Month of July, 2006

Pink Shirt

I got a new pink shirt this weekend and am wearing it to work. Thought you should see a picture.

Oh yeah, and I changed the filter to my comments section. Your comment should appear now...I was a little too aggressive with my filter settings. Darn spammers. I spent more than a few hours Saturday night filtering through the over 68,000 comment spam, but finally got it cleaned up. And in the process found some legitimate comments that didn't make it through the filter which are now posted. (Dave, thanks for the comment you left about my 5 year blogversary back in February!)

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Kristen and Chris are expecting!

My younger sister, Kristen, is pregnant! I am so thrilled for her and Chris. It was such a blessing that they were able to get pregnant so quickly. (And maybe a tiny bit of a surprise too.) Their first appointment with the doctor was on Friday and they were able to hear the baby's heartbeat. Kristen said it brought tears to both of their eyes. And then Chris made a joke about how it sounds like a boy's heartbeat. Heh, he's really hoping for a boy and something deep down in me thinks he'll get it.

Since I found out that they're expecting, I've been thinking a lot about how much this is going to change the family dynamic. The changes that my immediate family are about to experience are almost too much to imagine. We've never had such a dramatic event. It's going to be incredible. I just know that having a child around will expand our hearts and we're going to be able to love deeper than we ever thought we could. It makes me so incredibly happy and excited to know this experience is ahead of us. This is such a blessing!

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Quote of the Day

"You can now announce to the world that I'm officially sporting an alien."

- Kristen

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Maps of Places I've Visited

create your own visited country map

Making this map is so cool because Chris and I were just talking about wanting to do this. We talked about all the countries we've been to and it's a pretty impressive list. David and Arianne compare themselves to The Centurian (The travelers Century Club) which is a travel club for people who have visited 100 countries or more.

create your own personalized map of the USA

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Ring Tone

One of my coworkers has a Caribbean-themed cell phone ring. Normally I don't like hearing people's cell phones ring at work. I feel like it's a distraction and impolite. However, this Caribbean-themed ring is growing on me. Everytime I hear it I want to do a little dance and drink a pina colada.

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Sunrise from North Mountain

I hiked North Mountain this morning. It's a lovely little hike only a few minutes drive from my house. Phoenix had quite a thunderstorm last night with a lot of rain so it was wet and cool (low 80's). The hike up North Mountain isn't too long but it has a nice rise in elevation. It's a good workout and the reward is definitely the view.

The first photo is of the sun coming up when I reached the top of the mountain (and caught my breath). I took the second photo on the way down and you can see some of the trail below me.

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Links

Some links that I've really enjoyed and think you might too.

SimpleHuman.com - "Tools for efficient living"
It was recently written up by RealSimple magazine so I checked it out. I recently purchased the microfiber mitt and the carbon filter. The mitts for shining the stainless steel appliances and the filter for the stinky garbage can.
What I like most about SimpleHuman is their blog! It has a lot of really great links (where I found some of the ones I'm listing).

Perpetualkid.com - Products to "entertain your inner child"
I especially liked the Animags cocktail glass marker, the frog and dog oven mitts, and the ice shot glass maker.

QuickMaps.com - A way to easily make marks on GoogleMaps. This is in the same vein as the tool I was telling Chris we need. We want a way to map out where all our friends and family live all over the world. (Because I'm visual and need it in a picture.)

Instructables.com - "Step-by-Step Collaboration"
This is a site driven by user content. People post their projects and easy to understand "how to" instructions. I'm loving just flipping through the projects. It's amazing what people come up with! I was especially interested in Projection Bombing, a Flaming Whip, and the iPod sock mod.

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Weekend in Dallas

I spent the weekend in Dallas with Chris. It had been seven weeks since we had seen each other last. Let me tell you that seven weeks is simply far too long. It was so, so good to be together.

We spent a lot of time socializing while I was in town and it turned out being a very busy time. Saturday we saw his family, Sunday we saw mine, and Sunday night we had dinner with David and Arianne. It was all fantastic, but I'm exhausted. I had an early flight back to Phoenix this morning in order to work a full day. Now it's time for rest.

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Puppy

A new puppy will be joining the Lucci family soon! Sadly, it's not joining my immediate household but my parents. (Sad for me, exciting for them!)

This is a picture of the little girl that Mom and Dad will be adopting. She standing next to her mother, which we hope she will turn out looking exactly like. Isn't the mother just adorable?! So cute. Mom and Dad are meeting their newest family member tomorrow and hopefully picking out a name. Though it won't be a few more weeks until they can bring her home. I can't wait!

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Written on April 13, 2005

I'm cleaning up old computer files and I found this post that I wrote but never published. The file date was April 13, 2005.

I'm thinking a lot these days about moving. Naturally, this means I'm thinking about geography and a dwelling. Both of these things have always been a nice thing for me to daydream about and I've been daydreaming a lot more lately. I suppose because I'm finally at a place in life that it would be possible for me to turn the daydreams into reality. Maybe. So I think and think and read and look at things and daydream.

Today before getting on the plane, I was daydreaming about homes and geography. So I stopped by the newstand and persued the architecture and home decor magazines. Finally, one caught my eye - Dwell - www.dwell.com. Their tagline is "At home in the modern world." The issue I picked up focused on prefab housing. I've always been in love with prefab. The idea of it is just fabulous - building something that is easily assembled somewhere else. The freedom of it is appealing - you can put your house anywhere. The affordability is dreamy. And the design is typically very, very good. Everything I've read about prefab housing basically is that people who were sick of regular-looking boring American houses wanted something that was beautiful and affordable. So they went out and designed something of their own. I really enjoyed the article in this magazine about the FlatPak House by Charlie Lazor. He designed a house that was fabricated in pieces then assembled on site in about 6 months. It's modular, has a ton of windows, simple lines, and is built of realistic materials. He estimates he can build these houses in 4 months for approximately $140 a square foot. Sign me up.

I've always wanted a beautiful home. To me, contemporary houses are beautiful. I simply love boxy buildings. I want lots of windows and wide open rooms. I love the minimalist look, but don't want to sacrifice my lifestyle to obtain it. So I want cabinets that are built into the walls so you can put your stuff away. I like stained cement floors and throw rugs. My ideal house has to have a courtyard so you can extend the living space to outside. Blurring the lines between interior and exterior with floor to ceiling windows and a courtyard is ideal. I want simple, square rooms. I don't need anything huge as I only imagine this house for me and Tiger (and family visiting, of course).

My ideal geography for this dreamhouse is the desert. Ever since I lived in Lubbock for college, I have been in love with the desert. I long for dry weather. High desert is so beautiful to me. The sparseness at first glance yet deep richness when you look a little closer. I love warm weather and sunshine. I love flat land and the abundance of sky. I love rocks and cactus and sand. I adore the desert after the sun has gone down and the air turns cool. I wonder if my love of the desert has anything to do with the fact I was born in Alburqurque, New Mexico. It's in my bones.

For the past six months I've been thinking that if I get the opportunity to move to the desert, I will. If I get the opportunity to pick my dwelling, I will build a prefab house. I think it's time I start seriously researching prefab instead of just reading about it here and there. The high desert provides a lot of unique challenges for an economically viable house, which I have only a tiny bit of knowledge about. For instance, I recently learned that termites are a pretty serious problem in parts of the desert and it's advisable to keep wood out of the construction. Plus, wood simply doesn't hold up in the sun. That's is why you don't see wood fences but concrete walls. But that's all I know about house building in the desert. I have a lot to learn.

Phoenix Serial Killers

Phoenix is in national news these days...and not just for the hot summer weather. It seems that there are two serial killers roaming Phoenix. Police are calling them the "Baseline Killer" and the "Serial Shooter." The news is a bit sensationalist. People are certainly aware but I don't get the impression that it's impacting daily life all that much. In fact, I, personally, have only had one conversation about it with a friend. It isn't even coming up in conversation. People would rather talk about the weather, I think. (Today's high is only 107 because it's cloudy.)

If you want to know more about the serial killers:
NPR piece is quite good and non-sensationalist
CNN article is short and sensationalist ending
AZ Republic has details from records

But I think the real news around Phoenix is the alligator found in a hotel bathtub and Steve Nash's haircut.

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Weekend Trips

Last weekend I visited Kristen and Chris in Maryland. Since I was there for work, I simply flew in earlier to visit them. Now that Mom is retired and has more flexibility, she came with me. It was a relaxing and slow weekend. We saw Pirates of the Carribean 2 (which wasn't as good as the first but entertaining all the same), went shopping, ate entirely too much food, watched World Cup, and played with the dog (a lot). It was a fabulous weekend and certainly makes me wish the family lived close together again.

Link to Maryland pictures.

This weekend Mom and Dad came to Phoenix. We spent the weekend exploring Arizona. Saturday we drove up to Jermone, a little mining town about an hour and a half north of Phoenix, and onto the Grand Canyon just in time for sunset. Sunday we explored the canyon rim and enjoyed the cooler weather. I loved spending time with my parents and especially enjoyed the canyon. It's the second of the 7 Wonders of the World that we've seen this year - Taj Mahal in March and The Grand Canyon in July. I wonder what other Wonders we can fit in this year?

Link to Jerome / Grand Canyon pictures.

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Abby

I've been travelling like crazy recently. I'm having tons of fun with it and seeing a lot of people. Last week I worked in the DC area so I had an opportunity to have dinner with Abby.

Abby and I met at Journalism Josh's house warming party four years ago. It was a chance meeting - she was introduced to Josh by a mutual friend and I met him through blogging. Abby and I hit it off immediately. I remember sitting on Josh's bed and talking with her and another woman. I probably remember it the best since there's a picture of it floating around somewhere. Abby and I only hung out once after that party and time slipped away.

Abby got into Harvard Law School and moved to Boston. I stayed in Dallas for most of those years. We kept up through my website and email. It was piecemeal, but we had some vague idea of what the other person was doing. (Though I somehow missed that she lived and worked in Egypt for a short time!) At the beginning of the month, Abby met a gentleman who was moving to Phoenix so she sent an email to introduce us. The email arrived at the same time that I was booking a trip to DC for work. The cosmic part is that I didn't know she was in DC until her email. I just assumed she was in Boston for school. It didn't occur to me she would have a summer internship. Anyhow, plans were made and we saw each other after all this time.

The evening was perfect. We had dinner at a Cuban restaurant and we walked a few blocks to a Turkish bar. Conversation was stimulating and thoughtful. Abby is delightful. She's funny and so, so intelligent. I loved that we talked about law and politics (ideal considering the location). We talked about life and work for women. It was all exactly what I needed and yet made me the tiniest bit sad that Abby and I don't live in the same city. Though I'm thankful that I get little experiences like this; it's what life is all about.

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How do you clean fruit and vegetables?

A conversation came up this weekend with my mom and sister about cleaning fruit and vegetables. I wash them with soap (usually liquid dish soap since its in the kitchen) and water. My mom and sister simply rinse with water. I've also heard of people disinfecting with a bleach and water mixture or some other commercially available disinfectant.

What do you do?

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Quote of the Day

"Real intimacy is about the collision of your human imperfection with his human imperfection and what the two of you do with it."

- Terry Real

Ky

He's so darn happy! It makes me happy too!

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Monday

Today has been a good day. I worked. I got my hair cut and colored. I made dinner - talapia with mango salsa and a side salad. Not sure what I'm going to do with my evening...but I think I might just head to the bookstore. What did you do today?

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Life's Seasons

You know you've reached a whole new place in life when one of your girlfriend's won't schedule a visit to your house - not because she doesn't have any money - but because she doesn't want to be away from her husband when she's ovulating.

I have a feeling that wedding season is over and child-bearing season is about to begin.

People Who Don't Look Like Themselves

I have a friend who often posts pictures on Flickr. Since he lives with his girlfriend, many of the pictures are of her. I was just flipping through the set of photos of her and I got confused. I mean, in many, many photos, I can't recognize her. It's weird. It's just that she's always making a different face, or wearing her hair a little differently, or has on a different style of clothing. They aren't hugely significant changes. Change that in other people wouldn't be a big deal. There's just something about her that I can't quite put my finger on, but she's always looking like someone else. Not herself. It's weird and it's bothered me for a few years now. Maybe by talking about it, I won't be bothered so much. Though there's really no reason for me to be bothered, I'm only looking at pictures of her on the net.

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Flowers from Chris

Chris sent flowers. I love the yellow vase!

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Saturday

This is what I've looked at for the majority of Saturday. I've reloaded Windows on my home laptop (the one on the right) because it had been performing slowly for quite awhile now). So much of my day was spent installing and rebooting, installing and rebooting. I should have kept count of how many times I had to reboot, but that probably would have just made me crazier. Anyhow, the job is done and I'm back on my machine! The only snag was that part of the keyboard wasn't working after the install - keys like c, v, m, enter. I did some troubleshooting which led me to believe I had a hardware problem, not a driver problem. So I took the laptop apart. First time I've done that! I figured I'd have to replace the keyboard. But I simply took it out, cleaned it really well, and put it back in. Now, magically, all the keys are working. I refuse to believe that cleaning the darn keyboard solved the problem; however, I am accepting the fact that I'll never know what happened.

In the afternoon, I went to CostCo with a couple friends who have a membership. It was so much fun! Plus I got a bunch of good food. I'm trying to eat healthier which means I need to cook which means I actually need to buy groceries. Today was a good start.

After grocery shopping, I came home and cooked. I made cucumber and tomato salad and chicken catchatori. Mmmm. Too bad I didn't have anyone eating with me. It was a nice meal. Plus I grilled some lemon pepper chicken for later in the week. Bentley was so cute while I was cooking. He stood in the middle of the kitchen and sniffed and sniffed and sniffed. It was like he couldn't believe there were things in our house that smelled so good. (Yeah, it's been that long since I've cooked.)

I've spent the rest of the evening working on computer stuff. I finally got all my music back into Itunes and I've been doing some organization of the photo collection. Though I'm tired. So I think I'll get in bed and watch a movie. It's been a nice Saturday afterall.