I'm home again after another month in Greece.. sorry i didn't tell anyone I was going. Costas' dad passed away on 7/26 and I went to be with him for the funeral and the after arrangements. I knew i wasn't in the position to be strong for him, but it was worse than I had imagined.
Now we're home again and there's a lot to think about. I want to stay calm and focused, to live valuing the things i know now are most important.

I go back to work in a week, and I plan to take this time to put some things in life back in order. I may not be posting for a while, if ever, and I'm going to streamline my friends list back to the original handful of family and Smithies. Thank you, new friends, for reading my sparse posts and supporting me.
Take care everybody.

xoxo

She was so beautiful.

On Sunday night my littlest sister went to bed and on Monday morning she didn't wake up. What can I say? I'm happy that she was happy at the end. Now the rest of us are here with our emotions and our memories. The wake will be tomorrow, funeral on Friday. Details in the link below.

http://www.kingbrothers.com/obit_frame.html

I was in Athens for 10 days and I came home Sunday afternoon. I unpacked my suitcase and went to bed. I went to work on Monday and then got the call. After crying hysterically for 2 hours, Makiba drove me home and I packed my suitcase again and we went to the airport. Things have been a blur.

I miss her.

So yeah, I went to Japan.

I spent a fantastic 2 weeks without internet and i learned that my internet dependency isn't really healthy. i think that's why i haven't posted here much. plus the laptop is getting old and can't handle all the things i try to do with it anymore. when i uploaded my 350+ photos it somehow messed up the files and the thumbnails so when i browse them in the folder and click to upload, a different pic gets uploaded. not fun.

ANyway, the pic above is of me & keiko in the train in sapporo. She is so cool. I loved her little apartment too.

here i am outside of the building where she works (yes, it's the old sapporo beer factory)


Since i've been back at work the days pass quickly and i hardly remember that i was in Japan at all. Things are going well. I found out today that they're adding another ESL teacher to teach the hispanic staff and though i had offered to do it, it's probably best that Russ takes those classes because it's really a different type of English that they need to learn (job responsibilities are completely different than those of the Japanese staff). Hmm. Costas is working on his exams and finishing up the semester. Makiba is bugging me to get pregnant.

I've been quilting, as usual. I'm working on English paper pieced diamonds in bright colors. it's a scrap quilt and I'm having fun seeing how it takes shape. i hope y'all are well.

xoxo

hai, itekimasu~


Tomorrow morning at the crack of dawn I'll be on my way to Japan. wish me luck. i'm bringing two small half empty suitcases, an Enchi Fumiko book, and a bunch of little cotton diamonds to sew on the plane.
Chances are I won't have internet access for the next 2 weeks. you know that scares me more than two 15 hour flights...

hope y'all are well.
xoxo

click here and listen closely:

Regina Spektor -On the Radio

I bought this album yesterday and I'm so in love with it.

sorry i completely gave up on the posting everyday thing. Life got a little heavy. we're ok, but keeping balance isn't as easy as it was a few weeks ago.

xoxo

And so starts our springtime ritual. I dropped Costas off at the airport shuttle after work and now I’ve got 10 days to spend however I want. Usually I look forward to this freedom and have a million creative ideas bursting in my head that it’s a challenge to keep them all in until he’s safely on the plane. But today.. I don’t know. It’s different. I’m a little sad.

quiche is in the oven. costas is on his way home.

things are looking up at work-- the one thorn in our side may soon be removed.
I have a million different languages swimming around in my head and I love it.

I've started a "what to pack" list for Japan and it looks like I might be able to keep it light. question: how many pairs of pajamas does one need for a 12 day trip? I think 2 because they don't have clothes dryers and it may take some time for things to hang dry. The same question goes for pants.. at the moment I'm stuck with one pair of jeans and one pair of beige casual pants (plus one off-white skirt with embroidered flowers). I know i should bring a third pair of pants, but my options are: crappy looking jeans, black denim-ish ones, or white denim-ish ones. suggestions? I'd like not to have to buy clothes before the trip, though a new pair of shoes may be necessary.

Shirts were a little easier because I tend to find a style I like and buy it in many colors. 2 button down 3/4 length sleeved, 2 stretch cotton long sleeve, one cute short sleeved blouse, an off white cardigan, a navy blue tee, and my two-tone blue fleece pull over. It's still going to be cold in Hokkaido, right? do I need a 3rd short sleeved shirt though?

i love these sorts of dilemmas.

the oven is beeping, gotta run.

xoxo

it's saturday and i posted. more later.

friday is over already, I've got to work on my timing.

I was supposed to have a dentist appt. today but I rescheduled it for next month, couldn't take off the extra time this week. i really need to go though, i thought i just had one big problem, but it seems like another is developing. it seems my mouth doesnt always like what i'm putting in it.

anyway, i read and responded to some interesting posts on the quilt blogs.. made me think about how I view things. aside from all the family mess that's going on these last few months, i still feel surprizingly content with life. not everyone is accepting of contentment, but i do truly enjoy being happy, and making myself happy. the littlest things have the biggest effects..

hey lor & tea: it doesn't matter if nothing eventful is going on in life, just post about what you're thinking/looking at/hungry for. Theresa's post about college pizza sounded pretty tasty. xoxo. keep posting.

and now it's my turn...

so many good things:

1. last night we watched Dirty Pretty Things which i really
liked. Made me realize Upton Sinclair's The Jungle isn't
ancient history after all. life for immigrants will always be hard.
glad Stephen Frears is telling the modern story.

2. my pants are too big. sure i whine and complain more when i do
weight watchers, but it sure feels good when the weight starts coming
off.

3. I might be having a craft night on saturday. C is supposed to be going to NYC to meet up with Panos, so I've invited a few girlfriends over to sew/knit/etc. Rico asked if she can bring her boyfriend. i hope he's crafty.

4. oh, and if you haven't seen this, and you knit or crochet, check it out.

5. After being totally inspired by this post and subsequently, this tutorial over at Craftster.org, I rushed home tonight and cut up an old shirt. I loved this shirt, soft striped cotton, tiny flowers, but i got it (at the Lord & Taylor outlet) in 1999 or 2000 maybe, and it was totally shapeless. A bunch of pins and some guestimation later, I've got an adorable little summer top, for FREE! pics should be posted at flickr soon, as soon as I get a chance to take some in the sunlight.


and to end on a sweet note,
Juliree posted a nice set of pics and Q&A about being a twin over at her blog and it made me miss my sisters...

ok, so for the moment, i gave up on the idea of buying suitcases. after hours more of searching, I finally fell in love with this set, at the so-out-of-my-price-range price of $260.

I suppose I'll just pack lighter than I had planned and take our current one. well, or try to anyway.

Tomorrow we're going to do our taxes, that should be fun. Glad we aren't waiting til April this year. The money will go towards our plane tix to Greece (June). I had hoped to pay off more of my student loans, but hey, family calls.

Hope everyone is well.
xoxo

I've been searching online for the last hour, looking for a cheap lightweight suitcase to take to Japan. we discovered on our trip to chicago for christmas, that the two we bought a year ago (samsonite, hardsides) are too heavy to meet the weight requirements when filled. I am going to japan for 12 days, but will have access to a washing machine. I'm looking for a good 29" suitcase that weighs less than 10 lbs. hopefully for less than $100. I found one for $40, but i wonder how durable it is.

well, back to ebags.com
....

I don't know what's up with me today. I've been eating NON STOP. I even stopped at walgreens on the way home and bought a cadburry egg (I stopped for something else, and was drawn by colorful marketing schemes down the Easter aisle). We have pastitio for dinner, left over from last night. I'll wait til costas comes home before I break it out, but man, i better keep myself occupied because i want it NOW.

in other news, work was fine, Makiba's trying to get plane tix that match mine, so if we can't be on the same plane, we can atleast be at the same airport together. if she can do it, she might let me stay at her place in Tokyo, which would be really cool.

hmm..

thanks everyone for trying out my quiz. I'm going to post some answers and announce the winner at the end of the weekend. So far it looks like Lori is in the lead...

Tonight we went to see Breach, which was actually pretty good. The theater was overrun with theater jumpers though, which was quite annoying. Apparently everyone in Swansea between the age of 10-17 was out to watch Wild HOgs, and when it was sold out, they just bought a ticket for anything.

the popcorn was good though, so I'm still glad we went.

Costas and I left making several negative comments about America's youth and how we will strive to be better parents. hehe. hopefully we'll have enough energy to actually do what we say we will.

So after Theresa's post, i had this good idea that me, lori & tea should all decide to post once a day for March. Lor, are you in? it would be a good challenge. let me know what you think.

that's it for now. off to read my bloglines.

Create your own Friend Test here
I'll send a surprize to anyone who gets 90% correct!

aah Smith, i do love you.

I drove out to N'hampton at 4, got here at 6. Amanda is at dinner and then i guess selling tix for the production. I'm gonna grab a bite to eat and then meet her at JMG. I think i'm finally getting used to the changes on campus, i don't feel like an ancient dinosaur anymore. Sure, i see/feel an age difference between me and the current students, but campus is still mine. the scents are the same. the rush of emotions is the same, but the overwhelming flood of memories is less this time. I suppose it'll get better the more often I visit.
anyway, i'm glad to be here. it's so so comfortable, even at 28degrees. I love smith. ahhhhhh.


oh, but there was a small shock driving in through downtown... B Side Records has turned into.... a Dunkin Donuts?!?!? not entirely a bad thing. i think it would have been awfully convenient if it was there when i was here. but then again i never really had any money for coffee.

yeah, so. maybe i'll post later. it depends on how much free time i have.

xoxo

once again i'm at home when i should be working.

i'm waiting for the cute red-headed repair guy, again.

a week and a half ago we discovered waterspots (ok, a huge 8"x4' water spot) on our upstairs bathroom ceiling, and last monday i had to cancel my classes to stay home and wait for this guy. He's quite nice by the way, but not very punctual, and for as competent as he seemed the first time, I'm losing faith in him quickly seeing as we had the same problem happen AGAIN. hopefully he can fix it right this time.

apparently there is a leak in the drainage pan of the heating system in the attic. hmph. he said it'll be a 5 minute job, but i'm still left wondering when those 5 minutes will take place.

oh well. in other news, work is going well. quilting is going better. I finished 2 quilt tops in the last 2 weeks, yay me! I've got a quilt class on Saturday from 10-4, then i'm driving out to N'hampton to see Amanda's production of the Vagina Monologues. It should be so Smith. Can't wait.

ok, with all this free time, i might as well sew something. Well, i suppose i could do laundry or clean, but... nah.

costas is in Atlanta.
I've been sewing.
Makiba came over yesterday and we had a lot of fun making pj pants.
my motivation to clean the house today is gone.
I'm hungry but also have low motivation to go shopping.
There's a quilt meeting tomorrow and a quilt retreat on Cape Cod next weekend.
Overall I'm happy, I hope you are too.

xoxo

things i love:
-my grandmother's potato salad
-orange-flavored tea
-the way my hair looks when I pull it up
-Smith women that convince you that solo international travel is way more important than whatever else you may have been planning to spend $ on (i bought tix to Japan for spring break!!!!)

things i don't like so much
-dry contacts
-having to go grocery shopping after work in heels and a thong, and remembering you forgot the bacon halfway through the check out line.
-the $46 charge for "roaming" on my cell phone bill from the 3 days I used my phone in Toronto.


went back to work today. totally forgot how long the commute was, and about 30 minutes into it I asked myself if it's really worth it. momentarily decided that it was, and kept going.
Grama's potato salad is cooling down in the fridge, i used olive oil instead of Mazola oil, don't know yet if this will make a big difference. I'm having a hard time waiting for it, may just have to eat it warm.

Yesterday I met up with Melissa and Sara to have tea at the Peninsula Hotel. Wow. it felt like we were really successful Smith grads. It was a lot of fun, and totally felt like Smith for a while, except for when girlsfly realized that she mentioned something like boobtag in a voice that others could have overheard. (hehe).



So Sara made me feel alittle bad for not posting so often, and i thought I'd let y'all know that I've had a lovely time in Chicago, both visiting family and hanging out downtown. a brief recap of some of the highlights:

*Leo's driving tour of the ENTIRE CITY, including Graceland Cemetary, University of Chicago, all the important architectural wonders, and lunch at the Columbia Yaht Club.
*night after night of card games with Grandma and my cousins.
*schneke86's fudge
*sharing psychic moments with lhsmallfry
*taking nice family photos
*getting certified in Reiki I & II
*learning how to crochet hats (and putting up with everyone who made fun of them)
*playing with schneckerock's kids
*watching UFC 66
*quality time with the family
*quality time with the husband
*Hopleaf bar & finding my new favorite beer= Leffe Brune
*Quiltology

Oh it has been wonderful. hopefully we'll make it back before next Christmas.