First 100 Pages

If a book doesn't hold me within the first 100 pages, I put it down. I used to suffer through, no matter now excruciating, no matter how long - but now I feel that my time is too valuable to waste on poor literature.

The most recent one to bite the dust was John Irving's "A Son of the Circus." I usually Irving but after 150 pages reading this one was just a chore. So back to the library it went.

Currently I'm working on "Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell" which isn't a typical genre for me (it's 'adult magic'... set in the time of the British-French war in the early 1800s, it's about the last two surviving magicians in England). One-hundred eight pages and still going strong but I'm going easy on myself - the book was picked up for free by J so I won't feel too guilty if I decide it's just not for me.

It's hard to find good books. The closest library is really small and I usually don't get around to ordering from the inter-library loan. Buying used online or in the store is pricey. And then there's the matter of needing recommendations.

But there really is nothing like diving into a long, deep, wonderfully spun story, one that's so good you're sad when it's finished.

Berry Picking!

For my birthday I requested a day at the You Pick Berry farm... we found one in Woodbine, MD that had raspberries AND blueberries in season. What fun! We picked more than ten pounds of berries by the end of the day - plenty to get us through a great summer of smoothies and cobblers!

What fascinated me was the variety of languages we heard - Spanish, Arabic, Mandarin, Russian... so interesting! How did all these people find their way to a berry farm in central Maryland?

Anyway, it was a great day with great weather. I didn't take any photos prior to freezing the berries... sorry :(

Happy Birthday to Me

I'm official *in* my thirties - yikes!

Though I wouldn't go back to my twenties for anything... all the uncertainly with jobs and moving around, struggling financially... I'm happy enough to leave that in the dust!

Tonight J is making dinner by special request: lobster mac and cheese and a pork sirloin wrapped in bacon. Tomorrow we're going berry-picking (weather permitting).

Gratuitous Cat Pics

Road Trip!

We love road trips! Anywhere within a four-hour range is game. We've been up to Gettysburg, out to West Virginia, down almost to the North Carolina border, on the Eastern Shore up to Delaware. Battlefields, national/state parks, teeny small towns with great dive bars - all equal destinations.

Today we're heading north through Maryland towards Pennsylvania. We'll stay off the main roads and see what we can find. Some good photo ops, some good food, good scenery, and time together... the only goals.

Frustrating

It's always two steps forward and one step back with fitness. Just as I get in a great, rock-solid groove I either a) go out of town, b) get my period, or c) some other circumstance derails my consistency.

That's what's happening this week and it's just so frustrating. I try to think of blocks of time in terms of a month rather than a week - working out/eating well 23 days out of 30 seems a lot better than 3 days out of 5 for some reason.

All I want is to feel like I'm moving forward toward some sustainable, high level of fitness rather than always scrambling up the hill and sliding halfway back down.

Ugh.

My scoot!

I took my scooter in today for it's first tune-up at a little over 600 miles. Man does it run smoothly after a total change in oil and fluid! What a great scooter. It's the perfect thing between a car (which I can't afford and don't need) and a bike (which is just not my thing and doesn't really work for what I need).

The extra mobility is great and DC is not a bad town to ride in - despite the traffic circles it's easy to find one-way streets, left turn arrows, and quiet work-arounds for avoiding the downtown traffic. Plus I can park it right outside my building.

This is what it looks like:




I can't even tell you how fun it is to zip (carefully!) around town. Instead of trudging 14 block with groceries or slugging on the metro every day to work, I absolutely LOVE errands and commuting.

Still Couponing

It's been a while since I posted a good grocery trip - and today was a decent one!

A couple things made this one a little better than usual: First, Harris Teeter was having one of their promotions where every coupon up to $1.98 in value was doubled. So that's big. This happens about every six weeks. Second, Harris Teeter has started offering online coupons that you load directly onto your club card. These can be combined with paper coupons and there are usually some matchups with what's been in the paper.

So. Keeping that in mind, here's what I got today:

2 Sesmark crackers 2 for $4.
-Two $1 off two coupons that doubled = free.
1 Always infinity pads on sale for $6.49
-One $2 off one paper coupon and one $2 off one e-coupon = $2.49
1 Playtex tampons on sale for $3.99
-One $1.50 off one coupon that doubled = $0.99
2 Garnier Fructis deep conditioners on sale for $2.79 each
-Two $1 off one coupons that doubled = $1.58 for two
1 bottle Vendage cabernet for $8.99
1 package fresh strawberries for B1G1 (item rings at half off) = $1.99
2 Cucumbers at $.79 each = $1.58
2 Yoplait frozen smoothie kits on sale for $2.99
-Two $0.75 off of one that double = $2.98 for two
1 Harris Teeter moose tracks ice cream = $2.50
2 Helluva Good cheeses on sale 2 for $4
-One $1 off two coupon that doubled = $2 for two
1 doz. Harris Teeter large eggs on sale for $0.77
SUBTOTAL: $47.87
TOTAL COUPONS/E-COUPONS = $17.50
TOTAL OUT OF POCKET = $30.37

Not a bad total when you consider it includes wine, personal care items, and fresh produce. And check out some of the individual prices - $1 for good sharp cheddar, crackers to go with it for free, $0.79 for the brand of conditioner that I would buy anyway. Without the wine my savings rate would have been even better!

Third District

I am embarking on a photo project documenting my place of work.

Here are the latest:

Wildlife

This afteroon J and I took advantage of where we live and saw the National Geographic Best Wildlife Photography exhibit at the National Museum of Natural History.

These were some unbelievable photos. Just amazing. I have a soft spot for wildlife photos - they evoke so many emotions. For me, mainly sadness (interestingly).

The museum was crowded and that was our fault for waiting so long. The exhibit opened in March and we should have gone then. But today it worked out - I was working from an office about five blocks away, and J is a 30-minute walk from home. So we met up, saw the photos, then reconvened at my place for dinner.

Here are a few of my favorites.









I wish I could take wildlife photos like this. But I feel so lucky to have instant access to the museums and to live vicariously through these amazing photographers.

One more year for hubs!

It's no secret that I would drop everything to move to Sweden if Nicklas Lidstrom asked me to. I have been watching him play hockey for twenty years and he never ceases to amaze. No other active player has the league-wide respect of the Red Wings' own #5. And he's returning for (at least) one more year before retirement!

Here are some shots I took of him last year in Detroit.

New Goals

For the past couple years I have been on a mission to pay off my student loans. Last year I paid over 10k and I am on track to get them all paid off in the next 15-18 months.

To do this, I keep my savings capped where it is and pretty much put everything extra toward the loans.

However... I have been fantasizing of late about a teeny tiny row house of my own; with a patio and a little garden and a grill. Private outdoor space would be heaven, just heaven.

I am restricted in my ability to sell my home - I promised to live here for five years in return for accepting the 8k first-time home-buyer's tax credit. Two years down, three to go, but this is a blessing in disguise; it prevents me from being over-zealous and selling prematurely.

So now, with a goal to have 60-70k to put down on a new home by 2015, between equity in my current home and liquid savings, I am going to cut in half the amount of money I send to my loans monthly and put the other half into savings. This will lengthen the amount of time it will take me to pay my loans, but really, it doesn't matter. The interest is incredibly low AND tax-deductible.

So... onward... intelligently... sticking with the plan... and hopefully being in a new home in the next 3-5 years!

Cats!

Cat owners know that with them comes zero personal space.

This morning I just wanted to do my crossword puzzle in peace.

This is what happened after answering only one clue.

Spring Cleaning!

I live to declutter. I just can't stand a messy, crowded space. One of my favorite things to do is to clean out my closet but since I never re-accumulate anything it becomes more and more difficult to pare down.

But given that this is a very quiet week for me socially, I figured I would take advantage of time and go through some boxes that I moved from my last apartment but never actually unpacked.

Success - three boxes pared down to two and a whole bunch of useless crap thrown out. I did, however, keep some things: a photo of my dearly beloved horse, an icon of the Goddess Diana, some wall hangings. Chintzy picture frames and knick-knacks that I will never display again were tossed.

I also cleaned out the fridge and freezer and threw in a huge load of laundry including the comforter.

Later this week I will try to go through some clothes and get rid of things that I don't love or that are worn out.

Man... I feel five pounds lighter!

Maymont

We went to Richmond this weekend so I could meet up with some friends Friday night. Then Saturday we all went to this park/estate called Maymont. There are some bird pens with hawks and eagles, an enclosure with two black bears, a petting zoo for kids, Asian and Italian gardens, gazebos, lots of little paths and nooks to explore. It's a really gorgeous setting and it was a beautiful day to spend outside.

$3.93

This is what I spent to fill up my scooter today - with premium! It's a small engine so I don't mind using premium fuel - I still only end up spending about $5 every two weeks to fill the tank, and that gets me about 60-70 miles between fillups.

Memorial Day

Tomorrow is Memorial Day, also known as Furlough Day #3. Three down one to go... then full salary for the rest of the year (I hope).

It should be gorgeous so we are going on the first sail of the summer! Yesterday we cruised down to the marina to check on the boat's motor and I photographed a very regal heron, just chilling out on the dock, unafraid.



It's so nice to sail out a bit to where it gets nice and quiet, anchor, and relax with a crossword or novel. We bring sandwiches and sodas and spend most of the day out there. It only takes a few minutes to get far enough away to where the noise of the city totally fades away.

Vocab

I'm currently reading Vladimir Nabokov's autobiography, Speak, Memory. Like most of his work the writing is simple but raw and unbelievably descriptive (without being flowery). But Nabokov is intense. Fluent in English and French along with his first language, Russian, he writes in whichever language he chooses (as opposed to writing everything in Russian and having the work translated).

Even as a non-native English speaker his grammar and overall mastery of the English language is far better than mine. I'm constantly in awe of his ability to express himself and he has a knack for choosing exactly the right words.

I finally decided to keep a list of the vocabulary words I wasn't familiar with, starting on page 40. Between pages 40-47 I listed no fewer than twelve words - some I feel like I know in context but wouldn't be able to use them properly on my own, and some are just unknown to me.

So in seven pages I noted the following words that need looking up:

simulacrum
ultima
coevals
assiduous
prodigious
mycologist
stipitate
pilei
viscid
serfage
hoary
nomenclatorial

It's kind of nice to get waist-deep in a long, absorbing, thoughtful book and nice to expand my vocabulary at the same time.

No Personal Space

At the risk of coming across like an old spinster, I live alone and am outnumbered by cats. My cats are becoming more and more affectionate as they age and lately I don't have an inch of personal space. I have at least one cat on my lap at all times, sometimes two - who knew my lap was big enough for two?

This is a typical scene: lying in bed with one cat between my knees and one on my stomach, barely leaving enough room for me to prop up my book.

Encouragement

While spending some time this afternoon with my dear friend Rosie, it was brought to my attention that I have been neglecting the blog. To be honest, I've been a bit commitment-phobic of the blog lately. I haven't had the energy to write any long posts so I haven't written any.

But I'm back. At least, I'll try to be back ;)

While scooting home from Union Station today I pulled up behind a scary car - PALIN 2012 as well as an NRA sticker. Yikes. I tried to take a picture with my phone but it resized it so you can't see any of the good details. Let's just say I was alarmed and exasperated.

Thankfully the rest of the afternoon was lovely. It was great to see Rosie and I'm very jealous of her summer plans - Ireland and France! Sigh.