Brrrr...

It's not quite so cold here. In fact we've been having oddly warm weather. Like temps in the 60s and 70s, and today we're having thunderstorms, but it's still soooo warm out.

This is vintage Beth from 2007, Thanksgiving, on the Staten Island Ferry. Isn't she cute?

~Mari.

flowers, a crocheted teddy bear

A teddy bear I crocheted with some yarn given to me by Christopher, Shawn's second cousin. Some flowers I bought myself (I had a dinner guest - my cousin Lisa!) in a vase that was a Christmas gift from Beemer. And you can see the ring on the flowers, just for fun.

~M.

Weekend at Bernies - REAL LIFE

Only in New York? We watched a different news story about this the first night - they had an eye witness and everything. It was HILARIOUS.

~M.

What I Do NOT want my cake to look like

I-Reporter's wedding cake is a full-size likeness of herself - CNN.com

Rolling on the floor laughing so hard! Thanks, CG. ~M.

Cake Disaster

Beth and I had a good time making this cake. Too bad it looked like we were kindergarteners. But it sure did taste good. So the consensus is we're going to buy the cake. And I'm OK with that. If we'd had about a pound more frosting and a little more patience MAYBE we could have made it happen/look better. Oh well.

The topper is actually a clearance sale M that we turned over to be a W - just for show. Now I can use it as a christmas ornament, or more likely as all-year-round "M" decoration. I never tire of my initial! I'll have new initials in this new year one way or another, it's just a matter of sorting out if I keep my maiden name as part of my middle name or not... It's hard to lose the cool rhymingness of my name. And oh, I'll no longer be a maiden. I guess that's OK. Matron-hood here I come???

A PhD face... I'd say.

What do you know? Shawn got his PhD ceremony over with. Isn't he handsome?

From Lisa for my FH

Bottom of the Rock

The look up at the rock - taken when beth was here over t-day break. so beautiful... and where the official-ness of it all began!

Thread Crochet and Snowflakes

Thread Crochet and Snowflakes

I adore crochet, and I've been doing a few flat angels, some Christmas bells and snowflakes. It's so much fun and so rewarding when they're finished. I'm not as good at starching them, but adequate. Practice makes perfect.

~Mari.

sisters

one more before sleep. This was taken in the NYC subway...yes, i got outta control with the teeth whitening in PhotoShop, but fun none-the-less. ~M.

Snuggly Snowflakes

Here's a gem of a project I made for Gran last spring. It was inspired after I found a snowflake pattern during the Christmas season, but too late to finish before last Christmas. I couldn't WAIT until now to give it to her, so she's had it since her birthday in April. I hope to see it again when I go home for Xmas... only two weeks! My crochet hook is going again, but nothing this extravagant. This was my first (and only-so far) adult sized afghan, and I'm really pleased with it!

Happy Christmas!!!








~Mari.

wishing

*don't wish your life away*

i am enjoying my time here in new york. probably too much. it's just amazing fun. i don't have too many friends yet, but i'm getting to do things... that i normally don't have time for. i'm reading, getting holiday presents bought and made, and spending time with the man i'm going to marry. how crazy is that? we're having a fun time... and i'm so excited christmas is here. i'm ready to spend some time in oklahoma.

~mari.

Sentiments...

I do not want people to be agreeable, as it saves me the trouble of liking them.
- Jane Austen

A little horrible, but I'm OK with that. And how funny that it's a JANE AUSTEN quote?!

Life is trudging along here. Last night was the Rockettes, which was FREAKING AMAZING... Well worth it, even if we were in the very back row, our view was amazing. I'm starting to love NYC...hopefully not too much. :)

~M.

/golden year

I'm officially 27. That's pretty scary.

My birthday was good. We went to a Mexican dive restaurant and I had a piece of cake. I'm hoping to score a Magnolia Bakery cupcake at some point. Meh. Thursday night we'll have the real fun - we're going to see the Rockettes! How groovy. :)

SNAP!

Fact of the Day: rubber bands
Stephen Perry, of the rubber manufacturer Messrs. Perry & Co., patented his design for vulcanized rubber bands on March 17, 1845. They were designed to secure "papers, letters, etc.

Pre- engagement photos

Here's a shot at arm's length in Shawn's apartment before we left. We had our engagement photos done by my cousin Lisa in Central Park on Saturday... one is posted on our wedding site, which I launched yesterday: wedding.silvermari.com

check it out! ~Mari.

New Trisha!

Heaven, Heartache and the Power of Love!

Silly me gets excited every time a new Trisha Yearwood album comes out, and this week was no exception. Luckily I found the CD in K Mart - yep, there's K Mart in Manhattan... I could have gotten a better deal at Amazon or something - but who can wait? And it's a good CD. I'll probably listen to it incessantly, burn out, take a break, then add it to my rotation.

Things are rocking along here. Nothing major to report. Just getting into a groove and trying to figure out how best to do this thing -- plan the wedding I mean.

~Mari.

How Pedestrian

Without a car I'm walking everywhere. Working at "home" isn't really giving me much of a commute, but for groceries, hooks for the walls and anything else I might need - I'm hoofing it. Yesterday I walked 28 blocks to Bed, Bath & Beyond. Kinda crazy, but it's good for me. However, it's finally getting cold here - and frigid temps mean I'm less likely to get moving out there... Especially when it's dark. I'm sleeping or working all the hours of daylight (for the most part). Anyway. I do have my daily jaunt to the post office. Charming.

~Mari.

Continual Annoyances

The post office rented a box to Shawn. He got it, tried the key, and yes, it works. All is well. (The box is for me and is in my name) I go to check my mail today - the key doesn't work. Turns out, they turned over the box back to its previous owner WITHOUT notifying us. SO... who knows where my mail is, or how long this will take me to unravel. I've changed all my credit cards, other mailings, etc. already. I should just have everything sent to my "work" address and say "Screw You, USPS!" GEEZ.

~M.

Day One

Working from home is certainly not easy, but I think it can grow on me. I have made it through the first day and was reasonably productive. I know the days will go by faster when I get really busy/have lots to do. But for now, organizing and sorting my files and office supplies, in addition to regular day-to-day web site updating, e-mailing, etc. will keep me busy.

To the post office!!!

~M.