May20

My Instalife #5

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My Instalife #5

Another summary of the past week, in filtered photos.

 

Napping cat, stretched out on the floor

Catnap!

assorted Mother's Day presents

Mini-Geek’s Mother’s Day presents that he made me at school. Not pictured: the juice box (which he stole) and Nutrigrain bar (which he didn’t like). But there are blank notecards with the butterfly that he made, a bookmark, a card, and an adorable bag. I love it.

shark

I dug up another old photo from the Tampa Aquarium back in August. This time, it was shark time.

Mr & Mrs thank you cards

I started working on my thank you cards (finally) while Mini-Geek’s team was up to bat and I was waiting for him to go.

Mini-Geek at bat

And then he went up to bat. (Sorry about the quality. I didn’t realize it when I took it since it was so bright out.)

Mini-Geek's team in the field

And then they took their turn in the field. And switched a few more times. And I got a bit tanned. And spoke to the realtor. The end of the game. (They don’t really keep score and everyone runs. This is t-ball.) Also, Mini-Geek is the one dancing around in the field.

Page from Alison Bechdel's Are You My Mother

Then I bought Alison Bechdel’s Are You My Mother: A Comic Drama on iBooks because the Kindle version doesn’t work on the iPad app and I didn’t want to read it on my old Kindle. I wanted a different experience than that. We read Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic in class this past semester and I loved it in the sad way that one can love a memoir that deals with a lot of heavy issues. I was excited to see that she had published another book.

May19

Police Stand-Off 2 Miles Away

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Police Stand-Off 2 Miles Away

I apologize; I just haven’t been up to updating lately. And right now, well, I feel about as sorrowful as I did earlier in the week. This time it isn’t for anyone that I know. Something is going on just two miles from my home right now, right across the street from where Mini-Geek played in a city street hockey league just a few months ago. The details are hazy but there  are rumors flying everywhere. John came home from work, passing by that street between 5:30 and 6 this evening. We passed by again around 8 after looking at a house (yay to that at least!). Both times the entire section of the street was blocked off and emergency vehicles were covering the area. It’s a nice area, the houses are some of the nicer ones in this “city.” (It’s hardly a city but is technically considered one. Somehow.) It’s a street that Mini-Geek and I just drove down this morning. Now there are crowds of people trying to gather as close as possible and a SWAT team is in the area.

The reports are implying that it is a suicidal man. Other reports are behind; 13 shots were fired about an hour and a half ago. The man behind me in line at the grocery store told the cashier and I that the man has killed his wife and has his children hostage. If that’s the case, well, my heart breaks for them. I cannot imagine their terror, and the years of attempts to repair what they have gone through tonight. I just hope that whatever it is, it ends soon and with everyone is alright as they can be. And the people standing around, after a total of 15 shots have been fired since this began, well, they are incredibly dense. It’s a dangerous situation. We all want to know what is happening. We all like to witness things like this. But this, this is potentially life-threatening. You don’t go near it unless you are trained to deal with it. Just go home and wait it out like everyone else.

I just know that I want out of this town. There was just a double shooting a couple of weeks ago, and a mess of other stuff. And now the “safe” areas seem less and less safe. Lately, the world has looked pretty dark to me. A bit of light would be super.

 

EDIT: It ended around the time that I posted this, maybe a bit before. Only the man is dead and his wife was found in the home, unharmed.

May15

Time-Wasting Tuesday Cancelled

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Time-Wasting Tuesday Cancelled

Time-Wasting Tuesday will be cancelled this week. We are leaving shortly for an out-of-town memorial service for one of John’s good friend’s baby. They are such a nice couple and I feel such sorrow for the two of them and their baby who never took a breath in this world. I will be returning tomorrow. In the mean time, lose yourself on Punchfork. It’s sort of like the oh-so-popular Pinterest, in that it’s endless scrolling of pictures, only it’s all recipes. I’ve made a number of things off of there. It pulls recipes from different cooking blogs and has them in one easy place, where you can favorite them for later. You can also search for things if you have an ingredient or two in mind. Enjoy.

May13

My Instalife #4

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My Instalife #4

So here’s the last week in Instagram. It’s been sort of uneventful and nice for me, with one non-photo eventthat hopefully ends up being fruitful! (And house-looking online!)

carmel macaroon sundae

My most favorite ice cream place in the world, Lake Effect Ice Cream, reopened while we were in New York. Naturally, Monday we had to go there after dinner. This is their caramel macaroon sundae. Delicious!

 

Ronald Raygun

This was leftover from last weekend still, but I had never really gone through the pictures much.

 

marsh with forrest in the backgroun

Another view from the train ride home.

 

flowers

My mom had Mini-Geek answer the door yesterday and give these flowers to me for Mother’s Day. John swears he’s bringing me something after work today.

May11

Thoughts From the Last Year of My 20s

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Thoughts From the Last Year of My 20s

Already I wish that I was in New York again. But I sat with this thought, wondering why. I don’t really want to ever live there. It certainly is not the ideal location for Mini-Geek. So what is it that is already calling me back?

I think it’s the fact that, for once, I got to act like I am in my 20s. Please don’t mistake this for a “poor me” thing, it isn’t. I’ve made my own life choices and I’ve had my own burdens to deal with and I am thankful for everything that has happened because it has made me the person that I am today with the life that I have now. But, really, I’m in my last year of my 20s and since a bit before I turned 22, I haven’t had a lot of opportunity to just enjoy life, being in the moment, the way that “they” say we should all spend our 20s. I moved back to New York (state, not city) and was immediately faced with a very ill father. I helped out with my much-younger sisters as much as possible. When he passed, I was (still unknowingly) pregnant. The last six and a half years with Mini-Geek have been amazing, but they haven’t allowed for many chances for me to experience the 20-something life that everyone speaks of on the Internet. The life that I do see others leading. Certainly, there have been nights spent at grandparents’ homes here and there. And I have had good times. And I wouldn’t trade my life right now for it. But last weekend was the first time I found myself out, in a city, (seriously, the vast majority of my Mini-Geekless nights have been spent in some pretty rural areas) with just a bunch of people and little on the agenda. I don’t go out that often, and when I do, it’s usually to celebrate something. Then we come back home. This weekend was something other than that usual feel. I enjoyed it. It may not ever be something that I indulge in again. (Let’s face it, I’ve only got 10 1/2 months of my 20s left. Sure, I can go out in my 30s. But it won’t quite be the same, I fear. For one, my metabolism is only going to continue to slow. Free pizza with every drink is just not nice to one’s waistline.) I wouldn’t want every weekend of my life to be like that. I like my life. A lot. And it makes the few that I have that much better.

So, really, my longing to head back to the other part of the state is more of good bye to my 20s. Not that 30s are bad. They’ll just be different. With more dinner parties or something. And a house. And a driveway so I can play “Waterfalls” while washing the car when John isn’t home because he hates that song. Or when he is home and being a meanie. He’s probably even one of the people who clicked the thumbs down on the video. Meanie. And maybe I will blare The Lion King soundtrack while gardening on Friday evenings in the hopes that “Can You Feel the Love Tonight” makes for some hilarious awkward teenager moments in the neighborhood, even if I won’t witness them. I can assume that I made things super-awkward somewhere and giggle to myself.

May9

Home Buying?

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Home Buying?

So John and I have decided that we will probably staying in the Buffalo, New York area. It isn’t that we don’t want to move to Florida. But we don’t want to move blindly without jobs. And finding a job down there while living here is difficult. And then, even after we found jobs, we realize that we may not quickly get a mortgage if both of us have just started new jobs. So, that leaves us where we are right now. So we are now shopping for homes. Which is super-exciting, of course! (Of course, if a miracle job came from Florida right now, I can’t guarantee that we wouldn’t make that move. But the odds of that…well…you know.)

May8

Time-Wasting Tuesday

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Time-Wasting Tuesday

Girl with LEGO mirror

I do love Sociological Images. So much of the stuff is incredibly thought-provoking. I really like this feature on LEGO products over the years and gender.

 

xkcd logo

I do enjoy reading XKCD regularly. The one from the other day on choosing a major was awesome. (The song “Every Major’s Terrible.)

Sole Rebels shoes

I love Sole Rebels and they aren’t paying me or giving me free shoes to say this. I ordered a couple of pairs a few months ago and wear them constantly. They are so comfortable. And they are a great company. I wore them over the weekend, all weekend, and my feet didn’t hurt a bit. They definitely have a permanent new customer!

 

fun, colorful chandelier made from water bottles

I love how colorful this chandelier is, who would know at first glance that it is made out of water bottles?!

 

chocolate-covered pencil pretzels

And, lastly, it’s Teacher Appreciation Week and we’re in the middle of making these pretzels right now! Such a cute idea!

 

May7

My Instalife #3

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My Instalife #3

I told you that I would be back today! Here’s the weekly photo update number three! This week is a little lengthy.Koosh balls!

Who doesn’t love Koosh balls?! They’re so fun.

Buffalo to Penn station train ticket

Yeah, this actually finally did happen! I’ve lived in Western New York for most of my life and I just finally made it to New York City.

Set up for Ronald Raygun

I didn’t have time to do much. But I watched John’s band play (obviously, the entire purpose of our trip!).

Mummy petting a buffalo on the wall

This was on the wall. I love it.

John playing bass

I take way too many pictures of him. But often then end up a little blurred. I was recording the audio too and juggling a couple of different devices. (More on that soon!)

John playing at Barcade

Then we headed to Barcade! A bar and an arcade! Genius!

wall of beer caps

Unfortunately this isn’t the great of a picture and doesn’t even begin to show how big this is. It’s a wall of beer caps outside.

John and a Velvet Merkin

They had a drink called a Velvet Merkin. I needed it purchased to say I had it.

Hello Kitty candy

We stayed in Chinatown. We left the next morning but stopped in the store and bought some candy.Life Partner flavor

Including this bag, the front looks like a beverage machine. The one, upon further examination, is “life partner” flavored.

Lake and mountains

And then we headed home way, way too early.

May3

Be Back Monday!

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Be Back Monday!

I’m not feel that well today and tomorrow I plan on prepping to leave Saturday morning tomorrow (I have plenty of laundry and housework to do!) so I will probably not be returning until Monday. If you’re in Brooklyn, head to Don Pedro’s Saturday night to watch Ronald Raygun play!

May2

I Can’t Even Handle Nothingness

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I Can’t Even Handle Nothingness

So this is day number two of not having anything to do and being awake during the daytime. Day number two of watching Scrubs and Crank Yankers. (Not me, John works weekend shift so he’s off Tuesday-Thursday every week, trading four ten hour weekend days for three mid-week days of nothingness. I work four long nights.) Please don’t get me wrong, Crank Yankers was great television, but I need something to do. I’m so used to being incredibly busy that I just don’t know how to handle this. There’s still another 45 minutes until Mini-Geek gets out of school and, sure, I’ll make a decent dinner tonight (Wednesdays used to be pizza night, by the time that I slept late enough to deal with work all night and then class all day Thursday, and the short paper that I needed to write on Wednesday evenings, that was all that we had time to do.) but I’m lost without my pile of stuff to do. Sure, I’ve read the first three volumes of Y: The Last Man, The Bloggess’s book, and I may have started a book with a potentially offensive name, but that isn’t enough. Oh, and I’ve been updating this thing regularly. I haven’t had my own time like this in nearly two years. Last summer I took the maximum amount of credits and had class all summer. The summer before I took two classes for the second half of summer. Perhaps it is time that I begin to create something that I can sell on Etsy. Or finish the front page. Or learn app development. Or create my own WordPress themes. There’s a ton of possibilites and I’m not sure where to start.

 

Also, I think for dinner we are having Avocados Stuffed with Quinoa Salad and something else. What that something else is, I’m not entirely certain yet.