karina jean

I have been so awfully busy lately. If not with work, than with my other project. and if not with my other project, than with my social life. So I’ve been neglecting karinajean dot com, and I’m kind of bummed about it. I have plans for photo-taking and blog-posting in the new year, though, so I hope to keep it a little more up to date.

I’m working this week and though i’ve always said this is my favorite week to work because no one is around, I actually did a whole-lotta-work this time around. Of course, I took Monday off so it was a three-day work-week. but these have been some busy busy three days.

Here is my annual Year In Review!

January: kicked off the new years with the polar bear plunge. dan aaron, daniel, and meredith come down for an awesome weekend full of museums, walks across bridges, and plans for motorcycle gangs. michelle’s mother passes away after a long and hard-fought battle with the cancer. I sew a new skirt.

February: cousin john’s mom passes away after a long and hard-fought battle with the cancer. I start having more regular girl time dates, and it is wonderful. mardi gras party in pgh: the crystal ball, v. hard to get to b/c all major roads through pennsylvania were closed because of ice or flaming tractor trailer accidents. I work v. hard on picatinny. between business and pleasure I put 1200 miles on my car in 5 days. my niece fiona is born. I get the strep throat.

March: awesome trip to the mutter museum in philly with coworkers, followed by hanging out, dance party, and arm-wrestling. pre-birthday party with my family in albany. then I go to japan! it’s beautiful!

April: in japan still! then home, and big flirty 30 birthday party at the local american legion hall. I get in trouble for painting my apartment. crafty weekend with the girls in the catskills. founders day dinner “dance” with cooper alum, for which I sewed a whole new skirt and shirt combo.

May: ryan’s birthday party, featuring bonfires. maggie gets a chihuahua. I get my wonder wash. I got new worms and killed them almost immediately.

June: first 5K of the season. CSA starts. things get really stressful at work. I train for a 10K. dan aaron graduates from electrician school and I surprise him at the bar afterwards. I run a 5-mile run. I am put on warning on the big project I work on. eep.

July: 10K goes awesomely! I get new worms. CSA continues. lots of rock concerts. lots of birthday parties, including daniel’s in albany. I attend the funeral of a kid I knew in college. couples camping weekend in eastern PA with michelle, aurora, and jesse. I sing the national anthem for my friend’s dad’s retirement. we launch tiny choices!

August: I run another 5K in grafton. I go to the beach 2x. I work incredibly incredibly hard, but am still demoted on that BigProject. September: another 5K. michelle’s first 30th birthday party. 10K in pittsburgh. I totally rock that 10K, by the way. seriously. I finished in 1 hr 2 min.!

October: grasshopper tacos! I am awfully stressed at work. cooper union casino night. I testdrive wearing fabulous hats out in public. this is what I’m talking about re: hats and grasshoppers:

November: office move is a disaster and a time sink, as per expectations. crafty weekend in the catskills. michelle’s second 30th birthday party. work still stinks, thanksgiving in GA.

December: I am officially removed from that BigProject. three office holiday parties. Another holiday party where I reconnect with an old friend and potentially start a band. pittsburgh for holiday party, then we hit queens holiday party on the way home. I get a gocco! xmas in albany is kind of rock-awesome. here are some photos from xmas eve:

DIRTY SECRET #1:

the library has blocked my library card.

it’s because I have a couple of things out that are REALLY overdue, I think! I am such a jerk! and I can’t go in to return them until tomorrow night. sigh.

RESOLUTION #1: i went to the library and felt so embarassed. These are the librarians who know me by name! I turned in my half-read and severely overdue books and she renewed the other things that I had on my account. and then she said “you owe $14, and I’ll close it out for $10.” holy cow I love my library.

DIRTY SECRET #2 [NOT MY SECRET]:

sometimes when I go to the ladies room at work someone will have not flushed the seat cover and there will be protective toilet paper there as well. when i see a fully dressed toilet like that I think “man, that person must have some major butt-cooties to be so concerned about covering the seat.” and also, I am kind of ticked off that someone hasn’t taken care to make sure that when they flushed, EVERYTHING flushed. I’m thinking of putting up a sign in the bathroom to the effect of:

Note: if your toilet paper seat cover doesn’t flush some people will assume there is someone with butt-cooties on the 5th floor. Thank you for trying to protect the rest of us, but please make sure everything flushes as it ought to in order to prevent people from wondering which of us has butt-cooties.

but I don’t think it would be effective. thought the person who put up the sprinkle/tinkle sweetie/seatie rhyme did actually effect some wonderful non-butt-dampening change. Thank you, person with the rhymes.
SMALL RESOLUTION #2: um. does the fact that this only happens roughly twice a month count as resolution?

it turns out that my old host has gone missing. there is speculation that he may have absconded, or more sinister, that he is dead. So I moved my blog to acornhost.com, who hosts tinychoices.com and are also green and women owned – something y’all know I’m firmly behind. I switched the site over yesterday and today had to fiddle arond with the wp_config file to “unlock” the blog database. and! success!

we’re back up, and now, with 110% more vegetable posts!

ok, maybe not. if you’re lucky.

I was talking to Ranger last night about how this blog is all food, all the time right now. Now, it may not be as glamarous as you think, but the last week has been focused on catching up on my CSA share. What, now you’re telling me vegetables AREN’T sexy?
Would it seem more glam if I tell you I’ve been cooking in heels, frilly aprons, red lipstick, and with a cocktail to hand? because if it does I’m telling you right now: that is TOTALLY the truth.

also, my other blog project has been taking up a lot of my time. y’all should take a look if you haven’t (and I bet you have), it’s pretty fabulous, if I say so myself. and I’m really excited to be A Writer for something that I feel so passionate about.

and just to keep some food cotent: you should REALLY try the amazing carrot soup I made last night. It’s incredible. I’m just sayin’.

I’ve been so busy with work this week. and when I’m not busy with work I’m busy with sleeping, or running, or reading books. I’ve been working crazy person hours wherein I get to work at 6 AM and stay through 5 generally. I work more that way, but also, I can then do things AFTER work and not feel like I’m getting behind.

tomorrow is the 5K at grafton lakes state park. I hear it’s all downhill in the beginning and all uphill in the end. EXCELLENT. I’d better get to bed so I can not die tomorrow!

I’ve been pretty busy lately what with the work and the work and the travel and the awesome camping weekend with michelle and aurora and jesse. and then there’s this other awesome project I’ve been working on which I am SO EXCITED ABOUT, in a way I don’t even know if I can explain. I’ve been so busy!

there are a few things I’d like to post about here:

1. the couples camping weekend
2. two weeks of csa veggies
3. how I rocked the national anthem.

oh, I’ll just cover that last one right now. I rocked the national anthem. and I was so nervous afterwards! but there was no PA and no flag. I told everyone to close their eyes, imagine a flag, and if they’d like to keep their eyes closed I was totally on-board with that.

and there are a few things I’d like to do this weekend:

• clean my apartment (NO REALLY IT’S THE PITS)
• read a book
• go for runs, in light of the upcoming 5K on 8/12 in grafton WITH HILLS
• sew a skirt or something
• go to see dragon boats
• meet friends in the city on both friday and sat. nights.

sounds pretty great, non?

Friday night — Neko Case at Summerstage in Central Park):

Sat. Afternoon — Siren Festival in Coney Island:

Sunday Afternoon — The Annuals and Band of Horses at McCarren Park Pool in Williamsburg :