girl on the go

{photos from my last sunny Baltimore weekend.}

Oh, my goodness. I have no idea where the past week went!! So much for the days when the end of the semester meant instant freedom and carefree summer.  In grad school, it just means that you are done with the distractions of classes and can actually focus on your own work.  I have been busy busy busy tying up loose ends and prepping for the summer.  Aaaah!

Today was a big day because I finally defended my thesis proposal (aka my baby of this semester), and it was approved! Which is a very good thing, because it means I can officially go out and do my field work, and am not screwed. yet.  I am so glad I have the defense over with; basically the first official loophole you have to jump through in the quest for a masters degree. I have no idea how those crazy PhD people do the even more intense version. 

So anyway...I have one more day in the lab before the craziness that is going to be my summer officially begins!

I have said goodbye to the boy for the summer (waaa) and am ready to launch off and do this thing.

Crazy itinerary:

-Tomorrow= last day in the lab, clean, pack (uck), pick up obligatory PA gift of Yuengling, burn CDs for 12 hour drive

-Thursday= hit the road and drive home to the beloved cornfields, humidity, and devastating summer storms of IL yay!

-While at home....stock up on camping gear and finish organizing 100+ pages of field data sheets :/

-Memorial weekend= drive to the Quad Cities to help college roomie/best friend Christine move, catch up on life, and stomp on ye olde revered collegiate grounds !

-June 8= the day the camping urge I've had for the past 2 years is quenched for probably quite some time.

Fly to the west shore of Tahoe and spend the rest of the summer camping, playing in the Sierra Nevada, and oh yes, doing field work 50 hrs/week.  Which basically entails lots of wandering around and tree measuring.

I am so excited to go home and relax. I haven't seen my family since Christmas and I kind of miss them despite our common dysfunctionalities ;). I also can't wait to reunite with the high school and college friends. I honestly think I have more friends from high school (that I keep up with) than I do from college; I come from a small town and had a very close group! 

I am also excited to see California for the first time, do mindless outdoor labor (my brain has not shut off for the past 5 straight months and it is beyond the burn out point) and of course get tan!

Most of all, I am excited to have fun+work hard but also get the summer over with so I can be back with Ben, hopefully in the same town for the first time in 2 years !!!

Life is kind of spinning right now, but in a good way.

late spring disorientation

I ran away to Baltimore this weekend to try and decompress after the post-finals fallout!

I can't believe I didn't take a single picture all weekend.

But rest assured that that the trip was chock full of the typical sunshine, fun daytrips, ice cream, fancy cocktails, and kill-me run.

We went to DC for Ben's sister's new apartment housewarming party.

But first we had to make a stop at the National Zoo, after a relationship-testing navigational mishap in a hot traffic jam.

Can I just say that I have been living in a bubble all year? I know it has its own issues, but at least compared to B-more and the party town in the middle of nowhere, DC is soooooo nice. And his sister's apartment is adorable. 

But the street layout in that town is beyond confusing. 

Like usual, the weekend went way too fast and I'm not sure that I am completely relaxed and back to normal after the craziness of this semester.  Probably because I'm not actually finished; I am finishing up my thesis proposal [tonight!!] and am working full time in the lab all week for my research assistantship. Plus getting ready to leave for California where I'm spending the summer to do my field research.

It's weird to be on campus without all the hustle and bustle of the 40000 undergrads.

All the spring flowers have faded and the trees are in full glorious green, but it doesn't seem like summer yet.

Maybe because it's only 60 degrees out.  brrr.

p.s. I will definitely try marshmallow fluff in the fruit dip next time. And probably almond extract, although I hoard that little bottle like it is liquid gold ;)

springtime in Baltimore

I have spent all day today driving home, running errands, restocking my sad neglected refrigerator and trying to put some order in my life and get back into the swing of things after a beautiful beautiful amazing weekend that included

-delicious Greektown dining (pretty much obsessed with Greek food)

-Panera work marathon

-runs in the hot sun

-randomly running (literally) into a Privateer Festival complete with pirates, ships, and cannons in the harbor

-Saturday night homemade pizza and wine tradition

-GELATO!! 

Baltimore is only a three hour drive south from me, but it is seriously in a completely different climate zone. The MOMENT you leave Pennsylvania, the sun emerges, the temperature spikes up at least 10 degrees, and the trees all have their leaves already.

Proof: scenes from the park

sunset is my favorite time of day when it is warm and green out

awesome old twisty tree

the last daffodils clinging to life in the summery heat

fun paint-by-numbers sycamore bark

 

Cherry blossoms EVERYWHERE!

When I have a yard I want to plant it full of cherry trees.

Ben makes me run super fast and then overheat.

but I still love him because he is cute and buys me food.

CAUGHT YA! hehe.

Ships!

 Now it is time for a Reality Check for Anna.

Back to the school grind. Tomorrow.

Table for Seven

Ben lives only a couple blocks from the waterfront, and we prioritized a jog or walk along the brick boardwalk every single day the sun was out this week. 

It is so gorgeous and calm, with the swanky dockside apartments and highrises on one side and the endless little harbors filled with speedboats, sailboats, yachts, rowboats on the other...seriously, it seems like every person in Baltimore with a slightly significant amount of money owns their own boat. 

I would love to live by the water someday; there is something special about the air of the seaside although a lake or river would definitely be good enough. 

Ben and I have pipe dreams revolving around owning our own huge sleek yacht and sailing around the world. 

(Although it would have to run on used cooking oil or something that wouldn't pollute the water or else I would feel too guilty. !!)

The bottom picture is our favorite yacht that we picked out. I think it nicely balances sleek and classy with plenty of sun-bathing deckspace and maybe enough room for dinner on the water. Yup those are all my priorities. Perfect.

Fort McHenry

view of the Chesapeake Bay where the British navy attacked

Over the weekend Ben and I unleashed our inner touristy history-buff selves (well my inner self, Ben's normal self) and went to the other side of the harbor to visit Fort McHenry, (now a national monument) where the Americans successfully defended the city against the British warships during the Battle of Baltimore in 1814.  Francis Scott Key was a prisoner on a ship in the bay and was inspired to write The Star Spangled Banner after his experiences on that night.

It is impossible not to have the national anthem stuck in your head as you wander around this place! (which gets kind of annoying if you personally had to play it 59384 times in high school marching band)

The fort is star-shaped and has multiple levels, all made of brick and grass embankments with random arched doorways leading down into the ammunition storage rooms and other technically-termed places; it kind of feels like a labyrinth when you walk around.  You can definitely envision the uniformed soldiers marching through their drills.

It was definitely a fun mini-trip for a sunny afternoon. I recommend stopping by if you're in the city!

basking like a kitty

I am so excited to be in Baltimore right now; I didn't realize how sun deprived I'd been until I was reintroduced to blue skies here.  It is 60 degrees and cloudless, which seriously feels like summer.  It's not shorts and tank top weather yet, but oh my gosh it feels so good to re-introduce my skin to some vitamin D!  Being able to run by the harbor, eat lunch on sunny seafood cafe patios, and wake up to actual sunlight streaming through the blinds is pretty much amazing.  It's funny how you take things like sunlight for granted until you live in a cloudy place for a while, and then nice weather makes your life 1000% better. 

I have turned Ben's sunny room into my office for the week, and plan to knock off as much work as I can muster while he's at school.  In addition to basking in the nice weather and playing in the kitchen. 

I love spring break!

sunshine and olympics

I realize that I have been talking about snow a lot lately...but this weekend I got some much needed SUNSHINE!

After another crazy busy week I went down to Baltimore to be with my calming influence {Ben!} because I seriously can't relax when I am by myself on the weekends. I am always stressing out, thinking about all the things I should/could be doing. 

We just lounged around, ate, and did work [all of the things that we do best] but it was still amazing.

AND I feel caught up for this week.

Some fun things were also accomplished, such as

-cooking apricot chicken and asparagus

-baking oatmeal applesauce blackberry muffins

-brownies and ice cream!

-Olympics watching [saw the Dutchman take gold in speedskating, juggernaut bobsledders, and freaky Russian ice dancers]

-a beautiful run in the SUN through the park and past the harbor with giant yachts

The countryside may be melting, but it is still cold and grey here in the mountains :( Alas!

Well I am off to be productive!!
Have an amazing week!

craziness

Hello world !
 I have not dropped off the face of the earth; I have just been sucked into life moving 4293847 mph.

I went to Baltimore over the weekend (first time since Halloween, crazy!) and it was an incredible escape from reality.

so warm there it felt like spring

We made chocolate chocolate chip cookies, I watched almost an entire Ravens game (personal football record!), went for sunny walks with chai lattes, had a delicious sushi and cocktail date, people and dog watched, and pretty much loved life.

I seriously fall harder for this guy every. single. time. we are together :)

Oh, and we saw Avatar.

I think I will save my review for another day....

harbor colors

My favorite thing about Baltimore

(besides the gelato shop that I demand to frequent almost everytime I visit)

is the inner harbor

You will see

ships

dragons

yachts

barnes and noble in an old powerplant

the best aquarium ever

and sunset over calm water

a Baltimore Halloween

All I can say about my weekend

was that it was ridiculous!

too much fun

including...

-playing bags in the alley (aka "cornhole" as they say in VA)

-a little bit of cheap beer

-house parties (those TFA-ers get craazy)

-feeling like I was back in college

-seeing a scarecrow at the convenience store

-Sangria Floats (I did not have one):

-excited Ghostbusters

(not pictured: Nacho Libre)

-RANDOMLY crashing the most ridiculous garage party we passed while walking down the street (is it crashing when we were technically invited?)

NO ONE in Baltimore has garages, but these people are loaded.

obviously:

-Complete with built-in custom tap

Also, stadium seats from Camden Yards bolted into the wall for watching the big screen TV.

(who ARE these people???)

Baltimore+Halloween=overwhelming
but it was a nice little escape from reality!