melted smoosh

{back to  part one } {back to  part two } {back to  part three } 21) Eat caviar - 8/30/2015 i'm not quite sure how i expected caviar to taste, but it was definitely  fishier  than i anticipated. and i do like seafood, but it was just overpowering. a few teaspoons spread on a triscuit was about all i could handle. this ranked right up there with  coconut oil in coffee  as an experience i won't be repeating!  22) Get blog up-to-date - 9/4/2015 well, it was nice while it lasted! every few months i go through a period of quasi-writer's block, where i just don't feel that inspired to write, or when i do try, the sentences come out all stiff and bland and and inarticulate. so instead of spending my free time blogging, i read  other  blogs voraciously, or peruse Facebook, or clean the house while listening to podcasts, or read library books on my Kindle, or watch Parenthood on Netflix. but i really do want to keep writing more consistently, to document the little

{back to  part one } {back to part two } 15) Try Big Daddy's Donuts - 8/18/2015 this little donut shop has intrigued me ever since we moved to Crafton four years ago. it sits right on the corner of one of the downtown streets, across from the library. most of the time i'd drive past it on my way to the grocery store in the afternoon, and it would already be closed. it's a small, family-owned business, so their hours vary every day depending on their supply. that made it even more of a triumph to finally make it there one morning around 11:30 AM when they still had plenty of pastries and donuts to offer. Greta and i picked out a half-dozen specialty donuts: chocolate peantbutter, the Crafton Angel (covered in powdered sugar), blueberry, sourdough, toasted coconut, and traditional glazed. they were all fluffy, light, and perfectly sweet. we'll have to go back for their breakfast sandwich, advertised as the best in town!  16) Spend a morning in the Strip Dist

{back to  part one } 8) Watch Silence of the Lambs - 7/26/2015 i'm a big fan of psychological thrillers and suspense movies. not so much gore/horror/slasher films, but the movies that give you the creeps or make you question all your assumptions about life. so by that token alone, The Silence of the Lambs  has been on my list of classic movies to watch for years. the fact that the majority of the movie was filmed in Pittsburgh and surrounding areas just adds to its appeal! and it did not disappoint. in fact, as soon as i finished watching it, i wanted to go back to the beginning and watch it again. the most famous Pittsburgh landmarks in the movie are the Allegheny County Jail and the Soldiers and Sailors Monument, but i was not prepared for the creepiness of seeing an apartment complex a quarter-mile from our house on the screen! this apartment complex was where Catherine Martin's abduction was filmed. so weird!  9) Have a picnic overlooking the city - 7/30/2015

i think it was around age eleven that i first wrote down a bucket list of sorts, including such varied accomplishments as visiting Antarctica, getting my hair highlighted, and getting a tattoo. (you can probably guess which of these things i've actually managed to do.) but when i turned 29 last September, i didn't have any particular goals in mind for the year. leave it to Jon to start working on a 30 Before 30 list in April, just five months before my big 3-0. not to be outdone, i created my own list and managed to complete all but two items on it. this has truly been one of the most fun and fulfilling summers of my life as i raced the clock to visit new places, try new restaurants, learn new skills and, in short, do all those things i always say i've been meaning to do. in coming up with my list, i tried to think about my own short term and long term personal goals, and also about what i would do if i were a tourist in my own city. and as for the two things that just didn

i'm sure the day is coming when Greta will lie to me about something ... or scream that i'm a mean mommy ... or sneak off to do something verboten. but today, i'm soaking up the sweetness of toddlerhood.  the fact that she spontaneously kneeled during the Eucharistic prayer this morning (when usually she sits on the kneeler or stands right next to me), and how she looked up at me with a huge smile to make sure i noticed her.  the moment she exclaimed, "Jesus!" during the homily.  her dramatic narration as she  pushed the Power button on the TV: "uh oh! what issss it? what happened? oh no!" her alternating requests for me to sing "Jesus" and "gor-ly" on our drive home from the grocery store this afternoon ("Jesus Loves Me" and the "Glory To Thee" text to the Thomas Tallis canon), and the undeniable plea for "more sahn! more sahn!" (more song).  oh, sweet girl. i hope you never stop singing. 

dear Sweetpea, this month you've had a language explosion! you repeat what we say (for better or for worse), and it's clear that you're starting to put together more abstract concepts like emotions. if you hear Daddy's alarm go off in the morning, you stop whatever you're doing and say, "Daddy! Beep beep! Daddy sleeping? Daddeeeeeeee!" the other day, you said "Where daddy go?" i told you, "He's at work, honey." and you said, "Daddy church?" smart girl. last but not least, i pointed to the crucifix in our dining room one day and asked you who it was. you weren't sure, so i told you it was Jesus. you said, "Jesus stuck? Jesus boo-boo?" out of the mouths of babes. He loves you so much, baby girl!   you can put your socks on, and sometimes take them off. you love putting buckles together (for example, in shopping cart seats or restaurant highchairs) and frantically ask for us to unbuckle them so you can r