Nov 29, 2008

Holiday warning

Last night we made a foray into hollywood by watching Four Christmases. We knew it was a mistake going in, but just wanted some escapist entertainment. We almost left in the middle and the only reason we didn't was because I needed to see with mine own eyes the dissolution of vince vaughn's career. He is so funny, but he does the worst movies. Unfortunate.
Anyway it was awful and my holiday warning to you is to save your ten bucks and see something else. Like Slumdog Millionaire. That movie was so beautiful and my heart was twice as big after leaving. See it.

My thanksgiving was great and I hope yours was, too! I learned how to do a cable stitch from TH's mom. I ate turkey. I sat around for hours and made jokes about silly things. I had a run around contest with Lizzy that ended with us falling on the ground and kicking our legs in the air. It's been a fabulous break so far, but its always too short and I don't get to spend time with everyone I want to. But Christmas break is ONE MONTH LONG. Cannot contain excitements.

Nov 26, 2008

What I've Been Listening To.

This couple is love. L-O-V-E, love. Just look at the way they look at each other. I love it. They start singing around minute 2. June is so beautiful and charming and Johnny is so handsome.

Nov 25, 2008

Retrospective

One thing that this time of year always brings is nostalgia. I think back on my life where I was last year, year before, etc.
The other night I got to thinking about the past boyfriends in my life. Thought back to my life in high school when I'd flirt with all the cute boys and flaunt my cheerleader skirt everywhere. How I thought I was well-loved because I went to three different proms and three different homecomings. I dated for fun and the boys I dated were as silly as I was.

Then on to college where I went through my exploration stage. I dated a puerto rican who is now a lawyer, then a hippie ex-marine who is now a printmaker, a marriage-and-family therapist who is now married and a therapist, a jerky drop-out boy who i nearly married, and another hippie boy with strong principles and he was also a rapper. True story. I changed a lot through college, as we all tend to do, but it makes me giggle to think back on the boys I dated and what my dad must've thought. I remember when he met the hippie - with the long hair and earrings, what his reaction was. "why did i send my daughter off to college to meet boys like this?!" That boyfriend helped me develop the person I wanted to be, and was actually pivotal in my change from little girl to somewhat older girl. Actually, all the boys I've dated have helped me develop into who I am today (shriveled sense of a person. ha.)

After college I went on to only date boys named Mark. I'm serious. I had short-lived relationships with other boys, but the only ones that ever stuck were Marks.

Here are some interesting facts about them.
Mark #1: for all intents and purposes, he was my "missionary". I wrote him during the mission and we went through several bouts of dating as we both changed and developed, during college and after. He liked trials bikes and dirt bikes. He even taught me how to ride his dirt bike up Green Canyon in Logan, UT.

Mark(c) #2: This boy was another missionary story. Only not my missionary, Jay's missionary buddy. While Jay and Heather were canoodling, I think they wanted to spread the love, so they hooked us up. For a period of like 3 years or something we dated and broke up and re-dated. Marc liked road biking and worked at a bike shop.

Mark #3: my current bf. TH. There is nothing mission related, unless we're talking about our tendency to do things related to Romania. And he teaches me Romanian. Che Fach. Or something. Mark likes mountain biking. Our first date was mountain biking in the foothills of Virginia.

Does anyone else notice a pattern here? Marks and bikes. Is this my fate? Or do I feel some weird gravitational pull towards Marks and bike-lovers? Does anyone else have experience in this?

Nov 24, 2008

Oh yeah, we also did this.


Special thanks to my informant on the photo booth. Who knew Bubby's had a photo booth?! (not I)

In a mood.

I am in this kind of mood tonight.

Cat Power makes me feel warm all over. She is beautiful. And her voice melts into your ears.

It's raining outside. It's cold outside. I am sitting inside: warm, laying in my bed, reading all I would ever want to know about social economics of population displacement. Ooo la la. Cat Power is all that's getting me through right now.

Nov 23, 2008

Sorpresa.

So there I was, preparing to fall asleep, late Friday night and I hear a faint knock on the door. I lift up the peephole door and it is none other than TH. Yes, yes, my own personal boyfriend standing on my doorstep, came all the way from land-far-away Virginia to spend one day with yours truly.
That boy.

Of course it was all I could do not to gobble him up completely, he is so cute, but I figured I should not lest I had nobody to hang out with on Saturday. We woke up late (late!) saturday and had another GATHDOF in the negative 2 degree Celsius weather. Bagels at our bagel place (me: sesame with blueberry cc, him: pumpernickel with regular cc), then back to my place to grab more protective scarves and hats cause it was COLD! We spent a couple of hours walking around SOHO, shopping for coats, shoes, and sweaters. TH got a new pair of shoes. When I say new, I mean they are new, but they are the same pair that he bought last time and wore them for FIVE YEARS. Yes, that's right. Five years for one pair of shoes and he still loves them so much he bought another pair. They are nice, I will give him that. I think it bodes well for me that he likes to keep stuff around that he likes. Hehe.

After shopping, we went to Brooklyn to get pizza. This time we did it right and went to Grimaldi's. Heavens, that place is amazing as they say. Best moment: I was staring at the guys behind the counter making all the pizzas and the owner was walking around the restaurant. He came over to me and asked "do you want to learn how to make pizza?" and I said "i already know how. i used to work at domino's." His eyes got very wide and he laughed, clicked his tongue and walked away. Shameful. Apparently domino's isn't recognized out here as "real pizza". Oh well - I still enjoyed the pizza. The owner was a cute old man, so I wasn't mad. Lucky for him.

After pizza, stop in Tribeca for yummy pie at Bubby's (sour cherry and banana cream), then back to my apartment to watch "Be Kind, Rewind". It's a Michel Gondry film and just as creative and beautiful as his other films (The Science of Sleep and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind). It was really funny and totally enjoyable. Especially with pie. And especially with some quality cuddle time.

TH left at 6 in the morning to get back in time for church. He came up for 27 hours just to spend the day with me.

That boy.

Hooray for weekend surprises. TH's dad asked him "what, did you guys just eat your way through new york?" And we reply with a resounding "yes!!"

This week: 2 days of school, flight home with Ms. LMC (celebrity guru), and 5 1/2 days with family, friends and TH. And you wonder why November is my favorite month.

Nov 21, 2008

In which Gnomie talks to her friends.

Body: Stop staying awake all hours of the night.
Brain: Stop running ten million miles a minute, particularly at nighttime when I'm trying to focus on sleep.
Feet: Shrink so you can fit into your cute new silver shoes.
Pocketbook: Sorry for abusing you the past week. I promise I will withdraw less next week.
Cookies sitting on my desk: You've been staring at me all week but I promise I will eat at least some of you this weekend. My stomach has been in pain lately and it might have something to do with all the diet cokes.
Empty diet coke bottles in my recycling bin: Bastards.

Nov 20, 2008

Ok, maybe I lied about getting my hair cut.

I don't think I can part with it quite yet. Maybe after the holidays.

Speaking of the holidays, it is ALL I can do right now to go to class every day. Forget actually paying attention or doing any homework. I've spent the past 2 days watching this. I want a puppy so badly! If only I had a puppy, I'm sure life would be perfect. Haha. Remember the days when it was goldfish and bangs? Then I got bangs and wanted to grow them out. Then I got goldfish and they all died. Such is life.

This Thanksgiving I'm going to TH's house as I did last year (even though we were broken up at the time and it was like 9 kinds of awkward especially cause my mom showed up with me, too. what was i thinking? His mom made me do it! She insisted! who am i to turn down such an offer?). Well this year I got duties. Salad duties to be exact and I'm bringing the house down. I'm also going to bring a side of some sort and I'm trying to make it fit into the category of "food for the brave".
What is more brave - endives with pears and bleu cheese or quinoa with butternut squash and pumpkin seeds? Or something else you might suggest??

The best part is that TH has cranberry sauce duties, which is the "dumb guy" duty, right? Not so, not so my friends. We are going to show that group a thing or two about cranberry sauce by essentially creating a "3 degrees of cranberry sauce glory". Celestial, Terrestrial, and Telestial. It's going to taste so sacrilicious!!

Nov 18, 2008

Iron and Wine

Even after all these years, all the things we've been through together - the ups, the downs - I still love him dearly.
Sam Beam.
Oh how you make my heart melt. I went to the Iron and Wine show at Terminal 5 last night with Josh, Jess, Jen, and (j)Evan. It was the 4th time I've seen him and he did not disappoint.
I have to be honest, I was a little nervous that my 3rd time was the charm and that I might be sick of hearing his music and hate the concert, especially because I don't listen to him that much anymore, but he charmed his way right back into my heart.

Scroll down for various pictures of the night and a lot of beard porn (as TH refers to it. don't worry TH I love your scruff. Let's talk about growing in that winter beard, eh?)



I think my favorite picture is the one where he has a little green glowing friend on his shoulder. It's his shoulder angel.

I think I'm getting my haircut tomorrow. Goodbye, hair.

Nov 15, 2008

Alphabet City

Last night I wandered around forEVER in search of dinner. Josh and I finally decided on this small Venezuelan restaurant, Caracas, and delighted in passion fruit juice, guacamole with plantain chips, fried cheese and plaintains with molasses, arepas (corn-cake tortillas stuffed with fillings) with cheese, avocado, plantains, and black beans. Oh. So. Good.
It was worth the walking around and getting cranky. (It WAS, th!)
But side-note - I'd never really been to the Lower East Side portion of Manhattan. It is a scenester's paradise. People spilling out of every restaurant, bar, and art gallery around. Shops filled with pretty things and shoes I am coveting still today. I want to go back, but - lucky for my pocketbook - that area of town is kind of hard to get to. Subway, transfer, subway, walk, walk, walk.

There are some reasons to return, however. Katz's deli, the Angelica, Pomme Frites...TH, you ready?

(Oh you'll never guess what is coming in the mail in only a few short days!)

Nov 12, 2008

Sisters






It is my sisters birthday today. Jenny has to be one of the funniest people I know.
1. She can always get a good hearty laugh out of me.
2. We could sit around for hours and tell dumb jokes.
3. Sometimes we sit around and eat individual cereals and throw the boxes on the floor while we watch TV. We are good a being lazy together.
4. She is really good at dirty-word scrabble.
5. She is an amazing mommy and has the CUTEST baby.
6. She had the cutest baby.
7. She married her high school sweetheart.
8. She moved to IDAHO for him. Now that is love.
9. She is really good at making funny faces that make it seem like her eyes are going to fall out of her head.
10. She is game for spontaneous road trips.
11. She calls me sometimes just to let Lizzie talk to me cause she knows how much I love it.
12. She almost killed me one time in Wyoming. True story.
13. When we were younger we dressed up like each other for a day and I considered it my "big-sistering" for the decade.

We didn't get along very much when I was living at home, on account of me being a snobby-cheerleader type and her wearing nerdy glasses, but over the years she has become one of my favorite people! How lucky that we are sisters!

Nov 10, 2008

Wheee!

This just looks wonderful. And man, First Ladies know how to rock it! Michelle looks amazing!

I love Sundays.

I do. I love them. I love the laziness. I love the church. I love the fellowshipping. I love all the pretty dresses at church and the boys in suits. I love watching silly movies. I love hanging out my NY BF. I especially love it when church is early and I have the entire day to spend with friends, movies, food, and lazy evening conversations.
I also love my polka dot dress and these shoes that TH bought for me. Buying me shoes: quickest way to my heart.

Nov 6, 2008

jellybeans

Colors rating scale:

Black - gross, disgusting, i hate licorice
Purple - mmm...grape. check.
Orange - totally. like eating fanta. bad aftertaste
Pink - oh heavens. what is this flavor? strawberry. so good.
White - umm...pass.
Yellow - lemon is ok. kind of tastes like pledge.

This is how I pass the time while studying for econ. Give me pink or purple. I'm a girly when it comes to eating jellybeans.

Nov 5, 2008

two homes

I am the child of divorced parents. It's true. But I've never felt like I had two homes. I always had a sense of stability. Nope, always just had the one home in good ole Manassas.

But now...
Now I am the child of two homes. My weekly home is NYC and DC my weekend home. I've only been home 3 times this semester...but that is quite a few in 2 months. Plus I just went back to DC again this past weekend. Two weekends in a row! Bonus!

Fortunately, I don't feel very conflicted with this arrangement. There are good things about both homes. Do I sometimes wish I could combine them? (Well, yes. But I realize that is geographically impossible my dearies.)
TH is cute.
And super talented. This is him driving with no hands. So adept. And he gets on my case for not wearing a seat belt sometimes. Honestly.

What's exciting right now? My friend Heathbar is pregnant and I'm so happy for these cute parents-to-be! And my whole entire family is reuniting for Christmas WITH the new babies. Man, I am just going to be in heaven, heaven, heaven. Plus a month off school!

But what's exciting right now? New president. 5k race on Saturday. Free pizza after class. Um...yep. That's all for now.

where were you on november 4, 2008?




I took up residence in Harlem for a few hours last night. A place where Malcolm X, MLK Jr., Adam Clayton Powell, and countless other leaders in the black community fought for freedom and equality.
Everyone was running through the streets and the excitement in the air was not only palpable, but blatantly visible. Cars and trucks stopped and honking so loudly, drivers getting out of their cars to jump in the streets with revelers, passengers screaming out of sunroofs. In a crowd of thousands, we stood in silence (many in quiet tears) as Obama introduced himself to us as the next president.

An historic event.