1. I went to my first letterpress class today here. It was an introductory class where we made greeting cards. Noah signed me up as a surprise, since he knows how much I love making cards. In fact, it was a class geared towards making holiday cards. However, I took the opportunity to make my thank you cards for wedding and shower gifts. I fell in love with the letterpress and signed up to be a member. It costs just a little bit more than the introductory class and it's for 6 months! My friend LC is a member too (she also just signed up) and we already have plans for next Saturday. I'm planning on finishing the rest of the thank you cards.

2. Two weeks from tomorrow I will be a married woman. Oh my gosh - writing that just freaked me out a little...but in a good way.

3. That's all I have to say, for now.

Wedding planning has taken over, and I do nothing but wedding shenanigans or work. Invites went out tonight (thank g-d). N finally got a suit. He's going to look like a million bucks. Now I just need to finish the other 84 things on my to-do list before the 21st of December and everything will be fine and dandy.

It's been a long time

For those two people who read this blog, you've noticed that it hasn't been online for a few months.

A while ago, sometime between my last post and this post, someone claimed he found a photo of me from my Friendster account (which I had closed a long time ago), and he took a snapshot of the website. The photo was of me smoking out a hookah. I do smoke out of a hookah - I smoke flavored tobacco out of a hookah bought in Israel with my family, usually on Shabbat. This is a family tradition. Of course, all he saw was this photo of me, and started making accusations and implications that I was doing something illegal. It's scared the bejesus out of me. He "blackmailed" me after I asked him to pay the remaining balance on his account for work I had done for him.

I went to my employer and told him a brief summary of what happened, and he responded that life is too short to chase money from clients. I often think of that e-mail this man (or I should say "boy") sent to me and it saddens me really. At first I felt rage and anger - after all I had done for him, and this is how I get treated. Then and now, I simply feel sorry for him, and the life he has chosen to live, never taking responsibility for his actions and always blaming someone else for the decisions he made.

All in all, I have removed a lot of personal information from the internet. I took down my blog for a while out of fear of what could happen in the future. I'm gone through my posts to make sure names are not used, and I don't have any pictures which could be misconstrued. Since I took my blog offline, I've had a few people ask about it, and tell me they enjoyed reading it just to stay informed about what was going on with me and my family.

Therefore, I have decided to put it back online, but with trepidation. Am I making the right decision?

1. Brother and sister are coming tomorrow. And I've been told we must watch the first X-Files movie to prepare for the second. Who cares that I've never seen an episode.

2. I've been collecting Polaroid cameras and film for our guest box (not book, box, that's right).

3. None of my clients have gone to jail this week. This is a good thing.

4. I'm getting bangs tomorrow. Like my idol, Grace Potter. I have a serious girl crush on her.

Need some inspiration

I haven't crafted in a long time. While N was away, I barely had time to take the dog on a walk, let alone spent hours crafting. So, I'm roaming the internets to find some inspiration. Here's what I've found:

I like lemons
When you just want to make a scarf
The Lars Hat
Because I don't have enough bags
Steve would destroy these
Beautiful - maybe for the wedding

And this is my plug for A Mystery In Common. Not only is this artist a beautiful friend, he is also designing our wedding invites. If anyone knows N real well, you'll recognize The Circulatory System t-shirt. You may have seen it on N's ARM!

What is everyone else working on?

Cvillain

I like reading about Charlottesville here. Keeps me in the loop and it's not C-ville or The Hook.

Buon giorno!

List of top things I loved about my trip to Italy:

1. Driving stick shift in Tuscany. We rented a car in Florence and drove it to Montepulciano. I was very nervous the morning we picked up the car because I hadn't driven stick since law school, and even then, I wasn't good at all. But, after one loop in the Hertz parking lot, I was ready to go, and somehow we made it to our destination without any accidents.

2. Teaching N to drive stick in Tuscany. How cool is that?

3. Eating dinner by candlelight in the middle of a courtyard in Venice. It was absolutely gorgeous and romantic, not to mention the meal was damn good.

4. Drinking at least a bottle of local wine a day.

5. Swimming in the thermal baths near Montepulciano after having picnicked on cheese and prosciutto and a bottle of wine (are you catching on to the theme of wine?).

6. Seeing N's face when I got off that plane in Milan. I can't remember the last time I missed someone so much. Oh wait, I may have missed Steve that much while I was in Italy!

Pics to come but I don't know when. They are on N's computer right now. Just have to get home from work early enough to load them up.

I'm sitting here hoping the rain comes soon. We've had a heat advisory in effect for days and we need some damn rain and some relief.

Today I went to Richmond to argue in front of the Court of Appeals. I don't like to talk about work in this forum but I will make an exception today. I was court-appointed to represent someone in a criminal appeal. I filed the petition, which can either be accepted or denied. The petition was accepted by the Court of Appeals. Then I filed an opening brief, and a reply brief in response to the Commonwealth's brief. Then, an oral argument in scheduled, where each side gets 15 minutes to argue the finer points of our case. Most of the time is spent answering the Judges' questions. This is the first time I've ever argued to the Court of Appeals, and it felt great. Got to meet and greet with them once it was over. Now, let's just keep our fingers that they rule my client's way!

Stevie baby is laying in the corner of the family room, looking up at me every few seconds when she hears the thunder. She asks with her eyes "Was that noise okay? Are we gonna be okay?" She says so much just with one look. I wonder if she misses N.

I'm leaving for Italy in a week from Thursday. I can't express enough how much I miss N. I've never been away from him for this long, and every time I hear his voice during a transatlantic phone call, I get giddy. I might make out with him for a full 5 minutes when I see him in Milan.

As for wedding plans, I found my veil. I am borrowing Nat's veil, which means a lot to me. I have my something borrowed. I tried it on with my dress on Monday and it looked perfect. I felt like a true-life bride.

I have a new friend. She is a lawyer like me and she lives close by. We walk our doggies together, and we like to do the same things - garden, have yard sales, shop, gossip, talk about lawyerly things. I like having a new friend that isn't going anywhere anytime soon. She's been practicing law longer than me and I feel comfortable asking her questions about cases and such. I'm not afraid to admit that I sometimes don't know what I'm doing. Yay for new friends.

Time to sleep.

All thoughts are on my sweet Steve. I took her to the ER for animals at 2 AM on Sunday and then again 8 hours later. Steve has what they call "Kennel Cough" and this term refers to any upper respiratory infection. She's been coughing and spitting up for a few days but Saturday night, it got to be unbearable, coughing and gagging at least 20 times an hour. It was so sad to hear. We got some antibiotics and a cough suppressant but they didn't work very well. We were up all night together. Finally, I slept on the couch and Steve slept on the hardwood floor so I would stop worrying about the carpet and just let her be. At 10 AM, I went back to get her something stronger, a big ole shot of a sedative, which definitely helped her relax and sleep. Last night, on the couch again, she made it through the night, just getting up once every hour. Basically, I just rubbed her body and her feet to relax her so she'd go back to sleep. I was supposed to head to Virginia Beach with a client at 4:30 this morning, but had to cancel. I couldn't leave her by herself all day. So, we slept in, and she played in the backyard, where she seems to be distracted enough not to cough. Also, I don't have to worry about her rolling around in her spit up (I'm sorry for that image). I have some wonderful friends checking up on her, cause I left her outside today. It's cool and breezy and she has her food and water. For some reason, she's bored inside, and this boredom makes her cough even more.

When I spoke with my regular vet this morning, they told me that this could last a couple of weeks! I'm speechless - well, not really. A couple of weeks?? I can't bear the thought of her coughing like this, sounding like she's hacking up a lung. It's awful. I'm sure she'll be fine, in fact, I know she will. This is the first time Steve has ever been sick like this. I think I may have an inkling of what it's like to stay up all night with a sick baby. It's no fun, and it breaks your heart.

Morning Calm

I never really appreciated the peace one can find in the morning. For a long time, I've stayed in bed too long in the morning, often making myself late to wherever I need to be, then rushed around, relying on N to get me all set for the day. But since N is gone, Steve and I wake up early and take our morning walk, I make coffee, feed Steve, check my e-mail, eat cereal, all in a calm setting. It's actually really nice. Even though I couldn't fall asleep until 2 in the morning, I'm not struggling as much as I thought I would be. Now, if I enjoy this peace too much, I'm gonna be late for work.

Stream of consciousness

I say this every year, but I mean it every single year. I can't believe it's been 9 years since my father died. The time has gone by so quickly. It feels like it was just yesterday I was sobbing into my sister's arms when she told me. That is a moment engraved in my mind. I remember thinking I will never in my life be able to think of my father and not cry. But look at me, sitting here writing of my father's death and not one tear comes. It's a true testament that time does wonders for grief and loss.

I am passionately jealous of my sisters who had my father walk them down the aisle on their wedding day. I want that so badly. I want my father to hold my first child. I want my father to see me argue in a courtroom. I want my father to meet my husband. I always contemplate how N and he would get along. I'm sure they would have gotten along very well - he would be so proud of both of us.

I remember when I would sing in school performances and my father would be wiping tears from his eyes. I remember holding my father's hand when we would drive in the car. I remember my father giving me a thumbs-up from the audience when I graduated from high school. I remember packing up my father's office after he died and finding that he framed my first report card from college.

God I miss him.

New items being added to Vintage Virginia all night long as I try to contain my excitement since Grey's is back on.

1) EU and I hosted a kick-ass Passover Seder on Saturday night. I've never helped in such a feat. I will toot my own horn and tell you it was awesome. Lots of friends and food and the best part of it all was having this meal for N and he didn't have to do a thing - except lead us in an entertaining Seder.
2) I did some gardening on a week ago Saturday. Man, it's hard work but great exercise. I pulled all our carrots, which have been in the ground much too long to premit consumption. After tilling the land (ha!), I planted some lettuce we got from the farmer's market and cabbage we got from our neighbor across the street. We also planted the seeds in the Jiffy thingymabob and they've sprouted. We still have a while until they are ready for Virginia clay.
3) Today is one of the busiest days ever! I had to be in Fluvanna County this morning to file an appeal, then Louisa County to hear the petition against my client get dismissed, then to Albemarle County for 3 criminal charges and then to Charlottesville City for a civil trial. This afternoon I have a trial in Orange County. That's 5 different courts in one day. That must be some sort of record. I'm going to sleep like a baby tonight.
4) Grey's is back on this week and I CAN NOT WAIT! Seriously, I've been deprived of any meaningful TV interaction ever since the writer's strike. It has been nice not watching so much TV but not nice enough to forgo watching Grey's and ER.
5) Our family on N's side was in Plainview, Long Island this weekend celebrating Passover while MMG was in Columbia. This is the first year since Noah and I started dating that we haven't been to New York for Passover. Maybe we'll start a new tradition here in Charlottesville and also go to Long Island. I really did miss our family though. I'm afraid that sister and brother won't get to see N before he goes to Italy. Next year MMG better come down here - ya hear dat?

Locolomo

N picked up this camera off ebay. It's called a Lomo and there's this whole movement dedicated to the use of this camera. We took Steve on a walk the day we got it (we tend to take her on walks everyday, if she's good) and captured some pretty hip photos. I can't post them here yet cause we don't have a scanner at home, but if N ever gets the time to scan them at school, I'll be sure to post them. They are magical. We're in the process of picking out some to hang on the wall.

Anyone else have any experience with this camera?

Looky Here

My friends Brian and Ozan in a featured blog posting. They are very cool...and hot!

No Jokes for this Fool

1. Sister and brother came and went. Sister did a wonderful job at her reading and read my favorite poem of hers, All Night Vigil. I wish they lived so much closer - I sound like a broken record. Sister has a new blog, but she doesn't update it as often as I'd like (hint hint).
2. I have a date with EU. Our relationship has suffered since the writer's strike, but we've substituted TV watching and ice cream eating with running our asses off and sweating profusely. 3. N planted the seeds in the Jiffy pods. We planted 4 watermelon seeds. You think we'll get 4 whole watermelons?
4. N's been getting me into shape about waking up early to walk the dog, get myself ready with breakfast and lunch and out the door close to 9 am. Oh wait, I lied, I'm just practicing walking the dog at 7 am, not the whole making my own breakfast and lunch. When he's gone this summer, I'm most likely going to survive on a diet of cereal, oatmeal, Kraft macaroni and cheese, and Campbell's Soup. Oh wait, that was my diet in college. Maybe I'll have a few cookies.
5. I've been staying late at the office finishing up my brief which I thought was due Tuesday. Ha, it was due Wednesday. Better that I thought it was due earlier rather than later. Then on Wednesday night, I came home and zoned out in front of the TV for 4 hours. I didn't move. It was nice.
6. This is a very boring blog post. Is my life really this mundane? Or maybe it's that I'm in a nice state of mind?

Relative Arrival

1. I am my mother. I hate to admit that I have the same problem of waking up in the morning. I just can't do it. Now my marriage is in jeopardy. N needs to be at class at 9 AM on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and I am responsible for getting him there. I lie in bed, knowing I need to wake up, and I think that the extra 5, 10 or even 15 minutes is going to make me feel more energized, more awake, more alive. Really, all I need to do is get my ass out of bed, starting walking around, and then I will feel fine. But getting my ass out of bed is the part I simply cannot do. And if only I reminded myself of all that N does in the morning to get me ready and out the door (walks the dog, makes my breakfast, lunch and coffee, etc.) that should be enough to spring me from the comforts of my pillow. Why isn't that enough? Am I selfish? Or do I just have some disorder that prevents me from waking up when required?
2. My petition for appeal was granted and now the brief is due on Tuesday. I've been at work late every night this week so I can complete it by tomorrow. The self-imposed early due date is because brother and sister are coming into town today. While I'm sure the main reason for their visit is to see us, the real main reason is because sister is giving a reading during the Festival of the Book here in Virginia. She's famous. Seriously. Just google her name. It comes up all over the place.
3. I'm in love with the idea of multiple Polaroid cameras at my wedding and guests using them ferociously. Working on getting some from craigslist.

River

On Sunday, I took Steve to the dog park and then to the river. This time, I brought my camera, and these photos don't even begin to capture her cuteness when she's there.Here Steve is just checking things out. Right before this picture was taken, she was sitting in the water, with her butt rubbing the dirt floor.

You can barely see her white head poking out of the water, cooling herself off after an hour of chasing other pups at the park.
Steve and Marley after some rough-housing. I can never remember what kind of dog Marley is. She has some Great Pyrenees in her and some St. Bernard.
On her throne. Our house is now covered in sand, despite the time I spent cleaning her up. She slept like a baby the rest of the day.

Spring me from this place!

The only way I can get things done that I dread doing is to set up an appointment for someone to come in and review the actual document I need to draft. That way, I HAVE to complete it by that time. This method has worked on occasion. It's also backfired recently when I had to call up a client and reschedule cause I didn't have a chance to do what I needed to do. Bad bad!!

On a completely different note, yesterday was the first day of spring. In celebration, I've posted this picture from last year since it gets me excited for planting in our garden and running around with Steve. The green grass in the background, sun on N's face, Steve smiling...and don't forget the large zucchinis N's holding from our garden. This weekend we are planting 6 types of seeds from the Southern Exposure Seed Exchange. Last year, we bought seedlings or just planting seeds directly in the garden. This year, in order to utilize our cold frame, I picked this up from Southern States. We've never used it before, but all you need is come water and seeds, and voila - seedlings appear. I'll try to take pictures this weekend as we start our seedlings. Hope it's warm out!

Vigor for Life

That was yesterday's motto. Steve and I went to the dog park Saturday morning. She LOVES it there, and being such a warm, beautiful day, so did I. Lately, it's been frigid, but yesterday, I brought my book, sat and read, and didn't feel a pinch of guilt for indulging since Steve was having a grand ole time. She got muddy so I took her down to the river, which I would've done anyway since she loves to swim, and she cleaned up a bit. There are two dogs, Coco and Marley, who we always see there, no matter what day or time. Steve loves to chase them. They give her a good instigator for the crazies! The crazies are when she runs around in circles like she's possessed with something unearthly, like she has so much energy she can't get rid of it fast enough. She went swimming in the river, cooling herself off.

We then went to Integral Yoga to pick out seeds to plant this week. I got zucchini, tomatoes, sugar snap peas, lettuce, watermelon, and bell peppers. Afterwards, I went to Southern States to pick out our pods to plant the seeds in. We then surprised N at school and headed to the Corner to get a sandwich, where Steve made friends with some cute yuppie kids. Then back home to rest while watching the Parent Trap with Lindsay Lohan. Ah, gotta love it. Last night we headed to an engagement party for our friends M and B. B is in the same program as N and I got to know M through our ladies' night dinners. M and B are moving to Philly since M got this great job at a hospital as a speech therapist. With the move, and their wedding, they have many adventures headed their way.

On a different note, I wanted to share a picture of Steve. As a result of our playtime at the dog park and splashing in the river, this was Steve earlier this morning:You can't deny how cute she is. Oh, and I promised a picture of our curio. And believe it or not, I'm going to deliver on that promise. Here is the beginning of our bird collection, along with a close-up.The close-up picture attempts to capture the great lighting we have in our bathroom. In fact, I admit that our downstairs bathroom may be my favorite room in the house. Granted, our landlords did re-tile the floor, we spruced it up with a coat of paint, and it's very minimal. Any one else have any collections started?

Flu You

1) It's Flu-ville in C-ville (I'm that much of a dork). N went to the health center yesterday and they did some test which came back positive for influenza, which then led to my phone call to the doctor's office and resulted in some meds to prevent me from getting the flu. Probably shouldn't admit I didn't get a flu shot - but wait, I just did. My health insurance kinda blows since I have an annual $1,200 deductible, afterwhich coverage is 100%. Because I'm relatively healthy, I pay for everything out of pocket. By the time I'll every reach my deductible, it will be the next year and I start all over again. I shouldn't complain because there are millions without any insurance, and g-d forbid I get into a car accident or some incurable disease, it will come in handy. So, I'll shut up now.
2) I won something, which rarely happens (despite my competitive nature). You can check it out my winning entry here and my prize here.
3) I bought my wedding dress. It's not anything like I imagined. I could show you pictures but they don't do it justice. And I already made the mistake of showing a certain someone, and let's just say it didn't go as I would've hoped. Whatevs. It's a dress. It's long and white. I'm going to wear it for a few hours. Whatevs. I'm going to look hot!
4) Working on sweet collections of birds in our curio. Pics are worth a thousand words.

Wedding Planning

We're in full wedding planning mode and have actually accomplished a few things - or at least started them.
1) Today, JB and I are going to West Main Bridal to check out wedding dresses. I hope they carry dresses under $500 cause I was really hoping only to spend $200. Is that possible?
2) I've narrowed our search for photographers and I really like this one. I spoke with her on the phone for a while and she showed me some pictures on her site. She recommended I check out Wedding Photojournalist Association. I think these are the best kind of photos for our wedding.
3) We found our videographer (Hi RC and JB!). JB has all the equipment and editing software, and she loves to have a purpose. I love that she is doing this for us.
4) The chuppah - I've been contacting family to see if anyone has any fabric from my grandparents that I could use, but it's not looking good on that front. I might make my own or look around on the net. We are going to use my father's or my grandfather's tallit when JVB blesses us together underneath of it. It's going to bring tears to my eyes, I know already.

Haven't forgotten those resolutions

I was looking over the resolutions and I've got to say I haven't strayed as far as one might expect.

1) I'm not doing that well on the cursing, but I have made an effort by making up some substitute words and phrases. Nothing too unique, but just something to keep me from shoving a bar of soap in my mouth.
2) I did get a haircut, which was something just for me. Also, I called to make an appointment for a massage. I really need one. My back has been killing me.
3) I found some gray hairs on my head, and I'm afraid that I'm allowing work to stress me out. I do not want to be one of those people whose life is led by my career. While I love my job, I don't want it to control me. And while there could be other reasons for gray hair (you know, that whole mom had cancer thing), work is definitely the main contributing reason.
4) I opened up a high interest savings account to start saving for our house. It's not with our normal bank, so I forget about it most of the time. Should've done it a long time ago, but better late than never.

Not too shabby if I do say so myself.

Lots of firsts...certainly to be followed by seconds

I made my first bag!

N gave me this great book for Chanukah. It's Simple Sewing by Lotta Jansdotter. And I made this bag using one of her patterns. I love the way it turned out, and will either a) use it or b) give it to someone as a present. Haven't decided. But I'm definitely going make more. I learned how to make the next one even better, and love that with every project, I'm becoming more comfortable with the sewing machine.

Also, I got my first tat!
I hope to Lord my mother doesn't read this. I haven't told her yet. But once she finds out, she'll be happy to know it's on my ankle and not somewhere all visible to the world, like my face or something. I can see why they are addictive. Once you get your first one, you're like, okay, I'm ready for another one now. That wasn't what I was thinking when I was getting it though. I was squeezing my sister's hand so tight it turned black and blue and I looked her straight in the eyes and told her I'm not doing this ever again. I'm over that now. But I'm gonna wait. At least until after the wedding.

Our store is going. Hopefully by getting our name out there we'll get some bites, but we still have a lot more items to list. It's been interesting connecting with the Central VA arts and crafts scene though, and hopefully, we'll grab more finds in the next few weeks.

Vintage Virginia

Guess what? We opened a store. It's only online, but we are having fun with it. Check it out here. As you know, we are addicted to thrift stores, yard sales and scavenging for junk-tques, and we wanted to share our finds. We have a bunch of stuff waiting in the wings and will be listing items daily. Enjoy! Oh, and tell your friends!

Blue Mountain Brewery

A day without a buzz is a day that never was.

It's A Brand Spankin' New Year

I have vowed not too make failure ridden resolutions, but I have made a few that I'd really like to work on.
1) Stop cursing so damn much. Seriously, I do and it's not very becoming.
2) Do one thing just for me every week that I really enjoy. And if it happens to be more often, so be it.
3) Work hard but don't let the hard work induce stress.
4) Save money towards a down-payment on a home.

Of course, there are the usuals - be healthy, lose weight, exercise more, 0declutter the home, yada yada yada. But those aren't really resolutions. They are really a bunch of reasons to feel guilty about all that you don't do, and I don't want that anymore. I'm tired of feeling guilty cause I don't make it to the gym, or because I eat a cookie, or because I acquire more junk for crafts and what not. So, I'm tired of that and that's my main resolution. Stop feeling guilty about all that I don't do.

Let's how it goes. Last night, I didn't bring work home with me, and didn't allow myself to feel guilty about that. So that's good, right?