Goose
08/09/11 - Lori
Orb
Whoopi Goldberg tells me there's an orb over Shantell's head. I thought it was a spot on my lens. Whoopi assures me it's no spot. I've decided to believe her. See ~ Whoopi (Carmen) sees spirits. (or something similar, it's not mine to explain) I believe my mother is there in this photo - although I've known Shantell for many years from my MLN-days, we did not become friends until she started at GPS shortly after my mother passed away. I've often thought my mom sent her to me. Shantell has become my sister. (my grandmother actually said she LOOKS like my sister Cindy! I used to think so, too, but now she just looks like my Shanshelly)
She's become the big sis (even though I am older!) I turned to when I was afraid to get pregnant, she shared my pregnancy with me, and was the one I called to come to the hospital when Cassie was so sick - when all of our visitors left and I was tired of putting on the happy face, I sent Jim to the movies with her husband and stayed in the hospital room with Shantell and Cassie, where I could be myself and let my fears of sick babies and Down Syndrome let loose. Shantell is Cassie's auntie through and through. Call it an orb or a spot on the lens, it does not change the fact that Mom is in this picture.
08/22/11 - Amy
"Spa Day"
For Mother's Day, I treated my mom to a facial at my favourite spa in Aberdeen. It took her a while to cash in on it, but she loved it. Oh, and I treated myself to one, too!
08/21/11 - Amy
"Rain"
Well, you can't come to Scotland in summer and NOT expect rain. The weather had been pretty good for my parents' visit. It has been cool, but not cold, which they love, and for the most part we have avoided rain, except for today. Fort William is one of the most beautiful places in Scotland, and I really wanted them to see it in all its glory. Here they are, making the best of it....shopping! And the rain eventually cleared up, too!
08/20/11 - Amy
"Anniversary"
6 months ago today, my Viking asked me if I would officially be his girlfriend. It's hard to say when we started dating, because in the beginning I wasn't really sure if we were...a few months ago we celebrated the 6-month anniversary of when we met, and today we celebrated becoming official. I haven't celebrated many anniversaries, so I figured it was ok to celebrate more than one in a year ;-) I finally decide on a compromise, and on January 4th we will celebrate the one year anniversary of our first date. Yeah, I'm pretty sure we'll be celebrating that...
I had no idea what Matt had planned. With my parents in town, we couldn't really celebrate by going out to dinner, and Matt has been really bogged down with his dissertation. A few days earlier, we had been walking through the mall, and I stopped at a store to see if this purse that I had been wanting had gone on sale. It was a bit pricey, and I was only going to buy it if it was. It wasn't, so we left. Matt said he had never even noticed that store in the mall before! Two days later, he shows up at my place with a card, and THE PURSE!!! I honestly didn't show it to him as a hint or anything - I never expected him to walk into an accessory store and remember the one purse, in a shop full of purses, that I wanted. But he did! He also gave me the most amazing card. I had always wanted a card that said "for my girlfriend" on it (every time I go to the shop to buy a card for him, I see them, and wish...)...and I finally got one! Happy anniversary, indeed!
08/16/11 - Amy
"Teamwork"
Chicken Parmigiana brought to you by...Amy and Matt! He breaded and fried the chicken, I made the sauce, and then we put it together together...at one point in the evening one of us commented that we made a pretty good team in the kitchen, and it reminded me of something Lori once said about her and Jim, right after Cassie was born...I take this as a good sign :)
08/15/11 - Amy
"Rare Day"
After weeks of cold, rain, non-summer, the skies have cleared and the weather warmed up...a bit. I made the mistake of wearing a skirt without tights, and my legs were, indeed, freezing. Looks warm, though!
08/11/11 - Amy
"Viking in Scotland"
Who knew they wrote about about my man? And who knew he had it checked out of the library all this time and didn't show me!
How awesome is this man? Today, Matt left for a weekend away at a heavy metal festival down south, so he was up early to catch the train, and I was up early for work. So, we were both up early, and yet, when I saw this book on my kitchen table (he's leaving it here so I can renew it) and said "hey! pose with the book for me, and this will be my photo of the day!," he did so, still in his pajamas, no questions asked, no protest whatsoever! Sigh...my Viking... :)
08/10/11 - Amy
"Survival"
This is the only thing that got me through my afternoon. Cold, rainy and grey AGAIN (I had the heater on in my office, and was considering wearing my WINTER coat when I went out last night), and there is no end in sight. The weather has been like this for the past three weeks, and the forecast shows no change in the near future. I know I am a broken record about this weather, but it was never this bad. Previous summers weren't great, but this one is by far the worst. And unlike with hot weather, there will be no relief. It will be like this ALL YEAR.
On top of that, I am currently back in the office (as opposed to working on my research from home) grading the make-up exams of the students who didn't pass their courses last semester. (Summer is the only time I have to work on my research). And the crap with the riots down south is putting a further damper on my mood.
But the brownies from the Ki:lau (that's their name) coffee shop on campus are DIVINE. Words cannot describe. This got me through the afternoon, as well as looking forward to date night with my Viking.
08/09/11 - Amy
"Peeping"
OK, I am repeating myself, although this view is slightly different from the picture I took of Matt from this angle, through the tunnel of books. I just like the look in his eyes, you can tell he's smiling at me sneaking a photo :)
08/08/11 - Lori
Evening Routine
6:00-7:00pm: Papa eats, Mama gets home and plays with Destruction DeLude (tonight's newest nickname), plays with dogs, cleans up a bit and catches up with Papa if possible
7:00-7:30pm: Papa, "The Bath Mayor" takes Her Highness to bathe; Mama works on packing lunches for as many days as possible, feeling herself in the process
7:30-8:00pm: Papa starts his homework (online classes), Mama does storytime with Sleepyhead.
8:00-9:00pm: Mama finishes second round of dishes, irons clothes for next day
9:00-?pm: Jim's and Lori's evening together starts :)
08/07/11 - Lori
Waiting
This is my girl, waiting for me to put "That Baby" (as Jack called her) to bed so SHE can get my cuddles.
08/03/11 - Lori
 |
| Left My Heart ... |
I brought this little OR sticker to work as a reminder that I left some of my heart there. Or brought it back here. Either way, you get the point.
08/08/11 - Amy
"The Best"
OK, it is official. I have, by far, THE BEST boyfriend in the world. Today I had to go back into the office to do the August re-sits - these are the make-up exams for the people who didn't pass their exams the first time (no comment). It was 50 degrees today, grey, rainy...it has been like this for weeks, and I am absolutely sick of it. My office was cold, I didn't want to be there in the first place....it was just a crap day.
Come the end of the day, Matt messages me and invites me to his place for dinner. He also offers to come pick me up from work (he lives about 5 minutes from my office). (By the way, 'pick me up' means escort me on foot - he doesn't drive here!) His place was warm and cosy, and he served me up a delicious plate of comfort food in bed! (He rents a room in a house, so there isn't much space, but I was absolutely thrilled to be bundled up there, eating spaghetti and watching TV.)
After I left his place, I went for groceries, the sun came out and I saw the biggest, most beautiful rainbow over the beach. I wasn't quick enough with my camera, though, because between spotting the rainbow and returning my shopping cart, it had disappeared!
I returned home, and found this adorable little scene on my couch. Matt had left the house after me, and left this for me. Yes, Snoopy is watching TV with Tim Thomas (the Bruins goalie). This is by far the cutest thing that anyone has ever done for me. And there's a note :) It would take a lot to explain all of this...so I'll just leave it at that. He is, by far, the BEST!
08/06/11 - Amy
"The Best Day"
I guess it's my turn to have a "best day"....
I don't know why or how it happened, but Saturday was just a perfect day with my Viking. It didn't start off that great. We both agreed to do work in the morning, and then we would go to the amusement park by the beach in the afternoon. I had always wanted to go there, but hadn't yet been. It's not a huge amusement park, but there's a roller coaster, ferris wheel, water flume ride, mini golf, bowling, games, cotton candy, etc. Matt and I just had the best time enjoying all of those things :)
I didn't really take many pictures that captured the awesomeness of this day, so I chose to illustrate PAD with a photo that tells a different story. I have always been afraid of roller coasters - especially the ones that go upside down. I'm afraid of heights, and of plunging to my death. Still, I do like amusement park rides, and wanted to conquer my fear.
A long time ago, when I was single, I used to think that if I only had a partner, life would automatically be better. Later, when I was still single, but starting to have a more healthy attitude and ideas about partners, I started to understand that no matter what, you ultimately have to deal with your problems on your own. A partner can be there to support you, and can certainly help, but, at the end of the day, you are the one who has to deal with whatever issue it is at hand. So, this is a very obvious truth, and one that I have known and understood for a while. But it was really cool to have this very basic and simple truth come home to me in a very physical way when I went on the roller coaster. I knew Matt would be with me, holding my hand, but when we were on the ride, going through the slow ascents and the dramatic plunges to the bottom, it was just me there, with my fear. I faced my fear myself that day, although it was that much easier with Matt by my side.
And for that and so many more reasons, it was, simply, a perfect day.
08/05/11 - Amy
"Moving"
Our library is moving into a new buildings soon. The boxes are just laying in wait for the big day. As much as I hate packing, I've always liked moving. I like to think of it as a new beginning...
07/29/11 - Lori
Redemption
I did not enjoy Seattle, unfortunately. So much so that I called Paul from the top of the Space Needle to vent that I could not enjoy photography there because (a) everything there had been photographed before, so what's the point? and, (b) being there with Cassie was prohibitive of really getting to let go with my camera. Yet, at the end of a frustrating day, an impromptu sunset at the waterfront boardwalk after dinner was all I needed for redemption. 
07/26/11 - Lori
Griffin
For the first time in my life, I considered having a second baby when I met Griffy - in the hopes I'd have a little boy as sweet as he is. (Mind you, I've never wanted a boy) Then I got over that idea and decided to just kidnap him :) Unfortunately, he did not fit in our suitcase.
07/23/11 - Lori
Mt Hood at First Sight
Our first sighting of a volcano was on our way from the airport to Amy's house. It was BEAUTIFUL - we were so lucky to be driving when the evening light was at it's best. I texted Paul about 4 times in the brief 15 minute drive about the sheer beauty - I could not get over it!
07/21/11 - Lori
(I was going a bit crazy getting ready for travel on 7/23 and had to settle for this cell phone pic to PAD. This is better than the one I forgot to take on 7/22 at least!)
07/20/11 - Lori
07/19/11 - Lori
08/02/11 - Amy
"Viking at Work"
PS I was going to leave this one without an explanation, but thought that Lori would love this background story - When I stopped by Matt's to drop something off yesterday, I brought my camera, because I had spent the day in my apartment, writing, and was bored with/felt that I had run out of photographic opportunities there. I asked Matt if I could photograph his work space, and told him I needed something interesting for PAD. My first shot was just of his desk, my next one, of his desk framed by the horns of the Viking hat. Without my even asking, he volunteered, "I could put the helmet on and sit at the desk." So he did, and he even thought of top pose typing without me asking him to. I was thrilled! As Lori said, he really is a good sport about this!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)