I have two lists going in my mind: stuff we HAVE to do to the apartment and stuff I WANT to do to the apartment.

HAVE to:
Get the electronics pieces a bin to call home.
Get the laundry done AND folded.
Sort out some clothes to donate.
Sort out framed photos and choose which to keep.
Get rid of the last of the cardboard boxes.
Put the feet back on the two easy chairs.

WANT to:
Paint the bedroom & hang the curtains I bought.
Find a cool wall decal to finish off the entry way decor.
Hang pot rack and wine rack in the kitchen.


I need some kind of "motivate you to get your housework done" person. To motivate me. And help me get my housework done.

It's so easy to get lazy! A little organization and you stay on top of your goals for a while, and you think you're doing so well that it's ok to coast. Next thing you know, hell-in-a-handbasket.

Diet, for example. Pre-wedding I was working out at least 3x per week and yoga 1-2 times, watching food choices, etc. After wedding, coasted and POOF: weight back up and I have not been to the gym in a month!

House, for example. We were plugging away at our unpacking, organizing, at the laundry and keeping kitchen in order. And then we stopped paying so much attention and POOF: the mess materialized and the laundry stack grows higher and the kitchen gets out of hand.

Money, for example. All the saving we did for the wedding made the post-wedding budget look luxurious. I spent mine. OK, I got some needed clothes, a great weekend in New York, and some new camera gear. But then, oh yeah, I was broke again. Dammit.

These things got me down. I was feeling very frustrated about not managing these important aspects of my life well. But I'm coming out of my summer (and post-wedding) slump and feeling good about resetting my goals. I want to eat good foods and get the exercise I need (oh yeah, also shed these extra pounds!) I want to keep my house clean and organized so I feel good being there. I want to manage my money well so I have it for the things I want and need, both now and later.

Updated 2009 Goals:

• Reduce red meat, high sodium and fatty foods from diet, aim for more fish, more locally-grown and organic foods.
• Take advantage of grocery delivery service to manage food choices and budgeting.
• Cook at home more and take leftovers for lunches (healthier and cheaper).
• Create a joint bank account for household expenses (bills, groceries) and deposit budgeted amount from each paycheck
• Further pare down on excess clothing: replace old/worn out items with a few new pieces and donate or consign old stuff
• Once clothing is pared down, keep to a laundry schedule. No more "one clean towel" days. No more no clean jeans days.
• Clean up the dishes at night. Every night. One of us, every night. And enjoy it - enjoy how clean it is!
• Get to the gym at least twice a week, and yoga twice. Good for the body, good for the mind. Plus, the yoga is free and the gym is a contract, so don't waste either!
• Paint the bedroom, get nice curtains and make sure that room always feels calm, (clean) and comfortable.
• Sit on the balcony and read, take time to lounge with Zach and don't let these things steal all my time!

Things I love:

1. The Farmers' Market on Mt. Pleasant Street. On Saturday mornings Zach and I drag ourselves out of bed around 10 to walk the three blocks to the small farmers' market in our neighborhood. There's a man selling goat cheeses made on his farm, many fruits and veggies - things that catch my eyes are cherries, leeks, squashes. There are organic meats and eggs. Herb and vegetable plants and flowers. We wander around, pick out what we want to feast on, and make our purchases. When we get home, we make breakfast.

2. My balcony. Our new apartment is on the 10th (top) floor of the building, and we have a large balcony that overlooks the neighborhood behind our building, Mt. Pleasant, and a few blocks beyond that, Rock Creek Park, a dense forest inside the city. The hill beyond has the National Cathedral smack dab in the center of our horizon view. We can see the Russian embassy, the avian center at the National Zoo, the helipad at the Vice President's mansion, Rosslyn, Virginia to the south and Silver Spring, MD to the north. On our balcony we have our sky-garden. Herbs (rosemary, oregano, basil, curry, mint, chives, sage, cilantro), our vegetables (bell peppers, banana peppers, jalapenos, tomatoes) and our flowers (daylily, geranium, daisies, things we don't know the names of). And our camp chairs. We sit on the balcony most evenings, watching the sunset and drinking wine - or, lately, mojitos made with our sky-garden mint.

3. Work: My job is great. I love the kids, the school, most of my coworkers. I've just gotten a new title: Individual Giving Manager; and a raise. I'm going to miss my boss like crazy - she's moving to London after ten years at our school (she was one of the founders). But all will be well. I'm happy with how things went over the last year, and taking time this summer to make solid plans and goals for the year ahead. I've learned a lot, including ways to work prefessionally with challenging personalities, and being sensitive to the many perspectives we all bring to the table at any one time.

4. Zach: yeah, glad we got married. I really appreciate that we've got great married friends who have some insight into the "longer haul" of marriage, but I'm also glad that we're two relatively sane people with a sense of adventure and individuality. I enjoy loving him, and enjoy his company every day. I'm so lucky and happy to be sharing my life with him - I cannot imagine how bor(ed/ing) I'd  be if we'd never met!!

5. My shawls: A year or so ago I found a little Indian import store in the Lower East Side in Manhattan. I bought a beautiful orange shawl with red markings I later learned are the "Om" symbol. I wear it a lot. It's great for hot summer days when the a/c indoors can be too cool for summer tanks. On our last trip to NY last weekend, I went back and bought three more similar shawls. I'm the shawl lady.

6. HGTV: I miss you so.

7. The beach: ever since our wedding, I've missed the rumble of the ocean, the rambling timeless pace of days in beach towns, and my feet in the sand. The few days we had on Hatteras Island were absolutely blissful. I've never been "a beach person" but my memories of that week make me ache for it. That yoga I did on the morning of my wedding - I blame that. All those receptive chakras took in the sea.

8. Improv. Stagemonkeys DC had it's first real performance run and we rocked. That felt so good. And I'm assistant teaching a class for WIT this summer. And we're going to Del Close Festival in NYC in August. All good.


What things do you love right now? 

I am full of SQUEE!!!!!!

We got moved. Mostly. A few more things left to retrieve/donate from the old place.

And the new place rocks. Pics soon. Much unpacking to do...

No internet at home yet. Talk to ya later.

We went out to for hibachi last night - yummy AND entertaining. Then we went to see Observe & Report wit the ever loveable, crack shot Seth Rogen. Funny. God, we needed a night out.

Weddings without drama? Nope. Nice try, chica.

My parents let me know this weekend that they had not realized I'd offered rooms in the beach house to Zach's immediate family for more than Saturday and Sunday night. They refused to accept that we'd asked his side of the family to stay on in the house past the wedding weekend, as we intended to do, with my family. I asked them to reconsider and was told under no circumstances could they (my parents) accept "people we hardly know" being in the (9 bedoroom) house for more than the couple of days around the wedding day. Zach and I had to call his mom and let her know... and she was great - no fuss, just took it in stride and I helped her find a place where she and aunts/uncles coming along can stay in Cape Hatteras. Additionally, as our plan of spending that time with BOTH families is now screwed. So we are getting a room in an Inn or B&B in the area afrer Monday morning as well.

The changes don't affect our wedding day plans, but they drastically affect how we'd hoped to spend the time after the wedding. I had wanted to be able to hang out with all sides of our families, enjoy the actvities of the Banks and relax. Being in multiple locations, there will now be coordinating of rides, meeting times, etc to deal with, in addition to the fact that the long narrow island is quite distant end-to-end. The wedding house is at least 45 minutes from Hatteras, where Zach's side of the family will be staying, and where we'll likely find a place. Plus.. the added expense of paying for a room for a couple of nights.  All this because my parents can't accept being around people who's lifestyle and habits might be somewhat different, and they presume those differences are all of a moral nature, with my parents being the more righteous morally. Seriously - WTF?!

My conclusion: Parents are allowed X amount of, call it "control bucks" to wth which to make power plays in the adult lives of their offspring. Whether they realize it yet or not, my parents just spent theirs all in one place.

I'm getting wedding fever. Just did the sleeping arrangements for the wedding house - all the families should be situated. My only twinge of guilt is for the two little brothers I'm putting on air mattresses under the pool table. I'll help them make a fort to make up for it. ;-)

My dress... FITS! My upgraded gym and yoga regimen is working! Thanks to Kristi - she did the zipping-up honors at a recent "what-do-you-think" try-on. It got a thumbs up. There is still some snugness - not, naturally, in the boob region, as weightloss is both blessing and curse. But that remaining snugness is my ongoing motivation to hit the gym/yoga hard. I've kept up with my goal of two sessions of each per week. And this week is spring break at my school. I'm working, but able to leave a little early or take long lunch - SO: daily gym and yoga three times this week. Add to that, this week, a focus on cleansing foods and lots of water. Except for a nice breakfast with Zach this morning, I've eaten small and, untentionally, meatless meals so far. And lost another lb thankyouverymuch.

Water. So far today, about 50 oz. I'm peeing like a racehorse.

Flowers: for the wedding, Zach liked the chocolate cosmos well enough to not nix them, but didn't care for the Queen Anne's lace so I swapped that for white larkspur. Those with some long stiff grasses in small buckets will be our flowers. I need to remember to buy ribbon for my bouquet and to tie around the buckets. Other pretty things: Kristi is making me spinny things - fabric pinwheels, on bamboo poles,  that will blow in the wind. These will be beautiful!

I'm getting excited about everything. *giggles*

RAIN RAIN GO AWAY COME AGAIN SOME OTHER DAY!

It's so wet out that worms have lost their way. Mistaking sidewalk for soil. Wriggling in puddles.

From my favorite poet, e.e.cummings:

in Just-
spring       when the world is mud-
luscious the little lame baloonman 


whistles       far       and wee 


and eddyandbill come 
running from marbles and 
piracies and it's 
spring 


when the world is puddle-wonderful 


the queer 
old baloonman whistles 
far       and       wee 
and bettyandisbel come dancing 


from hop-scotch and jump-rope and 


it's 
spring 
and 
the 
goat-footed 


baloonMan       whistles 
far 
and 
wee

Drinking a White Russian, remembering a wonderful night in the Quarter. Cheers!