a date with a landscape architect

During Ian's internship in Philadelphia, we visited our friends Daniel and Megan in Boston, also on internship. While roaming the city, Megan and I came up with a list — "you might be an architect's wife if..."

And I thought of this list when Ian suggested we explore the city a few Saturdays ago.

"I thought we could check out Boston College, Harvard, MIT... It'll be romantic — we can hold hands."

"You're trying to trick me into helping you research campus entryways, aren't you."

"Maybe."

Saturday morning we took the T to Boston College and assessed both entrances.




We then took the T to MIT, and had a rousing conversation on potential strategies for separating pedestrians, bikes, and vehicles.




It was a cold day, so to warm up we cut through a few buildings. And we happened upon the mood meter. It worked (not surprising — it's MIT). Weird date = happy.




We then walked from MIT across the Harvard Bridge and on to Northeastern.




The romance factor was significantly reduced by the cold, but he did buy me this sweet birthday cake pop:



(And we held hands.)

ripped from a mix-n-match flip book

Walking along Copley Square, your eye is drawn to a hefty fur coat with hat to match — Russian perhaps. Against black fur the points of two mirrored triangles, traced in bleach-yellow lines, fill the back and meet in the middle, implying an hourglass figure where there is none. Long, coarse blonde hair flutters like a flag in the gap between hat and coat.

Thick fingers hold a cigar in a diameter to match. An inch of ash clings to the end, and a trail of smoke follows behind. You cough.

The coat stretches down until it is arrested by knees. Below are dark wool dress pants with a hint of pinstripe. You note they create a textbook medium break as they meet polished men's oxford dress shoes.

Your eyes slide to the left, towards the noise of wheels on brick paving. A faded red rolling backpack shows it's age.

The distance between you increases — his pace is fast. As he pulls away you see his profile. Dark sunglasses atop a strong nose. Chiseled bone structure. Deep creases everywhere, as if he were a chainsaw sculpture. Red complexion. Another moment and he is gone.

not from the neighborhood

A few weeks ago, Ian peered out the bedroom window while on the phone with his dad. "ANNA! There's a turkey!" It took me a moment to realize he mean a live one.

I threw on my rainboots and decided to photograph the event paparazzi style, following the turkey to a house down the street.




She wanted to meet the neighbors...



...but they didn't answer the door.



Then she confronted the paparrazzi.



And like any good starlet, ran away.



Families of wild turkeys live along the Emerald Necklace, but they don't often venture as far as our street. Our unusual visitor brightened an otherwise dreary weekend.

WE'RE DEBT FREE!

At our last Financial Peace University class, we got to celebrate our achievement with a Dave Ramsey yell. In 1.5 years, we paid off just over $20,000 in school loans. More importantly, we're on the same page financially, living responsibly, and honoring God with our choices.

Next up — filling out our emergency fund.

Tuesday, the Third of May

or, "Why I Haven't Been Blogging Much This Past Month."



5:54 a.m. Wake up - hit snooze and sleep 10 more minutes.
6:04 a.m. Wake up - change into workout clothes.
6:08 a.m. Turn on TV + Wii. Do Body Test and 20 minutes of yoga + strength training.
6:38 a.m. Shower and get ready for work.
7:20 a.m. Wash face. Realize nose is dripping.
7:21 a.m. Look in mirror and realize you have a bloody nose.
7:22 a.m. Sit in living room pinching nose with copious amounts of Kleenex.
7:25 a.m. Curse your allergies which have weakened your already delicate nose lining.
7:28 a.m. Stress about being late for work.
7:29 a.m. Remember stressing makes a nosebleed last longer.
7:30 a.m. Flip through J. Crew catalog to take your mind off nosebleed.
7:50 a.m. Leave for work. Realize too late you forgot to pack breakfast.
7:53 a.m. Eat oatmeal raisin cookie you were bringing for lunch.
8:45 a.m. Arrive at work only 15 minutes late despite monster nosebleed.
8:47 a.m. Eat chocolate chip cookie stashed in your desk.
8:48 a.m. Scan emails to make sure nothing is urgent.
8:50 a.m. Spend three hours assembling news submissions for a local newsletter.
9:15 a.m. Pause when you realize you need to order food for events later this week.
9:22 a.m. Order food while you wait for additional submission information.
11:55 a.m. Submit news items online with 5 minutes to spare.
11:59 a.m. Anticipate your now 30 minute lunch before your front desk shift.
12:00 p.m. Notice you've only recieved 2 of 3 news submission confirmations.
12:02 p.m. Send an email to check on submissions.
12:19 p.m. "Hi Anna - do you have 10 minutes to print off some documents?"
12:20 p.m. Look at the clock.
12:21 p.m. Assess: no lunch + front desk duty in 10 minutes.
12:21 p.m. Assess: All other admins are out or also swamped.
12:22 p.m. "Sure."
12:31 p.m. Apologize to receptionist you are a little late.
1:03 p.m. Apologize to people in your one o'clock meeting for your tardiness.
1:05 p.m. Go over adjustments needed on a website before looming relaunch.
2:01 p.m. Prepare 3 expense reports for earlier-than-usual deadline: today.
2:16 p.m. Pause to eat sandwich.
3:28 p.m. Submit expense reports to Accounting.
3:29 p.m. Head to front desk.
3:30 p.m. Multitask: during front desk shift #2 set up appetizers for 4 p.m. event.
3:45 p.m. Check email from front desk.
3:46 p.m. See email with travel request.
3:47 p.m. Forward it to travel agent.
3:48 p.m. Hope you can finalize by 5:30 p.m. to avoid potential fare increases.
3:58 p.m. Head to your desk to grab your camera.
3:59 p.m. Check email.
3:59 p.m. Forward email with flight options and pricing to the travelers.
4:00 p.m. Grab some snacks and sit down to watch and photograph lecture.
5:24 p.m. Realize Q&A isn't finishing up in the next couple minutes.
5:25 p.m. Head to your desk to check for expected travel emails.
5:28 p.m. See email with chosen flights. Forward to travel agent.
5:31 p.m. Recieve confirmation travel agent booked all requested travel.
5:32 p.m. Head back to lecture to catch the rest of the Q&A.
5:41 p.m. Send emails to follow up with other travel arrangements and food orders.
5:46 p.m. Leave work and wait for bus with Ian.
6:20 p.m. Stop at Trader Joe's to pick up microwave dinners.
6:45 p.m. Arrive at FPU class early so you can heat dinner.
9:16 p.m. Catch ride home from class.
9:34 p.m. Unwind and get ready for bed.
10:28 p.m. Don't think about laundry, cleaning, meal planning and grocery shopping.
10:29 p.m. Or the fact you won't have a chance to do any of it until the weekend.
10:32 p.m. Wonder what you'll scrounge together for lunch tomorrow.

Rinse and repeat.

In all seriousness, I love my job and all the things I've had the opportunity to do this past month. And I love all the extra things we're doing, like FPU. But I'm also excited things are starting to slow down. It means we can catch up on laundry, Flickr and the blog. Remove the carpet hair from the bathroom floor. Cash in our gift certificate for a real professional massage. And most importantly, let Ian get back to his homemade pasta experiments. Amen.

thankful list | April

01. spring flowers
02. getting to watch the marathon
03. rediscovering origami
04. Starbucks birthday cake pops
05. crafty friends
06. books
07. fruit
08. WiiFit Plus
09. using my social media experience at work
10. our Easter box from Micki (diy dirt cups + family heirlooms)
11. Cabot cheddar cheese
12. Jesus's sacrifice to bring heaven to earth
13. quiche on our usual meal rotation (I make crust and Ian fills it)
14. MBTA operator 70185 - best bus driver on our commute!
15. the vase of yellow tulips in our living room
16. weeping cherry trees
17. Ian experimenting with pasta making
18. discount codes for moo.com
19. rain cleaning pollen out of the air and alleviating my allergies
20. surving the Run of the Charles