blogitive

Well, I feel like I might be back on the blog track. Look at me, blogging two days in a row! Honestly, Jack, it was you that inspired me -- suggesting that I might be the Blogavator, wow! How can you flatter me more??? To be honest, work was a little tedious today. I really wanted to get out. Tomorrow and Thursday will be long days - looks like 10 hours at least each day. Bummer. But I will blog on, folks, just for my loyal readers. Went to the Y after work, talked to my friend Kyle on the phone for a bit. I finished reading Harry Potter 5. You know, my heart just breaks for the poor kid. I will say no more, because I know you haven't read it, Eric, but for you loyal readers - you will know why I am in mourning once again. I couldn't bring myself to touch the book since I finished it last summer, but I thought I needed some resolution so I read it again. So, so sad. Anyway, Eric has arrived and Cold Mountain is waiting for us. I must depart.

bunny escape! 

Dicey's bunnies 

wild times

Well, guys, there has been good reason for my not blogging - I have been SWAMPED with incredibly important things happening in my life, for example, keeping Dicey from eating the bunnies in our back yard (see pictures below!), staining my home-made bookshelf, reading Harry Potter, and baking cookies. Of course, around these very thrilling and exciting activities, I still managed to find time in my busy schedule to give my sermon at church. Man, oh, man. The service went really well, I got a lot of nice comments so that was great - it's always nice to hear how wonderful you are =). Work today was ok but it was a looooooong day, I just wanted it to be overrrr all dayyyy. Tonight, I made some vanilla pudding featured in Mom's Cooking Light magazine, and I also made some cookies on the sheets that Uncle Phil had bought me for Christmas. They look excellent, if I do say so myself. Of course the excitement for today was Dicey's discovery of a nest of baby bunnies in our back yard during dinner. She kept standing over the nest, and I couldn't figure out why she wouldn't chase the ball when I threw it. Mom figured out what it was, and one of the bunnies made a mad dash away from the nest, so I am a little concerned that it didn't make it home, but Dad said it would smell it's way home. Hopefully that is true. They are very cute - reminded me of Leaper, but brown. Awwwwww, Leaper! It was great to talk to Natalie, Grandpa, and Uncle Phil yesterday on the phone. I am getting more and more excited for our beach trip. I have a great book that I am saving to read at the beach - Karen Armstrong's new biography. Mom already read it and said it was great, in fact, she said it reminded her of what I said in my sermon. Cool, huh!? I saw Michael Moore's new film last night, it was great. It really inspired me to get out and do something, so I called my youth advisor for my youth group at school today to talk to her about some social activism stuff to get involved with this year. Of course, it is clear to see that Moore is pretty biased, so it's hard to know what to really take seriously, but as Mom said, if even half of the stuff in that movie is true, then it's pretty terrifying. Here's an article a friend sent me about the movie - it's a very different perspective. http://slate.msn.com/id/2102723/
It's quite long, I'm about half way through and it's interesting. I think it's good to hear both sides of the story! I hear Alana has joined the readers of this blog. Alana, are you out there? You best get to commenting, here. I am off to shower and bed. It has been a long day.

post!

First, I would like to THANK my cousin for her evil voicemail that she left me today. Hmph. Other than that, things are going well. There's a new guy at work and he's pretty cool, so that's nice. I was planning on seeing Fahrenheit 911 tonight, but it was sold out so Eric, Chris, Peter, and I just came back home after a Wawa run. We chilled and played with cable on our TV. WOW! I still don't know how to work it - I find myself watching LESS TV than I did (which was little, so now it's like, none) because I don't know how to work the TV. The sad part is I don't know how to work the VCR or DVD player now either...hm...have to get Ben to help me with that. Ben and my iPods came in the mail - some accident in shipping gave us one 15G and one 10G and like, a whole bunch of accessories. So, I got the 10G and the accessories, and Ben took the 15G. Unfortunately, my hold key sticks so I'm mailing it back tomorrow. I'm currently working on getting all of my CDs onto my computer. Sad news of the day: Cameron's car was broken into, and the person took her stereo. I feel bad for her, since she just got it. Oh well. Guess I should stop ignoring my guests...enjoy the pictures below!

Me and Kermit. 

Aflack and Dicey.  

ducks - all grown up! 

Am I a blogger?!?!

Wow, I didn't think the pain could get any worse. Are you a blogger...the question bloggers hear in their worst dreams. Things are going pretty smoothly around here. I'm working a lot (of course), pulled another 11 hour day today. I got to see my friend Bethany, whom I haven't seen in awhile, and it was great to visit with her. She spend last semester in South Africa - seemed like a very interesting and eye-opening experience. I've got some new duck pictures that are on their way (i.e., I'm too lazy to get up off the couch to get my camera and the wire to get the pictures onto my computer) so we'll have that along shortly. Paul has been amusing me with stories about his cute campers. Seems like he's having fun. Dad is currently reading Harry Potter 3 and the rest of the house has hit the sack. Oooh, I think the ducks need to be put to bed, too. More soon.

pain

That one hurt, Jack. It cut to the core.

I guess I have to make up for it by being a little more attached to my blog, a la my time in San Francisco. I will do my best. So. The past few days have been pretty laid back - lots of work, I even worked on Saturday! Why did I do that??? I have no idea. But it has been pretty time consuming at the office lately. Today was Father's Day, so I slept in in honor of the holiday, and then the fam headed up to French Creek. We hiked for about an hour and a half, then the boys played frisbee golf while the girls napped and read in the car. We got some ice cream on the way home and then Dad headed out to a meeting, I took a nap, Mom made dinner, and the boys did...whatever they do. We played with the ducks for a bit after dinner and then did the dishes. Paul is over at Kennon's for the night and Ben and I are just about to start a movie. Pretty nice day! Nice pictures, Natalie - looks like you had a blast. Tell Tom you need to take your cousin with you next time, will you?

hm

I just viewed my blog myself, and I do believe the utter COOLNESS of the pictures completely vindicates me of any slacking I may have been doing on this blog. Beat that, Natalie. You may have Paris, but I have PICTURES!!!

home sweet home

Unlike some people, I am not traveling the world in high style...unless you count 1244 Ashbridge Road high style (and I certainly do NOT) BUT!!! it is getting there, because we recently acquired cable internet! That's right, sports fans. The Case-Giess household has joined the 21st century, much to my father's chagrin. Next stop: a bed for Mom and Dad. Will the wonders never cease?
I've been working, of course, and seeing friends. Tonight is a down night - I've been pretty tired and so I just revised my sermon for church a bit and I'll be heading off to bed soon. Anyone interested in reading the sermon should comment on my blog (comments have been far too sparse, folks) and I will send a copy jet setting off to you. Ben and I also made a major iPod purchase last night so we are both feeling that our pockets are a bit emptier. I'm going to attempt to put some fun pictures in my post here of some things...let me know how they turn out!

Here's a good one of the ducks.


This is Ben and I at Ellen's wedding.


Nice shot of the view from the campground in Colorado.

Enjoy!

Rocky Mountain High

Well, it's been a very exciting trip in Colorado! I worked most of Thursday, then Mom drove me to the airport. The flight was uneventful, I flew Frontier (which was REALLY nice - had the personal TVs for a domestic flight, pretty impressive - I splurged and paid the $5 for the TV since I graciously moved from my window seat so that some friends could sit together) and arrived in Denver on time. After a fun trip on the little trains, I met Annie and her friend Adrianne at the baggage claim. It was really wonderful to finally meet Adrianne after hearing about her for so long. We drove back to Annie's apartment and ate some food, then basically just chilled out and talked. It's so nice to see Annie, meet her roommates, see where she's living - I feel like I can finally fill in some pieces that I've been missing about her life. Friday, Annie got up and went to class and I snoozed until she got back, around 10. We ate some lunch and then took a walk around campus, which was really neat. Annie gave a great tour and I took lots of pictures. We went back to her apartment and then went out food shopping, to get food for the weekend and for the camping trip we were planning. Then, we went on a hike up to the Flatirons, which was SO COOL. The trail was kinda hard and steep (even Annie was huffing and puffing) and we got lost a little at first. The hike ended at an arch and a great overlook of Boulder. There were lots of great views and I really loved the hike (what a switch from my last trip out here!) We double-timed it back down from the top (took 2 hours to get up and only an hour to get down) and headed back to the apartment. Adrianne was working, and Annie's boyfriend Tom was coming over after he finished work, so we sat around and talked while we waited for Tom to arrive about serious matters like Harrison Ford and Batman. So nice to finally meet Tom - he is a super nice guy and he and Annie seem very happy together. We drove uptown to meet Adrianne at work and I got my first taste of Boulder nightlife - woo! So fun and chill. There was an awesome drum circle that I watched for awhile, and Tom checked out a bookstore while Annie and I sat and waited for Adrianne to finish up. Then we headed back to Annie's and made some MARBLE COOKIES!!!!! and just chatted and got to know each other. Very nice night. The next morning, we all slept in and I got up around 11:30 to meet Mark and Mary Jo (Mom and Dad's friends) for lunch. It was nice to see them and get to visit for awhile. I met Annie and Adrianne after lunch and we wandered around Pearl Street then headed back to pack up our stuff for our camping expedition. We chose a site that was about a half hour away and called Tom to tell him where to meet us after he finished work. We drove to the site and it turned out to be a very full campground. We wandered around in the woods, ate some food, had an altercation with a neighbor, gathered firewood, took pictures, and engaged in other such entertaining activities until Tom arrived around 9:30. THen, we roasted marshmallows and made s'mores and then had some soup, hummus, and pitas for dinner. Yum! After playing some Great Dalmudi, it got a little too cold for us (it was FREEEEEZING. Tom showed up with loads of extra clothes so we all piled it on and felt better, but our plans to sleep under the stars rather than in the tent went out the window with the wind that was blowing) so we packed into the tent and then played some more. Made it to sleep and then woke up nice and early - ate some breakfast and basically just sat around and had a good time. We stopped in Nederland on the way back from the campsite and checked out a used book store and got some coffee, then stopped at Boulder Falls on the way back to Boulder. Once we arrived back, we ate some moreeee, played some more Dalmudi, and then Tom took off to go home. Adrianne and Annie did some homework while I napped and read a bit. The three of us got into a great discussion, then we had some dinner. Now, Annie is showering (finally! she smelled!) and their friends Matt and Brian are on their way over. I'm headed back tomorrow - kinda sad, the trip felt too short. I was totally glad to get to see all this, though, and I had a blast. Hopefully I can come back to visit again soon.

looooong time

Well. As I promised, I did indeed take a long hiatus from blogging. Natalie and I discussed the situation last night and came to the conclusion that while SHE has nothing to talk about, I just don't have time to blog. Add to the fact that my internet at home is still dial-up, which means I tie up the phone line every time I'm on so half the family is nagging me to get off, blogging just isn't the beautiful experience it was in San Francisco, with Eric's glorious G5, high speed internet, and all the free time in the world. Alas. I blog on, folks, just for you.
Well it certainly was a busy weekend. Thursday night was a street fair uptown, which meant I was at work til 10:30 at night. On Friday morning I went to the ENT, and he stuck a microscope up my nose (OUCH) and determined that I have acute sinusitus and I got started on medication. I headed in to work for a few hours, then drove up to Royerford to get my nailsssss doneeee with the other bridesmaids for my cousin's wedding. Well. I never thought I'd say this, but I actually enjoyed it -I can look at my toes and not think they are hideously ugly! After the salon, we went to Ellen's house and just hung out for awhile, ate some chips, then got ready for the rehearsal. I wore the dress Grandpa bought me at Teri Ann's and it was a hit. The rehearsal was fine, and then the rehearsal DINNER ---- WOOOOOOOO. GOOD FOOD. I had crabcakes and risotto - YUM - with a caesar salad. Man oh man. Ellen gave us our gifts (pearl bracelets she had bought in Hawaii) and then we went home and went to bed. It was up early the next day to get ready. The wedding was at 2, so we had a lot of girls to make beautiful before then. Ellen's cousin Sue did my hair and makeup - wow. That was a new experience for me. We ate some fruit and bagels for breakfast while everyone got ready, then we put on our dresses and took some pictures. Ellen had rented a trolley to take us to the church and reception, so we hopped on board and then we went to the ceremony! It was a lovely mass, and Ellen's dress was gorgeous. My father, ever so tenderly, whispered "Don't trip!" as I walked down the aisle. Nice. The whole bridal party got into the trolley to go to the reception, and the drinking commenced. The reception was a great time, the food was good and the music was good. I had a blast dancing with everyone and had not so much of a blast getting groped by several of the groomsmen. We had a moment of silence for Kevin, Ellen's brother who is stationed in Afghanistan. He called Ellen twice on the day of the wedding, and she held it together pretty well, I thought. They are really close, so it was sad to have him miss the wedding. But anyway, as I said, the reception was fun, and we spent some time in the hotel bar after the reception, as well. It was fun to see so many cousins, and even some who looked like me! We headed home around 1:15, and I got into bed by 2...then woke up at 5:30 to go to work. It was Super Sunday uptown, and I had a major role in planning the event for work, so I had to be there bright and early to get started. It rained for awhile in the morning, but overall the event was a success, I think. I was pretty pleased with it, at any rate. Soo, after a 13 hour work day running on 3 and a half hours of sleep, I went home and crashed, basically. I ate some food, took a shower, and just relaxed. Monday and Tuesday were average workdays - I went to see Harry Potter on Monday night and I was VERY pleased. It was awesome!!! I liked it SO much better than the other two. Very cool, as this is my favorite Harry Potter book, so it was great to have a good movie. Last night I went over to Chris' and watched Bridget Jones's Diary, and I'm back at work today. It's Mom's birthday, so everyone should call and wish her happy birthday! I think we're going out for ice cream or something tonight to celebrate, and then I'm off to Colorado to visit Annie tomorrow. I probably won't blog before then, so I'll fill you all in next week on my trip. Maybe I'll even blog from Colorado!