happy halloween!

Oh... and Zooey wanted to dress up as Farmer Bannister for Halloween.

fall walk

These are pictures from about 2 weeks ago when Doug & I took Zooey on a walk. It was a glorious fall day & I had several moments walking through the woods where I caught my breathe and wondered momentarily if I had died. I mean that in the least morbid way.

Tomorrow night we're hosting "Secret Church" for the youth group at our house... which means I'm off to bake - you guessed it! CUPCAKES!

the crucible ballad

I had my students write some ballad stanzas about The Crucible. I didn't know what to expect, but they blew me away.

The Crucible
Witchcraft is on the rise,
The devil's work is gettin' done.
No innocence found in the judges' eyes,
And hanging is no fun.

Reverend Parris
Nervous and worried while hearing his daughter speak
Confessed he saw the girls naked in the trees
Prideful and conceited, not wanting the truth to leak
He kept interrupting the court saying, "Sir believe me please!"

Ann & Thomas Putnam

We used to be friends with the nurses

But when Rebecca killed our babies

The town started running with curses

We are now tired of these ladies.

Giles Corey
"I'll burn in hell long enough," he says
For ratting out his wife
He did not know what it was -
The reason she read at night.

Giles Corey
My wife reads books
I cannot pray
She gives me dirty looks
What should I say?

Giles Corey
She only read some books
My big mouth gave it away
She was accused and away she was took
Why do things have to happen this way?

John Proctor
To adultery he did confess
He tried to make it up to his wife
But she was not impressed.
It ended up costing him his life.

John Proctor
Abigail Williams was a huge mistake -
Ruined my relationship with my wife.
Atonement to Elizabeth I must make.
She has caused nothing but strife!

Elizabeth Proctor
I thought that day we made it known
Devoted to one another, we vowed.
All my love I thought I had shown
Now it seems he did it all for the crowd.

Abigail Williams
John thought she was a hottie
But her heart was made of stone
Turns out she was very naughty
And wouldn't leave John alone.

Abigail Williams
Abby is a big brat
She lies and deceives
So let's get a bat
And finally silence her, please.

Abigail Williams
Adultry she cannot withstand
because Proctor is just too good looking.
She needs to be slapped on the hand
and just go back to cooking.

. . .
Some days my kids just make my heart sing!

house: living room (& some random stuff)

Here's our living room before:

& Here's our living room AFTER (so far)!

Zooey is not allowed on our new couch... and this is how she feels about it.

I had small group tonight, which I might have to rename Christ & Cupcakes, since I've taken to making cupcakes every week.

We also got GHOSTED!

Our village apparently does Halloween "ghostings" - - you get "tagged" to leave a treat on someone's door step, ring the doorbell & run! How fun!

nyc mini vacay

Doug & I have been promising his brother, Zach, and his wife, Michele, that we'd come visit them since we got married. This summer we celebrated our 3-year anniversary, and we still hadn't been to see them. They moved from Brooklyn to NJ recently and our friends Travis & Kristen had also recently moved to NJ (& also had a baby!), so we decided a visit was in order.

We flew into Newark...

and spent Friday in the city.

We had lunch at Harry's Italian Pizza with Craig!! It was so much fun to catch up & hear about his life in the city (and all the crazy stories about his friends who have been in biking accidents - be careful, Craig!!)

Later in the afternoon, we stopped at one of my favorite places for a snack: Pret!

My little friend Megan & I used to go here almost everyday when we were studying in Oxford. Oh Pretskis, how I've missed you & your lunch time goodness.

On the [6 miles, but 2.5 hour drive!] way home that evening, there was a sweet sunset & the moon looked awesome above the city.

By the time we got to Zach & Michele's, it was dark.

Saturday morning we took the train to Trenton to see Travis & Kristen and baby Karena.

We played with Karena, had delicious soup, walked to a dog park (Kristen & I strolled the baby around a nature walk while the boys watched "Amos" interact with the other dogs), played Euchre...

Sunday morning, we went to Grace OPC, the church where Travis is a pastor. We listened to a great sermon, had lunch together & took the train back to NYC.

That evening we went with Zach, Michele & her sister, Sam, to Manhattan - we toured the salon where Michele works - Frederic Fekkai. Such a cool place! We were then going to head to Dylan's Candy... but Zach & Michele's car had died! So, Doug & I walked to one of the Redeemer Presbyterian sites to see Tim Keller preach while the others waited for AAA. We had been tipped off by a Redeemer volunteer that Keller would be preaching at Hunter College, but unfortunately, our informant was wrong. So Doug & I trekked back and met Zach, Michele & Sam at Dylan's Candy. Which is pretty much a dream come true. There is CANDY. EVERYWHERE. Even in the stairs.

After Dylan's, we went out for dinner at a little Mexican place with the best guacamole I have ever had. We went back to their apartment in NJ & crashed for the night. Sadly, we didn't even get a picture of the 4 of us, but I did get a really cute pic of Michele & Sam.

We left this morning & there was an awesome sunrise. Here's the view from Zach & Michele's apartment.

Such a fun, random weekend getaway!

hasty, haughty haiku

In honor of the shopping experience I just had at Target, a few haiku - all addressed to the annoying girl at the fitting rooms who wouldn't let me take a pair of boots, a pair of stockings OR my basket into the fitting room.

1.

Dumb girl at Target:

Why won't you let me take my

Basket in the room?

2.

Fitting room Nazi:

I'm not a teenage deviant.

Let me have my stuff!

3.

Stingy, sour girl:

I have better things to do

Than steal your cheap crap. (Sorry, Dad.)

4.

Unrelenting wench:

You're lucky I have ice cream

Waiting to console.

amethyst enchanted land

O hushed October morning mild,

Thy leaves have ripened to the fall;
Tomorrow's wind, if it be wild,
Should waste them all.
The crows above the forest call;
Tomorrow they may form and go.
O hushed October morning mild,

Begin the hours of this day slow.
Make the day seem to us less brief.
Hearts not averse to being beguiled,
Beguile us in the way you know.
Release one leaf at break of day;
At noon release another leaf;
one from our trees, one far away.
Retard the sun with gentle mist;
Enchant the land with amethyst...

-Robert Frost

house: kitchen!

The people who lived in our house before we bought it kindly removed all the appliances, all the cupboard hardware, and the air conditioning unit.

We don't have new hardware yet, but we do have a fresh coat of paint and new appliances! We were able to get our fridge, microwave & dishwasher off Craiglist, and then we splurged and bought a new oven (which I am obsessed with...).

Never thought I'd have a red kitchen, but I LOVE IT!