Jul14

Pork Belly and Pig Ears

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Pork Belly and Pig Ears

Sitting in room 141 at the Sheraton in Needham, MA.  Right off the freeway in the middle of absolutely nothing.  Around the corner is Restaurant Depot, which appears to be a distribution center lined with big rigs.  (What is it about me picking hotels surrounded by truckers?)

It’s not a great hotel, but at least there’s a fitness center, and that’s what counts.  Plus, it’s close to my meeting in Lexington tomorrow.

Got up at 4:30a this morning, so tired I probably should have just poured coffee straight into my eyeballs.  Showered, drove to O’Hare, parked, trained and planed.  I have been really lucky with parking today.  In the economy lot, I landed a sweet spot right by the train.  In Boston, an unheard of metered spot on Newbury St, right in front of “Chillin with my Gnomies.”  And for dinner?  A spot a mere block away from Jo Jo TaiPei, my new happy Chinese home in Boston.

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Jul9

Dutch Peyote Stitch

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Dutch Peyote Stitch

After seeing a really incredible choker worn by a friend of a friend, I am determined to learn how to make one myself! :)  Plus, a nice long craft project will likely help decompress my wedding frazzies.

Thank you, Beading Daily for generously sharing the pattern.  I’d rather not use the popsicle colors, will probably just see what moves me at Michaels later today.  Can’t wait!

7Peyote_Stitch_Pattern

Jul8

A Sense of Urgency

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A Sense of Urgency

In marketing, one of the key success factors to any campaign is adding a sense of urgency to get the consumer to take action sooner rather than later. Let me tell you, having one month left till the wedding has lit a fire under my glutes. Every time I close my eyes, I realize some other detail I’ve forgotten. The programs, a kids’ table, the cake (oh God, the cake.), a cat sitter… And then last week, we found out my last remaining grandparent has cancer. There’s a lot of emotions just swirling about, trying to be supportive of mom and at the same time trying to prepare myself for the possibility that she won’t be at my wedding. Not easy.

I think I assumed it was going to be easy, but with only a month left, nothing really seems easy anymore.

The part that scares me is that I’m going to feel like this until everything is over. I’ll end up spending so much time checking to make sure that everything is just right that I’ll forget to enjoy the moment. And so now, I’m scrambling to make sure everything is right so I know that I won’t worry about anything day of. I’m sure all brides go through this, right?

Jul4

Harrington: Day 2

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Harrington: Day 2

Woke up sore from all the running and hiking yesterday, such a solid feeling of accomplishment! Had a vivid dream though that was kind of disturbing. I was in my tent, but I couldn’t move my arms. It was like they were immobilized behind my back. I raised my face and felt the mesh of the tent press into my skin. When I called out for help, the voice wasn’t mine. I kept telling myself to wake up, but I couldn’t. Not a great start to the day.

The day did improve though! I went for a leisurely two-mile run…my legs really didn’t want to, but I needed the exercise. Then I went for my second geocache by Plukett’s Pond. This one was significantly easier than the first. It had a clever twist as well. Someone knew human nature and left a hint. The cache was tucked under a sprawling evergreen bush, and I wanted a stick to poke around in it. When I picked up a nearby branch (one that, in hindsight, didn’t look native to the area), I realized the branch was pointing right at the cache. It was stored in a metal army box with a bright “Official Geocache” sticker on it. And what a great stash! Rubber duck, stuffed tiger, crayons, tons of fun. I put in a glass marble tile and a Bally’s coin, and grabbed a wooden token and a rubber bracelet.
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Jul3

Harrington: Day 1

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Harrington: Day 1

Celebrating my first ever geocache with a glass of wine before dinner! I’m camped out at site 213 in the brand new Harrington Beach State Park in Wisconsin, 20-some miles north of Milwaukee. The site itself is pretty phenomenal, with three distinct areas. I put the tent up on the elevated rise overlooking the fire ring. So in the evening, I can actually sit in the tent and watch the fire. Pretty luxurious. At night, the stars are so bright, exactly like diamonds. It’s been a long time since I reached out to God, but last night , I said “Thank you,” and I meant it.

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