wishful thinking

i wish...

1. i could teleport myself to rumford, RI tomorrow. i haven't driven the route myself yet & i'm not looking forward to all five hours of it.
2. i could be a fly on the wall of the apache reservation where J. is working this week. i'm so curious about what they're all doing, what it looks like, etc. etc.
3. i could have all my favorite friends together in one place. i miss college and japan a lot lately.
4. an elementary teaching job would just land in my lap.
5. my spanish and japanese wouldn't keep getting mixed up in my mind
6. math class could be held outside tonight. it's gorgeous & i'm stuck in a classroom for 3 hours. dang!
7. i had nieces and nephews. kids/babies are just so fun & i don't have any easily accessible at the moment.

2nd annual toyama friends reunion

...in washington, d.c.!! highlights include:
mmmmmm sakura....
we walked. and walked. and walked some more.


the trees were awesome.
my friends posed for cutie pics near the new FDR memorial
it was the kite festival that day, too!
our friend cheryl sent oishiiiii cupcakes from an NYC bakery
we sat under the sakura and caught up on each other's lives

i've become that girl

i'm pretty sure i used to promise myself i would never become that girl.

you know, the one who always gushes about boys. or about her boyfriend/fiance/husband. and i'm pretty sure i spent the last 10 years rolling my eyes as i heard women talk about how awesome their man was, or how "in love" they were...

ok, well i've officially become one of them. i'm even hesitant to admit it to the blogging world, lest i receive lots of eye rolls/annoyed sighs. [which i guess don't really matter since i can't see them...]

if you aren't in the mood to gag, just stop reading right now. if not, please indulge me for just a few short sentences. i gotta brag a little bit.

1. on monday J. called me after work to ask about my day. i told him about spending 2 hours working on a general teaching application. he listened and then said "good job. i'm proud of you, babe"

2. during the above-mentioned conversation, J. walked into WaWa and had to hang up quickly because he was in line. i said bye and went along with my business. 4 minutes later he called again to apologize for hanging up in such a rush. he then proceeded to say a full goodbye and ended with "take care. i love you, babe"
and one more heart-warming tidbit: my boyfriend is about to spend 8 full days with 10 high-school seniors. i mean, who in their right mind would agree to that?! even though i'm obviously gonna miss him, i'm so dang proud*

[on a related note, my cow-worker said the following to me today: "in russian, we say that distance is to love as wind is to fire... it makes it bigger" cute.]

cupcakes in a jar?!

check this out: http://mycakies.blogspot.com/2010/03/diy-cupcake-in-jar.html

they look awesome!! i'm totally making them. someday.

living for the weekend

phew, my life is so nuts right now. i get home at 10:30 on monday/wednesday & 9:30 on tuesday/thursday. i know it's only a temporary thing b/c i'm taking a 7 week intensive algebra course. and i know it's for a greater good [elem. certification so i can get a job in the fall]. but still. it's so exhausting. i always jump up as soon as my alarm goes off-- this morning i moaned and immediately wondered if there was a way to sleep 10 minutes longer. that's serious exhaustion.

and did i mention this math class is three hours long. each night. yeah, that's right. three hours long. holy cow.

in other news, i get to see these ladies [minus ann-chan, plus a few others] on saturday. i'm super excited for our washington, DC. j-friends reunion.i'm basically counting down the hours till i can hang with j. on friday, then leave for DC on saturday morning.

weekend fun

no photos from the weekend, but it was a great one just the same.

friday was another delightful visit to J's school. they were doing a fundraiser and all the kids started clapping when we walked in together. holy cow, how embarassing! i mean, i loved it, but my face was totally red.

it's been AWESOME weather here in the philly suburbs lately!!! some days it was at least 70 degrees. to celebrate, my girlfriends & i went outlet shopping on saturday morning and then we had a big cookout here on saturday evening.

yesterday J. & i took a walk, talked, ate tomato soup/grilled cheese outside, read, and hung out with his roommates. sundays are so fabulous~

great minds think alike

when i told my bff and bf the sad news that lauren couldn't come this weekend, they had almost identical responses...

bff: "well you can hang out with little old me"
bf: "i'm sorry kell. but you'll just have to spend more time with me"

haha. i love them.

[even if they DO go crazy w/ my camera when i leave them alone!!]

introducing...

...my cousin alex!

i recently discovered her fashion blog, which is super cute and fun. basically, just like alex herself. she has an awesome layout, cool photos, and short/sweet blurbs about things she finds inspiring.

welcome to the blogging world, cuz. and everyone else, check her out.

wild wednesday

last saturday i spent some time with these darlings.



i'm currently drinking my second mug of lemon tea w/ honey. woke up with a killer sore throat this a.m. so i'm trying to keep it from getting worse*

today my boss asked me to call her. i did. she offered me my [pregnant] supervisor's position for next fall. i got off the phone and decided that very second was the right time to tell iryna i'm leaving next fall to teach elementary school. i told her. she wasn't surprised. she was sad, but she took it well. NOW all that's left to do is tell my boss that i don't want my supervisor's position because i'm leaving the organization. oh yeah, and get a new job, too...


[p.s. hope nobody is truly worried: j. and i are NOT ever getting a ferret!]

best friend & tonight's dinner

i LOVE my best friend. i love living with her, cooking with her, adventuring with her, sleeping over with her, & laughing with her. i love the way she listens, the way she cracks up at my jokes, the way she cares from her heart.

since she got a new job [!!!] we've had more time to hang out & that makes me so so so so excited.

here we are, pausing before a weekend of fun:and here are the sweet potato quesadillas i told y'all about [pre-spinach & the top tortilla]. we're making them again tonight! YUM:

quotes from life lately

i think one time i blogged about how i used to wish my life was like a movie. and how now i realize that my life is even better, b/c it's real life.

but sometimes my life IS like a movie... filled with hilarious/sweet/adorable quotes from my darling bf.

take these two examples:

1. last week J. said "you want a dog. and i want a cat. so let's compromise & get a ferret" <3
2. yesterday J. said "do you like grilled cheese/tomato soup? i think we should make it a sunday afternoon lunch tradition"

what a fabulous idea!

i've now blogged THREE times today. zoiks. maybe i should get a life...

anyway, the site i'm about to share should stop all your judgements about me being a compulsive blogger right in their tracks. look at this wicked rad idea i found in my random blog meandering just now...

this awesome gal created a scavenger hunt scrapbook for her boyfriend's birthday! i'm totally going to do this someday. maybe next year on march 3rd...?

ice cream cake

apparently J. really likes ice cream cake. even though i'm not a huge fan, i agreed to make one for his b-day shindig last weekend. i attempted to get a recipe but my attempt fell through, so i got a different recipe. it turned out to be wicked easy & delicious. here's the gist:

1. take about 5 Oreos out of the package. take off the tops of those 5 and set 'em aside. at the same time, take two cartons of ice cream out of the freezer [i used cookies & cream, but next time i'll use coffee or java chip!]
2. crush the entire rest of the package of Oreos in a giant plastic bag. i used my hands & a rolling pin.
3. once the pieces are relatively fine crumbs [but not powdery!], add about 4 tablespoons of melted butter and mix it all together.
4. with your fingers, spread the mixture out on the bottom of a 9x13 pan.
5. spread softened ice cream across the oreo mixture [i used a spatula & my fingers]. don't let the ice cream get mushy, just softened around the edges of the containers. cover the Oreo mixture completely but don't worry about making it all even.
6. mash those 5 Oreo tops into tiny pieces [basically like powder] and sprinkle them onto the top of the cake.
7. put cake in freezer until ready to serve. we actually just put it outside in the snow for a couple hours, but this won't work in every season/climate.
8. top with candles, sing the song, and celebrate! YUM~

don't underestimate the power of a simple phrase

i've been thinking recently that there are a few under-used phrases which have the potential for great impact.

you're welcome.

i forgive you.

i'm proud of you.

i told J. the other night that it makes me sad to say "thank you" to someone and have them respond "ok". it makes me feel like they don't realize my gratitude is genuine. how sad! when i say thanks, i totally mean it. and i would like to hear that i'm welcome, not that it's ok. did you know that in japanese, there's not really even a response that means "you're welcome"?! they always say "ie, ie" [no, no]...

it's easy to say "no problem" or "it's no big deal" when someone apologizes. saying we forgive sounds so serious and formal. and yeah, i suppose it is. but if i receive a genuine apology, i should give a genuine response. and i should genuinely forgive.

i want to tell people that i'm proud of them. if the thought enters my mind, i don't want to hesitate to say it aloud. i always love to hear if someone is proud of me so i should tell others when i'm proud*

2 big birthdays

mom & dad had their b-day on sunday. i'm used to not seeing them on their special day, but it made me sad to be apart this year. maybe cuz i'm growing up & i don't get to see them that often. i dunno. but regardless, it was their birthday and i love them so very much.

today is my bf's actual bday. we're going out for pizza to celebrate[!!!]. i finally get to give him his presents & i'm super excited. they've been ready for at least 3 weeks and the wait has been killing me...

monday @ home

i should be lesson planning for GED. but i'm not.

i went to bodyflow @ the Y this morning & it was awesome. then i took a hot shower & it was awesome. after that i made a delicious salad for lunch & guess what... it was awesome.

my hair is currently in 3 funny little buns around my head. i hope if i blow dry them they will turn out nice waves. i'm not holding my breath, but it would be nice.

for the last 2 hours i've been looking at millions of blogs online. the best of today is this one. SO darling!

when i went to NYC last year, i bought this book as a souvenir. i'm seriously in love with it and read it every couple months:
[edit: the hair experiment turned out to be a flop. darn!]

*sorpresa*

happy surprise birthday, boyfriend!

j's roommate and i threw him a wicked surprise party on saturday night. he had absolutely no clue! i asked him to go see the movie "crazy heart" [which i only kind of wanted to see, but the timing of it was perfect...] and stopped by the grocery store to get dessert [aka: TO STALL] afterwards.

we walked in the door and it was totally dark. everyone yelled SURPRISE and j. was wicked confused! he told me later he thought he had forgotten something for me/an anniversary or something. haha. THEN he realized his b-day is on wednesday so it must be for him.

there was a really good crowd. everyone talked and got along. i made delicious ice cream cake. the food was amazing!
what a success*