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Monday, February 28, 2011

My friends

B and I are lucky to have a lot of amazing friends. Unfortunately, most of the pictures that I have with them are eight years old and decorating our walls. I am super excited that B got a new camera for the baby's arrival, and I hope that we get back into the habit of documenting the moments in our lives with hundreds of photos.



I am forever grateful that I was such a photo whore while at PSU. I had an amazing group of friends, and some incredibly entertaining pictures that always manage to cheer me up when I am feeling lonely.


There are so many people that I am close to that I may never post pictures of on here. Phone conversations don't lend to photo opps, but that doesn't make them any less special to me.

Sunday, February 27, 2011

Oh, the places you'll go



I'm a Jewy Jew, so I (of course!) went to Israel as a teenage with a youth group. I'd been before with family to visit family, but we didn't do very much sight seeing. The trip I took when I was 16 was amazing. I ate too much ice cream, got fat, trudged along on the hikes, and lived for any and every historical experience presented to us. I went back when I was 18 to spend my freshman year of college there, living on a kibbutz for 4 months and then Jerusalem for four. It was one of the most rewarding, challenging, painful, and educational experiences of my life, and I am forever thankful that my parents allowed me to go.

Saturday, February 26, 2011

Oh, you're in theatre? What is your favorite movie?

I never understand why people hear the word theatre and think acting. Film acting and live acting are related, but they are kissing cousins at best. I don't love movies. I have a few that I can watch again, but that is pretty rare. Once a story has been told, I'm done. I intellectually ingested it. Finite.

If I had to pick a favorite movie, it would be Julie Taymor's Titus. It is nothing like the stories that I enjoy reading, and watching it disturbs me for months. Artistically, it is a masterpiece. The acting is superb, the pace is excellent, the technical and design elements are outstanding. I wouldn't suggest eating while watching it, especially pie, but I think it is a must see for performance artists.

Friday, February 25, 2011

Audubon Park, New Orleans



My favorite neighborhood has always been Uptown in New Orleans, and my favorite part of that neighborhood is Audubon Park. Across the street from Tulane and Loyola Universities, it is a true slice of local community living. I love to walk Duke along the winding paths, watching students play frisbee or read under towering oaks, mothers playing with babies in the grass, children scaling trees and playing tag. The houses in the area are gorgeous, but nothing compares with the lush greenery and elegant sculptural accents that seem to stretch out endlessly. You feel like the neighborhood is an extension of the park instead of the park acting as an escape from the surrounding habitation. I am extremely excited to be able to spend an afternoon there in April with Duke, taking pictures of my growing bump and the frolicking males that will be my husband and dog. I think I'm going to force a picnic on them, and stuff myself with po'boys, Zapps, and Red Cream Soda.

If I close my eyes, I can feel the thick grass between my toes. I can't wait.

Thursday, February 24, 2011

My brother

My younger brother is one of the most charming people that I have ever met. He simply makes people happy when they are around him. He's funny, goofy, sarcastic, has a heart of gold, creative, and incredibly endearing. He is marrying his love soon, and I am so excited for all of the opportunities that are opening up for the two of them.

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

My parents

I am adopted, and I have to physically contain myself when people ask me about my "real" parents. My mother and father are the only parents I have ever known. They are absolutely amazing, and one of the main reasons that I believe in G-d is because of my family.

My father is a tall, goofy, man who can always make me laugh and cry. His opinion means more to me than anyone else on earth, and I want to be him when I grow up. He lives his life in his own way, rarely compromising and never letting anyone down. He is kind, generous, and passionate about life. He also cannot keep a pair of glasses in decent shape to save his life.


My mother is one of the most easy going people I have ever met. She is always calm (unless woken from an afternoon nap), and has a wonderful tolerance for foolish and dramatic behavior. She was (and still is) my rock after Bryce died, and without her quiet confidence in my ability to get through the hard parts of life I would be lost.

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

My first love


This is such a difficult post for me, simply because I have loved so many things in my life. Places, items, food, and most importantly people. If you were to ask what was first in my heart I would say my children, followed by my husband and dog. If you were to ask me what I fell in love with first, I would sit and stare off into space, trying in vain to come up with something. I simply don't know what I loved first, but I do know what I love the best.

Monday, February 21, 2011

Why Westies and Raspberries?

As usual when I am trying to create something, I rarely stem far from what gave me the initial spark of interest in an idea. Many of the blogs I have begun to read this past year have very simple, easy names that manage to describe the blog and writer in a few words. So what is an insecure want-to-be to do when forced to identify her internet space?

I own a Westie, and I want to breed them seriously after B and I retire. When we got engaged, I knew that the first thing I wanted to do was to buy a puppy. While I respect and admire people who rescue animals, I didn't feel that would be the best choice for our family. I wanted to know what to expect (generally) from a dog, and what that dog would expect of me. We did our research, found a breeder, and brought home the most amazing animal I have ever met.



Raspberries are my favorite food, and a way that I tend to think about life. Fun to play with and eat, they are delicious right off the bush and cooked down into sauce. They are slightly tart yet sweet, and no two are alike. B bought me two bushes which we planted at our first house. Only one made it through the winter, and we got no more than a dozen pieces of fruit off the bush, but I can't wait to plant more in our next house.

Sunday, February 20, 2011

Introduction & 15 (hopefully) interesting facts

I am a 27.5 year old married woman who is obsessed with her Westie, Duke. I am nerdy, geeky, and dorky, but not enough of any of those descriptions to be described as one by people who know me. I am a fatty who fluctuates between starving and looking decent and eating and looking like a whale. I have a son named Bryce who I miss in an indescribable way, and a daughter named Raquel due in August. I am Jewish, I have the most supportive family I've ever met, and I am from NOLA. I honestly want to retire to a house on St. Charles with a fence for my Westies, a large kitchen to puddle around in, and a gigantic living room that I plan on converting to a library. I am married to a man who forces me to be better while holding me up when I fall. My life is far from perfect, but I am doing my best to life it in the right way.

Some (probably boring) facts...

1. Purple is not my favorite color, it is a visual obsession for me. My mood changes when I see the hue. It is such a strong need of mine that my husband has allowed me to paint rooms in our houses purple.

2. I have freakishly small hands and feet for my body type. Sometimes I'm not sure how I am able to walk. I had to quit piano lessons when I realized that I could not hit to keys in major chords. I cried.

3. I read 600 - 700 words per minute. I was trained to speed read from kindergarden to fifth grade, and I have never been able to slow is down. I read Robert Jordan's "Towers of Midnight" in about seven and a half hours.

4. I taught myself how to cook from watching the Food Network. I am apparently a visual learner when it comes to crafts, which I find odd since I read so much. I wonder if it is that I absorb concepts better that way, and specific facts in other ways.

5. I own more makeup than anyone I have ever met. A significant amount more. I am friends with drag queens.

6. I become lazy when I am depressed for extended periods of time.

7. I don't think I have ever met anyone with my eye color. They are blue, gray, and yellow. Supposedly they are pretty, but I mostly find them confusing.

8. I still sleep with stuffed animals. I create a fort with them and a blanket my husband got me for my birthday seven years ago.

9. My dog is a dream come true to me. He is honestly the cutest stuffed animal, come to life with a dramatic and inquisitive personality. He also makes my husband very happy.

10. I can cry any time, any place. On stage, in the middle of a restaurant, sleeping...it doesn't matter. I am awesome at crying.

11. I can drink copious amounts of milk. My favorite is 2%, and the most I have ever had in a sitting was a gallon and a half. Not only did I not throw up, but I was barely queasy. I like to think that makes me part cat, but I'm pretty sure it makes me part cow.

12. I meow at my husband in order to communicate with him. He understands the varied nuances of my odd and slightly imbalanced sounds, and usually responds accordingly.

13. I love water, but I hate to bathe. I miss the days of my body being powerful enough in order for me to spend the day in the water frolicking.

14. I want to teach theatre history on the collegiate level one day. I doubt that will ever happen, which is depressing because it is an attainable goal.

15. I wouldn't drink cola until I was 23. I still think any cola but Diet Coke is gross, but I could live without it in an instant.

Blog Challenge

I have been awful at blogging lately, mostly because I am having trouble dealing with the fact that we are pregnant again. Today, I am 16 weeks 4 days pregnant, and I am stressed out to the max. I want to be able to sit back and enjoy this pregnancy, but I don't think I am capable of that this time. Hopefully this pregnancy will end with a healthy baby in August, and I'll feel more confident in the future.

So in order to try to focus on the positive, I am trying to do things that are not necessarily pregnancy related. I found this list on a fellow Bumpie's blog, and I decided to jump on the bandwagon. Over the next 30 days I'm going to fill this blog up with as much happiness that I can muster!

Day 1-Introduce yourself and give 15 interesting facts

Day 2-Meaning behind your blog name

Day 3-Your first love

Day 4-Your parents

Day 5-Your siblings

Day 6-A picture of something that makes you happy

Day 7-Favorite movies

Day 8-A place you've traveled to

Day 9-A picture of your friends

Day 10-Something you're afraid of

Day 11-Favorite TV shows

Day 12-What you believe

Day 13-Goals

Day 14-A picture you love

Day 15-Bible verse

Day 16-Dream house

Day 17-Something you're looking forward to

Day 18-Something you regret

Day 19-Something you miss

Day 20-Nicknames

Day 21-Picture of yourself

Day 22-Favorite city

Day 23-Favorite vacation

Day 24-Something you've learned

Day 25-Put your iPod on shuffle, first 10 songs

Day 26-Picture of your family

Day 27-Pets

Day 28-Something that stresses you out

Day 29-3 Wishes

Day 30-A picture