First, thanks for the feedback on the “whaaaa?!” post. Having received confirmation that I’m not way off base, it’s only fair to take it down and speak to the person directly.
We are just about packed. I have a new raincoat with liner, a loaner cross-shoulder bag (two, actually, from two clergy friends—maybe I’ll bring both; […]

Read part 1 here.
Presby-retreat and Back Again

Thursday night we mainly got settled and met up with some of our friends. I found out the unfortunate news about NotShyChiRev’s father, who passed away the day before. NSCR had been scheduled to lead the retreat. Head of Staff was planning to fill in, but he too was […]

And it was wonderful.
Forgive the exhaustive details; we were having too much fun to take many pictures, which means there isn’t much documentation of the trip.
Getting There, First Few Days
Flew into Flat and Hot, Texas in time for pizza dinner with Gram and some other relatives. R had bought a travel DVD player which we […]

As you know, I am downtown on retreat this week. Most of the retreatants are from out of town, so I get to experience this place through the eyes of visitors. So in the spirit of tourism:
1. What is one place you make sure to take out-of-town guests when they visit? (you can be vague […]

We’re here in Midwestern Captital, but we had to work to get here.

We found out Christmas night that United had changed our flights without telling us, from leaving Dulles at 1:30 to leaving at 7:30 p.m. and getting in at 11. Um, no. So they rebooked us, sort of, and instead of a 90 minute […]

Take it from a couple of wanna-be foodies… When you’re at a wonderful restaurant and can’t decide among the menu items, and the chef offers a tasting menu, get it.
…splash of onion soup with a thimble-sized parmesan biscuit
…homemade sourdough with roasted garlic and olive tapenade
…crab salad on couscous with marinated julienne cucumbers
…caramelized scallop with homemade […]

Here’s how the day began:
Woke up at 5:30. R got up soon afterward to get showered before the girls woke up. I fed M at 6:15 and put her back down. The cab picked me up at 6:30. I took the Metro to the airport and checked in with R around 8:00. He said, “You’re […]

three pairs of shorts and shirts; one dress
three pairs of socks, underwear: two princesses and an elmo
elly doll and one of her two nuggies
visor made from craft foam with her name on it
the santa brush (stocking stuffer from last christmas)
toothbrush with the suction cup on the bottom
winnie the pooh toothpaste
purple bathing suit with flowers
swim “googles”
two […]

Random stuff
• We came home to no Internet, which is why the blog has been dark for several days. Bah! Obviously, it’s back now.
• Speaking of blogging, check out this Post article about clergy-blogs, featuring one of the RevGals!
• I’m thinking about growing out my hair.
Vacation Wrapup
• We left Maine Saturday morning at 7:30 […]

This week Aunt S shared a project she’s working on for some nieces and nephews called “C is for Cousin.” I am working on a poem but I’m not sure it’s for public consumption—so here are some ABC’s from Maine:
Ark, Noah. i.e., a LOT of rain beforehand which led to not much beach
Bald eagle sighting
Crack! […]

Busy, fun day—in short, we went to City by the Sea to visit with Songbird while others went shopping; also visited the rocky coast and watched the tide crash in. We’re on our way to see fireworks in a few minutes.
Last night both girls were fit to be tied—neither got much naptime during the day […]

We’re here. Ahhhhhhhh…
Notes from the trip up:
“Let’s just head up I-95″ is a fine plan until you hit NYC at 3:30 p.m.
A walkman for a three-year-old is a GOOD thing, even if the CDs get sticky with chocolate-covered pretzel residue.
M was wonderful except for the last few fussy hours on day 2–which is basically when […]

Quick and disjointed update:
These little dots I’m using to make this list? I learned this week you’re not supposed to call them bullets because that’s violent. Err. Whatever.
The divine miss m was spectacular on this trip. Slept on the plane, charmed my clergy pals, napped on her own for long stretches, you name it. She […]

Excuse me, states *to which* I’ve been… ending a sentence with a preposition is something up with which I will not put.
(Map may take a moment to load)

create your own visited states map
Mamala is here to hang with revbaby while I finish the writing piece for the workshop at the end of the month. Apparently […]

We’re back, as the mountains of laundry, e-mails and to-do lists can attest.
We had a wonderful time. It was a good decision to go to Sesame Place, since it rained a bit yesterday, but the park still had plenty for us to do in the rain. The water park attractions were great, and C surprised […]

And what an innovative title.
All in all, it was a wonderful vacation. R and I had a great time in Chicago, and C had lots of fun at Camp G-mommy. Our trip was definitely low on the lie-around factor, but that was by design. I think we both were probably weary enough to have had […]

My husband, who oversees all things electrical and mechanical in our house, tells me that I should charge my handheld devices (cell phone and PDA) often, so their batteries don’t get too low. But it’s also a good idea to let the batteries drain down low every so often, so they can do what’s called […]

PPB asked me in the previous set of comments whether I’ve been to Iona.
The short answer is, No.
I’m not sure how to characterize the other answer, which is, Yes. So I’ve been told.
Skeptics are really not going to like this one. It sits uncomfortably with me too. But I’m OK with the discomfort. If you […]

Tomorrow afternoon my mother flies in to spend the weekend with little she-who-is.
Tomorrow evening R and I drive 160 miles to Philadelphia and spend the night.
After a relaxed Saturday of sightseeing, we see U2 in concert that evening.
Immediately after the concert we drive home.
The next day is Pentecost, a “high holy day” in the church.
While […]

A strange confession: I love hotels. Nice, big, corporate hotels. Of course, the charm of a quirky bed and breakfast is appealing too, and you can’t beat the low-budget coziness of sleeping on a family member’s pullout couch, but there’s something about the anonymity of a large hotel that has always appealed to me. It’s […]