Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Celebrate!

Happy birthday to Hodoeporicon!!!  Today this little blog is seven years old.  If you like, you can read my first post here.  All these years in, I'm grateful for the following things.

7 years ago, I was a mid-level employee in a small company that I didn't hate, but I didn't LOVE.  Today, I'm about to become Co-Director of a museum that lets me see views like the one above on a fairly routine basis.

7 years ago, I lived in a cute apartment with a tiny gravel courtyard.  Today, I live in a lovely old Cape with a husband and three dogs and the view above ½ mile down the road.

Comparisons aside, though, I'm just really happy to still be here!

Monday, March 25, 2013

2013, Week #12

Here are the photos from March 18-24:

Oh hey winter, I thought we were just about rid of you . . .

On the other hand, snow day pancakes!

And snow day snuggles!

Thing 2 in the pillow fort his auntie built him.

Monkeys peppering a v. patient uncle with Pokemon questions (they were on stools in the pantry to be away from the stove while he cooked dinner). ♥

Just having a meeting in this room, nbd.

I want it to be nice out so that I can hang out here!

Two shots of lovely waterways from today's dog walk.

Cloudy sunset glow.

Our Easter egg from a very creative friend!

A puppy in the window.

Is it for-reals spring yet?

We attempted to upgrade 4 light fixtures on Saturday. Thanks to our ancient wiring, this is the only one we finished.

Soup & garden scheming for lunch.

Another new light fixture done! And a v. cute puppy.

Saturday, March 23, 2013

Shedding Pounds

I started using a weight loss app back in November and so far I've lost 7 pounds. I'm really quite pleased with myself about that, since I (like most people, I imagine) tend to gain weight over the holidays.  I'm doubly pleased when I consider that while I'm now 7 pounds lighter than I was in November 2012, I'm around 15 pounds lighter than I was in January 2012 (the 2011 holiday season hit me hard).

I use an app called "Lose It," which is a daily calorie tracker.  I'm allowed a certain amount per day for a certain weight loss plan - mine is ½ pound per week (slow & steady).  If I exercise, my calorie budget goes up by the amount I burned exercising.  Simple and a good illustration of the most basic of diets - eat less & move more.

I like the exercise list it has, too.  Almost everything you could want is on there, from clearing land to wii sports.  Since I live in snowy New England & hate the gym, my winter exercise regimen goes something like this:
  • walking (the dogs or around my two work towns)
  • snow shoveling (lots of that this winter!)
  • downhill skiing (really snowboarding, but same difference)
  • oh, and sexual activity (TMI, I know.  That one never ceases to amuse me, though.  For example, what's the difference between "moderate" and "vigorous" sexual activity?  I ask for no particular reason . . . )
This morning, however, I realized with joy how many more activities would become open to me once the damn snow melts.  To wit:
  • bicycling
  • gardening
  • hiking
  • running
  • swimming
  • yardwork
These are all things I do regularly in the spring/summer!  Now I can use the app to justify having another beer in the hammock (I did an hour of yardwork!) or another margarita at the lake (I swam to the raft and back three times!).  Sweet deal.

Sunday, March 17, 2013

2013, Week #11

Here are the photos from March 11-17:

If we ever buy this awesome IKEA wardrobe, I'm totally pasting a blown-up photo of Narnia inside!

What hors d'oeuvres on the couch looks like @ our house. 

Pretty sky on our dog walk.

Snoozin' in the car on the way home from the vet.

Yum!  (@ The Haven on Saturday night)

Fried Mars bars taste way better than they look!

Hosted a lecture for one of my museums today at the Portsmouth Athenaeum.  Love the bookish beauty of their reading room.

Sunday, March 10, 2013

2013, Week #10

Another busy week with not a lots of posts written.  Sigh.  It's a good thing I'm doing weekly photo round-ups or you wouldn't see anything out of me!  Here are the photos from March 4-10:

Getting a 1740 cordwainer's shop ready for its appearance on local access television!

Dinner for one (Justin was at class).

Foggy highway.

Purty road.

How awesome is the new fieldstone on my parents' fireplace at the lake?!?

Aww, sleepy puppy.

And SUCH a patient puppy sister!

Dreaming of spring during winter's last gasp (we hope).

Pasta fagioli and pecan brown sugar cookies by team #hecooksibake!

My loves in the (very) early spring sunshine.

Monday, March 04, 2013

2013, Week #9

Here are my photos from February 25-March 4:

Weekday scrambled egg & cornbread breakfast by team #hecooksibake.

Crazy hound dog sniffing the snow outside my office window.

Nephew hard at work.

Love all three of these boys.

My personal chef at work.

Work bathroom selfie b/c I love how this old rummage sale Brooks Brothers shirt looks like a Victorian shirtwaist with a skirt & belt!

Fire on State Street in Portsmouth today.

Keeping warm in a 1740 house ( and yes I know my boots are two different colors).

Massive stack of Sunday morning pancakes for the win!

Desk in living room! View out the window instead of a wall!

Sunday, March 03, 2013

Ch-ch-ch-changes

It's the third day of March and there are changes coming.

Outside for starters - I'm sitting by the living room window, where we moved the desk last night (swapping out an old, uncomfortable extraneous sofa) and the snow is melting, the sun is shining  and I heard birdsong a few minutes ago.

And inside, too - last week, I officially accepted a promotion at one of my three museums.  As of mid-April, I'll be leaving one museum, where I've worked since the summer of 2009, and becoming Co-Director of another museum, where I've been since the spring of 2010.  I'll keep my third job for the time being, for the love of it (and for the extra income).

It's an exciting change and one that will hopefully bring some focus as well as some stress.  For the last three years, I've worked three jobs in three different towns (while living in a fourth).  It's been manageable but certainly not stress-free.  The idea of working the job closest to home nearly full-time (~35 hours/week) and keeping my most-beloved other job as a side gig?  Heaven.

Plus, I'll only be working around four more hours per week with the new schedule, but with an hourly pay raise thrown in, it actually translates to a $10K increase in annual salary.  !!!  Sweet deal.

So here's to new beginnings!  I foresee a very fruitful spring . . .