yalies for the day

jeremy and i drove to new haven for the day on monday. we spent some time exploring the yale campus. it was gorgeous! it was everything i dreamt ivy league and new england meant. the residence halls were gorgeous - even the dining hall seemed like it could be a theatre or something. beautiful. if i had an extra 50k laying around i would totally go to school there. there were mysterious looking gates and doors everywhere. everyone on campus seemed focused and studious, even though it was a holiday!

after lunch we went to the peabody museum of natural history. there were dinosaur bones and stuffed wildlife everywhere we looked. i felt like i was in the land before time. :) there was a whole section on connecticut wildlife with glass cases containing stuffed birds, pinned insects and other examples of animals found here. very cool to learn more about this state too.

it was only about 45 minutes away so i would love to go again, maybe in the fall or winter when the campus will look different. there were other things we didnt get to do while there too - the rare book museum was closed - we both really wanted to see the gutenberg bible that resides there but maybe next time!

my green thumb (or lack thereof)

i got this african violet about a month and a half ago. i have been watering it and talking to it faithfully and it is blooming. beautiful. you can also see the cat hairs where crickey and rumper have helped me talk to it and love it. thanks guys! she doesnt have a name yet. violet is what i named my first african violet that gma koci gave me. she didnt last long. i have become a better plant mother since then though. or maybe not...

remember fred the bonsai? jeremy bought him for me when i was in new hampshire and he was in california and it was one of the best gifts he has ever gotten me. fred hasn't adapted too well to all the stress of moving jobs and states and our hours. he looks it too. jeremy thinks it is time to just throw him away but i have a hard time with that. i want to bring him back to life. bonsai require lots of patience and i think i can wait him out. although patience isnt normally my strong suit, i think we can make this work. at least that's what mr. gunn told me to do.

casino day

last weekend steph and ryan came to see us. steph did hand massages for our big event at windham falls on saturday, then they stayed the night so we could play on sunday. we were going to go sailing on her dad's boat, but we awoke to a massive rainstorm so that was out.

the only indoor activities we knew of in the area were the mall, movie theatre, or the casinos. we decided on the casinos.
first we went out to a huge breakfast at the shack. it is similar to the good egg for anyone in the wichita area. i was the only one with a happy plate but we all left stuffed to the gills.

we headed to foxwoods first and played a few slot machines and walked around. jeremy took the above picture of us right before a cocktail waitress came and told us there were no photos allowed in the casino. oops! i put the camera away for the rest of the day. foxwoods didnt have any $5 blackjack tables which is what ryan and steph wanted to play, so we piled in rex and headed over to mohegan sun. it is a nicer place anyways. not as smoky, cooler themed, and better shopping. i took steph to lush - i hope she likes her bath bomb!

we played some more games and watched them at the tables for a while, had lunch and then headed home. they still had to drive back to new hampshire for work the next day. it was a great day (although sailing would have been super fun too) and i can't wait to see them again!

daddy's princess

my mom still sends me care packages. she used to mail me quarters, even though i am a grown, married woman with a full-time job. if a girl has to go to the laundromat there is nothing to do but have quarters right? and even though jeremy worked at the bank, somehow we never had enough quarters. so we imported them from kansas. drove jeremy nuts, especially since he worked at a bank and could theoretically cash out a ten for a couple rolls of quarters any time he wanted to. anyways, now that we have free washers and dryers, my care packages now consist of magazines and spices by the ounce from spice merchant.  in my most recent box, i got a bunch of stuff including a card from my dad. after securing an adult's help to make the bracelets, rings and pendants from the cardboard and sparkle stickers inside, i am now blinged out like any good disney princess should be.

(except i had to double up the bracelets since they were not made for adult sized wrists.)

book review: infinite days

infinite days

rebecca maizel

from the back: I release you Lenah Beaudonte. Believe... and be free.
Those were the last words I could remember. When I awoke, I immediately felt a cold surface on my left cheek. An icy shiver rushed down my spine. "Rhode!" I screamed. He had to be here. There would be no world without Rhose. A door somewhere near me opened and closed. Rhose loomed over me but he was a blur. Even in the haze of that moment his icy blue eyes pierced me, down to my soul.
After centuries of terrorizing Europe, Lenah Beaudonte, with the help of the handsome Rhode, has been able to realize the dream of all vampires - to be human again. Now, as a raven-haired, sixteen-year-old, Lenah believes her greatest challenge is fitting in at her new school. But the challenges have only begun. The vicious coven Lenah once ruled is threatening the newfound pleasures of her human life, including the one guy who makes her feel most alive, Justin. Can this ex-vamp survive in an alien time and place or will her past come back to haunt her...forever?
In Infinite Days, Rebecca Maizel rewrites the rules of blood-sucking eternity with this fresh and edgy debut novel, the first in a sizzling new YA series.

my review: what i really liked about this book was the different take on the vampire legend. often vampire books have heros or heroines who change their human counterparts into vampires but theis had a vampire who just wanted to be a normal person. she gets her wish at the beginning of the novel, meets a nerdy guy who becomes her best friend and overthrows the entire social order at the preppy boarding school where her guardian, Rhose, has placed her. She was asleep for the prior century and has to learm about computers, cars and the whole works of the 21st century. By the end of the book, Lenah is forced to make some hard choices and figure out what her true priorities are. I enjoyed this novel and, after the cliff hanger of an ending, can't wait to read more in the series!

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window kittehs

just to brighten your day (because it certainly brightened mine!)

they like to sit in the window, but usually not together. how funny! they were watching a bird or bug or something flying around the window outside because their heads were bobbing around in unison and their ears kept perking up at the exact same time. it was too much.

book review: 7 souls

7 Souls

barnabus miller and jordan orlando

From the Back: Mary expected her seventeenth birthday to be a blowout to remember, courtesy of her best friends, fellow New York City prepsters Amy and Joon, and her doting boyfriend, Trick.
Instead, the day starts badly and gets worse. After waking up in a mortifying place with a massive, unexplainable hangover, Mary soon discovers that nobody at school is even aware that it's her birthday. AS evening approaches, paranoia sets in. Mary just can't shake the feeling that someone is out to get her - and, as it turns out, she's right. Before the night is over, she's been killed in cold blood.
But murder is only the beginning of Mary's ordeal. Her soul gets trapped in a strange limbo, and she must relive the day of her death through the eyes of seven people - each of whom, she finds, had plenty of reasons to hate her. As Mary explores the mysteries of her world, discovering secrets that were hidden in plain sight while she was alive, she clings desperately to the hope that she can solve her own murder, change the past, and - just maybe - save her own life.
With its blend of suspense, horror, fantasy, and realism, 7 Souls is an adrenaline rush of a thriller.

My Review: this book was a little different from a lot of other books in that you relive parts of it through other characters eyes. the birthday day took up a large portion of the book, then events re-unfold as mary's soul visits each of her firends' eyes during brief portions of the day. there was mystery and suspense and a little bit of witchcraft, but overall, the story was about friends and how one's treatment of them makes a difference. mary's friends run the gamut from rich preppy girls that let her borrow insanely expensive dresses to nerdy guys who tutor her and are, of course, in love with her.

the characters were a little bit one dimensional but still the story offered insight into friendship and family.

overall, i liked the book, but it is not my new favorite.

beachin monday

monday we headed to rocky neck state park for the second time. this time we managed to stay on the highway for two more exits, cutting about 15 minutes off the total trip time. (you win some and lose some). there weren't very many people there, so we walked down the boardwalk a little ways then set up our towels and chairs. i should have known it was going to be a weird day since, as we were setting up our stuff, one of the lifeguards jumped down from the nearest stand, ran into the water with a shovel (like a digging shovel not a sand castle shovel) and comes back out with a giant jelly fish. she dropped it on the sand, dug a hole a buried it. then she said, "i love catching jelly fish!" and ran back into the water, presumably to catch more.

that was a little bit strange but she lost interest after a while (or switched stands - there seemed to be a lot fo that going on) and i read my book and listend to my ipod and soaked up my vitamin d for the week. after we had been there for over an hour, comsumed our subway (jeremy gets the spicy italian foot long and i like roast BEEF on a salad), and started aqcuiring new tan lines (which are the most annoying part of laying out btw, but there are no nude beaches around here - JUST KIDDING), we heard the whistle blow and a voice over the loudspeaker:

"everyone exit the ocean, this is a WATER EMERGENCY." everyone obeyed and the lifeguards came running from all the different lifeguard stands along the beach. there were about 10 guards in total. they went to a spot in the water not far from where we were all set up and all waded in. then they linked hands and made a line extending perpendicular from teh shoreline. they put on snorkel masks and put their faces in the water. while holding hands, they walked along looking in the water. for waht, we were not sure. they went about thirty feet, then went farther out in the water and came back, repeating the process. after getting back equal to their original starting point, they moved out farther in the water. at this point, they could no longer touch the bottom of the ocean, so someone would shout "one two three go" and they would dive under water, surface, and repeat.

eventually someone from the shore shouted over the loudspeaker "we found him, you can come in." apparently they were searching for a kid under water. wow. he was found on shore. i'm sure that was the happiest mom ever. but if i lost someone in the water, i would want those kids looking for that person. they had a great system and hauled ass to get it done. way to go guys!

afte that excitement we stayed for a little while longer, but then decided it was past well-baked time and we better head inside. all in all it was an entertaining day at the beach.

stonington on sunday

sunday afternoon we were planning on going to the beach but the forecast was 40% chance of rain. after getting drenched last time we attempted a beach day, we decided to head to stonington borough and shop, then run some more boring errands. of course it wound up being a gorgeous day, but that was just a bonus.

the borough shopping was not all it was cracked up to be. the store i was most interested in was closed and the clothing stores all seemed geared for women with my style but in about 20-30 years and after multiple children and lots of wine and cheese. nice stuff but not for me now. i was annoyed, because jeremy was in the mood to buy me clothes and i couldnt find a single thing i liked.

we went to target and the mall and still... nothing. he bought jeans and we bought a drying rack at target (which actually excites me... it is a sickness i know but clean laundry makes me pretty happy).

i had mild luck at tj maxx and got a couple of new things for work.

the best part of the day was walking along the boardwalk in stonington and looking at the water. public access to the shoreline was easy and the path was a beautiful walk. no one else was on it so we felt like we owned that part of the ocean for a little while. pure bliss.

beaching with the hamptons

yesterday jeremy and i drove up to cape cod to meet up with his aunt, uncle and cousins. it was a beautiful day for a drive and an even more beautiful day to spend at the beach. we met up with them inhyannis and drove to yarmouth to find a couple of different beaches.

we spent the day combing the shore for shells, soaking up the sun, and catching up. i hadn't seen the hamptons since may 2009 and jeremy just saw them very briefly when he was driving here from la in august.

we ate at the skipper where we all had wonderful fish and seafood meals (except paigey - she got the meal voted most likely to catch fancy crabs). i had a massive fish taco that looked like it could eat me, but i sure showed it who was boss.

it was a fabulous day with perfect weather. we couldn't have asked for a better day off or better people to spend it with.

all rained out

yesterday for our day off we decided to go to the beach. we went to ocean beach park, a place my dad visited as a child. it wasnt terribly sunny as we were driving over there, but there was only a very small chance of rain so we figured the sun would come out eventually.  after paying $14 for parking and finding a spot, clouds started rolling in. dark clouds. we stayed for a few more minutes trying to decide if we should pack up and go or see if it blew around us. the rest of the beachgoers packed up and were out of there. we decided to follow suit and as we were trekking back to the parking lot a couple of rain drops started to hit us. then a couple more. then we were caught in a torrential downpour. by the time we made it to the car we were drenched. we could barely even see to drive home. after drying off, jeremy decided to go get a board to put up a shelf in my closet. after we changed into regular clothes and started doing other things, the sun came out and it was a beautiful afternoon. figures. we will have to go back to ocean beach another time. a sunnier time.

but at least now i have a place to store things in my closet! :D

we found a beach!

everyone here seems to bring an umbrella to sit under at the beach which seems to me to be the opposite reason of why anyone would go but...

there is a state park not too far from our house with a great beach. for a weekday during the summer it wasn't too crowded. having mondays off means we don't have to fight the weekend crowds which is nice. soaking up the sun, listening the the waves lap against the shore... just what a body needs after spending the weekend dealing with one drama after another.

soooo if you are looking for us anytime over the next several weeks and it is a monday, check rocky neck state park beach. :)

Fourth of July

last sunday we spent the evening at the mystic seaport. they opened their doors to the community. there was live music and we could explore the grounds to our hearts' content.

we finally got to see some tall ships, one of which they are restoring (and you can watch the restoration work) to be as close to the original as possible.

there is a cute little village (cowtown style) representative of the villages that were all along the coast in ports during the 18th century. the whole seaport is of course on the water so we sat and watched the boats drive by and the swans swim around. it was lovely.

after leaving the seaport we wanted to do something else patriotic so we found a great little sushi restaurant and ate raw fish til we just about exploded. great sushi specials on sunday nights!

training post 2: all work and no play...

during training we spent a lot of time learning and working and on duty (we carry pagers when we are working or on duty overnight in case of emergency and have to be on site during those times), but not all time was work time. we managed to spend some time at the various beaches around kittery and down the nh coast. one weekend we spent some time at various beaches, examing creature in tide pools and soaking up a little vitamin c, then met ryan and stephanie in hampton beach and drove up to maine and went out to eat. it was great. we sat outside by the water and ate fish and watched the sunset. could life get any better? 

memorial day drive

on memorial day jeremy and i decided to drive up the coast of maine and check out some of the local beaches.  beaches here are not like those in california (which prolly doesnt shock anyone). there is lots of rocks, and most of the ones with sand are manmade. maine has lots of lighthouses too.

this is the cape neddick lighthouse. it was constructed in 1879 and had a bell in it to warn sailors of the rocky point. it is on a little island several yards off the coast, so to get to the ligthhouse itself there is a little cable car that goes across. it looked really rickety and im glad they werent letting the general public try it out.

i hope that lighthouse keeper got hazard pay! it is fully automated now so people rarely use that cable car.

it was a gorgeous day and so cool to see a diffferent part of the coast. the best part is the highway that follows the coast is rt 1 and the freeway in ca is the 1 so if you squinted it felt like we were back in la. the ocean actually smells different up here - cleaner - imagine that. :)