No one has any work for me to do today, so I am doing a training on the CONSTITUTION. Obviously law school was not enough training (it's a required training- even if I wrote the document I would still have to take the training). BUT STILL. It is ridonkulous.
I have eaten very bad things today and I can't stop. This morning was a donut (mmmmm donut) with sprinkles on top at the staff meeting. At the Halloween party it was pizza, a small piece of cake (mmm cake) and half of a cookie. I obviously have come down off my sugar high and now find myself eating Swedish Fish for the sugar content. Send help!
Motto
“If you get caught up in the worst case scenario and it doesn’t happen, you’ve wasted your time. And if you are caught up in the worst case scenario and it does happen, you’ve lived it twice.” -Michael J. Fox
10.30.2008
10.29.2008
Whenever you think your life is bad.....
Whenever I start to worry about what is going on in my life, something always reminds me of how lucky I am. I was casually talking to a co-worker today in the lunch room and she mentioned that losing weight has been hard because she never gets enough sleep. I thought to myself, “hmm I wonder why she doesn’t get any sleep? She looks almost sixty years old which would make me think that she is not going out to the clubs every night…”
It turns out that she is taking care of her eight-month old grandson. Back in June her son died and suddenly, the mother of the child got on a bus and left….leaving my co-worker and her husband to take care of the infant. My co-worker does have one day where she can work from home, thus helping her sick husband raise the child, but can you even imagine? You are done raising your children, excited about being grandparents, and BOOM, suddenly you are now parents again. This co-worker will be eligible to retire in two years and she is looking forward to that. But children get more expensive the older they get. How are they going to care for and pay for this grandchild? It is an awful predicament to be put in.
It turns out that she is taking care of her eight-month old grandson. Back in June her son died and suddenly, the mother of the child got on a bus and left….leaving my co-worker and her husband to take care of the infant. My co-worker does have one day where she can work from home, thus helping her sick husband raise the child, but can you even imagine? You are done raising your children, excited about being grandparents, and BOOM, suddenly you are now parents again. This co-worker will be eligible to retire in two years and she is looking forward to that. But children get more expensive the older they get. How are they going to care for and pay for this grandchild? It is an awful predicament to be put in.
10.28.2008
Where to honeymoon?
Yesterday we stopped by a Barnes and Noble to try to get a better idea of where to go for our honeymoon. We have been brainstorming for a while, but we had to discard a lot of our ideas because of various reasons.
Thailand/ Vietnam/ etc- October is during monsoon season. No fun.
Europe- I have already been to a bunch of European countries (Spain, Sweden, France, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, England, Belgium, etc.), it would be really expensive, and too crowded.
Caribbean- I did a cruise of many of the islands right after college.
Hawaii- we were just in Maui for two weeks in January
Japan- too cold in October
Mexico- I have already been….and it’s so easy to fly down there.
South Africa- we thought a safari would be fun, but recently realized that it was going to be too expensive
Fiji/ Tahiti/ etc.- CP originally REALLY wanted to go to a place where we could stay in an overwater bungalow. However, after checking out prices? Ha ha ha ha.
New Zealand- October would be their spring, so not quite warm enough for a honeymoon. Would still love to travel here at some point though.
Australia- CP says that he thinks that it is going to be like he is in Canada, just with funnier accents. I tend to disagree as I could hang out with kangaroos and koalas (which you can only find in the zoo in Canada) but the honeymoon is supposed to be about US, not just me. Plus, the country is so big that we would have no idea where to focus our two weeks!
After looking through a travel book on Ecuador/ the Galapagos Islands I think that we have made our decision. Ecuador has all kinds of stuff we are looking for- volcanoes, ruins, mountains, jungle (including MONKEYS and other fun animals), interesting food, etc. Plus, it has a Marriott in Quito (the capital city) so we can use CP’s reward points from traveling so much and stay for free. Then we are thinking about doing a tour of the Galapagos with a local company which should be fun. The country is moderately-priced, safe, and the weather will be nice and warm (80 degrees) the entire trip.
Has anyone had the pleasure of traveling down to Ecuador and/or the Galapagos? If so, have you enjoyed yourself? Or, are there any other places that we should be looking at?*
*We haven’t taken Costa Rica or Belize off the list, but think that those countries are the new “hot spots” to go to. While we know that either of them would be amazing, we want to go somewhere off the beaten path.
Thailand/ Vietnam/ etc- October is during monsoon season. No fun.
Europe- I have already been to a bunch of European countries (Spain, Sweden, France, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, England, Belgium, etc.), it would be really expensive, and too crowded.
Caribbean- I did a cruise of many of the islands right after college.
Hawaii- we were just in Maui for two weeks in January
Japan- too cold in October
Mexico- I have already been….and it’s so easy to fly down there.
South Africa- we thought a safari would be fun, but recently realized that it was going to be too expensive
Fiji/ Tahiti/ etc.- CP originally REALLY wanted to go to a place where we could stay in an overwater bungalow. However, after checking out prices? Ha ha ha ha.
New Zealand- October would be their spring, so not quite warm enough for a honeymoon. Would still love to travel here at some point though.
Australia- CP says that he thinks that it is going to be like he is in Canada, just with funnier accents. I tend to disagree as I could hang out with kangaroos and koalas (which you can only find in the zoo in Canada) but the honeymoon is supposed to be about US, not just me. Plus, the country is so big that we would have no idea where to focus our two weeks!
After looking through a travel book on Ecuador/ the Galapagos Islands I think that we have made our decision. Ecuador has all kinds of stuff we are looking for- volcanoes, ruins, mountains, jungle (including MONKEYS and other fun animals), interesting food, etc. Plus, it has a Marriott in Quito (the capital city) so we can use CP’s reward points from traveling so much and stay for free. Then we are thinking about doing a tour of the Galapagos with a local company which should be fun. The country is moderately-priced, safe, and the weather will be nice and warm (80 degrees) the entire trip.
Has anyone had the pleasure of traveling down to Ecuador and/or the Galapagos? If so, have you enjoyed yourself? Or, are there any other places that we should be looking at?*
*We haven’t taken Costa Rica or Belize off the list, but think that those countries are the new “hot spots” to go to. While we know that either of them would be amazing, we want to go somewhere off the beaten path.
10.27.2008
Your questions answered
Christina asked: What is the best wedding planning advice you have received so far?
The best wedding advice I have received so far is to have a sweetheart table during the reception. Some people may not like this idea as it does attract a lot of attention towards the couple, but married friends told me that it was their best decision. The wedding day is a whirlwind; having a sweetheart table allows the couple 10 or 15 minutes of time together before pulled in 20 different directions. It might also give us a chance to have a quick bite of food!
Libby asked: What is your favorite place? Why do you like to go there?
I am in a travel mindset right now as CP and I are trying to figure out where to go on our honeymoon, so I will answer this question two ways. First up- my favorite place that I have traveled. I have been lucky to have traveled a lot in my 29 years. There is one place in the world that I have been awe-struck and unable to form complete sentences because of the beauty that surrounded me. That place was Perito Moreno glacier in Calafate, Argentina. It is one of the only glaciers in the world that is advancing, not retreating. Friends from my study abroad program and I were supposed to have gone on a boat trip right up to the glacier, but unfortunately we hit bad weather on the flight out from Buenos Aires so we missed the tour. Instead, we hired a cab driver, woke up really early, and drove out to the glacier in time for sunrise. I can’t even explain the amazing-ness of it all as the sun started to rise and hit the mountains that surrounded the glacier. Although it was winter time in June (remember, south of the equator= opposite season), every once in a while you would hear a thundering sound as ice broke off from the glacier and fell into the water.
The other way of answering this question is to tell you my favorite place that I go to regularly. I could go the sappy route and say “home” because that is where I get to spend time with CP and Fuzzy Britches…..but I do not want to induce vomiting on the part of my readers and home is not always my favorite place to be because it means having to do the dishes, laundry, etc. Because we just moved to our area two months ago, I still do not have a favorite place in MA. I suspect that it will end up being a park (either local or state) close by to our house where we can take the dog hiking and get some exercise.
The best wedding advice I have received so far is to have a sweetheart table during the reception. Some people may not like this idea as it does attract a lot of attention towards the couple, but married friends told me that it was their best decision. The wedding day is a whirlwind; having a sweetheart table allows the couple 10 or 15 minutes of time together before pulled in 20 different directions. It might also give us a chance to have a quick bite of food!
Libby asked: What is your favorite place? Why do you like to go there?
I am in a travel mindset right now as CP and I are trying to figure out where to go on our honeymoon, so I will answer this question two ways. First up- my favorite place that I have traveled. I have been lucky to have traveled a lot in my 29 years. There is one place in the world that I have been awe-struck and unable to form complete sentences because of the beauty that surrounded me. That place was Perito Moreno glacier in Calafate, Argentina. It is one of the only glaciers in the world that is advancing, not retreating. Friends from my study abroad program and I were supposed to have gone on a boat trip right up to the glacier, but unfortunately we hit bad weather on the flight out from Buenos Aires so we missed the tour. Instead, we hired a cab driver, woke up really early, and drove out to the glacier in time for sunrise. I can’t even explain the amazing-ness of it all as the sun started to rise and hit the mountains that surrounded the glacier. Although it was winter time in June (remember, south of the equator= opposite season), every once in a while you would hear a thundering sound as ice broke off from the glacier and fell into the water.
The other way of answering this question is to tell you my favorite place that I go to regularly. I could go the sappy route and say “home” because that is where I get to spend time with CP and Fuzzy Britches…..but I do not want to induce vomiting on the part of my readers and home is not always my favorite place to be because it means having to do the dishes, laundry, etc. Because we just moved to our area two months ago, I still do not have a favorite place in MA. I suspect that it will end up being a park (either local or state) close by to our house where we can take the dog hiking and get some exercise.
10.24.2008
Family weekend #2
This weekend is the second weekend of three straight weekends of FAMILY! Last weekend CP’s dad, dad’s girlfriend, aunt, and uncle all came down to our house for a visit. We went to a small town festival before making a huge and delicious Indian food feast. Everyone was very impressed with CP’s saag paneer-making abilities because how many people do you know make saag paneer from scratch? I was supposed to make naan, but didn’t get a chance during the week to test out the recipe, so we used store-bought stuff. Then we proceeded to drink a lot of wine. Old people are fun when you drink wine with them!
Sunday we went to Quabbin Reservoir with them and walked around for 2.5 hours with Fuzzy Britches. The fall foliage was great and the weather turned out to be really nice for a walk.
Tonight we will be driving down to Jersey to visit my aunt and uncle. When I lived in Philly I used to regularly drive to see them, but it has been five years since I lived within driving distance- way too long in my book! Fuzzy Britches gets to come along and will hopefully play nice with their dogs. My aunt has promised cider-making fun tomorrow, along with a dinner party that night. They always have ridiculously amazing food and wine….so I suspect that the time spent at the gym this week will be for naught. But completely worth it!
I know that my aunt is excited to see the ring (she was a jeweler) and hear about all of our wedding plans. The problem is….we haven’t done anything or made any new decisions.
Sunday we went to Quabbin Reservoir with them and walked around for 2.5 hours with Fuzzy Britches. The fall foliage was great and the weather turned out to be really nice for a walk.
Tonight we will be driving down to Jersey to visit my aunt and uncle. When I lived in Philly I used to regularly drive to see them, but it has been five years since I lived within driving distance- way too long in my book! Fuzzy Britches gets to come along and will hopefully play nice with their dogs. My aunt has promised cider-making fun tomorrow, along with a dinner party that night. They always have ridiculously amazing food and wine….so I suspect that the time spent at the gym this week will be for naught. But completely worth it!
I know that my aunt is excited to see the ring (she was a jeweler) and hear about all of our wedding plans. The problem is….we haven’t done anything or made any new decisions.
10.23.2008
DC is a no-go....at least for now
I am so frustrated right now! I just got word that I did not get the rotation down in DC starting in December. Don’t these people know that my wedding is next October and I have to do my three months down there as soon as possible? *Sigh* My boss was SURE that I was going. I was going to be very busy, I was going to escape the MA winter, and I was going to part of a very important project. Instead? The next chance I will probably have will be in April which is around cherry blossom time but much closer to the wedding. Grrrr.
The gift of giving
Note: Thank you for the questions. I will answer them on Monday. And if you haven't asked me a question that you are DYING to know the answer to, ask it in the comments!
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What charities are important to you? As the holiday season approaches, charities will be asking for our donations, whether it is money, food, clothing, or something else. Do you normally give money to charities? Will you be giving less this year because of the economy?
All last week my local NPR station was in the middle of its fall fundraising drive. I have to admit- I hate when NPR has its drives. While in law school it was especially annoying because I didn’t have any money to donate…so I would just turn to other stations. However, NPR is the only thing I listen to during my commute to and from work every day. So I broke down and donated so that the fundraising drive would hopefully end soon. I don’t have a problem donating to NPR- I have done it in the past when I have been employed and think that it is an important thing to donate to. But a fundraising drive when the election is less than two weeks away???? I guess I just wish that once you donated, they would give you a secret station number so that you could get back to listening to the news and programs instead of listening to them beg for money!
My company is also doing its annual charity campaign for the next month. We can have money taken out of our bi-weekly paychecks to go to local, national, or international charities. These are the charities that I have decided to give to so far:*
1. A local homeless shelter because I already know that finding funding this year is going to be very difficult.
2. National Park Foundation. http://www.nationalparks.org/. As you can see from one of my earliest posts here, I am a big proponent of National Parks and believe that they are very important to preserve.
3. Heifer International. http://www.heifer.org/ I first heard of this charity a few years ago when my mom couldn’t decide what to get her siblings for Christmas. So, she “bought” them each a goat. According to the website:
Goats can thrive in extreme climates and on poor, dry land by eating grass and leaves. The gift of a dairy goat can supply a family with up to several quarts of nutritious milk a day - a ton of milk a year. Extra milk can be sold or used to make cheese, butter or yogurt.
Families learn to use goat manure to fertilize gardens. And because goats often have two or three kids a year, Heifer partners can lift themselves out of poverty by starting small dairies that earn money for food, health care and education.
Heifer teaches the family how to care for their animal, how to cultivate their land in sustainable manner, etc. Goats are not the only thing you can buy for a family- the list includes cows, geese, trees, baskets, etc.
The point of this post is not to brag about the charities I am giving to. The point was to hopefully inspire others to give during this difficult economic time, even if it is just a little. Also, it was to find out from you guys what charities you hold near and dear to your heart. I have already decided on how much money to give in total, but could possibly add your favorite charity (if they are on the large list). So let me know in the comments what charity is important to you and why.
*I might add an animal charity to the list, but I would want it to be a local shelter and I don’t know enough about any of them in this area just yet. Also, I would usually give to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer foundation, but I plan on raising money when I run/ walk one of the races next year.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
What charities are important to you? As the holiday season approaches, charities will be asking for our donations, whether it is money, food, clothing, or something else. Do you normally give money to charities? Will you be giving less this year because of the economy?
All last week my local NPR station was in the middle of its fall fundraising drive. I have to admit- I hate when NPR has its drives. While in law school it was especially annoying because I didn’t have any money to donate…so I would just turn to other stations. However, NPR is the only thing I listen to during my commute to and from work every day. So I broke down and donated so that the fundraising drive would hopefully end soon. I don’t have a problem donating to NPR- I have done it in the past when I have been employed and think that it is an important thing to donate to. But a fundraising drive when the election is less than two weeks away???? I guess I just wish that once you donated, they would give you a secret station number so that you could get back to listening to the news and programs instead of listening to them beg for money!
My company is also doing its annual charity campaign for the next month. We can have money taken out of our bi-weekly paychecks to go to local, national, or international charities. These are the charities that I have decided to give to so far:*
1. A local homeless shelter because I already know that finding funding this year is going to be very difficult.
2. National Park Foundation. http://www.nationalparks.org/. As you can see from one of my earliest posts here, I am a big proponent of National Parks and believe that they are very important to preserve.
3. Heifer International. http://www.heifer.org/ I first heard of this charity a few years ago when my mom couldn’t decide what to get her siblings for Christmas. So, she “bought” them each a goat. According to the website:
Goats can thrive in extreme climates and on poor, dry land by eating grass and leaves. The gift of a dairy goat can supply a family with up to several quarts of nutritious milk a day - a ton of milk a year. Extra milk can be sold or used to make cheese, butter or yogurt.
Families learn to use goat manure to fertilize gardens. And because goats often have two or three kids a year, Heifer partners can lift themselves out of poverty by starting small dairies that earn money for food, health care and education.
Heifer teaches the family how to care for their animal, how to cultivate their land in sustainable manner, etc. Goats are not the only thing you can buy for a family- the list includes cows, geese, trees, baskets, etc.
The point of this post is not to brag about the charities I am giving to. The point was to hopefully inspire others to give during this difficult economic time, even if it is just a little. Also, it was to find out from you guys what charities you hold near and dear to your heart. I have already decided on how much money to give in total, but could possibly add your favorite charity (if they are on the large list). So let me know in the comments what charity is important to you and why.
*I might add an animal charity to the list, but I would want it to be a local shelter and I don’t know enough about any of them in this area just yet. Also, I would usually give to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer foundation, but I plan on raising money when I run/ walk one of the races next year.
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