a day at the beach

with jeremy out of town, corey and i decided it was the perfect weekend for playing hookey, and we headed to rehoboth beach, despite a forecast of 59 degrees.

the three hour drive went swiftly, and we stopped for an excellent mexican lunch before making our way to the beach. with chair and beach blanket in hand, we fought the wind and cool temps with bravado and near disregard, but before long, we gave up our courageous pretense and packed it in.

the truth of the matter is that i just needed to hear the ocean and smell the salt. i've been craving it for some time, and with the duck beach trip still a month away, i knew i couldn't wait. i had almost talked myself out of it when i casually mentioned it to corey, who quickly talked me back into it. and well, he agreed to drive.

at any rate, even though our sand time was short, we spent the rest of the day gawking at kitsch, chowing down on a few bites of funnel cake before beginning to feel nautious, and scoring big at the outlets. well, corey scored big, i just got my heart broken by a store known as 'coach'.

we ended up enjoying a long day at the beach, and getting the much needed escape we both needed. and the advantage of the weather conditions is that we are able to be much more patient in our wait for the 'real' beach trip.


be sure to check out corey's humorous account of the day, and for more pics, go here

more fun from the surrealist

Ten Top Trivia Tips about Tara!

1. Birds do not sleep in Tara, though they may rest in her from time to time.
2. If Tara was life size, she would stand 7 ft 2 inches tall and have a neck twice the size of a human!
3. Twenty-eight percent of Microsoft's employees are Tara.
4. Tara can not regurgitate.
5. The risk of being struck by Tara is one occurence every 9,300 years!
6. The first toy product ever advertised on television was Mr Tara Head.
7. While sleeping, fifteen percent of men snore, and ten percent grind their Tara.
8. About one tenth of Tara is permanently covered in ice.
9. Abraham Lincoln, who invented Tara, was the only US president ever granted a patent!
10. If you blow out all the candles on Tara with one breath, your wish will come true.

I am interested in - do tell me aboutherhimitthem

a slogan a day

"nobody does it like tara"

"all the tara that's fit to print"

"tara prevents that sinking feeling"

"absolut tara"

"nobody better lay a finger on my tara"


now, get your own. (thanks joy)

i *heart* ben & jerry's

on a lovely spring evening (last night), i met up with my dear friend angela for dinner. after dining on a scrumptious 'hail caesar' wrap, and catching up on life, i decided that i needed ice cream.

so we headed to lee's, the great little ice cream shop at reston towncenter, but alas it was closed. in great dismay, angela and i headed back towards her car. and then it happened. i saw a woman holding an ice cream cone!

i politely asked her where she had gotten it from, and she very excitedly responded 'it's free cone day at ben & jerry's!'

i didn't even realize they had put a ben & jerry's in at the towncenter, and it was free cone day. never let anyone tell you that dreams don't come true!

the turning point

well, i think i have finally crawled out of my nice safe little hole.

saturday morning, after a total of three hours of sleep, the alarm clock went off at 4:30. yes, that is am. by 5:30 i was out the door and headed to richmond. needless to say, i was excited to see jeremy.

i arrived at 8ish, and our day together was even more fabulous than last week's. the weather was icky, so despite steph's generously offered chili cookoff tickets, we didn't make it. instead, we played it low-key and by ear, spending some time at belle isle, eating, napping, and watching 'silent hill' (ps avoid at all costs!)

i figured out that with the hours we've spent together he and i are now (roughly) on our 7th date, and things continue to go well. he's amazing. he seems to think i am amazing. it's just all pretty amazing. so now all you haters who thought this was crazy may have to retract your statements;) it's early yet, but be prepared to eat crow!

for those of you who are wondering, yes, jeremy does read my blog (hi honey), and one of the things i particularly appreciate about him is that he is confident and comfortable. he is not afriad of my posts about 'dream men' and friday freak outs. he is confident in who he is and what he has to offer, and is comfortable with his feelings for me and mine for him. the truth of the matter is, neither of us know how this is going to turn out, but we both feel really good about the direction it is heading. good enough that i can safely make reference to my wedding website, without worrying that he is going to run away. that is a precious gift, and one i am extremely grateful for.

after a fabulous day on saturday, i attended church in the langley ward (as i often do). it was one of the most powerful sacrament metings i have ever been part of. the topic was missionary work, and usually that causes shudders and cringes, but in this case i felt quite the opposite. one by one the speakers addressed the subject in profound and eloquent ways, and there were not many dry eyes in the congregation. the spirt was extremely strong, and it left me feeling uplifted and inspired.

the evening was capped off by a drive in karl's new car. we paused at river bend park, and enjoyed the peacefulness and the company.

in many ways this weekend felt like a turning point..a much needed much anticipated turning point, and i can't wait to see what life has to throw at me during the next few months!

p.s. i'm mary-louise parker! woo-hoo!!

enigma:
derailed: (the cast is the only saving grace for a very uncomfortable plot line)
before sunset:
unfinished life: (normally i love robert redford and morgan freeman, but ouch, this one was painful)
capote: (praise to the man: philip seymour hoffman)
shaun of the dead: (oh man, this was funny)
silent hill: (bad, bad, and more bad)

for the rest of the pics, click here.