Pre-DC

I was waiting to write this entry so until I finished editing all the photos from before we left for DC, that way I could devote the entire next entry just to that trip.

In the last entry, most of the photos were from the winter, and so I think you'll enjoy this one full of much prettier, Spring images!



Still a lot of cooking going on, though not too many new recipes have been attempted. I did make a Quinoa taco salad that was quite good and I wanted to repeat when mom and dad were in town, but sadly, just didn't have time. The above photo is of the sourdough bread I made for Easter this year, though, and it came out incredibly good - the prettiest loaf I've made yet, for sure.



When mom and dad were here, we went down into Amish Country, mostly so that I could look at furniture. I recently (I think I mentioned already?) found an amazing deal on an HDTV, and bought one for the living room, and it just doesn't look right on our current entertainment center, and with the odd shape of my living room, and the "window" to the stairs, it's hard to find anything in Big Box stores that meet my needs, so went in search of a store that could build what I want.



Sadly, the store that we always used to go to (and all my bedroom furniture is from) closed a couple years ago, but another store opened in its place, so we decided to check it out. I found pretty much exactly what I was looking for, and you can see it here. Don't judge it too much by that photo, though, because even I hate that entertainment center. First of all, picture in maple instead of oak (so no heavy grain), and in a darker coffee stain. Then, imagine an L-shape - so no hutch over the center piece, and no right piece at all. Other things I would change (but are harder to notice in the photo), is the knobs would be all wooden, and the shelves on the left tower wouldn't be at an angle (I realize you probably can't tell they're at an angle in the photo, but ... they are). I haven't ordered it yet, because I always freak out about spending money like that, but the timing really does work out well if I decide to do it - we got a bonus from work in March, plus I got a lot of money back from my taxes since I put in an energy efficient furnace last year, and then April was a Three Paycheck Month for me. So, I'm still considering it.



Work is getting busier and busier, and I'm glad that I was able to manage to get the time off to go to DC, because it's looking like the rest of my year is going to be so packed with stuff to do that taking a vacation might be more trouble than it's worth because I'd just be that much more stressed when I got back. Luckily, I like all the people I'm working with on this project... so far, at least. We have to hire another person to be on my project team, and he or she will be working directly with me on a daily basis, so I'm hoping they don't turn out to be annoying. Luckily, I play a key role in the interview process, so that should help.



I started doing the Couch to 5K running plan earlier this year (which I abbreviated C25K in the above photo). The idea is take someone from being a couch potato to running in a 5K in just 2 months. I'm halfway through the program and I'm feeling great. Admittedly, I wasn't actually a couch potato when I started, as I already walked on my treadmill at least 3 times a week, an went on photowalks each week, too. But, still - by week 4 I was really starting to feel the work-outs! I still haven't decided if I'll actually run a 5K when I'm done, but if I really feel up for it, I probably will.



They've started the construction on Frank Blvd - the road right near my house that they've forced all the traffic on to since closing off the streets in my neighborhood. Because of that, though, in order to help with traffic flow, they've opened my street back up again. It's been a few years since there's been traffic on that road and I forgot how loud it can sometimes get! I'm getting used to it again, though, and don't mind that much (though, I guess I did get a bit spoiled with not having to ever wait for cars to go by when backing out of my driveway, so now it seems like such a pain!). I haven't heard officially if they're going to close off the street once the construction is done on Frank, but I would assume they are, because I don't think they'd bother pouring all this money into the project if they didn't intend on using it as the main road again. But who knows. Akron does some pretty crazy/stupid stuff sometimes.



We've been back from DC for a week now, and in a few more weeks (for Memorial Day weekend), we're going to Grandpa's house. I'm really excited for John to go. It's hard to believe we've been together for just about 4 years and he's never been out there. I'm also looking forward to doing a photowalk at the falls!







This is one of my two cool new "toys" - my HTC Droid Eris phone. It's an android phone, which is Google's version of the iPhone - lots of apps I can download, and I get all my email on phone, too. It's fantastic! It was great to have in DC, too, we found it really helpful. My other new toy is a Barnes & Noble nook - which is like a Kindle - which is an eReader. So now I can read books electronically instead of having to read physical books. eReaders are pretty cool because they use something called electroic ink (or eInk) instead of your typical electronic device screen. They're more like really fancy etch-a-sketchs - so instead of a backlit screen that you can read in the dark, it's much more similar to real paper - in fact, I can't read my nook in the dark at all, I need to have lights on to read. This means it's really easy on your eyes. The best feature, though, is not having to actually hold a book, which means it's a lot easier to read while lying down, and read while doing other things, like tie your shoes :)

I'll take some photos of the nook eventually, so I'm sure they'll get posted in an entry coming up at some point :)

The next (and last) two photos are of a tree in my side yard - it's the one you can see out the small windows on either side of the fireplace. I love this tree.