Isaiah 43

After getting a request to take a stab at this verse for a friend, I knew it was going to be a labor of love considering its length in words, but after five layout attempts, I think I finally got it right! Can't wait to play with it in photoshop & see the final product ;) 

Hope everyone is having a wonderful Tuesday! Can you believe that tomorrow we begin the month of May??

the tasty thorn in my side

Don't be mislead. This is the end result. The middle doesn't look so pretty.

Surely everyone has a recipe that causes them to huff in annoyance, curse in the comic book language of exclamation points, asterisks, and pound signs {that really is what I envisioned in my head... nerd from a young age}, & declare said recipe as the bane of his existence {that phrase would of course be printed in the comics in bold & italics}?

My recipe of choice to fall in this frustrating category is weirdly enough... poppy seed cake. It is honestly one of the easiest recipes ever, but because I think about what frustrates me only after I've already started the process of making it, it's always too little, too late to prevent the ensuing drama.

You see, the recipe calls for all the ingredients {except the poppy seeds & optional pecans} to be mixed together at once. How easy can it get, right? Except the way that my recipe card is written all hefty dry ingredients come first and the liquids that would actually mix them all together into something smooth & cohesive don't come until the end... after the mixture is one giant lump & causing my mixer to almost unhinge itself from its lock position. Thus, the comic book symbols language.

And you would think that I would you know... alter my recipe card to REMIND ME OF THIS the next time. But nope. 

It's turning into something of a tradition for me that goes like this: husmate requests that we make it, I agree with a slight hesitation because I remember that something is frustrating about this simple recipe but I can't quite place my finger as to what?, I start the baking process, I curse in symbols, husmate talks some sense into me, the recipe comes together, the end result is yummy, the thorn in my side is forgotten.

And the cycle repeats itself.

Maybe I'll remember next time around? Eh, I doubt it. Here's to next time.

remember the time... {vol. IV}

I mean really, can tulips be any more beautiful? Such simplicity & no thorns to speak of, truly the best flower out there, or so I think anyway ;)

{lately}

+ husmate told me before he went to bed one night that he had a "fun" surprise for me in his lunch container, & little ole me, hoping the fun surprise would be some sort of chocolate dessert item, unzipped it to find around 30 barely used ziplocs from all the turkey wraps he took to work {& all I heard was snickering coming from our bedroom?}. That, sir, was NOT the fun surprise I was hoping for. I think you owe me a cookie. 

+ we discovered just how incredible it is to start our runs from Gravelly Point Park & run towards the District? We ran until we reached the Arlington Memorial Bridge & looked to our right & spotted our memorial friends, Washington & Lincoln, from across the river. I don't know if our views while running could get any better... & to top it off, we turned around in time to throw the frisbee at the park as the planes took off over our heads & the sun set around us. Terrific end to a weekday. 

+ we started quoting Gus & Shawn on the reg from Psych? Personal favorite: when they mock Simon Baker on The Mentalist. Truly some of the hardest laughter & quickest one-liners we've had in this beauty of a marriage. It's even funnier when our friends, Emily & Josh, join along. You know that's right.

+ we came across our favorite Old Town pup to date, the ever curious Fenway, who got so easily distracted during her walk with her owner that they got separated by a quarter of a mile. I suppose I can understand what the distraction was: a bright orange ball lodged in the rocks of the Oronocco Bay Park is totally more important to pay attention to than one's owner. But I hope I never forget that Fenway's hilarious owner called her from afar, yelling, "Come here ya, idiot!" in a lighthearted voice & Fenway looked up with a look of "Oh! Whoops. I'm coming! I'm coming!" and bounded on to catch up with her. Now that's a true understanding between master & dog right there. 


{auld lang syne}

+ husmate delivered that awesome proposal? Yeah, you still have a reserve of brownie points from it. ;)

+ when late April would mean chaco weather, shorts season, & the occasional sunburned nose? We aren't quite there yet, but honestly I can handle long sleeve t-shirts, jeans, & fleece pullovers this late in the game so long as the triple digit degree days are limited. I drink too little of water & have too thick of wavy/curly hair to enjoy the weather that is overly hot & humid summer days.

a good samaritan on the yellow line train to fort totten

To the man who remembered what it means to respect our elders, thank you. I saw you out of the corner of my eye the whole way from Braddock to Archives talking to another man who I gathered was a complete stranger to you. He was in his early nineties, dressed to the nines with a paisley bow tie & a sharp sport coat, and it was obvious that he was a little nervous as to how to get to where he was going. The two of you didn't share similar beliefs of an after life, but you comforted him all the same about the loss of his wife of 60+ years. You & he regaled the neighborhoods & restaurants of what once was in our lovely District. You comforted a man whose life is no longer the same, & you even told him that you were going to get off with him at Archives & make it your mission to find his destination. You, sir, are a wonderful soul & a refreshing breath of humanity. & to be honest, my initial impression of you would never have seen you do that. Thank you for reminding me that first impressions are often wrong & that the little things are often the most important.

by the numbers, vol. II {first anniversary edition}

Top picture: cropped, Photography by the Robertsons; Bottom Row: some of our paper anniversary gifts 

{roof over our heads}

the travel time (in hours) between where we were married & where we live now: 13

the number of places we've called home in 12 months: 2

the number of times our GPS had no idea where our first place was: everytime

^^the pains of living in a newly developed land^^

the number of miles separating those two places: 45

the number of square feet we lost in the move: 90

the number of ways the second place is still better than the first: probably 73

^^other than the lack of bunnies on our runs now^^

the number of times we've said we never want to move from Old Town: 265

the first time we both knew we were deeply in love with our city: last night

{adventures}

the number of trip adventures we've had near & far: 15

the number of trips we're planning/going on soon: 4 {Gettysburg, Columbus, OH, Seagrove Beach, & Boston}

the number of pups we almost adopted: 3

the number of pups we've actually owned: 2 {sweet Riley & spunky Scout}

the number of pups we have now: 0

the amount of puppy fever we fight because we know it's not the right time for us yet: a lot

the number of times a week we miss our spunky Scout {& gentle Riley, too}: at least 3

the current puppy breeds we're swooning over: 5 {GSP, Westie, Beagle, Vizsla, & Lab}  

the number of times we've talked about running a half marathon in our relationship: 7

the only times we were really serious about it: the first & seventh

the number of runs we've gone on in the past 9 days: 7 {we're making progress now that it's spring} 

the number of planned runs we have once we can run 5+ miles: 4

{facts of the past year}

the number of months between the first time I tried to make spaghetti & the second: 6

the number of months we went without pictures in our picture frames: 10

the number of churches we've visited or will visit soon trying to find our home: 9

^^but I think we're getting close, thankfully!^^

the number of times Kat has seen Monarch the Mouse in the dead of night: 4

 the number of times husmate has: 0

the number of times Kat has had to look up specialty stain solutions for husmate's shirts: 8

the number of times husmate has taken over the entire bed & couldn't be moved: at least 20

the number of times we've dropped the resident charade & resembled tourists when sirens are heard/dark vehicles go by/streets are closed off: everytime

the number of things Kat would never had admitted to trying & liking if husmate didn't test it first: 14 {I'm finally growing up parents!}

the number of times we belted out lines from "We are the Champions" yesterday: 5

the number of years we've been married: 1 & a day :)

here we go, round two!

the light in a dark world

resilience: (ri-zil-yuhns) noun 1. the power or ability to return to the original form, position, etc., after being bent, compressed, or stretched; elasticity. 2. ability to recover readily from illness, depression, adversity, or the like; bouyancy. 


Yesterday was one of those days that I soaked in every detail & thought "isn't this incredible?" I guess that's a natural response after something horrible happens, like it did Monday at the Boston Marathon. But really life is incredible. 

As I ran along the Potomac proudly wearing my Red Sox shirt, I couldn't help but smile. That bleak day had finally ended and the sun had risen again. The sailboats were back gliding gracefully along the river, & as I passed fellow runners, walkers, & cyclists I noticed the number of people who were also proudly sporting their Boston gear: hats, shirts, Red Sox, Patriots, Celtics... As we passed each other we would all nod, wave, or smile, as if to say that we, too, stand behind Boston during this time. We, too, hurt with those lost or injured. And we, too, will overcome. 

But not only is life incredible, so is humanity itself. There were so many glimpses on Monday & Tuesday of how wonderfully good humanity can be, especially in the face of adversity! Of how runners would continue on past the finish line to Massachusetts General Hospital to give blood to those who needed it. Of bystanders running not away from the blasts but towards them to help in any way possible: creating tourniquets from their own clothes, comforting complete strangers as if they were family, offering their phones to those separated from their loved ones. Of neighbors volunteering everything {including their kitchen sink} to make those lost feel welcome during such a bewildering time by giving them something to drink or eat or a bathroom to clean up in. Of Bostonians all over the city posting their information on a google document offering up beds, sofas, and cuddly pets so that anyone dislodged could feel at home.

It's as if all of these people had lifted a candle to the sky to break away the dark shadow that had been cast. And the MLK quote projected on a wall in  New York was the perfect choice:

"Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that.

Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that."

And while yes, these harmful acts are slowly becoming our reality {it is the nature of the world to cast a dark shadow after all}, humanity will always answer to the call when darkness tries to overtake us. Because good will always overcome. 

a weekend of camping... sort of

From the Marlins game a week & a half ago. Notice the heavy jackets?
Yeah the temperatures were in the 30s that night...

Yesterday our air conditioner went kaput. At least I think it went kaput... See it already got some TLC last month at the suggestion of our condo's owner... & it already doesn't work? Sounds a little iffy to me {but I'm no AC expert}.

Did I mention that I'm a temperature wimp yesterday the highs were in the mid-80's? Thankfully a cold front moved in last night, so we slept to the music of the rain (after watching The Hunger Games) with the windows open. And considering the repair company has yet to call me, it looks like we'll be making forts & camping out in our den allllll weekend... Thank goodness the temps this weekend will be in the mid-60's to low-70's {& that this happened now and not during the heat of the summer}!

Looking forward to welcoming the weekend (& our camping) with a hotdog at Nationals Park as the Nats take on the Braves tonight {my new team vs. my childhood team- which do I pull for?? I think my diehard fan grandmother would be disappointed if I didn't say the Braves...}. Somehow hotdogs are only satisfying to me at a baseball park {I know I'm not alone in that sentiment}. 

And just to make it a whole thing, I've already suggested we go hiking tomorrow. Camping + Hunger Games + Hotdogs + Hiking... Seems fitting doesn't it? Happy weekend to all of you!



+ As a completely non-related afterthought, the chocolate chip cookie dough at Trader Joe's? Delicious. I don't think husmate will let us buy cookie dough anywhere else from now on... If you're a lucky individual living near a TJ, try it out sometime! You will thank me later. The dough itself is actually kind of chocolatey, so you know it's going to be GOOD.

a postcard from paris

Perhaps it's because we're almost two weeks away from passing our first milestone as a married couple {woohoo one year anniversary!}, but I couldn't help but think back to the way our little relationship started. 

See back in the day, husmate & I would hang out with a ginormous group of friends over at a lovely place called the Purple House on a regular basis. This group of friends was so large that it would take over the living room {sofa, loveseats, floor, stools, etc.} and it was pretty hard to actually know everyone really well {to the point that husmate & I pretty much knew each other's names}. In this group, husmate was sort of in the inner circle and I, being a semi-newbie, pretty much existed on the fringe {hello Peanut Gallery co-member, Kelsey!}. So yeah, basically he was the cool nice guy & I was the sassy & sarcastic know-it-all.

But as coincidence would have it, one day {about this time three years ago} the Peanut Gallery got to be too much to handle for everyone else {picture us as a funnier version of the old men commentators on the Muppets except that we laughed... A LOT}, and Kelsey & I were told we had to separate ourselves. Sad face emoticon. But that coincidence forced me to sit next to {you guessed it} the cool nice guy. 

So the cool nice guy, being nice {duh, it's in his personality}, leaned over & tried to start a conversation so that me & my blushing cheeks would stop being so ridiculously red {I get embarrassed easily folks- one of the things that husmate loves to this day}. He really was very sweet, and somehow it came up that he was traveling to Paris that summer. Well, lo and behold, that is a subject in which my nerd status comes out. Come to find out, this kid was going with no clue of ANYTHING about Paris: history, museums, churches, Versailles, anything. So I took it upon myself to help him out a little {because holy croissant he was going in blind!} & proposed that I would create him an itinerary of sorts to help him & his friend out on their journey. 

That little itinerary turned into eight pages single-spaced of nerd adoration of Paris & everything that this envious know-it-all had ever dreamed of seeing there. eight pages, you guys. You can bet that those cheeks were on Super Blush Mode when I sent it to him, too- SO EMBARRASSED. But because he was the cool nice guy, he didn't make fun of me in a mean way, but was instead appreciative & amused that I would take so much effort on something for a guy I barely knew. I, myself, was equally amused with this behavior & thought that was that.

Except it wasn't. And when he sent me a postcard from Paris that summer {in French, mind you}, I got a few butterflies. So I guess my nerd moment had its consequences {just like his did when he recited pi that day}. 

I did marry him after all. 

a very happy birthday to one of the best of friends

To the loud girl two doors down in Griffis Hall,

Thank you for being the first friend I made at college. Despite our terrible first impressions of each other {you the loud & annoying girl on the hall, me the shy & snobby bookworm}, we still managed to form an incredible friendship that I am blessed by everyday. Thanks to you, I actually developed a love for Mississippi State that finally put to rest my childhood adoration of Auburn {that first picture was from freshman year, give me credit...}, learned the proper way to perform a pageant walk/turn on stage {at 3 am in the dorm hall, making us both the loud girls on the second floor of Griffis}, found a friend who would side on the greatness of Harry Potter over Twilight any day, interviewed for one of the greatest groups I have ever been a part of- Alumni Delegates, created the best wake-up alarm game ever: peekaboo! - the many faces that could haunt the first few seconds of your day {as well as the many adventures we had on that dying inflatable twin-sized mattress}, discovered that there's more to college than good grades & studying even though we spent the majority of our college life in Mitchell Memorial Library, survived Dr. Mead's Organic Chem I & II classes relatively unscathed, realized that medical school was never meant for either one of us, & came out of my shy shell to become who I am today. Even in college I knew that our friendship was going to be one of the great ones because we never considered each other our competition in class but rather our cheerleader in life. I am so thankful for you, and even though we're separated by 985 miles {I looked it up, some bookworm habits never die}, I still feel like if we both walked into Mitchell Memorial right now we could pick up where we left off & procrastinate on our studying by talking for hours :)

happy birthday, sweet Sarah! you, my friend, are one of the greats of my life.


love,
the shy bookworm hiding behind her desk, waiting for you to barge in & ask your question about our class assignment

cherry blossom festival // 2013

After three straight days of walking to the Tidal Basin from Arlington Cemetery, our persistence finally paid off. Not exaggerating, all these trees bloomed overnight, but they were worth the wait- look how gorgeous they all are! & I have to admit, I'm selfishly glad they waited until a weekday to show off their blooms, because their beauty is more enjoyable when there's room to move about {but for all those who planned their vacation around these fickle trees, I really hate it if you missed them}. Now that I've experienced my first Cherry Blossom Festival, I can see what all the hype is all about. Springtime in DC really is quite beautiful!

a weekend of flora + fauna

It's fiiiiinally spring around here, & simply put, it. is. glorious. Husmate & I spent the majority of our weekend trying to catch the cherry blossoms blooming around the tidal basin {with about a zillion other people}, but wouldn'tyaknowit, they just aren't ready yet. So while the much coveted blooms thwarted our plans, we found a few other things to take their place, like the Baltimore National Aquarium residents, long walks across the Arlington Memorial Bridge to the Mall & Georgetown, & cupcakes at Baked + Wired. Here's a few of the things we discovered this weekend:

+ We came across the coolest fish at the aquarium: the Seven Spot Archerfish, which can spit water up to 3 meters at an insect in a low hanging tree to knock it into the water & eat it. Seriously an incredible thing to watch, especially amongst an audience of elementary-aged kids :)

+ A dolphin show at age 24 is just as awesome as a dolphin show at 13. & getting splashed by a dolphin? Hilarious. 

+  For any & all who think that Georgetown Cupcake is the best thing in the world, you are wrongggg. Baked + Wired, another Georgetown bakery, is without a doubt SO much better {& bigger proportions, too- in fact, two people could share one & should for calorie reasons...} than anything I've tried at Georgetown Cupcake. & as usual, husmate & I preferred each other's choice over our own. We tried the Red Velvet & the Pretty Bitchin' {chocolate cake with crunchy peanut butter icing & the closest thing I've come to Muddy's Bake Shop's Tomboy in Memphis}, and both were delicious.

+ FYI that whole "don't take naps after 3" thing is definitely true, considering that both of us took a late afternoon nap yesterday & neither one of us really slept last night. Never before have I been so wide awake at husmate's alarm at 4:45 am. Just call us the Zombie Berrys.

And for any of you who haven't seen in the past month or so, we'll be saying RIP to Google Reader come July. I finally bit the bullet and switched over to Bloglovin' & you can follow me and all your other blogs there! And for those of you who think I'm talking in gibberish, Bloglovin' (and Google Reader) are sites that pull the recent posts from the blogs you follow & compile them onto one site so you don't have to hop around all day to a zillion other pages. Pretty handy if I do say so myself.

& in case you missed it last week:

a sunrise at arlington

uva crush

married life observations

a melodramatic moment

a melodramatic moment

Here's hoping your Saturday night has been swell, full of Final Four viewing & warmer spring temperatures. Oh, you ask how mine has been? Let's just describe it this way:

the clouds parted, the sun beamed down, and the heavens showed me favor because

I perfected my spaghetti recipe.

Yep, you read that correctly. We Berrys are officially out of the year-long experimental lab phase & have entered the basking-in-wifey-glory phase. Spaghetti is now permitted to enter the rotation of acceptable {& tasty} meals. Hallelujah.

married life observations

because really, we're weird. happily married & weird.

+ Sometimes you really can't beat the goodness of a grilled cheese sandwich. Even when faced with the intention of making/experimenting with spaghetti {reason for experimentation can be found here, see lesson #4}, a grilled cheese can win out. & a grilled cheese + bowl of soup? Makes my tummy have the warm fuzzies. 

+ Boys have an absurd amount of socks. I'm fairly certain that husmate has more pairs of socks than any other article of clothing... except maybe his t-shirt collection. & guess who gets to play a game of match with all the socks after a load of wash? Me. {All I'm saying is my socks are fun colors & patterns. None of this black, black houndstooth, black ribbed, black & gray argyle...}

+ I don't think anyone knows how weird they truly are at heart until they get married. I sure as heck didn't know my meter {just being honest}... The great thing is that husmate thinks I'm funny most of the time so my crazy isn't driving him crazy just yet. Fingers crossed he always finds me funny so that when the whole "good cop, bad cop" bit is being played out with our future (Lord willing) kids, at least one other member of the family will find me funny...

+ I'm pleased as punch that we both share the same mindset on finances. Because if there's one thing that we're both sticklers about, it's money & its consequences {for you grammar nerds like me, I hope you enjoyed the sister it/s back-to-back like I did...}. This similarity is mainly contributed to the fact that he's the penny pincher & I am almost deathly afraid of the IRS & bankruptcy. I am not even kidding.

+ I've officially discovered that I know my husband. While walking in Charlottesville last weekend, he, being assigned the role of navigator, is busy referencing Google maps on my phone. Being distracted by said phone, I know that my husband is not paying attention to his walking path/surroundings at all, so I loudly proclaim to watch out for the mud puddle... from the back of the group. Emily & Josh think I'm telling them, but husmate looks up at just the right moment & sidesteps the mud he would have walked riiiiiight on through otherwise. Sometimes it pays to be bossy. Wifey win.

uva crush

Last weekend, we roadtripped with our friends Emily & Josh to Charlottesville. Needless to say, 3/4 of us are nerds at heart & wouldn't mind getting a graduate degree from there... Maybe one day ;)

I learned a few things about UVA that make it all the more intriguing to me:

1. Jefferson was one cunning dude. He knew how to get money out of legislators by building his Academical Village {his term, not mine} in multiple locations all at once. That way when the guys with the power came by to see its progress, they would see that more money would be needed to finish the whole project (instead of cutting funding after one part was done). Due to his reasoning, the cornerstone of the Academical Village is found in Pavillion 7 {totally haphazard}. 

{Today his Academical Village, along with UVA & his home Monticello, is recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site}

2. Their graduate school of business alone could house my entire prep school at home. & this is their parking deck.

3. Secret Societies rule. And they have lots of them (supposedly second only to Princeton). Or maybe I just have always been captivated by their intrigue {and now I want to figure out who all the Sevens are... or just maybe see a tomb with the wreath}... 

{Walking around campus, all the chalk/graffiti on buildings & sidewalks that say IMP, Z, & 7 are the marks of the three known societies at UVA. For any who are hesitant about graffiti-loving cult groups, these three all have philanthropy at their roots. So they're cool and good at heart. Oh, & my favorite: if anyone has a message they want to pass along to the Seven Society, they leave a note at the carving of TJ in the Rotunda & it'll get picked up every night & delivered to them.}

4. I love that Jefferson made his Rotunda a library & the center of everything in his plans. & that the top floor hid its bookcases behind its columns so that when dances were held there, the center of attention was on the dance & not on learning {because learning can be so distracting}.

5. I would have wanted to live on the Lawn my senior year, even though the rooms have no bathrooms, no central air {they're heated by fireplaces}, & are tinier than the shoebox of the rooms in the Chi O house that I lived in for three years. I'm that gooby {& Sarah you totally would have wanted to as well}. 

{the Lawn rooms are reserved for high GPA/very involved UVA undergrad students & the Range rooms are for grad students. Both have been in use since the start of the University. Originally the faculty also lived there in the ten Pavilions- living above their classrooms. Today some of the deans live there. Neat, huh?}

so in short, I have a crush on UVA.

a sunrise at arlington

At husmate's suggestion, we spent our Easter morning braving the cold to join with his fellow early birds {I am not a member of that club, sorry} at Arlington National Cemetery. But as luck would have it, my usual crankiness {due to being woken before the sun graces us with her presence} was delayed until later in the day, so the service was actually a really cool experience. The entire service was lead by the Army (Army Band/Chorus, Officers & Chaplain), & it was neat to see the full gamut of ranks leading & participating in a church service. Not to mention walking past the thousands of tombstones in Arlington on the most fitting Sunday to see them. So despite my night owl tendencies, I really hope we make that service an Easter tradition during our time here.

If you're in the area next year, you should consider coming! The service starts at 6:30, gates open at 5:15. Parking for the service is free, unlike the rest of the year when you really should metro in to spare your wallet the pain.

Note to self: do bring a thicker blanket to sit on/wrap in next year. Marble really is quite cold at 5:40 in the morning. Oh, and consider going to bed before midnight, so as to spare husmate the terrible crankiness.

& in case you missed it last week:

the fifth day of spring {by title only}

a petition of clemency

meet our third renter

sweet cornbread muffins

ode to the muggliest of muggles