tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-54883962011-10-11T06:40:29.723-04:00Since I've seen you last, I've waited for some things that you would not believe.JSnoreply@blogger.comBlogger8381100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5488396.post-60125318928864864042011-02-15T08:47:00.006-05:002011-02-15T09:02:55.550-05:00

I hope you all had a lovely Valentine's Day. Mine was very nice, even though Henry eventually repossessed the card he'd given to me in the morning. (It's "Cars"-themed and plays "Life Is A Highway" when you open it, so it was hard to argue with him when he said I'd actually given it to him and not the other way around. I mean, that does make a lot more sense.) We also made chicken and rice, as is

JSnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5488396.post-52658765880906165832011-02-12T22:13:00.002-05:002011-02-12T22:41:43.553-05:00

Well, the cold got worse, and then a lot worse such that I thought I might be getting the flu, but now it's some better and I think it's just a regular, albeit fairly crappy, cold. Do you want to hear about my congestion? No? Well, trust me, I am impressively congested. And everyone else in the house now seems to be getting sick (disproving, I suppose, my theory that this was the cold everyone

JSnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5488396.post-10751195738676149572011-02-09T01:25:00.002-05:002011-02-09T02:06:51.891-05:00

Well, I seem to have succumbed to the cold that everyone else has gotten these last few weeks. It's a little disappointing, since I was starting to think that this was my own, somewhat obscure superpower, but I suppose it was bound to happen. At any rate, it seems to be a sprightly thing, because I felt fine at dinner but was asleep in bed by 8:30, and now I have a sore throat and my nose is

JSnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5488396.post-25746383812556932762011-02-07T22:13:00.003-05:002011-02-07T23:28:54.994-05:00

Since I made that last post I've found the following items: about a thousand other photos, including the entire roll I took at Reunions two weeks before Adam and Brett's graduation; the birthday card Adam and Brett and AJ gave me for my twentieth birthday; my phone bill from June 1997. Clearly, I'm being mocked by the god of archiving. I think it's time to put this obsession aside until next

JSnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5488396.post-11573407169931172652011-02-03T11:07:00.004-05:002011-02-03T11:46:14.389-05:00

Today I'm doing my annual search for the only thing I've ever lost that I miss: the photo of me and Adam and Brett at their high school graduation. I sort of can't believe that it's gone, although I've moved ten times or more since then, because not only did I have a hard copy, but I also scanned it in and put it on my college webpage. But no, the Internet Wayback Machine somehow missed that

JSnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5488396.post-83825853900168966442011-02-02T12:03:00.002-05:002011-02-02T12:11:52.848-05:00

First off, happy Groundhog Day. Thanks to Tizzed, I've been reminiscing today about the time we went to see the groundhog, which was awesome and also led to my own favorite blog entry ever. We didn't make it out there this year, though I was certainly awake at 3 in the morning so I suppose I could have, but I hear he didn't see his shadow and so spring is imminent. It was actually fairly nice out

JSnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5488396.post-31924882917282359832011-01-31T10:30:00.003-05:002011-01-31T15:16:02.257-05:00

Well, Robbie's been home since Saturday, and yesterday he installed the new kitchen-garbage system, made a delicious salad, and 95% fixed the utility sink, which, and I'm just going to go ahead and say this and delicate sensibilities be damned, was super hot. (Of course, I say this as the observer. Robbie, who was down on the floor chiseling bits of rock-solid twenty-year-old laundry soap out of

JSnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5488396.post-85634698908382693742011-01-28T23:44:00.003-05:002011-01-29T00:04:38.682-05:00

Robbie's coming home tomorrow, glory be. Actually, it occurred to me late this evening that if you measure time in bedtimes, as I do, he's technically already home, which was heartening. We've muddled through these last few days fairly well, although the Woolite incident ended up having unforeseen repercussions when, after I mopped the floor, I emptied the mop water into the utility sink, where

JSnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5488396.post-81674294945709664602011-01-26T10:45:00.003-05:002011-01-26T11:03:23.999-05:00

Well, we're hanging in here with Robbie gone, but I have to say, I sort of lose my mind when he's not around. I considered finding another analogy there because that sounds sort of overly romantic and I know Robbie's brothers read this blog and have delicate sensibilities, but I actually mean something worse, which is that I do sort of lose my mind, recluse-style. I know everyone feels bad for

JSnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5488396.post-32413398605820871452011-01-24T09:33:00.002-05:002011-01-24T09:47:18.913-05:00

So, I was feeling a little sad this morning because Robbie left yesterday for a week in Zurich, and also the windchill outside is -20, and also we don't really have anything good for breakfast in the house, and then I read that today has been scientifically determined to be the most depressing day of the year. I have to admit, I'm narcissistically pleased about the entire world (or maybe it's

JSnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5488396.post-77302698179090262262011-01-20T11:28:00.002-05:002011-01-20T11:46:44.919-05:00

Well, I'm slightly creeped out today, and I'll tell you why. Now that we have two kids, Robbie and I decided it would be responsible of us to write a will, so we did that last month. I did have to periodically remind myself that making contingency plans in case I died wasn't the same as planning to be dead at some point in the near future, but those reminders worked pretty well, so the process

JSnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5488396.post-73055744380511599412011-01-19T17:19:00.004-05:002011-01-19T17:37:29.161-05:00

So Robbie went to the dentist yesterday, defying death to do so (OK, that's not our neighborhood, and also it was totally fine out by 9 or 10 in the morning), and he came home with the usual toothbrush and toothpaste and floss, but also with a little trial bottle of Listerine, which I guess the dentist now gives out these days. We've never been huge on the mouthwash as a family, but we did used

JSnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5488396.post-63003690676548157572011-01-17T20:47:00.002-05:002011-01-17T21:00:04.614-05:00

Well, the haircut was only OK. I think both he and I were at a disadvantage because last time he gave me the best haircut I've ever had, and pretty much nothing was going to live up to it. Also, telling him this made him slightly nervous, as well it should have, especially because I didn't take a photo of it or anything that could have helped him on Friday. (Also, he may have been distracted by

JSnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5488396.post-7260637777140699102011-01-14T11:20:00.002-05:002011-01-14T11:48:26.753-05:00

Today I'm getting a haircut, which I'm extremely excited about because it's been quite a while and my hair has an unfortunate tendency to self-mullet when it gets too long. I'm completely fine with going to the doctor and suchlike, but I have a sort of horror of being touched by service personnel for non-essential purposes--I can understand, in the abstract, how a person could enjoy a massage,

JSnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5488396.post-22415527633722354992011-01-12T14:42:00.003-05:002011-01-12T17:17:28.589-05:00

Well, we're ensconced in what apparently is the biggest storm of the winter so far, although it's really not much to speak of. Since last winter--actually, I think since the time I got stuck horizontally on the road trying to drive up a massive hill by my parents' house in a blizzard a few winters ago and nearly got t-boned by about half a dozen cars--I've been a huge winter driving wuss, though,

JSnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5488396.post-35671970961294023792011-01-10T14:21:00.001-05:002011-01-10T14:23:23.020-05:00

Hey, that person in North Dakota who just visited my blog searching for "how to tear out carpet," I wrote someone a long tutorial a few years ago on this very topic. Comment if you're still interested and I'll paste it here.

JSnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5488396.post-91883169549034823222011-01-10T11:52:00.005-05:002011-01-10T14:20:32.040-05:00

Since Peter was born we've been realizing that our car, while charming, wasn't really going to cut it anymore. The biggest problem was the seating--although our car allegedly seated five, with two carseats it was essentially impossible to cram another person in the backseat, and I say that as the person who always ended up getting crammed in the backseat. True, we could still fit our family, but

JSnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5488396.post-39358799886668661422011-01-07T10:52:00.002-05:002011-01-07T11:05:54.216-05:00

We got back from Robbie’s parents’ house on New Year’s and being there always fills me with a mania to get things accomplished around our house when I get home, because their house is an oasis of neatness and serenity compared to ours and things are perfect there that it never even would have previously occurred to you could be perfect, until you see them there, and then you realize the

JSnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5488396.post-59396056187427318422011-01-06T11:45:00.003-05:002011-01-06T11:52:28.172-05:00

Hey, you know that friend who calls you every year or so and is all "Oh my God, I've missed you, let's never lose touch again," and you get all excited, and you go out for coffee, and then you invite them to your party and they don't come, and eleven months later the cycle repeats, and eventually you want to punch them in the face? Are you at that point with reading this blog yet? No? Good.I've

JSnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5488396.post-47660761660627396182010-09-29T11:04:00.003-04:002010-09-29T11:24:47.698-04:00

My mom has complained enough about the centipedes that I feel compelled to make a new post. As you may have guessed, I'm finding less time for this blog than I had hoped, but I'm still going to give it a try. Today, we keep the training wheels on with a list post.1. Whole Foods will not have canned pumpkin in stock for another two weeks, apparently. 2. I canceled cable today and this gave me an

JSnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5488396.post-61570760650269214722010-07-28T11:49:00.002-04:002010-07-28T12:04:25.578-04:00

Well, we seem to be having a centipede flare-up. Having grown up in Western Pennsylvania, I respect their right to my basement as long as they stay on the walls like civilized insects and don't come racing out from under something I've bent down to examine, but when they make incursions into the living floors I get annoyed. Last night one came tearing through the living room with Frasca, and when

JSnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5488396.post-23948239247956953342010-07-23T10:42:00.004-04:002010-07-23T11:43:16.538-04:00

Well, I'm feeling great today, because I discovered that I can do Wii Fit "free running" while watching the Tour. I wish I'd discovered this three weeks ago, because I like everything about it. First, it's fairly easy to motivate myself for a twenty-minute run (even though that's long for me, running novice that I am) when I'm watching people doing a 100-mile bike ride for the 19th day in a row.

JSnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5488396.post-70023745373156944542010-07-20T21:51:00.002-04:002010-07-20T22:09:11.898-04:00

Bet you thought I'd post this morning, huh? I was off having a minor but nonetheless unappetizing foot problem taken care of. Well, sort of--the physician's assistant won't fully treat it as long as I'm nursing, and thus I'm in for another seven months or so of half-hearted treatment that she basically told me won't really be effective ("this will do something" means it isn't really going to work

JSnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5488396.post-52680360970870793742010-07-19T09:52:00.002-04:002010-07-19T10:01:55.983-04:00

Well, we had quite the weekend adventure. I took some photos of the Whiskey Rebellion site last week for Pittsburgh Daily Photo, and after coming home and doing some research I learned that this was actually the anniversary weekend of the beginning of the rebellion, and that the Scott Conservancy was having a guided walk to commemorate. I was picturing a walk through the woods where we'd stop

JSnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5488396.post-17946414858445891032010-07-16T09:58:00.003-04:002010-07-16T10:13:47.808-04:00

It's Friday and I'm pleased to report that I've already finished my Wii Fit workout for the day, although it was cut a bit short because someone was screaming. (OK, two people were screaming, but I was determined to ignore my own.) I've been trying to get more exercise now that I have some time in the morning, but I'm coming to the hard conclusion that I'm really a spring-fall outdoor exerciser

JSnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5488396.post-76780314421365429842010-07-15T07:44:00.003-04:002010-07-15T09:30:36.549-04:00

Well, my mother nipped any nascent feelings of satisfaction in the bud by scolding me last night for implying here that I'd ever gotten a baby gift I didn't like. So, I feel obligated to point out today that, of course, none of the baby clothes I didn't like were from you, which you probably knew because your taste is impeccable. Seriously. Please don't leave me for Jonathan Safran Foer. (Also, I

JSnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5488396.post-53104392501182820972010-07-14T10:30:00.002-04:002010-07-14T10:51:21.422-04:00

Happy Bastille Day! Historically (well, for a few years in my twenties, but that's when it feels like everything ever happened), this is moving day--I think I've moved three times on July 14. I celebrated this morning by taking several boxes of books and clothes to the Goodwill, which is sort of like moving, only better because there's no subsequent unpacking. We decided it was time to get rid of

JSnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5488396.post-15934555063663920422010-07-13T10:37:00.003-04:002010-07-13T11:03:28.573-04:00

Remember when I used to write really interesting posts? Because I noticed last night that in something like three of the last four posts I said something about being really craftsy lately, and while this is true, I'm not sure you all needed to hear it quite so often. It's turning into Flowers For Algernon: Home Edition over here. Anyhow, I've decided that the solution to writing repetitive posts

JSnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5488396.post-81601196784823039192010-07-12T19:19:00.005-04:002010-07-12T22:24:09.534-04:00

I wanted to start this off by pointing out to you all that the recent New Yorker "20 Under 40" fiction issue features one author who was in my class at Princeton and one who was the year under me. If you think I'm telling you this as a friendly heads-up, pointing you to some bright new literary lights, then you think vastly better of me than you ought. (Also, one of the two needs more publicity

JSnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5488396.post-61688345036251232482010-06-13T21:57:00.002-04:002010-06-13T22:20:03.564-04:00

Well, here I am, blogging with my one free hour a day rather than watching TV. In the interest of full disclosure, the most interesting thing that seems to be on right now is something on TLC called "Extreme Poodles," but still. Anyhow, it's been an exciting weekend here. Yesterday I got my long-coveted chest freezer (well, OK, Robbie got it, but I helped wrestle it into the basement), and now

JSnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5488396.post-79875140592341227502010-05-14T14:42:00.003-04:002010-05-14T15:48:56.195-04:00

OK, I need to correct what I said in my last post. There is probably no frequency that it's safe to expect, especially since our now-daily bouts of pre-nap Greco-Roman wrestling lead me to believe that my days of afternoon peace and quiet are numbered. However, as you know I'm a Lost aficionado, and this is Lost's final season, and Adam sent me an interesting article yesterday that got me

JSnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5488396.post-84217691815141559032010-04-28T15:10:00.005-04:002010-04-28T15:39:05.501-04:00

And here I am again. This is probably the frequency you can expect for a while at least. Like I reported last time, I've been feeling craftsy, and so last weekend I was at JoAnn waiting in an interminable line to get some curtain fabric cut and sort of halfway listening to the ladies working the sewing-machine-sales counter behind me, and I overheard a delightful exchange that reminded me of my

JSnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5488396.post-4166960910354685482010-04-23T13:21:00.003-04:002010-04-23T13:30:07.113-04:00

Hey, remember how I started my blog up again when I was eight months pregnant? Yeah, that's dumb. Don't do that. I've actually wanted to be posting here for the last few weeks at least, but I felt like I should come back with some really great, interesting post. Just now, however, I decided that was silly and I should instead come back with a mediocre post just to get over the return-to-blogging

JSnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5488396.post-22753573304446234392010-02-18T20:43:00.002-05:002010-02-18T21:18:24.394-05:00

You guys, I left the house twice today! Twice. Other than last week's midwife visit, I haven't left the house (well, the property, I've been to the garage) since February 5, and I know I'm a homebody but even I was going fairly crazy. Anyhow, this morning was another midwife visit, and it went fairly well, except that it sort of confirmed for me that I was slowly going insane. First, the

JSnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5488396.post-57095903291147727082010-02-17T21:04:00.003-05:002010-02-17T21:14:37.149-05:00

OK, I did nothing today, genuinely nothing, and I won't lie to you, that makes blogging difficult. I did watch a Clifford The Big Red Dog wherein Emily Elizabeth explains that you can write anything in your journal, true or not, so I suppose if I really took that to heart I could come up with something fantastically creative, but on the other hand, in the episode I saw she only got into trouble

JSnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5488396.post-30629773017861953422010-02-16T22:14:00.002-05:002010-02-16T22:20:05.552-05:00

Well, we just finished watching Lost, and I'm really tired, so this isn't going to be much of an entry, but at this point I feel it's incumbent upon me to check in every so often so no one thinks I'm having the baby. And just for the record, I'm definitely not having the baby. I think I must be unusually hospitable, since he seems in no hurry to leave whatsoever.And the only other news I have is

JSnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5488396.post-79621518187247312592010-02-15T20:46:00.002-05:002010-02-15T21:01:23.535-05:00

Because Robbie had the day off and because, once again, it's snowing, I decided this would be a good day to try to make bread in the pullman loaf pan I got from my great-aunts' house. Perhaps you don't know what a pullman loaf is, or perhaps if you are fancypants you know it as pain de mie, but it's the very uniform square sandwich bread. I've never successfully made sandwich bread before, but as

JSnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5488396.post-35033829863529610442010-02-14T21:24:00.002-05:002010-02-14T22:22:10.083-05:00

So Thursday night we got blitzed, in the snow removal sense, and I have to say that it was pretty impressive. They did it in the middle of the night and Robbie wasn't interested in watching, so I'm the only one who saw it, but I think it was well worth the lost sleep to see a giant backhoe scooping up giant balls of snow and ice and removing them from our street. Of course, the next morning we

JSnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5488396.post-25082912361393289042010-02-11T22:25:00.003-05:002010-02-11T22:36:25.608-05:00

Without being even remotely eventful, everything seemed to get a bit better around here today, reinforcing once again my faith that while I'm not an especially lucky person exactly, I can at least always count on there being some sort of floor to any suckage I might experience. We got plowed and salted a few times--we didn't quite get the "blitz" of National Guard HumVees, police cars, plows,

JSnoreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5488396.post-46921752276999218162010-02-10T21:27:00.002-05:002010-02-10T22:05:05.955-05:00

So, let's review what I've done over the last couple of days:- watched it snow- watched Robbie shovel snow- contemplated our broken gutter- tried not to have a baby - watched plows go by constantly on the street we technically live on- watched plows go by not at all on the street where our car is kept, making the plowed- or unplowed-ness of the street we technically live on completely irrelevant-

JSnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5488396.post-59799303868172004062010-02-08T20:57:00.003-05:002010-02-08T21:20:57.467-05:00

Augh. Well, we may not be snowed in at the moment (we haven't actually moved the car yet, but we've seen cars we rated as worse than ours making it down the street this evening), but as of tomorrow morning we're supposed to start getting another six to twelve inches of snow, so it hardly matters. Also, we're all sick. I read a lot of pioneer history, which you'd think might make me stoic in these

JSnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5488396.post-85670816420885206432010-02-07T20:51:00.002-05:002010-02-07T21:06:10.980-05:00

Well, we've had an exciting snowpocalypse here. Robbie got home from a week in California on Friday afternoon, after changing his flight from one coming in that night, and made it back just as the snow was starting to pick up. Amazingly, his original flight, containing everyone else from his project, got in on time on Friday night, but then most people were trapped somewhere between the airport

JSnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5488396.post-43797342555013091562010-02-04T21:27:00.002-05:002010-02-04T22:05:48.841-05:00

Argh. Well, I had a midwife visit today and the baby is great and overall I'm boring, which is sort of the equivalent of "great" when you're 39 weeks pregnant, but my platelets have dropped somewhat precipitously (they've been tracking them because they were low, but they'd seemed to have stabilized over the last month or so, which was nice). So, that's fairly annoying. I've done some research

JSnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5488396.post-76131469174376613282010-02-03T20:49:00.002-05:002010-02-03T21:03:27.314-05:00

Sorry for the lack of post last night, but I'm sure you all figured out what I was doing. I thought the Lost premiere was pretty good, if not great, but then I read some analysis today that made me think the parts I didn't like were more significant than I thought they were. That's not to say I actually like them any better, but I don't think they were quite the waste of time I did initially. And

JSnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5488396.post-62574659269360089732010-02-01T20:38:00.002-05:002010-02-01T20:51:13.020-05:00

Well, thankfully I remembered at some point today that Groundhog Day is not, in fact, April Fools' Day, and so all the crazy pranks I was planning for saying I was going into labor tomorrow have now been canceled. Man, that would have been awkward. I am, however, reminiscing about the great Groundhog Day trip to Punxsutawney in 2004, which was pretty fabulous. Maybe I'll rally the troops at 3 in

JSnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5488396.post-403715673215620422010-01-31T20:29:00.002-05:002010-01-31T20:40:24.751-05:00

As is the case with any weekend involving both waffles and pancakes, this weekend was excellent. It wasn't even all syrupy goodness, either--I also primed the closet doors for the baby's room, which I think once finished and installed will class up the room nicely, and I made a lovely salad last night for dinner, although I sort of burned the walnuts. And Friday night we had people over for our

JSnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5488396.post-85604974633321216582010-01-30T09:59:00.002-05:002010-01-30T10:10:09.284-05:00

And now, it's time for Dreams I've Had Lately.1. I've been given the job of maneuvering a tractor-trailer out of Heather and Matt's old spot in their apartment parking garage in Alexandria.2. I (in waking life) have a Facebook friend who I don't know personally, only through another friend. In the dream she comes to visit and lights fires everywhere, including all the nonfunctional fireplaces and

JSnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5488396.post-2884741455385449862010-01-28T20:47:00.003-05:002010-01-28T21:14:18.999-05:00

First off, mad props to longtime Jessica Sedgewick's Blog reader AJ, who just got into CMU for grad school. Although he's applied several other places and may very well be making a choice among quite a few of them, we're pretty excited here at the thought that he might be in town for the next five years or so. However, in a sitcom-worthy twist, CMU's prospectives days are scheduled for the 14th-

JSnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5488396.post-90732601412338465592010-01-27T21:09:00.002-05:002010-01-27T22:04:18.745-05:00

Another day, another ungrilled reuben sandwich. Ah, but I have to clear up an error I made earlier this week--although the traditional reuben does contain sauerkraut, the Loafers ungrilled reuben contains coleslaw. Perhaps that's why it's so deliciously irresistible. Anyhow, if I start exuding a sauerkraut odor I guess it'll be unexplainable, and also somewhat creepy.And I was significantly less

JSnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5488396.post-69999234986703778552010-01-26T19:43:00.002-05:002010-01-26T20:32:53.210-05:00

Today the window guy came to measure for the windows we're having replaced this year, which ended up being a bit unfortunate because we'd miscounted how many windows we'd wanted to replace this year (it was seven, and we told them six), and so we had to decide whether to add another window in, thus paying more than the estimate we'd received, or put one off until next year. We're already at (well

JSnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5488396.post-27698860230510468682010-01-25T22:04:00.002-05:002010-01-25T22:43:59.641-05:00

This morning I woke up with a whole Monday's full of plans, less than half of which revolved around eating the cookies I made last night, but then I decided to go adventuring instead. As many of you know, I have another website for Pittsburgh photos, the link to which is on the sidebar, and my supply of photos has been running a bit low, so we set out to replenish them, which was going to be

JSnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5488396.post-59308075737560116032010-01-24T21:27:00.002-05:002010-01-24T21:59:13.547-05:00

It's been a slowish weekend around here. We did not much of anything yesterday other than go to Coca Cafe with my parents, which, as always, was fantastic, and then today we did some chores and went through my great-aunts' house with my mom selecting curtains. This went pretty well except that Robbie and my mom, who conspire to thwart me, went through my great-aunts' collection of tiny useless

JSnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5488396.post-77427342490076358142010-01-22T23:02:00.002-05:002010-01-22T23:22:52.580-05:00

Well, today was a flurry of activity in what these days is more often a slow, lumbering existence. A while ago I realized that while taking the Commodore and Frasca for their yearly checkups in late pregnancy with Henry in tow sounded awful, doing it with a newborn sounded impossible, so I booked them for today. This necessitated the moving of three small beings at various levels of rage and

JSnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5488396.post-4567005920346840252010-01-21T21:06:00.003-05:002010-01-21T23:13:13.479-05:00

As most of you know, although my long-term career goals are, to put it politely, fluid, what I'd like most of all is to be James Thurber. Like most art forms I find that writing, especially "light" writing, has a tremendous amount of mechanics under the surface that, if done correctly, the reader never perceives. I was talking to someone recently about this and compared really successful humorous

JSnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5488396.post-27475725855323964202010-01-20T22:09:00.004-05:002010-01-20T22:34:24.994-05:00

Today I began a great bread experiment. Over Christmas my mom picked up some whole wheat flour for me at the Mennonite bulk foods store near my parents' lake house, and also some whole wheat pastry flour, and I was eager to see if using some pastry flour in our dinner roll recipe would make any difference. I've made this recipe a fair amount, more so lately because making bread is one of the few

JSnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5488396.post-17093831012799576202010-01-19T18:54:00.003-05:002010-01-19T21:59:11.804-05:00

And today was back to our regular schedule, or as regular as a schedule can be when you spend most of your time considering things like whether pulverized Tums could make a decent salad topping. (Verdict: potentially, but probably not worth the wasted Tums.) I got some paperwork done that I've been meaning to do, and considered getting rid of a lot of my shoes. Even my current shoe supply is

JSnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5488396.post-50168929048358043332010-01-18T20:44:00.002-05:002010-01-18T21:04:04.169-05:00

Well, today was a fine day because Robbie ended up unexpectedly having it off. (I'm sure that diligent calendar-checking would have made it less of a surprise, but that's something neither of us thought to do, so he ended up not knowing about it until late last week, which was sort of nice.) We're planning on slowly replacing all the windows in this house, as they are ugly, inefficient, and prone

JSnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5488396.post-5592131755468294912010-01-17T14:05:00.002-05:002010-01-17T14:24:52.407-05:00

Today I got my Christmas cross-stitch kit in the mail. (OK, the more astute of you probably know that's a lie, since today is Sunday, but Robbie brought it in yesterday and I didn't notice the package until he pointed it out today.) I asked for it, probably as part of some elaborate pre-newborn self-hypnosis designed to convince me that I'm going to have hundreds of hours of free time for

JSnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5488396.post-61221948666390641932010-01-16T22:27:00.002-05:002010-01-16T22:45:12.008-05:00

Well, today has been just awash in neighborhood gossip. First, I went for my second ungrilled reuben of the season, and while we were there my parents and I noticed that a few doors down from Loafers, where there have been six or eight empty storefronts for a while, there were some architectural drawings of a Whole Foods. My mother correctly pointed out that there was nothing actually saying that

JSnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5488396.post-92115523077282537412010-01-14T22:10:00.002-05:002010-01-14T22:35:38.448-05:00

So last Friday when the receptionist for the HVAC company called to do the scheduling I asked how long it would take and she said all week, and yesterday I double-checked with the workmen and they said they'd definitely be here until Friday, so I went ahead and made plans to have ungrilled reuben day and then, lo and behold, they finished today, except for the outside unit. It all looks pretty

JSnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5488396.post-13062770197532283332010-01-13T21:41:00.002-05:002010-01-13T21:59:10.861-05:00

Between blogging this morning and feeling tired, I considered not blogging tonight, but then I realized that in this hiatus season between the season finale of "Mad Men" and the season premiere of "Lost," the nation (plus you, Canada, I see you up there) needs to know about the progress the air-conditioning men made today in order to make water-cooler conversation tomorrow. You're welcome. So,

JSnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5488396.post-48769030673535686652010-01-13T08:40:00.002-05:002010-01-13T08:44:05.259-05:00

And here you go. I'm envious of Marci next door, who sounds much more erudite and not just vaguely stoned and nostalgic for hot cocoa. Still though, front page is kind of cool.

JSnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5488396.post-87903041332387194602010-01-12T21:49:00.002-05:002010-01-12T22:02:36.903-05:00

Well, we had another exciting day here watching the air-conditioning men. Today they brought reinforcements (this is another common stage in having work done on our house) and the four of them got a lot accomplished, including hauling to the third floor what seems to me to be an unusually huge condenser unit. It's still in the hallway up there, looking like a computer of the future from 1974, but

JSnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5488396.post-22061340081249106452010-01-11T19:51:00.002-05:002010-01-11T21:11:26.815-05:00

OK, so nothing could really top the thrill ride that was this weekend. (Also, did I mention that we had sushi delivered to our house on Saturday night? Because we totally did. When it comes to sushi delivery I'm sort of like my great-aunts, who grew up in the Depression, were about all-you-can-eat buffets--I still can't get my mind around the fact that it's possible.) However, today the guys came

JSnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5488396.post-70264392982654031072010-01-10T11:34:00.002-05:002010-01-10T11:51:41.905-05:00

Oh man, I am totally congratulating myself here for my clairvoyance. And also Brett and Amy, who apparently actually got double-secret engaged a week before I posted that I'd had a dream that they got engaged, but just called to tell us now. I always think that it's a bad sign if someone's engagement takes you by surprise, so I think it's very good that this surprises me not at all. I'm very

JSnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5488396.post-7069294847373014442010-01-09T21:26:00.003-05:002010-01-09T21:42:40.152-05:00

OK, here's the deal: I'm giving birth (not at the moment), and you like to place bets, at least if you're Ted. Here are the facts:1. I'm due on February 12.2. Henry was one week and six days late.3. The Olympics also start on February 12, and continue well past the point where I'll have been induced.Whoever correctly guesses what sport will be going on when the baby is born wins. If the baby is

JSnoreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5488396.post-78746779832416489422010-01-09T15:13:00.003-05:002010-01-09T16:39:31.508-05:00

And we are closed! This is extremely exciting. This is the third house closing I've been to, and I have to say, going as the seller is way more fun. There's much less to sign, they give you a nice check at the end, and basically you just sit at a table and smoke cigars made with rolled-up twenties for an hour. (OK, so I can't back that last part up, but that's how I envision it before the smoking

JSnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5488396.post-60821976311767376282010-01-08T08:47:00.002-05:002010-01-08T09:00:09.313-05:00

And now, it's time for the revival of an old blog feature. Today, Dreams I Have Had Lately: The Family Edition.1. Brett and Amy get engaged. This was one of those incredibly realistic and boring dreams (no offense to Brett and Amy, I just mean that they didn't get engaged while levitating, or anything), such that when I woke up I was very confused about whether it had actually happened and had to

JSnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5488396.post-73179939008325960222010-01-07T22:16:00.002-05:002010-01-07T23:00:33.520-05:00

Closing on the house tomorrow, doo dah, doo dah. Well, assuming we can make it downtown, that is, since they are forecasting somewhere between five and seven inches of snow between now and then. If worst comes to worst, Robbie and I have come up with several complex plans involving buses, none of which sound especially fun, but I'm hoping it doesn't come to that.And the Jessicos turned out

JSnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5488396.post-63578361744453720252010-01-06T20:38:00.002-05:002010-01-06T21:19:41.051-05:00

Today I ventured out of the house for the first time in 72 hours. I know, I know, but it's been cold and snowy and my balance is not good and my usual traveling companion protests being asked to wear winter clothing by lying down on the ground, so it just didn't seem worth it. Tonight, though, I went to the corner store for sour cream so I could frost my Jessicos, and I have to say it was sort of

JSnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5488396.post-61209627575364077042010-01-05T20:48:00.003-05:002010-01-05T21:13:58.683-05:00

Well, it's that time of year again when I begin to complain incessantly about the weather. Every year it manages to take me by surprise, which I don't totally understand because we've lived in Pittsburgh for seven consecutive winters now, but I blame it all on having lived in Santa Barbara at one point. (Is there a statute of limitations on that? Because I also blame ever living in Santa Barbara

JSnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5488396.post-17803731274167426362010-01-04T19:51:00.003-05:002010-01-04T21:03:33.245-05:00

Today was back to the old routine around here, a thing I've been dreading essentially since vacation started. In fairness, even the old routine is pretty nice, but nicer still is lying supine on my in-laws' sofa watching TV and yelling out my Hoagie Haven order to anyone who happens to be passing by, and so I wasn't approaching today with an especially can-do mental attitude. Fortunately, what I

JSnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5488396.post-49450524243775727742010-01-03T22:57:00.002-05:002010-01-03T23:07:02.359-05:00

OK, OK, it's been awhile. I'll be honest--I missed you guys, and writing here every day, and so I thought I'd give it another whirl. I had such a nice tidy ending on my other blog, but the older you get, the more you realize that nice tidy endings are for TV shows and that nothing's ever actually irrevocably over until it's torn down and large suburban homes are built on top of it, which doesn't

JSnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5488396.post-90071593640087746182007-06-03T08:11:00.000-04:002007-06-03T08:14:37.063-04:00

For those of you waiting with bated breath for another cat update, I'm pleased to report that Frasca and the Commodore are getting along swimmingly. He even washes her ear where she has a little bit of fur missing, which is extremely cute. She's not totally sure how to respond to his affections, I think, especially since he spent so much time last week hissing at her, but she seems at least

JSnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5488396.post-44275945530815583342007-05-28T20:19:00.001-04:002007-05-28T20:25:57.446-04:00

In late-breaking Frasca news, a prolonged examination of her paperwork and the Commodore's paperwork, which I've carefully saved this last year and a half, shows that, in a "Lost"-style twist, while they were apparently not littermates, they lived at the shelter at the same time in 2005, and got all their shots on the same days and got altered on the same day and microchipped on the same day. So,

JSnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5488396.post-7924752002036566152007-05-28T10:13:00.001-04:002007-05-28T15:50:20.005-04:00

Ladies and gentlemen, meet Frasca Sedgewick:We thought that the Commodore should have his own thing going on when the baby comes home, and also that we had room for another cat, so we decided to take the plunge, and got Frasca from the shelter yesterday. She's very, very sweet, and totally unperturbed by the Commodore's getting-to-know-you strategy, which consists mainly of hissing, growling, and

JSnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5488396.post-35995669069136976632007-05-22T17:36:00.000-04:002007-05-22T17:44:28.716-04:00

Here it is--our new car. I'm extremely, extremely fond of it, even more so now that I've figured out how to turn it on without pushing buttons ineffectually for five minutes or so. So far, we're averaging 44 miles per gallon, and yes, watching the little fuel monitor is totally addictive.

JSnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5488396.post-55617934175372810872007-05-14T15:40:00.000-04:002007-05-14T15:42:52.825-04:00

I have a question: do you think we can start using "Andy Bernard" as an adjective? For example, in the sentence "You know how she is--she finds the most popular person in every crowd, and then she goes all Andy Bernard on them." Still too obscure? And if not yet, then when?

JSnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5488396.post-80303581716465519752007-04-06T14:40:00.000-04:002007-04-06T14:47:38.212-04:00

We're leaving for Scotland in two days (mention haggis and I swear I will vomit on your shoes), but I wanted to make a post today, because Robbie and I did something unconventional last night, unprecedented in our twelve years together, something we didn't discuss at the time and still haven't, I think because we're both afraid that by drawing attention to it the other person will act disgusted

JSnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5488396.post-19462277244056079392007-03-30T21:04:00.000-04:002007-10-09T19:35:26.519-04:00

Well, now that we've weeded out the riffraff and are left only with hardcore stalkers and those of you with RSS feeds, I have three pieces of news, ranging from sad to happy, to report.1. Ethel died about a month ago, at the beginning of March. We had a lot of warning that it was going to happen, and she'd clearly been in very bad health since the holidays, but it was still pretty sad. We'll

JSnoreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5488396.post-80083185879124853062007-02-25T17:15:00.000-05:002007-02-25T17:20:13.656-05:00

I have no real information to share with you, but here are some tidbits, some of which are based on the heavy Tour of California viewing we've been doing this week:1. This is pretty messed up.2. This, while old, is the best Overheard in Pittsburgh ever.3. I think something's wrong with Bob Roll. I'm not sure why I think this. Something to do with what's going on with his hair, plus his website

JSnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5488396.post-89627549895628530632007-02-14T17:23:00.000-05:002007-02-14T17:30:11.407-05:00

OK, as my internet Valentine to the world, I'm making this statement, which I will make only once:"The left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing" is not, not, not, not, not a pejorative saying. It really isn't. I know those of you who went to Sunday school already know this, but those of you who found other ways to obtain doughnuts on the weekends in your childhood may actually believe

JSnoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5488396.post-48135416216968953632007-02-12T21:53:00.000-05:002007-02-12T22:09:32.039-05:00

Well, we had a fine weekend around here. On Saturday we went to Canonsburg to go antiquing, which I had pretty much zero enthusiasm for ahead of time, but which ended up being really fun. We didn't get anything, but it was neat to see some of the things I have or my family has in the antique stores--there was a great set of china in the style of some drinking glasses that belonged to my

JSnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5488396.post-47258746377307852302007-02-08T17:45:00.000-05:002007-02-08T17:47:44.071-05:00

A thought question: so, let's say you were found dead in your hotel room. Which would you find the more degrading part of the coverage of your death on CNN: a graphic showing your weight throughout the years, or a prolonged group discussion about your lifetime romantic partners? Discuss.

JSnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5488396.post-46484952653775555032007-02-05T16:54:00.000-05:002007-02-05T16:58:13.016-05:00

Man, I can't believe I forgot to mention something very important that happened yesterday, which is that I finished the NYT Sunday crossword with no cheating and before 10 in the morning. Granted, it was an unbelievably easy crossword for a Sunday, but even so, I was pretty excited.In other news, when I woke up this morning it was 0 degrees out with a wind chill of -17. School was closed here

JSnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5488396.post-89409632274279917372007-02-04T19:22:00.000-05:002007-02-04T19:29:43.493-05:00

I think I speak for every red-blooded American who cares nothing at all about football when I say that this Superbowl is shaping up to be a colossal disappointment. The commercials are rotten. I suppose it's only the first quarter, and things might improve, but right now I'm not happy. Additionally, we didn't make seven-layer dip this year, which is hardly improving matters.In other news, we had

JSnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5488396.post-10773777581110546742007-02-01T16:43:00.000-05:002007-02-01T16:57:23.253-05:00

Who else is totally delighted by this Aqua Teen Hunger Force thing? I mean, I'm sorry for anyone, if there was anyone, who thought these things were actual bombs, but the whole thing is just really funny. I'm especially enjoying the brief descriptions of the show that are in these articles, because the reporters just sound totally bemused by the whole concept. You just know all their editors are

JSnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5488396.post-87314020440655175572007-01-29T20:02:00.000-05:002007-01-29T20:22:28.847-05:00

Well, we had a lovely weekend. On Saturday we went to my parents' to work on Dottie and Ethel's house, and we made quite a bit of progress in the areas of lamp testing (Does anyone want some extremely dubiously wired lamps? Maybe you, Stuart, to go along with our car?) and cookie tin sorting. Robbie has quite a knack for sorting cookie tins, as it turns out. We also found a paper my dad wrote

JSnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5488396.post-66153896223182741252007-01-26T18:37:00.000-05:002007-01-26T18:46:15.866-05:00

Well, I'm sure that you, like me, have been spending the last few days getting over the ignominy that was the Colbert Report's Better Know A District on Wednesday. I haven't gotten a response yet to my strongly worded letter, but I'll keep you all posted. Also, if anyone knows a likely-looking celebrity for my mother to get a crush on now that her love affair with Stephen Colbert is over, let me

JSnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5488396.post-84235579053213974442007-01-24T20:10:00.000-05:002007-01-24T20:26:43.699-05:00

Well, ladies and gentlemen, today is a banner day for me and all the other fortunate expatriates of McCandless Township, Pennsylvania (along with many other of the northern suburbs and parts of Beaver and Lawrence counties), because our district, the Fightin' Fourth, is being featured on the Colbert Report tonight. This may be the culminating life event for my mother, who as many of you know has

JSnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5488396.post-12926550969010856502007-01-22T21:35:00.000-05:002007-01-22T21:46:11.940-05:00

Well, we had a lovely, though pretty quiet, weekend. Pretty much I sat on the sofa and drank chicken soup, which worked wonders and all I have left is a periodic cough. Then last night we had Megan and Tony over for dinner. Robbie found a recipe in Pittsburgh Magazine for chicken in mole sauce and avocado salad, and it was really good. We also played Apples to Apples, which Tony had never played

JSnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5488396.post-2480835039292050012007-01-20T15:44:00.000-05:002007-01-20T15:57:45.995-05:00

As if anticipating Mad $'s comment, last night we had the mushroom risotto for dinner, which was excellent, and I just now made chicken soup. (Well, technically Lipton made it, I suppose.) I haven't had any yet, but I have high hopes for its curative properties.In other news, Carissa left this morning. I think she liked Pittsburgh a lot, and we definitely liked her a lot, so hopefully the odds

JSnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5488396.post-60346838775152548862007-01-19T16:24:00.000-05:002007-01-19T16:37:49.027-05:00

Well, as many of you may have guessed, I too am now sick. It's pretty rotten, especially since the weather has finally turned cold here and it's been snowing a lot. Still, Robbie and I have been enjoying our sick days together, and we've made a lot of space on the DVR, which is always good. I feel kind of bad because Niki's girlfriend Carissa is here interviewing and staying with us, and I'm

JSnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5488396.post-90781828172401473482007-01-17T15:13:00.000-05:002007-01-17T15:24:43.001-05:00

Well, Robbie has fallen ill. I know what you're thinking--Robbie does not fall ill--but nonetheless he has. He's even taken off work, which is pretty momentous for him, and I have to say it's nice to have him around, even though he keeps shouting "I'm SICK! I'm SICK!" at five-minute intervals. Frankly, just watching someone contort into the proper position for effective use of throat spray is

JSnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5488396.post-64872008294506873482007-01-15T13:54:00.000-05:002007-01-15T14:11:40.179-05:00

And now, information about some media I have recently been exposed to. First, the article in this week's New Yorker about the Orthodox Jews and the New York Rangers, which, despite being about Orthodox Jews and the New York Rangers and not even remotely about getting pregnant, sums up with remarkable accuracy the experience of trying to get pregnant, for me at least. Plus, it's funny, so you

JSnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5488396.post-1168819026053456552007-01-14T18:33:00.000-05:002007-01-14T18:57:06.083-05:00

Well, it's been an eventful 24 hours around here. Last night we watched The Last Picture Show, which I was banned from watching as a child even though I really, really wanted to. Until I watched it I had assumed that this was a sound policy on my parents' part, but after seeing it I think this was a grave parental mistake, because it makes teenage sex seem depressing, pointless, and tragic, and

JSnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5488396.post-1168719016821880522007-01-13T14:50:00.000-05:002007-01-13T15:13:52.483-05:00

One of my New Year's resolutions was to update my blog more often. I later decided that this was a silly resolution; however, I was still trying to stick to another perennial New Year's resolution to do the exact opposite of Tizzed whenever I could, and it's come to my attention that he's shutting down his blog. So as a result, we're back to attempting frequent updates here.However, what we're

JSnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5488396.post-1168634953647485302007-01-12T15:46:00.000-05:002007-01-12T15:49:13.700-05:00

And now, the long-awaited epistolary Christmas post. Delayed, yes, and extremely long, certainly, but well worth it.Dec 17 AJ Sedgewick to rs, Adam_Sedgewick, bobsedge, jcsedgewickSubject: getting a wii on amazonhey, could you guys go this link:www.amazon.com/customers-voteand sign up for the drawing to buy a wii. they have a random drawing to select who they'll sell wiis too so if we all sign

JSnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5488396.post-1166672126402899102006-12-20T21:45:00.000-05:002006-12-20T22:35:26.470-05:00

Well, today is the long-awaited event: Robbie's dad's 60th birthday. In commemoration of this special day, I now present five things about my father-in-law. 1. He's really good with pets, both dogs and cats. Robbie's mom kind of hates cats, and she was telling us once about the cats they had when Robbie was little, Poke and Smoke, and how they weren't mousers and thus were totally useless, and

JSnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5488396.post-1166035548168555202006-12-13T13:31:00.000-05:002006-12-13T15:18:22.343-05:00

So, I just got back from lunch with Robbie and his biking friends. Sadly, no one said anything sufficiently witty to report here. I had a very good salmon crepe, though, and I nearly explained to the whole table how to know which is your water glass and your bread plate at a circular table, but then I didn't. They're probably the only group of people I know who I haven't already explained it to

JSnoreply@blogger.com4