it's time for a list: 30 things in no particular order and for no apparent reason

1. i ate too much salad at lunch and i feel a little weird still.
2. sometimes i wonder if my top eyelids will sag when i get old.
3. i have too many magazines waiting to be read.
4. i'm craving a book on CD like nobody's business.
5. i finished two projects today and helped a coworker with one of hers.
6. kellie pickler got voted off american idol last night. (i can't express how this pleases me.)
7. my dentist (not her staff) returned a phone message from me so that i could reschedule my appointment. i'm so impressed with her.
8. for the last three days, i never seem to have time to put my socks on before i leave the house. hence, they wind up in my purse and i stick them on immediately upon entering the office.
9. i realize that #8 makes me very weird.
10. i don't really care.
11. if a man wrote me a good poem, i'd probably want to marry him.
12. i don't really like cottage cheese.
13. i love binder clips.
14. i wish i could afford some new athletic shoes.
15. i find sudoku puzzles swell.
16. i've realized that fancy coffee beverages often make me ill.
17. i miss my cat.
18. i never did learn how to roller skate.
19. i can, however, wiggle my ears.
20. i wish i could cook for a living.
21. real simple is my favorite magazine.
22. sometimes i break out in hives for no apparent reason. but usually just a few hives. and often just for 5 to 10 minutes.
23. i love jack black.
24. as a child, i used to cry whenever i heard the song 'puff, the magic dragon.'
25. i took piano lessons from the ages of 6 to 12.
26. once, my piano teacher threw up during my lesson. i don't think it had anything to do with my playing.
27. i love fun post-its.
28. some music only sounds good through headphones.
29. i have become particularly fond of this one particular lip balm from bath and body works. i may buy stock.
30. suddenly i feel the need to make some pancakes. ain't gonna happen.

dearest roberta flack,

okay, why did i never know that your version of 'will you still love me tomorrow?' is lovely enough to reduce a 30-year-old woman to a pile of mush while she sits working in her cubicle? seriously.

for the last few months, it's as if some type of veil has been lifted from my ears. music sounds sweeter to me now than it has maybe ever. i've always loved nuance, but my affection for it has reached epic proportions these days.

okay, so perhaps i'm being hyperbolic. give me a moment....

*ahem*

that's better.

now, where was i? oh right. so, i'm loving the smooth, velvety tone that emanates from my headphones and pierces something inside of me. and earlier, john mayer's delicious rasp was soothing me through a particularly harrowing morning. and of course ray l's smoky desperation pulled something to the surface. i swear - sometimes my heart threatens to beat its way through my chest wall.

so this all got me to thinking: is it possible that i could go the rest of my life and never be able to share this with another person? okay, specifically, a man. and it's not just the music. it's the feel of staggeringly beautiful words on your tongue. it's the way God puts His hand on your shoulder when you're deep in prayer. it's the pause in the middle of the best conversation in which you're opening your heart to someone. it's the smell of coming home again. these are the things that light me up. will anyone besides the Lord Himself find those things inside of me and cherish them and not want to let them go?

i have hope for that. trembling hope, maybe, but hope nevertheless. and i thank God that in those lonely cubicle moments, i have music to fill the spaces. other people's pain and joy and confusion pounding my ears, my brain, my heart. reminding me of who i am. who i'm not. who He is. gloriously filled with wonder and questions and heart-breaking honesty. will you still love me tomorrow?

i'm not sure, roberta.

but from the bottom of my heart, thank you for asking.

although i was waylayed on monday with a bit of a stomach bug, i seem to be back in the game. of course, i don't want to speak too soon, but i'm hopeful, since i managed to eat a fairly normal dinner without too much of a problem.

and speaking of dinner, i am ALL about the wine sauce lately. anyone who knows me knows that me likie cook with liquor, but for some reason, it seems like everything i've made in the last few weeks has had some form of wine sauce....now, granted, i haven't been cooking nearly as much, but STILL. so tonight was no different. i had some seared chicken cutlets, portabella mushrooms, and onions in a red wine sauce laced with balsamic vinegar and herbs. i ate that over some texmati brown rice with some green onions thrown in for good measure (trying to use them up) and a hearty sprinkling of raw orange pepper on top. delish! and, to boot, there was very little fat in what i cooked. just about 2 tsp of herbed olive oil on the chicken pieces and a tiny bit of brummel and brown (yogurt spread) on the rice. simplicity of flavor is key.

in other news, the wind is gusting outside my window, knocking things about and having what i can only assume is one heck of a partay. nights like this are always kind of exhilarating but a bit nerve-wracking, because there is the ever-present paranoia that some piece of loose debris will blow into my little car sitting out there all alone. let's just pray that doesn't happen....

newsflash: i can't deal with busybodies. okay, so maybe that wasn't a news flash, but it's just freaking true.

also, sleep rocks. here's hoping i get some tonight:).

breathe on me....

i'm having one of those evenings where i am acutely aware of my need for some palpable care from another person. i'm not wholly sure what's wrong with me, but i feel physically unwell, emotionally tired, and just pretty much in need of a hug.

sure, it's been a long weekend - a long few weeks, in fact - and there's often an aftermath to such times. but there have also been a few world-shaking events of late that have passed through my life almost without disturbing the air around me. in their simplicity, they astonished me, but now, feeling what i feel, i have to wonder whether the boomerang effect has begun to rear its head....

so i'm sitting here at my desk, staring at a scar on the back of my right hand and wishing i weren't alone. feeling a little sad and lost in the woods and why-won't-anyone-come-and-save-me?

but the moment that my mind and heart go there, they are suddenly tugged by a love so high and wide and deep, it swallows all of me, my fears, my aching stomach, my heavy soul. and it, too, astonishes me in its simplicity. i am so grateful for that love. it changes and reshapes every moment. it makes streams in the desert. it breathes life into nothingness.

i don't know how, but everything will even out again. in the mean time, i want to close my eyes and inhale....

"breathe on me, breath of God, fill me with life anew, that i may love what Thou dost love, and do what Thou wouldst do...."

recap

the moving men were surly, the cable men hilarious, the rain drenching, the couch inviting, the shower invigorating, the phone call redemptive, the prayers silent, the sink dripping, and the food overly processed. in short, it's good to be back home.

all the furniture in salimah's apartment has been placed and readied for her return tomorrow. most of the boxes lie, still packed, awaiting more furniture that has yet to be ordered. it already feels like someone lives there, even though no meals have been eaten at the new table, and the shower remains pristine from a pre-move-in cleaning. every so often, the marc train proclaims its presence on the tracks below, and through the window, the familiar horns and dump trucks belch the symphony of this city that has somehow made its way into our blood.

in this place, salimah can live out her cat-like existence, wandering from room to room, gazing out the north- and east-facing windows at the steeples straining heavenward. there are places to tuck away and plenty of breathing room. it does my heart good to know that she will make herself a home there. indeed, she already is.

and in the midst of this odd day of waiting about and putting together random furniture, i experienced a reclaiming of emotional ground, a fresh start, and what felt like not just a new page but a new book altogether. you know, it's been said a million times, in a million churches, by a million people...but the peace of God really DOES surpass all human understanding. and today, during the deluge, in the quiet of a cavernous apartment, with the train chugging its way to some other place, that peace rained down on me.

every new beginning is just some other beginning's end....

today after work, i drove to my salon and got my hair cut. it was such a delicious experience. i always love getting my hair washed by someone else - the head massage is the best. anyway, it had been 3 months since i'd gotten anything done to it, and people at work were starting to harass me a bit - wondering why i'd stopped styling my hair nearly as frequently. i informed them that the style was, in fact, faded, in my opinion, so they were glad to know that i had scheduled an appointment for this afternoon. (truly, it blesses my heart to know that the people i work with care about such things in my life.)

anyhoo, my hair stylist is a laugh-riot. she's just kind of ADD and fun and random, and the best part is - she does some good hair. i've already sent two friends to her, and they loved the whole experience. it's amazing what 50 or 60 bucks can do for your life.

in other news, salimah's moving tomorrow and this week has been the time for making any final preparations. thank God we spent so much time packing over the last couple of months; it has made these final hours manageable. so, tonight, after a very light dinner at panera, we're back at my place just chillin. i'm glad for her that she gets to move to such a spacious apartment, which, by the by, has a sweet view of the parts of baltimore she seems to love best: the train and 1920s post-industrial architecture. turning to the next page, so to speak, is always a good thing.

utter non-sequitur: i just found out today that ray lamontagne is playing at wolf trap on august 1, and tix go on sale tomorrow. peops, i am so there. this man won my heart the first time i heard his voice. there's no WAY i'm not going....especially since it's his only U.S. date currently scheduled.

now then, i'm off to rip some CDs so i can return them to the library sometime tomorrow. i finally finished 'the namesake' the other day while at work and i nearly sobbed at my desk when it was over. for the last few tracks, as the narrator was finishing, i kept hoping that somehow i had forgotten that there was actually another CD. i just didn't want to leave the characters; they captured me so early on. for anyone who has yet to read it, please give it your utmost consideration. the prose is just lovely...in places heartwrenchingly lovely.

i realize this was a bit of a newsy post. something more pithy to come soon...i promise:).

assurance

something that began to occur to me today as i was toasting the bread for my breakfast is that my life is relatively 'normal.' i mean, sure, i have moments in which i feel out of place and different from the rest of the world (which, in some ways, seems fitting, given the fact that my identity lies in Christ first and foremost), but lately, i've felt more 'typical' in my everyday self than ever before. there are several reasons for this, i suppose, not the least of which is the fact that i'm not living in my day-to-day life holding on to someone else's secrets. that frees me in ways i can't explain. and unfortunately, i really can't explain.

and there's also the fact that i have a relative degree of openness with my coworkers - and not just immediate, but those in other departments. i feel fairly comfortable with the vast majority of the people in my company. that's....well....nice. i don't know how else to say it. it makes going to work pleasant enough, even if i'm not psyched to tackle a specific project on a given day (and come on, who among us can sustain constant interest in every project?).

then there are other things....things that have been happening that are purely beyond my control. things that are kind of scary but that excite me and gratify me all at once. things that challenge my ever-anxious heart to trust that all will be well...or better, that all IS well.

i'm a grown-up now. a full-fledged one. i've put a lot of my childish ways and thoughts behind me. some still cling to me like unfortunate wads of chewing gum, but i've made such headway that it staggers me from time to time. i find myself giving life and relationship advice to people 5 years younger than me and 20 years older. it's all the same, really. friendship is friendship these days. i love learning from other people's experiences, especially those who've already been through the trenches of marriage and (unfortunately) divorce. people who still yearn the way i did when i was 16 but whose faces show the passing of years that i have yet to see. there is richness of life around me.

the truth is that i've been pretty shut down for the last couple of years. when i went through a severe depression a few years back, i needed to pull away, reevaluate, give my wounded heart some time to heal and regroup. and it did. but then, when i came "back" from that, as it were, i didn't fully re-enter my life. by then, i was consumed with the thoughts and feelings of another person, and his goals, his dreams, his needs overshadowed mine (not to blame him; it's just the truth). it was only in periods of brief desperation that i would express my frustrations over feeling lost and not knowing who i was anymore.

well, it seems that time has passed. i am seven months out of a horribly difficult fall and each day, i notice something else that fills me with gratefulness for the ability to see who i really am after all this time. i love the delicious pleasure of listening to old and new music without worrying whether i'll have to turn it off if someone gets into my car. i love singing because i really, really want to and hearing my voice rising alone above the music. i love realizing that i can cook just for me, and not have to worry about whether my choices will affect someone else's. i love being able to really set time aside for myself and tend to the quiet pursuits i overlooked for so long. it might sound selfish, but boy, do i need these things. it is my way of recapturing myself.

and deep at the heart of me, i really do want to share my life with someone still. and i hope that someday i will be able to do that again - but in a way that's better, more reflective of the person i've become and not the scared young woman screaming on the inside that i was for so many years. and i hope next time it sticks for a lifetime...but only if it's right. and i hope that i learn from the lessons i've been taught. to be me more freely, because i'm worth knowing and loving.

gosh, i'm just grateful for where i am. that seems cheesy to say, but it's just true. every time i really sit and think about all the things that i've learned to become, by God's gentle leading, it makes me well up. every night i lie in bed and thoughts swirl in my head of all the things i could do and become and see and feel, and it excites me to know that i've already started to do, become, see, and feel some of those things.

it's quite okay with me that i have no idea what i'm going to be doing next year, or in 5 years, or for the rest of my life. i'm here now. and i'm living now. and until i take my last breath, whether i'm alone or not, i know that it's good. that all will be well.

that, indeed, all IS well.

i'm in a list-making mood....

okay, so here are 10 of my current favorite things, in no particular order:

1. skinny cow choc/pb ice cream sandwiches (yes, kiddies - low fat!)
2. taking a shower before bed
3. jack bauer
4. books on CD (currently 'the namesake' by jhumpa lahiri - gorgeous)
5. wegman's (they're killing me with the 2 containers of sweet strawberries for 3 freakin' bucks!)
6. high protein special K
7. my back scratcher
8. a 3-day weekend
9. 'jolene'
10. freedom

snapshots of my week....

coffee shops during lunch breaks.
a coworker laughing until tears poured down her cheeks.
hours droning on in the near-silent buzz of fluorescent lighting.
brief moments of joy in the midst of ennui.
busting a groove in my cubicle while no one's looking.
boring tv.
washing the dishes almost every night after dinner.
socks on the floor of my bedroom.
pile of papers (need organization) spilling under their own weight.
last page of truly crap novel.
ray lamontagne.
oaxacan shrimp and polenta.
packing tape and dust bunnies.
grocery store grime and slim-a-bear ice cream sandwiches.
hard questions answered on the fly.
itchy eyes.
restless heart.

confession

normally, i am opposed to all things artificially sweetened, but i just have to say: salimah introduced me to black cherry vanilla diet coke, and i'm officially smitten. now, this may be a short-term crush (who knows a) how long they'll sell it and b) whether my body can really tolerate the aspartame), but in the mean time, i'm thankful for a 0-calorie treat that meets my occasional need for a fizzy drink.

in other news, what are you doing inside reading my blog?! get out and enjoy the nice weather!!

okay, okay, so i've been horribly remiss about posting lately. let's just say that i've been busy and leave it at that, shall we?

in truth, i've been up to all sorts of things--visiting with peops, working, figuring out my life, working, helping salimah pack, working, and thinking very important and interesting thoughts....you know the drill. my weeknights are filled with dinner making, TV watching (this is the best time of the year tv-wise for me), chit-chatting with friends, and oh yes, SLEEPING. i went through a period of weeks where i was lucky if i made it past 8:30 before zonking out on the couch. pathetic, i tell you.

so, at this point, i've got a few things brewing, but i'm hesitant to write about them here just yet. suffice it to say, though, that i'm trying to change and by the grace of God, i might just be able to do what it is that i want to do....we'll see.

before i jet to watch american idol, big thanks to all 2 of you in the blogosphere who still drop in to see if i've posted. when i make it big, you'll be at the top of the 'thank you' list;).

inexplicably, i'm in kind of a lousy mood today. i worked from home and was relatively productive, got some baking done last night (2 kinds of scones - cinnamon-chocolate chip and cranberry-orange-white chocolate), and managed to tidy up for my uncle and cousin's arrival this evening, but even still, i feel bleh.

i'm hopeful that a weekend of some rest and downtime will cure what's ailing me. then again, it may go deeper than that....

i just had a truly crap dinner at applebee's. i met up with a former coworker and friend of mine and we tried to go to my favorite little mexican joint, but they are closed on mondays:(. so, since there was an applebee's a half mile away, we decided to go there.

okay, so first, i ordered a blue margarita, which was NASTY, so i sent it back. then, my entree was wrong, so i had to send that back. no one really apologized. didn't offer to give me something while i waited. nothing. when my meal did come out, it wasn't good. sure, the fries that came with it were hot, but that was pretty much the only decent thing about the experience. also, it was just hot in there....

moving on....

in other news, i wore my new brown shoes to work today and they are FABulously comfy. thanks be to God that i found them! my junky shoes were seriously doing a number on my back.

oh, and not that anyone else cares, but i'll be sporting my new foam-esque clogs tomorrow. go rack room! get your game on....

plus, i'm thankful that i'm still sportin' the good mood from this weekend. AND 24's on tonight. how bad can that be?

full

what a great weekend i've just had!!

friday, i cut out of work early and met up with my parents in annapolis (they had come up for a weekend getaway). we had dinner together, just the three of us, which included some nice wine and lots of chatting. the food was just okay (we ate at the treaty of paris restaurant), but it was really more about the chance to see one another anyway....

i drove to and fro with the windows down, wind in my hair (oh, how i love it!), listening to ray lamontagne, a recent discovery of mine that salimah is now also loving. when i got home that night, i went to sleep relatively early for me (10:45, i think it was) and got up early on saturday morning to do some laundry and pay some bills in anticipation of needing to leave and gather salimah for annapolis part deux.

so, once i collected her, we headed back down there. the weather was even more beautiful yesterday than it had been on friday. we met up with my parents at hard bean coffee and books where the owner made me a 'killer' blood orange tea cooler with lime (my original choice had been less than stellar, and he promised me something much better for free). his creation was, indeed, much better than mine....

so after talking for awhile about the business salimah and i are trying (slowly) to get off the ground, we ambled over to buddy's crabs and ribs for lunch. then we did some window-shopping and after parting ways with my parents, salimah and i got some ice cream (at the annapolis ice cream company - so yums!) and then headed back out of town. on the way home, i managed to score some nice work-appropriate (but walking friendly) shoes at rack room and then we hit the n.y. pizza company in owings mills for some delightful pepperoni calzone (with ricotta in it - so heavenly) and an italian hot cut.

today, after getting some much-needed tidying and organizing done, i decided to take us out to dinner at bonefish grill. we had some truly delicious drinks (georgia peach martini for her and passion fruit martini for me) and a really wonderful meal of grilled pork chops with fontina cheese and a mushroom-wine sauce. after splitting a piece of key lime pie for dessert, we trundled off to the car, i dropped her home, and here i am back in the quiet of my place. tomorrow morning will come early, i'm sure, but for now, i feel satisfied, relaxed, and glad to have had such a full and really lovely weekend.

meanwhile, ray is singing me into the oblivion, and i'm sure that crawling into bed is right around the corner.

g'night, world.

more hope

it's so utterly quiet in my apartment right now. all i hear is the gentle hum of my cpu and the clock tick-ticking away in the bathroom (it IS a bit cave-like in there, so the echo is great). my mind has been wandering all over the map this evening. i just got home about 40 minutes ago from salimah's; i had gone to take her home and decided to help her with a bit more packing before this week got underway.

last night, we went to church, then out for cheeseburgers, and then home to try and watch 'elizabethtown' without success -- we were both entirely too beat for a movie. so, this morning, we woke up around 7:30 and finished watching it. now, while i enjoyed the majority of the film, i absolutely LOVED the last 15 minutes or so. it inspired me. i won't spoil it for anyone who hasn't seen the flick yet, but suffice it to say that i connected completely with this particular car trip the main male character took. and to accompany him on his voyage, the main female character had prepared a book for him. salimah later remarked to me that she felt it was something i would have done....so characteristically 'me.' and i realized - she's right.

but then, along with that came another realization. that's a 'me' that's been packed away for a long time. a 'me' i thought might have gone on permanent hiatus.

and then, later, when salimah asked me if i still think of myself as a singer (this was truly a non-sequitur), i honestly had to think for awhile. because, see, in the 5 years that i was involved with/dated a professional musician, he never seemed to be really that interested in me as a fellow musician. i mean, i know he knew i could sing, but that (along with my love of music) didn't seem to be something about me that was special to him. which, i guess, made it not that special to me anymore either....and so many other things about me that are worth exploring, he never even tried to dig deeper to find. for a long time, i didn't understand my own value, so this was okay with me. i figured anything he'd find he wouldn't like anyway. so i was all too compliant to have him know about me only what he saw and was told.

wow, no wonder this 'me' has been in hiding. no one has really welcomed her for a long time -- me included. well, lately she's been knocking at my heart...urging me to remember....relentlessly proclaiming what she wants and is and feels. if i listen, she'll help me unlock some doors. point me back to the sweetness i've known in a relationship with God that's been too stale for too long. teach me how i've grown and can make better choices now. connect me with the girl who liked the wind in her hair, who sang loud, who prayed hard, who loved and felt passionately. God, what a gift. i'm starting to recall the things i've forgotten, but in the remembering, there is more joy than there was the first time through. more tears. more uncertainty. more hope.

because maybe no man on this earth will come looking for me in that way. and sitting here alone tonight, i have to welcome that as a possibility. but one thing i know is this: if that never happens, my heart has been opened by the One who's known me all along - all my quirks and fears and deep-down wishes and the silly things i sing and say when no one's around. and i know now how much i mean to Him. i feel His pleasure when i do the things He created me to do. i treasure His presence in my room this very moment. like i said, there's more 'uncertainty' now in my life as a woman who's started things over from the beginning. it's scary to do this again. but man, it feels much better this time around to know that i'm okay. and that i'm going to be. see? more hope. more hope.

more hope.

on-the-spot

yesterday ended a truly grueling week work-wise. i was so busy, it was hard to come up for air. BUT, i got my huge project done, and now i can relax a bit into some slightly less demanding tasks. important, but not as deadline-driven.

after work, i went to drop some empty boxes off at salimah's place in preparation for her upcoming move, and then we went to donna's at cross keys (where donna herself was hanging out and clearing tables last night) and had a lovely dinner: warm roasted beets, goat cheese, and orange slices over arugula with raspberry vinaigrette to start, and their warm roast beef sandwich with roasted onions, provolone cheese, and tomatoes on toasted ciabatta with horseradish mayo. so divine. our waiter had lovely blue eyes and was very johnny-on-the-spot with bringing refills and answering my somewhat annoying (i'm sure) questions with ease and aplomb. when it came time to order dessert, salimah had already been eyeing a chocolate mousse tart at the next table (basically, pure, melt-in-your mouth mousse on some type of barely-there crust), and as "johnny" (whose name was jeff, actually) ran down the list of other options, my ears perked up when i heard about a lemon concoction. when he finished speaking, i looked at him simply and said, 'you had me at the lemon tart.' we exchanged a brief moment of banter in which he seemed to understand, on a visceral level, how much the lemon (as an entity) means to me:). anyway, he trundled off to collect our sweets as we talked animatedly about our ridiculously long days, flirty vibes with younger boys (salimah!!), and inappropriate comments from sweet but kind of dirty older men. it was funny and charming, and the women at the tables next to us were kind of endearing in a way.

a few moments later, our waiter returned with one plate, containing only the chocolate mousse creation and informed me, regretfully, that there was no more lemon tart to be had that evening. i was disheartened, to be sure, but i asked for an extra fork and salimah and i proceeded to share her delight. i'm telling you, this mousse was like buttah. a couple of minutes into wolfing it down, however, johnny shows up with another plate and a bit of spring in his step and gleefully informs me that he has, in fact, searched and found me the last piece of lemon tart in the building. i think i may have gasped out loud.

so, it was on to sharing dessert #2, which was JUST as delightful, although completely different than the chocolate love. we left feeling fully satisfied, warmed up, and ready to slide our way into a good night's rest in preparation for today's packing endeavor.

what struck me most about that dinner experience was that my waiter treated me the way that a man should. he was patient and kind. he engaged me in what interested me, and he knew when something meant a lot, and he tried his best to make that happen. it made me realize more and more how the dearth of men in my life over the last several years (friends-only men, even) has really impacted me. it's left a longing there to be known by some interesting, kind male people who are also trying to find their own way in this world. people with whom you can grab a drink and talk about whatever, without there being strings. people with whom if something DID develop into more, it would be out of pure interest and not emotional baggage. besides, i have women friends in spades at this point in my life. what i lack is much in the way of male presence.

so, short of hanging out at that donna's and waiting for mr. on-the-spot to strike up a convo, i need to place myself in other scenarios where the possibility of friendship is imminent.

who knew that a lemon tart could open up the world like this?

and another one down, and another one down....

after a long-as-heck day of working from home yesterday, i had a jam-packed work day (no time for lunch, people). man, i was so tired when i left there, i don't even remember my drive home....

and speaking of home, once i made it to my apartment, i set about the task of making a quick dinner - cut up some chicken breasts into fingers, breaded them and got them in a pan; made some cheesy rice; and roasted some green beans. while those cooked, i washed dishes from yesterday's baking extravaganza. then, after i'd eaten and gotten myself a bit more "energized," i baked the cookies i'd been holding off on until this evening. so, those are done and packaged up, and once i take them with me to work tomorrow, all my good-deed baking will be done. of course, that's not entirely true, because a friend of mine is having a birthday this weekend, so i'm baking her a cake (of which, i think, she's unaware). sometimes the fun never ends....

and speaking of neverending fun, i bought some grapefruit (i'm so obsessed!) italian soda at trader joe's the other night. yeah, suffice it to say that i drank almost the entire bottle this evening. okay, so 3/4 of it. it's so freaking good. looks like i'll be making a special trip back there this weekend to stock UP.

and speaking of the weekend (yay!), i'm helping salimah pack for her upcoming move. other than that, it'll be church and chillin....it's the first weekend in awhile that i don't have any freelance work to do. i'm gonna enjoy it while it lasts:).

and speaking of lasts, i got nothin' left to say. sleep tight, y'all....thank God tomorrow is friday!!!

the smell of victory

i worked from home today and, thankfully, was able to get a lot of stuff accomplished. i've been sitting under a big deadline, and there always just seems to be something else to do....

anyway, around 4:30, i decided to take a break and do some baking. and no, this wasn't an inspired decision. see, in october, we held a silent auction to benefit the komen foundation and the prez of my company purchased two baked goods items to be claimed at a later date. well, this, my friends, is the later date. SO, i just made two lemon pound cakes (glazed with lemon/triple sec and sugar) and mixed up a batch of cookie dough (whole grain cookies with oats, chocolate chips, and walnuts). i feel pretty satisfied that i got so much done in just about an hour and a half. the cakes are cooling in the dining room, and now i'm back to work....

i must say, though, it is rather distracting to sit and smell the delightful aroma of lemon and liquor and buttery cake wafting through my apartment. must control myself. it's for a good cause after all:).

http://laptops.freepay.com/?r=28150116

recap

yesterday i had brunch at a charming little establishment in mt. washington where i met up with an old friend from my a cappella singing days. it was good to see him...great, actually. i met him when he was just a freshman in college (i was 23 at the time), and now he's all grown up;).

after hanging out for awhile, we met up with salimah at the one world for some coffee and conversation and then, after hugs and good-byes, we parted ways and salimah and i went off to order her some furniture for her upcoming move, and then we headed off to church.

all i wanted to do was go home and get in bed, so when church was over, we headed home, played a round of trivial pursuit (the pop culture DVD version) and then i sacked out.

i let myself sleep in this morning because i knew i needed some recharge, and once i got up, i made us an omelette with ham, spinach, and cheddar cheese that has caramelized onions in it (oh my, is it good!). then i got to work on some freelance stuff for work.

the day had a few small breaks for meals and to take salimah home, but mostly i've been work, work, working since breakfast. it's now 11 p.m., and i'm just wrapping up for the night. i must admit that in the background for awhile, i had on 'dancing with the stars' because i HAD to see my favorite drew lachey win (which he did!!); i'm such a sucker for 'reality' programming.

anyway, i'm off to bed. tomorrow it all begins again. not really ready for it, per se, but that's how it goes for sunday night, folks....

g'night.