It's been real, 2011...

...The other night, Ricky and I were discussing 2011.  It wasn't an awful year, but it also wasn't the easiest.  We both had to face some tough things in our lives, though I feel the experiences made us grow as people in the long run.  We've also grown quite closer, helping each other out when things got tough.  These experiences, though, are a bit personal, and not meant to be written about in a public blog.  But if you know either of us personally, you know it's had its ups and downs.  There were tears, and stressed sighs, and harumphs from both of us all twelve months.  Speaking with some friends of ours, it seems the whole year was rough on many people.  I, personally, am ready to be done with the whole year and start fresh. 

That being said, 2011 had its high moments.  Our trip to Vermont was the loveliest few days I've ever spent.  I fell in love with Northern Vermont, and if we could I'm pretty sure I'd change my random musings from the 0-1-9-7-0- to random musings from the 0-5-4-0-1.

We've discussed a return to Burlington soon for another vacation, so I'm sure there will be more stories and photos from Lake Champlain in the months or years to come.

We also adopted this little guy:

And any year which involves that face has its merit.  Since February, Lewis PizzaCat has charmed and snuggled his way into our hearts.  He's grown up a lot since this photo was taken (from 1.9 lbs to 11 lbs) but he's still the snuggly baby we adore and obsess over.

So, 2011, I am glad you're going to be over.  You were rather unkind in many parts.  I'm hoping 2012 is bright and fresh and new and exciting.  I have high expectations for sure.

2010's best pics: #1 (it's a tie! Part 2)

Aaaand here's the other #1. See? It's hard to pick a favorite, since one compositionally turned out nicely, but the other is a big event and perhaps my most favorite moment and memory from 2010.

#1 part 2: Amanda's Wedding. Rockport, MA.
2010 brought a lot of people getting engaged and getting married. A lot. I went to two weddings, and at least eight friends getting engaged (there could be more... but I'm having a hard time counting in my head). Lots of huge life changes in my circle of friends.

But the wedding that is the most meaningful of 2010 was that my best friend Amanda, who I have known since preschool (PRESCHOOL) got married to her college sweetheart, Dan. I was in the wedding, and it was a great day. I spent basically a weekend with one of my closest and dearest friends and her wonderful family, and then for the reception was there with my parents and all of my best high school buds dancing and partying well into the night.

While there are a lot of nice reception and ceremony photos, this is my favorite. I feel it sums up Amanda's wedding best. Jess and Amanda are dancing together, and clearly fully committing to it. I love their hair in it, and joked that it was like a shampoo commercial, since it was so glossy and flowy. I love that they're both pretty flushed from so much dancing, that they're so into dancing and having a good time. I also like that no one's looking at me, they're that into dancing.

It's great not technically (like the apple picture) but more for the moment and memory.



And that's it! All my favorite pictures from 2010. This was a nice way to remember the year and gear up for more photos and more events in the year to come.

2010's best pics: #1 (it's a tie! Part 1)

When reviewing all of my pictures, I thought I had a clear #1, but when when re-reviewing them, I was torn between two shots and wasn't sure which one to make #1 and which one would be #2. So I decided that this is my game and my rules, so there are two #1 pictures of 2010. Deal with it, Cate Blanchett.

#1 part 1: Russell Orchard. Ipswich, MA.
It's another image from when Ricky and I went to Russell Orchard last fall. I'm particularly proud of how it turned out. Clearly, there's not much background you need to know. Also, #10 is the same day as this shot, so if you read the #10 post, you know the background. But in short: we're picking apples, and Ricky is showing off one of the apples we picked.

I love that I got the exact photo I wanted. I wanted the apple to be in focus, so you can see all the flecks and details on the skin, but that Ricky to be out of focus and obscured slightly by the apple, but that you can still tell it's him. And it worked. The colors are all great, with the blues and greens of the orchard and Ricky's read sweatshirt. And his body language is perfect. I love that he's naturally holding the apple with only two fingers. It's so perfectly exactly what I wanted in a picture.

So, in short, this picture captures one of my favorite day trips with Ricky and a perfect Fall New England day.

2010's best pics: #2

I find myself with some unexpected free time on a Sunday afternoon. Plans to knit fell through, Ricky is cashing in cans, and I decided I should write up #2 and (hopefully) #1 of this series.

#2: Marsha's Farm. Gloucester, MA.
One thing Ricky and his friends from high school (still his best friends, too, which I've always appreciated since I have a similar thing going with my best friends) love to do all year round is play bocce. This is not the "softly rolling balls on a beach" bocce, but more like golf where you traverse all over an area aiming to get points. This also includes throwing the bocce balls hard, climbing on rocks, and running to see who gets the points per round. I've played on ice, snow, In other words, this is not your grandmother's bocce.

This particular round was held at a farm in Gloucester in the spring. Jon and Megin were up from Philly (I can't remember why) and the weather was nice, so we got some bocce in. We managed to play all over this farm, which was hilly and beautiful. It was right out of an Austen novel. Part of the house rules of bocce is that right when the last person throws his/her ball, the rest of the players spring to the site to gauge who won that round. I loved seeing Ricky and all of his high school friends sprinting all over on the lush greens and in the blue skies, so I wanted to get a few pictures of it. The picture above is (l-r) Paulie, Leon, Emile, Ricky, and Jon. Their running styles were so perfect for them, and I think it's great seeing everyone in action. Also, how beautiful is this farm and this day? So perfect.

So why I love this picture is that it's a perfect spring day capturing a bunch of old friends hanging out together.

2010's best pics: #3

So I had good momentum going... then the weekend happened and work has been super busy. So my bad! I promise to finish this up over the next few days.

Soooo back at it and onto #3:

#3: Mum's Kitchen. Rockport, MA.
This may not be the best photo compositionally speaking, or even talent-wise. So 2010 was a big change in cats for my parents' house. Midnight passed away shy of 18, and my Mum decided to get two new cats. The first was Nicky, and then Coco a few months ago. Nicky, seen above, was a complete change from Midnight. While both ran the house like a little general, Nicky was a lot more vocal and open, whereas Midnight often shied from the public. She was like that Greta Garbo line "I wish to be left alone". Midnight was also small and slight, and Nicky is far larger and... well, girthier.

And yet, there are many similarities. Both cats have a interest in watching on the outdoors and breaking rules of where to go and not to go. Nicky is not allowed on the kitchen counters (for obvious reasons) but when I was visiting my parents one weekend, I came into the kitchen to see Nicky watching birds outside while sitting on the kitchen counter. Before shooing her away, I decided to snap a quick picture.

I love that, even though you can't see her face, you still get all of her personality. Intent, focused, slightly spoiled. I also like that the kitchen is a little more darkly lit, and so the outdoors pop with light. It makes the silhouette of Nicky more interesting and pronounced. And finally, I like that her tail is on a plate.

Again, not the best photo, but the personality behind it is big. Also, the fact that it was such a substantial changing of the guard in pets, it's a nice symbol of that.

2010's best pics: #4

Back at work today, and doing the amount of two days of work in one, so this post got pushed into the evening hours. I'll be happy when things calm down a bit at work... sadly, we're looking at mid-May for that to happen.

#4. Rhinebeck Sheep and Wool Festival. Rhinebeck, NY.
This year, I did what many a New England knitter did before me and trekked to Rhinebeck, NY for the Sheep and Wool Festival. It was a good weekend spent with friends, and it made me fall a little bit in love with the Hudson River Valley. Rhinebeck is nice mix of small college town and farming lands. I highly recommend you all visit it once for a vacation...just maybe not the weekend of the sheep and wool festival if you're not into sheep or wool.

One of the things people like to do at Rhinebeck, it seems, is model some of your hand knits. This is both practical -- it's a little chilly in New York in mid-October! -- but also for pride. I sported my purple sweater I made in September one day, and then my tan sweater that took eons to make the other. My friend Crystal sported some lovely hand knits sweaters, but also wore many a pair of hand knit socks.

Crystal owns a pair of clear Chuck Taylors, so you can model the socks you wear as well. The first day, she was wearing green knit socks that blended nicely with the grass. I took a picture of her feet on grass.

One of things I like about this photo is all the textures. The shine of the shoe, the blades of grass, the look of the sock. I also like that you can't tell who it is, but if you know Crystal... it's obvious it's her from the sense of style and skill level. I also love that her feet are slightly turned in, making a casual pose. And finally, I like that at first glance you may think "interesting texture of green shoe?" but upon further investigation you realize... oh wait, those are socks she made!

I do wish the picture was a little bit crisper, but I like this image as a microcosm of the whole weekend: nature, friends, knitting. I'm quite proud of it.

2010's best pics: #5

A lot of my teacher friends have two days off in a row. While I am jealous of them now as I have to go back to work tomorrow, I am not jealous of them having to teach into July at this rate.

Anyways, onto #5. Top 5!

#5: Mum's Kitchen at Easter. Rockport, MA.
One of my top holidays is Easter. This is because of the message of rebirth and renewal, but also because less religiously-speaking, it's the end of winter, the beginning of Spring, and I like Sunrise Service and the big Easter Dinner my mom has.

Sunrise Service always produces beautiful pictures, as it's on Good Harbor Beach at Sunrise with a small group of people and a saxophonist, talking about the messages of Easter, but I wanted to make #5 a pic of my favorite part of the Easter dinner, along with my favorite picture of said meal.

For as long as I can remember, my Mum has been making something called Bunny Bread. It's a honey roll that's shaped like a bunny with raisin eyes. We joke that while they are cute before they go into the oven, sometimes they come out looking like a Picasso painting. They are truly delicious. I think they came from Gourmet Magazine (RIP and screw you, Conde Nast!).

So my mom was making her annual batch of Bunny Bread on her cart and they looked really nice in the light, so I was taking pictures of the process. I also wanted to get some of the bunny facial expressions, since they're always so cute. This one was my favorite, because of how off-sided his face was, but also the sadness to his "eyes". He seemed a little overwhelmed and confused. I also like that you can see in the background more bunnies, so you know he's part of a crew.

2010's best pics: #6

It's a snow day, and Ricky's home sick trying to sleep off feeling lousy, but that doesn't mean that I'm not posting a picture!

This one is more to embody a weekend and an experience, and not really for the talent of the picture itself:

#6 Ricky's parent's pool at St. Peter's Fiesta. Gloucester, MA.
When you grew up in Gloucester, St. Peter's Fiesta is kind of like a second Christmas. A second, drunker, and more friend-oriented Christmas. Local Italian Catholics focus on the family and religious aspects of the holiday, but Ricky and his friends use it as an opportunity to embrace their roots and spend a lot of quality time together that they may not have the opportunity to at other holidays.

So this was the first year I was dating Ricky during Fiesta and as a good girlfriend, I embraced it whole-heartedly. I watched the Greasy Pole running on the beach and cheered when the winner was brought to the shore. I cheered at the boat races. I ate fried dough. I walked around with friends and yelled "Viva Saint Pedro". And when we weren't at the beach, we were at his house lounging by his parents' pool.

While there are better pictures of the aforementioned events, this one is my favorite of the weekend. All of Ricky's old roommates from Philly came up for the event, along with his friend Sean (in the front) and Jon (in the back) from New York and Philly, respectively. I had just gotten back from hosting Amanda's bridal shower when I saw Sean sitting in a tiny chair while still wearing a bathing suit, and Jon lounging on an outdoor couch directly behind him. It was very much a "if we were cool movie makers or musicians in a magazine" image, so I captured it.

I liked that the are itself seemed a little chaotic with random pieces of furniture, flowers, plates, towels, and fencing, and yet Sean has focus in the middle of this. I also liked that these two hipsters are embracing something so small town and from their roots and childhood. They may be two of the coolest people I know, but they'll never be too cool for Fiesta.

2010's best pics: #7

Let's keep plugging along, shall we? This one is a weird submission, but I swear it makes sense as to why it's in the list.

#7. The Commons. Salem, MA.
This is an odd submission, I'll admit to that. So this is the morning after a big wind storm in Salem this past spring and I was living in my old studio. Ricky spent the night, and we were up all night worried the house was going to blow over, because it was being shaken that much by very intense and scary winds. The next morning I walked to the train to go to work through the Commons, as I always did, and the roads were a mess. A funeral home up the street had a huge tree fall over, fortunately only on the drive and not on the fence or house itself. I remember feeling really relieved that my car or apartment didn't have any big damage, and that things didn't seem too bad the next morning.

I think what I really liked when taking this picture is not only the texture of the soft clouds in the background vs. the rough debris in the foreground, but also that the dark and shadowy debris may be in the front, but in the background shining through was the blue skies of a clearer day, and therefore something to look forward to.

2010's best pics: #8

Moving along to #8! I'm really glad I decided to do this, especially since it's been fun looking through old photos and remembering various trips and events of 2010. It also puts a nicer spin on my overall feeling of the year.

#8: Richardson's. Middleton, MA.
This photo is from when Ricky and I went mini golfing at Richardson's. If you live in the area, it's a great place to spend an afternoon. We played mini golf, spent some time at the batting cages, and then had ice cream while watching some baby cows. Richardson's, a dairy darling of the North Shore, produces its milk and ice cream here. For some of the cuter calves, they graze at a gated farm in the middle of the park.

The reason why I like this picture is basically because it's so freaking cute. I was watching the brown calf that's standing walk over to the two calves who were lying down. And I thought in the back of my mind "he's going to lick one of their heads, get ready". And sure enough, he did. So I quickly tried to capture what looked like one calf kissing the forehead of another calf. And I, luckily, managed to do that. I also like how the other calf is spooning the lying down brown calf. It's a sunny, bright day, and there's a lot of cuteness going on here. So I'm a big fan.

2010's best pics: #9

I realize that if I want this to be successful, I may need to post more than one on a day so this doesn't take like two weeks to complete. So on that note...

#9: Topsfield Fair. Topsfield, MA
Bob, Erin, Matt, Ricky, and I went to the Topsfield Fair this year. It was most everyone's first time (minus me and Ricky). It was also an exciting trip, because this is when Ricky and I got Alva the fish.

At the end of the night, Bob, Ricky, Erin, and I took a trip up on the Ferris Wheel. I hate heights a lot, so this was big for me.

I like a lot about this picture, but perhaps most of all is the lack of focus. No one's looking at me, or even in the same direction. You can't really see Erin or Bob's faces, because of the bar in the middle of our pod and Ricky's hand. It's dark, and everyone's blurry. You can't even see Erin's eyes because of the reflection of fair lights below. The background is a blurry yellow light. I don't know why, but the mood and atmosphere of the fair made this haziness even more appropriate.

I also love that the sky is dark and that there's a distinct line of light and dark on the horizon. It's all a lovely effect and memory.

2010's best pics: #10

Today while on my lunchbreak, I thought of a new series to blog about. Over the weekend I took some really good pics of a friend's baby, and it made me think of pictures I like that I took over the last year. Some I thought turned out really good, and others I just really like the memory associated with it. So then I thought I'd go through my Top 10, rank them, and say why I like it. Please keep in mind I'm not a professional photographer, nor do I have fancy pants camera technology.

#10: Russell's Farms. Ipswich, MA
This picture I took while Ricky and I were apple picking for the season. This is in the actual orchard. We went later in the day, so the lighting was quite impressive. I loved the light poking through the clouds over the darkness of the trees itself and wanted to capture that. The ambiguity of the image was a nice effect, too. You can't really tell where I am, or what the darkness is at the bottom. You can't tell if it's trees or bushes or what.

The textures of the clouds vs the textures of the trees is nice, too. The swirl of the sky vs. the swirl of the trees.

And getting away from the technical, I really liked our apple picking session this year. I had on a newly knit sweater, the weather was nice, and we got a lot of great apples. It was a fun afternoon trip, and I really liked a lot of the pictures I got from it.

2010, a revue:

I'm preparing to be busy with the theatre peeps for NYE, so I'm doing my year in review now.

2010 was, I'd say for most people, about 40% good and 60% bad. I feel like I saw so many people having rough times. While a lot of good happened in 2010, so much bad happened, too. A recap:

The Good!
--Ricky and I moved in together, and had a great full calendar year together.
--Two of my good friends had babies! Awesome!
--My cousins got a great little puppy named Murray.
--Coco and Nicky.
--New job continuing to be good.
--Amanda got married!
--Countless friends got engaged.
--Rachel got married.
--I got Alva the fish.

The Bad!
--Midnight died.
--Maggie the dog died.
--Pat died. (too upsetting for me to write about)
--Ricky had some job woes and it was stressful.
--A rat moved into my apartment and wreaked havoc.
--Shitty neighbors.
--Three friends had issues with fertility (I won't mention who for their privacy).
--Buying my car was a dog and pony show.
--Leo switched to being in a wheelchair full time.
--Dramas with my grandparents.
--Too much family crap to write about in one blog between me and Ricky.
--Numerous friends have had job woes.
--Dramas with all dads.

But I know a lot of people have had issues in 2010. So I'm actually kind of glad to be putting this year to bed and move onto 2011. I have strong hopes for next year. A lot of weddings, some babies, two years with Ricky, probably more engagements, and other good things.

Peace out 2010, and bring on 2011!!

2010: The year of REALLY getting shit done

So... I don't know if you noticed or not... but 2009 was not the year of Getting Shit Done. It was more like The Year of Change. Let us review some of the changes...

I changed jobs. I went from not that great job to super awesome funtimes job. It took well over a year of hunting and secretly seeking out a new job, but it's well worth it. I've been there a month and a half, but it's been so wonderful.

I moved into a 1BR and live on my own. After three years of three different roommates, I ready to be done with living with people for a bit. And I wanted to prove to myself that I could live on my own and be self-sustaining. I will probably be moving back in with someone at the end of this lease (my boyfriend), but it's been a great year of living on my own.

I went to four weddings, one friend got married in city hall, I lost count how many got engaged, three friends had babies, and two are pregnant. Lots of big and great life changes from my friends. So exciting and fun.

And most importantly...

I re-met Ricky. I never would have thought the charming interesting person I met at Patti's house a few years ago and never spoke to for two years at EBSCO would come charging back into my life and I'd fall in love with him. After two years of miss after miss in the dating world, I found someone I can see myself with for a very long time and I am truly content in this part of my life.



So now that I've outlined the change, let's review the shit that needs to get done:

Really pay down/off credit cards. It's going to happen. I know it.

Buy my car. Lease is up in February, and it's time to make The Honda mine.

Start yoga with Ricky. I'm getting a video, and we're going to be spending a lot of time doing yoga.

Make a dress with my new sewing machine. (pictures to come soon of said machine) I've made pillows and a bag is next. I want to make myself sundresses.

Visit DC and/or Nashville and/or Pittsburgh. And definitely visiting Charlottesville. And Connecticut. Lots of friends in lots of places.

Eat better. I've made a lot of new and tasty dishes this year (see? I did get some of my GSD list accomplished!) but that's just the beginning. Time to get better and even more diversified.

Get a bike for Salem! Still would love to have a bicycle so I drive even less.

Be the best bridesmaid ever for Amanda (other than Lyndsey). My best friend gets married in August and I'm in the wedding. Let's show her a hell of a good time.


Let's hope I have a better success rate this time around.

2009: The Year of Getting Shit Done

I deemed 2008 "The Year of Traveling" and "The Year of Dating Around", but I decided that this year will be the one of getting shit done. There's too much stuff on my plate or hounding me. That's not to say I won't be traveling or dating (hopefully lots and lots of both are in my future), but I really want this year to be one where at the end of it I can re-read this blog post and say "hey, you got a lot of shit done!". Here they are:

--FINALLY run my charitable 5k. This will be tough. I need to get better at running, run outside, run really far, and so forth. Learn pacing, learn patience. But I think this is the year. This will also help accomplish a few of my other things on this list.

--Pay down my credit cards. I have two, technically, though they're the same bank. But I'm really talking about the big one, since Emergency 500 CC will be easy to pay off. But my credit card still has two flights, two weddings, gas from all the driving, and I know that once that's way down, if not completely, that's one less stress in my life. And I really think this is will be possible. Just a matter of being smart. I have it hidden in my dresser, so I can't use it, and it's worked wonders so far.

--Save more. This relates to the one before it. When I'm not throwing that much money to my credit card, I can re-build my savings that were wiped out from the EBSCO State Tax Fuck Up.

--Get in shape and be at a weight I'm happy with. I'm not fat, by no means, but I want to feel like I'm healthy and not see pudge. Running and working out more should help with this.

--Knit down my stash by a lot. My room is taken over by yarn. Two tupperware things, a shopping bag, and several other bags in my closet. I did a good job at this for the craft fair, but I can work further at this. When I have no real projects going on... keep making hats and stuff for the next craft fair or for gifts, and keep knitting it down. My goal is to get rid of the shopping bag and a lot of the little bags in my closet.

--Write more letters. Emails are convenient, but real letters or postcards are so nice! Send them to more than just Erin.

--Cook more, and cook more different things. I need to expand my food horizons and get better at making more than just rice-based dishes. And to eat more fresh veggies. This will help with the getting back in shape goal.

--Knit more of my queue and read more of my queue. I am part of Goodreads and Ravelry, and my queues are insane. Instead of adding, I need to subtract by actually making or reading. No excuses.

--Visit Grammy and Grampy more.

--Less whining at or about work. Yeah, there are days when I am convinced I work with morons and that my job is going nowhere. Suck it up, or do stuff to change it. No one cares. Get it done.

--Walk at lunch when it's nice out.

--Photograph more, paint more, and make more art for my apartment. Too many ideas floating around, and too many bare walls. I have the talents and resources. Get on that shit!

--Sew! This is iffy, since I'd need to buy a sewing machine and get patterns and start a new hobby. But I've always wanted to, and I think it'd be great. Make curtains and clothes. How awesome would that be??

--Yoga? Kirsten keeps talking about it. Now might be the time to do it.

2008 in Review

Let me sum up the year, in bullet points as only I can.


--2008, despite a lot of mud in my face, was a Year of Landry. Yeah, not everything went as planned, but seriously... what does? I learned a lot about myself, dated some interesting people, learned so much about who my true friends are, and did a shit ton of traveling. So while the Justin thing was awful, and I feel in a rut about my job... I'd chock this one up as a win.

--I really like traveling. I went to Nashville, St. Louis, Cleveland, and will be ending the year in Maine. And they were all awesome. It's pricey, and takes a lot out of you, but I say go traveling.

--I got a lot of great CDs. Arcade Fire, Yael Naim, Sigor Ros, Santogold, Ludo, and probably tomorrow I'll be getting Fleet Foxes, MGMT, and Belle and Sebastian. That being said...

--...not nearly enough movies! Wall-E, Dark Knight, and Iron Man top my list. Also big props to Persepolis. But yeah, nothing's left me blown away so far. Hoping to catch a ton in January.

--I love my apartment. Roommate switch up in the middle, but that just proved to me how much I love my apartment, and that Salem is pretty cool for now.

--Erin is the best friend and travel partner ever. We spent a week together traveling for Tim's wedding, and she's helped me out through a ton of stuff this year. It goes both ways, obviously. But she's the sister from another mister I've been looking for. Same goes to Aimee, Shana, and Jess.

--I will be spending the next 10 years at weddings. Two this past summer, and two already on the horizon. Eeeesh it's a good thing I have several cocktail dresses.

--I have great work friends. The Bay/Zumi's crowd is awesome. I am lucky.

--NEVER DATE MUSICIANS. No explanation needed.


Predictions for 2009? Jess thinks it'll be even more awesome. I have to agree with her. I have a feeling there's some awesome in the wind.