learning the weekend

so one of the problems that j. and i have faced since getting married is how to spend our weekends. since we're both so dependent on routine, we've found it difficult to shift from the week-day schedule to the unscheduled weekends. being a convergent thinker, i'm always asking for "the plan." but j. is a divergent thinker who likes to do what he wants at the moment and see where it takes him from there. this has led to many saturdays where i find myself panicking at about noon because we're just getting through breakfast and i have no idea what we're going to do for the rest of the day.

since i'm stuck in an office all week from nine to five thirty, i want to do anything that i can't do on a week day. this includes being outside, going someplace other than ipswich, going shopping, seeing friends, cleaning the house, cooking for fun, etc. mostly, i want to see the sunshine.

j. could be happy sitting at the computer all day.

a few weeks ago we ended up going to kennebunkport for a day trip. i packed some cookies and water and we drove in the sunshine to the ocean-side. we parked and walked down to the water, skipping stones and collecting shells. we found what we assume to be the Bush complex (it was huge with gates and checkpoints and security cameras) and looked at the gorgeous homes in the area. there's an incredible ocean resort with green lawns and terraces. anyhow, what j. and i discovered that day was that we both love day trips.

since then, we've traveled most every weekend and largely avoided our prior weekend scheduling issues.

today we traveled to portland. the car trip was such a bonding time for us between the singing and the chatting and the questions we asked each other, i really felt like we connected well. i was so suprised by portland, having grown up traveling several times a summer to that area and never having really explored the city. i found it a cross between boston and newburyport. trendy, with cobblestones and pubs and specialty shops. i can see why people would live there even though it's winter most of the year. j. and i walked around the streets and stopped into several shops: a pottery store, an art gallery, and a trendy clothing store that j. and i agreed held everything "me." we ate at a very irish pub called $3 dewey's before heading back home. the drive back was lovely with the sun sinking low and the colors in the sky.

our first valentine's

our valentine's started early. three days early, to be exact, with frozen lemon chiffon wedding cake in vermont while lying on a couch bed watching Mad About You.

a three hour rehearsal on the actual night of valentine's day forced us to be a little creative this year. on monday night we called in a reservation to Alchemy in gloucester. turns out the reservation wasn't needed at all since most people apparently celebrate the holiday on the actual evening. we had the entire restaurant to ourselves and got to sit close to each other in the window booth of our choice with soft pillows and a view of all the local art they hang in there. (maybe we should celebrate a day early every year!) true to expectations, mom b. generously gave us a card with forty dollars in it to help boost our evening into the next level of feeling free to splurge. we ordered a bottle of Rex Goliath (the one with the rooster on it) and a gorgeous appetizer of crab rangoons served with a sweet/spicy sauce and a mustard/horseradish sauce. i ordered the lamb shank with veggie risotto in true gassman fashion while j. ordered the most deluxe hamburger you could ever find (served with bacon and boursin). for dessert we enjoyed a caramel apple pastry that just melted in our mouths.

the actual valentine's day was more of a relaxing event. i came home from work a bit early so we could have dinner together (leftover chili from mom B). j. had bought me a gorgeous bouquet of roses, carnations, and other flowers. i gave him a small cup that says "be mine" for him to use in the bathroom instead of sticking his head under the faucet. we exchanged cards. his said "for my beautiful wife," which, of course, made me so happy. we watched the end of "broken flowers" before he left for orchestra rehearsal. i don't recommend the film, but it was lovely to just lay on the couch relaxing together.

so i guess you could say we had valentine's days. and they were all perfect.

anybody want to buy an indexing quiz answers sheet?

so we give this quiz to new abstractors here at ebscoland. it is meant to help them cement in their minds the tools they will need to get around the indexing database. first, they play around on the product. then they look at the writing system. then they read the manual.

then they get The Indexing Quiz.

this quiz, of course, is not graded. it's not about how well they did. they can use the manual or the writing system to figure out the answers. it helps the abstractor understand principles. it helps them see what they might need to go over again. it alerts them to special problems they might come across.

i suggested to the other Team Leader that we print off the answers to the quiz so that the new abstractors could look them over and compare and have a reference sheet. she responded that if they had the answers they might end up sharing the information with people who would want to cheat on the quiz.

i find this ridiculous; very The Office. first of all: we write the correct answers on their quiz, which they get to keep. so they could, theoretically, give that away. second: who would think of that!? it's not like this is the SAT or something. this isn't about learning information for a grade. it's about learning the tools they will need to do their job every day. and therefore who would want/think to A) give the answers away and B) ask someone to help them cheat on the answers???

so if anyone wants a copy of the Indexing Quiz answers, i would be happy to oblige. but you're gonna have to pay, because this is serious business.

now i have to buy a ukulele

for anyone who loves music (or likes it even the slightest bit), check out this web page:

http://www.jokaroo.com/extremevideos/ukulele.html

if i was stuck on a desert island and could only have one piece of music to play over and over again for the rest of my life, i might just choose this piece.

waiting for charlie and nora

so the question has been posed: am i just counting down the days till i can leave work and have babies?

absolutely.

i guess it's the whole "my mother stayed home and was a homemaker, and it seems to me to be the best thing i could possibly do" thing. i really like my job. by that i mean that i don't dread going to work every day. and believe me, i've had those jobs where you feel sick every day on your way in and relieved every day on the way out. so if i have to have a job (and right now i really do) i appreciate that it is something i can feel good about doing. but in the long run i really just want to make my own schedule. what better way than to be a homemaker?

of course, i'm sure i'm idealizing a lot of it. in my head, i think of beautiful days of making bread and taking long walks and going to the park and having play dates and bringing out the pastels and watercolors and painting bowls of flowers with my children. i can't think of anything i would rather do.

when i was a child of seven, i remember that i wanted to be (well, a princess, first of all, but after/along with that...) a homemaker. after high school i went on to college because my parents both went to college and i love learning and i want my kids to go to college and gaining more knowledge is always a brilliant idea. but i knew that after college i wanted to eventually get married and have children and stay home with them and then be able to do all the things i haven't had time to do because of work: road trips, painting, hiking, ice skating, dancing, walking, swimming, sun bathing (with sunscreen, of course), baking, reading etc, etc. Really, just to be able to see the sunshine during the day... amazing.

i had gorgeous years after college where i traveled and read and walked and thought... and i can't wait to free myself of the eight plus hours a day i now spend at The Office. i can't wait to have someone along with me to do all of these things. i get to show someone else how to go adventuring. that really excites me.

and to have a job that excites you is rare.

Grammy's Mac and Cheese Recipe (as told by Mom)

You need 3 cups milk, 6 Tbs flour, 5 Tbs of butter, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, 2+ cups Cheddar, 1/4 C. onion. (12 oz macaroni)

Sauté the onion in melted butter. Add the flour and stir till thick and bubbling (beginning to brown).(It's a rue). (Over med. heat) Gradually add the milk, stirring constantly. Cook until thickened. (It's a white sauce). Add 1tsp dry mustard and 1 tsp Worcestershire. turn off heat and stir in cheese until melted.

Pour over 12oz. (dry weight) of cooked macaroni noodles and bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes until bubbly and browned. You could sprinkle the top w ith Parmesan or bread crumbs browned in butter before baking.

Grammy's Mac and Cheese Recipe (as told by DCL)

In a 2 to 3 qt pot:
3-4 T. flour (whatever soaks up all the melted butter)
2-4 T butter
Add milk to paste (about 4-5 cups in all, but only a cup at a time. add more as sauce is thick and needs thinning)
Pepper to taste - 1/2 t
Garlic powder to taste - 1/2 t
Spicy Brown Mustard - 2T or so
Worcesteshire Sauce - 2T or so

Secret indgredients: Celery Seed (1/4-1/2 t), Morton's Season Salt (use small amts if in sauce, or even smaller amts if used on finished product after baking)

Bring to boil - get flavoring evened out by smell.
Turn heat off.
Add no less than 1 lb Cabot Extra Sharp Cheddar Cheese, possibly 4oz more
(Do Not return to a boil, cheese will seperate and sauce will Die!)
Once melted add to macaroni noodles (approx 1lb, already cooked) in casserole dish
Bake 30-45 mins (no less than 20, if you can't wait)