this will soon be all I see for 4 days straight as Andrea, Mariah, and I take a trip to the southern Caribbean! Though I've been blessed to have been able to travel for work, school, and to see friends, never before have I had an opportunity to check into a hotel on the beach and lounge around for days on end!! And that's exactly what we have planned.. beach, eat, sleep, shower, beach, eat, sleep, etc.. I'm sure some sips of fruity cocktails and moments of exercise will be thrown in the mix, perhaps even a night out on the town, too, but the purpose of this trip is some R n R and fun in the sun!!! weeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!! I am so grateful to have this opportunity!
other big news.. i broke my foot! its just a tinnnny little fracture you can barely see in this x-ray: on the first long bone on the left, at the top.. see that tiny little crack? (if you click on the picture, it gets bigger and easier to see!) :) or maybe not.. but its there!! :) Amazing how much pain this barely-visible fracture caused. When I was a freshman in high school i somehow managed to fracture a bone in my left foot during dance practice.. doing some jump turn.. i know, i know.. how graceful of me. :) The biggest affect that had on my oh-so-important life as a 15-year-old, was that i had to cut my jeans to fit over my cast and I couldn't dance in the musical. On the other hand, I did get to dress like my senior boy crushes.. the Cleavland twins.. in big mesh shorts and polos (and just what was i thinking?).
So its a little different to break your foot as a grown up!! Suddenly the everyday tasks of working, grocery shopping, laundry, even walking become this daunting reality that I am a single girl basically alone in the city. If I can't work.. who will pay the bills??? If I can't pay the bills, where will I live? For a few moments before hearing the results of the x-ray, I was convinced I was going to have to move back in with my parents and sell my car. Thank goodness the clinic was so slow and I had plenty of time to cry to myself. :)
Fortunately, for me, my dad was in town (although, he did point out that if he hadn't been in town, I wouldn't have been in Annapolis, the town where I took my dad to see the Naval Academy and the first United States Capitol; the town that can't ice their sidewalks when its freezing rain, and the town where I fell on the ice and broke my foot). Nevertheless, Dad was a real champ.. he made my meals, drove me to my appointments, dropped me off at the doors so I wouldn't have to crutch so far, opened the doors for me, etc. Probably not what either of us were planning on, but we still had a great time together. Here are some shots of that..
These are pictures of the State Capital in Annapolis.. a painting of George Washington, a replica of a ship given to GW, the Maryland state flag, and my dad trying to work his workless camera :) There are a few of Fort McHenry and views from the fort.. also a picture of the US flag flown where Francis Scott Key saw it as he wrote the Star Spangled Banner. And at the end, one of Dad trying a latte for the first time (just espresso and steamed milk), my roommate sandy, myself, and dad at one of our favorite little bars called The Lime, posin' with Tequila on V-day, and the other an accidental picture taken while i was actually trying to set the timer. we were at fort mchenry, of course!
XOXO
lkm
Thought you all might enjoy seeing some pictures of my 'hood in B'more and little things I've noticed during my time here. Happy love day!
Well, you all know I'm no sports fanatic. I mean, gosh, I like games. I like live games the best, mostly for the social interaction but I never get worked up about who wins... or anything else for that matter. Although, I should say, that when Zach Johnson from Cedar Rapids won the Masters Golf tournament, I almost cried as my heart filled with pride for the fellow eastern Iowan, assuming that somehow we were probably related.;)
Either way, I was delighted to hear that my friend would be hosting the "girls" SPXLII party at her house this year. I arrived a bit late as I was coming off of work, so as Andrea escorted me up to her apt, she explained that the two highlights (comments made by the girls) thus far were:
L: "So who's playing?" as she walked in the door.
and
M: "I don't like their outfits."
lol... we aren't really as ridiculous as that sounds, as evidenced by the fact that we get how ridiculous that sounds, but it was pretty funny.
Now, don't get me wrong, dear Andrea, being an alum of the University of Iowa, definitely knows her stuff and enjoys the sport of football, so we were watching the game, but it was no secret that for most of us, the focus of our gathering was the great food and the excuse to eat it! I, of course, could've cared less who won.. but everyone else was rooting for the Giants.
After all the tasty food, a few of us were almost falling asleep during the boring 2nd and 3rd quarters. Of course when the one of two exciting moments of the game occurred, I was in the other room. I couldn't help but laugh to myself as I heard girls squeeling "yayyyyy"s and "EEEEEEE"s along with very feminine fast, small-hands clapping. Fortunately for me, there was one more exciting moment of the game (Giants final touchdown) that I got to see.. along with the repeat excitement from the girls. They even jumped off the couch! :)
ahhh... girls i adore. =)
We may have, however, been the only group of people watching the game together who were saddened by the increase in violence of the commercials and delighted by the commercial of the oboe player turned football star (yeah.. i can't remember his name).
So... this is the Super Bowl with girls. Kinda cute.. good friends, good food, first time i've been able to express my favorite part of football without feeling judged: all of the gluteus maximi in tight, shiny football pants. And, I can't lie.. I'm with M, "Giants.. what were you thinking? White jerseys and silver pants.. just not a good outfit!"
XOXO
LKM
tonight, i came home from my 12 hour shift tired and very hungry.. i checked out the options that my fridge had to offer and decided on cooking some chicken. i rarely buy chicken because it seems to go bad before I get around to cooking it, but tonight I decided that this chicken would be had! so into the olive oil and balsamic vinegar it went with some fresh garlic. yum.. i also happened to have lots of veggies (peppers, onions, mushrooms), so I sauteed them, too. after everything was ready, i gave it healthy dousing of grated parmesan cheese. not bad for a quick fix dinner.. especially with some vino. :)
afterwards i felt inclined to call my dear Ingrid from the roofdeck. on a side note, i'm not sure why i always want to be outside when i call her.. perhaps because she appreciates my appreciation of the outdoors!. either way, she laughed as she answered, saying she really couldn't talk because she was cooking, but answered because the meal she was making was "laura-inspired." she was sauteeing some chicken in olive oil and veggies, as well.. even the same vegetables i had used.
we thought this quite hilarious..
ahhh.. everyone need a sister!!