A bientot!

(The title should have a couple of fancy accents, but it doesn't. I hope that you find it in your heart to forgive me.)

It's the night before I leave, and I am so excited!
(And I'm packed! c'est un miracle!)
And still, despite my claims of being prepared, I'm going to inevitably find myself scrambling around the house tomorrow morning in attempt to find that one thing that I really really really need. (only to later realize that it was in the bottom of my suitcase the entire time.)

And, here is that brief point in this post where I completely veer off topic and tell you something else that you didn't really want to know.

Some mornings, you wake up and everything in the world is shiny and good and the birds sing to you as you stretch your arms to the ceiling and get dressed in something comfy. This morning, I woke up and it was cold. It was cold and dark. I got myself into my clothing for the day, but trust me when I say that it was not particularly comfortable. I ate a quick breakfast and went to the school fields with a sense of dread growing in my stomach. Close to an hour later, we arrived at the meet. I was scheduled to run in the first event of the day, the JV mile. The next hour passed slowly. Two warm up runs and dynamic stretching and changing into spikes occupied the time. my other teammate and I got to the starting line at the second call. We waited for a couple of minutes until we were given the signal to take off our warm ups. The cold was bitter and biting and I struggled to remove my sweatpants. (I struggle with a lot of things.) Too soon, we were on the line and ready and going. Six minutes and ten seconds later, it was over. Six minutes, ten seconds, and two places after the first finisher. Some mornings, you wake up and it is dark and cold. Two hours and a mile later, you realize that it's perfect running weather. I guess my first meet of the season didn't go so poorly after all.

... and now back to the topic of PARIS!

I've got a huge list of places and things that I want to see, but I'll wait until I get back to tell you about that. (how anti-climactic would the posts about what I did be if I had already told you what I was planning on doing?)

In the event that you feel overcome with sadness due to your inability to communicate with me, here is a little something to remind you of my wonderfully likable personality and girlish charm and the fact that I actually don't have either of the previously mentioned traits.



So, here is my au revoir! But have no fear, we'll see each other again soon. But for now, a bientot! Time for me to spend le printemps en Paris! :)

exploring spring

this afternoon I found a tiny little boat going on an adventure through my closet. it used the faint breeze coming through the open windows to sail around. it glided across my scarves and my shoes, but it lost some of its wind in front of one of my blue button down shirts so I took this picture.

I don't know where it's going, but I hope that the rest of its adventure is positively delightful.

Wednesday Wisdom

"How poor are they that have not patience!
What wound did ever heal but by degrees?
Thou know'st we work by wit, and not by witchcraft;
And wit depends on dilatory time."
Shakespeare
(Othello)

Teatime Tuesday

Oh the alliteration!
I felt that it was appropriate, considering the amount of tea that I drank today.
(For those curious folks, that was half of a gallon.)

I'm sick. And drinking tea is the only thing that I know how to do sometimes. (I may not be very good at a lot of things, but I'm excellant at what I'm good at.) Here's the cup that I'm using.

Most of the time, when you read about me drinking tea, I'm drinking it from this mug. It holds three cups of water, making it absolutely ideal for me because of the copious amounts of tea that I always seem to find myself drinking. It was made by my very talented aunt, who has her own pottery studio. Most of the various mugs and platters around my house were made at her studio. mmmmm talent in the family.

I spent the first half of my day (okay, first two thirds... maybe three fourths.) in pajamas. I did homework, took various cold medications, and did some more homework. Spent about two hours this afternoon sitting on my front porch doing my math homework. Birds were chirping and my nose was honking like a french horn. We could have made a band. It would have been the next big thing, I promise you.

I invested an hour in researching some of the places that I want to visit... and proceeded to use google streetview to walk from my apartment to various destinations. Don't worry, I know that I'm really cool.

Here's to hoping that your day was as pleasant as mine... just without the hacking and coughing and whatnot.

Happy Pi Day!

(And here you were, thinking that I forgot.)

like I could ever forget about PI day.

I've been too busy celebrating.
(and you know, drinking too much tea, watching the Goonies, packing for Paris, doing homework, cleaning my room, and everything else that I always seem to be doing.)

Have a slice of pie on me.
:)

flower show

Oh how I love the Philadelphia Flower Show.
I live for it.
or, if not for it, at least I live because of it.

(you might think I'm joking, but I'm not.)
my parents met for the first time when my mom was leaving the flower show.
I suppose this makes me something of a flower child. (insert laugh track here?)

My mom and I attended the flower show on Friday this year, but my mom had already been there on opening night with my dad.

so, here are my thoughts on the 2010 Passport to the World Philadelphia Flower Show. I'm sure that you're positively dying to know my opinions, so I won't spend any more time introducing this post.




the shipping containers were really wonderful. one was mirrored on the walls and ceiling, and when you walked through it you could see yourself looking back at you from all directions. On the side of another container there were three small arrangements that used construction lighting and various flowers. (ranunculus were included. and you should know that I'm a sucker for anything/everything with ranunculus.)



The Antarctica section was absolutely amazing. big icicles were made out of flowers and fabric, and the lighting was nice too. A really beautiful part of it was that there were calla lilies in slowly melting blocks of ice, being held above a pool of water by ice tongs. probably my favorite section of the entire show. (It didn't hurt that the cruise ship themed display was positioned right next to it. Can you say RMS Titanic? I laughed.)



the African themed section was astounding. an entire lion was made out of plant materials and stood at the entrance. The giraffe was equally impressive, and was made out of a metal base and suspended containers of orange orchids.



ikebana, la tour eiffel, and a kiwi.
just some various other things that I really enjoyed.

The ikebana was more interesting than what I can remember from previous years, as was some of the smaller displays.

I geeked out a lot at the 'window shopping' section, especially when it came to the rain gear themed shop. Umbrellas made from pussy willow branches? Colorful boots filled with flowers? Yes please. The chocolate/Parisian themed 'shop' was nice too. (just three more weeks until I'm up off and away!)

the smaller scaled arrangements were nice too, and as they shared a common theme it was pretty unique. The ways that people varied a single theme were wonderful. The theme was kiwi... and while most people themed it after the kiwifruit there were a couple that used the lovable and flightless kiwi bird.

And that's about it. I spent a little time meandering around the various shops, and (as per usual) questioned the amount of cat themed wall hangings.