Archive for January, 2009
What industry ushered you into the workforce?
Friday, January 30th, 2009
My first job was working at a florist. I was 15, and two or three days a week my friend would drop me off at Blooms where I would work until 7:30 or 8:00, whenever my step-dad would get off of work and was able to pick me up. Or whenever the last person at work would leave and took me home. I bummed so many rides to and from that place. I made $7.00 when I started and $8.00 when I left. Only a dollar raise in 3 years. wow.
I also took a lot of chocolate. Godiva chocolate. We sold those individual truffles that you could buy singly (sp?) or in a box. My favorite one was dark chocolate mint. It was rich brown with minty green icing piped over top. Geeze, that was good!
(Picture not mine.)
I worked there for three years, even though I was allergic to flowers. Every year I worked there on Valentines day. The third year I worked there on Valentines day I had a boyfriend at the time, and I was super-pissed that they made me work. He came in close to closing time (the store was still bustling at 8:30!) and waited for me to get off of work. When I came out of the back he was waiting there with a long-stemmed peach rose. It was pretty awesome, even though I went right home and so did he.
After I graduated high school I didn’t go back to visit until I was 25. 10 years later, the same lady still owned the store and was closing up shop as I arrived. She didn’t recognize me until I told her who I was. I bought a plant, even though I kill everything that is green, but it is miraculously still alive today! I say miraculously because we forget to water for weeks upon weeks, and yet it still lives! And no it’s not plastic. I keep checking.
(This blog brought to you by Plinky. I’m hoping that this will get me writing more. Because apparently I don’t write in my blog ever.)
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Inauguration Day
Tuesday, January 20th, 2009
For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus — and nonbelievers. We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth; and because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation, and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace.
~Barack Obama~
Wes, Bryce and I went to American Flatbread today to watch the Inauguration. There was a pizza and salad bar, and just warmth and happiness all around! They were going to have a projector shoot it onto a screen but couldn’t get it working in time. But we were able to watch it on the tv in the bar, all nice and warm. Poor people in DC in the 29 degree weather, although it sure looked like fun! I would have loved to have gone down there, but there was no way I was going to brave that cold for HOURS with a 6 month old! It was nice being able to eat and drink while watching the Inauguration.
Anyways, on to the pictures!
Well, of course I can’t start off a post without a picture of Bryce 
When we got there she was just staring all around, taking everything in.
A “view” of the Capitol.
Just moments before Obama is sworn into office, can you see the excitement in Bryce’s face?
VP Joe Biden
Everyone watches in anticpation as Obama is sworn into office.
The Moment.
Just moments after Obama is sworn in. I love the woman’s face on the right, she was just so happy throughout the entire lunch.
Obama’s Inaugural Speech
I love this picture of the owners. The wife is hugging her husband just shortly after Obama was sworn into office. They were both very happy
What a wonderful lunch, what a wonderful day
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Anniversary Vacation
Tuesday, January 6th, 2009
Wes, Bryce and I took off to Gordonsville, VA for the weekend for a little getaway. Our anniversary was yesterday, the 5th, and we decided it would be nice to spend the weekend away. My mom and step-dad were nice enough to let us use one of their timeshares that was in Gordonsville. The ‘resort’ is about half an hour, or so, from Charlottesville, VA.
We stayed in a Yurt (go here for a picture of what they look like from the outside, I forgot to take one), which was pretty stinkin’ cool. When we walked inside, this was our view:
We had such a relaxing time at the yurt (I love that word…). We had no internet connection, no cellphone service. Nothing. It was kind of weird not having any connection to the “outside” world, but I soon found it to be very relaxing not having anything to worry about Here’s some more Yurt pictures:
We then met up with my friend Maggie who lives in Charlottesville, VA. She was only about a half an hour away and she was kind enough to give us a mini-tour of Charlottesville. She showed us this wonderful sandwich place (and the name totally slipped my mind) which had only organic food (sandwiches, soups, etc), and was the MOST delicious sandwich I’d ever had:
It was called The Adam’s Apple Sandwich and it had turkey, bacon, lettuce, apple butter, granny smith apple slices, goat cheese, some kind of delicious sauce, and just wonderfulness all throughout. SO GOOD. Thank you Maggie
That’s Maggie with Bryce. Bryce certainly loved Maggie (and vice-versa, I’m sure!) A
After we had lunch, we went on a little excursion down the main path of downtown Charlottesville. It has so many cute little stores, and we stopped inside a few art stores and one awesomely cute bookstore made even cuter when our little one was visiting;
(seriously, now that she is sitting up, it makes it SO much easier to take pictures of her!)
We also found a chalk wall that people could write messages/names/obscenities/etc on. Maggie found the perfect little spot for Bryce to sit by (this is by far my favorite picture from the trip):
Of course there were many other photo ops to take advantage of:
And we had to get a group shot, thank you window reflection for obliging,
Bryce soon decided that she wanted to be a lump of potatoes and passed out in my arms. It was cute, but man is that kid getting heavy!
Wes and I went back to the yurt (yay yurt!) shortly thereafter and my wonderful husband grilled us some grass-fed steaks (YUM) along with grilled asparagus and some local VA wine. SO GOOD! I didn’t get a picture of the dinner cause I scarfed it down so quickly, but here is the cute little wine shop we got our local wine from:
Unfortunately we had to leave the next day… Hopefully we’ll be able to go back sometime in the future (or at least vacation somewhere else, I love seeing new places!). But here is a leaving shot of the beautiful Virginia country side. I was really hoping that the cows might come closer to the fence, but it was cold and they didn’t seem too interested so my patience quickly waned. So long cows!
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