big update

To start this post off, I have to link to some amusing articles that I read online today.

Please do not be offended by what I find "funny".

Annoying boy eaten -http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/china/article1690634.ece

Cool theme park- http://http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/bizarre/4728429.html

Awesome story - http://cbs4.com/watercooler/watercooler_story_107023240.html


Also, Postsecret. com is amazing today, I recommend that you check it out. There are some interesting secrets to read.

I'm excited to type today. I'm not even sure what I'm going to talk about, besides my weekend, but I drank a huge thing of sweet tea so I am sugared up, to say nothing about the caffeine! (By the way, did you hear about the new caffeine soap that is being made? No? Check it out! http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18230175/)


Ok, so lets talk about my weekend. Thursday night Chris picked me up on his way home from Baltimore. I had gone grocery shopping and bought lots of delicious food, and I was starving. We got to his house around 7:30 and I made dinner, which was very good if I do say so myself. That night was mostly packing and getting ready for our trip the next morning. Friday we got up early and got ready to go. We arrived in Pittsburgh around 2:30 or so, and spent over two hours walking around Carnegie Mellon (Chris' school). It was nice to get to see the campus - it's pretty (see above picture). Friday night we went out for dinner with Chris' friends Jessi and Alicia, and it was a lot of fun. I had amazing Pad Thai, also. Saturday was the BBQ. There seemed to be a good turn out, I would estimate 35 people or so showed up. It was so good to meet all of the friends that Chris talks about frequently. Dinner was traditional German food with Becca, who I had met previously. At 9:00 am on Sunday, we met up with another friend, Melissa, for breakfast (DELICIOUS chocolate chip - banana pancakes!) and then went to the national aviary to see the birds. It was quite fun, I had an awesome time.

The one thing I have to point out, is that a bird crapped on my head. Most of the birds are free - range, and they fly all over the room that they are in. I knew that I was going to be targeted. I even mentioned to Chris before we went in, that I was going to get shat upon. I think it must have been a self-fulfilling prophecy. I took it as gracefully as possible. Oh, and I fed a worm to a bird! That was cool.

We were going to stay in Pittsburgh all day and go to dinner with Chris' friends, but we decided to leave early. We we extremely tired from the weekend, and it is a relatively long drive. So we got home and managed to relax and enjoy the sunshine for awhile, which was awesome.

I do feel like I missed out on a lot this weekend. I was absolutely inundated with news today- not much of it good. Several bad things happened to some of my friends, which is difficult for them. Another friend is not feeling well and going to the ER today, so I'm keeping everyone in my thoughts. Some of my clients had issues over the long weekend (I was away on Friday) that I wasn't there to help them through, which is difficult for me to deal with. One of my clients is living with a boyfriend who abused her son on Friday. She didn't know how to deal with the situation, and I wish I had been there to help. However, another client found a trailer to rent finally, which is necessary as she is being evicted next week. So that was positive. It just seems as though I spent the weekend in a dream, and now I'm back to reality - and the transition was rather abrupt. Oh well, the real world's a bitch sometimes.

Other than that, life is good. The weather is beautiful, and I intend to enjoy it tonight after work. I had a great weekend - it was so awesome to get away from central Pa for several days, I sincerely needed it. I am recharged and happy :)

I'm leaving for Charleston, S.C (one of my FAVORITE places!!) on Wednesday, and I'll be back Sunday. I'm going with my mom to visit my family. I'm way excited about going to the beach!

~Molly

I'm so not graceful.

In fact, I'm downright clumsy sometimes.

Now, I'm not one of those people who trips over their own feet, (usually) but I do tend to drop/knock things over quite often. This weekend was no exception.

Yesterday at Chris' family brunch, I must have dropped my knife like four times. I kept knocking it off my plate. Then at my house for dinner, I knocked over a basket full of little chocolate eggs and various candy. For my grand finale, at my dad's I elbowed a wine glass off of the table, and broken glass got all over Chris.

I only mention all of this because I just now dropped my packet of pop rocks (strawberry) all over the floor, and I keep stepping on them and crunching them all over the place. This makes me sad for two reasons...

1. I have to clean my own office.

2. I wanted the taste explosion in my mouth, not on the bottom of my shoes!

So yeah. Molly = not graceful.

I had a great, but busy weekend. We spent a lot of time with family, and that was very nice. We dyed eggs, made a bunny cake, hunted for eggs, got Easter baskets, went to church, and ate delicious food, twice! We looked at puppies, bought a lot of alcohol, watched entourage, got bagels, and went to Shenandoah. Both nights I went to sleep completely exhausted, and both days were filled to the brim with stuff to do. It was nice, but I feel like I need another weekend, for sure.

Today's my mom's 51st birthday! Happy Birthday Mom!!!

Ok, must go sweep up pop rocks. Adios!

~Molly

Funny links, weekend in review

Monday.

Outside the sky is bright blue, the sun is shining, there is a slight breeze, and a temperature of 75.

Inside, there is a messy desk, a long "To Do" list, and calls to return.

I'd rather be outside.

I'm going for a walk with Laura tonight, and then we're making spaghetti. I can't wait to spend some time outside today, its going to make me so very happy.

But since I cannot be outside for several hours yet, I will post some funny links that aided me in my procrastination efforts this morning.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/6509781.stm

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=2998021

http://www.wsbtv.com/family/11421704/detail.html

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070402/od_nm/malaysia_dogs1_dc_1

So there you go. Some entertainment for you.

I had a lovely weekend, by the way. Spent a good amount of time outside on Saturday. I did some gardening, and lawn work at Chris'. We went to Lowe's and bought a bird feeder and seed for all the birds that are constantly in his backyard. Chris made a mini bonfire out of all the fallen sticks that we collected from his yard. We also made plans for the vegetable garden that we're hopefully going to plant soon.

We spent some time at Uly and Vicky's new place, which is lovely. Sunday Chris made me breakfast and I did some cleaning around the house. Then we met up with Uly, Vicky, Dan, and Laura for bowling. I got over an 80 during the second game! (that's good for me.) We browsed around Barns and Noble for a bit, and then Chris and I went to dinner.

It was a very relaxing weekend. This weekend will be fun too - Dying eggs, doing an Easter egg hunt, going on a mini-trip, and then spending Easter with both of our families. I'm looking forward to it!

ENJOY THE WEATHER!!!!

~Molly

Winecream, and my weekend

Dairy Creates Wine-Flavored Ice Cream

(AP) BOONVILLE, N.Y.

A central New York dairy is raising eyebrows with their latest creation: wine-flavored ice cream.

After about two years of product development, Boonville's Mercer's Ice Cream has created ice cream in three different wine flavors. There's Ala Port Wine, Peachy White Zinfandel and Red Raspberry Chardonnay.

Officials at the small, locally-owned Oneida County dairy say the new flavors are finally being scooped up by restaurants in New York City. A marketing consultant for the business thinks they've got a national product on their hands.The idea originated several years ago when Mercer's officials were working Pride of New York product fairs, displaying ice cream next to their counterparts from area wineries.

But if you want to taste the new confection, better bring along your ID. The ice creams each have an alcohol content of five percent and won't be served to minors.
http://wcco.com/watercooler/watercooler_story_084134435.html

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Happy Monday, all. I'm having a fabulous day so far, yay! It is probably a result of the amazingly restful weekend that I had - full of good food, good sleep, and good company.

Some highlights of the weekend:

1. Chris' chicken saag on Friday night. Delicious.
2. Homemade Saturday breakfast of bacon, eggs, and toast.
3. Staying in bed for hours on Saturday
4. Fiesta Mexico! (even sans banana margaritas)
5. 300 - a very good movie
6. Sunday morning bagels!
7. Sunday afternoon drive
8. Cthulhu with a sombrero (see picture!!)
9. Learning new words (like "vulpine" and "specular")
10. Traditional weekend pasta (with delicious 'somber girl' sauce!)
11. Discovering that birds are scary when they fly
12. Collapsing to the floor with laughter
13. Cuddles in the sunshine
14. Absurd conversations
15. Getting a drawer :)
16. Being "recharged" emotionally...and feeling very loved.

...And all of that, my friends, makes for an amazing weekend indeed :)

~Molly

Rice Cakes make me happy

My office is seriously cold. I've had perpetual goosebumps all day today. I thought this frigidness would be over, as last week I finally identified the location of the thermostat. It has been on 85 degrees since I got to work around 10:30. I have a fear that I may develop frostbite on my toes.

I also wanted to mention that I am officially addicted to Quaker rice cakes in the flavor of chocolate crunch. They are delicious, and I ate half a pack just today! Good thing they are only 60 calories and are made with whole grains, I suppose.

In other news, my favorite cousin Alyssa and I are getting together soon! She lives about two hours away in Virginia, so either this Sunday or next we're going to meet halfway and have lunch or something. I am excited to see her, it's been awhile, and there is much to discuss.

I have not yet received my next installment of Times magazine. This troubles me slightly, as I want to read all about Condoleeza Rice. I saw that she was featured on Time when I was at Barns and Noble with Chris last weekend.

Speaking of last weekend, it was very nice. To me, Sunday stuck out as a lovely, lovely day. Chris and I got sooo much sleep it was crazy. We spent a long time cuddling and relaxing, which was also very nice. Then we got up, took showers, and then went to lunch at the Peachtree (where I saw a lady from the Harrisburg CAC, oddly enough). After lunch, Chris took me to see Fort Hunter in Harrisburg, and we braved the elements to read some signs about the historical buildings. The river is breathtaking right now...full of ice and snow. After watching the water for a bit, we went on a 2 hour drive through the country. Chris showed me some places I had never been (his rail trail, and tower city--which has no towers, incidentally). We also ended up at Millersburg, a very quaint town at one point. After the drive we warmed up at home, played a bit of wii, and then cooked dinner together. We watched "Breakfast at Tiffany's" while eating dinner, then went to sleep very soon afterwards. But the point of all of this - we spent a lot of time talking, doing things together, and being close to each other on Sunday. I really needed that closeness.

This week has been good. Busy-ish at work, which is always helpful. I got a new client today, and I'm getting another next week! This is exciting for me! Yesterday I went to a lecture about the religious right at Messiah, and I actually enjoyed it quite a lot. I found some of the speaker's points to be very interesting, and I always love "controversial" topics that are brought to Messiah. Tonight Lk and Dan are coming over for dinner, and we're making spaghetti. I borrowed Chris' DS for the week, so I think Dan will die tonight when he sees the games that I brought home with me. Tomorrow my Dad invited Chris and I to go to a Bears game that he has box seats for - including drinks and dinner. He's called me like 10 times to get me to confirm I'm going, but Chris doesn't seem that enthusiastic, so I haven't made up my mind yet. I do so love getting angry voicemails from el padre. I'm thinking I want to go, it sounds like fun to me, but we'll see. I'm excited that Chris is coming home tonight! Even if I don't get to see him, I love knowing he's only in Harrisburg, rather than far away in Maryland.

Um, so ends my ramblings. You should buy some of these rice cakes. They really are delicious.

~Molly

Mono, my weekend, the accident

Hello all!

I have lots to say, so lets jump right in there!

I do indeed have mono. The doctor diagnosed me last week (Wednesday). She also said that I'm suffering from anemia, so she drew more blood to test what type. When she gets the results back, I'll have to go in again so she can give me some iron or something for that. So the combo of not having iron in my blood, and having Mono had been what was making me so tired. I am feeling much better this week, although I still don't have my regular stamina back yet. Last week, my doctor forced me to take Thursday and Friday off work, and I managed to read almost three books, get loads of errands done, watch a bit of T.V, pay my bills, do some laundry, and go to the grocery store. It was great to get stuff done around the house.

I had a fabulous weekend with Chris, as always :) Friday we met up with Uly, Dan, and Vicky and went to Midtown Cinema and saw Babel. I enjoyed the movie, it was interesting. Afterwards, we went to Zephyr's for dinner. It was quite enjoyable - I do so love Zephyr bread. Then we stopped by Dan's for a bit to hang out and see his cat. Then Chris and I went home, and to bed. Saturday was another nice day. I slept in, which was lovely. We got showers, then went and got Thai for lunch. After that, we frequented both Targets and picked up some new board games. Did you guys know that the new Target has a Starbucks in it? It was fabulous. So after shopping for awhile, we returned home and played several rousing rounds of Scatergories, one of my favorite games. After some Trivial Pursuit, I took a quick nap. Then it was time to get ready to head to York to see Paula Poundstone. I had never heard of her, but she's a pretty famous comedian. Chris had gotten tickets to see her at the York Strand, which I had not been to for a long time. It was pretty packed out, and we had really good seats. The show was great, I thought she was really funny, and we had a great time. I did not sleep well that night, resulting in me being pretty cranky Sunday morning. I think this was the first time I had been particularly cranky in front of Chris, but he handled it well. He gave me cuddles and chocolate, which definitely helped me to snap out of it by around 12. We then left to go to Lancaster to meet up with Melinda and her fiance Sean for lunch at 2. Thankfully we got there early and put our names on the hour long waiting list. Lunch was delicious, and it was very nice to see Mel and Sean again.

When we left the restaurant, it was snowing. This was a super big deal for me! I have missed every snow flurry that we'd had so far this winter, so it was the first time I saw snow this year. I was very very excited, and it made it so much better to be with Chris when it happened. I'm smiling now just thinking about it :) We stopped at a couple of the outlets, but neither of us really needed anything, so we didn't stay long. After getting back home (and finally being exposed to the Beatle's entire White album) we spent the evening inside relaxing.

So, the weekend was very busy, but very fun. It was hard to go back to work yesterday. I think I need an extended vacation. At any rate, I was driving on 83 (the not closed part) going home around 3:00 and I'm on the phone with my mom. All of a sudden, I see brake lights all in front of me, so I automatically start braking. The car in front of me, a blue jetta, doesn't brake right away, finally notices the brake lights, and starts braking with hardly any room. She swerves into the other lane to avoid rear-ending the car in front of her, and starts fishtailing across the highway, and slams into the guardrail. Now, I'm watching this all, and I'm stopped plenty far away from her. All of a sudden, I get rear-ended by a small truck behind me! (Obviously they were not paying attention, as I had stopped a long time ago) Mind you, I'm still on my cell, so I'm like "Mom, I was just in an accident, I have to go--" and hung up, amidst her freaking out. Now, the guy behind me didn't hit me that hard at all, but it was still pretty darn scary. We all exchanged info, but I don't think I'm going to report it to my insurance company as it really amounts to some scratched paint, and that's about it. In my job, I drive a lot, and I'm definitely more concerned about it now. With such a little car, I could get seriously hurt in a big accident. I'm going to make an effort to be more aware and defensive when I drive.

I went home for dinner yesterday, which was nice because I haven't spent any time with just my mom recently. She made chili and rice, and it was delicious. After I got home, Chris called me, which always makes my day :) We didn't really talk for long, though, because Teri stopped over for an hour before her dancing class at Messiah. It's always nice to talk to Teri, I love getting her imput on things going on in my life. I feel like she's my counselor sometimes. After she left, Sarah called me and we got to catch up also, which was lovely. Around 10, I called Chris back but I think he might have passed out, and missed my call ;)

Well, I think that officially brings us up to date. Life is good right now.

~Molly