a (very long) list

I’ve been conspicuously absent these last couple days…things have been busy around here this last week!  So much to blog about, so little time…  So, in honor of efficiency, here’s the short version:

1.  We sold our house!  We got an offer last Saturday morning during the yard sale, spent two days going back and forth, and just signed our paperwork Friday.  Our packers and movers are scheduled for the 16 and 17th of June, and then we’ll drive away Sunday the 19th.  It’s not really enough time for me; I had wanted (and anticipated) being here through the end of June, if not into July.  Pray for me!

2.  I turned 28 yesterday.  While I realize this is not old, by any stretch, I’ve officially moved into the “late twenties” bracket.  The question “what do I want to do with my life?” rears its ugly head more and more.

3.  My friend, Emily, and I are “Irish twins” one year removed.  We celebrated Thursday by going on a three-mile trail run and then brunching (post-parking lot baby-wipe bath) at the Blueberry Cafe.  They’re famous for their pancakes and their muffins.  We split an M & M and pecan pancake and the spinach, bacon and sun-dried tomato quiche.  YUM.  Then the “muffin man” came out.  Seriously.  A giant black man in a painter’s cap wearing a shirt emblazoned with “The Muffin Man” on the back paraded around the dining room with a tray full of beautifully decorated muffins and stopped by each table to sell his wares.  I almost died because I didn’t have my camera.  Or rather, Andrew’s camera.

4.  We held Heather’s promotion to Captain at our house Friday morning.  While incredibly unconventional (no one gets promoted at their house…they do it at work or the club), it was exactly what Heather wanted: casual and intimate.  The house smelled of cinnamon rolls and everyone gathered was truly someone special to Heather.  We decorated with flags and red, white and blue ceiling hangings.  I was honored she wanted it to be at my house and so glad we did it just the way we did.

5.  Later that same day, we held our “Bon Voyage Bash” at the house for Heather and ourselves.  At the time we planned the party, it was intended it to be a joint celebration but we hadn’t yet sold our house.  Glad we did!  We’re going to be out of here before we know it!  (sniff, sniff)  The movers and packers are scheduled for 16-17 June and we drive away on the 19th!  TIME FLIES.

6.  I had to throw away a whole batch of lemon bars and start over.  Not to toot my own horn, but this does not happen to me very often.  If ever.  I don’t even think I remember anything turning out so badly that I had to throw it away, except for those cookies I made in high school with a bad stick of shortening…  Anyway, I should have listened to the voice in my head that said, “hmm, this crust doesn’t look quite right” when I took it out of the oven after the pre-bake and it was unevenly cooked and cracked all over.  But no, I proceeded with the lemon curd-like topping.  Again, when I heard and saw it bubble all over the place, I should have known I was in for a big disappointment.  The next morning, after allowing them to cool overnight, I realized what had happened.  Because of all the cracks, the topping leaked UNDER the shortbread crust and cooked there, so the next morning I basically had an upside-down lemon bar mess.  I decided I needed to master this. Gosh darn it, we were going to have lemon bars at our party!  I attempted the same recipe again, this time paying special attention to crust preparation.  Unfortunately, after checking on it during the pre-bake, it had already started to crack!  Ihad  thought we were home free!   Thankfully, Heather is a whiz and helped me push all the cracks back together and quickly pour the topping.  I ended up with awesome tasting (and looking), if not a little underbaked, lemon bars for the party.

7.  Andrew and I are in Carmel right now visiting with his grandparents and his immediate family, who came down for the long weekend.  I forgot my running shoes.  There is a great paved walking trail here on which I love to run, and I need to keep exercising!  I’m taking these couple days off of calorie counting since it’s my birthday and it would be impossible, really, so I at least need to do SOMETHING to mitigate the extra calories in cake and ice cream and who knows what else I’m taking in…  So, I bought new shoes.  Yup.  A bunch of us piled in the car and headed to the local running store.  I’ve been wearing ASICS Foundations for the last four or five years (not the same pair, just the same style), so I’d actually been thinking of getting re-fit and trying whatever else is out there that would fit my feet and pronation.  After watching myself run in a neutral shoe first, then again in each of five mild-stability shoes, I decided on the Saucony Pro Grid Hurricanes.  Very happy with them.  NOT with the price tag.

8.  I.  AM.  SO.  TIRED.  Heather and I have been staying up so late and getting up so early.  I don’t require a lot of sleep on any given night, but after five days (or weeks!) of this, I get grumpy.  Sorry Heather 😦

9.  Andrew helped out and dropped Hadrian off at what we call “puppy camp” Friday morning before Heather’s promotion.  I wrote him a list of directions, phone numbers and everything he needed to bring (food, bowls, leash, bed).  We crossed paths on the road as I was returning from the gym at 7:15 and he was driving out.  When I arrived home, I noticed he’d forgotten the food and the bowls.  Later that afternoon while we were in the car together, he popped the trunk (of his rental Civic), and realized there was a dog bed in there.  Good grief!  I’m amazed he made it with the dog himself! 

10.   The end.  More to come, and some photos from our party, next week when things die down just a bit.