weekend update cliff notes..

beautiful weather and yet, the small number of friends i have were gone or otherwise occupied. i struggled to find something to do outside that i would be happy doing alone. i love to read, but if i am going to hang out at a park, i'd rather have company. reading is for planes, and beaches, and bedtime.

so..i decided to go horseback riding. i had heard of a place that offered unguided trail rides for cheap. lara, nick , and i have talked about going, but never been able to find a time. so i thought i'd check the place out. me + horse does not equal alone.

i had found some contact info online, so i called. wrong number. so i called information. they had no such listing. i tried again and provided the address. there was another stable listed at the address, and when i called, i learned that it was the same place with a name change. only problem was, apprently they stopped offering unguided trail rides over two years ago.

needless to say, i was bummed.

so i consoled myself in the only way i knew how...by staring at george clooney, brad pitt, and matt damon for a couple of hours. and i was cured!

actually, ocean's 13 is my favorite of the series. 11 was great, 12 was disappointing, and this one, i absolutely loved!

so that is pretty much the weekend recap.

oh! i almost forgot!

friday night, i went up to frederick for a pseudo-impromptu birthday celebration for corey, since he will be out of town for his actual birthday.

jill did an excellent job with the food, and i enjoyes looking through the photographer's wedding pictures. the only downside is that it was me and jill and corey, and three couples i didn't know. i will admit that i was a little uncomfortable being 'odd single woman out', but i overcame, and was glad to have the time with one of my favorite couples:)

so for real this time..that is the weekend recap.

ps-new playlist for you bloglines readers.

i have a plan!

well people, i have come to a decision of sorts.

for the last, well, forever, i have been trying to get out of here. i have waffled on location, sometimes feeling one way, then another. i have waffled on timing, wanting to go asap, but not having the financial resources to do so. so many factors and decisions that seem to elude me constantly.

for the past couple of months, a 'dark horse' location has been tugging at my strings. i still don't feel as though i have gotten the 'be all end all' confirmation that this is 'the place', but i can't deny some of the feelings i've been having about it.

so, after a conversation with my wise friend deb, who does not read this blog, but still knows how wise she is, i have started to put one foot in front of the other.

i reserve the right to change my mind, and i'm sure none of you will be surprised if i do, but for this very moment, i have a plan.

the 'plan' is to put in my notice on september 1st and work through September 15th. this gives me a chance to resolve some things (i.e. finish paying off debt, get my car fixed, and finish my tooth implant process) before i leave. it also gives a decent amount of time for someone to replace me before the next event.

on the 16th, i will hop in my car and drive out to california--sadly, leaving my dog with my parents--where i will be living with my cousin's family for a month. the hope is that if i am actually there, i will be able to secure a job and housing.

if after a month, i have failed miserably, i will return to virginia and try another approach.

i'm incredibly excited about this plan. (southern) california is a place i have always dreamed of living, but with virtually no contacts or support network there, i never had a 'reason.' it is the least logical of all of the choices, yet it gives me warm fuzzies.

also giving me warm fuzzies is the drive out there...i'm planning to spend about a week on the road, making stops in savannah, new orleans, san antonio, phoenix, then on to santa ana. i have never been to the first three and have always wanted to go. i have friends in san antonio and phoenix, so if i can figure out cheap lodging in savannah and new orleans, this could be the best trip EVER!

so there you have it..the plan of the moment. i'll admit, it's the first time one of my 'plans' has me this insanely giddy. i'm sure the terror will set in as it approaches, but it's only a month, right? and if it doesn't work, it doesn't work. and if it does...

the week in (picture) review

monday...mini golf

memorial day afforded the perfect opportunity to get a start on our mini-golf games. 'perils of the lost jungle' at woody's is one of the best around, and i'm not just saying that because nick and i tied for the win.

the perfect place for a scorecard, don't you think?

motley crue

aren't we cute?

tuesday...dinner with justin

our monthly dinner, this time we enjoyed cpk, and delicious ben & jerry's. sorry, no pics!

wednesday...frederick

after not having seen jill and corey for far too long, i headed up (last minute) to spend some time in frederick. someone had recently told me about a frederick 'must see', and while amused that ANYTHING was a must see in frederick, i thought it worth checking out.

i wasn't disappointed when we arrived at the community bridge. though just a concrete bridge, it has been painted to look like and elaborate stonework bridge. the 'mural' includes many different features, so if you are in the area, be sure to check it out.

after the bridge, we picked up cheese steaks and headed back to the apartment to eat and hang out.

anamorphic archangel, view 1

anamorphic archangel, view 2

someone has always got to stick out a tongue..this time, it wasn't me

saturday...strawberry fields

the mini-golf four headed out to great country farms to pick strawberries. the farm exceeded all our expectations. we got some great strawberries and are looking forward to blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries later this summer.

though stiflingly hot, our efforts were well rewarded with ripe delicious berries, to be used in many snacks and meals to come.

just geting started

(photo credit: anniebean) you know you want one

all done! but alas, this only cost me about $5. i should have picked more :(

and THIS is how it's done. to be fair, this crate was shared by nick AND lara.
so lara, you win ;)

not sure how, but this week, i sort of pretended like i had a life. i'm sure i'll shuffle back into reclusiveness next week

strawberry picking

a few of you are already in the loop on this, but i thought i would open it up to the general local blog reading population. (aaron, if you guys aren't already locked in to something--it looks like this place is totally kid friendly!)

tomorrow we are heading out to great country farms in bluemont, va for some strawberry picking!

bluemont is just past purcellville & round hill. directions can be found here. address is: 18780 foggy bottom road, bluemont, va 20135

meet time is 11am, and there is a $5 admission fee (see below to check out all the fun stuff it includes--not the least of which is a hayride to the 'u pick' fields!) and the per pound strawberry price is $2.29. Strawberries are pesticide and herbicide free.

i found a great website with strawberry picking tips, so if you have some time, be sure to check it out. It is going to be a hot day, so definitely bring some water, and consider sunscreen (do i sound like your mother yet?)

i called yesterday and confirmed there are plenty of strawberries to be picked, but i've been trying unsuccessfully to call today to confirm that they provide containers. in my reading it would seem that most places provide them, but some charge for them. you may want to consider bringing a container or two of your own if it is easy to do so. (see 'tips' website above for suggestions.)

Regular Admission from March 31 – November 6(except Festival Weekends) is $5.00/person and includes the following:

* Farm Animal Barnyard & Goat Tree House
* Kid Corral & Lil’ Farmer Barnyard Play areas
* Hayrides to the u-pick fields
* Fishing our stocked pond so bring you pole and some bait
* Four mazes including the new Jammed Tractor and Rope Mazes
* Two Acre farm play area with Rubber Ridge, out new tractor tire mountain, swings, 60' slide, tunnels and more
* Lil’ Farmer Barnyard tot only play area
* ABC Garden with a plant for each letter of the alphabet

please call if you want to join us, so you don't get left behind. if you need my #, shoot me an email.

'buffy the musical' update

just so you all don't start panicking... the avalon finally listed the 'event' in it's special event section, with no option to purchase tickets. that prompted an email on my part (i am sooo not missing this), which resulted in the following response:


Avalon Theatre to me
1:27 pm

Tickets will be on sale I hope within the next few weeks. We are
currently listing a 10:30pm start time but it may need to be pushed a
little later, which is why we can't yet put the tickets on sale. When
they are available we will indicate on our website, but also in our
weekly eNewsletter. If you do not receive that, I'd recommend signing
up. It's pretty straightforward - just tells you what's going on at the
Avalon weekly. You can register at www.theavalon.org.
thanks!

Andy Mencher


so, there you have it. no need to panic, all will be well...keep the evening of july 20th free (or block it out!)