A Random Assortment

I inadvertently took three days off from blogging. Life got in the way and I lost track of how fast days were passing. But that's not to say that I didn't have things going on! For one thing, there was a supermoon lunar eclipse, which I of course stayed awake for. 

I think it ranks up there as the coolest astronomical phenomenon I've seen to date. The only thing that might have ranked above it would have been seeing northern lights when I was about 11. My parents ran outside with my brother (the other one stayed asleep) and they tried to get me to come out too, but I had a migraine and elected to stay in bed. Now, 16 years later, I wish I had sucked it up and gone to see the northern lights, because who knows when that will happen again in my lifetime + in my range of vision? As a result, this eclipse wins the award. 

In other news, Chaz made it back from India all in once piece! Here's an old, unrelated picture of us in case you forgot what he looked like since he was gone for so long.

I started the scooter while he was gone, which is why that picture is even remotely relevant. 

In more unrelated news, I finished all of Parenthood. I am simultaneously devastated that it's over and very satisfied with how it ended. 

I could also mention making pumpkin ice cream and/or taking a business trip and realizing that I had forgotten my wallet at home, but I'll save that for another time. That's all for now!

What if...

Scattered throughout my 26 years are some things that I did because no one ever told me they were hard. Most of them involve food. For example, one night while I was in 9th grade, I decided that I needed to make a pie that very evening. I whipped out the Joy of Cooking, found a recipe for pie crust and then pie, and made both. Later my mom said, "Wow, you made the crust? Pie crust is hard!" I looked at my pie and shrugged. I didn't know it was supposed to be hard, and therefore it wasn't. Months later - the next time I decided to make a pie - my pie crust was a struggle because I knew it was "hard" and I didn't trust myself to be able to replicate what I'd done the fist time.

Angel food cake is the other one that comes to mind. Supposedly, it's one of the more difficult things to bake. Yes, it does require that I follow the instructions so that I can consistently get it to turn out the same way every time, but when I made it the first time, the "hard" label didn't pop up until after it had disappeared after a group dinner.

Angel food cake: the only baked good that I can think of that takes a full dozen eggs.

Last example - and no food involved! Oboe. I picked it up in 6th grade at my dad's suggestion. I wanted to play flute or clarinet, but my dad said, "What about oboe?" I didn't know what it was, but we loaded up the good ol' World Book Encyclopedia on our household computer and watched the little video demo that was on there, and I was sold. It was only years later that people started saying, "Oboe...that's, like, a really hard instrument, right?" 

I never knew how to respond, because I had no context in which it might be a hard thing. It was just the way it was, and I either rose to the occasion or didn't, and whether it was hard or not had nothing to do with it. 

I obviously don't want to go too far and put a blanket statement out there (i.e. always trust yourself, things are only hard if you make them hard, etc.) because there are things that really are hard in life. Like calculus, for example. That is one thing I will never be able to just do. But it does make me stop and think about how many things people stop themselves from doing because they assume they don't have the skills to do it or because they're afraid of failure. What if we could just somehow take that away? 

One thing that IS hard? Staying awake when you kept yourself up too late the night before. That is no good. Don't do it to yourself. Pick other hard things, ok?

Home Alone

As I mentioned in at least one (if not multiple) previous post(s), Chaz is currently traveling for a usually extended period of time. 10 days? No good. He's in India, so it's not just a quick phone call away. 9.5 hours time difference is a beast, I tell ya. So here I present to you a most definitive* guide: Five Ways to Occupy Yourself While Your Husband is on a Business Trip!

*Definitive if and only if you're me. 

1. Fill the House with People

So far, since Chaz has left, my family has visited and I've hosted a movie night. Tomorrow night I have choir rehearsal, then Friday night I'll have dinner with a friend, then Saturday contains two separate social gatherings. This schedule makes me sound like I just have this overwhelming social calendar and can't you tell I'm just so popular?! I promise you this is not the case, and I don't think I've had this many social events in a single week since...oh, college. But that would just be called "life in a dorm." 

Dominoes with my brother. So social!

2. Costco

I could devote a whole post to Costco. Next week! Look for it! Costco might just be the best non-human thing to emerge from Washington (state). The best human is Chaz, but that is not what we're talking about here. Costco is a magical land where you can find everything from a giant package of toilet paper to the world's best muffins to a 100000000-inch TV (false - just a huge one) to fresh flowers to mattresses to a hot dog and drink combo for $1.50. They also have samples. It is the ultimate place for people of all ages, and we got there at least once a week. Usually after church on Sunday. Yesterday, I went there for bacon. Because bacon.

3. Parenthood

No, not parenting. Parenthood the show. Ok, ok, I know I'm several years late to this party, but honestly, there's no better time to binge watch a show than when you're home by yourself. And season five? SAD. I do not cry at movies. I do not cry at shows. I do not cry almost ever...EXCEPT for during pretty much every episode focused on Julia and Joel with legitimate tears. This is a whole new world for me. Anyone else want to 'fess up to doing the same?

[source]

4. Cook

It's not that I don't cook when Chaz is at home. But experimentation is so much easier when you're the only person that has to deal with slash eat the consequences. And we already know how that turned out.

5. Practicing a long-neglected instrument

It's true. The oboe made an appearance, and it wasn't horrible. A little Brahms, a little Tchaikovsky, a little Bach...it's making a comeback. Heck, if it can happen to a blog, it can happen to an oboe, right?

The overly-dramatic instrument shot. It's a classic.

So there you have it: the guide to what I've been up to for the past four days. What else should I add to my routine? Knitting? Parkour? Shape Note singing? Skydiving? This is my chance to live large, obviously. Can't let that go to waste...

Fulfilling a Dream

The other night, I had a marvelous, memorable dream. Well, caveat - the storyline of the dream is lost in the mists of my subconscious, but one thing remained very clear: I made Brussels sprouts and steak tips and woke up just before I got to eat them.

So for the next two days, I craved Brussels sprouts like I have never craved Brussels sprouts before, which is to say that I thought about them often. I don't think I've ever craved Brussels sprouts before.

Finally, I decided to bite the bullet and do it, because I was tired of my mind constantly telling me that I needed them. Fun fact: this is not the season for Brussels sprouts, or at least Trader Joe's failed me and didn't have any fresh ones. They DID have frozen ones though, so I figured those must be a little less than as good and bought them anyway. Next I stopped at the butcher and got myself some steak tips to have as a side with my sprouts.

The next day, I got to work. Another fun fact: Brussels sprouts smell BAD. They're delicious, but if you were going by smell alone, you'd avoid them entirely. Nevertheless, I pressed on.

I knew I was in trouble when they felt a little squishy before they were cooked, but I abandoned all logic and thought, "Well...maybe cooking makes them more crunchy!" Hey self...cooking vegetables doesn't work that way. 

I followed the recipe to a T, because everyone said they were great. And in a way, they were right - the flavor turned out to be really great. BUT. They were squishy, and because the recipe included maple syrup and bacon + grease, they were caramelized. Again, not bad in theory, but when I found myself with Brussels sprouts stuck to my teeth, I decided that this particular recipe needed to be banished to the far corners of recipe exile. Either that or I need fresh Brussels sprouts.

Meanwhile, the steak tips! I don't have a grill, and I'd never done steak tips by myself before. I also don't have a broiling pan, so I ended up with a cookie sheet covered with a sheet of aluminum foil. And thank goodness for the foil, because halfway through the cooking time, I saw smoke pouring out of an oven vent. 

I'm not someone who generally screams, and that held true, but it might be safe to assume that there was a litany of milder curse words running through my head. Turns out, the steak tips were delicious, but the juices on top of foil don't do so well when sun tanning themselves under a broiler. 

Never fear! My cookie sheet remained unscathed, and the steak tips emerged perfectly. And yet...I say it's time to buy a grill. 

So the verdict is that this dream remains only half-fulfilled. Please, I beg of you, help me out - what's the best way to cook Brussels sprouts??

What about second breakfast?!

Hobbits, they say, eat several large meals per day. While I am not a hobbit myself, I did try out their many-meals philosophy on Saturday. My friend Beth and I got breakfast after I dropped Chaz off at the airport. She lives just outside of the center of town in Beverly and it was a beautiful day, so we walked into town and went to our quasi-normal breakfast place of choice. As usual, the food was your average breakfast food: eggs, bacon (me) or sausage (Beth), home fries, and toast. 

I guess you could say there was nothing notable to mention there, but the food was good and like almost all New England breakfast places, the price was cheap! Side note: did you know that breakfast places are mostly an East Coast thing? Chaz at least says that they are, and he would know, being from Seattle! You can find breakfast on the West Coast, but it's normally more expensive. So there, West Coast! You can have your public beaches, big mountains, and more mild weather. WE have breakfast.

I digress.

Amidst the ingestion of our eggs + bacon + other assorted breakfast items, we talked about other breakfast places in the area. Specifically, a place called Waffle Hauzz (yes, with an A and two Zs) that served gloriously delicious waffles adorned with a number of toppings. It was irresistible. So we finished up our meal, paid our bill, and hightailed it a quarter mile down the road to get ourselves a waffle to share. 

The decor of the place is a bit...unusual. There are snowboards on the walls, which is hilariously out of place on the North Shore of Boston where there are zero mountains. Below the snowboards there's a picture of trees, a painting of a boat, and a poster with R2D2. If I were to throw out one word to describe it, the only thing that comes to mind is "eclectic."

Obviously, the decor is not the point of a restaurant. The point is the food. So since the great they declares that a picture is worth a thousand words, here's the picture:

Or in other words, you must have one of these waffles in your life. Immediately. We split ours, which was the perfect "breakfast dessert" finish to our earlier breakfast. And yes, I think I did gain 10 pounds that morning. WORTH IT. 

Siblings: the Key to your Inner Child

This weekend, two important things happened:

1. Chaz left for India for an infernally long time. We left for the airport at 5:45 am on Saturday and he will return until 1:30 pm on September 30th. The level of detail included there was for no other purpose than to emphasize that it's a long time to have the queen-sized bed to myself figure out what to do with myself when he's not here.


2. My family came to visit for the weekend during his absence, which gives me a chance to stop acting like a responsible adult.

Here's the fam's next album cover, pre-Photoshop:

I don't know how I managed to avoid getting my toes in that picture. Miracles DO happen, I say. 

During the course of their visit, I have done the following:

1. Sung along with a Brahms symphony at top volume to prove that the melody was singable.
2. Climbed a tree.
3. Eaten far too much chocolate.
4. Played dress-up in a store.
5. Bought a bouncy ball out of those machines that you think hold not-so-buried treasure as a child.

Siblings bring out the weirdest side of you imaginable. It was glorious. And I know for a fact that we inspired a child, because a dad and his three-year-old were walking by as I cranked the magical wheel, and five seconds later she had her dad digging a quarter out of his pocket.

So if you ever feel like setting your burdens and cares aside for a few hours, call me up. I'll lend you either of my brothers, because as the oldest, I clearly own them. They'll teach you all sorts of useful things, like how to play video games until 4am and not fall asleep, or how to dress like a trendy pre-college fashion icon (key point: wear a "mid-thigh or higher skirt," according to the one pictured above). Due to their advice, I even became a world-class hipster for the duration of the three takes it took to get this photo to an acceptable state.

If they really think you're cool, they might go so far as to dress up for you. At least one of them knows how to tie a bow tie.

I guarantee that they'll make your day. And heck...you might even find yourself smiling like a kid on Christmas morning while hoisting yourself into a tree.

Happy Monday, y'all.

The Tale of the Burning Stench

Last weekend, we had a few friends over on Saturday evening for dinner and some board games. When it's not the summer, we try to do that once a month or so, and last weekend marked the very first one after the summer craziness had mostly ended. It was also the first time that we were hosting it, since our prior apartment couldn't hold eight adults and four kids. I guess you could say it was a trial run for us and our house.

Side note: we do a thorough house-clean every two weeks on Saturday. We'll wake up Saturday morning, eat our cereal, put on some junky clothes, and clean. This Saturday morning happened to be a cleaning day, so we did exactly that, plus running the dishwasher and some weeding/Round-Up. It also should be mentioned that I mowed the lawn for the very first time in my life that day, but that doesn't play a part in this story. I'm just amazed that I got through 25.5 years without managing to do that. #brothers.

Eventually, we finished both the inside and outside work and collapsed on the couch momentarily before going to get ourselves cleaned up for the day. Carefully. We didn't want to get outside dirt/cleaning products/sweat on the couch. I was gearing myself up to launch myself off of the couch when I suddenly noticed something.

J: "Do you smell...burning?"

C: "Yeah...let's check the basement."

J: "No, it's stronger in the kitchen."

C: "Oh wait - is that the dishwasher??"

Sure enough, we opened the dishwasher and out poured a cloud of very likely toxic steam that I promptly inhaled. Sick. At the bottom of the dishwasher, right below the heating ring, was a puddle of black, dripping, disgusting goo that was giving off the most foul odor, which was now wafting into our nice clean house. Turns out, Nalgene water bottles are NOT INDESTRUCTIBLE. Or at least their plastic lids are entirely destructible when they make prolonged contact with hot metal heating rings. 

We scraped it up as best we could with a wooden spoon (that will never be the same, unfortunately) and let the dishwasher finish its work on the rest of the non-destroyed dishes, and I opened all the downstairs windows, figuring that the ungodly scent would dissipate in short order.

The leftover evidence - not what you want to have sitting in your dishwasher, but it will. not. come. off.

Afterward, we got ready for the day, and I ran a couple of errands in preparation of having people over that evening. But when I came back in through the door, the smell of burnt plastic hit me in the face as soon as I opened the door. No! I thought. This is NOT the way our house should smell on our trial game night! So I pulled out every candle I could find in the house and lit them all. 

About an hour later, Chaz looked up from his book, sniffed the air, and said, "You know...I think it's time to blow out the candles. We don't want it to smell like the Yankee Candle store in here." 

When people arrived that evening, no one commented on the smell, so it had either disappeared or they were just being nice. The smell really is gone now, but if you open the dishwasher, you may still catch faint traces of the stink. So a word to the wise: if you're having guests over, make sure to wash all of your plastic dishware at least a day before they arrive.

Do Over

Yesterday turned out to be just one of those days. You know...the kind when you heave yourself into bed at the very end of the day, feeling like you accomplished very little, but you're as tired as if you had run a marathon. The worst part was that it was entirely self-inflicted. I spent far too long running frivolous errands that ended with me arriving at home after 8:00 with no more to show for my erranding efforts than cereal + milk, ground beef, and replenished facewash. 

We ended up doing independent dinner, since neither of us really wanted to sit down and have something more formal. Chaz was working on my car - the brake pads needed to be replaced - and he had already driven to Connecticut and back that day for a work trip. (I should point out here that not every husband would be on the road for work all day, come home, and immediately start working on his wife's car. I won the husband jackpot, I say!) So at some point in the evening, each one of us partook of the newly-acquired cereal + milk from the errands and that was dinner.

That's not to say that yesterday was all bad. It was a beautiful day: 80 degrees and sunny, and the most glorious golden hour happened while I was driving around like a madwoman. In addition, I got to catch up with a most dear friend who lives farther away than either of us would like. Nevertheless, I was glad to see the golden hour slowly melt into dusk, and crawling into bed, perhaps earlier than normal, was a relief. 

Today started out bright and sunny. Yesterday did too, but today especially felt like a fresh start. There's no need to run around after work; that was yesterday's business and since it's over, we can carry on. And for that I'm grateful. Happy Thursday.

Fashion Problems

I started writing about politics today, and then I decided that a) my thoughts weren't quite well-formed enough to make a compelling...thing (case in point), and b) that's far too heavy for a Wednesday morning. Instead, I'm writing about my corduroy dilemma. 

Here's the deal: I have three pairs of pants: one pair of good jeans, one pair of less good/work outside jeans, and one pair of black pants. That's alright, but I really want to add a pair of corduroys to round out my small collection. Usually, Gap is my go-to place for pants. Here's what they've got...

Option 1: A pair of skinny cords in a good color, but that look too tight even for the size 00 model.

Option 2: A pair of boot cut cords in an ok fit, but in no good colors:

Nordstrom had some options, but they were about $150 too expensive. J.Crew also had some good options, but I know from past experience that unless they're juuuuust the right pair, they're always going to be about two inches too short on me. They've also got the same problem as Nordstrom + pricing, but they're a bit more likely to have a decent sale. 

So tell me! Are cords just not cool anymore? Should I wait until next year? Or are there other places that will have good options? Maybe it's too early in the season and all the good cords are coming later? This is clearly a matter of life or death.

Portrait of a Business Trip

By this time, it's a generally known fact that I take a lot of business trips over the summer.  Thus, because I'm totally positive that you must be interested in every second of what happens on one of those trips, here's a recap. 

There are three things to arrange ahead of time: plane ticket, hotel, and transportation. Normally, transportation means a rental car, but that might be either a train (if in Europe) or other public transportation (if anywhere else near a city) depending on where you're going. At my best, I'll arrange that a month or two before the trip. At my worst, well...let's just say I've booked a rental car while flying on a plane with wi-fi. That's never a good idea though, because they have absolutely no incentive to give you a good rate. 

Three quick recommendations: for flights, sign up to get miles from a couple different airlines. I try to always fly JetBlue in the US and American outside the US, because miles have pretty great benefits if you stock up over time.

For hotels, Hotels.com is also really good. They have a lot of hotels to pick from, and for every 10 nights you stay at a hotel booked through them, you get a free night! 

For rental cars, I recently discovered Sixt. Their cars were new and clean, I got a better car for the amount paid each time, their customer service is really friendly, and most importantly, their lines move about 50% faster than all the others. What more could you want from a rental car company?

I usually pack the morning of the trip, because I'm a procrastinator. Fact of life. I'm also a pretty minimalist packer, so a carry on + a personal item is more than enough room. I'll get to the airport around 1.5 hours before leaving, where I'll often meet up with anyone else who's going on the trip. 

Obviously, flying on a plane is flying on a plane. Nothing earth-shattering to report there. Except! JetBlue has FREE wi-fi on some of their planes. Best perk of all time.

Eventually, we get to the hotel and I usually collapse before getting ready for bed.

Doing this is always a bad idea, because it takes me about 30 extra minutes to motivate myself to get myself back up again and ready for bed. 

Eventually I'll get myself there though, and the next morning, we'll head to the school, where we'll train all day long. I looooove having co-workers along with me, because it makes the day go so much faster when you get to share training with someone else. At the very least, it's nice to not end the day with a sore throat!

Explaining a database is just that exciting. Let me tell you ALL about it!

Depending on the school, the time we finish varies. If I'm by myself, I'll usually go somewhere else, spend an hour or two catching up on the other things that have happened during the day, find some food, go back to the hotel and watch junk tv (I watch the Bachelor on business trips - don't judge), and fall asleep. If I'm with someone else, we'll try to go see some of the sights. 

Usually we'll be wherever we are for two or three days, and when that's all over, we'll fly home.

And now you know how I spend a lot of time in the summer. Your life will never be the same.

Homemade Ice Cream

About 3.5 years ago, Chaz gave me an ice cream maker for my birthday. In that time, I've probably only made ice cream three times. That all changed this weekend, because we hosted a game night and I was tired of making cookies, which is my usual go-to. 

Despite the fact that ice cream wasn't in my usual rotation of homemade desserts, I kept the bowl of my ice cream maker in the freezer at all times. Since it's always in there (and always has been in there since the earliest days of bachelorette-hood, when I didn't stock much food), I don't feel like I'm losing space in the freezer because of it. It's a mind trick though, because it totally takes up room. Nevertheless, it's totally going to stay there for the time being because there aren't many things worse than wanting to make homemade ice cream on a whim and then realizing you need to wait at least eight hours for the bowl to freeze. In addition, I don't have extra space in my kitchen to store the thing, so that may be the real reason.

Given that the bowl had been frozen for years, I really don't know why I haven't made more ice cream. It's as easy as pie! Easier, in fact. Pie isn't actually that easy. The ice cream base only has four ingredients!

1. Heavy cream
2. Eggs
3. Sugar
4. Milk

After that, you can decide what else you want to put in. I made two flavors: mint oreo and cookies and cream.

I always pose with my ingredients before cooking...don't you?

FIrst, you whip the eggs until they're light and fluffy. Then you add your sugar, a little at a time, until it's fully mixed with the eggs. Next you add your cream and milk, and then after a bit more mixing, you dump it into your ice cream maker until it does its thing and produces delicious ice cream.

If you want to make a different flavor base, you'll need to mix that in before putting it into the ice cream maker. For mint, I just used peppermint extract, and for the cookies and cream, I used vanilla extract. 

As for the chunks, you'll want to wait until the ice cream is almost done before throwing those into your ice cream maker. If you put them in ahead of time, they'll just sink to the bottom and, though it wouldn't be nonredeemable, it would be less good.

Maybe your ice cream maker is magical, but mine can only get it to a soft-serve consistency. To make it more like "hard" ice cream, it's best to stick it in the freezer for awhile so that it can get as solid as ice cream you buy in the store. And there you have it - How to Make Ice Cream 101. And just because I'm from Vermont, I need to put in a plug for this ice cream recipe book:

It's $7.00 on Amazon, and you can't go wrong. It may just be the best $7.00 that you'll ever spend. Now go make some ice cream!

Recent Thoughts: Part 3 (the last one)

I want to be a more gracious person. I think I'm going to make it my goal for the year to strive toward that. I've been shown so much grace myself...how could I not return it? 

I think of graciousness as a rolled-up combination of humility, joy, gratitude, empathy, and self-confidence. The self-confidence part isn't always easy for me. Occasionally, for example, someone will pay me a compliment. That type of thing is so very appreciated, but my automatic response is to say something along the lines of "Oh no, I don't deserve that for xxxx reason." Especially with music performances, that response is hard to avoid, because anything other than that feels like I'm saying, Yes, thank you, I am the greatest musician of all time. Thank you for recognizing my greatness. In reality though, there's a third option that normally escapes me in the moment. The most natural response would be to say thank you with warmth and affection, and then move on.

Self-deprecation is such an easy trap to fall into. The line between that and humility is a fine one, except that self-deprecation lies at the Selfish end of the spectrum and humility lies at the Selfless end. I'm a highly skilled self-deprecator. So my goal is to become a humble recipient and a fearless giver of grace. Nota bene: this is a long-term goal; no one can effect that type of change overnight change

I'm also fortunate, because my friend Steph is the most gracious person I know, so I have a good role model already built in. She makes every person she meets feel seen and valued, and that, I think, is the outward embodiment of graciousness. 

Once we lucked out and got to go to a Smithsonian on a business trip. 

So there you have it. All of my recent thoughts. You can decide if they're related or not! And I'll go back to regular programming (you know - stories of making homemade ice cream and things) on Monday. Or maybe tomorrow, because this blog appears to be officially back in business.

Recent Thoughts: Part 2

I think it's partly built into our educational structure that school = learning and no school = no learning. Or maybe that's just me. But either way, I've sort of assumed that now that I'm done with school, I've made it to the end of the learning marathon, and now all the running is done. No more learning for me. 16 years of formal education is all I need for the rest of my life.

Unfortunately, it's taken me approximately four years to dig myself out of that rather embarrassing hole of an assumption, with the added assistance of an article I read recently about a guy with no experience who decided to build a boat. It was a good article. He described how he got the idea to build a little boat while walking on the beach with his son, and after some thought, he decided to go for it. Over the five months it took him to build the boat, he started learning how to do woodworking and grew to love it. Because he loved it so much, he built many things in between working on the boat, and by the end, he had some reasonable skill and a new lifelong hobby. 

In a world that prizes excellence, I've found that it's difficult for me to start something new if I know my first attempt is not going to be stellar. I should know better, being a musician (albeit a musician on somewhat of a hiatus at the moment). I can't expect to pick up an instrument and be a prodigy, so this idea that I should be immediately successful at whatever else strikes my fancy is ludicrous. But between the idea of having laughable first attempts plus the assumption that learning is over forever was enough to keep me from trying new things. And that, I finally concluded, is no way to live life. 

So finally, following the banishment of those two ideas, I've started recovering, and it's been great fun to rediscover some long-dormant hobbies. I'm certainly not the best seamstress or photographer, and I may never be able to make a living off of either of those two things, but I may turn into a really fantastic novice. And for now, that's enough. 

Dabbling in photography since at least 2011.

Recent Thoughts: Part 1

I've had three separate topics of thought bouncing around in my head lately. I can't decide if they're related or not, but I figured I'd put them all in one blog post to find out. Backwards? I'm sure if I asked an English teacher, he'd say that the purpose of writing a paper would be to denote pre-organized thoughts, and since I'm using a blog post to create order out of chaos...well, I'd flunk the English exam. Nevertheless, onward we go.

Number 1: screen time. For years, but especially lately, I've felt a somewhat constant dissatisfaction with how often I felt like I was tethered to my phone. I'd wake up in the morning and reach for it immediately, the brightness of the screen forcing me awake before my brain caught up. I'd use it while waiting for anything - Instagram, Facebook, Bloglovin', all while standing in line at the grocery store, or waiting for Chaz to finish something at home. It would be the last thing I looked at before going to sleep, and again the brightness of the screen would keep me awake for longer than necessary. In other words, it was causing me to lose sleep and lose a connection with the world and I wasn't even recognizing it.

In addition, I felt like I had no opportunity for creative output anymore. Instead, I had exchanged that opportunity for the constant input of the thoughts and ideas of the rest of the world. And with no creativity left, it was easy to start believing that I had nothing worthwhile to offer. Everyone is more creative/thoughtful/exciting/fill-in-the-blank than I am, or so the thought process went, and shortly thereafter I'd be rolling in a deep mire of self-deprecation and pity like a pig in mud.

Over time I started to notice both my changed attitude about life and the disconnect with my surroundings. I didn't feel exactly whole anymore, and I think the constant input of noise from news articles, political blogs, Facebook status updates, and other things that I was using as an "escape" was actually causing me to forget how to look at the life right in front of me and engage myself in it. 

So I'm saying, "Enough." I established a 50-minute rule: no phone 50 minutes before going to bed and no phone within 50 minutes after getting up. Admittedly, that idea was stolen from an article I read (yes, on my phone shortly before going to bed), but it was a good idea and one worth implementing immediately. And within literally one day, I felt much more free. I guess phone addiction is real. Hi, my name is Jillian and I'm a phone addict. But at least I'm a recovering one.

This picture has nothing to do with not having a phone, because I took it on my phone.

Since I just took up four full paragraphs with just item number 1, the whole topic is clearly going to need to be three separate posts. No one wants to read nine paragraphs of me rambling. But I AM curious...has anyone else felt the same way? Have you figured out the right balance of life and technology? Tell me your secrets, people!

Catching Up with Common Sense

Believe or not, but the TSA has invented something that just might be the greatest thing since sliced bread. I don't think that's an exaggeration, because let's be honest...most of the best inventions came before sliced bread. The wheel? Toothbrushes? Keys? All before sliced bread.

Two words: TSA Precheck. Or TSA Pre✓, if you want to be totally literal.

[source]

I discovered the magic this summer while traveling for work...but it wasn't because I had it myself. No, why would I take the easy route? Instead, I was stuck going through normal security while my two coworkers breezed through in five minutes or less with their own special line.

This picture was actually taken before we went through security at the Reagan airport in DC, but this is exactly how they felt afterward while they were waiting for me.

Here's what happens. You fill out an application online and then schedule an appointment for an in-person interview of sorts. On the day of your appointment, you go to wherever that appointment is, answer a couple of questions, pay a fee, and you're good to go through security for the next five years with a special line, no need to take your shoes off, no need to take your computer out of your bag, no need to remove your jacket, and five extra springs in your step PER TRIP because you just saved yourself time and the humiliation of someone patting you down because you had a few bobby pins in your hair. Because that happens and it's way awkward.

So finally, Chaz and I came to our senses and filled out the application on Monday. Our in-person appointment was this morning, and now, or at least within 45 days, we will officially each have a Known Traveler Number and can enjoy all the benefits of the government being aware of the fact that we aren't bent on destroying things en route to a school to train them on how to use software. Or vacation, I suppose.

Heading in...

They don't let you have a phone out while you're doing the short interview (for obvious reasons), so I can't give you any fantastically enthralling images of the nice lady taking my fingerprints or me filling out a survey, but that's pretty much all it takes. Aside from the fee and the slight inconvenience of the fact that the TSA Precheck booth is only open during regular business hours, there no reason not to do it. I mean, look how happy we were walking out! Don't you want to experience that kind of joy when traveling?

Arguably, I can't really profess the full benefits until we actually get the number and try it out for the first time, but you can count on getting an update when that day comes. Won't that be the most interesting blog post? Don't get too excited.

Autumn is coming...

I'm going to be totally unique here and mention that I am beyond excited that fall is around the corner. In fact, I continue to wear clothing that's slightly too warm for the current weather simply because I wish it to be cooler. Doing so earns me nothing but extra sweat, but by Jove, I am prepared for cooler weather whether it's here or not. 

The Christmas Tree Shop(pe) was ready a full month ago, though. They're ambitious, those folks. 

I tried to make myself a summer bucket list. I wanted to go on a picnic, even if it was in our yard. I wanted to take a canoe down the river nearby. I wanted to go outside and look at the stars on a clear night. And I did zero of the items on that list. Instead I traveled for work,  and while that was fun in its own way, I ended up feeling like I missed summer entirely. As a result, I am DETERMINED(!) to avoid that pitfall this season. So, without further ado, I present to you my fall bucket list:

1. Pick apples.
2. Bake apple pie.
3. Eat a fresh cider donut.
4. Host a bonfire to make s'mores.

That's all I've got, and every single item on there involves food. It seems achievable, but given my deplorable summer bucket list status, I figured I'd keep it in the "everyone gets a trophy" realm as opposed to going for an Olympic gold. Hold me to it, ok? Now...what's on YOUR list?

Four Years

Four years ago today, Chaz and I were hosting a Friday night dinner party. We weren't dating, but we had started spending much more time around each other over the preceding three weeks, so I guess you could say that we both knew something was up. We had gone grocery shopping the night before - green and red peppers, alfredo sauce, chicken, noodles, and enough apple crisp materials to feed a crowd of seven. We talked as we prepared the food. He told me about a childhood house fire, and I told him about traveling with various musical ensembles. (The house fire was a far more interesting story than the traveling.)

People started to arrive as we were finishing up the cooking around 7:00. We sat down at the table to eat, and I remember thinking that I was disappointed with the flavor of the alfredo stir fry. It was too watery, but I knew I could make up for it with the apple crisp. After dinner, we played some ping pong and explored the house (setting: house-sitting for our boss), and people started to trickle out around 10:00. 

Eventually, we were the only ones left, facing a pile of dirty dishes and pots and pans in the sink. Our conversation finally got to a point where we could not longer avoid the giant question hanging over our heads, so we sat down on the couch and started talking in earnest.

After two hours, we had talked our way through a year and a half of confusion, a week of reintroduction, and two weeks of spending time together. He told me how he felt, but in an act of unmerited graciousness, he left the final decision up to me. And in my typical ultra-practical, not particularly romantic manner, I responded, "Well, we went to Ikea together last week by ourselves. I'm pretty sure that was a date. And then we went grocery shopping together by ourselves yesterday, and I'm pretty sure that was a date too. So we might as well admit that we're dating." And that was that. 

We didn't tell anyone right away (with the exception of my best friend, who got a voicemail at two in the morning when I was driving home, which explains why we're friends, and my mom the next morning, since I didn't want to freak her out by calling in the middle of the night), but a week or two later we acquired matching sunburns as the result of a kayaking trip and the secret was out. 

Kayak trip selfie

I even took a picture of the sunburn for my mom.

This is why I now wear SPF 100.

And four years later, I can safely say that saying yes that night was the best decision I ever made.

Photo credit: Peter Morse

Photo credit: Leighanne Evelyn Photography

Polo Sans Marco

Despite having lived on the North Shore for 8+ years now, I had never made it to the local-ish polo country club. That all changed this past weekend when some friends put a group together and invited us along. I learned some things:

1. Polo is a sport designed for the top 0.0001%. If you're able to afford the four to six horses you personally need to have in order to play the game, you are most likely managing a hedge fund in Boston during the work week. 
2. Polo provided an excellent opportunity to throw the word "plebeians" around in normal conversation.
3. Polo has given me an excuse to go find myself the perfect fascinator.

I couldn't tell you any of the rules, but the point of the game is that there are four players on each side who all try to hit the ball through two goal posts while on horseback. If you understand that much, watching polo is an enjoyable experience. 

Yes, Myopia Polo is the real name of the place, and yes, it was named after nearsightedness.

While the wise among us fit right in with the bourgeoisie throngs, SOME of us (who, me?) didn't even try and played papparazzi instead.

I'm secretly hoping that if I spend enough time around the polo fields, I'll learn the ways of the highest echelon of society so that I can learn how to be supremely classy like Kate Middleton, but for now I'm still the one eating ice cream while everyone else drinks chilled white wine.

Holy freckles.

This guy seems to have pulled off the classy vibe without even trying though, so maybe I can just learn from him.

Overall, I'd highly recommend going to see a match! It isn't free to drive and park, but someone among our group just walked in and didn't get charged. I'm not sure that's legal, but it's certainly possible. There were a number of kids present, and all of them really liked watching the horses, and because it's easy to tell when someone scores, it was fun for them to get into the sporting aspect of it as well. Games are at 3:00 on Sunday afternoons, and halfway through the event, you get to help the players out by stomping the divots back into the ground. It's either a fun community participation factor or free mass labor - your choice!

Fun blurry phone pic...hip hip hooray!

As a bonus, you get to hang out with folks like this guy:

But if you ask me, the horses are the stars of the show. Cheerio!

Traveling Solo

I used to dread going on business trips by myself. It meant that I needed to talk for an entire work day and then either sit alone at a restaurant ("Party of one? Come this way!") or grab food from the grocery store and eat it back at the hotel. Actually, come to think of it, those things haven't changed at all. But lately I've come to appreciate the fact that business tripping by myself means that I have the evenings (after catching up on work) to do whatever the heck sounds like fun without worrying about whether someone else might find it entertaining. 

On this particular trip, that meant wandering around downtown Seattle while ignoring all hunger pangs and the urge to find a restroom in favor of taking pictures. 

It was a beautiful night; who needs food when you can wander? I mean...eventually, I did...but I was glad no one else was around because I didn't eat until 9:30 pm. And I got my dinner at Target in the form of microwaveable chicken tiki masala. Super high class over here...

In addition, without Chaz around to tell me to go to sleep at a normal hour, I typically stay up until I feel like I don't have anything else I could possibly do. That usually means that I binge watch TV shows (ahem...Parenthood, I'm looking at you...) until I can't keep my eyes open.  

Given the fact that I have zero bedtime self control, I wind up heading home with a significant sleep deficit. And then I feel old, because in college, I did that on the daily for a full semester - went to bed at midnight, woke up at 6:30. And I was fine! Now if I try to do that for more than one to two days, I can barely function. 

So I guess I'll never learn, because here I sit at 11:47pm blogging instead of sleeping despite the fact that I need to be up at 6:00 tomorrow. But hey...at least you got to see what Seattle looks like when it's not raining, right? 

DIY No-Sew Reupholstery: Advice from an Unqualified Amateur

Around the time when we moved into the house, we were looking for cheapish but nice quality furniture on Craigslist. Lo and behold, we found an ad for a Crate and Barrel loveseat in reasonable condition (a stain on the seat and a small tear on the top side) for $100. So we forked over the cash, stuck the loveseat in the back of the Uhaul we'd rented to move, and brought it back to our basement until I could figure out what to do with it. 

I had realized quickly after bringing it home that the tear on the top was more of a hole - a needle and thread jobber wasn't going to cut it. Or rather fix it...seeing as it was already cut...hardy-har-har. My choices were either slipcovering or reupholstering, so it sat in the basement for a good three months until this weekend, when I finally decided the time had come! Here's what I started with:

Please pardon the lighting...minimal fluorescent light at 10:00 pm doesn't make for good photos!

I didn't really like the original color, so I started thinking about fabrics. Finally, I stumbled upon a pinteresting suggestion: painting drop cloths! The fabric is tough, the color is neutral, and the price is cheap. Win win win! Even if I messed up, it wouldn't matter, because I could just get another one. I picked up two drop cloths at Home Depot and got to work. 

I started from the back of the loveseat and started cutting out pieces based on the shape. Once I had some pieces, I just started pinning them on to the loveseat. It took some trial and error - as it turned out, starting from the back was actually a terrible idea, since the back needed to be the last piece so that it could cover any loose edges. (Figures...my luck at guessing is so bad that the SAT class teacher at my high school back in the day told me that I'd be better off just leaving SAT questions blank, seeing as so many of my random guesses were wrong!)

After I pinned all that I could pin, it was time to attach the pieces to the frame of the loveseat. I started with a staple gun, but evidently I had bad luck at guessing again, and the one I had picked at random at Home Depot wasn't nearly powerful enough to punch staples through wood. Plan B: picture-hanging nails + a hammer! The nails were small enough that they weren't really noticeable, and the hammer worked far better than the staple gun. 

Poor sad, blurry phone photo...

And so, after much hammering at 1:00 in the morning, the loveseat was covered! Chaz tried it out...

...and since he approved, we hoisted it up two flights of stairs.

It's definitely not perfect, but I think it's a significant improvement upon the original! And if you want to do it yourself, here's what to do:

1. Acquire a piece of furniture. 

2. Gather your materials: 

• Furniture item (one)
• Drop cloths/fabric (estimate yardage)
• Straight pins (many)
• Hammer (one)
• Small nails (a lot)

3. Tuck your fabric into the crevices of the furniture item, making sure that the grain of the fabric is straight (otherwise you'll end up with diagonal lines, and unless that's what you're going for, it probably won't look great). Cut the fabric to fit the shape of the area you're working on, leaving about three inches of extra to fold under and attach to the frame of the furniture item.

4. Pin your fabric pieces to the furniture item, following the lines of the furniture to guide which fabric pieces should get attached first. Keep in mind that your last piece will be the one that covers the most rough edges from other sides, which most likely means the back should be last.

5. When all your pins are in place, grab your hammer and nails and start replacing pins with nails. I found I was too ambitious in pinning, so I needed fewer nails than pins.

6. When all the nails are holding all the fabric pieces in place, step back, put your hands on your hips, and smile with satisfaction.

So there you have it: how to reupholster a piece of furniture without sewing a stitch.