Tradi-TION! TRADITION!

This time last year, we had Thanksgiving Eve dinner with our new friends, the Dallands, and then carpooled to the Thanksgiving Eve service at RPC.

This year, it has become a tradition! Our now regular friends, the Dallands (of course they have the same name!) invited us over for dinner and then we went to the Thanksgiving Eve service once again.

 It's fun to begin a new tradition, which is basically the second time you do something and name it so - tradition!


And, of course, "Tradition!" from Fiddler on the Roof " has been running through my head the whole evening, sense the title of this blog :o) "Without our traditions, our lives would be as shakey as... a FIDDLER on the ROOF!"

Mondays

I feel like there is a pallor over Mondays, especially Mondays that are dark, cold, and rainy. And especially Monday evenings that are dark when I leave work. I'd gladly give up that hour of sleep to experience a sunny evening once again. I'll be so happy once the sun comes back up! Christmas can't get here fast enough, if only to see the sun again - and of course the family!

Speaking of Christmas, a few days ago we received a French Christmas CD in the mail. We were overjoyed and fully confused! We had not ordered this cd, requested it, nor had been alerted to its arrival. We have been bewildered ever sense and put it aside until "something" happened, we were not sure what! Then today my dear Grammy Ona sent us an email asking us if we had recieved it - of course! Grammy Ona! Why had we not contacted her immediately? So glad to have the mystery solved, and even happier that it was not a mistake and we can keep it :o) We will pop it in after Thanksgiving!

Sunday = Complete

Today was full and relaxing, a rare combination however somehow it works!

Church this morning, potluck following, and then a very successful team meeting. We essentially mapped out how we want to put content on the walls in our foyer - which now is essentially a free-for-all - and I'm very excited about the potential for the foyer to be effective, functional and beautiful! I came home on a productive high, which is rare :) Once Christmas is over we will get to work on the transformation, pricing out various types of vertical storage in the meantime, as well as magnetic paint :D

Jon and I then returned home, snacked, watched some shows, then got to making dinner, wrapping presents, cleaning the kitchen, and completing a few things left on the to-do list. Still need to pack and finish laundry, however that can wait until the day before the trip or thereabouts.

All in all, a calm, settled day, and it feels good to be rested before beginning the next week!

Review: Megabus

Last month, for my trip to Boston, I decided to give Megabus a try. It's one of the express bus companies that connect cities, mostly in the Northeast, though their network does branch out way beyond the region. It seemed like a much more affordable way to get up to Boston than by plane or train or even Greyhound (and with less security hassle than airports) . I opted for a most established, organized company than the Chinatown buses that run up and down the coast, and this was the only company I found that had direct trips between DC and Boston (others would have me change buses in New York).

I looked for reviews. Some hated their experience with Megabus. For others it was their favorite way to travel.

My experience turned out to average. Overall, it wasn't terrible or traumatizing. It also wasn't wonderful.

Organizationally, it seemed a little under par ("under" not being used in a similar way as in golf). In Washington, they used a parking lot a 10-minute walk away from Union Station as their departure/arrival area. They were setup to get things working pretty smoothly with staff and cones and booths to direct people to the right bus or waiting line. But operating from a parking lot can be a bit unreassuring. Fortunately the weather was fine, but I can imagine it being unpleasant in rain or snow. Now, I have since heard that there's a new bus terminal near Union Station, so that issue has maybe been solved now.

We had one stop on the northeast side of Baltimore, on the edge of a mall's parking lot right off I-95. There were a few cones and small signs as a waiting area for passengers. And the other stop was in Seacaucus, NJ, at what seems to be a major bus terminal right off I-95 with a rail connection to NYC. That's where we got a new driver for the second half of the trip.

Then in Boston, arrival and departure were at a pretty well organized bus terminal next to South Station. At least it seemed well organized at first. When I was returning on Sunday morning, I had a bus scheduled for 10:15 am. I got there 45 minutes early, and another bus was at my gate, leaving for NY at 10:00. It was filling up with passengers 20 minutes early so that was encouraging. But after that one left, no new bus came in its place. After waiting 15 minutes past the departure time, I went to a Megabus guy who was trying to keep the amassing travelers waiting for their buses in the right line (it was getting closer to the departure time for the next bus to NY as well) to ask him if he had any information on when the bus would be there. "It's on its way." So it finally arrived just in time to fill up and leave at 11:00.

Comfort wise, it was OK as long as I could put my legs in front of the seat next to that which I was sitting on. That posed no problem on the way up, when I don't think there were more than 20 people on board (in the middle of the week). On the way down however, it was another story. It was the day after an overnight blizzard that had seen a whole lot of bus cancellations (I was originally scheduled to leave Boston Saturday evening and arrive in DC Sunday morning early enough to get to church in Reston). And it was on a weekend to boot. So I sat next to someone from Boston to Baltimore, and could not comfortably fit my legs in the space behind the seat in front of mine. I also wasn't too comfortable when I twisted my legs to dangle my feet out in the aisle, where there was more breathing space. At the stop near Baltimore, enough people got off that I could switch sides of the bus to have 2 seats to myself for the last hour.

I was hoping to use my eight hours on the road productively and get some work done (well at least on the way up to the conference, I wasn't planning on working on the overnight trip back). Megabus's website says that they "will make a reasonable effort to make WIFI services available free of charge to every passenger." But I could neither my phone nor my laptop could find a WIFI connection on the Boston-bound bus. I did spend a little time doing some offline work like preparing invoices, but I couldn't be as productive as I had hoped, so I got more sleep than anticipated. I also read some. And played on my phone. There wasn't much space to open my computer anyway (I balanced it on my leg and the seat next to me), and with the bounciness of the bus, I could type all that efficiently anyway.

Of course on the "cozy" way down, I did not open my computer. My phone found a WIFI network whose name matched the number at the front of bus. My phone said it was connected. I could not pull up any website on my phone (unless I turned off the WIFI and used up some 3G data). So that got kinda frustrating. I had been able to get on a free Megabus network when I was waiting around in the bus terminal, but once on the bus, no matter what I tried, I couldn't use the network I was connected to all day long.

The drivers were friendly and accurately announced our lunch breaks and all. They were also safe. Nothing to complain about there.

Their communication was imperfect but got the job done. Buying the tickets was quite quick and easy on their website, and very affordable. On Saturday afternoon, as the freak snowstorm was getting closer, I decided to call their customer service to check if I should expect any problem with my trip, and was told all the information is on the site. Hmph. I was expecting more detail than that from a human. The website noted some cancellations but my bus was only marked as 2 hours late. It wasn't clear if that meant the departure would be 2 hours later or if the trip would take 2 hours longer. So I continued according to plan. As I was packing my last things I got back online to check for updates, and my bus was cancelled. Stink. I called their customer service and after not too long got rescheduled on a bus twelve hours later than the one I had bought, and they're hassle-free enough that I didn't even need to print off an email with the new confirmation (good thing, 'cause I never got that email); I could just make notes of the new confirmation number on my previous reservation. Sometime later that evening I got an email telling me my (original) bus trip was cancelled. It would have been nice to get that earlier, like right after they decided to cancel it. It was a good thing I was staying with an easy-going friend who didn't have a problem letting me stay for another night, rather than at the expensive Marriott where the conference was held. An extra night there woulda been painful to the bank account.

In conclusion, I'd say you can consider Megabus a cheap option to get between major cities without much hassle and if you're not in a big hurry. But I won't tell you you have to use them to travel whenever you can.

I'd say... 6.5 / 10

Our Saturday to dos.

Today's Saturday was full from catching up during the work week, in addition to preparing for our trip. I thought I would show a picture of our to-do list, which captures the aura of today:

On the left you have the list I made for when Jon was out of town - there are only two things left on it, which hopefully will get completed...soon.

On the right you have the list for today. As you can see, there are still a few items left, however we are hoping to get these done tomorrow. And look how many items we got done!

"Wait a minute Sara," the astute reader will think to themselves, "you clearly have 'wake-up' listed and crossed off on the bottom! That's not that hard!"

Astute observation, I reply. I woke up this morning, saw the list, and was immediately overwhelmed. Thinking quickly to abate the rising panic, I wrote down "wake-up" [as that is the only thing I had yet done] and crossed it off. That simple act gave the day a lovely air of accomplishment, which we were able to ride for the rest of the day. And hopefully some into tomorrow!

Zumba & Spinning

After having joined a gym a few months ago, I'm finding a routine and the classes that fit it! These are predominately Zumba and Spinning classes. Both very different, and phenomena in and of themselves.

Zumba - This is based on predominately Latin music and girl, do you move. As women were designed to move! Every time I'm there, I think "Zumba is evidence God made women very, very sexy." I have never been in a more diverse environment - looking around the fitness room clearly every continent is represented by several people. And we're all dancing in unison, laughing, cheering, and over all there to get a good work out and enjoying it to boot. It's an odd thing to have in common with so many people and I'm enjoying it.

There is a class on Friday evenings and then Saturday afternoons that I can usually get to. The first 15 minutes I'm thinking "Wow! This is fun! Dancing, sweating, everyone's having a good time!" Minute 16 - I'm looking at the clock. Minute 45 - everyone's looking at the clock! Today I was able to keep up with the whole class the whole time, and it's wonderful to feel the evidence of my fitness "regime." (aka. hauling my bottom to the gym as often as possible)

Spinning - Now this is something very different! No dancing, we're all on stationary bikes. No unision, we're all on bikes with our own sense of how hard the tension needs to be and how fast we can pedal. However it's also so much fun! Part of the fun is having a sense of autonomy in the work out - no one can tell how hard I have the tension on my bike or what my cadence truly is. And no one really cares, everyone is focused on staying with the instructor. The music is fairly loud, which drives the workout as the instructor calls out the next bike tension, when to sprint, when to climb (aka, stand up in the peddles), and so forth. My heart rate gets up VERY high, as there's no opportunity to trip, you can go as fast as you want!

I'm very grateful for both classes and the opportunity to attend both of them!

Thoughtless Thursday

"He who fears suffering, is already suffering that which he fears." - La Fontaine

Christmas is coming, the goose is getting fat

Last night I went to bed early and when I awoke, I remembered what it was like to think clearly.

Feeling more than usually fatigued tonight, I'm going to repeat the same activity tonight (going to bed early that is).

In other news, in preparation for Jerdan Thanksgiving and early Christmas, shopping for that side of the family came early this year! To keep track of it all (as for some odd reason I don't remember doing this last year...hmm...) I developed a matrix to track the progression of each purchase through figuring out what it was, ordering it, having it arrived at our home, and finally wrapping the presents. The matrix is proving successful, we have been able to keep track of everything, and this weekend will be full of wrapping glee, as all (but one!) present has arrived. It is a good feeling to feel ahead of the curve this year. A very good feeling. And even better to have not needed to set foot in a store for a large majority of the presents! I'll need to remember this for next year - and keep the matrix intact!

Tuesdays that feel like Thursdays

Today is definitely a Tuesday that feels like a Thursday. The same sense of "blah" and of "I can't remember what day it is." Combined with a lack of energy, it's a perfect time to go to bed early to not repeat such an evening :o) I did however successfully make dinner, so that is a win for the evening.

Part of it is how dark it gets so much earlier now-a-days. Very easy to get very sleepy.

My facebook timer kicked me off tonight. I am very grateful for StayFocused.com - I set it to 20 minutes each day, and it DEFINITELY kicks me off if I'm on facebook to long! Hurrah for technology that helps you manage more technology.

And now, to bed, with a book.

Yay mawwiage!

Sometimes I look over and Sara is just staring at me with a big grin and enamoredness pouring out of her eyes. I'm not sure what's causing it, but I'll take it.

Monday mornings

Mondays are never fun. Today's wasn't particularly either. It started with me being late out the door. It continued in general unpleasantness the rest of the day. It ended fairly well with a fun time at ESOL class, talking with Jon and some good friends, and watching "The Office."

So, not a bad end to a Monday, with a bright prognosis for Tuesday, if only that Wednesday and Thursday come very shortly thereafter, followed soon by a weekend!

In a humorous story, tonight after drilling my student on the benefits of properly pronouncing the "Th" and "F" sounds (easily confused with "T" and "P" apparently), going over a table setting over and over again, and generally slowly plugging through English, on our way out the door she turns around and boldly states "bye-bye Sara! See you later!" It made me laugh so hard, as I never taught her that! She must have a secret source somewhere....

Sunday

Noteworthiness and thoughts this Sunday:

I downloaded sermons from Redeemer Presbyterian Church in NYC and their pastor Tim Keller onto my iPhone/now iPod. We turned on the sermon "The New Heaven and the New Earth" and thoroughly enjoyed it, learning quite a bit, and I ended up cleaning the kitchen more so that I could keep listening. Worthwhile.

And I'm already looking forward to Thursday, my last day this work week. At least I have a clean kitchen to get us through the week!

HAPPY 27TH BIRTHDAY JON!!

Today we celebrated the completion of Jon's 27th trip around the sun! First, many thanks to Mom and Dad J who made this today possible, and particularly to Mom, for whom today certainly was not the easiest 27 years ago!

My goal today was to stay sane. If there is anything Jon loves, it is a calm and joyful Sara, so I had to give that to him today.

Additionally, I made him breakfast to be sure he was well fed for his soccer game today! It included home made pancakes and a French topping I found at Trader Joes; it is somewhat like Greek yogurt, but yummier and smoother. As you can see, he is very very happy:

(you see the fan in the background? Yup, still left over from the smoke debacle last night.)

He then suited up and went to his soccer game, which lasted 2 hours long! I managed to get the kitchen all cleaned up (wouldn't know to see it now...) and the cake nice and frosted. Once he returned and cleaned up, we had lunch on the table. One of his favorite meats, lamb, with some green-beans and almonds, plus mashed potatoes. He LOVED it.

And here is the cake! Very Tim Burtonesque I would say.

It actually fell apart when I turned the pan over, however I managed to squish it all back together :o) A future in cake decorating is not for me...

We watched "Pans Labyrinth" - one of his birthday presents - and enjoyed the conversation thereafter. This evening we cashed in a gift certificate we had for a couples massage, went out to dinner at Cheeburger Cheeburger, and returned to more cake, The Office, and Psych. Over all, a wonderful day.

Almost super woman

Today I had a brief moment when I felt like I had it together. I had spent a wonderful day in DC with one of my dearest friends, came home, made homemade chicken soup, and managed to get the dishes done as well! I also was able to wrap Jon's presents, get his card ready, and set up the table for breakfast tomorrow! Wow, so impressive.

It was a glorious moment. Then I tried to bake a cake.

It began while the oven was pre-heating. Smoke began streaming from the stove, and I realized there was still oil left on the bottom of the oven from last night's dinner. Alas. Well, I thought, I'll just let it burn off. But as the kitchen and dining room began filling furiously with smoke, I realized it would be impossible to work in the kitchen while all the smoke was coming off.

So I halted the cake making, and set the oven to "clean." This requires our three fans to be strategically placed about the house to funnel the smoke out the dining room window. [my cousin Emily helped me figure this out!] And the smoke poured and poured, until finally at long last the oven was clean. (on a side note, I unfortunately left the oven racks in there - they seem to be okay....)

Hurray! Back to the cake. I was making good progress, until I realized I had forgotten to pick up eggs!  and icing! Ah! So off to the 24/7 grocery story I went! Upon returning, I was able to successfully make the cake, it is cooking in the oven as we speak. And I'm very grateful for 24/7 grocery stores.

So tonight I turned the oven on and off 4 times, had to put the house in disarray to accommodate the fans, have a kitchen full of dishes yet to clean, and the feeling of having it all together is but a fleeting memory. And I'm okay with that! We're happily married, happily safe, and happy to be together.

Thanks for reading!

Thoughtless Thursdays

Great minds discuss ideas; Average minds discuss events; Small minds discuss people - Eleanor Roosevelt

I've been thinking about this one a lot recently. 

Wednesday, Wednesday

Tonight's huge accomplishment:
Laundry. Both the laundry that has been sitting in the dryer (dried, luckily) and the garments we have soiled in the meantime. It is mostly all washed, dried, and (drum roll...) put away! Hurrah, hurrah.

Tonight's subsidiary accomplishments:
Home cooked meal (thanks Jon!) dishes cleaned and put away, several emails answered, normal tidying up the house, and so forth.

Tonight's bravest accomplishment:
I signed up to take a meal to a church family. I have never done this before, partial with the "I'm a student" excuse or the "I don't know how to cook" excuse. As neither are reliable, I decided to sign up. (also, check out  http://takethemameal.com/ if you know of anyone who needs meals and have a need to coordinate them . It is a wonderful tool)

Tonight's most enjoyable accomplishment:
Psych and The Office in between chores. Need I say more? And, of course, being together.

Tuesday, Tuesday

I remember when I started this blog, I hoped it would unearth my inner poet, and I would nobly impress myself with my eloquent thoughts and deep thinking.

What is has revealed, however, is the nonsense running through my brain in the evenings, exhausted from work and not-as-much-sleep as I should be getting. Here is a sampling of tonight's nonsense:

*Spinning class is fun. Way fun. Just wish I hadn't thrown my neck out in the process (how do you throw your neck out riding a stationary bike?) Thank goodness for gym saunas. And husbands who are good at massaging.
*Christmas presents - figuring them out, buying them, while staying in budget. A good task, and one we're almost on top of this year. In fact, the mere act of thinking about them this early is nigh near shocking for me. Never have done that before!
*All day I think about how much cleaning I could get done in the evening, and then I get home, and think about all the relaxing I can get done in the evening! Maybe I should think more about relaxing while at work, then I'll want to clean when I get home....
*Life is great. Glad we weren't hit by an asteroid today - even though that wasn't possible. Hope the astronomers got some good pictures of it.

Thanks for reading my nonsense!

Our media diet

I'm not quite sure what it is about Monday's that takes out all the relaxation from Friday through Sunday, however whatever it is, it sure is effective!

Two of my media diet staples have come to an end this weekend. I have completed Tetris twice and we finished watching Parks and Recreation. Alas. On to the last season of The Office!

As we don't watching television Tuesdays and Thursdays, I'll be glad to have another fun show to relax to on "TV on" days. However it's also reassuring to know our media diet is balanced and tomorrow will be spent more talking with each other than enjoying the company one on another.

Key Revelation

So while Jon and I were dating, between the two of us we probably locked our keys in the car or house 5+ times, at least. However, since we've been married, we haven't locked ourselves out of anything! I believe it is because everytime we leave the house we have a conversation that goes like this:

Jon: Do you have your keys?
Sara: Yes, do you have your keys?
Jon: Yes.

And the fact that we both have keys to the same house and same car makes live much easier. There's a lot of pluses to marriage, having your keys is one of them!

Thoughtless Thursday

"The difference between the almost right word and the right word is really a large matter -- It is the difference between the lightening bug and the lightening." - Mark Twain

The Squeaky Wheel

So I got a very positive response from Chiptole! Here is their response:


Thanks for getting in touch with us. I'm sorry that what should have been a fun promotion was soured by our response to your costume. You shouldn't have had to argue with our team if you were dressed on the theme of family farming, and you shouldn't have had to go through extra stress over the guacamole charge. I'll make sure to let the people who oversee the Reston Town Center location know about your story so they can make sure their staff handles future promotions more judiciously.

I'd be happy to offer you a card for free chips and guac to make up for the trouble. If you don't mind responding with your physical address, I'll happily mail the card out to you. Thanks again for letting us know about this, and I look forward to your reply."




I'm pretty impressed, both by their timely response and their very well written reply! Well done. And, if anyone would like to go to Chiptole with us any time soon, the chips and guac are on us :-D


In the meantime, I am trying to make chicken broth, and nearly forgot about it! Whoops - good thing it can keep boiling for a long time and not get any worse...