Duck, duck, duck BEACH

I did it. I broke down and went to Duck Beach. And you know what? I loved it! I'll probably even go next year.

Highlights of the weekend:

Cops showing up at the steel drum party just after I left it.
Running into old BYU friends at church.
The collection plate for the broken table at the NYC house.
Late night hot tubbers outside my window. (Yes, that was sarcasm)
The awkwardness that was the beach fireside.
Watching the very bizarre music video to "Total Eclipse of the Heart" at 1:30 am (thank you Dan!)
Joni's amazing cooking.
Early morning run with Sam and Louise (ok, let's be honest, I hate running. But it was good company)
Trying to swim out to the pod of dolphins playing by our beach.
Watching the lifeguard rush out to save Tanner, who was also swimming with the dolphins (and definitely not drowning).
Sonic!
Belting out classic Beach Boys songs on the ride home.
Cursing I-95 N while racing Ryan & Meghan home.

Crabbing!

One of my friends from work is constantly telling me that my friends have cool jobs. Attorneys, lobbyists, linguists, journalists, congressional staffers, etc. But this week's "Coolest Job Award" goes to ... Kellee Koenig! A couple weeks ago, Kellee mentioned that through her connections at work (she's a cartographer), she was in contact with a biologist from UDel who was conducting a census of horseshoe crabs on some beaches in the Delaware Bay. The first time I heard about it, she was planning on including the census in a mid-week campout, which I knew I wasn't going to be able to pull off, so I kind of forgot about it. Plans changed though, as they often do, and Monday night I found myself squished in the back seat of the car between Eric & Ryan on the way to Delaware.

Now, to be perfectly honest, before we got in the car I don't think I could have identified a horseshoe crab from a lineup of 20 of the usual suspects. I did know that the species had been around for millions of years, but that's pretty much all I knew. That didn't last long.

(And see, now YOU know what horseshoe crabs look like too!)

We made it to the beach about 4 hours early, so we decided to hunt down some dinner. The local that we met on the beach kept telling us that "There ain't nothin' in South Bawrs" (and in case you were wondering, his "Bawrs" is actually spelled "Bowers"), so we headed north to Dover.

Liberty Bell replica in front of the state capitol. Just before we rang it and ran.

Our next stop was a fabulous seafood dinner at some local place we passed on the highway. Can't quite remember the name. Favorite part of the meal itself: baked carrot souffle. Anyone have a recipe?

Kellee, me, Eric, Ryan, Randy in front of a giant propeller.

We finally met up with Dr. Hall, who explained to us more about horseshoe crabs and why on earth there were a 100+ people scattered over beaches in Jersey, Delaware and Maryland in the middle of the night to count the things. Do the research or call me if you really want to know. Here's evidence of our adventure:

Me and the horseshoe crab. Upside down.

Kellee, me, Ryan and the horseshoe crab that leaked on him. Ugh.

Spawning crabs. What else can I say?

ISO Black Jetta

If you've been in or around DC for the past week, you've probably noticed the weather. Rainy. Soggy. Humid. Having grown up in the desert of southwestern Idaho, I like rain. It wasn't that it never rained, because it did, but it was something that we looked forward to because we were always in a constant drought. Even here, the rain was much needed this spring. However, by the 4th day of near-constant rain, I decided that I should probably not move to Seattle anytime soon.


By Friday of last week, the basement cafeteria of the Duke Ellington had flooded. (Luckily they patched up the roof last fall, so I don't have to dodge drips as I walk down the hall by my classroom). By Saturday, there were reports of overflowing creeks and canals all over Virginia, and on Sunday, the basement in my old house was starting to leak.


The thing I dislike worst of all, though, is driving in the rain. Half the people on the road are driving much too fast for the conditions and the other half are driving much too slow. I switch back and forth between the two groups, depending on the day. On Sunday night, I was driving north on I-395 (near the Lincolnia-Little River Turnpike exit, since I know you all were wondering) when a little black/dark blue Jetta came up very suddenly behind me. As I was looking in my rear-view mirror, I noted that it was driving rather quickly considering the conditions, and soon found that it wasn't slowing down. At all. Its tail lights disappeared from my mirror and I waited for the impact. It came, but with much less force than expected. My cursory understanding of physics reminded me that the blow was lessened because I was traveling almost as fast in the same direction, but it still threw me off. After the bumpers met, the Jetta went swerving between a couple lanes as the driver tried to maintain control of the car. I worked my way over to the side of the freeway, but watched as the offending vehicle drove on past - didn't even slow down or make his way over to the shoulder. Problem # 2: I was still in a dress and flip flops and it was still pouring rain. And on top of that, my phone had died. And it was midnight. So after ascertaining that my car was still drive-able (there actually wasn't even a dent!), I went home to call the police and make my report. And to compound the problem just a bit more, when I tried to call my insurance agent the next day, I discovered that his website had been removed and his phone disconnected. Fabulous.


On the plus side, I'm fine and my car's fine, both of which I am very grateful for.

Travelogue #2: Philadelphia

Ok, so anyone who is around me much knows that I'm skipping a trip in the middle there (To Eagle, for my brother's farewell. Way too much happened that weekend that the blogging world doesn't need to know about, so sorry. If you really want to know, talk to me.)

This past Saturday, Ashley and I drove up to Philadelphia to visit our old college roommate Liz and her husband, Justin. Super relaxing weekend, and I LOVED IT. Liz is probably the best hostess I have ever met. Not only did she buy us special milk (they're soy drinkers. ick. thanks, Liz!), but she actually made us an entire FORT in the living room so we could have some privacy. I am just now realizing that I didn't take a picture of this all, but the fort had a big blow-up air mattress, two chairs, bath towels, hand towels, etc. etc. Amazing.

Anyway, we got up there around 1 in the afternoon, chatted for a while, and then finally decided to visit Valley Forge & go shopping - something we almost never did when we actually lived together. I got to talk history with a woman dressed in full 18th-century American garb (It turns out that i can fake knowing more than i actually do. Being a teacher does that to you...), and we took some fabulous pictures with the toy muskets in the gift shop.



I guess this isn't so much a travelogue as a major shout-out to Liz. Love you!

Idol

Up until now (and by now, I mean this exact moment in time), I had never watched an episode of American Idol. I've made it I don't know how many seasons without ever turning it on or even pausing for a song while flipping through channels. But, alas, my ignorance-as-bliss is coming crashing to an end. After moving in with a couple of avid Idol fans, I've become intrigued by the show. So here I am. Watching last night's American Idol on DVR. Being so inexperienced in the world of Idol, I won't give my commentary on the singers (I think some of you might be furious with me), but I'd love to hear what you all think!

On a side note, don't expect me to be watching next season from Day 1. I think I can only handle it now because we're down to the best (last?) six.

Tagged!

a - attached or single? - Single. Glad we got that out of the way early.
b - best friend - Probably haven't had ONE best friend since about 2nd grade
c - cake or pie - pie, especially a good berry pie
d - day of choice - Saturday
e - essential item - my phone. i feel very lost without it.
f - favorite color - blue
g - gummi worms or bears - bears if they're chocolate-covered and worms if they're sour
h - hometown - Eagle, ID
i - indulgences - Chocolate, in way too many forms
j - january or july - July
k - kids - i have about 100 right now, but eventually i would like my own! =)
l - life is incomplete without... the church, my family, friends
m - marriage date. - Uh... working on it?
n - number of siblings - Three; one sister, two brothers
o - oranges or apples - Apples, usually
p - phobias or fears - heights and bats
q - quote - "Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power." (if you have any other good quotes, send them my way! i like to make my kids to respond to them...)
r - reason to smile - only 7 weeks of school left! in general though, having friends that i can talk with for hours, exploring new places, reminiscing with old friends
s - season - fall, definitely
t - tags - jessica ivins and lanelle barber
u - unknown fact about me - i really want to learn to paint. maybe teaching at an arts school has inspired me! =)
v - vegetable - asparagus or broccoli
w - worst habit - i don't know that a blog is the best place to reveal your WORST habits, but in the past couple weeks i've been accused of worrying too much. that probably counts.
x - x-ray or ultrasound - i think i had an x-ray once??
y - your favorite food - Cafe Rio pork salad is up there, along with good gelato and anything chocolate
z - zodiac - Scorpio

All Moved In?

I've been having all sorts of epiphanies about myself over the past few weeks. Like today, I realized that although I've been faking it for several months now, I really have no idea what I'm doing at work. (How on earth do you get a class of defiant and talkative teenagers to participate constructively? If you have ideas, PLEASE let me know.) Or the fact that I'm mildly OCD.

Walking into my bedroom, I have to laugh at another of my funny habits. I hate to unpack. Anything. Period. I do my laundry, fold my clothes in the laundry basket and then get dressed out of the laundry basket for a week. When I get back from a trip, my suitcase usually sits on the floor for several days before I bother with it. Three weeks ago (almost!) I moved into a new house with some friends, and I was really looking forward to having a couple days to get all moved in and settled before everyone else got there.

The old place

When it really got down to it, however, I failed. My clothes are hung, suitcases stored and books shelved, but I haven't yet found somewhere to store extra sheets/blankets/towels. And even more frustrating, my mirror is still sitting on my floor. Not a particularly comfy place to get ready in the morning.

And the new...

Even worse than my bad habit of not unpacking is my inability to decorate. There is not a creative bone in my body. Someday, when I have the time and my roommates have the patience to help, I'll finish decorating and post some pics!