to say, it was really exciting to see Brett Favre throw passes in real life! PJ was invited by our friend Brian, and I was invited by our friend Dana, so we sat separately at the game. Dana's dad has season tickets for the club section, so my seat was amazing. About halfway into the first quarter, we noticed someone very familiar sitting two rows in front of us...

John Kerry (who was there with his wife, Teresa Heinz Kerry)! It was so neat to see someone who I actually voted for in a Presidential election!

My weekend ended with a phone call from my long-lost college and post-college roommate, Megan, who I haven't seen since August 2008...I can't believe it's been that long! It was so good to catch up with her, and we made plans to go to the November 29th Buffalo Bills game...I can't wait!

And finally, I am counting down the days until I see Pearl Jam...only 4 left!

Home is Where Your Mom Is (and Dad, too)

A BEAUTIFUL tree discovered in our little neighborhood while taking Oliver for a walk

October 19, 2009

I drove up to Corning this past weekend to visit my parents, after realizing that I finally had a weekend with no obligations and no big homework assignments due this week.

I didn't even do anything particularly exciting...met my brother, my parents, and some of their friends out for dinner, drinks, and bar music on Friday, then went to the house and snuggled with the dogs...ran some errands with Mom on Saturday (including coffee from Heavenly Cup, of course), made dinner for the family, did laundry, and watched "You've Got Mail" with my parents...went to the bakery with my mom and relaxed on Sunday before the drive back to Pittsburgh.

It was the best weekend I've had in a long time. I haven't felt that relaxed in months. There has been too much going on and even during the times that I have been sitting down, my mind has still been going a million miles a minute with lists of things to do. But there is something about being home (not as much at the holidays, because those are busy times at home, too) that is just so comforting, no matter how old you are. You can temporarily abdicate your position as a full-fledged adult and just relax, knowing that someone else will take care of you for a day or two. I really miss that feeling sometimes.