All posts in category 10 on Tuesday

10 on Wednesday!

1. Meet my very cute new eight ounce travel mug! Do you know how hard it is to find an eight ounce travel mug that isn’t designed for a child? Too hard. I realize that I’m American and supposed to want everything to be BIGGER…but I don’t. These days I’m drinking a Starbucks short, and that means that I spent hours scouring the interweb to find an eight ounce travel mug that I would love. Lucky me, my awesome sister plucked this one off my wish list and gave to me as part of my belated birthday gift! Yay sister!

2. My awesome sister also gave me these cute measuring cups for my birthday. They’re so cute that haven’t put them away in the measuring cup and soup drawer, despite not having counter space for them to live on.

3. At work we save a lot of files with dates in the file name…we go through a lot of versions and update the data frequently, so it’s just easier to save the latest version with the most recent date and ensure that folks are looking at what is really the latest version. This week I have saved no fewer than 15 files with the date listed as 2010_01_xx instead of 2011. I also save all my photos with the date they were taken in the file name, and as I was editing today’s photo I realized that I had done the same thing with the photo I posted yesterday. I wonder how much longer it will take my brain to catch up to the new year.

4. Last night Pete and I did laundry after work. This is not normal for us, we usually do laundry on a Saturday or Sunday morning…but someone would not have had clean underwear to wear to work today if laundry didn’t get done, so off to the laundromat we went. It was awesome last night to put on clean, still warm from the dryer pajamas and climb into the bed made with clean, still warm sheets (and duvet cover)!

5. When I come across something in Google Reader that I don’t have time to read or watch, I star it to save for later. This happens pretty often with videos that people post or link, because if I read the post at work I usually can’t watch the video just then. I’ve been making an effort to go back through all my starred posts and catch up on these videos. Which brought me to this awesome music video for Americana by Hollerado. I’ve never heard of them before, but I like the song and think the video is totally fun. Also – shot in one take!

6. Pete is going down to New York this weekend to see an old friend (we miss you Mike! Move back to the East Coast already!), and I’m staying home alone so I can do some things I had hoped to get to over my vacation and didn’t. Because I’m not often home without Pete, when things like this happen I get excited and start thinking about all the things I will do while he is gone. The movies I’ll watch! And the food I’ll cook/eat! And the adventures I’ll go on! And then, without fail, I realize that he’s only going to be gone for a day and a half, and I realize that I won’t get half of it done.

7. This weekend I will, at the very least, watch The Girl Who Played With Fire and get meat pies from K&O for lunch. Oh, and I will pack away the few Christmas decorations I got out this year.

8. For the record, I got much further with today’s sudoku puzzle than I did with yesterday’s. I haven’t given up yet. I saved it thinking that perhaps tomorrow I’ll look at it, something will click, and I will finish it. I will not let Will Shortz defeat me!

9. We are supposed to get snow here on Friday and Saturday, and I’m excited for it. When you don’t own a car and don’t have to drive, snow storms are awesome! I was a little bit bummed to have missed the blizzard after Christmas (we barely got a dusting in Virginia), so hopefully there are still a few mid-sized winter storms to come. I will happily snuggle up with a kitty, a blanket, a mug of tea, and a good book Friday night and watch it snow!

10. Now that I’ve said that out loud, I’m sure we’ll get almost no snow at all, and there will be nothing for me to watch Friday night. Unless, of course, I borrow a page from my niece and nephew…tomorrow night don’t be surprised if I’m wearing my pajamas backwards and flushing ice cubes down the toilet.

2 Comments

by Sarah G on January 6, 2011 • Permalink

Posted in 10 on Tuesday, food, work

Posted by Sarah G on January 6, 2011

https://mymonotonouslife.com/2011/01/06/10-on-wednesday-2/

10 on Tuesday

1. I had my annual physical recently. I love my doctor, I always come away from seeing her very comfortable with everything we’ve talked about. This year she said to me “You weigh a bit more than you have the past few years. Are you worried about that?” and the look on her face…well, it was clear that she was hoping I was at least a little worried about it! And so I joined the gym at work. Running on a treadmill is insanely boring when the TVs at the gym are to ESPN and MSNBC. Also, it’s definitely a routine/schedule adjustment that I’m still trying to figure out.

2. We recently discovered two new Zipcars near our house – about half the distance as the old ones. Which weren’t even that far. It’s awesome, I love them. To add to the Zipcar love, today I got an email from them saying that I had won a $25 driving credit for filling out a survey a while back. Yay Zipcar!

3. The weekend before last, we stopped by MassArt to check out their holiday market and ended up buying some artwork from friends of ours. Someday I will own one a painting by Karl Stevens, but in the meantime we have a drawing of his to hang on our wall. I was extra happy to buy it because Karl admitted that it’s one of his favorites. ;) We happened to have bought an autographed copy of his most recent book from him the night before, and have one of his comics from over the summer hanging on our fridge (Warning: some may find that comic offensive…but if you look at it, tell me if you recognize anyone in it…). I guess that makes us Karl groupies.

4. This is also about the artwork we bought at the MassArt holiday market, but I think Fish deserves his own number! I really love our friend Fish McGill’s work, and have been pondering a plan to commission him to do a larger-scale something for me (in fact, the idea is so young that I still haven’t decided exactly what I want it to be or talked to him about it yet), but in the meantime we picked up a drawing of his to join Karl’s on our living room wall. Fish is awesome, so we also got a bottle of Robot Wine with our purchase. It was made on the moon! You can see more of his work over at the Rockband podcast site, where he does lots of awesome artwork for them.

5. I’ve had Christmas music in pretty heavy rotation on my iPod and at home for the last few weeks. When I’m at work I usually just set my iPod to play all of the Christmas music and then end up skipping over songs I don’t feel like listening to occasionally. I’ve had two sticky notes sitting on my desk where I’ve been jotting down songs to create some Christmas playlists. Tonight I finally sat down and actually created those play lists!

6. I leave for Virginia tomorrow! For eight days! I’m excited to see the kiddos and how much they’ve grown (especially Adele! She was so teeny tiny when I met her in September!). I’m excited to have Christmas brunch with my family, and to watch the kids joy at finding what Santa brought them. And funny enough, I’m excited at the prospect of a white Christmas, which is currently looking pretty likely for NoVA and not at all likely for Boston…go figure!

7. I managed to pack for my eight day trip in just a duffel bag and a large purse. I did ship presents in advance, but still…you have to admit that packing for eight days in the winter in a duffel bag is pretty good! I even remembered to pack my little laminating machine thingy for my sister.

8. Just in time for us to leave the cats to a (very awesome, very appreciated) cat sitting friend, Champ has a bacterial infection and has to take a pill daily. Awesome! The good news is that if you stuff the pill into a pill pocket and put it on top of her food at night, she gobbles it up and doesn’t even realize or care that she’s taking a pill. She’s also lost half a pound since she was at the vet for her fall in July, which is great news! It must be the hyperactive playing ever since the crazy cat nip toy was welcomed into our home in August. We’ve had cat nip toys in the past but none have ever been as loved as this one, which the vet gave to Barley when he spent a day there in August to have blood drawn. It’s really just a small scrap of blue fleece fabric that has some cat nip tied in the middle of it, but Barley and Champ can’t get enough of it!

9. This afternoon I walked over to the North End running an errand and came across some very cute ice sculptures on the Greenway. Unfortunately, what feels freezing to me isn’t really freezing when you’re an ice sculpture (that’s 40 degrees, in case you’re wondering) and there was a lot of dripping and cracking going on!

10. I was looking forward to my walk at work, thinking that with the snow we got last night it would be nice and pretty….only there was hardly evidence that it had snowed. :( What’s the point of freezing my butt off every day if I’m not going to get pretty snow to look at?!

1 Comment

by Sarah G on December 22, 2010 • Permalink

Posted in 10 on Tuesday

Posted by Sarah G on December 22, 2010

https://mymonotonouslife.com/2010/12/22/10-on-tuesday-27/

10 on Tuesday

1. We were at our friends house Sunday night for some grilling and good company. We didn’t expect to be doing anything athletic, but it turned out that we played a bit of badminton. And my arm? It is sore. Hilariously, not the arm I hold a racket in.

2. Sunday was a really great night, although a later one than we’re used to for a school night. Which led to a very tired Monday morning. That was not helped by the presence of a man wielding a chainsaw in the tree outside our bathroom window (which is in the shower…quite a surprise for me while I was shampooing my hair!!) and the sounds of a wood chipper in our driveway. Starting at 6AM.

3. We spent last Thursday night at a gallery opening for our friend Karl. Karl is awesome and a ridiculously talented artist. You can read his weekly comic strip here, and check out his website here. He has a new book out, The Lodger, and it’s awesome. Get yourself a copy. Stat. And if you’re local, check out his show at Carroll and Sons through August 21st. You won’t be sorry!

4. Champ must have decided that she was bored with the way things were going, and last Thursday she tried to get her paws on some squirrels. Through the window screen. Which isn’t very…secure. She took a two story tumble out the window! :( She’s doing really well – limping on one paw, but otherwise totally fine. We took her to see the vet Saturday and they told us to keep a close eye on her for a few weeks and bring her back if anything got worse, that it looks like just a sprain.

5. Oh….and they told us that Champ is a fatty and we need to put her on a diet. For real, not like how we ignored the vet when they told us that in February. Because she’s gained almost a pound since then, which is a lot when you’re a cat who is supposed to weight around 10 pounds total. Do they make kitty treadmills?

6. I’m on vacation starting Friday, and I can’t wait! I’m spending the first part of my vacation here, hopefully getting some stuff (pot rack, shelves, artwork) hung on the walls of our not-so-new-anymore apartment, and the second half of my vacation in DC/NoVA meeting adorable babies, throwing a baby shower for my sister, and squeezing in a Nationals game with friend. Yay for vacation!

7. I’ve been very slowly working on my list of things to do this summer. You may notice that the date of the Forest Hills Lantern Festival was last Thursday…as was Karl’s gallery opening. And Karl won, so the Forest Hills Lantern Festival is getting bumped to the things to do next summer list!

8. How is the summer already half over? Or more. This summer is flying past me, but I have a lot of fun plans for August, so I’m trying not to be super distraught about it.

9. I do love the summer, but this year I’m really looking forward to the fall, too. I’ve been secretly working on a list of things to do this fall (it will be revealed in due time, friends)…and the fall is really my favorite season anyway, with the summer a close second. I’m not trying to rush past the summer, but I think looking forward to the fall is helping me to not be so distraught about how quickly the summer is passing by!

10. Last, but not even remotely least, don’t forget that this weekend is the Boston Breast Cancer 3 Day. Jeff and Stephanie walked with me last year and are walking again this year, and they’re still working on meeting their $2,300 fundraising minimum. Go here to donate to Jeff, and here to donate to Stephanie. 1 in 8 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer. Donate now and help Susan G Komen work towards changing that!

10 on Tuesday

1. It’s been a busy few weeks around here!! We’re settling in to our new apartment and are getting into the full swing of summer…which means lots of grilling!

2. Our new apartment is great, we’re loving a lot of things about it. Having a bedroom door to close the cats out at night, the back yard, the short trip to the grocery store… But there is still some furniture to be rearranged, artwork to be hung, and a few last purchases to be made. Things are coming together, slowly but surely. Maybe this weekend I’ll even get shelves hung!

3. I spent most of my day Saturday helping my friend Ryan shoot a wedding. She had given me some quick info ahead of time, including the bride’s name and all the locations I would need for the day. I showed up at the Mother of the Bride’s house to help get some of the “getting ready” shots, and about 30 minutes later I walked into a room where some of the bridesmaids were and it turns out I went to high school with one of them. And the groom is her step brother. Yup. That was fun, and it was great to catch up with her and her brother at the reception. Also…it’s exhausting shooting weddings, and I’m still working my way through all the photos I took.

4. I spent most of my day Sunday with Leyre, taking pictures of Orly in the morning and then a quick trip to Ikea and Target while O was napping. And then I went home, napped, ate dinner, and went to bed. Because while we were out shopping, I don’t think I went more than 5 minutes without yawning. Sorry Leyre, I promise it had nothing to do with the company! And I promise I’ll get to those photos this weekend.

5. Have you guys seen the kids from PS22? I know I’ve shared them a few other places, but I wanted to share them here in case anyone hasn’t seen or heard them yet. I’ve spent hours listening to different videos they have posted on YouTube (Iron Man is Pete’s fav, Don’t Stop Believin’ is mine), and I’ve got their blog in my reader so they bring a smile to my face on a regular basis. Watch any one of their videos and try to tell me it didn’t bring a smile to your face. The kids are awesome…their teacher is amazing!

6. It was this time last year that I was ~~begging~~ asking you to send me mail to pick up at the “post office” while I was walking the 3 Day. I’m not walking this year, but there are a few friends of mine that are (Stephanie was my awesome tentmate last year, Jeff walked with us for days 2 and 3, and Mercy is a friend and first time walker). Please send them mail, it doesn’t matter if you know them. I’m serious, it will make their day. You can send mail (Envelopes only, must be postmarked no later than July 13th) to Mercy Vaillancourt, Jeff Brodeur, or Stephanie Matthess at the following address:

3-Day for the Cure
ATTN: RECIPIENT NAME HERE
P.O. Box 8557
Warwick, RI 02888

7. This is closely related to #6, but I wanted to be sure I had your full attention! You can also donate to Jeff, Stephanie, or Mercy by clicking on their name above. They’ve committed to walking 60 miles over 3 days and raising $2,300 each – help them reach that goal!

8. If you’re in the Boston area and want to see what the 3 Day is all about, let me know because I’ll be spending some time that weekend playing the role of Walker Stalker and cheering those guys on. I’d love to have company! (There will be ice cream involved, if that helps persuade you.)

9. You know what the weirdest thing about our move was? When we lived in Dorchester there was at least one cat in our Poang chair at all times (see here). Since we’ve moved, neither of them has been in it once. Even when it doesn’t have boxes/bags/stuff piled in it. Cats are weird.

10. Oh, and you know what else I discovered about the cats when we moved? That Champ has been chewing on all kinds of things that she shouldn’t have been, including the tops of the rubbermaid containers that fit under the bed and the corner of the jewelry box that was made by my grandfather. And one of the cats has also been scratching up the door to the bottom of my dresser that was Nonna’s. Clearly these cats have no respect for family heirlooms! :(

1 Comment

by Sarah G on June 30, 2010 • Permalink

Posted in 10 on Tuesday, boston

Posted by Sarah G on June 30, 2010

https://mymonotonouslife.com/2010/06/30/10-on-tuesday-25/

10 on Tuesday

1. I’m a delinquent, I know. I’m working on changing that, so bear with me! Let’s get back into the 10 on Tuesday habit, shall we? And please, join in the fun and leave a link to your 10 in the comments! I know there are some delinquent bloggers out there that are reading this and could easily join in *cough*LeyreSwiftyEmilySB*cough*

2. What’s interesting about my being a delinquent is that I can’t even tell you how many Tuesdays (or Mondays or Wednesdays when I had no idea what day of the week it really was) I’ve composed these posts in my head and either never got to the computer or never got my hands on my camera and so didn’t post.

3. Given the whole recent water hub-bub around here (you can read more here if you’d like), things have been a bit out of the ordinary. By that I mean, my one-chai-a-workday habit that has recently come back with a vengeance was not one I could partake of yesterday – yikes! It’s a rough start to the work week when half the city is running around in a caffeine deprived panic trying to find any coffee they can get their hands on. I digress. I’m a big fan of the mochas at Flat Black (not like that’s a secret around here: 1, 2, 3) and I conveniently live across the street from one location and work three-ish blocks from another. Even more conveniently, their owner rigged the espresso machines to pull from bottled spring water after the boil water order went into affect on Saturday, so they were pumping out all kinds of caffeinated goodness that other places weren’t. This morning I took a little walk to enjoy the beautiful weather and ended up walking to Flat Black for some iced mocha deliciousness. I was crossing the street looking at their front door and the sign that says “Come in, we’re open” and I thought “They should really change that sign to read ‘come in, we’re awesome’, it would be more appropriate.”

4. What else did we learn reading #3? That now you’ll hear a lot about how I’m working on re-quitting my one-chai-a-workday habit. Preferably without replacing it with a one-FlatBlackIcedMocha-a-workday habit.

5. It must really be spring around here – we’re alternating between rainy 40’s last week, hot and humid 80’s over the weekend, and 60’s with possible thunderstorms later this week. But forget the weather, you know it’s spring in the Financial District when the grass at PO Square is open for your lunchtime enjoyment and the fountain is turned on!

6. Haiku for you! Inspired by my ten minute visit the post office today:

Spring in New England-
On the way in: umbrella.
Shades on the way out.

7. Can I use punctuation like that in a haiku? Regardless, let’s all be impressed that somewhere along the line I learned about syllables, because there’s a whole lot of other basic grammar that either I never learned or I have no recollection of learning. Some people named Pete would argue it’s the same case with geography.

8.Oh! About that picture up there…I don’t drink beer, but I buy it relatively often for Pete. He’s pretty unbiased in his beer love, which makes it hard for me to shop. However, after watching Beer Wars (it’s on Netflix Instant and definitely a must watch) I always look for something that’s in a less noticeable/hidden part of the cooler and is brewed by a small/local brewery. After that, what do I do? I buy 100% based on packaging design. And tonight this cute choco lab won me over. Pete doesn’t even know yet that this 6 pack is waiting for him in the fridge, so I’ll try and remember to report back on quality. But don’t hold me to that, because it’s possible that I also bought myself a bottle of wine that I’ve managed to make a good dent in already….

9. Tonight is Lost night, and there are only three more episodes before the series finale. It makes me a little sad, but at the same time happy. I’m glad they aren’t just dragging it out because it has the ratings. I’m curious to see how things end. I’ve heard (POSSIBLE SPOILER – skip to #10 if you care) that they leave a lot unanswered in the final episode and that makes me happy. I don’t want to see a “every tied up with a pretty little bow” Hollywood ending.

10. And now that we’ve brought up Lost, I need to get myself ready for optimal viewing comfort. That means I need to change into pajamas, clean up dinner dishes, and snuggle down under my blanket. Peace out, homies!

Don’t forget to let me know when you finish your 10 on Tuesday with a link in the comments…. ;)

2 Comments

by Sarah G on May 4, 2010 • Permalink

Posted in 10 on Tuesday, food

Posted by Sarah G on May 4, 2010

https://mymonotonouslife.com/2010/05/04/10-on-tuesday-24/