dad's day 2011

dear dad,

thanks for (genetically, i'm sure) sharing your love of chocolate chips with me. thanks for dancing to beach boys with me at my wedding. thanks for walking me down the aisle and handing me over to joel. thanks for calling him your "favorite son-in-law" because even though he's your ONLY s-i-l, he still likes it. thanks for teaching me to play basketball and throw a football (even though i still can't do either...).

thanks for being reliable, trustworthy, and smart. thanks for helping me think things through. thanks for hugging me, even when i think i don't need/want to be hugged.
thank you for teaching me to work hard. thank you for having ideas for adventures and vacations. thanks for helping me learn to ride a bike & taking me on lots of rides. thanks for including us in your summer plans.

a new kind of hero

anyone who regularly reads this blog knows my oven has been broken for quite a while.

well, when the guy came to check it out, he ordered 4 parts from sears. this week, one part arrived monday. another on tuesday. then another on wednesday. the repair guy came back yesterday, ready to fix everything (oven AND the one burner that didn't work...) upon arrival, he sees only 3 out of 4 parts were delivered and announces he can't fix it & will have to re-order the part and come back in 2 weeks, after our vacation. i mumble something like, "you've gotta be kidding me," walk upstairs and proceed to pout about how crappy it is that i still can't use my oven. and we're having company over. and i'm tired of grilling.

20 minutes later the repair guy leaves and i decide it's safe to come downstairs because he won't be able to see my irritation written all over my face. i sit down across from j. (still pouting/totally stressed about cooking for company).

he says, "well, your oven is fixed."

"wait, what? how?" .....

"i sweet talked him a little. i said my wife really needs the oven and asked if he could just fix the oven today since the missing part was for the burner. so he did."

"OH MY GOSH babe, thank you!!!! thank you for talking to him. thank you for knowing it was so important to me."

"thank Scott. he's a nice guy"

[wow, i do not deserve such love. i do not deserve a husband who kindly advocates for me. i do not deserve a repair man who goes above and beyond the call of duty. they were serving me while i was upstairs fuming like a big huge brat. tears.in.my.eyes.right.now. wow]

summer vacation part 1

highs of my first week of vacation (okay, only 2.5 days so far...):

running in the cool of the morning.
riding my bike 6 miles at fairmount yesterday (j. ran)
eating little meals in the morning since that's when i'm the most hungry.
grilling.
watching j's softball game while not grading papers!
finding amazing purple fabric at joanns yesterday. it was originally $23 a yard. i got it for $3!!
blog stalking.
planning what i'll pack for the beach/trip to MI (meliss, if you're reading, i know you hate this one!)
getting my sewing machine to work perfectly. now if only i could figure out what i did right...
smoothies.
reading. (i just finished this book & now i'm going to the library to get the next one!)

life comes full circle

as a teenager, the only thing i felt that i lacked during my annual kelly family beach trips was a boyfriend. i remember being awe-struck that i could be giddily happy surrounded by every member of my family. sitting by the atlantic ocean. smelling the salt and feeling the wind... yet discontent because my heart was seriously longing for another kind of love. i even remember feeling a little bit lonely (i know, shocking when sharing a house with 17 other people!)

now, one week away from yet another beach week, i am beyond grateful that all my worlds are combining: my amazing, darling, handsome, hilarious husband is driving with me to Duck, NC. once there, we'll spend 5 days playing in the sand, riding waves, eating yummy meals, and spending time with our ever-expanding family.

a shopping experiment

this summer i'm conducting an experiment: does the comfortable, pleasant experience of grocery shopping at genuardi's counter-balance the higher cost?

i've been shopping at what i like to call the "ghetto giant." it's not in the nicest plaza. the meat/dairy section reeks (seriously, i'm not exaggerating here!). i saw a mouse running through the store once. they never have more than 2 lines open and it takes forever to check out.

the following are the reasons i'm trying genuardi's: it's close & if i shop there after work, i can avoid being on 611. the staff is friendly and helpful. it doesn't smell bad. i have had no experience with rodents while on their facility.

today my bill was extremely high. granted, i bought stuff to make snacks (like hummus and guac), stocked up on beef/chicken AND got stuff for melissa's birthday dinner on thursday. so i expected to spend a little more. it seemed like the staples were comparably priced. we'll have to see if next week it's as expensive...

mmmmmmm etsy!

good grief. my first day of vacation and i'm already tempted to spend hundreds of dollars on cute stuff. fortunately for me, etsy has a place where you can click when something you see is your "favorite"... and then it gets saved under your account. so i can find those things easily next time i win the lottery. okay, right.

1. is it legit to buy this just to decorate my guest bedroom? even though there's no baby crib to hang it over?

2. this seller is temporarily on vacation, but see the gorgeous doily bowl on the homepage? i adore it.

3. would you like your child to have a wooden teether shaped like your home state? or how about some organic wooden alphabet blocks? you would?! well then... check out these.
4. i could wear these now, just because they look good, even though i don't have anyone to chew on 'em. my favorite is the yellow&gray.

schooooooooooool's out for the summer!

summer wish list:

1. go to the beach (... leaving next monday!)
2. eat gelato in center city
3. take walks at dusk while holding hands
4. have fires in our mini pit out back
5. set up the hammock i bought in thailand over 3 years ago
6. paint the kitchen & upstairs bathroom
7. play with lots of kids (semi- planned already)
8. grill.a.lot (today we made the pizza & it was amazing!)
9. spend less time on blogs & more time talking to actual humans
10. find new neighborhoods in philly & eat delicious food