(Un) Balanced

Another one of the perks of working from home on winter Tuesdays!  Breakfast out with my parents & littlest nephew before getting down to business at home.  We stopped at a playground for a few minutes on the way back and Auntie got drafted into see-sawing.  Think it's a little uneven?

Full-Minded

Well, someone has a lot on her mind today.  I was going a little nuts this evening (& talking poor Justin's ear off), so I took some time to put together a virtual cork board for everything that's on my mind at the moment.  It's a different take on a "photo of the day," but it works for me right now.

I could go on about each image/idea for days, but here's a more succinct explanation (going clockwise, starting at the top left corner):

• Baby chicks!  (Photo from Cold Antler Farm!)  Because we eventually want backyard chickens!
• A black lab!  Because black labs are adorable and while we love Miss Sadie, one can never have enough cute dogs!  (Photo from here)
• Sherry from Young House Love painting trim in her living room!  Because we/I are/am currently obsessed with interior design & home DIY!  And because we've already painted two rooms in this house and we have more on the docket!
• A PhD from the University of Edinburgh!  Because I freaking love Edinburgh and always wanted to go back to live and I love history and I never said I wasn't going to go back for my PhD in it!
• A gorgeous, creative crib set-up (from here)!  Because part of my nesting kick involves tentative daydreams about furnishing a nursery and, you know, for-real-reals nesting!
• An APPLARO patio set from IKEA!  Because I've been dreaming about slapping a deck on this house for over a year now!

Hmmm - one might look at this inspiration board and say, "One of these things is not like the other."  And I get it, I do.  Everything but the doctoral degree from a Scottish university can happen right here in this house, in due time.  But because all of these things pull me in similar ways, they all combine & recombine in my head in logical, beautiful ways.  Off to Scotland for 3 years and a PhD, then home to build a homestead & care for small creatures.  Makes perfect sense, right?

What Season Is This?

The view out the bathroom window this morning.  As mentioned yesterday, we had some of Justin's family over for a Burns Supper and then we burnt our Christmas tree in the backyard.  Pine, of course, does not a particularly steady fire make (lots of flaring up & then losing steam), but it was a fun & fragrant way to spend an evening.

What with the warmer temps & sunshine today, seeing the chairs out there made me feel like it was spring!  This winter's certainly been a mild one - wonder if we'll ever be in for some serious snow . . . 

To the Bard of Scotland!

Some prep for our Burns Supper tonight.  Justin's cousin and sisters & their boyfriends came over and we enjoyed some elements of the traditional meal for this celebration of the life & work of Robert Burns.  We had cheese & homemade oatcakes before supper, then haggis, collops of beef, neeps, and tatties for the main meal.  

Then, we followed it all up with a whisky cake and cranachan, along with a whisky-honey-cider "winter warmer."  Enjoyed those last things (along with some s'mores) in the backyard while we burned the Christmas tree in our fire pit.  A lovely night!

Puppy Love

You know, it's really a shame they don't like each other.

Snowy Pajamas

The scene in my driveway around 8:20 this morning.  Now THAT'S a good husband.

Practically Famous

OK, this post is taking me too long to write.  I want to be brilliant and funny and praise the brilliant & funny Meg Keene of A Practical Wedding.  Her book about sane wedding planning just came out in January and the Boston leg of her book tour was tonight at Porter Square Books.  Meg signed 4 books for me - my own copy and 3 that are earmarked for some of the engaged couples I know.  Yay!

But as far as writing a long post goes?  Man, it's past one a.m. and so I'm just going to say, "I saw Meg.  Meg was great.  Go check out the website and the APW Boston Facebook page for forthcoming pictures."  Good night.

Home Office Sort-Of-Makeover

Ta-da! I present the result of about 45 minutes labor this morning - a new & improved home office space. I mean, just look at the difference . . .

Yeah.  I know it doesn't look all that new, but trust me, it's an improvement.  We got the magnetic board and picture ledge at IKEA recently and I've been waiting to put them up.  I love having the board right there now, waiting for notes, reminders, inspiration, etc.  And the picture ledge gives me a space to finally display my Bachelor's and Master's degrees, as well as Justin's Bachelor's and his Army Achievement Medal certificate.  His Master's in teaching will take over that spot once he's got it.

Hoorah for carving a more officey space out of the guest room!  And for under $30.

Book Nook

Oh tannenbaum, we loved ye, but we missed our reading nook more!  Now that the Christmas tree is out in the yard (for burnination later this winter), we could restore our reading corner and shelve a number of books that had piled up because their intended homes were blocked by the tree.  I mean, I love trees, but I also really love their products.

She's No Dummy

It's not a particularly cold night around here (around 27 degrees at the moment), but Sadie apparently thinks that having her face pressed up to the heating vent is the way to go.  Can't actually say that I blame her . . .

De-Christmasing

So sad, the day when you finally have to take down the Christmas stuff.  Here's a pro tip for ya, though.  Wait until mid-January, then it actually feels good to pack it all up & get back to your normal, uncluttered house.  :)  Au revoir, Christmas!  See you next year!

Snowy Morning

Finally!  We've got some snow on the ground up in this piece.  This is the view out the bathroom window this morning around 9.  Sadie-pup likes the snow, too.

Unionised

Pretty cool flag, eh?  One of my museums is preparing for an exhibit on women in the Civil War and this is going to be a featured artifact.  A local hatmaker sewed it from millinery scraps when she realized the city's first regiment did not have a flag with which to march off to war.  Love it.

Fighting Back

Just bought two placards and two bumper stickers to replace the lawn sign and car magnet that random people have STRAIGHT UP STOLEN in the last few months.  What the fuck is wrong with some people?  Well, now the signs will be either stuck to my car or inside my windows where you can't get them, sucker.

Snuggly Morning

Ahh, the perks of working from home one day a week in the winter.  Getting to have a second cup of coffee is one.  Getting to have a little bit of a lie-in with a puppy snuggled into your armpit is another.

And getting to see the husband off to his first day of continuing education classes (with the next-fall goal of starting his Master's in Teaching) is a third.

My Boys

So happy to be back from vacation to see this little/big boy and his brother.  :)  Missed them so much and showered them with Florida souvenirs this morning.  And look how freaking cute Thing 1 looks in Uncle's boots!

Wild Kingdom?

Last day in Florida, first visit to Buffalo Wild Wings.

Matched Pair

Butterbeer and Strongbow cider. A beautiful team!

HARRY POTTER HARRY POTTER HARRY POTTER!

Hogwarts from the patio of the Hogs Head Pub!

Up Close & Personal

One of two nurse sharks (either Thelma or Louise) who live at the Clearwater Marine Aquarium. This is the facility who rescued Winter, the tail-less dolphin star of the recent "Dolphin Tale" movie. It was my first time seeing dolphins and they are adorable! We also saw sting rays, sea turtles, and the cutest otters you ever did see.

Alternate Reality

A windy but lovely day at the pier at Clearwater Beach. I'd be shivering in my office at work on a normal January 12th.  This is much better.

Surrealist Slug

The awesome back side of the Salvador Dali museum in St. Petersburg. We got here too late in the day to want to pay the full admission price, but we bought some cool stuff in the gift shop and are now sitting behind the museum checking out the scene.

False Summer

Greetings from Clearwater Beach! Still getting used to shorts and sand between my toes in January, but can't complain.

We Have Arrived

Taking in the view (and a book on his kindle) in Clearwater Beach.

Sadie's Woodland Adventure

Yup, that's a cute little pup home in her house after a wild romp through the woods - unescorted - this afternoon.  She got loose of her lead while outside and took off for an hour or so.  This is not the first time she's done this and she always comes back, so I'm a little calmer now than I was the first time.  

It's still massively stressful, though.  Especially because she actually ran back through the backyard once while she was gone, but refused to come when called.  Then, proceeded to climb the embankment by our house almost up to the highway.  !!!  I ran towards the embankment, heart in my throat, and hollered for her to come down.  She didn't come back (then), but she did climb down, so that's good.

Sigh. Without sounding cavalier, she's my parents' problem for the next week, as we're off to sunny Florida!  Good luck, Grammy & Papa.

Side note:  I'll definitely continue to take daily photos while in Florida, but they may get posted in clumps or from my phone (which sometimes adds the annoying "this message was posted from a Verizon Wireless phone" message at the bottom).  Have no fear, though - the photos will be taken!  Today marks three months - a quarter of a year - since I started the project and I'm not feeling any signs of slowing down.  :)

Warmth/Light

I was going to post this shot of my orangey-pink roses and say how nice it is to have a shot of light & warm color of such a cold day.  Then, I looked at the thermometer outside the kitchen window & realized it's above 50 out there.

I'm off to take a shower, then take the pup for a walk on this unexpectedly warm day!  Justin has drill this weekend, but he'll be home tonight to sleep.  Sadie & I will have to amuse ourselves without him and I think a walk in the woods might be just the thing.

Plugging the Hole

Up early this morning to watch the littlest monkey while his big brother had ear tube surgery. Yucky reason for Thing 2 time, but fun nonetheless. Keep Thing 1 in your thoughts today!

Rhyming & Scheming

The above shows how I spent much of my work day today. January in my museums is all about planning. We're too small to be able to plan 2012 much in 2011. So once the calendar turns over, it's go time!

Eyes Front

Loooong day back to work today - was on the road by 8:45am and didn't pull into the driveway until just after 11pm.  All in all, I drove just over 143 miles today.  Very glad to be home and out from behind the wheel.

2011 in Review

Well, thank goodness, 2011 was a little calmer around here than 2010 was.  I've pulled together a sampling of the first posts of each month & it really reminded me of that. If you have a little time to kill, read through them & see what I mean.  

• January:  2010 in Review
• February:  "Maybe Bed, Bath & Beyond, I don't know, I don't know if we'll have enough time."
• March:  Hipster Company
• April:  April Fools
• May:   Where I've Been
• June:  Reversal of Stereotypes
• July:  Canada Day, Eh?
• August:  "Living the Content"
• September:  Extreme Family Cuteness
• October:  365 Days of 30!
• November:  Ridiculous Dog
• December:  Silly

I'm thankful that here in January 2012, I'm still settled in a lovely house, with a beloved husband finally home.  2012 - we're coming at ya!

Snuggled In

We've been puppy-less parents for almost a week now, but little Miss Sadie was delivered by my mother this morning!  My parents kindly watched her while we were in New York.  We're so glad she's home!  And I think she is, too.

Two-fer

Another two-for-the-price-of-one post!  Here are my photos for the first two days of 2012.

After sharing the living room with two of my best friend's friends over the weekend, it was nice to have the space all to ourselves on New Year's Day.  Not a bad air mattress set-up, no?

We got home from NYC around 7:30 tonight, after a stop at the IKEA in New Haven, CT.  I've liked this table for about a year now, and saw a bunch on "final sale" for $25.  So we picked up two and we're testing them as living room end tables.  They're a bit lighter and more open than my grandparents' old ones, and so might work better for us.  We shall see!