Adventures in DC

A Million Years

2011-12-11T15:25:00.000-05:00

(in blog time)

I know it has been ages since I posted. Basically, coaching volleyball this fall, teaching 8th grade science, and planning a wedding have really been a time suck. Luckily, I haven't felt entirely disconnected because I occasionally get a chance to check out my Google reader and I've also been working on some other blogging projects.

There was the quick ditch effort to put together a page for the JV volleyball team I was coaching and more recently, the blog I created for our wedding. It occurred to me the other day I could have kept it all in the same place and just renamed this space Adventures in Wedding Planning. But, that doesn't really seem fair to Richard and I'm not sure I want the whole family reading 6 years of my ramblings when they stop by to see where we are registered.

So if you're interested in checking out what is going on with the wedding planning, visit whenheathermetrichard.blogspot.com. It's where the writing will probably be until about April. Unless I get a random surplus of spare time, which seems a bit unlikely.

Miss you, little corner of the blogosphere. ~Heather

Cardboard Mountain

2011-08-03T07:01:00.003-05:00

There is a mountain of boxes in the garage. Sure, it is more like the Appalachians than the Rockies, but that does not make it less intimidating.

The thing about mountains, is that it takes a LOT of work (and more often time) to overcome them. This week, however, I have little to no time to spare. Up at 5:15, out by 6:15, at my desk by 7, on the road by 3:15, dressed and on the court by 4:15, home by 8:30, dinner done by 9, bed by 10. For those of you not super good at math, that is exactly one awake hour a day not allocated to something. Last night, I spent it going to Target to get appropriate shorts for coaching and groceries.

At practice yesterday, I found out that my coaching duties extend to weekends for all of August. Which means no Saturday recoveries (7 a.m. practice start times are not conducive to sleeping in). I'm not too down about that, and I'm hoping the early start means that I'll have the afternoons to delve into the unpacking of things and general house organization and that maybe RJ and I can sneak in a few venue visits into the plans for Sundays so we can nail down a date and location for the wedding.

But that still leaves some serious hills when you add in all the other normal things that typically go into a weekend (like laundry, errands, a social event or two, church, etc.). I know we'll get there, and that after I'm done at Research!America this week, there may even be a few days when I'll get to sleep for a full 8 hours!

College-me would be super distressed by this type of schedule wearing me down. Then again, college-me very rarely saw the sunrise or got to come home to a home-cooked meal from a loving and doting man. Despite the lack of zzz's, I think I have the better deal.

July Shall Be Known as the Month of Big Changes

2011-07-27T14:35:00.004-05:00

To start with, you should know that I've been living in my current townhouse for 3.5 years. I found it while walking to the metro from work. When I moved in, it was my 15th move in 10 years. I've been in my current job for exactly 3 years and eleven months today. Also, I have officially been with Richard for one year and one month today.

So here's the news: RJ proposed on the 4th of July, and, of course, I said yes! It was super exciting and fireworks will never be the same again. Around the same time, I had an interview to become a volleyball coach, which turned into a position as the head JV coach at a high school out near Great Falls National Park.

While that was happening, RJ applied for and got a promotion that moved his job from Kingstowne out to a movie theater that is literally 8 minutes door-to-door from his house out in Leesburg. About a week later - after years of deliberation and months of planning and saving - I gave my notice to Research!America, making my last day of work in early August.

At the end of this week, I'll be moving out to Leesburg to live with RJ and his sister in their townhouse. I'll be coaching volleyball and substitute teaching while going back to school to become a fully licensed middle school teacher. If I can, I'll be working in a full-time position as a teacher on a provisional license; but that is contingent on how some of my interviews turn out.

As you can tell, it has been quite a month of changes. The house I'm leaving now has been my full-time home longer than anyplace since I lived in Florida. My job was my first full-time office position ever, and had the bonus of being 1.5 blocks from my house. In essence, my life has been based in this little part of town for awhile now, and though I'm excited about the changes, it is a little sad and scary to take this big forward step.

But, there is an amazing man who wants to be my best-friend-forever supporting me through this transition and it's hard not to think that all the doors that opened up weren't being pulled by some invisible strings from heaven. At the end of June, this wasn't the plan; it was just a possibility. But the cogs are in motion, my house is mostly packed, and by the end of next week, my office won't have anything in it that is mine anymore.

I'm excited about working with young people every day again. I'm super excited to be planning a wedding. I can't wait to use my "teacher voice" as an actual teacher. It's going to be a whole new adventure. I'm ready.

Typos

2011-06-30T12:03:00.004-05:00

The most frustrating thing about sending multiple copies of the same thing to a variety of people (or maybe the same people over and over again) is realizing on the second to last email that there is an error in your attachment. A dash where a comma should be. A plural non-possessive that should have been a plural possessive or singular. Or, in this particular case, a missed merge field.

Personalized letters are significantly simpler if you know how to use a spreadsheet to fill in the blanks (and write your letter so none of the blanks need to be adjusted post-merge). However, there is no special technology to prevent you from, say, using a form letter and hand updating data that wasn't on your spreadsheet and missing a merge field in the concluding paragraph so it reads,

"blah, blah, blah {Institution Name} blah blah."

Yup. Definitely feels personal now.

Ugh. Technology, I love and hate you.

~Heather

**Update, 1 minute later** Definitely posted this to a group blog I'm a co-author on that was somehow on the top of my dashboard instead of to my personal blog. USC Honors College Class Captains, I apologize. Apparently, today's mistakes are not limited to merge errors.

Things to Get Excited About

2011-06-16T10:49:00.002-05:00

Parents arriving today and staying for a couple of days.
Relay for Life this weekend.
Three SOHO girls coming to Relay this weekend to start earning their service hours and hang out.
Andrea's swim meet at the pool one block from my house on Saturday morning.
All clean laundry (despite not being put away yet).
Clean and prepared house.
The most amazing boyfriend ever who put all sorts of stuff in the attic, changed the light bulbs, ran errands, dropped off Andrea's furniture twice yesterday, and managed to keep me going until 11 last night so I wouldn't be scrambling this morning.
Said boyfriend just existing. Oh, and being able to use any type of possessive when referring to him, like "MY boyfriend."
Work being relatively quiet this week to help mask the fact that my brain has been too busy to be 100% focused. (Still let's me be productive on a slow week, but would be disastrous on a busy week.)
Fabulous weather.
Blackberries coming off my thornless bush in heaping bowlfuls.
Positive attitudes and helpful strangers.
Being able to let my mind put the anxiety on hold while I practice patience.
The fun folks in the church choir and singing every week.
Becoming a godmother to a baby boy in just a few weeks!
Having friends and family all over who love me and are there for me unconditionally.

A Note on Time

2011-06-13T15:35:00.003-05:00

It goes by too fast when you're having fun.
It goes by too slowly when you're not.
It can be counted in positions, on clocks, through years, and many other ways.
People remember time passed in different ways.

One way time can be remembered is apparently in files. Ancient, non-existent files.

May I give you a hint, dearest wisher of time past: if it happened here when I was in the first grade I do not remember it; as I was living in Florida at that time and learning how to write in complete sentences. Therefore, if you cannot remember any details except, "It happened" and there are no records to indicate said happening, I cannot, in any reliable way, make a list of it for you.

But thanks for asking. Wasting my time was definitely on today's to-do list.

It's Over

2011-06-06T12:01:00.002-05:00

My mentee's room renovation is over. I've been thinking about this since I heard about SOHO last August, and it is finally finished. (If we're not friends on Facebook, let me know and I'll send you a link to the photos.)

So my question is, why can I not stop thinking about it? Why do I still feel like I'm missing something?

I wish I had Charles Xavier's telepathy. Maybe then I could ease my mind and just enjoy the finished product.

Hungry

2011-05-31T16:27:00.003-05:00

Did you ever want something so badly you could taste it?

This isn't chocolate cake or weight loss, a boyfriend or a promotion. It isn't technology, travel, or even hugs (which I love). It's nothing shy of the first step on the gravel path that leads to the road that takes me to my biggest dream.

I'm as close as I can get to the real thing - all the right people say so. I've done 98% of everything I can do, and the other 2% has already been done once and is on tonight's to-do list to do again.

But I can't taste it yet. Heck, I can barely talk about it yet. I'm going to work until I get it, and hope that my best is good enough. Also, I could use some patience for the waiting, which could be months still.

If you're the praying kind, I could really use a little intercession right now.

Love always,

~Heather

A Space of Her Own

2011-05-26T11:08:00.005-05:00

Since October, I've been paired up with a 6th grade girl through a city-wide community service program called SOHO - A Space of Her Own. We've been meeting up on Wednesdays to eat dinner, hang out, and work on art projects. Those projects form the design base of the room renovation I'll be doing for her (Trading Spaces-style) in just nine days. And I'm crazy nervous.

I'm nervous because I still have a lot of things to get, I'm not sure it will all work out according to plan, and I desperately want to not have to make too many trips back to my house or out to the store for supplies. I'm sure the end result will be lovely. RJ assures me that she will be ecstatic. And I can't convince myself that this girl - so different from the sweet, angelic child I met 9 months ago - will like it.

It's only been a school year, and yet I can see the changes. She's always tired now. More reserved than ever. Desperately trying to be cool. And I find myself losing patience, wondering how long this transformation will take, and when I can have my mentee back.

Then she appears. A couple shining hours of fun and frolic and games and smiles. Then she disappears. Stars and moons are too childish. Peace signs and bright colors, and shorts with tights on underneath are what's happening, but let's not talk about it.

We have so many things in common, and in terms of style, she points to all the things that both teenage (and admittedly, adult) me love. Yet, I'm terrified that who I think she is is in no way similar to who she is to herself (or, for that matter, who she was last week). She's fighting so hard to be herself and yet fit in. To be accepted by fickle peers in an environment that is new and full of words and expressions that just don't make sense yet, but still stay true to her friends back in Mexico.

I'm sure this is an "every teenager" thing.

For all the time I spend comparing her to the other girls in the program, I should probably spend an equal amount thinking about how she is different. Her unique adultness at such a young age. Her amazing intellect and perseverance of goals. I struggle because she won't talk to me, or even at me, like the other girls do with their mentors. But, at the same time, don't I revel in her ability to sit and plan out a project before getting started so we don't have to re-create a million times? At how her wishes have to do with knocking down international borders instead of getting computers hand-delivered by her favorite rockstar?

She is so amazingly perfect. Truly beautiful and smart, strong and thoughtful. I ache for a connection that will truly bond us; try to find that "thing" that will help her see that all I want is to be her friend so I can play witness to what I'm certain will be an extraordinary life.

But, maybe I act like too much of an adult for that? Am I not hip or cool enough? Would someone more like what she wants to be be a better mentor for her? Sometimes I even worry that she sees me the way my peers did when I was in the 6th grade. I can't help but remember how uncool I was; how I eventually pretended that I didn't care what other people thought of me, while (probably not so) secretly did everything I could to make an impression. Wait. I'm still doing that. With her.

I'm sure I just need to relax. Take my time. Be myself. The self it took me much longer than nine months from 11 to 12 to find. Heck, I don't think I'm even done finding me yet, and I'm more than twice as old. Be patient. Be present. Wait for her to get there in her own time.

Her time. This is about her, after all. And all I can do is turn her bedroom into a space that is assuredly her own. Refined, defined, hip, and carefree; as I see her wanting to be right now. Leaving space for her room to grow with her - be that a complete change, or minor revisions over time. A space of her own.

I hope I get to visit.

Significant Difference

2011-04-07T10:30:00.002-05:00

I just got a new assignment to create trend data from the public opinion polling I manage at work. As our in-house expert, I get the pleasure of generating questions and analyzing the results of surveys that thousands of American's respond to for us. I also sometimes get the pleasure of explaining significant differences to folks who have questions. It feels a lot like this:

Comic credit: xkcd.com

A Lesson in Messaging: Paul Ryan's Path to Prosperity

2011-04-05T18:00:00.000-05:00

I wrote this post today for something related to my job, but after review, it was determined it was too close to partisan/patronizing about someone we want to build a relationship with to be a good idea to post there. It seemed like a perfectly good waste of writing to not share though, and luckily, I have a space here that is (fingers crossed) completely unattached to work.

Rep. Paul Ryan (WI-1) has particularly appropriate initials for today's discussion, PR.

Public relations is a critical component for businesses, celebrities, and especially elected officials trying to make sure they can pass major legislation and keep their jobs. As House Budget Committee Chairman, Rep. Ryan has a difficult task ahead - lowering our national debt in bad economic times. Here's how he makes his case for the "Path to Prosperity" budget plan released this morning.

As someone with a background in communications, I can objectively say this is a good messaging strategy. He was calm, talking about the future in a personal way. There were charts and graphs in an official looking background, but he sets it up as a video shoot in the opening sequence, which says, "Look, I'm not hiding anything." He was professional (tie) but relaxed (no jacket, sleeves rolled up). Slow, strong speech. Referring to the "Washington" establishment, only naming the president by title. A well-thought out and executed, persuasive message.

But it's just messaging. Most of the video discusses forecasts of the future budget situation. Spending cuts are talked about, but not specified. Reforms are hinted at, but not elaborated on.

Rep. Ryan doesn't say what the priorities will be or how soon any of the components will be enacted. To be fair, those details will surely be debated, but they aren't irrelevant.

Cutting government spending includes cutting government supported jobs - during a high-point in U.S. unemployment. Those cuts won't just be coming from the Washington-area. They'll happen in Georgia, home of the CDC. In Manhattan, Kansas, where the new Homeland Security facility is underway. In universities, colleges, hospitals, and medical institutes where NIH funded researchers may be forced to close their labs.

Cutting government spending also means minimizing or getting rid of other programs: including public health programs that build public parks and sidewalks, research state and local health concerns, and track epidemics (like swine flu or SARS). It means less basic research - a huge driver of our economy and the cornerstone of curing disease. Less regulation can be good, but do you want that to include less regulation of food and drug safety?

Decisions about the budget today will effect us for years to come. It's important to look beyond the messaging that is coming from both sides of aisle and look for the substance.

These are big issues and incredibly challenging times. Tough decisions will need to be made by Rep. Ryan and all members of Congress. Urge them to protect the programs that matter to you and ask them to get on the record about where they stand and what they are prioritizing.

Accountability

2011-03-08T23:23:00.003-05:00

I think one reason that Lent works for me is that it makes me accountable to someone - God. Arguably, I'm accountable to God everyday, but the truth is, I just don't think about it as much as I should. So for the next 40 days or so, I'm using this focus to my advantage and I'm going to give more (instead of giving up).

I will give others:

The gift of snail mail. One letter/card/package sent every day to someone in my address book. If you'd like to be part of this project, please send me your address.
More reflective prayer. Each night before bed and especially on longer drives in the car in lieu of listening to the radio.

I will give myself:

30 minutes of dedicated, independent exercise a day - everyday, with the exception of tournament days (since those can sometimes mean 8 hours of team exercise). I will also give myself the opportunity to re-watch Sex and the City an episode a morning while on the elliptical to make this easier to get used to doing.
A chance to taste sweet, delicious treats; but in half of my usual portion size. When possible, I will share desserts (since I'm WAY more likely to let the other person have more than me than be comfortable leaving food on a dish).

I think the biggest of these challenges is going to be the letter writing. I know I'm not going to feel like sending mail every. single. day. BUT, it isn't about me. It's about being there for others as they have been for me. Plus, at some point, you just have to use up 27 years of stationary remnants.

I'm putting my Lenten promise out there publicly this year to help keep myself accountable. I am aware that I may make mistakes or slip up in my plans. I know that none of these things are even remotely close to the sacrifices that they should symbolically be emulating. But these are the things I can say and do.

Before the 40 Days

2011-03-08T15:01:00.005-05:00

Tomorrow begins the season of sacrifice. I'm actually excited. For reasons passing understanding, I have about ten times more self-control during Lent than any other time of year. That means I clean more, eat better, work out more, and generally pull my life together in a positive way. I have a lot of messes to work through before Easter, so I'm getting started with one of the least important but easiest to post on a blog.

There are nearly 30 tabs open in my Firefox field right now and I absolutely need to get some of these tabs gone. So here's what I thought was so important that I couldn't close the tab when I was done reading about it.

In regards to the current trouble with the federal budget and opposition to the health care bill that was passed last year, I thought this was a fascinating story of a citizen torn.

With it being Mardi Gras, here are two religious places to check out: Kayla's nun-blog and Pius Media. Who knew you had to pay to commit to poverty and that Netflix had an ultra-Catholic cousin?

Speaking of Fat Tuesday, have you seen the new dietary guidelines for Americans? Apparently I need more grain and fish.

Girls only: Sports bras can be the bane of your workout. Here's to finding a good fit.

It's a real bummer that Phil Collins is retiring. It's even sadder that he feels like he needs to quit.

Pizza and minimalism don't get along on your waist, but in spirit, they're connected.

Girls are just as important as boys. In court and in movies.

And not just because it is International Women's Day.

Not really speaking of movies anymore (but now we are), here's two of my passions run together - cinema and food. Delicious movie moments and how to recreate them.

Another thing I love? Traveling. Australia is next on my list of continents to conquer (in the passive way), but even if it wasn't, I'd still love the set-up of this travel blog.

Okay, I think most of the rest of the links need to be put in the link round-up of the work blog, but if anything is SUPER interesting, I'll cross-post. Oh, and I'm finally on Twitter @H_Gamecock. As if I needed more Internet distractions.

Always, ~Heather

Focus

2011-02-22T12:09:00.003-05:00

I cannot focus today. My brain is going in a million different directions and none of them are the path to productivity. The to-do list is post-it-noted to the bottom of my monitor. I have had breakfast (and soon will have lunch) and require basically nothing more than what I already have at my desk to really get going.

And yet, I'm writing this note here instead of the 10 some-odd letters and multiple work blog posts. Because the truth is, none of it is challenging or intellectually stimulating. All of it is work. I know that every job has paperwork and inane tasks that need doing. I know I should just knock it all out and be done with the stupid list on the little, square paper with extremely easily removable glue backing.

But I can't freaking focus. Oh please just let me get this stupid stuff done so I can get out of here at a reasonable time today.

I miss my passionate self. I hope she comes into the office soon.

Petrified

2011-01-14T00:17:00.002-05:00

I really like that word, petrified. I know it means to be scared out of your wits, but I can't help thinking of a petrified forest when I use it.

What does it take to turn living matter into stone? Do you think it hurt?

I guess that maybe it's a good thing that my brain automatically turns fear into a science question in my head.

When is John Galt coming for me?

2011-01-07T13:26:00.003-05:00

I've reached the tipping point.

I know I need to be my own motive power now. I know it. I know it.

That's why I have the power.

But boy is this tough.

The Revolving Door

2010-11-29T21:55:00.002-05:00

The revolving door known as my roommate situation has swung again. All of the other people who moved into my current place with me originally have moved out now. Sure, there are still some bills to figure out and items of mail to forward, but today life here changed again.

My latest new roommate will be moving in this weekend, and then all the rooms will be full again. I hope for another batch of folks I can call my friend. If you've got to have a revolving door, it's nice to make sure there's always laughter on my side.

Plus, it was about time for a new adventure. :)

Love always, ~Heather

A Million Gajillion Years

2010-11-06T21:44:00.002-05:00

I know it feels like that long since I've posted here. Here's what's been going on:

I work on a team that has two responsibilities - I focus on the more communications side and my counterpart (a level above me, but not my direct supervisor) did more of the government relations. She left in August, and I am super excited for the new adventures her life is taking her on. However, this left me doing two jobs.

My team has a few other people on it too. Two full-time interns/fellows. Now they're not fetching coffee or making copies - they're doing substantial work; and one position was taken away in September. That left 80 hours of work a week (let's say that it's 80, instead of the reality which was 9+ hour days more than once a week) to be split among myself, a new fellow, my direct supervisor, and our administrative assistant. My direct supervisor is leaving in two weeks to start a company. That's an additional 60+ hours for the fellow, our assistant and me.

Between learning everything I can about their jobs, working with some organizational shifts and three other key staff in the office relocating for school or family reasons, and trying to do my regular work load, work has become... challenging. To say the least.

I don't mind the challenge. Anyone who saw my schedule in college knows I like to cram as much into my days as possible. But here's my weekly math:

My regular 40 hours + 3/4 of my counterpart's former hours (30) + 1/4 former intern hours (the other 30 are being shared by our assistant and the fellow) + 5 hours/week covering/helping other new staff get adjusted + learning everything I can about my boss' job (5 now, but soon to be many, many more) = exhausted Heather

Now, I'm not actually in the office 90 hours a week (yet...) but, the stress of juggling all of those things and trying to keep some semblance of a work life balance is - to say the least - more than I've ever experienced (including the semester I was working 45 hours a week, taking 19 credit hours, coaching two club volleyball teams, and serving as president of the Honors Council).

Don't get me wrong, I like a to write, but getting back on the computer at night just isn't my first thought when I get home. In fact, I wouldn't be surviving if it wasn't for my new volunteering opportunities, volleyball starting back up this month, and the man who loves me like crazy and refuses to let me go (completely) nuts.

So to all the people in my life who have helped me keep my sanity the past three months, thank you. To all the readers I've been neglecting, I'm sorry. I swear I'm thinking about you; and desperately looking forward to a time (maybe when we hire new staff???) when I'll be able to be back in the blogosphere as much as I was before.

Much love to all of you and thanks for your constant support and listening "ears." ~Heather

Party Fun

2010-08-19T00:31:00.004-05:00

I am apparently the party person this week. My boyfriend Richard's birthday is today (festivities throughout the weekend with a party on Saturday), my counterpart at work has her last day on Friday so there's a send-off for her, and one of my favorite volleyball folks is having a baby shower on Sunday.

My kitchen has become a bakery of deliciousness - pictures to be posted soon - and there are various bags of presents and surprises scattered throughout my house. With all of the craziness going on in my life (to be elaborated on AFTER this week of parties is over), it's nice to be celebrating the fabulousness of change.

Another year for Richard. School and a new career for SC (Super Colleague). Life, literally for Jen.

In other barely tangentially related news, all of the long term setters in my life (that's a volleyball position for you non-sports folks) have been named Jen(n). An odd coincidence for someone who's been playing ball for 14 years.

Also, let it be known that I ROCKED crossovers tonight at my ice skating practice and definitely got my chasees (read: ice dancing moves that involve only one blade on the ice at a time and a switch of feet mid-motion) to be graceful with my laces (code for "foot") turned out. Uh huh, I'm a rockstar. :)

Have a great night all.

Love always, ~Heather

No Power in the 'Verse

2010-08-17T18:37:00.003-05:00

There's no power in the 'verse that can stop me.

Not you, thee faithless in my skills.
Not you, thee weak of heart and lacking in courage.
Not you, forces of awful interpersonal communication.
Not you, thee unwilling to do something for another - even a friend.
Not you, onions I cut way too thin and burned while trying to make onion rings (without a recipe).

I am strong and have faith in my abilities.
I am brave and pure of heart.
I am a master communicator (literally).
I am a friend.
I am going to have to start reading recipes before I cook.

No power in the 'verse can stop me.

Collaging to the Rescue

2010-08-06T11:28:00.004-05:00

Anyone who ever visited my room in college probably noticed I'm a bit of a collage fanatic. There is just something so relaxing about cutting out fun things from print publications and then rearranging them, laying them out, and gluing them together to make art. Something that is perfectly me, perfectly creative and fun to look at, perfectly smart and put-together, perfectly perfect.

That urge to take something I find useful and wonderful on its own and then make it greater by simply rearranging sneaks into other parts of my life. It is how I schedule, edit my writing, decorate my house, frame pictures, make dinner ... you name it.

Today at work I had one of those moments - the ones you always hope for at work - where you know you actually got something done and were really able to help someone. A colleague had been working on a multi-page document that looked really text heavy and lacked cohesiveness. I took a pair of scissors and a glue stick and got started. I cut about 2 inches of page off over the four pages and created something like 5 inches of white space by simply moving the pieces around.

It was all about taking the amazing parts of what was going on, snipping the edges, flipping it sideways, and sending it off to be the educational tool it was meant to be. Plus, my colleague seemed so relieved to know that I hadn't cut any of the content that had so industriously been put together.

It's nothing big. No one here will ever really know - as the only other two people to have seen an early draft of the piece are leaving within the month - what a dramatic change a little cutting and pasting made.

But I'll know. Today, I helped one person accomplish a simple task. From here, that document may reach a hundred people and make a difference - or no one. But today, I did something real. Something substantial. Something to make the world of at least one person better. It feels good.

And it's all I can ever ask for.

Love always, ~Heather

This is the part of my life I like to call

2010-08-04T15:23:00.002-05:00

... not getting aggravated with stupid people.

I swear, if I wasn't such a people-person, I would really not like people (in the plural, impeding-my-path form).

I love my readers, my family, my friends, most strangers (as individuals), and a fair number of co-workers, former classmates, residents, and students. But there is something inside of me that just gets set on fire when someone ceases to use their brain.

If I wasn't nicer (and anti-murder), I would definitely plot ways to undo some of the social constructs that prevent "survival of the fittest" from happening.

There's a good chance the writer's block I've been experiencing all afternoon has effected my mood. I apologize.

Love always, ~Heather

Three Paragraphs and Cut Grass

2010-07-15T23:41:00.004-05:00

Another late night after another long day. If I'm not careful, this is going to turn into a Les Miserables song.

Suffice it to say that the most productive components of my day involved writing a three paragraph letter (again and again and again) and eliminating as many weeds as possible from the backyard. I am slowly becoming an expert at running my landlord's ridiculously tempestuous lawnmower, which is evident in the buzz cut my grass got today.

In other news, I still really love ordering wings at the end of a long day (college, how you spoiled me), my phone charger is going to need some kind of St. Anthony intercession, and the algae blocker seems to have saved my fish tank from ruin.

This coming week is going to be the definition of an agonizing workload as one of the three people on my team is leaving on vacation for a week and I am her back-up. The House and Senate are going to mark up the appropriations bill, a new round of primaries are going to cause a round of mailings and promotions for one of our voter education initiatives, and the president of our non-profit is about to leave on a month of vacation (wouldn't that be nice?) so there is bound to be an insane amount of scurrying to get things done.

However, instead of dwelling on it in advance, I am mentally preparing myself with an awesome weekend. Outdoor movie tomorrow, farmer's market on Saturday, choir on Sunday and mornings without alarm clocks. Speaking of alarm clocks, I'll catch you on the flip side.

Love always,
~Heather

P.S. Lou is so wise (and timely). "When all is said and done, more is said than done." ~Lou Holtz

Merging

2010-07-13T22:17:00.002-05:00

Things in Heather-land are changing. Big changes, small changes, the sorts of things you sit up and take notice of and the sorts of things you forget ten minutes later.

Let's start at the beginning: I am dating someone. As in, using the boy/girlfriend titles and sharing secrets and sneaking kisses in elevators; dating someone. I'm in a Relationship. I promised myself I would never become one of those girls who disappeared into a relationship, so my schedule has become even more insanely full than it was before. I don't mind even one, minuscule bit though, because he makes me ecstatically, emphatically happy.

(It occurs to me I should ask his permission to use his name or a derivation thereof, so I'm holding on further boyfriend storytelling for the moment.)

This has been a big change. Other big changes are going on at work, where people are dropping like flies. Not literally, but including interns and fellows, at least six of my colleagues will have left the organization between last week and the end of August. This is a big deal in an organization that hovers in the 20 person staff range. I love that we constantly seem to have new people and fresh ideas flowing into the organization, but some of the upcoming changes are probably going to mean an increase and dynamics change in the work-flow of my team.

Small changes are happening in how I handle my utilities (cable & phone). Volleyball is on hiatus until the non-air-conditioned gym cools down or we find a place with AC to play. I've been checking out new churches that are closer to my house. My exercise and weight reduction regimens are beginning again with the goal of hitting my target by 2011. I'm reading more. I'm cooking a LOT more. My garden is growing exceedingly fast and will be providing delicious produce in bushels soon.

The thing I'm trying to remember (as R emphasized earlier), is that there aren't lines between parts of my life - all of these new things are merging with the things that were there before. If my life was a highway, I'd say that I've come up on a city and there are way more on and off ramps going on in this little stretch of road.

So far I like it.

When I first learned to drive, I was terrible at merging. Life in the city and WAY too many trips up and down I-95 have improved my ability to slide safely into oncoming traffic. My life is similar. I'm not a huge fan of change (for the sake of change anyway), but change seems to find me. The older I get, the easier it becomes to transition between things. To remember that rough patches don't last forever, traffic clears up, and tires are replaceable. With all this literal and figurative merging, it's also nice to know I've now got someone to ride with me for awhile.

La Soupe Oignon

2010-06-03T21:32:00.002-05:00

Tonight I made french onion soup, Mastering the Art of French Cooking-style. It didn't turn out exactly as I predicted for a few reasons, but it was certainly delicious. Here are my suggested tweaks:

Use sweet yellow onions. Vidalia's are good but after all that cooking, were not super sweet.
Don't cover the onions during the 40 minute simmer. They'll brown faster.
Lamb stock is not ideal, as it has too much of its own flavor.
If you make your own stock, simmer the herbs and spices into it independently, not as the soup simmers.
Croutons should be baked to golden brown, not cinnamon brown.

All that being said, it was a lovely soup. So lovely, in fact, that I have approximately 4-6 servings leftover. Anybody want some? :)

Always, ~Heather