gina piddles twiddles and resolves

The Perfect Salad to Start the Summer

2010-05-31T12:50:00.001-04:00

This morning I made good on my promise to be nicer to Philadelphia, so I did what seemed like the Philly thing to do for Memorial Day - I went for a run in Fairmount Park. And yes, I listened to Eye of the Tiger. But I think my hardcore soundtrack was warranted seeing as it was 90 degrees.

The lesson I learned today is not to take your credit card with you when you run because you'll come home with a lot more than miles under your belt. I ran myself to a Starbucks and got a bottle of water and picked up some VIA since I'm running low. Then I went to Philadelphia Runner but they were closed for Memorial Day, so I stared longingly at the hydration belts hanging in the window.

Somehow I ended up in Payless where I picked up a cheap pair of sneakers that have very little cushioning. I'm trying to transition myself to a more natural stride so before I put on a pair of vibrams I figured I should start with some basic sneakers without the bells and whistles I'm used to. We'll see how that goes.

After my run, I wanted something light and cold to bring me back to life. I found the recipe card for "Rainbow Salad" that I had picked up a few weekends ago while food shopping at Stop and Shop with my mom in NJ.

Rainbow Salad or the Perfect Summer Salad

serves 2

1/4 pint fresh blackberries

2 oz of spring garden salad mix

1/2 avocado, peeled, pitted and diced

1/2 yellow pepper, sliced

1/2 oz of crumbled feta cheese

1/2 cucumber, sliced

Dressing:

1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1/2 Tbsp honey

1/2 orange, juiced and zested

1. Throw your spring garden mix into the bowl, top with blackberries, avocado, yellow pepper, cucumber and feta cheese.

2. In a small bowl, combine dressing ingredients and stir.

3. Toss salad with just enough dressing to lightly coat.

Easy and very yummy. I could see adding some lime marinaded grilled chicken to it to make it into a more substantial meal.

Of course I made a mess while putting this together.

But someone helped me clean up!

Pining for the Pines

2010-05-31T08:09:00.000-04:00

Not long after my post about giving Philadelphia a second chance was up, I had packed my bike in my car and headed towards NJ's Pine Barrens. To be fair, I did last until 1pm in Philadelphia all by myself. I had even planned to take my bike to Fairmount Park and did some pre-biking yoga to prepare. During the final savasana in YogaDownload.com's Gentle Hatha Yoga #2, the instructor said "let thoughts in, no need to push them out" and I opened my eyes, popped up out of my corpse pose and asked Andrew if he'd meet me at Double Trouble park in 2 hours.

And then there we were...sigh...sweet sweet New Jersey...

I think I was a pine tree in a former life.

Piddling about Philadelphia

2010-05-30T08:09:00.000-04:00

The sub-title to this blog, gina piddles twiddles and resolves, comes from the musical 1776. I've only seen this musical once (Andrew and my family have done all they could to ensure there would be no second showing of my singing and dancing along to this historical glee-fest), but the phrase has stuck with me.*

In one of the opening scenes, John Adams laments the lack of progress made by the Second Continental Congress. Adams wants to declare independence from Britain, but finds that the other delegates are wasting their time.

He sings:

You see, we piddle, twiddle, and resolve

Not one damn thing do we solve

Piddle, twiddle, and resolve

Nothing's ever solved in

Foul, fetid, fuming, foggy, filthy

Philadelphia!

It has been almost a year since I moved to Philadelphia - at first it seemed like it was my 4th of July - I was setting out on my own, taking control of my destiny by enrolling in graduate school and starting a new job. I left behind my frustrations with John Jay (where I got my BA) and my job in NJ (where I dealt with a lot of BS) and started anew.

Soon after the excitement of moving settled down, I found myself cursing "foul, fetid, fuming, foggy, filthy Philadelphia." I had no interest in exploring or spending any time here, instead choosing to go back to NJ every weekend and straight to sleep after work. After a lot of piddling and twiddling, I realized that I'm not as miserable as I thought**. Things have been tough at times, but it isn't Philadelphia's fault. Even though my job has turned out to be a disappointment, I love having my own place and I love being back in school (I am too giddy when I get an A+ on an assignment). Philadelphia is not just a bunch of cranky librarians.

Philadelphia is the place where Andrew and I get to see each other almost every day. It's where Andrew and I have met some of the nicest people (see my pictures from the PHACT Jersey Devil Hunt). Philadelphia is where we've become running partners, study buddies and loving parents to a kitten named Eleanor Roosevelt. It's where I get to take a quick 10 minute walk over to Amanda's apartment to help her hunt for a mouse. It's where I can go to four different Starbucks within a 5 minute walk.

The point of this is - Philadelphia, I'm sorry. I didn't really give you a fair chance. So Philly, it's almost summer and I brought my bike from NJ and maybe sometime you and I could get to know each other? I don't think you're as foul or fetid as I've made you out to be. I am happy that I've renewed my lease for another year because this time I'm going to dig my roots deep into the ground.

*Ok, I also bought the soundtrack.

**"Man is unhappy because he doesn't know he's happy. It's only that." -Fyodor Dostoevsky

Andrew: More Than a Woman

2010-05-21T14:26:00.000-04:00

Andrew and I have been together for 2 and a half years. We're both in school, busy with outside projects and work. He lives almost 3 hours away. We're supposed to be drifting apart but but I find myself feeling closer to him now than I ever have.

I learn more about myself from talking to Andrew. I find myself in a new place and think "I can't wait to come back with Andrew." My brother's girlfriend told a dirty joke at a dinner party and I had to sneak away and email it to him. "What kind of bees make milk?" I ask him. A few minutes later, "That's lewd love." It was the response I needed to hear from him.

I know this isn't the best song to go to for lyrics but "More Than a Woman" says what I've known all along: "I know that in a thousand years, I'd fall in love with you again."

How You Know You're Loved...

2009-10-05T05:14:00.001-04:00

...if you come back from a weekend at home to find your mom packed a a yummy warm dish like baked macaroni and cheese for you.

...and if your kitten decides she may leave some for you after she's done!

Happy Birthday Love!

2009-09-25T06:33:00.000-04:00

Happy birthday to my darling boyfriend, Andrew. You are my best friend, my fellow burger addict, my study buddy, my long walk partner, the perfect person to share a cup of coffee with and my love, always.

I hope you enjoy your present and I hope you didn't get too full from our mini cake last night!

Weakerthans Concert at World Cafe Live

2009-09-23T05:13:00.001-04:00

Andrew and I went to a concert at World Cafe Live on Sunday night. It was a mutual anniversary present to each other because we both love the Weakerthans (even though Andrew will tell you when he first sent me their music I said, "The Wintertons? Winkletoes? They're alright").

It was the best concert I've ever been to - no joke! This even beats when I met the Cold War Kids on my 21st birthday.

When we got to World Cafe Live, we saw the band's tour bus and there were a few guys coming out of it as we passed. We didn't know it was the band and we pushed past them to get into the empty venue only to be told we were too early. Once inside, we saw the lead singer John Samson walking around aimlessly with a grey hoody on. He seemed to have all the time in the world and I went "BABE THAT'S REALLY HIM" and pointed. This made Andrew turn red and I think I saw John smirk. That's gotta stroke the ego, right?

The venue was great, we had Mezzanine seats on a nice comfy couch. We started in the dining room and split a delicious arugula salad that had apples and candied walnuts with a balsamic vinaigrette. Then came the burgers and fries - YUM. They were great thick char broiled burgers with nice crispy fries. Even the pickles were good! They were very filling though and I didn't get to try any of the desserts, but that's probably for the best.

Rock Plaza Central opened, they were cool for about two songs. The music was good but their lyrics were pretty religious and most of the choruses were just repeating a single sentence over and over. I began to really appreciate how well-written theWeakerthans' lyrics were and couldn't wait to hear from Virtute!

The Weakerthans sounded just like their recordings and played a great mix from all their albums. They interacted with the crowd nicely, despite the hagglers (who just happened to be sitting behind us, how does that always happen?). The best part of the show was when John played solo, even though it was just him and a guitar he filled the entire concert hall. It was really impressive.

They played four songs for their encore which was nice. We pictured an old manager backstage listening to our cheers and saying "The kids want rock and roll!" But more likely, they walked off stage, refreshed their drinks and came back. It was still a great encore, especially since they played Civil Twilight, my favorite song.

I would really recommend checking out their albums and trying to see them in concert. They are some cool Canadians!

What's In My Bag?

2009-09-21T05:24:00.001-04:00

The other night, I sat relaxing in my big comfy chair, chatting with Andrew online. Eleanor was asleep on my lap; I had the blinds pulled up and let the soft city lights warm my apartment. It was blissful. Of course, it was all interrupted when the fire alarm went off in my apartment building. I jumped up and began trying to get Eleanor into a copy paper box (she did not cooperate and I have a nice gash on my pinky to show for it), thinking "Oh my god, Gina! The building is going to implode and you don't have a plan." It was quite dramatic. I ended up leaving my apartment with just my keys and my iPhone. I had to leave Eleanor behind, which is another blog post of failed-mothering in itself. I sat on the corner of my block, wearing flip flops and crying on the phone to Andrew and my Mom that I was worried about Eleanor. It was not blissful.

Once I got back into the apartment (after about 20 mins, it was a system malfunction* - thank goodness), Eleanor and I cuddled and reconciled (GC: You must get in the box!!! ER:*licks Gina's chin* meow.) and I started to plan for my "go bag." I would not be caught off guard again.

While gathering supplies and ideas for how to prepare for an emergency, I came across this awesome collection of photographs at Lifehacker that show the contents of people's go bags. They seem to use "go bag" to refer to what I'd call a regular "bag bag." Sigh, my bag bag. My bag bag is like a security blanket to me. It's also an over-sized, overstuffed, unorganized mess that I throw over my shoulder and walk like one leg is shorter than the other because of. Here's what's in my bag bag (which is a great canvas bag I got on sale from J.Crew):

1. iPhone - holds everything, my music, my notes, shopping lists, calendars, books (kindle and audible audiobooks), let's me access my email, surf the web, and yeah, it does everything.
2. headphones
3. wallet - seriously weeded through recently to remove everything but essential plastic and (occasionally) cash
4. ibuprofen - sometimes I get headaches =(
5. hand sanitizer - sometimes I get germaphobic =)
6. random receipts
7. extra iphone charger - this is a recent addition, I only bought the second charger because I left mine in NJ.
8. hand lotion - this used to come in handy a lot more when I drove, I hated to see dry skin on my hands and I found myself looking at my hands at red lights.
9. a packet of Starbucks VIA, held in my VIA wallet - Yeah, I'm not kidding when I say I love this stuff.
10. bobby pins - left from when I had curly hair and would need to tame it every day.
11. sunglasses - I wear them at night.
12. gum - I like spearmint
13. coupons for Starbucks ice cream - been meaning to pick this up! $1.00 off!
14. lanyard with keys and school ID - I've been meaning to sew my own snazzy lanyard but for now I'm using one from the iSchool, school spirit!
15. water bottle - I got this one for $9.99 at Kitchen Kapers, it comes with a carabiner that I use to latch it onto my bag.
16. a spork - can't tell you how handy this is
17. an umbrella my dad got for me from Japan (or China, I can't remember)
18. a mirror, because I'm obsessed with myself
19. a coupon for 10% off at a local psychic named Gina, I found this in the stacks when I was cleaning. Bizarre.
20. Burt's Bees chapstick

Yeah, my bag bag holds all that important stuff that I just casually left in the apartment during the evacuation. But to be fair, I was too upset about leaving Eleanor to think about bringing anything else. Next time, I will bring Eleanor's new crate, her pet emergency bag, my bag bag and my go bag. Yes, I will be a bag lady during a fire drill. But I won't leave that kitty again!

Get in the bag El!

*They posted a sign the next day that said the alarm went off because the battery was low in one of the smoke detectors. Seriously?!

Back To School Without Paper or Pens?

2009-09-18T05:19:00.002-04:00

I start my first semester in the Library and Information Science graduate program at Drexel this week and of course I'm overly excited. But for once, I'm not overly prepared. My back to school shopping used to consist of a pack of moleskine cahiers, a moleskine planner and my favorite pens, the Pilot G2. I would print out my readings (or buy the books) and take notes in my moleskines, obsessively.

But, as an online student studying technology, I find my former system embarrassingly low-tech. Most of my coursework for this semester is in electronic format: .pdfs and .html files all stored online at our library's electronic reserve site. I like that I can access my readings anywhere (with an iPhone I can do my reading pretty much anytime) but the problem is this: I can't take notes easily. I can't write notes or questions on my pdfs, I can't highlight, or circle or do anything like that. Yes, there is software out there that exists to solve these problems but it isn't free, or web-based. That means I'll either have to tie it down to a computer (and I use 3 different machines every day - Dell desktop at work, MSI Wind netbook and iMac - so that's not convenient) or pay for a service. Maybe I'm an old-school student (haha) but I'm used to completely digesting (destroying) what I read. I write all over articles, highlighting important passages and underlining phrases I'd want to quote in the future. I haven't yet found a program that mimics that frantic inhalation of a text.

So my solution (for now) is this: I've uploaded all the .pdfs and .html files to Google Docs and set up my Google Calendar to correspond with the syllabus. Now that you can attach Google Documents to an event in your Calendar, I have all the readings for each week grouped under the due date in my calendar. I can click on the attachments and complete my reading for the week. Google's pdf reader doesn't allow for notes or highlighting so I'll have to come up with a way to keep track of the main ideas from the articles. I can open word documents on my iPhone but I can't edit them (yet, please say this is a feature coming soon!) so that means some studying/reviewing can be done on the go.

Sigh, it doesn't quite feel like back to school without a neat stack of moleskines and pens. Just like my post about ebooks, I think the technology isn't ready for me to go paper and penless, but the urge is definitely there. The nerd in me is panicking about starting a program without a trusted notetaking regimen in place. I wonder if I can have moleskines shipped overnight...

Books Aren't Dead and They're Not Going Digital (Yet)

2009-09-17T06:00:00.001-04:00

Books are old, books are dusty, books smell...books are dead! How many articles are we going to see about this topic? (Well, one more, at least!) I thought my input may be relevant seeing as I'm the target audience for ebooks: I'm a young student, a dedicated reader and a tech savvy gadget loving nerd. But I work with books all day long. At my library, I don't think there is anyone who has more "book-time" than I do. I am in charge of the shelves, I check in and out books and I lovingly clean and organize the shelves daily. I touch books constantly, I carry them, push them around on a cart, and pile and unpile them. When I interviewed for my position I kept asking, "are you planning to digitize these things?" The book collection seemed to take up space that could be better used for couches or computers. I thought students would be clamoring for electronic resources but I see now that we are no where near ready for that.

It comes down to this: until the technology that can replace books is free and ubiquitous, books cannot be thrown out. You will not see libraries without books until e-readers are given away in cereal boxes (or until we decide on a standard format that can be read in a web-based application that also has offline capabilities...now that's a crazy idea!). It just won't happen.

I want to be digital. I want to be paper-free. But it just isn't happening, yet. I read a lot. I read multiple books at a time (some for while I'm eating, some are better paired with a cup of tea and a sleeping kitten in my lap, others for the train, I listen to audiobooks while cleaning the apartment and have books on my iPhone's Kindle app that I read in bed). I'm definitely not married to the book as a physical entity, but I haven't been wooed by any of the e-reader apps or ebook stores. I've tried the Barnes and Noble ebook reader, and I've used the Kindle app for the iPhone. Both are acceptable; I can sit through a book without much discomfort. I don't miss books when using an e-reader but I do miss the money I spend on ebooks. I really can't see spending $9.99 on something that is digital. You may think my opinion is skewed because of my profession, but I'd gladly be book free, if it meant I wouldn't be without anything to read. I rely on libraries and loans from friends to fuel my appetite, and ebooks can't help me there. Let's all just calm down about ebooks. The future is not here.

For further reading:
Librarian in Black
Library Juice

I highly recommend you watch The Book vs. The Kindle from Green Apple Core. I link to part 1, but the whole series is really well thought out.

Image credits: http://www.flickr.com/photos/libraryman/ / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

In the Kitchenette: Famous Gina's BBQ Chicken Sandwiches

2009-09-16T05:24:00.002-04:00

I bought a slow cooker last year, thinking it was the pinnacle of easy cooking. But the chicken came out rubbery and dry and I don't think I used it more than five times. Not after this recipe. Helloooo slow cooker!

One of the biggest things I've missed since I moved into my apartment is barbecued dinners. Everything tastes better coming off of a grill. My favorite BBQ restaurant is Famous Dave's, where the waiters and waitresses reluctantly introduce themselves as "Famous Jeff" or "Famous Susy."

So I decided to make some BBQ chicken sandwiches for Andrew and I to celebrate our 21st month anniversary. I made the chicken the night before and toasted the buns after work. Afterward we walked to Five Guys and got some Cajun fries. It was divine!

Famous Gina's BBQ Chicken Sandwiches
adapted from this recipe
serves 2, for a very special anniversary dinner

2 frozen boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 long rolls from bakery
1 serving of Five Guys Cajun Fries
32 ounces of chicken broth
1 tablespoon garlic
9 ounces of Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce
1/4 cup Italian salad dressing
1/8 brown sugar
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
salt and pepper

1. Season frozen chicken breasts with salt and pepper. Place in slow cooker and cover with chicken broth (you may not need entire amount listed above, just whatever covers both breasts is enough). Add 1 tablespoon of chopped garlic.
2. Cook on high for 4 hours. Be sure that you don't "peek" into your slow cooker by lifting the lid. This interrupts the cooking process and is just naughty!
3. After 4 hours, drain broth from chicken and shred breasts with a fork. They should shred very easily, like butta!
4. Combine BBQ sauce, salad dressing, brown sugar and Worcestershire sauce in a bowl. Pour over the shredded chicken, mixing well together.
5. Cover and cook on low for 2 hours.
6. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
7. Cut rolls lengthwise and brush with olive oil.
8. Place oiled side down on a baking sheet and bake for 20-30 minutes or until browned.
9. When chicken is ready, scoop into rolls and serve with a side of Five Guys Cajun fries. YUM!!!

Library Links Ahoy!

2009-09-10T05:21:00.001-04:00

Eleanor likes to watch TV, but I've spent my time this week reading some good blogs. I thought I'd share a couple cool things I've read this week:

DUDES! Did You See the Library They've Got Here? by J. Byard Yoder on McSweeney's Internet Tendency

Dude, they've got the latest computerized catalog system—just roll right up to a terminal, type in your search terms, and it gives you a list of titles and call numbers, plus a little map to show you where they all are. Fucking Dewey decimal, man. It's tight.

I am the kind of person who really acts this way when they see a cool library (well besides the plans to wear basketball shorts and show off my tattoos while studying) but the satire is not entirely lost on me.

Yes I am a Digital Branch Manager, No I Do Not Regularly Build A Bonfires of Print Books in My Backyard & Dance Around it Wearing Warpaint by Bobbi L. Newman on Librarian by Day

I keep seeing the perception that by going digital, being aware of and, gasp! even using technology means that librarians and libraries are throwing aside traditionally services in favor of sexy new toys like Twitter. That in order for a library to have a Facebook profile first we have sacrifice 100 books to the Social Media gods.

Bobbi is always on the cutting edge and this post is no different. She declares that to embrace technology is not to hate books.

Just thought I'd share! Read anything interesting this week?

Good Quirky Cookin'

2009-09-09T05:17:00.001-04:00

Quirky is an adjective that people love to ascribe to others but take offense when called it.

B: Oh, you're so quirky!
A: Quirky? What do you mean?
B: Well, like eccentric. You march to the beat of your own drummer.
A: Eccentric like the homeless lady who feeds the birds or eccentric like an unappreciated genius?
B: You dress weird and you talk about cats like they're people.

So where do I get off calling these two cookbooks quirky? Well, they are written by spunky (another buzz word) ladies who do more than give you a list of ingredients, they entertain you. Recipes are weaved with larger stories about pirate themed parties with Wall Street executives or semi-psychotic threats to those who dare claim they have a better version of Chicken Tetrazzini. Let me be clear though, these ladies are the unappreciated genius kind of quirky.

I Like You, Hospitality Under the Influence by Amy Sedaris

This book is beautiful; I love to lazily page through it. There are treasures to be found on every page, and you instantly want to be a guest at one of her parties. The book is definitely NSFW though, as Amy dons just a pair of panty hose on the back cover and appears passed out next to a mirror and some white powder.

Beat This! Cookbook by Ann Hodgman

Oh Ann, I am so happy I found you. Thanks to NPR, who boldly proclaimed "When it Comes to Food You Can't 'Beat This' Book", I now count myself among your ~~followers~~ fans.

This book is the opposite of Amy Sedaris' eye candy: there are no photographs, no doodles, not a self portrait made from cheese to be found. But Hodgman's colorful personality leaps off the page, making you smirk and salivate at the same time.

Ok, so you've probably noticed I haven't talked about the recipes in either book. That's because I have yet to cook anything from them. But that's really not what a cook book is all about right?

Bruce-el Sprouts Fettuccine

2009-09-08T05:59:00.002-04:00

I love Brussels sprouts but I call them Bruce-el sprouts, after my darling kitty. I saw a cute bunch at the local market and scooped them up. Of course, I'd never actually made Brussels sprouts myself, but there was no way I was leaving without those cuties. Enter Google. I type "Brussels sprouts pasta" and this is the first result. Boy, was I lucky. This dish is the perfect way to welcome fall. The flavors are rich and hearty - but with just three main ingredients, it can be made in less than half an hour. That leaves plenty of time for crunching in the leaves or curling up with a good book.

Bruce-el Sprouts Fettuccine
adapted from this recipe
serves 2 as an entree
a basket (1 pound) of the cutest Brussels sprouts
1/3 pound dried egg fettuccine
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
5 tablespoons raw pine nuts
grated parmigiano reggiano

salt and pepper

1. Slice Brussels sprouts into about 4 slices each sprout. The original recipe recommended a food processor but the recipe is so simple I don't mind slicing them myself.
2. Cook fettuccine according to package directions. The trickiest part to this recipe is timing the pasta. You want the sprouts and nuts to be cooked before the pasta finishes, so be sure to get your skillet warmed up ahead of time if you know it takes a while.
3. Heat butter and oil in a skillet over medium heat for about 2 minutes. Add pine nuts, stir until golden.

4. Add Brussels sprouts and salt and pepper. Stir until sprouts lightly brown.

5. Once fettuccine has cooked, reserve 1/2 cup pasta water. Add fettuccine to skillet with sprouts and pine nuts, stirring together.
6. Serve sprinkled with parmigiano reggiano. Delicious! And easy, right?

Yo Yo Gurt 2 Ways

2009-09-04T06:00:00.005-04:00

Andrew and I have our own patented yogurt topping recipes that we each swear are the most delicious ever (isn't that something to brag about?). I thought it'd be fun to post them both since they're easy to make and very healthy.

Yo Yo Gurt by Gina

makes enough to share with your true love
4 cups fat free vanilla yogurt (I like Stonyfield Farm Organic)
2 handfuls of dried cranberries
2 handfuls of pecans
2 tablespoons of Grape Nuts cereal

Spoon equal amounts of yogurt into two bowls. Or, sneak a little bit more in your bowl. Andrew doesn't like yogurt as much as you do.

Sprinkle cranberries, pecans and grape nuts cereal on top. The Grape Nuts may seem like a bizarre choice (and some of you may cringe at the thought of being seen in a grocery store with a box if you're under the age of 70), but believe me, they add the perfect crunch!

Have a party, but be sure to keep your plate away from lil kittens. They love yogurt!

GhettoGurt by Andrew
serves me
16 oz. of store-brand fat free plain yogurt
a large quantity of plain Cheerios

all the honey from the eyes to the mouth of the little bear thing

3 "dashes" of cinnamon

(Depending on whether you're using the first half of the container of yogurt or the second, this step may be easy or super-easy, respectively.) If using a new container of yogurt, spoon/shovel out roughly 1/2 of the container in to a large bowl. If this is your second serving, simply slam the yogurt container upside down in to the bowl. Be sure to drain that nasty water off first, nobody wants Cheerios soaked in yogurt sweat.

Stir in your large quantity of plain Cheerios.

After you have a pretty consistent mix of Cheerios throughout the yogurt, put a second layer of dry Cheerios coating the top of the yogurt. Be generous, this will hold your honey.

Squeeze honey from the little bear-container on to the top of your Cheerios layer. Continue doing so until your hand aches too much to continue, you run out of honey, or you become winded.

Finally, sprinkle your 3 dashes of cinnamon over the top of the honey/Cheerios layer.

Enjoy, being careful to keep your delicious meal away from Ginas as it is a well-documented, scientific fact they will attack ferociously for a bit of honey.

Good Books

2009-09-03T05:33:00.004-04:00

Here are a couple of (audio)books that I find myself referencing all too often:

1. What Would Google Do? by Jeff Jarvis

I love this book. Jarvis takes a look at Google's business model and blows it up. He explores why what they do works and how the basic tenants can be applied to a diverse number of industries. I found it really accessible; I didn't need to know about about economics or technology to get what Jarvis was saying. WWGD? is the kind of book that anyone could pick up and find something useful.

Jarvis narrates the audiobook himself and says "Google Juice" enough to make you giggle.

Also, you can find more of Jeff on his blog buzzmachine.com and on the new podcast with Leo Laporte and Gina Trapani, This Week in Google.

2. Free by Chris Anderson

Anderson explores the history of free products and services and explains how the internet changes the basic structure of our economy. This isn't for the worst though, as Anderson stresses that free can be profitable. He has a lot of great examples that take you outside the obvious ad based revenue structure and you'll find yourself scheming new entrepreneurial businesses in no time. I found it the perfect remedy for my Google Juice withdrawal.

You had to expect, the unabridged version of the audiobook is FREE! ACT NOW! NO MONEY DOWN NO OBLIGATION! HURRY! Ahem, sorry. The abridged will cost you $18.99 on Audible.com unless you have a membership.

How To Turn Your Apartment Into a Starbucks

2009-09-02T05:24:00.003-04:00

I love Starbucks. I love being inside a Starbucks, I love drinking Starbucks coffee and I love trying all the treats they offer (scones! yogurt parfaits! roasted almonds! oh my!). But since I've become a mother, I want to spend more time at home and less time at Starbucks (sorry!). Yes, I am now a stay-at-home-Mom. Of a cat.

So to help with the inevitable Starbucks withdrawal, I've been working on recreating the Starbucks experience in my apartment. I started with the coffee: Starbucks VIA* (previously reviewed here, with a fun related craft project here) is an impressive at home version that is easy to make and incredibly delicious. Next I recreated my favorite meal: the power protein plate.

Starbucks At Home

serves 1

1 mini whole wheat bagel

1 tablespoon reduced fat peanut butter

a tiny fistful of red seedless grapes

2 slices of fresh mozzarella cheese

1 hard boiled egg, salted and peppered

1/2 apple, sliced

your favorite mug full of water (ain't I specific?)

1 packet of Starbucks VIA

1 music player (your computer, a "stereo" etc.)

1 copy of the New York Times or 1 laptop computer

1 iPod

1. Turn on every lamp in your apartment but keep any overhead lights off. This is called mood lighting.

2. Put on a playlist (loud) that includes a mixture of Dashboard Confessional, Bob Dylan, Motown and some strange samba music. Be sure to include some John Mayer and John Legend. You don't have to like this music, just listen to it. It is part of the experience.

3. Microwave your mug full of water for 2.5 minutes. Add packet of Starbucks VIA and stir.

4. Spread the peanut butter on the whole wheat bagel, arrange on plate with hard boiled egg, apple, cheese and grapes.

5. Lay out the New York Times in front of you (or go to nytimes.com on your laptop).

6. Turn on your ipod (yes, I know there is already music playing but this music is your choice) and put it up really loud to try to drown out the John Mayer.

7. Yell "VENTI CHAI LATTE NO FOAM" every so often.

8. Smile at the sleeping kitten on your lap. Know that you can recreate the feeling of a Starbucks but you can never fake the feeling of home.

9. Remember that they don't stay kittens forever, and that they also don't stay asleep forever and will soon investigate the leftovers of your Starbucks experiment.

* I just found out VIA will be available in stores at the end of September!

How a Geek Answers "Where You At?"

2009-09-01T06:11:00.005-04:00

I got Andrew an iPhone for his birthday (read about it here) for a few reasons: 1. He's a great guy (in fact, he's the best!) and deserves to be spoiled 2. I knew he wanted one and 3. I wanted someone to play iPhone geek with.

Since we're currently living in different states, Andrew has been kind enough to undertake the crazy 2 hour 45 minute trip to Philadelphia to come see me. We usually meet after I get out of work but sometimes our timing is off and his train arrives late. If you've ever tried to coordinate where to meet with someone as you're both walking then you know our dilemma. "Where are you? By the what? Which statue? Ok, I'll meet you at 15th and Chestnut...oh you're at 17th? Ok, I'll meet you at 17th and market...You're already at the building?"

Thankfully, with a set of iPhones and a healthy dosage of geek, Andrew and I no longer have to describe where we are through a wonky series of labels like, "I just passed the Starbucks with the lady who was feeding her dog a blueberry scone with a bib on, no not the one where the guy was in the bathroom for 3 hours, the other one..."

So, to reduce the time spent wandering and rambling about scones, we tested three free location sharing apps for the iPhone; our reviews follow:

Google Latitude

So far away!

Google Latitude is a web-based program (like Gmail or Google Reader) that let's you sync your location on a Google Map. You can share that location with contacts you've approved and see the location of contacts who either set their status to public or send you an invitation.

Pros: Since it is part of the Google family, there's not a lot of set up involved. It uses your buddy icon from Gmail, gives you access to all your contacts and works with other Google products like Talk and your Google Profile. You can set it so that your chat contacts can see your location (it will be set as your status) and also have your Google Profile reflect changes in your location as well (these changes will only be visible to your contacts, which cuts down on the creepy stalker situation greatly). The integration could be smoother though, as with any Google product, finding the features is the hardest part.

Cons: Because this isn't a full-blown application for the iPhone, you'll have to set up a bookmark on the home screen to google.com/latitude. This means that every time you want to broadcast your location, you'll open a new window of Safari. The windows can pile up if you're not diligent in closing them. As mentioned, there is backward integration with other Google products, such as Talk and Profiles. However, in the case of Google Talk, the page to enable the features is more than a little bit buried, and somewhat confusing:

It took a few readings of the Tip! portion to really gather what they're instructing me to do. If I'm understanding it properly, by enabling the location status feature, my status will be automatically updated with my current location. However, if I set a custom status, and wish to switch back, I have to update my status with "loc:on". I get it, I think. The biggest con though, is that the location is far from reliable. We found the location was at least 2 blocks off. In a small town this may be acceptable, but in a city, 2 blocks is the difference between enjoying an iced Americano together and finding yourself tangled in a bum's kitchen. Also a somewhat annoying aspect of Latitude is the fact that while it is a web-based application, you can't actually just view it on your laptop or desktop computer in a browser. You only have the choice of checking your friends locations on your phone, or via your iGoogle page, through their widget.

Wish It Had: The ability to place your location on a custom Google Map so you could add your own markers like "The Really Dirty Dunkin Donuts" and know where to avoid. And of course, more accurate maps. And while we're being demanding, it'd be nice to have a way to nudge your friends to update their status and the ability to list your location as a set of cross-streets instead of just City, State. Furthermore, embedding the location update code throughout Google's suite of mobile products would be a worthwhile addition, especially for iPhone users, who lack the ability to run Latitude in the background. I use Google Maps, Reader, and Mail for my domain pretty regularly, and would imagine there would never be more than an hour or two between my location updates if Latitude was rolled in to them. This could be opt-in, of course, to minimize privacy concerns.

Loopt

Loopt status updates display your buddy icon, a custom tweet-like message, a picture you either take or upload and the cross-street of your location

We both really wish we liked Loopt. It has a great interface, and some interesting social networking features, like the ability to sync your location updates with Facebook and Twitter (because really, don't all your friends need to know where you are all the time?). You can create a Journal where you upload pictures and write small twitter like status updates that are linked to your location. Think Twitpic, but with your location. There is also a Mix feature which we didn't test as we're both incredibly anti-social and have no interest in finding anyone but each other (and ourselves...cue sappy music).

Andrew's Loopt Journal

Pros: Loopt uses Microsoft's Virtual Earth and with great results. At worst, it was one block off. Even better, it gives you a pin point location on the map as well as the cross-streets. This is incredibly useful when navigating a city. You can also use GPS to get directions to where one of your friends is. But the strange thing is that it opens up the Google Map's app to give you the directions. This seems strange, since Microsoft's Virtual Earth actually appears to interact with the iPhone's GPS much more accurately. While the directions via Google Maps utilize the positioning of both you and your friend as seen on Microsoft Virtual Earth, the transition is disconcerting to those who have accuracy issues with Google Maps.

Loopt opens the Google Maps app to give you directions to your contact

Cons: The Ping feature looks like it would be cool, but ends up being the killer for this almost-killer app. Basically, you "ping" a contact to request a location update from them. They get a text message from a funky phone number with a rambling message that tells them to load Loopt.

The text message includes the person's phone number and location which is helpful, but makes you load Loopt yourself

They then have to open Loopt and update their location in order for you to see it. You then get a pong text message of where they are. If you need to see this on a map, you'll have to exit your messages and load Loopt. It is extremely frustrating and subsequently why we don't use Loopt anymore.

¿ lame ?

Wish It Had: Fewer Twitter clone features and more of a focus on making pings and pongs a smooth interaction. Seriously, Loopt, you'd be our boy wonder if you just fixed that silly Ping feature!

HeyWAY

A typical HeyWAY status update, shows the contact's name on top along with the timestamp for the location

HeyWAY is app with the least amount of pomp and circumstance, but it's our app of choice. Why? Because the folks at HeyWAY keep it simple. No social aspect, besides adding contacts (which is done by setting up an account with heyWAY, it uses Google Maps with acceptable accuracy and it has an easy and (most importantly) functioning location request feature.

Easy breezy beautiful

Pros: The best part about this app is the location update alert. With three graceful swipes of your touchscreen, you can select a contact to request an update from. A pop up appears indicating that you'd like them to update their location, and you get back a pop up that they've updated. The pop ups include links to open HeyWAY, making it very easy to send and receive status information.

You can also send your location to someone else, which is even more streamlined. You send them your location, they get a notification and by clicking on the notification it loads HeyWAY and jumps them right to your location on a map.

Cons: Since it is a free app, there are ads every so often. Which is understandable but distracting on the map page. I really can't tell if those lines are straight or not and it's hot out, I just stepped in gum and I'm trying to find my boyfriend. Can't they be on the home screen?

Wish It Had: The ability to use customized Google Maps, cross-street location updates and maybe some of the cool social features of Loopt. But don't change too much HeyWAY, we like you even without all those bells and whistles.

Bottom Line: If you're part of a dynamic anti-social long-distance iPhone-loving duo, HeyWAY just might be the app for you. Otherwise, Loopt and Latitude have some great features and are worth a shot! Remember, these apps get their value from being used by others, so make sure that if your friends are all on Latitude you're not pinging them from Loopt.

Have other apps you think we should test drive? Let us know!

This article wouldn't be possible without my partner in crime Andrew. Check out his blog for more interesting tech tips and sarcastic quips!

Why Libraries are Awesome

2009-08-31T10:32:00.000-04:00

Welcome to my entry for the Louisville Free Public Library Blogathon on Why Libraries Kick Ass. The Louisville Library suffered after a flood left 4 feet of water in their building. For more information about the blogathon, check out the wiki. Please be sure to donate the Louisville Free Public Library Foundation by visiting http://www.lfplfoundation.org/.

Today's Blogathon is supposed to be about why libraries kick ass. But, before I go on and on about how great libraries are, I have a confession: I was not the biggest fan of libraries for a long time. In fact, before getting a job at a library and enrolling in library school, I hadn't set foot in a library in years! It wasn't always this way. Growing up, I lived 3 houses down from the local library and spent many days begging my mom to let me go there alone.

The summer before I started 4th grade, I saw the Disney movie Pocahontas. I became convinced that my first assignment in 4th grade would be to write a report on Pocahontas and thus set myself up in the library to get a head start (I'm sure this is how 10 year olds across the country spent that summer). I researched tirelessly, learning about Pocahontas' tribe and the conditions of sea travel during that time. I filled a purple binder with notes and photocopies of pictures from encyclopedias (remember those?) of Pocahontas and John Smith. My research became so intense that I started using the private study rooms. Who could focus in the childrens' reading room?

The "real" Pocahontas

One afternoon, I was working on a chart that compared the movie and the real-life Pocahontas. There were other people in the quiet study room and one older gentleman asked me what I was working on. I showed him my binder and we talked for a bit. About 5 minutes later, a librarian came into the study room and asked me to leave. I asked why, and she said that people had complained that I was talking and making too much noise. No one had entered or left the room. I said that the other patron had asked me questions, and he agreed that if anyone was talking, it was him. She then said that I was too young to be in the study room, "it was not a play room" and I had to leave the library. Leave the library? Could you imagine? This was the ultimate tragedy for a nerdy kid like me. She didn't ban me from the library entirely but I assumed a voluntary exile. I never went back. In fact, I avoided libraries as a whole (thank goodness for electronic resources!) until I actually started working at one. No matter how wide a librarian's smile was, I was always nervous that I'd soon be pushed out the door.

The point to all this is: not all libraries kick ass. The reputation of libraries, like all public establishments, are at the mercy of their staff. For all intents and purposes, librarians are libraries. Get a good group together, and you can do something special. But with just one bad egg - you will lose patronage. It doesn't matter if you're having a bad day, no patron should ever be treated with anything but kindness and respect. Library staff need to know that they don't just represent themselves or their individual library, but that they can turn people off to the idea of libraries entirely. There is a reason that librarians have a reputation for being stiff and curmudgeonly: a lot of them are. My recommendation to any staff member at a library is to recognize the stereotypes associated with our profession, and work daily to dispel them. Be friendly, be helpful, be understanding and be curious! Learn something new everyday that you can pass on to your patrons. That is the kind of thing that makes patrons love their librarians and in turn, libraries.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/blg3/ / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

I love this! Librarian of the ~~future~~ now!

So, if you want to be married to your dusty books and rules, go for it. But it's the libraries with staff who are open (to the public, to new ideas and technology) that will and do kick ass.

And because I don't want my post to be too preachy and downtrodden on the library lot, I will share 10 reasons why my library kicks ass:

We saw that our patrons were lining up at the door before opening (even though we have an area open 24 hours), and changed our operating hours to serve them better.
We know what students mean when they ask for "Med Surg" and rush to get Medical-surgical nursing : patient-centered collaborative care off reserve (WY 161 I24m!!) so that they can get to studying. And that book is heeeavy. But we don't complain!
We talk with our patrons and help find the books they're looking for, even if all they know is that "it's blue and on biochemistry."
We let the students sleep.
We hold students' hands throughout the thesis process, letting them cry, yell and jump for joy once it is finally done (That's all you, Diane!).
We greet our patrons every day with a smile.
We ask, is there anything I can help you with? But more importantly, we really want to help.
We don't judge when students come to the circulation desk with a tub of ice cream and a chick flick to take out during finals week.
We know the students are tired and late for class and try to make every transaction pleasant but quick.
We get really dorky about electronic resources and citation tools. We learn all we can and give each other tips so that we can serve the students better.

Thank you to the librarians who kick ass and make this a fun and exciting profession to be a part of.
Let's all help the group at the Louisville Free Public Library!

Good Hair Day

2009-08-30T06:50:00.002-04:00

Hair is a sensitive subject, especially if your hair is curly. Some people make political and social assumptions based on your hair styles and others will just make fun of you for it. I have battled my curly curly hair for years, pulling it back into buns, frying it with a straight iron or just loading it up with products hoping to keep the frizzing to a minimum.

Since I moved to Philly, I really lost patience with my hair. I was tired of worrying about my hair, of taking time away from my friends and family to fuss with it, all while watching people with straight hair simply run a brush through their locks and be good for the day. I didn't even own a brush. I know it was envy that motivated my change, but I have to say, it was definitely worth it!

Here's a pictures of me taken before I moved to Philadelphia, my hair all curly and long:

Don't I just look thrilled?

Yes, curly hair is beautiful. It's natural and it's unique. But it's just not worth my time. I have so many things that I want to spend my time on. Hair, makeup, etc have never been high on that list. So I decided that to make life easier for myself, I'd get the Japanese hair straightening treatment.

My straightening appointment was last weekend. The process was intense, I spent four and a half hours at the salon, watching dvds (Mall Cop is really funny!) and sitting under heat lamps. But the result was incredible. Here is my hair, no blow drying done, no flat iron, just air dried:

Straight hair inspires jazz hands apparently

Crazy!

I had a bit of a personality clash with the stylist* who did my straightening, so I went to Nova Salon in Center City to get my cut redone. I am so happy I did. Mary Ann was a doll, she was patient and talked with me throughout the cut to make sure I knew and liked what she was doing.

For the first time, I can say that I love my hair. Straight haired girls you may find this post really shallow but I'm sure that those of you with curly hair understand. I did it! And so...can....YOU!!!!

*Personality clash = he was a pompous jerk and I was a customer who was unsatisfied with his work. "This is how your hair should look" he said. "But it's not what I asked for." etc etc add in some explanations that "this is a French method" blah blah ego blah

In the Kitchenette: Ginapple Chicken Salad

2009-08-29T07:00:00.001-04:00

There were a few places in NJ where Andrew and I deemed safe to eat. We frequented many Dunkin Donuts, a few diners and Panera. Most days, he'd pick me up from work and take me straight to Panera, where I'd get a Fuji Apple Chicken Salad and an iced coffee. Andrew usually had a couple of plain bagels or an Asiago roast beef sandwich (no cheese, no onions, no tomatoes and NO HORSERADISH!!). My salad was heavenly. It was the kind of meal I could (and did) eat daily and never grow tired of it.

So of course, there are no Panera's in Philly. And until I bring my car to a nearby parking garage, I won't be able to go on Panera binging sprees (unless car-jacking is involved, but I like to keep my rap sheet neat). So I've made my own version. The result is no where near Panera's perfection but it's good nonetheless. You can make this with any kind of apple, I would just recommend keeping it consistent throughout the salad, dressing and chips. I used Red Delicious, which are my favorite. The apple chips can be made the night before and stored in the fridge.

Ginapple* Chicken Salad
serves 1 hungry apple crazed Gina

salad:
1 boneless skinless chicken breast
1/2 tablespoon chopped garlic
1 bowl of fresh greens
1 handful of pecans
1/2 cucumber, sliced
olive oil
salt
pepper

1. In a medium skillet, heat olive oil with garlic until flagrant. Add chicken, salt and pepper and cook until both sides are nice and brown.
2. Put your greens in the bowl, woo! Take a break because that was really intense.
3. Sprinkle pecans and cucumber on greens. Seriously, this is your cardio for today.
4. When chicken is cooked, slice into strips and put on top of salad.

apple chips:
adapted from this recipe
1 apple
1 cup of apple juice
1 cinnamon stick

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. The original recipe said 250 degrees but it was taking forever for my chips to be crispy. It might just be my oven, but set it to what you know will toast the chips well.
2. Add the apple juice and cinnamon stick to a medium sized saucepan, and bring to a boil.
3. Slice your apple so that the slices are are about 1/4 inch thick. As long as your slices are of equal width, you should be good. Don't make them too thick or they will never get crispy!
4. Add apple slices to boiling apple juice and cook uncovered for 5 minutes. Doesn't that smell delicious?
5. Remove the apple slices from the saucepan and place on paper towels to absorb the excess apple juice. This is very important: don't leave your chips soggy!
6. After your chips are dry, put them in the oven on a baking sheet for 30-40 minutes. Like I said before, mine were taking forever so judge your cooking time accordingly.
7. Once the chips are crispy and browned, remove from oven and let cool on the baking sheet.
8. Top your salad with the chips.

dressing:
adapted from this recipe
3 tablespoons rice vinegar
2.5 tablespoons sesame oil
2 teaspoons sesame seeds
1 apple of your choosing
1/8 cup small yellow onion

1. In a food processor, chop apple and onion until you get a sort of confetti.
2. Combine rice vinegar and sesame oil in a container with a lid.
3. Add 3 tablespoons of the apple/onion confetti mixture, salt, pepper and sesame seeds.
4. Shake together and pour over your salad.

And because I'm just that apple-crazed, I added some chopped apple pieces into my salad as well. And I drank apple juice and I did an apple dance. Youtube video to follow.

*that's Gina-Apple not Gin-Apple.

23 is good to me!

2009-08-27T05:19:00.001-04:00

This post is a bit late, (my birthday was August 10th) but I wanted to share all the fun!

Numbers are important to me. Numbers have personalities* and some numbers are good: see 2, 4, 15 and 36. And others just don’t feel good: 7, 19, 23, etc. So turning 23 was a bit undesirable for me. I would much rather be 22, it is such a nice number. But I guess I shouldn’t be too picky because so far being 23 has been going very well.

My birthday weekend started off with a solo celebration. My boss let me out of work an hour early and I took the afternoon to walk around Center City. I visited the Free Library and walked around the Rocky Art Museum. Then I did some shopping on Chestnut street and sat in a Starbucks for a bit reading and enjoying an Americano.

Saturday, Andrew and I went to Brendan T. Byrne State Forest (a new favorite of ours) and hiked a nice 6 mile trail from Pakim Pond. We stopped off at a local farmer’s stand and got fruit to eat along the way. Andrew had his first peach: “heinous.” We talked and chased frogs and enjoyed that satisfying crunch of pine needles under our feet (much better than the crunch of concrete!).

We drove home to Highland Park, where my mom made us a delicious chicken foccacia sandwich (in less than 10 minutes, I don’t know how she does it).

I got my present from my parents: a book stand for the bathtub! Andrew and I showed my mom our moonwalking skills and then I retired for the night.

Sunday was spent lounging. I got a new digital camera from Target and enjoyed watching my mom prepare dinner. Our friends came over around 5 and we had a nice big family dinner where I ate way too much. I got a giftcard to B&N and fancy shampoo and conditioner.

Then there were the cupcakes and coffee…that is where I really over-indulged. To the point where I was too nauseous to drive back to Philadelphia! So I spent the night at my parent’s house again and my dad was kind enough to drive me back to Philly at 5am. We got back to my apartment at 6:30 and I left for work at 7!

I didn’t think anyone at work knew it was my birthday so the day passed without much brew-haha. At 2 o’clock my boss asked me to go clean up the staff lounge, I happily went to the lounge (it was getting a bit messy, I thought) and opened the door to see the entire crew had assembled to eat brownies and celebrate my birthday. It was so surprising and sweet.

Andrew was waiting for me after work with a beautiful orchid that is perfect for me! We hung out and watched Hulu and chatted. We took a walk to get some bagels and spent the night laughing and growing older (well me at least!).

Thanks to all who made it a wonderful birthday. I feel so lucky!

*my favorite joke from 5^th grade: why is 6 afraid of 7? Because 7, 8, 9. I liked this pun so much that I drew a whole series of numbers with arms and legs and assigned them familial relationships and personalities. Be thankful I don't have a scanner or I'd have included my entire plot!

In the Kitchenette: Tuna and Brown Rice

2009-08-26T06:00:00.002-04:00

Even at 460 square feet, my studio apartment is a perfect fit. I have enough space for a table for 4, a large reading nook, my desk and a sewing area. I very rarely feel the need for more space except in one "room": the kitchen where I have less than 17 inches of counter space. I've made do without a toaster or a coffeemaker and put my microwave on top of the fridge and do all my food prep on my dining room table.

With my space limitation (and also my lack of a dish washer, besides Andrew), I find that meals that require the least amount of pots/pans/dishes are the best. Here's a quick and easy one that Andrew and I made in less than 15 minutes. (Excuse the poor quality photo, I took it with my iPhone!).

Tuna and Brown Rice

serves 2

(adapted from this recipe from Shape.com - we couldn't find quinoa!)

1 package Uncle Ben's brown rice, cooked

1 6 oz. can tuna packed in water

1 cup cherry tomatoes

1/4 cup finely chopped parsley

handful of walnuts, chopped

1/2 tablespoon lemon juice

1/2 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

1. Cook brown rice according to directions on package.

2. Cut cherry tomatoes in half and sautee in olive oil over medium heat until tomatoes soften (about 4-5 minutes).

3. Drain the tuna and place in a large bowl.

4. When rice is cooked add to bowl with tuna. Stir in tomatoes, parsley, and walnuts. Add lemon juice, olive oil and salt and pepper.

5. Serve immediately and enjoy!

Has anyone had quinoa before? Have any good recipes for it? We checked two shops today but all we found was rice, rice, couscous and rice!I will have to make a special trip to Whole Foods to try it out. I should also note this was the first time I had tuna (we won't count that spicy thai tuna thing that made me sick) and it was delicious!

Eleanor

2009-08-25T06:00:00.008-04:00

A co-worker recently told me that a friend of hers had a box of kittens and was looking for good homes for them. The timing could not have been more perfect, I had been to the local shelter the night before and was told I needed 7 forms of ID and a blood test before I could even think of taking one of the furballs home. A box of kittens sounded like the kind of instant kitty satisfaction I was looking for!

Andrew and I picked up "Straggler" on Friday and brought her home in an Office Depot copy paper box. She was quiet the whole ride and I was nervous to take off the lid and let her loose. She hadn't come up to us while we were at the house at all. In fact, she hadn't shown any interest in any one or any of the other kittens. "Straggler" seemed to be aptly named and I worried I had a new anti-social roommate.

The first night she didn't come out from under my bed. Until 3 am, when I woke to hear her crying. I couldn't find her and worried that somehow my 460 square ft studio had swallowed her into another dimension and I was doomed to forever listen to her cries. You can't just pick a kitten from a box! I told myself. This is a serious thing, you wouldn't randomly pick a husband from a group of two stray men in a box!

I found her, hiding under my stove and then really began to worry. I can never cook again now that I have a stove cat. I better invest in frozen dinners. But soon enough, she came out and over to me. All of a sudden it seemed a weight had been lifted from her, she walked over to my lap, rubbed up against me (I was horrified!) and started to lick my fingers.

Since then she hasn't left my side. She follows me all around my little studio apartment, sleeps in the bed with me and is sitting on my lap as I type this. It is a love that is so natural feeling and I hope that our common interests (napping, chasing my slippers and eating Fancy Feast ... well that last one is all her) will blossom into a great friendship for years to come.

I can't write this post without mentioning my darling Bruce. He and I had a different relationship; he was so cool and independent but would lay across my face some mornings and drool on me. We had that relaxed love towards each other, and of course, I miss him. I'm not sure what he would make of Eleanor, but I think he'd like that I named her after a President's wife. It seemed to me that he always suspected he was named after Springsteen (he's not!), and resented it.

Strooberry Salad

2009-08-18T05:57:00.005-04:00

I tend to butcher things. See: the English language ("strooberry" versus strawberry) and any meal I've attempted to make for myself or others (let's not talk about the Christmas I "made" tiramisu). So when I stopped off at the Market after work, I didn't expect to be buying ingredients. I thought I'd pick up dinner - maybe some chicken salad or a turkey sub.

Instead, I came home with a lot of different bits that came together to form a delicious salad. The combination of ingredients isn't exotic but it makes for a great meal.

Strooberry Salad

(serves 1!)
1 boneless skinless chicken breast
1 teaspoon chopped garlic
bowl full of mixed spring greens
1/4 cucumber, sliced
6-8 medium sized strawberries, sliced
handful of crumbled Gorgonzola cheese*
handful of pecans
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon olive oil, plus more to cook chicken
salt, pepper, sugar to taste

In your neon green nonstick skillet: heat oil over medium heat with garlic until it starts to smell good. Add chicken. Salt and pepper both sides of chicken. Cook until both sides are nice and browned. Remove from skillet and slice into strips.
Fill your salad bowl with greens (I bought mine bagged fresh from the produce stand). Add cucumbers, strawberries, pecans and Gorgonzola cheese. Save some of the sliced strawberries for the dressing.
For the dressing: In a bowl or hurricane cup, combine equal parts of balsamic vinegar and olive oil. Add salt, pepper and some sugar to taste. Sprinkle with the rest of the strawberry slices. Use a fork to mash the strawberries and stir the vinaigrette. You can use a food processor to completely combine the ingredients but I liked the bits of strawberries in the dressing.
Top with slices of chicken and dressing. Eat, enjoy and feel on top of the world. Dream of your next culinary feat: maybe you'll be able to make pancakes or some other fancy delicacy.

*Some of you may notice that the cheese in the salad pictured is not Gorgonzola. I used feta the first time, but found it to be a bit too strong for this salad. Gorgonzola has a great creamy texture and assimilates well with the rest of the components in this salad.

To Do Lists and Happiness

2009-08-17T05:09:00.000-04:00

I recently opened up the "Tasks" option in my gmail account and found a stale to-do list from February. It read:

Go on vacation
Do taxes
Finish FAFSA
Take GRE
Get into grad program
Quit job

The list was written more as a "wish list" of things I dreamed of doing (well besides the taxes, I knew I had to do that). I wrote it while upset at work and filed it away thinking it was fanciful and unrealistic. But here I am, it's August and I've been working at my new job for a month, I start classes in my new graduate program in a few weeks and I even took a vacation with Andrew! It feels good to look at this list and know that I can check off each item on my list (how rare is that?), especially since at the time I had so little confidence in myself.

It's incredible how debilitating it can be to be unhappy at work. I thought I was able to shake it off after 5pm but I see now that every hour of the day was affected by it. I couldn't seem to wake up in the mornings because I dreaded going to work, and once I was there the hours just seemed to drag on and on. Nights and weekends seemed to fly by - I never had enough time away.

Of course, my life in Philadelphia isn't perfect: there are still difficult personalities to deal with at work, and added distance between Andrew and I is not ideal. But the difference is that my whole range of happiness has changed. By default, I'm happier each morning when I wake up (eager to start the day and voluntarily early for work) and even if I encounter a rude person or a burnt dinner, it doesn't beat me down as much as it would have before. I've learned that when you're unhappy at work, everything is that much more taxing and irritating.

I worry sometimes that I will become ungrateful for all the wonderful things that have happened to me lately - that a string of bad days will make me forget how things used to be and how much better they are now. But I guess it's all relative, there will still be bad days* and good days but I'm starting to see that its about making sure that you find yourself smiling at people who pass on the sidewalk, or dancing while you do the dishes - that is how you know you're on the right road.

And talk about luck! I know I was so cranky for so long and yet Andrew stuck by me. He listened over dinner about how so-and-so sent such-and-such email; always supportive and patient. I'm so thankful that now I can really enjoy my time with him and hopefully he'll have more fun too!

To-do lists are great practical tools (so you don't forget the toilet paper) but they also are great motivators. Next on my list is to finish my redesign of my blog, catch up on the posts that are written in my head but not on the screen, learn to cook some new meals, finish decorating my apartment, get my car to Philly, adopt a kitten and find ways to spend more time with Andrew (I smell another vacation coming my way!). It's a good start, right?

What are you working on? What seems too silly (or even selfish) to strive for? Let me know, I'd love to root you on!

*hopefully not bad-hair days! I'm so tired of those! Hopefully they will end when I get my hair straightened this Saturday. More on that soon!

Welcome!

2009-08-16T19:17:00.005-04:00

I've been doing a lot of work around here (as always with the help of my darling Andrew). Itsonlythat.com was previously hosted by tumblr but I got fed up with their commenting system (or lack thereof) and decided to move back to blogger. I'm a Googley girl*, what can I say?

I'll be piddling and twiddling for a bit but I hope you like what I've done so far and let me know if anything is funky!

*I admit, I'm listening to This Week in Google as I type!

Day in the Life: Circulation Clerk at a Medical School Library

2009-08-07T09:04:00.000-04:00

*Inspired by the Library Day in the Life project

5am: Good morning. After I shake the sleepiness off, I work out (the squats killed me today), eat breakfast (cheerios, of course!), shower, and work on my blog. Today I wrote my bio page, something I’ve been avoiding for a while.

7am: Pick up newspapers. I’m lucky enough to live a few blocks from my library so I don’t have a long commute. It was raining this morning so I left a bit early to make sure I could dry off when I got into the library. I went to the newsstand to pick up the daily newspapers we subscribe to: 2 New York Times, 2 Philadelphia Daily News and 2 Philadelphia Inquirers. I was so intent on getting to work without getting soaked that I skipped my morning coffee. Something I regret.

7:15am: Arrive at library. When I got to the library, there was already a group of students waiting for the main library to open. We have a study area that is open 24 hours which is usually packed and I have to be very careful to lock the door after myself or the students will find a way in! For my morning opening procedures, I counted the cash drawer, checked in any books that had been dropped in the book slot, changed the due dates on the stamps and made sure all the software we use was up and running.

7:30am: Sweep the library. After the circulation desk was all set up, I stocked my cart and got ready to sweep the library. My cart is my trusty sidekick; I load it with my water bottle, reams of paper, the duster, gloves (in case I have to pick up anything yucky; see IV kit) the newspapers (which I deliver to the two leisure reading areas) and the keys to the library. This way, I can go around the entire library and complete any tasks necessary to prepare for opening. I went around to the study rooms to make sure they were tidy. The other day I found an IV kit complete with an open vial of some medication. I hope this is something special to medical school libraries. I straightened up the furniture, collected some books that were lying around and replenished the paper in our 6 copiers and 2 printers. One of the copiers was jammed and I tried my best to open and close all the little doors so it would register the jam cleared but it wouldn’t. I left it to finish up my rounds.

7:45 am: Open the library. The mass outside the doors let me know it was getting close to opening time; they jiggled the handles repeatedly, as if to say, “You’re seriously going to wait 20 seconds until it is officially 7:45?” Sometimes I worry that they see me and know that I’m watching the clock! One of the regular students came in holding a Dunkin Donuts iced coffee and I clearly drooled, asking her what kind it was and saying it looked good. After I unlock all the doors, I scan any books that I find in the library to keep statistics on book usage and put them on the cart to be reshelved.

8:00am: Reshelving of books. By this time, the rest of the library staff arrived and I started reshelving the books that had been checked in. I made sure to organize my cart in call number order before I left the circulation desk, to cut down on the time it took. I also swung by the jammed copier from earlier and finished un-jamming it. The copy room was dark and hot so while I unjammed the copier, I left a bit jammed.

8:30am: Shelf Reading. For those who don’t know what shelf reading is, I was in your blissfully ignorant position just a few weeks ago. It’s not that bad, but it can be really draining if you do it for too long. I read the call number on each book on the shelf, to ensure that it they were in the proper place. I also straightened all the shelves so that the spines of the books were all lined up on the edge of the shelf. That way, you can always see the call number and the shelves appear orderly and clean. I’m also the first person in years to think that the shelves should be dusted, so I put on my plastic gloves and gave the shelves a good cleaning. Then I listened to the students studying nearby start to sneeze and moved on. I have to shelf read the entire library by October, and right now I’m on WE 200 (we use the National Library of Medicine classification system). I have 10 more shelves of circulating books, plus the journals, leisure books, thesis and reference area. I’m sure I’ll get it all done!

10:00am: On Search. I maintain a list of books that are missing and do a weekly search for them around the library. Today I found four missing books. Usually they’re mishelved or have fallen behind the stacks. It takes a lot of patience and a good eye to find them! I filed my report to my supervisor and patted myself on the back. Four books is pretty good, but last week I found eight.

11:00am: Pick up the mail. This isn’t too exciting but I get all the mail, sort it and deliver it to the various departments within our library. I like to deliver the mail because I get to talk to people I don’t normally see up at the circulation desk. Today the Technical Services librarian and I talked about hot chocolate. I am now craving a Starbucks hot chocolate. Who cares that it is over 500 calories for a tall?

11:30am: Lunch. I usually bring my lunch but today I got caught up in the morning and didn’t have time to pack it. The hospital has a really great cafeteria so I got an Americano from the Jazzman Café (delicious) and made myself a simple salad of greens, dried cranberries, pine nuts, cherry tomatoes, pepper chicken and cucumbers with olive oil vinaigrette. A guy at the table next to me was telling his friend about a simulation he did for a class, where he had to tell a woman (an actress) that her husband had just died. The actress reacted by twitching and fainting and he was tested on how he handled the situation. His take away was, “it wasn’t real, so I was giggling and stuff. I just want to be done with this and get in there!”

12:00pm: Circulation Desk. A very excited man approached the circulation desk, asking for board review books. “BOARD REVIEW BOOKS!” he said looking at the scrawled note across his forearm. I asked him if there was a particular subject or publisher he was looking for. He said “BOARD REVIEW BOOKS!” We get a lot of people who give vague descriptions of the books they’re looking for. “It’s blue,” is a favorite descriptor of our patrons. Sometimes I wonder why we don’t organize the books by cover color instead. I gave the BOARD REVIEW BOOKS man a couple of call numbers and he pretty much skipped into the book collection. He came back in a bit and asked for “Wheater’s Histology Atlas.” This time I knew what he was talking about, QS 517 W556f. I got him one of the many copies we had on Reserve. He told me that he was sorry to bother me, and that he was new. He hadn’t yet found a place to live and had been sleeping in our 24 hour study area. I already suspected this, having seen him for the past two mornings sprawled across some chairs. I told him he was no bother and to let me know what else I could do to help.

1:00pm: Still at Circulation Desk. One of the ladies from the IT department called and asked me if I remembered the error code we kept getting on the pay-card scanners yesterday. I spent the next half hour trying to Google it. Then I asked the reference librarian (isn’t that what they’re for?) but we couldn’t figure it out either.

Between helping patrons’ check in/out books, DVDs and laptops, I worked on updating the wiki the library keeps for Student Workers on the circulation procedures. I also updated my performance goals. I’ve been checking off a lot from my list lately and happily so. I started at my new position on July 13^th and I try to work towards completing my goals whenever I find down time. Today, I made signs for the study rooms so that the students knew which room number they were. A couple of students had complained that there weren’t any room numbers, and we had an outdated map of the library to direct them. So I updated the map and printed out some room numbers so that the students knew which room they had reserved. This went toward my goal of improving the patron’s library experience.

One of the regulars came in with a coffee coolata, but I remained committed to my Americano and didn’t drool too much over it. Another girl came and asked for a reserve book on Obstetrics and Gynecology (WP 140 O14). Yesterday, I had encouraged her to wait until after 4pm so that she could have it overnight (our overnight reserve books are due by 9am the next morning). Sure enough, 4:01 another patron came and took the book out – I felt so bad! I apologized to her today and told her good luck. Their test is tomorrow.

2:00pm: Sweep the library. I collected any books that were left out, scanned them into our computer so we know they’re being used and put them on the trusty cart to be reshelved. We have a great Technical Services Librarian who is semi-retired who was in the library today. We talked about some damaged books I had dropped off at his office. He is very passionate about books and hates to see them in poor condition. We once had an issue with someone I call the “book bandit” (but that is another post) and he was incensed.

2:30pm: Get mail, sort, deliver. Lather, rinse, repeat.

3pm: Close up shop. Reshelf books, replenish paper, straighten up, and make sure everything is ready for student workers who take over at 5pm. There was another copier jam and I handled it as gracefully as I could while keeping an eye on the clock and my stack of books needing to be reshelved.

4pm: Home again home again jiggity jig. Back to my little studio apartment in Center City, where I got changed and went out to meet my boyfriend Andrew for a night of fun!

5pm: Explore Philadelphia. After making some sorry looking heart shaped pancakes, we checked out Fairmont Park (and were the only ones just walking/sitting on the benches - everyone else was running/biking/rollerblading or walking with determination). For some reason we found reenacting scenes from Forrest Gump to be hysterical and talked for most of the night in a Forrest Gump twang.

7:30pm: Burger Craving. The pancakes weren't a full dinner for us, so we walked across town to indulge in some Five Guys Burgers and Fries.

8:15pm: Be cool. While walking off dinner, we listened to Michael Jackson songs on my iPhone and snapped our fingers while trying to walk like MJ in Billie Jean.

9:00pm: Interwebs. We checked in on our favorite time-sucking websites: Awkward Family Photos, F My Life and There, I Fixed It.

9:30pm: Sleep time! Andrew tucked me in, locked up my apartment and headed home to NJ. Woo! What a day!

Itsonlythat.com

2009-08-06T05:11:00.004-04:00

Howdy! I'm Gina Cacace and I just got my dream job at a library and moved to Center City, Philadelphia. Before that, I worked and lived in lovely New Jersey (I miss it!) and attended John Jay College in Manhattan (I don't miss it!). I'm also a graduate student in the Library and Information Science program at Drexel University.

Let me introduce you to the main players in my life. I am so lucky to have such a wonderful boyfriend, Andrew, who is also my best bud. You'll hear about him a lot on this blog; he is always helping me test out new recipes and tech toys. I'm also pretty obsessed with him. Eleanor is my new kitten (named after Eleanor Roosevelt), who really is a co-author of this blog because she sits on my lap whenever I'm typing.

This may sound lame, but I really mean it: my family is awesome! My parents are a dynamic party throwing duo: my mom is a talented cook and my dad is a bass playing hip cat. They both work incredibly hard but make time to laugh; I learn something new from them everyday. My older brother Danny is a superhero; he is incredibly patient and is always willing to help out. He also knows everything. My younger brother Ronnie is a maverick. He runs Rawnzilla.com, where he writes about working at a comic book store and includes lots of brilliant photos and observations. Little Freddy is the best. He is a scootering and all-around-hardcore-stunt-pulling prodigy who has amazing hair. You've got to admit, we're pretty sweet.

Now that we've got the basics who-what-when-where-how down, a bit more about my meat and potatoes:

I start each day the same way: with a bowl of cheerios and the news. I read the New York Times, philly.com, The Week, listen to NPR's top stories, check on CNN's latest tweets and updates on my subscribed blogs. I finish by paging through the latest New Yorker magazine (in print!). I thrive on being able to read multiple accounts of a single event, I love to pick out the inconsistencies and the prevalent themes. I like to read something new today that relates to something I read yesterday that will help me to understand something I'll read tomorrow. I'm usually so immersed in my reading that I forget about my breakfast and end up with a bowl of soggy O's.

Soggy cereal aside, I love to make connections and organize information in my head. My other interests seem to support this basic idea: I sew to connect pieces of fabric together to create something new and whole, I like to (try to) cook because I love to see how different flavors and ingredients work together, and when Andrew and I hike, we're connecting different points on the map to create a new experience of the area. Maybe that's a bit too wishy-washy for y'all but remember, my BA is in Psychology so I tend to have my moments.

Anyway, thanks for stopping by. Please do subscribe to have my posts emailed to you (check out the subscription box on your right), or subscribe in a reader.

If you would like some more information about me:
Google Profile | Twitter | Email | Itsonlythat.com

*The phrase piddles, twiddles and resolves is from the movie 1776. Did I mention I'm also a history geek? To the point that a musical about the founding fathers is in my top favorite movies. Please, please netflix this movie. You will hate me, but also be grateful.

3AM Activities

2009-08-03T02:23:00.001-04:00

Not to pat myself on the back, but I am good at a couple of things. Sleeping and/or napping is one of them. But, I found myself awake at 2…3… 4 am this morning. Now that it’s six in the morning and I have to leave for work in half an hour, I am glad I spent my night doing the following:

downloading free samples of books I’ve already read for the new B&N eReader
creating new folders to organize my desktop
watering and/or talking to my plant
eating a nectarine
taking pictures of myself with Photo Booth eating a nectarine
downloading every Weakerthans album
reading every tweet from the entire weekend, twice
listening to TWiT.am

As you can tell, I am well prepared for this Monday morning. Let’s go!

My ability to nap has been well documented, see the above picture from 2005.

A Jersey Girl at a Manhattan Bagel in Philadelphia

2009-07-30T02:43:00.001-04:00

Andrew and I found ourselves at Manhattan Bagel (in Philadelphia) at 7am on Sunday. I was not awake and intimidated by the super speed at which the bagel worker read me the options of cream cheese, so this is what I ended up with. It is a whole wheat bagel, toasted, with vegetable cream cheese (so far so good) with lettuce, tomato and cucumber. Not sure if this is a Philadelphia thing, or a Manhattan thing but boy, do I miss NJ!

Ketchup!

2009-07-29T01:50:00.001-04:00

Ok I haven’t blogged in a bit. And believe me, there has been plenty to talk about! New job=awesome, new place=coolio and Philly in general is treating me very well. Here’s a quick recap:

1. I got an iphone. Lots of fun.

2. I developed a crazy constant craving for coffee and can finally finish a cup (or two!) see previous post (gina-licious fact #3).

3. I moved to Center City, Philadelphia.

More pictures of the apartment, still a work in progress: Move In Day on Flickr.

4. I started a new job at a medical school library as the circulation clerk.

The job is perfect for me. Gonna fly now.

5. I attended FredFest 2009.

More pictures on flickr.

6. I learned how to moonwalk.

Inspired by the street performer Andrew and I saw in Rittenhouse Square. He was alright.

7. I still have the best boyfriend. Andrew has been awesome! He helped me paint, pack, move and unpack all while not feeling well. We also went to Grounds for Sculpture and immersed ourselves in the delicious art.

It has been great to walk around Center City with Andrew. He has been bringing me fresh NJ farm produce, which is the perfect taste of home! Thank you for everything love!

I’m sure I left some things out…but it is 5:47am and I have to get moving! The library doesn’t open itself! =)
P.S. The title of this post reminds me that I still don’t have ketchup for my apartment.

Our Crew

2009-06-07T15:51:00.000-04:00

Andrew and I went to Holmdel Park on Saturday and met a lot of new friends…

Dugg

2009-06-03T08:30:00.000-04:00

On Sunday Andrew and I went fossiling in Big Brook. We brought our new waders that Andrew got for free off of craigslist (just happened to fit both of us perfectly!)

The waders were lifesavers. We were able to walk about the creek without concern for getting wet or muddy.

While navigating around a fallen tree, I saw what looked like a fossil sticking out of the mud in the creek wall. So of course, I climbed up to get it.

It took a good 15-20 minutes of digging with a trowel to get it out.

Hard to tell in the pictures, but that’s pretty much a vertical wall I’ve perched myself upon. And it was worth it!

Here she is all cleaned up.

Of course, Andrew went back to Big Brook on Tuesday and quickly upstaged me by finding a fossilized jaw bone (hoping not human) and a shark’s tooth. Hope he posts some pictures of them soon!

Updates and the like

2009-05-31T08:25:00.000-04:00

Still no news on what had me bed ridden and blue for the past few weeks. But never fear, I’ve got most of my energy back and the headaches are manageable. Here’s an update of what’s been going on!

Andrew and I went to the Hermitage…

I got accepted into the Masters of Library and Information Science program at Drexel University with the highest fellowship, so now Andrew and I will share an alma mater!

I made a tooth fairy pillow for my cousin Olivia for her birthday…

Andrew and I went to Philly…

and I bought way too many things at Jcrew.

That’s about it!

Beautiful Nothingness Revisited

2009-05-12T09:12:00.000-04:00

Be careful what you wish for! Seems I inadvertently extended my vacation until Thursday, but now I’m following doctor’s orders rather than my own laziness. I don’t really have any answers yet as to what is going on with me (fainting, fevers, constant headaches and dizziness are not how I wanted to spend my mini-vacation) so I’ll just post some pictures of a project I worked on for my Mom for Mother’s Day.

I got followed the great tutorial made by Tamar of Nest Decorating and Designs. I really wanted to use my stash of fabric scraps from jcaroline for this project, rather than cut into my remnants so I changed some of the dimensions.

Tamar has you use 6”, 4” and 2” squares. I used 4”, 3” and 2” and it still turned out to be a nice big flower!

It was fun and easy to do, I think it took me 10 minutes total. I will definitely make more to embellish gifts for my younger cousin or as a quick pick-me-up present for a friend.

The Beautiful Nothingness

2009-05-08T13:18:00.000-04:00

I took Thursday and Friday off, pretty much with the intention of doing nothing. Things have been a bit overwhelming lately and though I have lots that need to be done, it is nice just to rest. I even took a NAP today.

Yesterday I spent the day at Andrew’s campus. It was his last day at Brookdale so we walked around, said goodbye to empty classrooms and favorite spots in the library.

(Unfortunately, there were no Starbucks on the way, so I had to get an iced tea from Dunkin Donuts. I don’t hate myself enough to drink their coffee.)

The weather was pretty crazy but once the rain stopped, we went to Thompson’s Park and took photos of the pretty flowers:

Andrew took this lovely photo of the sun setting:

And we acted like a bunch of Myspace nuts and took this picture (can you tell Andrew was holding the camera and aimed it toward me? He is very tricky.)

It was so nice to be there for Andrew’s last day. I’m so proud of how hard he worked and how patient he was while all his classmates were getting high in the gazebos, yelling at the teacher’s or flicking their girlfriends in the eye. Pride really doesn’t even capture how impressed I am by Andrew’s character and intellect. But he is tricky nonetheless!

This morning I took my mom out to pick out some flowers for Mother’s Day. I had planned on taking her to a nursery in Monmouth county but she couldn’t get away from work for too long so we went to Lowe’s instead.

I wanted her to get these but she said she was looking for purple or yellow flowers.

She got these, not sure what they are but so pretty!

This photo made it to the showcase on picli.com and if you scroll down you’ll see one of Andrew’s photos from yesterday made it called “Lincroft Dogwood.”

I’m realizing that the more I take pictures of flowers, the less I know about them. I really couldn’t tell an azalea from a rhododendron from a daisy. I will try to work on this but in the meantime… I’ll be lounging.

Wahoo!

2009-05-06T14:22:00.000-04:00

My photo made it to the showcase on picli.com! Ok so Andrew has been in the showcase 5 time already, but hey! I just found the button on my camera to turn off the flash!

One Day At A Time

2009-05-05T18:01:00.000-04:00

Today I made a little gift for Andrew: Portable Abe Lincoln! I printed some hand picked quotes onto cards using supplies I found at work.

The cardboard backing is packaging material for glossy brochures and I tied it up with a napkin I twisted to look like twine. We only had crazy glue at the office, which bled through the paper but I think it came out pretty well considering.

I’m lucky that if I’m ever in need of advice, I can always depend on Andrew to give me a good perspective. Since I don’t trust myself to do the same for him, I figured Abe could help me out!

My favorite quote of the bunch: “The best thing about the future is that it comes one day at a time.”

Flower Tree (Wallpaper) | Lincroft, NJ

2009-05-05T03:57:00.000-04:00

Quilt Square Pillow

2009-05-03T10:29:00.000-04:00

Decided to sew those two squares into a little pillow. I sprayed some of my perfume on it, nice lil drawer freshener or … pillow for a mouse?

My First Quilt Squares

2009-05-03T09:25:00.000-04:00

Just made some of these quilt squares from the tutorial over at the Moda Bake Shop by happy zombie. Fun, easy and funfunfun.

Oh What a Day!

2009-05-03T07:22:00.000-04:00

Andrew and I had quite a day yesterday.

First, we went to the South Brunswick Library to celebrate Free Comic Day. I found this wonderfully horrible book:

Don’t get me started. Ok too late. My issues with it are as follows: “Creative” character names like Minerva and Magdalena. “Sassy” dialog like “Did I mention that my varicose veins are throbbing; that I’m as constipated as a mummy, thanks to my hemorroids, which make my bowel movements as excruciatingly painful as passing cacti, or that my bladder is squashed flatter than that last pancake you gulped down, resulting in my having to pee every ten minutes.” Entire chapters dedicated to pancake recipes taken from another book. Pointless descriptions like “economy package napkin.” I may be a bit too harsh considering I couldn’t get past the first two pages, but come on. Do they just publish anything these days?

On to more impressive things, like my younger and more talented brother Ron, giving a speech about the importance of comics and reading:

After eating my new favorite meal (Fugi Apple Chicken Salad from Panera) Andrew and I went fossil collecting at Big Brook.

We had a great time exploring and found a lot of cool fossils:

I found some cool broken bottles!

And this poor guy who got eaten by a moon snail, many millions of years ago:

More pictures of the lush Big Brook area can be found here and here.

After that, we visited Andrew’s campus to see the newly bloomed cherry blossoms. Andrew took this breaktaking photo:

After dinner we went for a quick walk around town. Quick because somehow we became convinced these two guys were following us…we had quite a paranoid day actually because at Big Brook I was afraid of dogs. Let’s just say someone put the idea in my head that a dog could potentially attack us.

Then we went home to finish up the first season of Lost on Andrew’s new 22 inch monitor:

What an awesome day!

Not So Bitter: Our Reunion with Sourland Mountain Preserve

2009-04-26T05:56:00.000-04:00

One of our most notorious hikes happened last June, when we ventured into Sourland Mountain Preserve. The basics were: 100 degree heat and humidity + no map/compass + leaving trail + you get the idea = hell recounted here and here.

The key to Andrew’s posts on our trip is this: “There is no parking lot to speak of, just a gravel area tucked in from a long winding country road in Rileyville.”

I’m embarrassed now, for all the times we talked about how Sourland Mountain kicked our asses. Because in reality, the Preserve is made up of 3 well marked, well maintained trails with mild slopes and a total distance of less than 5 miles. Our return trip blessed us with better directions from Google Maps, so this time we actually arrived at the front gate of the Preserve. Instead of going in through the back entrance where there were no official trails, like we did last year.

Here we are at the trailhead. Andrew was still not sure but I was ready to go!

This Sourland Mountain is completely different. There are boardwalks made by boyscouts to help you along some muddy areas…

…and bridges over streams that we would have had to navigate last year by using slippery stones and tree branches.

Once we got over how tame this side of Sourland is, there were a lot of cool things to enjoy.

Andrew took this beautiful pictures:

and swung around on a vine he found:

We stopped and hung out in our hammock for a while:

(There was a picture of Andrew and I together in the hammock that we took using the timer but the 90 degree weather from yesterday left me looking a bit more disheveled than I’d prefer to broadcast across the world wide webs).

And coolest of all, we found this abandoned car in the middle of the woods. For this, we left the trail.

There were some old-school Pepsi cans on the ground and inside the car. I guess it used to be a cool hangout for kids.

Ok so I really liked the cans…More pictures of the car:

Andrew also found a snake:

And some frogs!

And I found a TV dinner plate:

We both brought our cameras so that means Andrew took stealth pictures of me at the Dunkin Donuts drive thru:

And you can see the two sets of photos here and here.

What a fun day! Afterwards we went to Lowes, Staples and Kmart collecting tools for a lightbox that is almost complete. We also ate at Famous Dave’s where I had an appropriately named Sassy Salad and Andrew had beans. Oh no, sorry that was the two fat old women at the table next to us.

Really, if you take away the beautiful weather, scenic walk, lazy hammock hour, et cetera… the real treat was being with my love and knowing that we were both happy and having a blast.

Sprung'd

2009-04-26T04:55:00.000-04:00

After visiting Bruce’s grave, I decided to walk around the backyard and see how spring was making itself known.

I’m terrible at remembering the names of flowers, so I’d appreciate some help in identifying what I think are azaleas?

A cheery yellow bush of sorts:

We’ve had this bleeding heart bush for years and it is always a treat:

I know this is an acorn:

Honey Suckle we bought last year in New Hope PA on the day of my college graduation:

We bought my mom a lilac bush a few years ago for Mother’s Day, this season we’re enjoying it’s first bloom:

Inside our gazebo:

You can see more of the pictures here.

Rest in Peace my love

2009-04-25T06:38:00.001-04:00

I finally went out to visit Bruce’s grave. We buried him almost 5 months ago, curled up in my sweatshirt. Like he did so much in life, he gave me a reason to smile today: I found this lil plant sprouting up out of where he is buried.

7 Gina-Licious Facts

2009-04-23T14:12:00.000-04:00

What follows are 7 things about me you may not know, inspired by Heather Mulder on her blog Trends and Traditions.

1. I have my bachelor’s in Forensic Psychology. That’s not a CSI
degree or anything like Silence of the Lambs but I found it
interesting nonetheless. For some reason, I was really into writing 30
page literature reviews on femicide and other morbid topics. I started
my masters and realized that the professional and personal life that
accompanies a forensic psychologist was not for me (who wants to spend
their days interviewing prisoners who have been accused of killing
their wives?). Since then, I’ve toyed with getting a masters in
creative writing, journalism and library science. Who knows where I’ll
end up but let’s hope that one way or another its not prison!

Freeze Punk!

2. I once worked as a telemarketer. In my senior year of high school,
I needed money for gas (back when $3 would last me a week!) and a prom
dress. Despite my chipmunk voice, I landed a job at a telemarketing
place that tried to get people to donate to police and fire
fraternities. I made up a fake voice (sounded like a midwestern man,
but it worked) and actually sold some donations. I ended up quitting
after my manager sat me in the Spanish section and told me to deal
with it. I did manage to get a prom dress from H&M for $40.

The red-eye was a deliberate fashion statment, of course.

3. I love coffee but I can’t seem to finish a cup. My boyfriend makes
fun of me for this constantly, he calls me a fake coffee lover. But I
really do love it! I just can’t seem to take more than a few sips. I
used to order my coffee light and sweet with hazelnut syrup but
decided it would be healthier to drink it black. I love the taste of
bold black coffee (or espresso, Americano is really my drink of
choice) but I can’t seem to ever finish my serving!

Yum.

4. I have a drink named after me on a menu of a burger restaurant in
New Jersey: the Gina-licious. One summer I worked at a burger
restaurant and spent my time making new drinks. My most popular was
pepsi with cherry and vanilla syrup (not my most creative but the one
that everyone kept ordering). When the new menus came out, I was

surprised and honored to see my drink had made the cut! Two years later and it’s still on the menu!

I didn’t name the drink, clearly.

5. I earned my varsity letter for track in high school by being the
team statistician. I spent one season on the junior varsity track team
and got a stress fracture on my foot. The next season, I kept track of
all the meets and phoned the local newspapers to tell them the
results. For my sweet math skills and ability to waddle with a

clipboard, I earned a varsity letter.

Yes, I need a helmet to run. The frisbee is optional.

6. I didn’t get my hair cut for over 6 years. I have very curly hair
and very particular tastes. So when a trip to the hair salon resulted
in a chin length fro-bob-massacre I vowed I’d never trust anyone again
with my hair. So for the next 6 years, I trimmed my ends every so
often and let my hair grow down to the small of my back. It was just
this year that I got up the strength to get it cut by a professional,

who was very patient and kind.

Before my haircut, my hair was longer than I could knit.

7. I’ve been questioned by the police twice because they thought I was a runaway. I used to take the bus from Union City to Port Authority and walk to Columbus Circle. This route was usually riddled with strange men who would leer and say creepy things. One morning, a man asked me if I was from America. I said, yes and kept walking. Suddenly, there was a badge in my face and more questions about who I was, how old I was, where I was going. Even though I showed 2 forms of valid ID, I had to go to the station with him while he filled out some paperwork. He claimed he had to keep track that I had been in Port Authority because I matched a profile of a runaway. Not even two weeks later, I saw the same plain clothes cop talking to another girl. As I passed he said, “WHOA WHOA How old are you?” That time, I wasn’t so cooperative.

Ok so I did run away once, but that was 1990 and that headband was so cool then.

Hope you enjoyed your gina-education!

Sunday at Sandy Hook

2009-04-20T03:50:00.000-04:00

Sunday at Sandy Hook

Stoned: Our Saturday in Monroe, NJ

2009-04-19T05:45:00.000-04:00

Saturday graced us with clear sunny skies and temperatures in the low 80s, so Andrew and I were excited to go on an adventure. The Stone Museum had come up in various google searches for scenic places in NJ so we thought it would be a perfect place to welcome spring.

Unfortunately, Google Maps screwed us over (like it does on so many of our adventures) and we could not find the exit we were supposed to take. Hilarity ensued. Actually, painful traffic and hillbillies is really what followed. We found ourselves lost in the traffic for Englishtown Auctions*, a mecca of all that is white trash: garage sales, flea markets, car shows and a race track. Once we turned down this one lane road, there was no way to get off of it and we idled for over an hour while a fat kid sold COKE and DIET COKE on the corner. “A buck each, two for $1.50.”

Somehow, we made it out of the mess and managed to find the Stone Museum. I wish I could say things got more classy but what we found was rather bizarre.

The Stone Museum is set up to be a banquet hall for weddings, but it also seems to be a huge ad for the owner’s construction and home renovation business. The exhibits are before and after pictures of renovations he’s done and the hands on part for the kids teaches them about different types of mulch.

There are also dinosaurs and a military helicopter. But that makes perfect sense.

On the surface, the banquet/lake area are breathtaking: large, lush and secluded.

But once you start walking around, you notice that things are pretty eerie. Wood is rotting, there are large trailers covered in black tarps behind fences and the place was devastatingly empty. To the point where even Andrew was freaked out.

The large “rock” formation on the left turned out to be some sort of death chamber.

For the most part, the flowers were fake and gaudy but we did manage to find some great spots to sit and enjoy some pretty views.

By the end though, we were happy to start on the long trail home:

Andrew was a dear and held my purse the whole time so I could strike poses like this one:

We managed to have a great time (due to the great company) despite all the creepiness.

*The website for Englishtown recommends you bring the following: notebook, sunscreen, sun/rain hat, fanny pack, and a plastic poncho. I don’t think it needs to be said that any place that endorses and encourages the use of a fanny pack is white trash.

Happy Anniversary love!

2009-04-15T04:15:00.000-04:00

Happy Anniversary love!

Andrew's Post on our Carris Hill Adventure

2009-04-11T21:19:00.000-04:00

andrew:

Gina had the idea to use Carris Hill as a prelude to our 10 mile Pemberton Hike, we previously wrote about here and there and also here. As we discussed in our posts the Pemberton Hike was more a nursing home field trip than a strenuous Pine Barrens trek. Carris Hill, on the other hand, was something else entirely. We finally got there last Sunday, starting late (3:45) figuring it would be a leisurely 5 mile stroll up to a nice view and maybe a good place to snack on some pretzels.

We packed exactly *one* bottle of water, half a bag of pretzels, our hammock and, luckily, a GPS/Digital Compass that we got for our anniversary. By “we packed” I mean Gina packed. Like an imbecile I left the car with nothing but a headcold and a wicked cough. At the start of our hike we passed a lot of people coming in the opposite direction. Elderly Japanese fellows, families, and boyfriend/girlfriend couples that did not appear to be returning from hell. We talked about how great the trail was, how it was challenging, but easy. It would be our new favorite! “Isn’t this great?! Isn’t this great?!” and “Do you want a pretzel?”, the conversation for the first … mile.

We made it to Chik Falls, but we were only able to take a few photos, because we forgot the SD card for the digital camera.

But we did have *a map*. It was a wonderful map. We took two in fact! Just in case one of us got eaten, the other would be able to safely navigate her way out of the woods. We haven’t mentioned, this is a black bear and timber rattlesnake area. We didn’t know that until we got out of the car, and read the sign. Woops.

Unfortunately, Gina made the mistake of leaving the map interpretation up to me. I found the largest P for parking lot, assumed that was our parking lot, and interpretted the map accordingly. Somewhere around dusk, I realized that there were actually about 6 parking lots marked on the map, but more on that later.

After the falls we continued on to Carris Hill, and started the arduous ascent up the “hill”. I, in Hush Puppies, Gina in sneakers. Later investigation of the website that we got the idea from showed that the author suggested this trail not be taken, as it was poorly maintained and organized.We managed to find our way to the top before sunset, and enjoyed the beautiful view.

Getting up the hill, though challenging as the elevation topped 1000ft, proved not to be the hardest part of our little excursion. It should be noted that, visible in the photo is the Manhatten skyline. We were situated just north of West Milford, which is some 40+ miles from NYC.

The trouble started as we descended from Carris, around 6 o’clock. We expected to reunite with our original trail and head back to the parking lot. What we found was the unsettling fact that the trail had *several* WHITE trails that separated in to 3 distinct directions. Not anticipating this, and due to the fact that I was still assuming our parking lot was the wrong one, we missed the trail we needed. Already somewhat on edge due to the setting sun, we moved quickly in the wrong direction, and put at least a mile between us and the correct turn in the trail. We also found ourselves maneuvering increasingly tricky river crossings which easily ate up 45 minutes of our remaining daylight. All for naught.

Once we realized our mistake, a debate arose. I, being the expert navigator, felt that deviating from the trail and following the GPS’s arrow indicator towards the car, was the best bet. Gina suggested we continue on the trail, as it was marked, and even if the sun went down, at least we’d know where we were. Worst case scenario, we end up at the wrong parking lot and take a taxi back to the car.

We backtracked to the point where the white trail veered off in three directions, and decided it was best to rely on the GPS. This led to some fun bushwhacking. And let me just point out here, while we may have gotten out of the woods, this was the worst idea I could have come up with. Crossing through the rattlesnake infested woods, off the trail, and trapsing through piles of leaves was a really, really, dangerous plan. Also, I continually harrassed Gina to let me use her Rubbermade water bottle to fill up on creek water. She told me I’d get the shits. This warning was later found to be warranted, when we discovered toilet paper with brown matter on it strewn next to the creek.

Though also thirsty, Gina was more concerned about bears. I remember on several distinct occasions, specifically as we removed our shoes for yet another river crossing, her eyes darting around the surrounding woods. I thought she was concerned hikers would come upon us and be appalled at our shoelessness. After we were safely at an Outback Steakhouse, she told me she had been checking for bears.

As we neared the sub-1 mile mark on our return trek back to the car, the GPS began blinking for low battery. Luckily, right before the sun had fully set, we got to the point where we could see cars on the highway ahead of us, up one last ridge (This was around 8 o’clock, in early April). We used the cars’ location as a guide, hiked up to the lowest point on the highway, and began the last leg of our journey back to the car. By this point, it was entirely dark. Intead of bears and rattlesnakes, we had motorcycles and cars to contend with, driving on the steep turns and not seeing our nutty asses until they were right upon us.

As we walked up and spotted Gina’s delicious white Infiniti alone in the parking lot, I continued my slow shuffle, while Gina began dancing footloose and running. There was much guzzling of water, and discussion of how we needed to eat something that had siblings. As we dined in an Outback Steakhouse, a solitary dog tick climbed up my arm. Our only real interaction with the wildlife of West Milford.

We spent that night laying on the floor and talking about how lucky we were to be alive. We’ll definitely go back, but maybe next time we’ll bring two bottles of water.

The device that saved our lives:

Starbucks VIA Wallet

2009-04-06T11:39:00.000-04:00

As some of you may know, I took a sewing class this winter at Brookdale. I had a wonderful teacher who was so very patient with my perfectionism. In 8 weeks I managed to make a pair of pj pants, a pair of shorts and about half a robe. I’m still working on sewing the sleeves on my robe but I thought I might do a fun mini-project in between.

Since I’m obsessed with Starbucks new instant coffee VIA, I wanted to make a pouch so I could bring it with me to work or any place else I may need a fix. I found a great pattern on etsy by BreeLeeD and got to work!

It took me about an hour and a half total. I learned a lot of new techniques, like adding interfacing and using fusible velcro for the fastener.

The pattern is a great way to use the smaller scraps of fabric that I’ve collected. The outer fabric is from the Short Cuts section of jcaroline creative and I picked up the lining at Walmart at $2.97 a yard (will definitely miss the fabric departments after they close). The closure is made by using two pieces that I found in a bag of scraps for $3 and the button came with a shirt I got at Target. Thrifty!

Since the pattern is made for Tea bags, the dimensions aren’t ideal but I will be tinkering a bit to make it more VIA friendly.

I know its not much to brag about but I am definitely impressed with myself! Andrew and my mom immediately thought about ways to profit from my new skills: “How many can you make a day?” “You’re going to sell those on etsy right?”

For now I’m just happy I used the iron without burning myself. But I will definitely make more of these in the future.

Deep Cut Gardens: Disrobed

2009-04-06T05:23:00.000-04:00

Andrew and I spent Saturday exploring Deep Cut Gardens, which was built as a retreat for Vito Genovese, the mafioso from New York who liked to vacation in Jersey.

As we learned about home compost techniques, we noticed a group of people our age walking awkwardly behind us. Soon, one of them had removed all her clothing as the others began to set up what we assume was a photo shoot. We may never know what happened that day, as we had already jumped a fence and escaped via employee-only roads. There are no pictures from that part of the trip. But, we did find this beautiful Parterre:

The steps leading up to the horticultural center had lots of nooks and crannies that looked perfect for sitting and reading a book or taking a nap!

There was also a really cool pond that had some big bad koi in it:

After Deep Cut we had our usual fun of pancakes and starbucks. I stared longingly at the new leaf mugs that Starbucks has. I ended up getting some double walled white tumblers and a glass Bodem mug for Andrew:

It was a nice relaxing day, which probably explains the disaster of a trip we had on Sunday. More to come on that.

Starbucks New Instant Coffee Takes A Hike

2009-03-18T04:10:00.000-04:00

Andrew and I went on a 10 mile hike through the NJ Pine Barrens on Saturday and packed all the essentials: oreos, animal crackers, peanut butter and bread.

I also brought something that I knew would perk us up mid-hike: Starbucks new ready brew instant coffee VIA. We found a spot in the shade and used some smartwater to brew a packet of the Italian Roast. The coffee dissolved pretty instantly, but we shook it for good measure (creating the foam you see).

Our water wasn’t hot either, and it was about 35 degrees out so we had ourselves a nice refreshing iced/cold coffee for the last 5 miles.

We both agreed that it didn’t taste any different than the coffee you get from a brick-and-mortar Starbucks. In fact, I think it tastes better because the intensity reminded me more of an Americano. I think the best part is that you can manipulate the concentration of the drink by adding more water, so I recommend starting with about 6-7oz of water and working your way up until you get something that has the right bite but not too much of a stinging aftertaste. (Some people have said that it was too strong or had a metal aftertaste…add more water! Others said it was too mild…use less water! I don’t have a chemistry degree but I think that’s the basic idea there.)

I have to admit I liked it so much that when Andrew and I stopped at a Dunkin Donuts Monday morning, I asked for hot water and brewed some in a dunkin donuts cup! Incestuous, I know but so delicious.

Tree Pose

2009-03-17T16:54:00.001-04:00

Andrew made this cool avatar for me from a picture we took at High Point State Park over the summer. I was really into yoga then and would do the tree pose whereever we went. With all the turmoil at work lately, it makes sense that I should return to this pose. My yoga teacher told me that the tree pose is meant to help root you and bring balance and strength into your life. I don’t believe in folklore too much, but sometimes it is nice to feel physically powerful, in a world where so little is really under our control.

Burn Baby Burn!

2009-03-03T13:26:00.001-05:00

What were we talking about? Oh right, lighting oneself on fire.

- Me, after cracking up and forgetting what I was laughing at.

Free Stuff and Siblings

2009-03-01T07:54:00.000-05:00

One of the companies on my floor closed their office and gave me boxes of post-it notes, highlighters and files. I also got a Xerox copier, a HP copier/fax/scanner/printer, two monitors and a projector. Before Andrew and I left on Saturday, Ronnie asked if he could check out the projector. I arrived at Starbucks to see the following tweets from him:

Ronnie: http://twitpic.com/1raqg - Check out this sweet projector I got for FREE!!
Ronnie: http://twitpic.com/1rart - The projector in action, playing Hulk vs. Wolverine. Deadpool!
Ronnie: http://twitpic.com/1rbpg - Just got this projector for free. Lets fire it up!
Gina: @rawnzilla Um…I think you’re referring to my free projector?
Ronnie: @ginaaah that i got for free from you!
Gina: @rawnzilla That I’m letting you play with today for free. Is it working?
Ronnie: http://twitpic.com/1rc26 - It works!! Hulk vs wolverine

I know I’m being puerile but it is so hard to grow out of the whole “HEY GIMME BACK THATS MINE” dynamic. Oh brother!!

Love Story

2009-02-27T08:32:00.000-05:00

Gotta love local news. MyCentralJersey.com/lovestory shares the inspirational stories of how couples met. Headlines include:

‘He asked what I was doing on the weekend and did I want the honor of taking him to the movies.’

‘As we were talking he asked me if I wanted a coke and a burger, and two years later we were married.’

She gives him a second chance after they miss each other at Olive Garden

‘“I chased him around a table and generally scared him to death”’

‘He actually told me he loved me’

Without ‘liquid courage,’ he declines her offer to dance

Reading these stories is a surefire way to feel normal.

Boogers and Woogers

2009-02-26T02:54:00.001-05:00

This is probably the only thing that remains from my BA in Forensic Psychology: an excerpt from a textbook cut out and poorly scanned.

Somedays this makes too much sense to me. Who doesn’t want to keep the boogers from eatin’ the woogers?

Good Day?

2009-02-25T10:05:00.001-05:00

It is a pretty good day except it was gonna be a pretty very good day because the cafeteria said they were having meatloaf but then they didn’t so it is just a pretty good day.

- Me. This is before my Americano exploded in the microwave, making it an almost pretty good day.

LandsEnd.com Virtual Model Glitch Destroys Body Image

2009-02-22T07:27:00.000-05:00

As I’m sure happens in offices around the world, where there is unlimited internet access and never-ending work, comes procrastination. On a recent afternoon, I decided to take my measurements and load them into the Land’s End website. What fun!

But when I tried to make an outfit around my new Land’s End Terrain Ballet Shoes, I was told that my model was incompatible with them. The result:

Where my pants went, I do not know. But look! The shoes are right! I only had to gain 115 pounds in order to wear them.

Who knows, maybe they’re onto something. I think I’ll load this new me into the Virtual Model Community and watch as the no-pants trend takes off!

Princeton Battlefield Park and Pancakes

2009-02-22T06:35:00.001-05:00

Yesterday Andrew and I went to Princeton Battlefield Park. We saw a man dressed in period wear smoking a pipe and walked through a field of geese poo to see the colonnade that designates the burial ground for all the soldiers (British and American) who died in the battle. The colonnade used to be an entranceway to a home in Philly. Andrew and I both agreed, it is the only way to enter a home.

Afterwards we had lunch at PJ’s Pancake House. The experience deserves its own post.

There are more pictures in this set, which illustrates just how difficult it is to get a picture of Andrew.

And he still got accepted!

2009-02-19T16:22:00.001-05:00

I fail to see the relevance this question, or what bearing it has to my application. Therefore, I respectfully decline to answer.

- Andrew, on his application to NYU, after they asked what song he would sing if he was in a talent show.

Dreams of Being a Bitch

2009-02-17T04:26:00.000-05:00

Lady Barista: Here's your change and your drink, have a nice day!

Starbucks Customer (stays in line with her food/drinks on counter in front of me): I set my alarm for 6:15 and then slept for another hour!

Man Barista: That's because you were partying like a rock star last night.

Starbucks Customer: I know and I totally can't believe I slept so late! I was just like BLAHHHH

Me: Hey, sorry to interrupt but did you hear the news?

Man Barista & Customer: What?

Me: You're not the only people in the world. Tall Americano please.

Pancakes & Love

2009-02-15T06:56:00.001-05:00

Yesterday I made heart shaped pancakes for my valentine. I used batter blaster and spent the morning practicing my technique (also known as eating seven mishapen slighty burnt pancakes). There are lots of heart pancake molds, but I liked the varied shapes that came from making my own.

Head Over Heels

2009-02-15T05:50:00.002-05:00

Andrew and I spent Valentine’s Day driving around Lake Hopatcong. We saw some beautiful estates, with tennis courts and floating game houses. We also saw a lot of outhouses and questionable lawn decor (mannequin, gas pump…). I think the picture above pretty much sums it up. If you can look past the massive man, there is Lake Hopatcong in the background!

Happy Valentine’s Day!

2009-02-14T06:11:00.001-05:00

Rapist Glasses

2009-02-13T03:34:00.001-05:00

In honor of all that stays the same, here I am with some nifty reading glasses.

What a cutie!

2009-02-13T03:30:00.001-05:00

In honor of all that is red, here I am with a little brother in a bowl.

One year of BLISS!

2008-12-15T17:08:00.000-05:00

One year of BLISS!

Bruce: A Sonnet May 2008

2008-12-05T18:11:00.000-05:00

I wanted a kitten for my birthday,
So I went down to the shelter to find
A furry partner for sleeping and play
And found you, the friendliest of your kind.
But soon between us there was a problem
With your all-night mewing, and tendency
To claw at my face when being cuddlesome
Sadly, all that seems a dependency!
Let’s not forget you sleep on my clean clothes,
And with your tail knock glasses off counters.
Although despite all the scratches and woes,
I do enjoy each of our encounters.

…Even now as I try to compose this
You climb my back and give a wet nosed kiss.

Bruce: an angel and a king.

2008-12-05T18:05:00.001-05:00

Bruce: an angel and a king.

Bruce

2008-12-05T02:53:00.001-05:00

Bruce, I miss you so much. Thank you for all your silliness and sweetness. I feel so lucky to have been your Mom for five awesome years. Thank you for taking good care of me and my family and always striking a picture-perfect pose. We love you very much.

Everyone please pray for my Bruce.

2008-12-02T10:41:00.002-05:00

Everyone please pray for my Bruce.

I just want to know what kind of flower I am!

2008-11-29T13:55:00.001-05:00

I just want to know what kind of flower I am!

- Andrew, while completing surveys online.

Wax Statues

2008-10-30T16:35:00.001-04:00

The new installment at Madame Tussauds is quite impressive. Though the party scene is all wrong for us. We should be in Andrew’s car, lost, eating animal crackers.

Missing DC Days!

2008-10-15T03:36:00.000-04:00

Missing DC Nights

2008-10-15T03:30:00.000-04:00

Stop Or My Mom Will Shoot!

2008-10-05T17:34:00.001-04:00

Move night with Andrew uncovered this gem!

5 days until our D.C. Trip!!

2008-10-04T06:13:00.000-04:00

5 days until our D.C. Trip!!

Five Guys Nightmare

2008-10-04T06:07:00.000-04:00

Scene: Gina and Andrew, their lips burning after eating Cajun fries, return to the Five Guys in Shrewsbury, NJ to claim the rest of their order...

Gina: Hi, I ordered two fries, one regular and one Cajun and I only got one Cajun fry.

5 Guys Lady: Which one do you need?

Gina: I got the Cajun so I need the regular.

5 Guys Lady: 2 LARGE CAJUN FRIES ON THE FLY! MAKE EM EXTRA CAJUNY! FORGOTTEN ORDER!

Andrew: You know we have to eat them all.

You Can't Blink: A Poem by Sarah Palin

2008-10-01T10:17:00.000-04:00

You can’t blink.
You have to be wired
In a way of being
So committed to the mission,

The mission that we’re on,
Reform of this country,
And victory in the war,
You can’t blink.

So I didn’t blink.

-Sarah Palin to Charles Gibson, ABC News, September 11, 2008

Whew!

2008-09-26T03:46:00.001-04:00

Whew! This was definitely the hardest secret to keep! For Andrew’s birthday I’ve planned a road trip to Washington D.C. We’ll be staying in a replica of the Lincoln Room from the White House, hiking in Rock Creek Park, going on a day cruise to George Washington’s estate at Mt. Vernon, visiting President Lincoln’s Cottage at the Soldier’s Home and of course, the Lincoln Memorial!

Don’t buy meat that is on sale.

2008-09-24T16:50:00.001-04:00

Don’t buy meat that is on sale.

- Me, after learning the hard way.

Spaghettios for Dinner

2008-09-20T07:55:00.001-04:00

Andrew and I are camping at Round Valley Reservoir today. We’re kayaking to our site and plan on eating cold spaghettios for lunch/dinner/breakfast.

Slow Cooked

2008-09-14T15:25:00.001-04:00

I’m working on being a grown up, so I bought a slow cooker at WalMart. I tried out this recipe. I used a Spring Vegetable soup mix instead of broccoli. It was super easy to prepare and smells delicious, but I won’t know until 9pm tonight how it turned out.

Let’s hope it’s edible —it’s supposed to be anniversary dinner tomorrow with Andrew! 9 months!

How To Have a Healthy and Happy Relationship

2008-09-08T04:05:00.001-04:00

Be Equally Clueless

Andrew: I feel like we're getting better at kayaking.

Gina: Or we could be getting better at being bad at kayaking.

Birthday!

2008-08-14T09:23:00.001-04:00

Oh YEAHHHH, had a birthday recently. It was also National S’mores day so we made some over our fire pit (Andrew lost some knuckle hair, but I say it was worth it). I got a sweet cake from people at work (see above). Anddd Andrew got me awesome peridot earrings and tickets to go see David Sedaris in Princeton!!! Clearly, best birthday ever!

How To Have a Healthy & Happy Relationship

2008-08-14T09:07:00.000-04:00

Compliment Each Other

Gina: I can't text while driving as well as you can.

Andrew: I can't play with my hair as well as you while I drive.

Yeah, that’s a bear.

2008-08-03T07:01:00.001-04:00

Yeah, that’s a bear.

- Andrew at Rutger’s Gardens yesterday.

Great Falls in Paterson NJ.

2008-08-01T17:43:00.001-04:00

Great Falls in Paterson NJ. Seems too perfect? Crackheads smoking up on the other side of the bridge.

Blag Like No One's Reading

2008-07-30T16:16:00.000-04:00

Gina: I want to dance!!!!!

Andrew: dance like no one is watching

Andrew: love like nobody cares

Andrew: right? isnt it that?

Gina: love without hesitation or something

Gina: love without expectation

Andrew: love like you've never been hurt

Andrew: work like you don't need the money

Andrew: prance like your pants are too tight

Gina: act like you have amnesia

Andrew: spit like you have an under bite

Gina: you know I'm blagging this

I owe Simply Red an apology for my last post. I really do love his album Home. I was just distraught because I lost a raffle, and I hate being a loser. Really, with that hair, how can I be mad at Mick Hucknall for long??

2008-07-28T20:57:00.000-04:00

I owe Simply Red an apology for my last post. I really do love his album Home. I was just distraught because I lost a raffle, and I hate being a loser.

Really, with that hair, how can I be mad at Mick Hucknall for long??

Got myself a package of Stella D’oro Breakfast Treats. Delicious with black coffee. Just don’t dunk them, they quickly turn into mush and make your coffee lumpy. Snack time, anytime.

2008-07-28T20:16:00.000-04:00

Got myself a package of Stella D’oro Breakfast Treats. Delicious with black coffee. Just don’t dunk them, they quickly turn into mush and make your coffee lumpy.

Snack time, anytime.

Andrew surprised me at work with an awesome bouquet for our anniversary on the 15th. It has these crazy cool green carnations, white Gerbera daisies, white Asiatic lilies, white daisy poms, and green button poms. I’ve never seen green flowers before; they are beyond perfect. The lilies just bloomed—-my new favorite flowers!

2008-07-25T16:23:00.000-04:00

Andrew surprised me at work with an awesome bouquet for our anniversary on the 15th. It has these crazy cool green carnations, white Gerbera daisies, white Asiatic lilies, white daisy poms, and green button poms. I’ve never seen green flowers before; they are beyond perfect.

The lilies just bloomed—-my new favorite flowers!

Yesterday, Andrew surprised me in the parking garage of my office (with a knife and a ski mask), took me to Panera for some corn soup and then gave me a 6 foot wooden statue of Jesus. We found a playground, swang, and sang Simply Red. Best day ever.

2008-07-22T15:15:00.000-04:00

Yesterday, Andrew surprised me in the parking garage of my office (with a knife and a ski mask), took me to Panera for some corn soup and then gave me a 6 foot wooden statue of Jesus. We found a playground, swang, and sang Simply Red. Best day ever.

I orbed Andrew.

2008-07-09T22:08:00.001-04:00

I orbed Andrew.

Seventeen Syllables

2008-07-06T19:20:00.002-04:00

Seventeen Syllables

Haikus brought to you by Andrew and Gina.

Word of the Day

2008-07-03T15:30:00.000-04:00

Grania and Cormac bring you the word of today:

rigmarole - [noun]
an elaborate or complicated procedure

confused, incoherent, foolish or meaningless talk.

Google Sponsored Links

2008-07-03T12:40:00.000-04:00

Lately the top of my gmail has had this ad on it:

Are you insane? - quiz.devbook.com - !@#$%^&*()[]<>:’ Find out with this fun quiz

Or, the top of emails from Andrew will read:

Don’t Touch My Baby - mytinyhands.com - A sign that nicely asks strangers to not touch your baby!

Yes, they claim that the Google AdSense program is completely automated. But come on! How could a robot provide such useful information?