meet charlie

My parents recently adopted a dog from their local animal shelter.

This is Charlie.


Charlie with my sister, Svet.

 Gah, look at that face! I love shelter dogs, and I can't wait to meet this guy.

titaniversary 2012

This past weekend, we celebrated/commorated the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic by going to see the Leo/Kate movie in IMAX 3-D.

And by making tee-shirts. Obviously.


Morgan, me, & Kyle
We were missing Lauren.

 For the record, I've never claimed to be cool.

yom hashoah

For the dead and the living, we must bear witness.

For not only are we responsible for the memory of the dead,

we are also responsible for what we do with those memories.

--Elie Wiesel



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For more on Yom HaShoah and the National Holocaust Days of Remembrance, go here.

no heavy boots today

Today, I'm going to hear Jonathan Safran Foer speak at a local college. He's the author of one of my favorite books of all time: Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close.

In bed that night I invented a special drain that would be underneath every pillow in New York, and would connect to the reservoir. Whenever people cried themselves to sleep, the tears would all go to the same place, and in the morning the weatherman could report if the water level of the Reservoir of Tears had gone up or down, and you could know if New York is in heavy boots.
--Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close



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I'm so excited.

contentment (or something like it)

Sometimes, it's ok to just be ok.

I was thinking about this a few weeks ago while I walked downtown to meet Morgan and Darion for coffee. It was sunny, unseasonably warm, and I was on my way to see two of my favorite people in the world.

While I tend to operate in the gray area in many things, with my feelings I'm quite often very black and white: I'm happy, or I'm not. I've slowly come to realize that this doesn't have to be the case.

Although this concept is hardly groundbreaking, it has truly helped my outlook on everyday life. I'm learning to just be. Perhaps that is why I have been stepping back from this blog every so often as of late. I need to just be content with where my life is at right at this very moment, and not worrying about how it would look on my blog.

I'm trying to learn to rejoice in the small victories, and to learn from the defeats.



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And on this day, right now, right at this very moment, I am happy. But almost more importantly, I am content. I have a loving husband, family, and close friends. The sun is shining, and I got to watch Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade on the big screen last night.

Yes, I would say that I am content. And for now, that is all I can ask.

sundays with shannon

A few weeks ago, my BFF Shannon visited me in GR.

It was sunny and unseasonable warm, and we had a glorious time. Lattes from Starbucks, walking around the GR Art Museum, and lunch at Sami's Gyros made for a perfect, relaxed day.

Shannon and I have been friends since band camp freshman year of high school. I'd like to say that we've gotten cooler since then, but we're still the same goofy nerds who laugh at inappropriate times and know all the words to "My Maria." (No shame.)

Sometimes, it's just nice to spend time with someone who knows where you come from. Someone who knew you when your hair was wild and frizzy, who spent countless Friday nights baking cookies with you in your parents' kitchen. Someone who you haven't lived in same ZIP code with for five years, but who is there for you just like she always has been and always will be.

I didn't take any pictures during the weekend because we were too busy talking, so enjoy this picture of us acting goofy at my wedding.

I'm just so grateful to have such a good friend.