Rings, Pflags, Etc

Rings!
For all the delta readers, so old news. But for others, the big news of the week was Jane and Chris got engaged! Woohoo! Since Jane can tell her own story, I'll just encourage you to read it on her blog.

They are thinking a 2012 wedding, maybe spring when its still cool. I think this is great. We've had two (very different) Boston summer weddings so spring would add a nice change to the Boston wedding scene.

Pflags
Pronounced "flags" but like everything else in P-ville, it is an F sound that begins with a P, silly Pflugervillians. It is relevant though because it is our newspaper and I am going to start writing for it this month. Because I miss writing so much and because I've been intrigued by the idea of newspaper writing for a couple years now, I've chatted with the editor and will be doing a few freelance articles every month or so. I also think this is good timiing because as sad as it is, newspapers may not be around in their printed form for that much longer. If I want my writing to be printed on newsprint, I've got to get on it. You know in like 40 years, I'll be showing those clips to my grandkids and they are going to think they are as antiquated as I think microfilm is. I'm quite excited. :)

You should subscribe to the Pflag or at least, read it online. I'll update you as soon as my first article is out.

Etc
Ross' training weeks at GFD continue. Today was swift water training which was both a blessing and curse. On the one hand, it was a blessing that he spent a triple digit heat day in the lake. On the other, the man is pooped!

driving to camp

Speaking of pooped, Lexi is totally. We so infrequently are both at work all week that we started feeling bad for her. We remedied her boredom today by taking her to doggy day camp. Holy cow, she is WORN OUT! I'm glad she got the exercise and socialization though. Its always good for her. (Yes I am one of those puppy mommys who talks about their dog needing socialization. But whatever, my dog knows how to play nice.)

Saturday morning we're going to a breakfast fundraiser for one of the guys at the department. His daughter needs a surgery and our breakfast will help fund it. And gosh, do I love breakfast.

Also on Saturday, Brittany, Nichole and I are going to a wine tasting which I am super excited about. Its been years since I've been to one (ok well I've only really been to one...). I need to practice before my work wine tasting event on Thursday. So really, its all in the name of Girl Scouting.

Summer Reading List

This summer, especially the past month or so, I've been inhaling books. I've been in the middle of one with another on deck all summer. And for being such a loyal blog reader, you get the priceless gift of reviews...or I just want to practice reviewing things so maybe one day I'll get paid for it. Either way, here are my reviews of my summer reading list.

The Associate, by John Grisham: If you like Grisham or Law & Order, you'll like this book. A brand-new associate out of Yale Law is blackmailed into spying on his employer. Props to Grisham for writing a book based above the Mason-Dixon line. Bottom Line: good read.

From fictionwritersreview.com

The Twentieth Wife, by Indu Sundaresan: Nearly left on the side of the road as a baby by her poor immigrant parents, Mehrunnisa captures the eye of India's favorite son and sets her own sights on becoming empress. Based on a true story, it seemed to me that the author did a great job maintaining the historical integrity. Bottom Line: must read.

The Ivy Chronicles, by Karen Quinn: A quick read and fluffy girl-book. Newly divorced and fired Ivy discovers a career in helping NYC's rich get their precious little children into elite kindergartens. The antics are absurd but given what I've seen parents do in little league/gymnastics/Girl Scouts...I doubt that they are far off the mark. Bottom Line: bubble bath reading.

From suzannecollinsbooks.com

The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins: Set somewhere in the far future, 12 districts are ruled by the oppressive Capitol. To reiterate its power, the Capitol requires every district to send 2 child tributes to the annual Hunger Games where the tributes will fight to the death. The winner's district will eat heartily for the next year; the other 11 districts will not. A young adult book, it is less about the sci-fi element of it and more about the head-games of fighting to the death. I read this book in less than two days and was disappointed when it finished because I wanted to keep reading. (Thank you Nichole for the recommendation.) Bottom Line: buy. it. now. must read.

Diary of a Manhattan Call Girl, by Tracy Quan: Another fluffy girl-book, but one I can't say I recommend. It was OK for the most part but the last 10 pages take the main character on a 180 that really isn't explained. Bottom Line: don't.

In the Woods, by Tana French: Set in contemporary Ireland, Adam Robert Ryan is a detective assigned a murder case in his hometown...in the same woods where 20 years earlier, his 2 best friends disappeared and he was found scraped and bloody hugging a tree. The present murder story is great but the cold-case doesn't intertwine as well as it could making for a disappointing finale. Bottom Line: eh, indifference. (or, re-write the ending yourself)

Catching Fire, by Suzanne Collins: The sequel to The Hunger Games, it picks up practically at the same train station the other leaves off at. With a more complicated plot and a little less character development, it satisfies the "must read more" hunger from the end of the first book. As the second of a planned trilogy, it is definitely setting the scene for the final book, Mockingjay due out August 24. Bottom Line: read before August 24!

Now I must begin The Constant Princess so I can report back to you on that. How I love summer reading :)

It only feeds the fire

If you read this then I'm going to go out on a limb and say you know me. And you know I am mildly obsessed, in fact towing the line if bat-shit crazy, about traveling. Ross and I have made a pact to take two vacations a year (at least!) until we have kids. I kid you not, we get home from one and I'm planning the next. I've already started checking out hotels in South Carolina for our April trip!

Friday he told me something that only feeds the fire. On October 1, GFD does their vacation draft/lottery thing. They start with the most senior staffer and go down the list requesting days. After one round through, they start back at the top. There are 83 firefighters and Ross will be roughly number 75 in order to pick his days (the benefit of being the top of his recruitment class).

Attitash, NH ski destination

You know what this means right? Yup, by October 1 we have to figure out what weeks we want for vacation through September 30, 2011.

Obviously I'm on this like white on rice. Here's the rough draft of our vacation hopes and dreams

• November 19-22: Tennessee to visit Gramma, Spike and Kathy
• December 28-January 2: New Hampshire to ski and visit Woodacres with Ryan and Susannah (and for me, probably see Jane, Chris, Amanda, Joe and Taygan)
• April 15-17: Lake Travis for Ross' 30th Birthday Spectacular



Folly Beach, SC

• April 29-May 3: South Carolina for Ben-Anna's wedding and to frolic on Folly Beach...probably also with Ryan and Susannah
• September 2011 sometime: Port Aransas

I think those should require 8-9 vacation days and he has 14. His plan is to request 10 days off and save four days for "oh crap" or to roll-over to the next fiscal year...which is good because you know where 2012 takes us: GREECE!

(See compulsive! Its August 2010 and I can probably tell you my vacation destinations through summer 2012. Ah but it makes my life so fun to know there are so many fantastic destinations in your future.)

Chatting Up Lexi

Not so many blog posts ago, I confessed that I have a somewhat compulsive need to write. I never realized it til I wasn't doing it in mass quantities every day. I suppose that isn't surprising given that for roughly the past...oh 20 years, writing has been pretty prevalent in my life. Sure I still write emails and whatnot, but not press releases or essays or scripts or PSAs. While an email needs to be grammatically correct and spot on with tone, it doesn't have the challenges of professional or academic writing. And I'm a freak who craves that.

Today I attended a luncheon hosted by the Association of Fundraising Professionals focused on fundraising via social media. I hate to admit this, but instead of getting me all jazzed about fundraising, it got me all jazzed about marketing. It was all I could do not to jump out of my chair and get into a very excited conversation with speaker David Neff.

Anyways, long story short, it meant today I felt that compulsive need to write something. But really nothing terribly exciting is going on for us right now and while I love to write, I also firmly believe in actually writing something as opposed to nothing. And wouldn't you know it, the web is full of writing prompts for weirdos like me. One lengthy explanation later, I shall finally write about the title of this post, using the writing prompt I found online.

Prompt: What are some of the questions you would like to ask your pet?

• Why do you insist on sleeping on top of me each night?
• How do you get Ross' boxers on your head when we're gone during the day?
• Why does water freak you out so much?
• You really like our house better than Jack & Nancy's house, right? RIGHT?!
• Where did your appetite go? You have organic dog food for heaven's sake!
• Have you figured out where we go every day? Actually, do you even care?
• Are you a true believer that we will continue to come home to you yet? (In the early days you did not seem to believe this. I can't decide if you buy it now or if you've just stopped caring.)
• Do paper products taste good?

I think she might answer like this...

• Because, Mom, you are soft and comfy to sleep on.
• I'll never tell.
• ...Ok I really have no idea why water scares her so much.
• I totally love Mom & Dad's house best.
• I'm trying to force you into giving me a people-food only diet. I seem to be failing.
• Dunno where you go, don't care. It just better not be to see another puppy. You better not be cheating on me.
• Yup; I buy it.
• Like chicken.

GFD, Here He Comes!

Ross tried to tell me I was being a little ridiculous but you know what, I don't care. So there. Today is his first day at GFD and by gosh, I was determined to document it. Secretly, I know he loved me stalking him with the camera this morning. I know it.

First having breakfast with Lexi. And yes, you are seeing that correctly. Lexi is eating cereal off the spoon. Uh huh.

Then into the jeep and off to his first day of work. Hurray! I can't wait for him to come home tonight and tell me all about it. Actually he gets to tell me and his whole family as we have a Gramma going away party tonight. Starting tomorrow she's back in Tennessee with Spike and Kathy.

It's a big Monday!

Side Note, 1:22 p.m.
I've always thought being a housewife would be terribly boring and that I have too much energy to do it. Y'all, I so take it back. I am doing an AWESOME job at being a housewife today. Like killer. Morning work out, dr.'s appointment completed 8 months after recommendation, wedding present purchased, banking issue resolved, cute clothes borrowed, home decorating in process, laundry running. See what I mean!? KILLER. Who knows, maybe firefighting will be so lucrative I can be a housewife every day. (much to the chagrin of my parents who put me through college and my hubby who is helping me pay off the remainder of my loans...maybe out of consideration to them I shouldn't be a housewife. But dang it, I'm good at it!)

Side Note's Side Note, 6:23 p.m.
OK I would be a terrible housewife. At about 5 p.m. I started to go crazy. I had ONE. DAY. of housewifery and managed to go nuts by the end of it. Newest resolution: stay employed.

Party in Leander Y'all

I've found one of the casualties of getting older to be proximity. Our friends are starting to have (really cute) kids and need room to stretch out. The first of these here in Texas was really Nick & Kristi who had baby Blake in February, giving them 1.5 kids (Nick has a kindergartner who is with them on weekends). They stretched all the way out to Leander which if you aren't from Austin is fair to say is far. Its a great move for them, especially since Kristi teaches in a Leander elementary school. But it does lend itself to a somewhat comical feeling of making a great adventure when we go to their house as we did last night.

As I talk to our friends, I realize that Nick & Kristi aren't going to be the only ones in the boonies for very long. Jon & Erin are looking at a house literally 1 minute away from them, also in Leander. I'd be amiss if I didn't sing it - another one bites the dust.

But I shouldn't be so shocked/sad for them. Ross announced a couple weeks ago that when President Obama let's us move (we must be in this house for 3 years to keep our tax credit), he wants to move to Georgetown. If he gets his way, they'll be singing another one bites the dust at me.

I'm not totally sold on this Georgetown thing, mainly because its REALLY far from downtown and could limit my career opps one day. But I agree with Ross on the idyllic nature of raising our kids in the same community he's firefighting. I'm all about close ties to home. Thus I've told my husband he has two years to prove two things to me: 1) we can get a kick ass house in the best neighborhood in town for under $250k and 2) that our kids can get a good education either because the public schools are on the up and up or there are affordable private schools.

And then we can say "Party in Georgetown Y'all" while another one bites the dust plays in the background. ;)