only half of something else

ISN'T THIS A GREAT SAYING?? Yep. I've been loving it a lot lately. As in, like, since yesterday, when I saw it on SayingImages. I just love that site... even though it makes me feel like I am 13. But, sometimes that's not a bad thing. It's amazing how well some of those stupid quotes relate to my life sometimes...

So!

I guess I'm having a good week. I had a great Tuesday. From start to finish.

I was working from 10-2, but I had to drop my mom off at the doctor's for 8am. So, this left me with little time to get ready in the morning, as my goal is always to sleep in as late as possible. I basically just got dressed, packed a giant bag of things to do to kill time until work, and then we left. And we drove into York, which didn't take us long at all. Normally I dislike driving on 91, but I didn't really mind it that day. (reading this blog maybe makes you think that i dislike driving on lots of roads... but that's really not the case. in the giant, grand scheme of things, it's really only 236 and 91 that i dislike. and you have to drive on 236 to get to 91. so, double dislike.)

I dropped my mom off and then pondered a place to get a coffee and drive over to the beach. There were no Dunkin Donuts in a convenient area, which I thought was a bummer, but actually turned out to be GREAT, because it forced me to discover an awesome local coffee place in York!!

I had passed this place a bunch of times, St. Joe's Coffee, and had known of it because it says, 'Home of the Bennie' on its sign. And this kind of made Kara and I laugh. Because we didn't know what that meant.

So, I decided to give it a try. And I pulled into the parking lot, and there were two people exiting the shop with coffees in their hands, so I thought, "hey, maybe this is a good place." And I walk in, and it's the cutest, tiniest coffee shop! And they have all these great sounding sandwiches and a whole bunch of delicious sounding coffee drinks. Also, they have a pretty-full bakery case, which I make sure to study intently, seeing as my sister is a baker in Wells, which is kind of just down the street.

I get to the counter and order my standard coffee drink, an iced raspberry mocha and then I get a coconut creme donut. I'm pretty excited about the donut.

So then I'm waiting for my coffee to be made and then the guy gives it to me and says,

COFFEE GUY: So what are you up to today? Work?
JULIE: Yeah, I start work at 10, so I've got some time to kill.. I think I'm heading to the beach.
COFFEE GUY: You work around here?
JULIE: Yeah, I work in Kittery.
COFFEE GUY: Oh yeah? Where?
JULIE: At the Eddie Bauer outlet..
COFFEE GUY: Ooohhhh... cool place.
JULIE: Great discounts!
COFFEE GUY: (laughs) Well, have a great day.
JULIE: Thanks so much, take care!
COFFEE GUY: Bye!

And then I was in a great mood. Pleasant encounters will do that to you.

So then I headed down 1A to York Beach! Got a parking spot at Short Sands facing the ocean, it wasn't very crowded at all. Then I gathered my donut and coffee and sat outside on a bench and enjoyed! The donut was DELISH. Like, so creamy and coconuty. It was not a filled donut, there was a hole in the center, and it was covered with a coconuty glaze. YUMM TO THE MAXX.

The coffee was great, although I admit, I think I make a better raspberry mocha. But it had a good flavor and was made by a lovely gentleman, so therefore it was great.

It was so fun just sitting at the beach by myself! It was nice and quiet. Lots of people were on walks or jogs. As the time got later, more and more families started coming.

So, after I finished my lovely breakfast, I got out my bag of arts and crafts to do. I had been wanting to create a PAPER BAG NOTEBOOK, which Aliya invented and is totes brillz. Clicking on that link will take you to Aliya's fabulous blog with her step-by-step instructions on how to create a paper bag notebook.

Basically, you take a large paper bag that you've got lying around the house and do some easy ripping and tearing and folding actions to create a beautiful and handy notebook!! I haven't taken any photos of mine YET, but I will, and I will share them with you.

I got a lot of funny looks sitting on the beach, ripping and folding a giant paper bag in every which way.... but, I got it done and that was the goal. Also, check out Aliya's amazing blog! She's beautiful, crafty and very inspiring!!

Then, I did some texting and photo taking at the beach.

Then, I decided it was probably time to get ready for work. So I got back in my car, put on some music, and did my hair and makeup in the car!!! And then, I painted my nails!! It's a good thing I don't have a car adapter for my hair straightener, or else things would have gotten pretty crazy.

And the best part - I didn't even have to pay for parking!!! It's metered parking at the beach from 8am to like, 6pm or something, and I was definitely there after 8am, and I risked it by not putting any money in the meter. I figured that I wouldn't be leaving my car, and I wasn't staying there during prime beach hours or anything. There was even a police officer walking around the whole time, but he wasn't checking meters.

Lucky, because I don't need to not pay another parking ticket.

So, I was in a great mood at work. As much as I hate getting up early, it was really nice to not wake up, get ready for work, and then go straight to work. It's nice being able to do something before, so it doesn't feel like the whole day, or something. If that makes sense.

Work was really slow, but it went by quickly. And I bought some bermuda shorts! Nice!

Then, I went home, hung out for a long time with Kara and my mom... we all took a field trip to Bed, Bath and Beyond so Kara could get an apple corer to use to make filled cupcakes. Then, we stopped at the Mediterranean food place and got food. FALAFEL. I could eat that nonstop. Loves it.

Then we hung around the house for a little bit longer and then I went over to Greg's house to hang out with him for a while. It was really nice because I hadn't seen him in a long time. And his puppy had gotten really big.

GREAT DAY!

Wednesday was my busy day!! I worked from 10am to 2pm in Kittery, then drove straight up to Springvale to work 3pm to 10pm. Pretty quiet night in the coffee shop, but I like being there, so it was fun. Doug and I closed, so that's good.

Thursday was my day off!! I slept in - which was great. I thought Ruby was going to have me up early, but she woke me up around 9, and then went back to sleep shortly and both of us woke up around 12:30pm. NICE. Hung around a lot... didn't really do anything except relax.

OH, and I spilled coffee on my Macbook. Bummmmer. Ruby was walking around on the counter and I thought she was going to knock it over, so I grabbed the mug real quick, and spilled it myself. The keyboard light is a little shady... it's not working in all parts, and last night about half of the keys weren't working, although today they're all working fine. I think it'll be okay... but if I have any extra money, I might bring it up to the store in Portland.

Today was a busy day. At least it felt like it. I worked until 2, then headed down to the party store to look for cowboy hats for me and Kara to wear to TAYLOR SWIFT ON SUNDAY.

Yesss, that's right, the big Taylor Swift concert is on Sunday. We're getting excited. The t-shirt making party is happening tomorrow, and I was able to find some great cowboy hats. So, success!!

Saturday night we're going down to Salisbury, MA to hear my mom's cousin's son's band play!! That's less degrees of separation than it sounds like. I'm excited. They're like a rock cover band, so it should be good.

Alright friends, have a great start to your weekend!!!! I hope everyone had a great week! Any big plans for tonight?? Well, I hope whatever you do is a great time with good people!!

Take care! Be well!!

just a quick update to recap my life goals

Seeing as my goals in life change like, every five minutes, I thought I'd take a quick moment to sort them out. And since this blog is my "sorting out" place, I figured it was the perfect place.

Tonight, this rainy 22 June 2011, I have three life goals:

TO BECOME:
1. a water taxi captain

TO OWN:
1. my own line of specialty condiments in a store called, 'The Sauceror.'

TO BE THE FOUNDER OF:
1. Dance Party Gym: the 24/7 fun way to work out.


That's a pretty good list, right?? I think so. Also, NONE of these life goals have anything to do with what I studied for four years at an expensive private college. AWESOME.

I think I would be a really awesome water taxi captain.

OH OH OH!!!!! ALSO!!!!!!!!!

I want to WRITE A BOOK!!!!!! And that DOES have EVERYTHING to do with what I studied in college!!!!!! Thanks, Hampshire!!!

Life goal #4:

TO BE THE AUTHOR OF:
1. Ghost Stations: Exploring the Abandoned Underground

Wow, I just came up with that title as I was writing it!

I've become really fascinated lately with "ghost stations." This has nothing to do with my other obsession with Ghost Adventures, which is a totally addicting show on the Travel Channel starring the always manly, Zak Bagans. No,

GHOST STATIONS: are abandoned subway stations! They have been closed for one reason or another, YET THEY STILL REMAIN! And so they're these totally creepy, totally beautiful under (or above) ground subway platforms that no one is allowed into. And I'm like, obsessed with this idea.

And today on my way into work, I was thinking about ghost stations and thinking about the country and thinking about what the country would look like if the top layer was gone.... Like, if you were sitting (or standing, or floating) in outer space, looking at the US from above, and the top layer was gone and you could see into all the subway tracks in all the different cities... what would it look like??

Ummm I think I just came up with the cover of the book. If there are any artists reading, someone please do an artists imagining of what that would look like... It'd be amazing, right???

It'd probably look like this giant, tangled web of metal. Now you're thinking about it... it's cool, right??? Yes. See, if there was a book about Ghost Stations and you saw that on the cover and then started to think about it, you might pick it up, right??? RIGHT!

Maybe it'd be like a coffee table book.

And so here's my idea: Since I'd be researching all this awesome stuff, I'd get to go down into these ghost stations and photograph all the different adventures. Imagine how lonely it must be down there... And quiet, maybe. Although maybe you can hear the screeching of other trains in the distance and in that case, it might be eerie.

Exploring the Eerie Underground of America's Lost Subway Stations

Brillz!!!


1. WATER TAXI CAPTAIN
2. THE SAUCEROR
3. DANCE PARTY GYM
4. GHOST STATIONS: EXPLORING THE EERIE UNDERGROUND OF AMERICA'S LOST SUBWAY STATIONS


I come up with the best ideas. Also, I have the best life ahead of me. (But, I knew that already.)

I'll write more about ghost stations later. Maybe like, tomorrow. Or sometime soon. Because I think I talked about the old NYC City Hall subway stop before, but I'm gonna talk about it again, so get ready. Also, information on the New York Transit Museum, which I want to visit ASAP.

I'm in a good mood today. It's been a good week. Had a lovely time at the beach yesterday morning by myself. I will also tell you more about that. AND, more about the new coffee shop I discovered and the lovely people I have met.

Alright. I hope you all are having a equally exciting week and will have equally exciting stories to tell me!

Also, I'm game for some book title revisions, so anyone who wants to brainstorm, please feel free. Also, artists, I'll be waiting for those 'America with the top removed' maps. :)


Have a great day, friends!!!!!

'all my precious secrets, yeah, you know them all...'

YEP - that's a Miley Cyrus lyric to start the post off!! From the timeless hit, 'Fly on the Wall.' Which I actually love. WARNING:: That video contains lots of "sexy" hair touching. It gets a little awkward, actually. All in all, it's "PRETTY COOL." (yep.)

Moving on!

(and no, i'm not listening to Miley while writing all of this.....)

Really moving on!

I received two great comments recently from two great new readers!!! Both of them discovered the blog while searching for information on Murdock Lake!!!!! And one of them actually came in through the BLOG EMAIL ADDRESS (which is located to the left of your screen.... unless you're reading through Facebook...) which doesn't get enough use!!!! Keep those emails coming! Guys, you have NO IDEA how happy and excited this makes me. Because I love this lake, I love blogging, and I love getting blog comments. So, when these three things collide, it makes for one excited Julie.

I really hope that everyone new and old continues reading... I seriously can't believe I've been blogging for 6 years now. RIGHT?!?!?! It's crazy! That's so long!! It's just kind of crazy to me that people are still reading. It makes me feel kind of famous, actually. But don't worry, I won't get too "celeb" on you all. At least not right away.

So, everyone, THANKS FOR STOPPING BY. You readers are the best readers. That's true, actually. Keep leaving me comments! Or send me an email! I love it!


(i'm still listening to Miley... but I'm changing it now. I promise.)


I've been listening to Adele as like my new go-to music. That's what I just put on. I know I talked about this the other day, but MAN, that song, 'Someone Like You,' it KILLS me. Like, it breaks my heart every time I hear it. And even more heartbreaking is that I hear it and wish that I had heard this song when my heart was hurting.

Although, during that time I remember listening to sad music and thinking, "listening to sad, break-up music doesn't really help as much as you think it would." I actually remember thinking that. Even though it wasn't really a break up. Or, anything really. It was a little bit sad, and that was all. WHATEVER!

Geeze, moving on!

I wanted to talk about some semi-awesome/semi-awkward moments at work I had this weekend!!! Great!


1. I was working in the men's section at the clothing store, which I never do, so I'm not very comfortable over there. I just have no idea about men's sizes. Like, none. I'm like, 32 34 whaaaaatttt are these numbers?!?!?!!? So, I'm over there for like, 5 minutes and I'm folding shirts, and this man approaches me holding a shirt.

MAN: That get repetitive at all? Folding and re-folding?
JULIE: Um, no, it's not too bad. I don't mind it, actually. It's good practice.
MAN: You know, I'd love to know how to fold one of these properly, if you don't mind....
JULIE: ....................
MAN: I'm being totally serious, I'd love to see how it's done.
JULIE: (ohhhhh geeze is he trying to pick me up???) Oh! Um, ok, sure!

And then I demonstrate the proper folding technique. (It's all in the wrists.)

MAN: Yeah, that was really helpful. Now I know how to pack better for traveling so my clothes don't get all wrinkled.
JULIE: Actually, sometimes when I'm packing a suitcase, I roll my shirts instead of folding.
MAN: Yeah, I've tried that way too, they still come out wrinkled!
JULIE: Well, good luck, then!
MAN: Thanks for putting up with me! You're a good sport, and very helpful!
JULIE: Oh, it's my pleasure!


ummmmmm yeah. That happened. It was actually awesome and TOTALLY made my day. I was bummed that I had to go from one job to the next job, and was feeling crappy and tired, and that guy just totally lifted my spirits. And like, RANDOM, right?? But, he wasn't trying to pick me up. Good thing.


2. Now, it's almost closing time in the store, so we're all just kind of straightening up, waiting for any last customers to come in. This guy walks in with a return:

JULIE: Hello!
GUY: Hi there!
JULIE: How are you?
GUY: I'm pretty darn good. How are you?
JULIE: I'm doing great.
GUY: Good! Well, I hope you can help me..
JULIE: Alright...
GUY: (pulls pair of pants out of the return bag) My wife bought these and they're too small, so she's hoping I can exchange them for a bigger size.
JULIE: No problem!
GUY: You see, she bought a size 2 and she needs a size 4.
JULIE: Ok! Let me show you where those pants are; hopefully we have a 4, and if not, I can check out back for you.
GUY: Great.

(found the size 4)

JULIE: There you go!
GUY: And what if these don't fit....
JULIE: Bring 'em back again!
GUY: Or, diet!!
JULIE: ....No!
GUY: Nah, I'm just kidding.
JULIE: That's a terrible thing to say!
GUY: Yeah, that was terrible. Thank you, have a great night!
JULIE: Ok.. you too!


ummmm that happened too. It could have gone weird at the end when he mentioned the diet... and I didn't want to let him get away with saying that. But, he was joking, so it all ended up being kind of jokey. But, I'm happy I called him out on it anyways. Another weird experience.


3. Today at the coffee shop, I was working with Liam, who is a great kid. He's super fun to work with. And, he was in the back doing dishes and I was keeping watch on the front, in case anyone came in. And, he came out for a bit and did some other stuff and then went back to the dishes. Then about 5 seconds later, he comes back out front and says,

LIAM: I just left the water on that whole time by accident...
JULIE: Uh oh..
LIAM: And there was dish detergent in the sink and now it's all bubbly.
JULIE: Oh boy.
LIAM: It's like, really sudsy.
JULIE: Yeah?
LIAM: You could probably float a baby on all those suds.

And then I just started LAUGHING. Totes hilars. Liam has been so funny this weekend. It's great. Yesterday he was making a smoothie, and just could not get it right. Luckily, he was making it for his friend. But, he kept adding more ice, and then more yogurt, and then too much banana and it took like, 5 minutes, and then he handed the smoothie to his friend and said,

LIAM: I'm sorry you had to see that.

I just loved it. He really powered through that smoothie. Turned out not so bad, actually. Although a little too icy.

Today I totally KILLED at making a double cappuccino. In case you didn't know, I was BORN to make fancy coffee drinks. I'm actually pretty awesome at it, and I also LOVE it. But I was proud of my cappuccino today. It had some totally sexy foam on it.

And last week one of the guy's who works in the hardware store next to us came over to buy a scone and he walked in a said to me:

GUY: Is that your Prius I always see out there?
JULIE: Yes it is!!
GUY: Oh. I was wondering who that belonged to. You like it?
JULIE: I love it!

Love my car. Make fun of it allllllllllll you want, but in the end, I'm the one getting 56 miles per gallon!

Well. I think that might be all.

I listened to Crash Kings at the gym the other day. 'You Got Me' has been really speaking to me lately. Is that a good thing or a bad thing??? I may not know until the end. Where all the boys will probably turn into monsters.

Speaking of monsters!

When I was hanging out with Keith last week, he forced me to watch the Kanye West video for 'Monster,' (Keith and I invented these "forced listening sessions" back in the fall, where we force each other to listen to the other person's music. watch out man, taylor swift is coming next. i hope you're reading..) and MAN - it was really good. Totally freaking creepy - but really good.

YOU SHOULD WATCH IT. I actually really like the song. Sometimes I just get it stuck in my head and then I'm like, 'holy crap there are a lot of swears happening in my head right now.' But, before you watch the video, make sure you're not about to drive away through the woods in the middle of the night and then get lost because you WILL get freaked out. Speaking from experience. (Side note:: Kanye in bed with the two dead girls is my favorite part.)

ANYWAYS.

I think I'm headed to bed now. HAPPY FATHER'S DAY to my wonderful father whom I love very much. And also MISS VERY MUCH. Hopefully we can see each other soon!!!!


Love you, blog readers! Have a great morning, afternoon, and night! We'll talk again soon!



♥♡♡♡

hipster hotties playing music!

Yesterday Kara and I traveled to Boston for the WFNX summer concert. Radio sponsored event! Some great bands were playing, and Kara really wanted to go, so I bought her the tickets as an early birthday present! Yay sister day!

The concert was on Lansdowne Street in Boston, right next to Fenway Park. The street opened at 3pm, so we left the house around 12:30pm. Maybe more like 1. We got in the car and realized that we had come up with absolutely no plan for the day, so we decided to just drive to Wonderland station and park there, since that was a pretty easy drive.

That's what we did! Parking only $5, you can't beat it. We took the blue line to the green line and got off at Kenmore, and then walked over to Lansdowne. It wasn't that crowded and we were able to get pretty close to the front! It WAS wicked, super, totally hottttttttt outside. Things got pretty sweaty.

So, the first band performing was DOM. They are from Worcester, MA. Their set was okay... Kara knew one of their songs. It kind of looked like they were all wearing wigs...





They kind of seemed like they were some high school friends who just rolled out of bed and said to each other, "Hey, let's go play some music at that concert..." Whatevs. They covered Prince, so that was cool.


The next band was Young the Giant, and we really liked them. Cuties!!!








I liked a lot of their stuff. And they had these super girl fans in front of us who were just going crazy. I liked watching them too.



And then a giant lobster dressed in Bruins gear came out...?????? Everyone got pretty excited. But check out Young the Giant. I liked a lot of their songs. And I liked the guy's voice.

And then the radio people came out and were like, "WE'VE GOT A SURPRISE FOR YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!" And everyone started going crazy and then this other guy walked out with a fake Stanley Cup trophy. Um, cool? Because the Boston Bruins won the Stanley Cup the other night! Go sports!!




And then!!!! The Naked and Famous came out and played!!!!



I was really excited to see them because they sing the ultimate 2011 summer jam song, 'Young Blood.'



Girl was a hottie!!





And they are from New Zealand so they had super cute accents. And all their music was really good. I liked the first half of the set a lot better than the second half, though. After a while all the songs blended together.

But, here's my video of 'Young Blood!' It came out pretty good.

YEAHYEAHYEAHYEAHHHHHH. oooooooiloveit.


THEN, Kara got really thirsty and absolutely insisted that we go get water. Now, we had been pretty close to the front this whole time and had no idea how JAM PACKED FULL it had gotten. Well, it had gotten pretty darn jam packed full. Like, there was no extra space. Anywhere. It was kind of insane.

So, we made it to the water table. Paid way too much money for water. And then struggled to get back into the crowd. We weren't able to get as close as we had been before, which was a bummer, and since I am such a shorty, I didn't get to see any of the next band, Foster the People, but I loved all their stuff, and from the looks of these pictures, they were all super hotties.



Oh, but first a lady's hand. I tried to take a band photo, but then she stuck her hand in the air in what I'm assuming was a moment of music euphoria. I actually really like this picture.








Yep, they were hotties! Kara loved the bass player, as is usually the case with Kara. And we both lovedddddd pretty much all of their songs.


And the headlining band out of all the bands was Cold War Kids, and they were great too. It seemed like a lot of people were leaving the front of the crowd, so we took this opportunity to push through until we got to about where we had been.

The lead singer totally looked like Will Forte! For real!





I like that one.






And! And! And! Notice his tattoo!!!! It's the Basquiat crown that Tony from Crash Kings also has!!!



(Mmmm yeah that's nice. Not enough sweaty Crash Kings members have graced this blog recently, if you ask me.)




So, here's my video of 'Skip the Charades' that I took. Came out pretty good. Ohhhh I love this song a lot.

What a great concert!!! All the bands were great. I had a super fun time with Kara. And then on the T ride home, we met a lovely Irishman who had also just been to the concert and just wanted to talk music. He loved Cold War Kids. Said he was also a big fan of Florence and the Machine and Ray LaMontagne, so he was a cool guy. I told him that I had been to Ireland two years ago and that I loved Doolin the best. He seemed excited to know that. And, it made me miss Noel. And Kerianne. A lot.

We arrived home just about two hours after the concert ended! We made really good time coming home. 56 mpg the whole day!


YAYYYYY for sister days and great music! What a fun time :)

HOMETOWN GLORYYYYY

Loving this song, Hometown Glory, by Adele.

'round my hometown
the people i've met
are the wonders of my world

love it.

So, I woke up at 10am this morning. Or rather, Ruby Tuesday woke me up by scratching at my door and also scratching me in the face, as is our normal wake-up routine. Awwwww but she's so sweet! So, I'm up. I slept for like, ten hours so I guess I shouldn't complain.

Weekend was good. I hope everyone else had a great weekend too!!! All day Friday I kept thinking it was Sunday or Monday. It was actually really confusing. Friday at work I didn't have a good day. I wasn't in a great mood Friday.

I had a bad morning commute. After writing all those mean things about Route 236, I figured that it would be smooth sailing here on out. Like, I just had to put all those bad things out into the Universe and then I wouldn't hate it anymore.

NOPE. I still want to murder that road. I'm sorry, all you people in the Route 236 fan club, but I just do not agree. I always have a bad experience on that road. Even when I'm having a great morning and am totally on time and not running late - I'll get stuck behind a fleet of giant cement trucks going 30mph. Yes, that's right. A FLEET OF GIANT CEMENT TRUCKS.

Whatevs. That road just sets the tone for my day, and Friday it was not a good tone. So, work was crappy. But then I got home and my SHOES were in the mailbox! Remember how I bought those shoes online but they were too big and so I had to do a mail order exchange for a smaller size but I had absolutely no faith whatsoever in it working out?!?!?! WELL IT WORKED OUT. And I got the smaller size in the mail on Friday! And although, still a little big, they fit much better. And now I'm wearing the smallest size they make, so it'll have to do.

And I said as I was opening my new shoes,

JULIE: Thank you for arriving on this bad day.

And from then on, the day literally kept getting better. Hung out with my mom a little bit, updated my Facebook blog, ate a sandwich. Sandwiches are usually something that always make my day better. And then Friday night I hung out at a lake with my ol' friend Keith. Not Murdock Lake, mind you, it was a different lake. But I fully intend on exploring this new lake via canoe ASAP.

So, sometimes it's something frivolous like a pair of shoes to make your day better, and sometimes it's something more meaningful like catching up with a good friend, but Friday it was BOTH, and I ended up having a great, great day.

Which meant - that even though I was working 7am-9pm on Saturday - I didn't care! Because I was still on my great mood high that can sometimes last for days.

Work at the coffee shop on Saturday was KRAZZYYYYYY. Yep, I even spelt 'crazy' in a crazy way to emphasize how crazy it was. It was the busiest it's ever been when I've worked. It was just me and Forrest all day and we were swamped! Swamped, I tell you! But - we killed it, duh, and it was fun.

Then I drove home, took a super super quick shower, got ready for work, and then drove to Kittery for more work. It was a good night. I was working with ladies who are awesome and fun to be with. Nice.

Sunday, more work all day. Not krazy though. Me and my boss, Dave, started to practice latte art, but then it was time for me to go.

And today is my day off! It's Kara's day off too!! It's cloudy and cold so we're not taking the Moonraker out, which is a Major Bummer. I have to go to the bank and Kara needs to go buy new cake pans, because she is a famous baker and all.

OH! Also something else that made this weekend GREAT - seeing people I haven't seen in FOREVER! I guess that was the theme of the weekend. I ran into my neighbor at Eddie Bauer on Satuday and we ended up talking for a while. It was really nice, actually. And then on Sunday, I had to run to the grocery store while working at the coffee shop, and I ran into the mom of one of the girls I used to take dance lessons with!! It was really nice and we stopped and chat for a while.

So! When my weekend had all the feelings that it would be melancholy, it actually turned out to be great.

And this week! Kara and I are going to Boston for the WFNX summer concert. Cold War Kids, The Naked and Famous, Young the Giant, Foster the People and DOM are who we are seeing. I'm excited for Cold War Kids and The Naked and Famous.

The Naked and Famous sings that great song, 'Young Blood,' which was featured in the cinema-smash hit, PROM. And Cold War Kids sings this absolutely great song called, 'Skip the Charades.' LOVEEEEEE that song. To the max. It's so heartbreaking.

Wow, you've got some great music to listen to after reading this post!

Alright, I'm gonna go. Kara and I have to run errands and then go to the gym. UUGGHHHHHHHHH THE GYM.

Ok!!!! Everyone have a great start to the week!! That way you'll be in a good mood and therefore the whole week will be great. Good plan!

Alright, take care. We'll talk again soon :)

WE GOT A CANOE.

WHO WANTS TO COME CANOEING WITH ME?!?! Seriously, who wants to come canoeing with me?


Here's how it all went down:

Kara and I had emailed this person on Craigslist who was selling a nice looking canoe. 16' and bright blue. We wanted it. AND WE GOT IT. It was a great price for the great quality and overall awesomeness of the canoe.

The canoe was located in Manchester, NH, which is not too far from where we live. So, Kara picked me up from work in Kittery on Friday, and we headed down 95 to the 101 and over to the Queen City. We found the location of the canoe pretty easily and tied it down to the car with some straps that Kara had bought earlier in the day. SUCCESS.




Yes, that is Kara's car with the canoe strapped down, parked in front of Mr. Mac's, which is a macaroni and cheese restaurant located in Manchester. DOUBLE WIN. We knew that we would want to celebrate our new canoe with some macaroni and cheese. And it was pretty delicious. The girl working there asked me and Kara if we were twins. NOPE! Surprisingly, that girl is like the one billionth person to ask us that. We get it all the time. And it makes absolutely no sense because we don't think we even resemble each other even just a little, tiny, teensy bit.

Anyways, the car looked great with the canoe on top.



Now, due to our hectic work schedules, it was a few days before we were able to take the canoe out for her maiden voyage. Or at least, our maiden voyage with her. We had been searching and searching for something to name her, and had finally come up with Nancy Blue. A play on Nancy Drew, because the canoe was adventurous and blue.

SO, I had been reading up all morning on boat blessing ceremonies and how they're necessary in order to keep the water Gods at bay (haha. "at bay.") I had read through all 7 or so pages of a traditional boat blessing and picked out some parts that I really liked and thought were the most important. After all, we weren't launching the boat in the ocean, and it was only a simple canoe. BUT - I didn't want to skip any necessities that would mean bad luck.

So, I went to the grocery store and purchased a bottle of fine $6.99 champagne, printed out the blessing and we took the canoe to the lake!

We get to the lake and start loading things into the boat when Kara spots a tiny nameplate at the bow of the boat. We read it and it says,

"Welcome aboard the MOONRAKER." Then, in small letters at the bottom it says,

"For a fun time
la belle epoque."

Which means, 'the beautiful era.'



So, then we had a quick captain's meeting and decided that we would keep the name of Moonraker and call her Nancy Blue as a nickname.

Moonraker is the name given to the very highest sail on a sail boat, usually only used for speed. I think it's a sweet name. Moonraker.

So then we brought the boat down to the water for the blessing ceremony. Kara opened the bottle of champagne, ready to pour over the bow. This is what I read,

“In the name of all who have sailed aboard this vessel in the past and in the name of all who may sail aboard her in the future. We invoke the ancient Gods of wind, Aeolus, and the sea, Neptune, also hailed as Poseidon, to favor us with their blessing today.”

“Mighty Neptune, King of all that moves in or on the waves, and mighty Aeolus, guardian of the winds and all that blows before them! We offer thanks for the protection you have afforded this vessel in the past. We voice our gratitude that she has always found shelter from tempest and storm and enjoyed safe passage to port.”

"In return for this, we rededicate this vessel to thy domain in full knowledge that she
shall be subject as always to the immutable laws of the Gods of wind and sea.”

“Oh mighty and great ruler of the seas and oceans, to whom all ships and we who venture upon your vast domain are required to pay homage, implore you in your graciousness to take unto your records and recollection this worthy vessel hereafter and for all time known as __________( new name), guarding her with your mighty arm and trident and ensuring her of safe and rapid passage throughout her journeys within your realm”.

“In consequence whereof, and in good faith, we seal this pact with a libation offered
according to the hallowed ritual of the sea.”

“In appreciation of your munificence, dispensation and in honor of your greatness, we offer these libations to your majesty and your court.”

And then we poured the champagne over the bow!!! It was an exciting time. Then we took some sips, but not very many because it was warm. I had also read that to ensure your safe return on your maiden voyage, you are supposed to place a branch of green leaves at the stern of the ship.




Stern first, into the water. We eventually turned the boat around.





And we were off!!!!!




This was the area from which we first saw the lake. Way back in December. By all those electrical equipment. Today when we were there, it was making a lot of noise, which must meant it was doing something important. Also, there were giant orange balls floating in the ocean:





EXPLORING THE LAKE WAS AWESOME. So full-filling and amazing. Like, we couldn't believe that we were actually there.





We found this nice little bay which we canoed around for a while. We ended up naming it Michael Bay.





It was such a beautiful day!!! The lake is gorgeous and so big. There are lots of islands floating around.




Also, lots of tiny clearings on the shore with CAMPSITES. Campsites that at one point were probably the home of an awesome high school party that I was not invited to. Not that I would get invited to a high school party now, because I don't know anyone in high school. But, rather, a possible high school party that I was not invited to when I was in high school.

POINT IS: apparently I was lame in high school. ALSO, I've seen more people I graduated with this year than any other year since I graduated. It's been a little crazy. But mostly awesome. Mostly happy, but also a little sad.

ACTUALLY, the point IS that the lake is totally awesome. And that one night Kara and I are going to have our own awesome party at one of those probably illegal campsites.




Also everywhere: LILYPADS.
Also everywhere: DRAGONFLIES.

Seriously guys, this lake is infested with dragonflies. There are probably a billion. And they just land in your boat and hitch a ride. And then me and Kara say,

ME AND KARA: Hey pal, get outta here!

Seriously though, that's what we say.




AND - there are some birdhouses!! In trees!! Much like the one pictured above. It's a very interesting lake, because there are some small human additions that make for an overall mysterious experience.

The lake itself is actually man made, formed by a dam made across the former 'Hatfield Bog.' That's probably why people call it Hatfield Pond. Where the name Murdock Lake came from, I have yet to find out.

Kara was at a bonfire the other night and she heard a myth that there are bodies at the bottom of the lake. She also heard a myth that if you drive down Ridlon Road at night, your car shuts off. I tested that rumor last night and my car worked fine. I was prepared for a ghost encounter, though.

But, getting back to the bodies - the lake used to be a BOG! Which relates back to when we were in Ireland two years ago and went to the Bog Bodies exhibit in Dublin. About when they found all the beautifully preserved bodies hidden in the bogs. BOG BUTTER!!

I guess that doesn't really relate. Whatevs. That was a cool exhibit.






Then there is this little part where the island connects ever so slightly to the land. What's the geography term? ISTHMUS!!! Yep. Had to Google that one, but got it eventually. It's pretty over there.




Another campfire site!









I have probably at some point in this blog talked about how I want to find the road that connects Long Swamp Road to Ridlon Road. I think it's more of a glorified path, actually. But, it's there. And you can't access it by car from the Long Swamp side due to a large gate.

And there is a section of road that crosses the lake. AND I BELIEVE IT TO BE THIS SECTION, as pictured above. We tried tying up the boat and getting off to explore this area, but it was too marshy and gross and too dragonfly-y and so we aborted the mission. Instead, we'll walk the path by foot sometime, because we DID find the access point on the Ridlon Road side.

You have no idea how excited I was to find this. Like, YOU HAVE NO IDEA.




OK. So this is an island Kara and I have named 'Shoe Island.' We wanted to look at this path closer, so we canoed up to it. As we got closer, Kara said,

KARA: OH MAN. You're not gonna believe this...


THIS IS WHAT WE FOUND:



A PAIR OF SHOES AND SOCKS. Stranded on the island. We tried to figure it out. There was no boat anywhere near this island, so if there was a person on this island, they must have swam out. But why would they swim in their shoes and socks?? MYSTERY. Which makes me believe that there are in fact, Island Folk that live on these islands. The birdhouses, the shoes, the campfires...





After exploring the lake for about three hours, we decided to row back to the shore.




"...and they returned safely home."


I put that in quotes because it sounded like it was maybe a line from a book.

What great explorers we are.

Here is a map of some of the places we just talked about!



Penguin Island is named for a piece of wood sticking up in front of the island, and when I saw it at first, I thought it was a penguin. Kara thought it was a baby goat, hence the Goat Island in parenthesis. I've also marked the location where we launched our boat, and also Ridlon Road, because I talk about it a lot and am obsessed with it.

Oh it was so fun. so. fun.

We went back to the lake the next day and did some more canoeing/exploring. I hung my feet over the side of the canoe while Kara paddled!! It was super refreshing.

We're actually really great paddlers.

CANOE: so far it's a great thing. The paddles are great - they have pictures of feathers on them, which is something I didn't even notice until we were using them. The canoe is a bit heavy to lift onto the car, but we've done it without problem every time. It took a few tries to feel safe with it strapped to the car, but we've got it down pretty good.

Our arms are gonna be ripped by the end of the summer. It's hard work lifting and paddling. I think I'm gonna buy some sort of makeshift car rack so that I can take the Moonraker out if I ever want to go out with one of you. Or, someone other than Kara. Come with me!

In other news: I just painted my fingernails hott pink and my toe nails mint green. Fresh, summery and crisp! Watching 'Chopped' right now. Think I'm gonna go get some sherbert.

Been really thinking about my compass tattoo. I want it, man. Bad. I really feel lacking in direction. And it's so great and general, it scares me. I feel scared because I have absolutely no idea where I'm going. I'm not doing anything substantial. I'm feeling disappointed in myself and also with the way things in my life are turning out. And I'm torn between feeling like I shouldn't complain because I have it better than a lot of people, but also feeling like I need something good to happen in my life, because I'm sort of stuck in this phase that I don't know how to get out of. And I think it's a negative thing, which I'm trying to turn into a positive.

That didn't make sense because it was totally cryptic.

Yeah. I'm sure it's a negative thing. And I've tricked myself into thinking it's a positive. And now I feel tangled.

I have also been toying around with the phrase 'downward spiral' when thinking about my life over the past few months. Not like, being totally serious, just like, wallowing, mostly. But I shouldn't complain, because I'm mostly being stupid about everything.

OKAY. That was enough depressing stuff, right? Yeah. You're totally like, "omg, what's up with Julie, she's so weird and depressing!" You're totally running for the door. Closing your web browser. Turning the computer off.

Thanks for listening, friends. This is a safe place for me. I've had this blog for a long time now, and it kind of feels like home. If I were made up of the alphabet, all these entries are what I would look like.

Love you guys,

Captain Julie


☸ ☸ ☸