Googlism

thank you landry
for mentioning googlisms....

according to the web:
maria is a mystery
maria is in heat for how long???
maria is driving down the road in her car singing genie in a
maria is crowned by her director
maria is in the dellapenna lab
maria is a devout catholic
maria is spying on the court in the position of a
maria is accepted once again as a
maria is just waking up
maria is in 5th grade
maria is a single mexican woman from hermosillo
maria island
maria is hopeful"
maria is everywhere
maria is driving down the road in her car singing genie in a bottle by christina aguilera
maria is irie by blackcat1000
maria is greeted by 2 marines at cherry point marine base
maria is cracking me up right about now
maria is crowned rose
maria is 3 and 3/4
maria is baptized in the church of san francesco in corinaldo
maria is a chicken maria is a chicken maria is a chicken
maria is the home of the elks rodeo
maria is best experienced in her "live" performances
maria is a very exiting islands to visit
maria is spying on the court in the position of a waiting lady
maria is accepted once again as a priestess
maria is trying to better understand conditions in the shoe market and she asks you for help
maria is a broadcasting initiative
maria is a residential community specializing in the clinical treatment of children and families of children who are suffering from attachment
maria is in a special fifth grade class that is just for hearing impaired children
maria is a self
maria is a long
maria is only 8 years old now
maria is accredited by the joint commission on accreditation of healthcare organizations and is licensed by the state department of health and mental
maria is a executive secretary
maria is available with or without exotic animals and has the costumes to fit any theme
maria is a 12
maria is moored below lock 22e in slaithwaite
maria is a 15 year
maria is left out of aaa guidebook
maria is located at the feet of a vertical rock called la penna and extends into the shallow floodplain of the sangro
maria is one of new zealand?s leading winemakers
maria is married to robert faulkner
maria is one of eleven brothers and sisters
maria is by far the kookiest
maria is a large rainforest canopy tree
maria is a beautiful texture
maria is interested in the following activities
maria is born
maria is a reachability analyzer for concurrent systems that uses algebraic system nets
maria is currently listed for a second liver transplant
maria is simple but crucial to understanding the origins of its name
maria is a dark liqueur
maria is a popular place for family gatherings with bbq's available for cookouts and a day of fun and play on the tampa bay side of the
maria is still in love with connor but maria is lizs best bud
maria is a bad cook
maria is well known for her assessment of the interaction between economic policy and political trends and their effect on investment returns
maria is arrested
maria is to wed a rich german banker
maria is its residential character
maria is the most beautiful
maria is a high
maria is important as a catalyst that institutes anarchy into the structured world of the working class
maria is the current ''european ladies figureskating champion
maria is fascinated from basketball
maria is also the first latin
maria is organized to make this closeness most effective and efficient in rendering services to its people
maria is more massive then ever
maria is more aggressive than arnold
maria is a channeled artist because the only the 'brush' for these beautiful paintings
maria is natuuroma
maria is considered more economically priced than nearby neighbors'
maria is seeking applicants for the position of building official
maria is 68 degrees
maria is a featured guest on the piece "the secret life of maria k"
maria is the only other adult that james meets who is actually sane
maria is represents everything james wanted in a wife
maria is five

Mud & Fluff

I realize I haven't written since the 13th. Terrible. I've clearly had my head in the land of wedding planning, unable to much else besides work [hardly] and work out [a lot]. I was trying not to blog about wedding planning---how boring...but since that's all I seem to be talking about, that's the best I can do.

I've realized some interesting things during this whole wedding-planning process.
a) it is difficult to avoid the hype
b) i'm happy to work a little harder to avoid the hype
c) somehow out of no where I cultivated a girly side. who woulda' thought.

It really is difficult to avoid the hype. I know, many people out there really love this stuff, but to me, it's just not as important as they try to make it. It seems that anytime you put the word 'wedding' in front of something--i.e. 'wedding invitation', the price goes bonkers. One place quoted $850 for 50 invitations. ?!? So, I'm designing them myself. I am, afterall a designer...might as well put this skill set to use.

And I am happy to work a little harder to avoid the hype. Precisely why I visited 10 bridal shops after discovering the cost of my 'dream dress' was several thousand dollars [that's 50% off the 'original' price]. It wasn't even new--it was a second hand sample that needed a wash. The freaking bridal store probably got it for free from the designer. It was 'perfect' but I couldn't live with myself if I laid out that much cash for 6 hours. I vowed [pun intended] not to do it and for a fleeting moment, I almost lost it...I almost got sucked right in. Thankfully I didn't. What do I care if it's 'Silk Macado' [i truly have no idea what that even is] and it was so and so Couture Designer. I've never cared about that stuff and I'm not going to start now. The thing that really got me was the pressure from the bridal store--they really try hard to wrap your heart strings in a vice and give you all sorts of deadlines and urgency. Screw them.

A male friend from high school asked if I will be wearing a 'traditional wedding gown' and commented that he has never seen me in a dress, which is probably true. I didn't even really like dresses until a few years ago. Go figure. All this time I have stubbornly been the anti-girl--a mud-loving mountain biker who abhors the mall and dayspas and suddenly I'm loving the fluff and frills. Still love the mud and the bike [and the runs/kayak/climbs] but now...also love the fluff. Mud and Fluff...a decent combo I suppose.

Off to the gym--must start painting again. The original reason for this blog was a place to post my artwork.....

Bush etc.

Yes, I disappeared for a while. Planning a wedding will do that. I am getting worried with the current state of affairs after having read two articles today. One pointed to 'Kill Bush' tshirts on Cafe Press. I clicked through the tshirt in the news article to see what the fine print was and it had already been removed from Cafe Press who noted that they will not allow 'hateful' messages on their site. Then I read that the Secret Service was visiting a college art show in Chicago where a student created a mock stamp with a picture of Bushy with a gun to his head. So much for creative expression and freedom of speech! Apparently some other college student got a visit from the Secret Service after having drawn an image of Bush's head on a stick or something. Are you kidding me? I thought that was part of the fun of America...to be able to say what you feel with out worrying about the men in black coming for a visit. Sheesh.

tan

you know you're tan when your african american friend sees you and says: "you're black!!"

Vacation

I had a blogless existence for a week. I was too busy frying my skin off in the hot sun of the Carribean. I went sailing around the leeward islands with Andrew and his family. It was my first experience living on a boat for a week and I loved it. We arrived in St. Martin late Saturday night and boarded the Catamaran which was stocked up and ready to go. We set sail bright and early Easter morning for St. Eustatius [Statia for short]. It was a choppy ride and we all were still getting our sea legs. I felt fine as long as I was sittting in the same position on the deck and not going below. We arrived at Statia late in the afternoon and found a mooring field to dock on. We spent the afternoon swimming and snorkling [the water felt like 80 degrees] and then did some exploring on land.

On Monday we sailed over to St. Kitts and took a spot on a dock close to town. We took a tour of the island from George the taxi driver and we saw lots of goats, sheep, chickens, monkeys and other 'pets' wandering around the island. Nighttime fun included deckside BBQ's and chumming the water for fish. One of us flipped a piece of beef into the water and instantly heard a big splash. We then took the rest of the dinner scraps and with flashlight in hand watched for the big [big enough for me to second-guess snorkling] fish to jump for their dinner. We all speculated what they were--some of us thought barracuda, a few votes for small sharks and yet another vote for tuna. Whatvever they were, they had teeth. We also got to witness the Queen Mary II pull into the harbor. QMII is currently the largest ship in the world and it's pretty amazing to see up close.

On Weds. before the QM's passengers could flood the town we cruised over to Nevis and got a great spot on a mooring near the beach. More snorkling followed by an afternoon run on land where we saw a few wild monkeys, some cows and a really large bull that thankfully couldn't run too fast.

By Thursday we made our way to St. Barths. The town of St. Barths is very quaint, very french and very chic. I guess it's a duty-free port which means everything is 'cheaper'. Relatively speaking of course because the stores [Cartier, Louis Vitton etc.] rival anything on 5th Ave. I liked the french-ness of the town and the little cafés with baguettes and tiny espresso coffee. All of the buildings were painted in easter-egg colors with brightly contrasting shutters and roofs. We had a great spot on a mooring near the town and had a chance to see some amazing sailboats ready for a race the next day. Big sea turtles were swimming all over the harbor and the ocean floor [which you could see the bottom of at 25 feet] was littered with giant red starfish.

Friday morning we watched the race sail by us as we moved from our moorning to a small beach on the other side of St. Barths. We all went snorkling and then Andrew and I paddled over to a ladder on the beach that lead to a walking path. The path wound around the volcanic rocks and up the hills revealing some of the most beautiful views of the trip.

Saturday morning [already! how time does fly when you're having fun] we sailed back to St. Martin where we packed up our gear and headed home. :'(

I've always been more of a camper/hiker than a boater but I loved the experience. Being on a boat felt like camping with a twist. You still have the BBQ's and the endless stars but you also don't need to wear shoes [or very much clothing besides your bikini] and you can quickly pick up your campsite at anytime for a better view. I loved going to sleep with the porthole open over my head. It felt like sleeping outside with the feel of the ocean breeze and all of the stars but in the comfy-warmness of your own bed. I also loved eating breakfast and then jumping from the 'dining room' into the ocean for a morning swim or paddling over to shore to go exploring. The wildlife is great. It's incredible what colors the carribbean fish are painted.

Back to reality...back to April in CT. I heard rumours of sunshine and 50--biking season is here!!