cuteness

Adam surprised, and I mean SURPRISED me with a teeny tiny ball of cuteness for Christmas.



We call her Lily (aka, Lil, Lilith, Lilian (when she's in trouble)). I know it may seem weird for a grown adult to have a bunny for a pet, but, I gotta give a shoutout to bunnies as pets. Lily is already litter trained, she's only in her cage at night or when we're not home and she is sweet, sweet, sweet.

Pretty Boy

Just Curious

It's 11:48 and I am not tired. So, I am listening to Brandi Carlile's new cd (so good!) and looking through my itunes library. I clicked on the "Top 25 Most Played Songs" and the results follow. Just out of curiosity, what's yours?

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1. Public Broadcasting stream
2. The Greatest Sum (Acoustic) (Avetts) (this surprises me)
3. St Joseph's (Avetts) (this doesn't surprise me)
4. Paranoia in B Major (Avetts)
5. What You Thought You Need (Jack Johnson)
6. Tear Down the House (Avetts)
7. Murder in the City (Avetts)
8. Bella Donna (Avetts)
9. Black, Blue (Avetts)
10. Souls Like the Wheels (Avetts)
11. Matrimony (Avetts)
12. Nothing I Can Do (Ben Taylor)
13. Let Me Touch You for Awhile (Allison Krauss)
14. Hope (Jack Johnson)
15. Walking on Air (Kerli)
16. Wasted (Brandi Carlile)
17. The Greatest Sum (Electric) (Avetts)
18. Late Morning Lullaby (Brandi Carlile)
19. Again Today (Brandi Carlile)
20. Die Die Die (Avetts)
21. Have You Ever (Brandi Carlile)
22. Keep Breathing (Ingrid Michaelson)
23. I'm Alive (Kenny Chesney w/ Dave Matthews)
24. The Weight of Lies (Avetts)
25. In the Curve (Avetts)

Big Changes

We have some major changes on the horizon. I start a new job on Tuesday in NH. I'm pretty excited for a few reasons:

1. The position is going to be challenging. I will be dealing with content that I don't know a darn thing about. My new job is in medical publishing, mainly dealing with dermatology, more specifically acne and psoriasis. I'll be applying all of the skills I've learned over the last few years in project management to bring the latest research findings to physicians across the globe in various formats: interactive websites, webinars, symposiums, and of course, print.

2. The people I met during the interview process for this gig seemed smart, focused, down-to-earth, and fun. I'm looking forward to being part of a team again.

3. I get to work in one of my favorite places on the planet! The NH seacoast.

4. The location is only 30 minutes from the barn. :-)

Adam also has a job on the horizon, but I'm not going to mention specifics until it's a done deal. We're not exactly sure where we're going to live yet, but are grateful for family offering up places for us to stay in the meantime. We'll settle on the seacoast somewhere. Settle...That's not a word I've had in my vocabulary for a few years. Looking forward to parking it for a little while.

Some Good News

I can't believe I'm actually typing this, but Adam has completed his training. He passed his CFII checkride yesterday just 18 months after he began. He is now a Certified Flight Instructor with the ability to teach Instrument flying. It took a lot of hard work and determination and weekends upon weekends (and weeks) of studying. He is now ready to dust off the kayak and go have some fun for a little while. No more tests to prepare for. YES.

We're not really sure what's next for us, but we've learned over the last couple of years to expect the unexpected. I'll keep you posted.

Life

Yesterday we received some terrible news from a friend of Adam's out in Oregon. Adam's first flight instructor was killed in a crash while instructing on Sunday. The student died as well. We both sort of stared at each other for like 5 minutes not really knowing what to say when we first heard. Then admitting not knowing what to say, it started a dialog about life and risks and reflection about a man with a wife and a baby and how precious our time here is.

My heart hurts today for Doug's wife and his baby boy who will not know his father. I have that sick feeling in my stomach because I know that someone on the other side of the country got the phone call or the knock at the door that we all dread.

The reality is that people die flying helicopters, paddling rivers, riding horses. Although it's tempting at times like this to stop doing the things we enjoy because of the risks involved, it's also true that people die slipping in the shower and I'm sure as hell not going to stop taking showers! Instead, I think it's important to remember that life is unpredictable. To honor those we've lost, we should do the things we enjoy. Don't sweat the small stuff. Don't hold grudges. Treat people in our lives with love and respect. Because you just never know.

Time to register

Casey is a registered American Saddlebred and it's time for me to name him and submit it to the registry. I decided since music is one of my other passions, to go through my library and pick some song names that I thought were cool, then I went into the registry and did a search and had to eliminate some, because they were already taken. Here's what's left. Got a favorite? Let me know in the comments section. So far, the leader is Who Knew.

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Colorshow
Hey Baby Hey
Move You
Gimmeakiss
Sanguine
Wanted Man
Nothing Short of Thankful
Please Pardon Yourself
Someday Never Comes
Out of My Hands
Right Here, Right Now
Business Time
Ooh Ahh
Go On
Have a Little Faith
Bold As Love
Would You Go With Me
If You Only Knew
I Told You So
Lookin for a Good Time
Last Call
Keepin’ It Real
I Love to Move In Here
Who Knew
I’m Movin’ On
Gossip in the Grain

Sunset on the lake.

Whoa, boy...

I got the chance to ride Casey this past weekend, for the first time since I bought him. It was awesome! It wasn't all that pretty...I had an almost unplanned dismount, which Scott caught on video, and I will be sure to post as soon as I get it from him...It was pretty funny.

Casey is young and still has moments of "baby-ness" but when you say "whoa" he will. He had one of his baby moments this weekend, sorta took a leap through the air and caught me off guard...and when I said "whoa" he slammed on the brakes and I almost went over his neck. Haha! Havin' a great time, I love him! Here's a photo from that first ride...It's from Adam's phone, so the quality is not the greatest, sorry.

Avetts Rocked It (duh)

We had a fantastic time at the Avett Brothers show Sunday night.

Marc was SOOOO embarassed because I made him play tourist...


The show was at a beautiful little theater in Northampton and we were in the front row! Setlist:

Weight of lies
A Gift For Melody Anne
Shame
Down with the shine
At the beach
Tear down the house
Paranoia
Signs
Salina
I and love and you
Love like movies
Wanted man
Black, blue
Never been alive
November blue
Walkin for you
Colorshow
-------
Hand me down tune
Laundry room (the absolute best hoedown ever)

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Good times! The Avetts brought it, as always, and we were on our feet the entire time. I can't wait for the new album to come out this fall. Love those boys from North Carolina...Time to go check their tour schedule obsessively until I see that they're coming around here again. ;-)

Welcome, Casey

Doesn't get much more random than this!

I decided to make a little mix for myself for my ride north today (I'm not cool, no fancy mp3 player for me...I still use cds.) Anyway, it's so random, I chuckled when I read it...

Could You Be Loved, Marley
Fireflies, Owl City
Would You Go With Me, Josh Turner (hubba hubba, love his "old" country voice)
Fearless, Taylor Swift
Hello Seattle, Owl City
Out Last Night, Kenny Chesney
The Climb, Miley Cyrus (the one and only Miley song in my collection)
Laundry Room, TAB
Stir It Up, Marley
Folsom Prison Blues (Brandi C. cover)
Road To Joy, Bright Eyes
Fifteen, Taylor Swift
Madly, Tristan Prettyman

This mix is all over the place! Anyway, I'm off for what could be a pretty exciting day...Will let you know if I have some news to report. Have a good one.

Money, Honey

Curious about where all of my money has been going, I decided to go through my bank account and total up the amount of money I'd spent on food in the last month. I was ASTOUNDED when I saw the total. It was a real eye opener...$733.98.

Those quick trips to Subway and the occasional night out to dinner really add up. I was compelled to take a look at my account because one afternoon, I decided to take an Oprah break and it was a day that Suze Orman was on the program. As usual, Suze was discussing how we could all save money and she issued the following challenge:

1. Pick one day a month and spend no money at all. (no problem)
2. Do not use a credit card for one week. (no problem)
3. Do not eat out for one month. (problem!)

That's what we do, we meet friends for dinner or lunch or beers or we grab a sandwich...How can I say 'no' to a friend who calls up and asks me to go grab a bite? Well. After crunching the numbers I'm going to take Suze's challenge and total my food tab on August 10th. I'll let you know the difference.

Mildred Moose

A moose in NH has decided that she's just one of the girls.

West River Fun

We dusted off our paddling and camping gear and headed to Jamaica, Vermont this weekend for some good times.

It was GREAT to sit around the campfire, sleep under the stars, and hit the river again. The last time I paddled (I'm pretty sure) was last fourth of July weekend. I definitely was a little nervous when we put on the river, but after we went through the first rapid, I felt much more at ease - remembering that I know how to do this!

We paddled the West river, which was a super treat. Normally, they only release water from the dam two weekends a year - once in April and once in September. But they had to test something-or-other at the dam and we got to reap the benefits! :-)

We're hanging up the gear to dry now in preparation for another great weekend coming up. We'll be going to Northern NH for some more camping/paddling in one of our favorite spots. With all the rain we've been having in the Northeast, there's sure to be lots running.

8.2.09

I had an email in my inbox this morning from Marc with the date above the subject. And a smile came across my face...YEAH - almost a month to go before we go see the Avetts again. Marc and I agreed to come up with our dream setlist. Hey, maybe the Avetts will read this and my "dream" will come true? Stranger things have happened.

Amy's wishlist for 8.2.09

At the Beach
Laundry Room
Left on Laura, Left on Lisa
Ballad of Love and Hate
Color Show
Swept Away
Solomon
My Last Song to Jenny
Talk on Indolence
St. Joseph's
I and Love and You
Matrimony
Paranoid in B Major
And It Spread
In the Curve
Backwards With Time
Please Pardon Yourself
Pretty Girl from Cedar Lane
Nothing Short of Thankful
Salvation Song

Compelled to act

About six months ago, I decided that when the time is right for me to have a horse, I am going to adopt one from an organization called Saddlebred Rescue. Saddlebred Rescue attends a sale in Pennsylvania every Monday called the New Holland sale. There are several meat buyers that attend this sale and many of the horses bought at this sale end up on a truck headed to the slaughterhouse. Many good, usable, young, healthy, horses. I have my eye on one particular horse that I'd like to snag, but I'm not quite ready, since we don't even know where we'll be living in a couple of months (check him out!).

Even though I can't quite afford my own horse yet, when I turned on my computer this morning and went to my homepage, I saw an image (below) that compelled me to write a small check for the care of some horses in desperate need. Times are tough. Folks have gotten in over their heads. I feel like it's my responsibilty to help out, in whatever way I can. In this particular case, there are 20+ older mares and their foals that are starving in Kentucky. They are in good hands now, but any help we can give will be greatly appreciated. If you'd like to contribute to the feed/care of these guys:

ASHA
Equine Welfare Fund
4083 Iron Works Parkway
Lexington, KY 40511

(Please indicate Mercer County horses in memo)

Dear Mother Nature

I think it's time that you and the sun stopped fighting.

Please.

Let him come out and play, he's been cooped up behind those clouds for long enough.

Whatever he did, I'm sure he's sorry.

Love, Amy

Don't count your chickens until you sign the lease

After entirely more drama than I am comfortable with, we will not be moving into the little red house. We were unable to reach an agreement on lease terms and decided to let it go. A little bummed about this but know that everything happens for a reason.

Little red house

I apologize for not updating this much, but truth is, I haven't had much to say. Our life is slightly monotonous right now...

Adam is studying/flying his ass off finishing up his training. He has his commercial check ride on Monday and then moves onto the final stages of training, his Certified Flight Instructor and Certified Flight Instructor Instrument ratings and then he will be done. Should be another 2 months.

As for me...I work, look for new work, ride when I can, go to horse shows to cheer on my friends, and scoot up to NH for visits. We did have one weekend of excitement, went on a cruise to the Caribbean, which was a super fun time! There, you're caught up.

I'm writing today, because I do actually have some news...

We're moving. Again!

We've really hemmed and hawed about what to do when our lease ends in August. Really, we would like to buy...Now is the time, everyone is saying. But after deliberation, we have decided that now is not the time for us and we will continue renting for another year or two. However, we do not want to stay in our apartment. I just don't like it. The only thing going for it is that it's relatively inexpensive.

So, I broached the subject with our landlord. She said that she has several properties that she'd be happy to show us. We looked at a couple yesterday and found one that I think suits us pretty well. It's a small red house with a basement apartment. We will be living in the house part and there is a UCONN professor that lives in the basement apartment. He only spends two days a week there during the school year and he goes away ALL summer. Score! OH, and heat, hot water AND electricity are included in the rent. Double score! OH, and it has a lovely backyard, prime for bbqs. Triple score! OH, and we can walk to the new place from our apartment, so moving is going to be a breeze.

As you might be able to tell, I'm excited. We're moving this weekend...So, if you're in the area and looking for something to do, I can keep you busy for a few hours, with payment of a bbQ and beers in our new back yard!

Brandi Carlile - You Belong to Me (w/ opener Gregory Alan Isakov) - Portland ME - 04-03-09

Here's a clip of the show I went to see on Friday night. If you ever get the chance to go see her, please do!

Connecticut is...Wine Country?

This weekend we went for a little hike and spied some vines on the horizon, we decided that when we got home we would google and see if we could find a winery in Connecticut.

We found the CT Wine Trail site and figured that what we saw was the Sharpe Hill Vineyard. So we decided to head on over and check it out. Glad we did!



As you can see, the setting was beautiful and the wine was delicious. We walked away with a couple of bottles and decided that we should check some of the other vineyards around here soon - good times!

Update

Wow, has it really been over a month since I've added a new entry? Time flies. It's been a busy month or so. Let's see. We celebrated our three year anniversary last week, Adam took me to Seapoint Beach, which is where we had our first date...I'm not sure how great these pictures are going to come out, because they were taken with the cell phone, but it's all I've got!





In other news, Adam earned (and I mean EARNED) his instrument rating and he is now onto his commercial training. What a difference a year makes...I hope you are all well.

From the air

Here are some photos that Adam's instructor took, while Adam flew on their way up to Keene on Monday.


Mt. Monadnock


A little closer.


Even closer!


A reservoir in CT.

Not just another Monday

On my way to the museum this morning, I found myself in the middle (well, not THE middle, but off to the side about 200 feet) of a standoff on I-84. All was going well, and I thought to myself just before we came to an abrupt halt, that I was going to be early today.

Then. Well, I was in the lefthand lane and traffic came to a stop. Then, I look at the other side of the highway, the eastbound side of I-84 and see a barricade of police cars, with all their lights flashing. Oh, and then a handful of police with their guns drawn and some with those SWAT shields. I soon realized this wasn't a car wreck.

There were no cars between this police barricade and the next exit on the eastbound side of the highway, where there was another police barricade. Then, I see some more police cars enter the highway and get out of their cars, place those spike strips on the highway - you know, like the ones you see on COPS? Anyway, at this point people started getting out of their cars...And, the officers yell at everyone to get in their cars and stay low (this definitely puts me into scared mode). While all this is happening, I am on the phone with Adam as he is trying to figure out what is happening on the news websites.

I'm not really good at describing the scene and it is frustrating Adam as he is at home freaking out because there is nothing that he can do to help me. And we don't know what on earth is happening. I am one of about 30 cars that is stuck in this limbo situation on a bridge - where police stopped traffic in front of us and behind us. It's definitely a bit eery.

After about an hour sitting on the highway, I notice that cars behind me have started backing up and I see police officers directing them back to go the wrong way on the highway, finally I am breathing a sigh of relief that I am going to get out of here. Honestly, the most horrible thoughts were going through my head - was I going to get shot? What was that going to feel like? Was someone trying to blow themselves up? I know, it sounds dumb, but it was freaking scary.

Meantime, Adam has found the news about the situation. It was a man who stopped his car in the middle of the highway and put a gun to his head. They finally apprehended him about 3 hours later. And I was never in any real danger. Tell that to my insides though. I still have this icky uneasy feeling and it sucks. The not knowing part was really the scariest.

Here's the news story if you care to read about it.

Catch Up!

The thought of actually having to shower daily and get dressed for work are two things I haven't had to think about for two years...That may well be changing. I interviewed for a position at the University of Connecticut today. I'm not sure how I did - usually after I interview I know if I'm in or not. Not this time. But my fingers are crossed that I did well. If you could all think positively for me, that would be super.

Adam is moving right along in his training. He took his instrument rating and certified flight instructor instrument rating written tests yesterday and passed both with flying colors. He's worked hard and I'm really proud of him.

I've started volunteering at the Hartford Children Museum's Wildlife Sanctuary and am really enjoying it. I've learned a lot in the brief time I've spent there. Did you know that snakes are deaf? And that when they shed, their eyes get cloudy and they can't see too well either. I guess that's my wildlife fun fact of the day! I'm really enjoying the turtles, of all things - believe it or not, those critters have quite the personality. When my duties are done, I like to just sit and watch the cats (a lynx and a jungle cat).

For Cody, mostly.

I remember Cody telling me awhile back that he especially enjoyed this Avett song. I came across this version today and it's simply beautiful. I thought you would like this, Cody and am posting for anyone else who might be an Avett fan.

Ballad of Love and Hate

Bathtime and other Sunday fun...

Kobe and I went out and played in the new snow for quite awhile this morning. He got wet and I realized just how bad he stunk. Too many trips to the barn without a bath...So I decided that today was just as good as any for that long over due bath.

Kobe is a good dog. But Kobe hates baths. It's always a little bit of an ordeal getting him into the tub...Today he tried to hide behind Adam, rookie mistake on Kobe's part, as Adam is my partner in crime. Eventually, I wrangled Kobe into the tub and mission accomplished, we have a nice smelling, clean dog. At least for a day or two!

Adam is studying right now and I am about to write some thank you notes. As soon as Adam is done studying we're heading out on another Sunday mission: to find some sleds. A couple of years ago, in one of our issues of LVM (our kayak video magazine that we subscribe to), they had this segment about the Mad River Rocket sleds. We looked them up at the time and they were $60...A little pricey we decided at the time and opted not to purchase them. Recently, we had a change of heart and decided it could be really fun to do a little hiking with the Mad River Rocket and sled the way down. So, we went to their website a couple of weeks ago with the intent to buy one for each of us. That is until we noticed that they had been on ABC World News since we last checked them out and their price had DOUBLED. OUCH! We can't bring ourselves to spend that much on a sled...So, we're off this afternoon to the local hardware store in search of some cheapy plastic $10 sleds that we'll have just as much fun on!

5 things I intend to do in 2009

1. Visit Mag in Steamboat.
2. Visit Jeannie in Philly.
3. Visit Jackie in Phoenix.
4. Congratulate Adam on becoming a commercial helicopter pilot.
5. Get married.

Happy New Year to you from us.