Church Brew. It's a beautiful old church with good food and a ridiculous selection of beer.


Sitting in a pew and eating perogies in a catholic church


is mindblowing. I felt like I had to cross myself and say a prayer before I could leave.





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Location:Liberty Ave,Pittsburgh,United States

Top of mt Washington makes pburgh kinda pretty.


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Location:Grandview Ave,Pittsburgh,United States

do you remember

so yesterday i stumbled across some old photos of my hometown (found here) and i was enthralled. as most of you know i loooove old photos. i then looked up the ones of Morgantown (found here) and i cant even begin to put into words how some of these photos made me feel. it's amazing to see what this town looked like before the college and student housing took over. there was such beautiful farmland and amazing large homes. and then looking through and seeing town grow, how High Street has changed, how people have changed. It takes my breath away. (yes, i know, i am the biggest nerd on the planet) i mean look at this. this is Sunnyside. all that farmland is downtown. this is just a beautiful picture. can you imagine if town still looked like this ?!? when only Woodburn and Martin hall were there? and high street looked like this?

ok, so maybe i'm going overboard. but i love all these pictures and want to put them everywhere. this is what beauty looks like. and for some reason, most of them break my heart.

in more time relevant news, the Stranger got accepted into grad school on Weds. Talk about waiting til the last minute (classes start for him the 9th) for the college to get their shit in order. I gave him his bday laptop early since I knew he'd rush right out and buy one for school. He was most pleased. I still dont know what we're doing this weekend for his bday and that drives me nuts. If we're going to be bums, i at least want the -plan- of being bums set in place.

in other news, i had crazy dreams all night last night. i think they put me in a weird mood today. we'll see how it goes.

lovelove

its the end of the world as we know it.

so. i dont know if you've read. but there is a study on an asteroid that could threaten Earth in 2182. you can read about that here

i'm fascinated by it. it is 1837 feet across, which i suppose isn't -huge- and there's only a 1 in a 1000 chance of it actually hitting earth. but the first thing i thought of when i saw this article was this video.

can i just say that i really hope that doesn't happen?

Things when you are home

So. I'm feeling a little better. With nothing much to do, I put on makeup and brushed my hair. Two things I hardly even do for work. Haha

Also I got a surprise in the mail, a lovely necklace. So I took a photo of myself. I kinda look like a whore from a western movie. But, at least it's getting me taken out to dinner!!




Much love love
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Location:Burroughs St,Morgantown,United States

partly truth and partly fiction

i'm home. with a headache. again.

if it doesnt get better by tomorrow, i'm sucking it up and going to the doctor. i cant handle much more of this. i'm steering clear of webmd bc i'm sure i'd convince myself i have a brain tumor.

so the trip to KY was good, other than my brains splitting in two the whole time. we got to spend time with the Stranger's grandad which is always a bittersweet good time. I know where the stranger gets his off the wall sense of humor. and we went to his niece's bday party at the roller rink (no, i did not skate, i fear paralysis) and i took a lot of sudafed and slept a ridiculous amount. as fun as it is to travel around, i'm looking forward to staying here this coming weekend for the stranger's bday. i've got some stuff planned and i hope he likes it. hell, i hope his presents come in the mail, as they were to be here last friday.

speaking of mail, i got some surprise mail today. i liked it very much.

i have watched three movies today. anastasia, rachael getting married, and the ugly truth. i slept til after lunch. i ate poor-mans burritos (sans meat). the dog is napping and i think i will too.

Sinus headache. That's the story of my weekend. Plus good parts, but mostly wanting to pull my eyes out. And we still have two hours til we are home. Luckily I can sleep that time. I promise I'll make a real post when I feel human. Much love.


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Location:Western,United States

Ohheyyyyohhhh

The Bangles "Walk like an Egyptian" is the summer flashback song on the radio. This was MY song when I was little. I'd play with my barbies and California raisins and make them sing.
I don't know why I remembered that.


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Location:Van Voorhis Rd,Morgantown,United States

The stranger

Sometimes, more often than not, the Stranger takes my breath away. Today he came home an said he knew I was havin a crummy week and he saw this and got it for me to remind me he loves me:




He is too nice to me.

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Location:University Towne Center Dr,Morgantown,United States

rain rain, go the hell away.

it has not stopped raining in this town since last friday. needless to say i'm going a liiiittle bonkers. and its supposed to rain the rest of the week. the only good thing about that is maybe there wont be as many motorcycle enthusiasts about.





we're heading to eastern ky this weekend, which had worse flooding than we have apparently. but, the subaru can make it anywhere, and i'm not worried since i'll be in the other seat asleep. which brings me to a fun new adventure we've decided. any weekend that we're home we're going to throw the dog, a change of clothes, and some blankets in the car and just take off. maybe we come home, maybe we stay in a hotel, maybe we sleep in the back of the car. but just go somewhere, find neat things to photograph, and eventually make our way home. this excites me to no end since i do frequently like to run away. and we bought a tripod for the camera since 85% of the pictures i take are blurry bc i have no attention span.





and also, apparently i like to eat your face off.

we really take the most unattractive photos possible.

in other news i had to bring the wrath down on an intern yesterday. in my defense, he had it coming. hopefully he'll walk away from this and realize he has to grow up. but probably he'll just remember me as a bitch. oh well.

one thing i like about the company i work for is the frequency of 'social hour' paid for by the boss. not just for the free beverages, but for getting to hang out with people i dont get to see very often anymore since we moved to the research branch. we had our quarterly meeting yesterday followed by the social. followed by all of us going to brew pub until all hours of the night. and it was the perfect weather to be out on the deck. i'm just incredibly thankful for the work environment, friends, and the actual job i do here.

i've been doing more planning for our vacation to Charleston even though it's still five months away. i've made a list of the top five places i want to visit while there. number one is obviously fort sumter because i am a nerd. i tried to explain to the stranger while we were lost in MD the other day about how anytime i'm out someplace on those backroads i always try to imagine what things looked like during the civil war. sure, most of what i see was just woods then. but some places, especially places near to the rivers around here, those were important trade routes and marching trails and camps and skirmishes and and and and (as my nerdy heart flutters at the amazingnessness). so to actually see ft sumter, thats for me like what it would be for a 8 year old to go to disneyworld. or for me to go to disneyworld, really. i guess what i'm trying to say is i'm excited.

on a completely different note, Mmmbop just came on the radio and i am taken back to 7th grade in the lunch room, sitting with my then boyfriend adam and sending ashley gibson messages on the Secret Sender (holy shit, those things were the first text msngrs, weren't they?) and listening to that song on someone elses little cd player with those sticky rhinestones on it. and wearing my adidas tennis shoes with color matching socks. and being excited that i dont have to wear glasses anymore AND that i finally got something similar to boobs. and thinking kickball in gymclass was stupid, and that the health class was soooo embarassing when she demonstrated with a banana how to work a condom. and how we had a photo of whats his name from the x-files in our locker. wow. just wow.

also, it smells like bologna in our office which is unacceptable. UNACCEPTABLE.

i ordered the stranger's bday gift finally because i forgot that some things dont have amazon's two day shipping. i had my geek brother pick out a laptop that will be good for all his photoshopping and stuff like that. it's supposed to get here the day before his bday, but i've got my fingers crossed that it will show up before then so that i can go hide it and pretend like i forgot to get him anything. and if he doesnt like it, i will chuck it at his head. bc thats logic.

it's been a weird day and i haven't decided how i feel about it.

love and rainclouds.

it ain't all buttons and charts, little albatross

it has been another lazy weekend at lockwood drive. it started out with surprise flowers, middled with the worst fight to date with the stranger, and ended with a full day of Firefly.

friday we had a magical evening of a date planned which fell to pieces in two point five seconds. i sorta wanted to throw the beautiful flowers the stranger got me at his cranium. instead of a lovely date i ended up laying on the couch reading a book and eating tortilla chips. but we worked it out and watched movies.

also, strange side note, nearly every movie we watched this weekend on netflix had someone missing an arm (Hot Tub Time Machine, The Machinist, Sunshine Cleaners, and The Life Aquatic) (in life aquatic it was a dogs leg, but still, it was the front one and still considered an arm.)

and then somehow i managed to sleep until 4pm on saturday. do you know how much sleep that is? a stupid amount. i have no idea why i slept that much, but i finally felt rested by the time i got up. we ended up spending the evening driving around the backroads again, ending up somewhere in maryland and not making it home until after midnight. i love these evenings. going out and taking photos at tygart dam. getting lost in someplace called iron town. seeing so so so many gorgeous old houses that i just want to hug and fix up.

and then today i introduced the stranger to one of my top five favorite tv series, firefly. we have 2 episodes left to watch and already he wants to watch serenity as soon as it's over. i'm so glad i have a nerd stranger.

and to make tomorrow a good monday (bc monday's always suck) we get our free radio contest lunch. and then tuesday we get to go drinking on the company dollar at our big quarterly meeting. can i just reiterate just how very much i love my job?

i hope everyone had a good weekend. i love you all bunches.

A quick update

One of the guys in the creeper van was arrested. But only for having a weapon and drugs. Better than nothing I suppose.


In happier news my coworkers and I won a radio contest by writing suck up letters to the hosts and won our office free cheese steaks. So I call that a win.

I've just been in a weird frame if mind all day today. Arguing when there's no need to. Etc etc. I feel like nothing I try to say ever comes out right. Oh well I try.

Love love to all of you.


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cant win for losing

sometimes i'm convinced that the most fucked up situations only happen to the Stranger.

on his way home from work yesterday, he stopped at walmart to pick up a few groceries i forgot to get the other day. this is the granville walmart, a super busy plaza. on his way out with the groceries, he saw a white creeper van with no windows on the side. (cue doom music) the guy pulled up and asked him if he wanted to buy an entertainment system. the stranger figured it was stolen and said no thanks. the guy kept hassling him and he kept saying no. the guy then got out of the van and pulled a knife on him and said he really thought that the stranger should come to the other side of the van and look at this system. WTF. luckily the stranger keeps a multitude of tools in his car bc its breaks down regularly and he grabbed a tire iron and told the creeper he didnt want to come look at the system. the creeper got back in the van and started drivin around the parking lot. so the stranger followed the van (and saw through the back window that there was at least 3 other ppl in the back) and called the cops. he left when the cops came, which i think is stupid bc he should have stayed to i.d. them or something. but he was worried the food would thaw (who gives a shit about the food, good lord.)

needless to say i got no sleep last night bc i kept dreamin about being kidnapped.

i do not feel safe now, which is crazy. i never worried in this town. and now i'm afraid to go to effing walmart.

this is crazy and has messed up my whole day. fucking crazy ppl in creeper vans.

1000 cranes

So while sitting in a meeting, being the jittery person I am, I started messing with a piece of paper and ended up with an origami crane in my hands. I couldn't remember at first how I know how to make these. And then I remembered back over ten years ago now, when my grandad had cancer the first time, out family in California sent him a gift of 1000 paper cranes. You should google the story behind this, I would link it but I'm typing on my phone, but basically each crane is a prayer or positive thought and 1000 cranes means you get one wish. So I decided to start making some. I don't know if I will make the whole 1000 or if I'll make a wish, but in each one I put a good thought, and at the same time it calms down my crazy brain. I don't know what I'll do with them in the end. But, here is what I've got so far.




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west, south west

i didnt blog about the weekend yesterday bc by the time i got home, i was just exhausted. my email inbox blew up in the one day i was absent from work, and i spent the whole day playing catch up. i fell asleep before i could watch all of the OCDs show. thats how tired my brain was.

but the weekend was very good. we had to make several stops along the way and didnt get to town til pretty late thursday night. having forgotten to pack the big blow up mattress, we decided it was a fine idea to sleep the two of us in a twin bed. for those of you who've slept in a 20 foot vicinity of me, you know this is the most ridiculous idea that ever came through my head, right infront of bottling the smell of summer hay. needless to say, we spent the rest of the weekend on a futon. and with multiple bruises. bc in my past life, i was totally a ninja. if i were johnny, i would have swept the leg.

friday i got to visit with bethany which was great as i haven't seen her in.... well i dont know when the last time was to be honest. my birthday? we went and took the stranger to the UK store so he could stock up on the wrong color blue t-shirts (hell, even i somehow came home with one) and then went to the most magical bookstore on the planet. by the time we'd left the store two hours later, there was a whole floor i hadnt made it to. going there would be an all day event for me. i came out with several new historical fictions and my favorite purchase, Little Women and Werewolves. i'm a third of the way into it, and its pretty alright.

that night we went to dinner at the best little diner. it was homecooked goodness. and then we went to a very magical (and by magical i mean i cant really put it into words) dive bar to hear a bluegrass band. The stranger got laura's fiance very very drunk, which is becoming a common theme in his meeting any male i know. we had to pour the both of them home, which was entertaining to say the least.

saturday we made laura go look at wedding dresses. this trip was supposed to be just for getting ideas, so her friend and i piled high the rack for her to try on. ball gowns, mermaid style, sweetheart neckline. by the time this coming wedding season is over (as the weekend after laura's wedding i get to be in jenny's!) i'm going to be a wedding planner extraordinaire. but we found her perfect dress completely by accident. and it looks amazing and i got all teary bc my baby cousin is really growing up and it makes me very very happy.

and to celebrate, we went and stuffed our faces with pasta. bc that is what we do.

UK has a ridiculously beautiful arboritum near the stadium, where they do theatre in the summer. since some of laura's friends/coworkers were in the play this year, we figured we'd go watch. it was a beautiful evening, and the stars came out and were spectacular. the play was... ok at best. but hey, its something to do and it let me fall asleep on a blanket under the stars. i call that a success.

i slept the whole way home, because that is what i do. it was the fastest trip home to date. haha. all in all it was a really good, relaxing weekend with friends and family. we got nothing and a lot accomplished. all in all, i'm glad we went. but i am equally glad we are not going anywhere this weekend. sometimes staying in town and being lazy is called for. at most we might go to the drive-in, which i am still very much looking forward to.

happy birthday to bethany!

this was not as entertaining a post as i've written in the past. apologies. i will tell you i've got a new craft project in the works, and i'll take a photo to show you probably this afternoon. i had remembered something that made me happy/sad and so i had to do this. (vague enough?)

anyway. much love.

Dear old love

I'm home. We had a great weekend. Laura found her perfect wedding dress. We took lots of naps. I got lots of books. I'll write a real post when I'm not so sleepy. Love love to you all.



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Thunderbolt and lightning

We are still in the car. We are very tired. To entertain you, here is photo of calypso enjoying Bohemian Rhapsody.


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hope

this is awesome. and makes me cry.

Mini vacation

So I have a three day work week this week as I'm taking Friday off for a mini vacation. We are headin to the magical town of Lexington to visit friends and family, tryon bridesmaid dresses, and generally have a grand (if nit warm) time.

I hear two cats doing unspeakable things. Oh my.

The final stages of moving are going on as we speak, and I am more than glad. I want to get everything cleaned up and put in the correct place.

The CRJ posted a nice blog about his trip home and included his hearty approval of the Stranger. I'm so glad that all my friends who've met him genuinely like him. It's a nice change. It takes away a lot of worry and unnecessary weirdness from my mind. And that is always a good thing. It's nice to make plans that aren't completely illogical.

At anyrate, if I don't post again beforehand, have a lovely weekend and try to stay in the shade!! Much love!



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Location:Jacobs Hill Rd,Morgantown,United States

valley falls photos

a very great weekend

this, my dears, has been a very good weekend. the sun kitten has enjoyed herself thoroughly.

friday i took off work early to spend time with the CRJ and the Mrs. it was so good to get to spend time with them and run around town. ending the evening with furthering the Stranger's appreciation for Black Bear Burrito was quite wonderful. i'm pretty sure i could eat their queso cheese as every meal.

saturday we invested in what is quite possibly the best summer toy that thirty bucks can buy you:yes. i have upgraded the kiddie pool. this one has a place out of its head that you attach a water hose so you have a sprinkler system. it is glorious. and where we spent most of saturday, sunday, and today. it is no surprise when i say right now i feel like i have heat exhaustion. i kinda want to vom. but it is so totally worth it.

however, calypso did not agree that it was a good idea.

she pretty much just stood there until we physically picked her up and put her out of it.

i however, loved the shit out of it and spent 90% of the sunny hours like this:i read 3 books, on jane grey, elizabeth of york, and mary stuart respectively. yes. i am a sunbaked nerd. dont worry, i slathered sunscreen on like it was my job.

we got bored and went driving and ended up going through grafton (which is such a pretty old town) and ending up at valley falls state park. let me tell you, it's beautiful there. it used to be a grist mill back in the 18whatevers and there are only bits and pieces left. but we spent quite a few hours there taking pictures with the Stranger's amazing camera. when he uploads them to the computer, i'll post them.

the fireworks downtown were not as impressive as hoped, but i will say that they were better than in the past few years. there were way too many people packed into ruby park, but i didnt freak out and get claustrophobic, so thats a bonus. it was fitting, for several reasons, that the little dipper was bright in the sky right by where the fireworks were going off.

also, jenny got engaged in vegas while we were watching the fireworks. congrats to jenny and john!

we went shopping this morning just to get out of the house and i found some ridiculous deals. i went with the purpose of finding a respectable black dress, bc i know i'm going to need one sooner than i'd like bc the Stranger's grandad is doing worse. it is not something you want to plan for, but i guess its something to expect.

in brighter new, someone has signed to take the Stranger's apartment but they need in by the end of the week, so we're going to get everything in here by wednesday. which means everything here right now is a total disaster area. but, it will be good once its all done, and it will be awesome to have to only pay half the bills again. (i swear, that is not the only reason the stranger is moving in.)

so all in all, this has been a wonderful weekend. i hope i have more like them. i am sure i will. even if i have a migraine right now, the overall 4 days was damn near perfect.

i hope everyone else had a great weekend. surely something more entertaining will happen this week that i can tell you about. now if you'll pardon me, i'm going to go hide in the dark for a little bit.

much love and sunshine.

a busy day

calypso is very very tired from helping the Stranger move all day. I curled up on the other end of the couch and slept off part of a migraine. I still feel like I could puke, but maybe i'm just hungry. Calypso and i are very good at this moving process. we mostly just stay out of the way.

off to take the moving hero to dinner so that i get out of cooking.