Ladyblog

for my husband.  for my family.  for my extended family.  for my pugs and buhund.  for my friends.  for the health of all of the above.  for sunny mornings.  for a warm home.  for unlimited opportunities.  for good jobs.  for cookies.  for great books.  for delicious foods in our bellies.  for clean clothes.  for all the things we have.  for love and for this life.  we are some lucky peeps, this mr. halloran and i.

sophie’s thankful too, for food, naps, and for finally getting over her little cough.

<3

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this past weekend i took a little trip to spend the weekend with my sister in laramie.  and what a fabulous weekend it was!  i don’t get to see my sister nearly as much as i’d like (damn you, distance!), and we do all sorts of fun things and have all sorts of good talks when we get together.  laramie is one of my favorite towns – and there’s a tradition of going to certain restaurants and taking doggies for hikes and such.  my niece and nephew keep getting older and are turning into more interesting little people every time i see them, and we had a fabulous time together too.

i’ll get to my favorite part of the weekend in a moment, but first, ice skating pictures!  this was somewhat of an adventure, as the lights went out in the ice arena while the kids were skating!  i didn’t get to witness the chaos as i experienced my own bit of chaos in the grocery store starbucks which also suffered a power outage, but apparently it was especially traumatic for the kiddos.

sammer and friend:

nora and my sister skating away:

clearly not too traumatized by the power outage:

okay, now on to the highlight of the weekend.

notice anything?

i kind of sort of timed my visit to coincide with ira glass speaking at the university of wyoming!  ira glass is my favorite public radio personality – he’s the host of this american life which is a radio show carried by public radio stations that picks a theme every week and hosts regular people with amazing stories that go along with that theme.  the show is seriously the best.  i have never, ever listened to an episode i didn’t like.  and there’s something about their story productions that makes you never want to change the channel when you’re listening.  seriously, go listen online.  they’re the best.

the most fabulous part about the whole thing was that my dad treated us to a vip reception before the show, in which ira glass schmoozed with all the local public radio elite.  which means my sister and i totally got to meet him!  you see, meeting ira glass is like my equivalent of meeting brad pitt or ryan gosling or whoever the hunky-dude-of-the-moment is.  so, so fun.  the downside of a public radio event involving public radio elite is everyone thinks it’s quite uncouth to ask the man for a picture, so all i got was a picture of his backside while chatting.  but look at how charmed all the ladies are!

my sister and i before the show:

and a terrible photo of ira on stage as taken by my iphone:

what does a guy who hosts a radio show talk about when he speaks to crowd, you ask?  he spoke of how they create each show – how they select each store – what makes a good story.  his talk was actually quite fascinating.  there really is something about his show that makes it so you can’t turn away, and the reason for that is ira’s and his producers’ profound skills for storytelling.  he played clips of the show from an ipad he carried around on stage, and made his talk sound like an episode of the show – very neat.

anyway, it was a really wonderful weekend.  thanks sister for the fabulous time and company (and all the eggs on toast).  and thanks dad for such a memorable evening.

go listen to this american life now, you won’t be disappointed.

<3

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hi friends.  it’s been a while.

listening: cleopatra by stacy schiff on audiobook.  i’m really not a fan of history, nor biographies, but this is book club’s selection this month and by golly i’m going to participate.
eating: there’s focaccia in the oven and minestrone on the stove.
drinking: agua.
wearing: the sweats i was wearing yesterday (it’s sunday, okay?).
feeling: mr. halloran is weatherizing right now, and this makes me sad.
weather: pleasant.
wanting: the upcoming week to be done.
needing: absolutely nothing.
thinking: about all the books i need to read.
enjoying: a quiet sunday at home.
wondering: should i finish chores or read?

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a few weeks ago, mr. halloran and i jetted down to san francisco for the wedding of a good friend of mine.  this will probably be the last vacay that we take together for a while, so we lived it up a little.

we spent the first day with our pal saikat (his last name is actually pal – ha).  he works for stanford and gave us a fabulous tour of campus.  wonderful to see him, and stanford is incredibly beautiful.  the only photos i took there were inside the campus church, which is quite spectaculor.

that evening we went to jenny’s home for a rehearsal dinner that included THE BEST PAELLA OF MY LIFE.

the next day, bridal shower brunch and girls getting ready ensued.  the wedding was small and sweet – the ceremony took place at a lovely little b&b in half moon bay which jenny and her new husband kindly hosted as at for two nights (mill rose inn).

the happy couple, stolen from facebook:

and mr. halloran and i living it up at the reception, also stolen from facebook:

the next day involved running around the coast and spending the evening in tiburon, which was a delightful (ritzy) little town.

and finally on our last day, we attempted to fulfill mr. halloran’s lifelong dream of seeing a whale with a little whale watching trip.  we saw two gray whales, but i think it was a bit of a letdown for the mr.  he expected them to be closer and more spectacular, but unfortunately they were far away and didn’t do anything exciting besides breathe.  also of note, i got puked on by a stranger (thanks for puking when there are people downwind from you, mrs. stranger).  but we still had a nice time on the water and seeing the farralon islands – it was a really beautiful day.

you can kind of see the whale we saw in this one:

sure wouldn’t mind going back.

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considering doing this.

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i technically finished this a month or so ago, but somebody (me) has been unmotivated to take pictures and blog.

i made this duvet using one of amy butler’s free patterns.  i think it turned out pretty well.  it cost around $60-$70 for the front fabric, and i used the back of our old duvet for the back (plus i have a bit leftover for some random little projects).  it was pretty easy, but cutting all those rectangles took for-ev-er.

i’m pretty much a sucker for gray + yellow.

that’s our teeny tiny bedroom.  mr. halloran is working on new bedside tables for us, so we’re getting a major upgrade shortly.

we had what felt like our first days of fall this weekend.  i’m not ready.  but a cozy duvet helps.

<3

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today marks what would have been (or in my dad’s words, would have/should have been) my mom’s 65th birthday.  i’ve been thinking of her all day and wishing she were here to celebrate this milestone.

this photo was taken on my mom’s 61st birthday at luna in spokane, two weeks before she died.  she and my dad came up to spokane to celebrate with matt and i (what i wouldn’t give for one more of those visits – my parents were so kind and visited me frequently).  while matt was able to spend time with my mom three times in total, it’s the only photo i have of mr. halloran with her.

my family is celebrating in different ways today.  my brother and greg in nyc, and mr. halloran and i here in spokane, will be visiting one of her favorite restaurants and ordering her favorite dish – the riblets.  (sidenote: my mother was a brilliant, cultured academic that loved things that didn’t quite fit the bill of that type of persona, such as applebee’s, casinos, and movies with crazy special effects.  it makes me laugh a little.)  my dad and mhairi will also be eating ribs at home.  i haven’t talked to my sister today, but i’m sure she’s doing something to remember her as well.

i miss my mother every single day –  but it’s these kinds of milestone days that make me miss her even more.  she probably would’ve hated turning 65 – as does any woman, i’m sure – but i’m sure she would have shared a glass of wine with my dad, celebrated with dinner with us, and taken some time to look into the woods and landscape around our house on the palouse to contemplate how thankful she was for this life.

love you mama.

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matt’s siblings and significant others were kind enough to treat us to a night’s stay at a bed and breakfast in northern idaho for our wedding a year ago, and mr. halloran and i finally took advantage of it this last weekend.  it was so nice to have a trip away to look forward to, and our friends kim and jason further helped in the treat by taking care of the dogs on saturday night and sunday morning (thanks guys).

we stayed at wolfgardens in sagle, id, not far from where we were married.  the host, annemarie, was very friendly and kind, and the place was very clean.  but the best part was that on the adjacent property was a five acre enclosure of domesticated wolves.  we could hear them howling at night, and annemarie gave us a tour of their home on sunday morning.  i’d never been so close to wolves before, and i loved them!  they’re so pretty and majestic.  i can’t believe anyone would hunt them – they seem like smarter, wild dogs (which they pretty much are, aren’t they?).  it’s hard to believe a pug evolved from them!

we finished with a morning bike ride around lake pend oreille.  perfect.

thanks leigh, pete, jason, and leah.

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mr. halloran and i recently celebrated our one year anniversary.  one year!  that seems like a big one.  until you’re reminded by your in-laws that they’re celebrating their 40th this year (40 years, holy cow).  baby steps, i guess?

we hiked to the top of gold mountain, which is where mr. halloran proposed two years ago.  we even took angus – that little pug hiked five miles with us.  what a great little pug.  then we came home, cleaned up, dressed up, and went out for a night out on the town, stopping at scratch for dinner, mizuna for dessert, and a movie (thanks dad + mhairi for the night out – it was so great).

while we were out, sophie gorged herself on what was likely at least two pounds of dog food.  i’d like to say this never happens, but sadly this pug acts like we never feed her and breaks into the food can with some sort of regularity.  at her last vet appointment this week, she was two pounds heavier than last time.  such a beautiful chubby pug.

it was a lovely day.  love you, mr. halloran.  here’s to the next 39 years.

xoxo

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hello blogworld.  me again.  long time no see.

i have quite a bit of catch up to do, as posting has been sparse and mr. halloran and i have been crrraaaaazzzzyyyyy busy with all sorts of fun things this summer.

but first i’ll start with a little goodbye.  last week my grandmother doris (my dad’s mother) passed away after breaking her hip and having a stroke.  she was 93.

she had been in declining health for several years, and was undoubtedly uncomfortable, in pain, and confused recently.  i’ll miss her sweet smile and grandmotherly ways, but i’m happy to know she’s not suffering (and who knows, maybe she’s happily reunited with my grandpa ralph, like she always said she couldn’t wait for [my grandmother was deeply religious - something that always seemed to separate us a bit]).  i feel a little empty now that all my grandparents are gone.  it’s a strange feeling.

in spite of the sad circumstances, we had a very nice weekend celebrating her life, learning more of her history, and sharing time with family in south dakota.  i don’t know my dad’s side of the family very well as i’ve only seen them as regularly as every 3 or 4 years, so it was really great getting to know my aunts, uncles, and cousins as i never really did before becoming an adult.  what wonderful people.

i can’t explain why the only photos i took this weekend were of a neat little praying mantis hanging out on a parked car at our hotel in omaha.  i guess she was extra compelling.  she even did a little dance while we were watching her.

i leave you with that.  and an extra xoxo for my sweet grandma doris.  i’ll miss you.

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