angela's blog

Last night Andrew Bogut of Utah went first in the NBA draft. Marvin Williams of UNC went second. Raymond Felton and Sean May went 4th and 13th respectively to Charlotte. Rashad McCants went 14th to Minnesota. With the exceptions of Jackie Manuel and Jawad Williams there goes the UNC starting lineup from our 2005 national championship season. Looks like Raymond and Sean are going to be teammates again. I hope that ends up being an asset to both of them. I wonder whatever happened to Jackie Manuel and Jawad Williams anyway? The last I heard Jackie is getting married (he apparently proposed using a talking build-a-bear) and I have no idea what plans Jawad Williams has. It's funny, I'm not a hardcore enough Heels fan to sit out at 7 am on Saturday morning waiting to see if I get tickets - I value sleep too much for that. But I will watch every single game on TV (and this coming season, Tivo them all, although I'd imagine it won't be as much fun to be a fan this year) and follow them religiously throughout the season. But I'm a young fan ... I didn't watch these guys till 2 years ago ... when they started getting good. So I guess this is the real test .... am I a member of the Quentin Thomas posse? Or am I just a bandwagon fan?

Posted by Mrs. Cooper at 6/29/2005 11:20:00 AM | Permalink | Comments

Just in case you need a visual, here they are. Kyra is the taller one, Meg is the one with the 2 pigtails. (Thanks to Sabrina who took this photo). 

Posted by Mrs. Cooper at 6/28/2005 09:20:00 AM | Permalink | Comments

Last night was the official go/no-go test of the dance for the reception. We were going to decide whether we could dance with Curtis and Rachel performing at the reception after rehearsing live and ... whaddya know, we can! So those of you who have been waiting for this wedding with great anticipation, it's just one more layer to it - JJ and I can dance! I have to admit that I was a little surprised it went that smoothly because it's not like we've been practicing diligently (although we have been practicing some). I certainly didn't think we were just going to run through it 3 times and be done with it. And after we rehearsed, Rachel was putting the girls to bed and JJ and I and Steve and Sabrina danced in the Mulders' kitchen while Curtis played guitar. Fun stuff. Rachel came downstairs and said that Kyra and Megan wanted to know if they could come to the wedding. My first inclination was yes, then it was "Have I told anyone that children can't come?" and luckily JJ pointed out that they will sit still, and they will. Kyra and Meg are a couple of the best behaved little girls - a lot of fun to babysit - that I have known in quite some time. I will say that if they had asked me in person it would not have been humanly possible to turn them down: "Miss Angela we want to come to the wedding, can we?" Um, of course girls. Whatever you want. Just keep being amazingly cute and well behaved and how can I tell you no???

Posted by Mrs. Cooper at 6/28/2005 08:59:00 AM | Permalink | Comments

I'll post tomorrow about the dance and music session we're having with the Mulders and Australies tonight. For now, this is all you get: THREE NAMES YOU GO BY 1. Angela 2. Ange 3. Wong's sister (back when my brother was on crew in college and we went to the same college) THREE SCREEN NAMES YOU HAVE HAD 1. AMWfutrdr 2. AngelinaSwim 3. too many other ones to count THREE THINGS YOU LIKE ABOUT YOURSELF 1. my sports fanaticism (I think JJ's a fan of that, too) 2. my hair 3. I'm a dork THREE THINGS YOU DON'T LIKE ABOUT YOURSELF 1. my eyes (although I can't help that - I was born with these - and I don't mean the way they look, I mean the way the darn things work) 2. I eat too much 3. stupid broken ... useless ... joints THREE PARTS OF YOUR HERITAGE 1. Chinese 2. Chinese 3. Chinese THREE THINGS THAT SCARE YOU 1. insects with stingers 2. being on stage 3. hot humid weather THREE OF YOUR EVERYDAY ESSENTIALS 1. water 2. music 3. food THREE THINGS YOU ARE WEARING RIGHT NOW 1. jeans 2. Steelers t-shirt 3. glasses THREE OF YOUR FAVORITE BANDS OR MUSICAL ARTISTS (this is currently) 1. Rascal Flatts 2. Aimee Mann 3. Michael Buble. THREE OF YOUR FAVORITE SONGS (at the moment) 1. Going through the motions/Aimee Mann 2. Might is the power of the cross/Chris Tomlin 3. Comfortable/John Mayer NEW THINGS YOU WANT TO TRY IN THE NEXT 12 MONTHS 1. Being a wife 2. New research project on implicit memory and attention (woohoo!) 3. Being a homeowner THREE THINGS YOU WANT IN A RELATIONSHIP 1. Faith 2. Honesty 3. Love TWO TRUTHS AND A HALF-LIE (in no particular order) (comment and guess which one's a lie) 1. I want to have a dog someday 2. I look fabulous in my wedding dress ;-) 3. I like summer THREE PHYSICAL THINGS ABOUT THE OPPOSITE SEX THAT APPEAL TO YOU 1. dark eyes 2. good hugs 3. good laughs and good smiles THREE OF YOUR FAVORITE HOBBIES 1. swimming 2. tv 3. cooking THREE THINGS YOU WANT TO DO REALLY BADLY RIGHT NOW 1. Swim 2. Go swim ... at the beach 3. Take a nap THREE CAREERS YOU'RE CONSIDERING 1. Teaching 2. Research 3. Consulting THREE PLACES YOU WANT TO GO ON VACATION 1. Charleston 2. The mountains somewhere 3. Italy THREE THINGS YOU WANT TO DO BEFORE YOU DIE 1. Go scuba diving 2. Have kids 3. Ride a motorcycle THREE WAYS I AM STEREOTYPICALLY A CHICK (...) 1. I like cooking 2. I paint my toenails 3. I like getting compliments about how I look THREE WAYS I AM STEREOTYPICALLY A DUDE 1. My favorite sport is football 2. I love red meat - more rare than medium 3. If I'm doing something, please don't try and cuddle me -- I'm busy dangit THREE CELEB CRUSHES 1. Ben Roethlisberger (and he's even my age!) 2. I can't think of anyone else .... I'm so boring! 3.

Posted by Mrs. Cooper at 6/27/2005 02:27:00 PM | Permalink | Comments

I know I've been changing the template of this blog a lot. That's because none of them suit my fancy just right and so I'll let one try and grow on me and it sometimes does and it sometimes doesn't. Just ... hang on .... eventually we'll reach something permanent.

Posted by Mrs. Cooper at 6/24/2005 12:11:00 PM | Permalink | Comments

Number 40 - Learn how to make an omelette - DONE. There was a Good Eats episode on how to make omelettes. We bought eggs and I've made enough of them now (5 or 6 I believe) that I think what I make qualifies as a decent, if not good, omelette. Yes, I have made adjustments i.e. I don't use 6 eggs with the yolks, I use 8 eggs and remove 6 yolks, but they are omelettes and they are very good. JJ's favorite is cheese and onion. Mine is vegetarian: cheese, onions, tomatoes, mushrooms and peppers. I actually had an omelette for lunch today. Number 72 - Make JJ a cherry pie and have him enjoy it - DONE. I finally got up the nerve to try a dessert today and although the crust ended up being a little cracked (I think I cut the slit for the steam too close to the edge) JJ thought it was great. He had seconds. And Heidi and Christy also enjoyed it. Score a dessert for Angela. I'm usually bad with desserts. Number 82 - Start a bottle of vitamins and finish them without missing a day - I am considering modulating this. I say this because as I mentioned before I appear to have opened vitamin super bottle. There are 325 pills in there. And Heidi pointed out tonight that when I forget or can't take one for whatever reason on day 280 I will be screwed and have to start another bottle. She has a point. So I'm considering modulating it to "Start a bottle of vitamins and take them for 90 days without missing a day." I don't know - is that cheating? So there you go, I'm movin' on the list.

Posted by Mrs. Cooper at 6/23/2005 11:05:00 PM | Permalink | Comments

People have been asking me what to wear to the rehearsal dinner and I think that the hosts have an idea, a vision if you will, of how it's supposed to look and feel. Unfortunately for them (the hosts) it's not that I don't share that vision, I just don't totally grasp it. So I don't know what to tell people. But I think that we finally figured some stuff out. Or at least Sabrina and I did. Sabrina is going to wear her sundress that I love that makes her look fabulous. If you missed it the first time around, go click on Sabrina's blog and scroll down to June 6. There's a picture of her in the sundress. I believe that I will be wearing this dress. No, not at that price. I got a GREAT deal on the dress online. However, because I'm short, I'm hoping it doesn't look ridiculous because all those knee length things have the risk of being too long on short people. Especially short people with squat torsos. When it gets delivered in a few days I'll try it on. And take pictures. If it looks good I might even post the pictures. Or I could drag out the suspense and post pictures of the rehearsal dinner itself (coming up 2 weeks from Friday!) but if I did that then people wouldn't be seeing pictures for awhile. Hmmm .... now THAT'S a dilemma!

Posted by Mrs. Cooper at 6/22/2005 10:23:00 PM | Permalink | Comments

This doesn't happen very often. I buy dresses so rarely and have so little use for them that I generally buy something for one occasion and then let it go. Generally I buy about 1 dress per year - last year it was Easter, the year before it was graduation, the year before that formal at Sigma Nu in Boston - and I make that purchase count. I'll admit, I bought another one, a red one, but I bought that for a whopping total of 15.95 (including shipping) and since that cost less than the price of JJ's and my lunch on Sunday, it does not count towards my yearly dress buying quota. I guess that this year my wedding dress counts as toward the one dress per year quota. But while I was perusing the sales at JCrew.com I came across this dress which I absolutely adore. Isn't it pretty? And while I have NO IDEA whether it would fit me or whether I would even look good in it, I have enjoyed looking at it in glacier and envisioning it with my silver shoes. Maybe someday I will be able to afford being that extravagant and not feel ravaged by guilt just because I want it.

Posted by Mrs. Cooper at 6/21/2005 02:09:00 PM | Permalink | Comments

This weekend has been a busy one but it's been full of the fun stuff it seems like JJ and I rarely have time to get to. Yesterday we went to the library. Granted, I have to start my master's very shortly. However, until then there's no danger in going and getting interesting books and reading them. Currently on my reading list are: The Jesus I Never Knew by Phillip Yancey, A Woman's Place: Women Writing New Mexico by Maureen Reed, and a book about gender politics and food in the U.S. that I can't remember the title of and is in the other room so I'm way too lazy to get up and go get it. I have discovered that unless they're some sort of continuing story like a biography or autobiography, I get sort of bored with any given book within 3-4 readings of it (parts of it, not the entire book). As a result, as long as I start 2-3 books at one time I'm actually more likely to read them through. Weird, huh? Last night we met up with Will and Kristen Lingo at the North Carolina Museum of Art for an Aimee Mann concert. I am not the Aimee Mann fan, JJ is. JJ and Will and Kristen are. But I've heard her stuff and it's quite good. I'm just not well read Aimee-wise like those 3 are. Ben Lee (of "I'm Claire Danes' boyfriend" fame) opened for Aimee and he introduced one of his songs by saying "This song is in outright rebellion of perpendicular geometry." At that point I didn't care really what came next. A musician had just said "perpendicular geometry" live and onstage. That was good enough for me. The song was actually pretty good. I'm going to try and snag the copy of Ben Lee's album that Will got for Kristen (or rather I will send JJ on a mission to get it for me). Aimee played after that and she's very gifted musically. During the course of her set I saw her play no fewer than 4 instruments (acoustic guitar, electric guitar, bass and keys) and she sang lead. If you don't know who Aimee Mann is go look up the Magnolia soundtrack. That's where her "Pop" appearance is probably best known. But anyway, there I was sitting on the lawn of the NCMA with Will, Kristen, and JJ. We were eating pasta flavored by garlic infused olive oil and sauteed mushrooms (my creation), vegetable and pasta salad, cheese and red and white wine (courtesy the Lingos). I felt very ... artsy. But now I'm SO CLOSE to crossing number 80 off my list. I've picked up: Michael Buble, Aimee Mann. I hadn't heard live music (worship on Sundays aside) in SO long and Aimee Mann is so good that I had a fabulous time. The sky was clear, and it was about 68-70 outdoors. How lovely. Today was church and then lunch with the Australies. And tomorrow I start the madness that is grading finals. But it was a good weekend.

Posted by Mrs. Cooper at 6/19/2005 08:49:00 PM | Permalink | Comments

The update on the Walker and Steelers jersey: JJ called Jackie for Father's Day and heard that all weekend long would get frustrated if you called him anything but Roethlisberger. That kid is gonna be a quarterback someday. How cool is that! And in 3 weeks he's gonna be my nephew.

Posted by Mrs. Cooper at 6/19/2005 08:46:00 PM | Permalink | Comments

This is Walker. He likes the Steelers, too. Go Steelers. 

Posted by Mrs. Cooper at 6/18/2005 10:32:00 PM | Permalink | Comments

Remember Walker? If you don't, there's a picture to help you. Anyway, Walker turned 3 in April and because of an order snafu at steelers.com he never got his present. I finally got around to re-ordering it last week and it was shipped from Pittsburgh on Monday. Tonight I got home to find the following email: Walker got his Pittsburgh shirt on Wednesday. He wore it Thursday, Friday and Saturday. I'm hoping we can avoid wearing it to church. Paula Well, at least our worries about whether he'd like the present have been laid to rest. Hilarious.

Posted by Mrs. Cooper at 6/18/2005 10:27:00 PM | Permalink | Comments

And the countdown continues. There's not that much left to do really. Just that last minute stuff like provide a headcount and order lunch for the day of the ceremony so wedding party members don't bite the dust while at the altar. Sabrina has already made our nail appointments, I've made our hair appointments and as far as I know all the men have been measured for their tuxes. This weekend we officially start packing up my apartment and moving it over to JJ's ... although I think that's going to have to go in this order: clean JJ's apartment, pack up my apartment, THEN move. That's okay though, the first few trips will just be easy stuff like winter clothes I don't wear anymore or books (which will actually go to my office now that I have an office) and then by the time of the week of the wedding I will be living out of a suitcase and I will have sheets on my bed and that's it. One of the things that JJ really wanted to do for the wedding was dance. If you remember from Sabrina's post in April, the Steve and Sabrina came over one night, I made us steaks and they taught us to dance. It was then that we discovered two things 1) JJ has little to no rhythm 2) His joints - shoulders, waist, hips, neck - are attached in ways that would cause pain to most normal human beings. In other words, the man can't groove ... and as we discovered, it's not easy for him to dance either. Dance lesson number 2 a couple of nights ago was actually very productive. After lasagna and bread, we learned to do some turns and some fancy schmancy (looking) stuff that will hopefully wow our beloved friends and family who are coming to the wedding. During our break we ate the berry, cookie and ice cream dessert that Sabrina made which was very good. We also (very important) learn how to ditch out of the dance and just sort of um ... waddle ... while we're waiting for the beat. We put on some Michael Buble (that's boo-blay) because Sabrina conveniently had brought Sylvester who caters to her every music need and I must say - I am now a Michael Buble fan. WONDERFUL music! I will be asking Sabrina for his CDs so I can start my own Michael Buble collection. His voice is rich and mellow. Great music, seriously. And he does a lot of covers it seems, which is always a little bit of a gamble. Covers can be really good or really bad and he does them quite well. So expect to hear Michael at our reception. Anyway JJ can swing! (kinda) ... so we're rolling ... going to the chapel and we're ... gonna get maaa-aaarried. And if you're keeping track, that's 21 days till "I do." P.S. That's number 80 on my list - added Michael Buble as one of the 3. Ben Folds looks likely. And Ben Harper is up there, too. If you own any of the above, please contact me so I can start my collection in earnest! :-)

Posted by Mrs. Cooper at 6/17/2005 09:18:00 AM | Permalink | Comments

My brother, Bryant, is at camp this month. Not camp like counselors and swimming in the lake and girls' camp/boys' camp dances ... no no. Field camp. Bryant just graduated from Wash U with his degree in Earth and Planetary Sciences and one of the requirements for the diploma is that he complete a field camp. Imagine going to Nowheresville, Montana (I think the name of the town is actually Billings) and during the day time .... hunting for rocks. And not just any rocks. Specific rocks. As if that doesn't sound like enough fun ... Bryant called Saturday night and was telling me about their living conditions. I was under the impression, when he originally told us about field camp, that they would be staying in dorms. When I talked to him Saturday night he described the place as barracks. There are 8 of them in a room, 4 sets of bunk beds. They've each been issued a sleeping mat (not a mattress, a mat) and a pillow and a blanket, plus whatever they brought along. In order to do laundry they have to hitch a ride to town and go to a laundromat. They don't have bathrooms, they have what my brother described as "washrooms" which are down the road, about 2 minutes by foot. When asked what he did if he had to pee and it was raining outside, his response was, "Roll over and try and go back to sleep while drowning out the sound of the rain." It's cold where they're staying - about 40 or so at night, and 50s in the daytime - but during the day they make daytrips to various excavation sites. Sometime last week they made a trip to an oil field where my brother said that it was in the mid 90s, which was "cooler than usual" since it's usually 110 on that field in the day. And the ratio of men to women is ... are you ready? ... 29 men to 4 women. Bryant said one of the guys is trying to pick up a member of the kitchen staff. And there are apparently 3 Japanese guys --- FROM JAPAN. And Bryant pointed out, quite practically, "I don't know how they're learning anything - none of them speak English." Suffice it to say, the camp doesn't sound like ... well, it just doesn't sound like much fun. He'll be leaving it early for the wedding on July 7th. But if you ever didn't like summer camp, talk to Bryant. I'm sure he'd be happy to trade with you on that one.

Posted by Mrs. Cooper at 6/13/2005 12:50:00 PM | Permalink | Comments

Well, we now know that JJ and I don't need to be sterilized because we can't handle children. Hallelujah. That makes me happy. Yesterday Michele called us and asked if we could watch Dylan for a couple of hours while she went to visit a friend whose nephew, a newborn baby, was in the hospital. The baby is really sick and apparently on life support so of course we agreed to chill with the little guy and so we arranged to have him dropped off at JJ's apartment at around 2 this afternoon. Our afternoon was quite fun filled. We played Rebel Strike on the GameCube - Dylan's getting pretty good at flying - and then we went swimming. Dylan made it quite clear to me which ones were the "swimming underpants" and which ones were the "naptime pull ups." The fishes on the swimming ones helped, too. So away we went. Dylan was antsy about letting us put sunscreen on him (he doesn't like sticky slimy things) but we managed to coax him into letting us rub some on his arms, neck and back. It was a no-go for the face. When we got to the pool we played and splashed and swam and then when I started to worry that the little guy was going to burn, I told him we better get out "Because the sun is hot and we don't want you to get burned." That got him out without too much argument, but he felt it was his civic duty to tell everyone in the pool area on our way out, "Get out - you're gonna get burned!" This has been a public service announcement brought to you by Dylan Christopher Gibson. Afterward, Dylan took a quick bath (with my help) to get the chlorine and icky off him. Then, we watched cartoons and baked a cake (yellow with chocolate frosting) for his mommy. After awhile Dylan started getting a little cranky and finally said, "I'm tired." Whew. We got him a pillow and within 10 minutes he was out cold. Michele came and got him around 7 and they went (presumably) home. The good news is: Dylan didn't break anything (on him or in the apartment). JJ is totally capable of entertaining a 3 year old for 30 minutes or more. And I can cook well enough that a 3 year old doesn't complain. Sweet. Don't hold your breath. We ain't buying tickets for the baby train any time in the foreseeable future. But then again, we don't really mind it when the Dylan train makes a stop here, either.

Posted by Mrs. Cooper at 6/12/2005 09:30:00 PM | Permalink | Comments

I know you're not supposed to but it's so hard to resist ... so I have a confession to make .... I've been checking our registry online. I don't check everyday, but I check probably 2-3 times a week - enough that I notice if people buy us stuff and enough that I wonder who got us what. The exciting news is we're getting pretty much all the stuff we need along with some stuff that is totally extravagant (do I really need a zester that is 6 inches long? Or what about the wall sconces that come complete with a mirror and candle?) but our theory when we started putting things on the registry that we would put stuff on there that we need (like our everyday dishes, tableware, and certain cooking implements we don't own like a rolling pin or a non-stick frying pan), stuff that is traditional for a wedding registry but that we don't NEED need (like fine china), stuff that we would like to have because what we've got currently is old and some of it is gross (like a new shower curtain and new towels) and stuff that was totally overindulgent but this is our only chance to get it because we would never buy it for ourselves (like a food processor, nice hamper, nice trash can, and the aforementioned zester). But it's going to be like Christmas when we get around to getting and opening those gifts because it's all stuff we know we asked for (and therefore know we'll enjoy) but we don't know who's giving us what ... it's a mystery! The point of this post is, I just checked and noticed that 2 of my favorite items that I was seriously hoping for have now been bought - our wine glasses and our everyday drinkware. Woohoo! 27 days ...

Posted by Mrs. Cooper at 6/11/2005 04:54:00 PM | Permalink | Comments

I am off and ... well, I wouldn't call it running but I'd call it at least a decent paced crawl on the list. Oh and by the way -- there's a good chance I miscounted my dates. I'll recount and get back to you on the deadline for these things. Number 11: Christy Merrill gave me pots of fresh rosemary, oregano, parsley and basil. Technically I haven't "grown" them since they came potted and alive and well but I say that if they're still alive in 3 months and still growing that I've "grown" fresh herbs. Number 8: This might have to be adjusted. The Sunday following me posting my list there was an ad in the church bulletin about "Come join the WoW (Women of the Word) book club." meaning, of course, that they have now started a book club and thus I probably can't start another at least not right on the heels of it. Stay tuned but this one may be changed to "Become involved in the Red Tent Ministry" Number 82: My mom has this tendency to buy HUGE bottles of vitamins and send them to us. I opened one and then looked at the label and noticed that it as 325 pills in it. Either JJ is going to have to take some of those or I will be stalling on number 82 for quite some time. Number 100: I want to know if those herbs count as a houseplant. Maybe someone will get me a houseplant when we move and then I won't have to worry about it. Number 55: Sabrina just made (or will make soon) appointments for the bridal party to have nails done the day before the wedding. I've signed up for both a manicure and a pedicure. Don't worry - I'll take pictures. Numbers 30 and 31: Sabrina and I are looking for a gym. We may ditch that, because of the cost, and do videos instead. We'll see how that goes. At any rate it's nice to know I've gotten started. I have this fear that number 27 is going to fall by the wayside soon because I just got in about 30 papers I'm supposed to read to prepare myself for my master's and well ... those are sort of more important that the library books so we're gonna have to see if I have time. Nonetheless, the ball is rolling.

Posted by Mrs. Cooper at 6/09/2005 11:39:00 AM | Permalink | Comments

Yes I'm posting prolifically today. A year ago I posted about the newhope YA beach trip. I LOVED that trip. Even though the water was a little chilly and there were some (okay a lot) of jellyfish in it, the body surfing was fun, the food was good and the company was incomparable. It was on this trip that I learned: JJ is apparently like Laurie from Little Women - everyone loves him, no one wants to marry him. Until now, that is. Jamie won't share a room with you if you snore. If JJ is going to drive Scott's car, he better sure as heck have someone in the passenger seat to ... well, remind him that he's driving Scott's car. If Heidi thinks that you're ganging up on her (she apparently thought JJ and I were in cahoots when we were playing Uno because I kept winning), well, Heidi doesn't like to lose. How about we put it that way. Anyway, it was a fun trip, those are some good memories. I'm hoping to get to go to the beach but it's really getting into peak season so I'm doubting that that is going to happen this year. At least not until the fall anyway.

Posted by Mrs. Cooper at 6/07/2005 09:23:00 AM | Permalink | Comments

Well, it seems like we've officially left spring behind and summer has reared its ugly head. I'm not kidding - of the many things I love about North Carolina, one of the things I simply cannot stand is the summer here. Yesterday it was 90 degrees with 48% relative humidity - and so according to accuweather.com that meant that it felt like it was 102. 102!! And it's only the 2nd week of June. Maybe for my wedding I'll wear one of those circulating body coolers ...

Posted by Mrs. Cooper at 6/07/2005 09:20:00 AM | Permalink | Comments

I forgot to include in my last post about something very exciting that happened last night! Genna called us! She had had a dance recital yesterday morning and I guess wanted to tell her uncle JJ about it. I don't think she and Walker have integrated me into their idea of "family" yet, which, since I'm technically not yet, is totally okay with me. Besides, I'm already the boring aunt. I gave them books for Christmas. JJ got them toys. Go figure. But the conversation with Genna went something like this: me: Hey Genna Genna: Hey me: I heard you had a dance recital this morning Genna: Yeah ... and we did dances and we did a show and my Nana and Pooh were there me: Cool so you got to see your Nana and Pooh today then? Genna: Uh huh ... and I got something really special ... I got a medal ... and some people got it and some people didn't and so that makes it really special ... just for my class ... and I let Walker hold it .... (indecipherable - Genna, my deepest apologies) ... 'cause he was crying ... 'cause he wanted to give me the flowers and he was cryin' .... so I let Walker hold it ... me: You let Walker hold your medal? That's very sweet of you ... Genna: Yeah and I'm going to bring it 'cause I get to see you soon and I want you to see my medal me: Well cool! I want to see your medal, too! I'm very proud of you, Genna. Genna: Yeah. See ya later - bye! At this point I handed the phone over to JJ who talked to her for awhile. And then Walker got on the phone. Walker's younger than Genna and hasn't quite mastered the art of the phone yet, which JJ and I both experienced. But after JJ talked to Walker, I got to talk to Walker, too! THAT conversation went like this: me: Hey Walker Walker: Hey me: How you doin'? Walker: good me: What'd you do this weekend? Did you play baseball? Walker: .... no ..... me: You saw Genna dance today? Walker: ... mmmm ... uh huh ... and we saw her do dance ballet ... me: I heard you gave her flowers! Walker: Yeah ... I got to give Genna flowers me: That's so sweet of you Walker ... and you got to see Nana and Pooh today, too right? Walker: POOH! Yeah we gotta see Nana and Pooh! me: I bet that was fun [at this point we're sort of running out of conversation] Walker: OK bye me: I love you Walker ... bye Walker: Bye ... [long pause - not sure if he already hung up the phone] I love you me: I love you, too Walker Walker: *laughs* I love you me: What's so funny? Walker: because I said I love you and you said I love you too! [Angela doesn't get it ...] me: Okay Walker: I love you! me: I love you too! Walker: *laughs again* me: Is that still funny? Walker: I love you! me: I love you too! Walker: *Laughs* me: OK, bye Walker Walker: bye ... I love you ... bye .... bye [long silence] me: Well, I think he hung up How cute was that?

Posted by Mrs. Cooper at 6/06/2005 10:30:00 AM | Permalink | Comments

This Saturday Sabrina, my wonderful, competent, and talented MOH, and Jamie, my dear, sweet, beautiful and accomplished friend, threw me a bridal shower. I don't have pictures. Sabrina does. My camera is broken -- and at the manufacturer's. They're going to try and fix it. I hope they can fix it. Anyway, Jamie and Sabrina really outdid themselves. Michele hosted the event and as always Michele's house is fun! But when I got there Jamie and Sabrina had tied up red and gold balloons. There was a little basket for recipes that people wrote on cards to give me (it was a recipe/kitchen themed shower) and a trivette (a tile thingy) that people signed and everyone brought food. And then there were the presents!! I got a ton of kitchen stuff, including a springform pan (see number 7 on my list) and Christy gave me 4 little pots - one each of fresh basil, oregano, parsley, and rosemary. Fresh herbs (see number 79 on my list) in little pots to keep them growing and I can use them to make my newfound Italian dishes. Cool, huh? Saturday afternoon was a lot of fun but as I was looking around at the women who were at my shower, who were all obviously there because they wanted to be, I started to become a little nostalgic and a little sad. I say this not because the shower wasn't wonderful, it was perfect, but because it's been a really long time since I could say that I had a group of friends where we could just wander into each other's houses, call and have them come over in their sweats and t-shirts to veg on the couch, talk on the phone, things like that. To be totally fair, I have to admit that this whole wedding planning thing has taken away from general vegging time (JJ has to work really late tomorrow night - vegging time here I come!) but I started to think back to the days when every night, after we had finished with our various summer jobs, around 9 pm we'd congregate at TL's house on the green couch. The front door was always open and we'd just wander in and talk about how our day went. Or there were always at least 3 different people around if you wanted to have ice cream or just watch TV. Don't get me wrong ... I do a lot of these things with JJ now, but it's different, you know? I'm looking forward to when I'll have a house or apartment of our own so I can invite people over. Right now I can't invite people over to my place (no parking - towing enforced) and really I shouldn't be inviting random people over to JJ's either. I bet Sabrina would let me hang out with her but see number 35 on my list and you'll understand why I can't. And Jamie has 2 cats now (or Dawn does anyway) too! So for a little while I just have to deal. And I have to admit, too, that a big reason for my lack of hanging out time is JJ ... there was a point where I wanted to, and probably should have, spent most of my free time with him. I'm not saying I'm tired of him but I am saying that I think I'm past the "be with JJ every waking moment" bug and am ready to strike out and refind that social balance. Of course that's after summer school and graduate school and the wedding and moving and ... well, hang tight, I'll be back soon.

Posted by Mrs. Cooper at 6/06/2005 08:56:00 AM | Permalink | Comments

Wow ... so Sarah and Jessica have done this 101 in 1001 thing. To complete 101 items to improve themselves, goals they have, and just some fun stuff in 1001 days. That's some serious stuff. And I'm totally jumping on that bandwagon. Except I don't think that I can even think of 101 things. 1001 days is February 27, 2008. The rules are (and I don't know if Sarah made these rules up but they're still the rules!) they have to be specific and realistically attainable goal. And let me just say this - 101 items are hard to come up with! 1. Get married 2. Decorate a house or apartment (this is obviously dependent on whether we buy a house or rent an apartment - hopefully if we rent I can still decorate) 3. Run a half marathon 4. Do an open water swim 5. Compete in a short triathlon - of the 1/2 mile swim, 10 mile bike, 5 K run type 6. Iron creases in a pair of pants (this may seem ridiculous but I am a terrible iron-er) 7. Make a cheesecake from scratch 8. Lead or launch a newhope book club at my church 9. Get down to my ideal weight of 135 - and STAY THERE 10. Take a bath in a jacuzzi tub - with bubbles 11. Grow or buy fresh herbs and infuse my own oil for flavoring or cooking. 12. Learn how to grill (JJ's a whiz on the grill - I figure I have a built in teacher for this one) 13. Go skiing 14. Go to the beach during the off-season (meaning not July or August and not during a major beach holiday like Labor Day or Memorial day) and run in the surf barefoot 15. Take a walk by moonlight 16. Have a picnic at Duke Gardens 17. Finish my master's 18. Start and/or finish my dissertation 19. Make bread from scratch 20. Floss every day for a month 21. Spend 3 days straight without eating any bread or pasta (this is going to be miserable I know already) 22. Spend Christmas with Genna and Walker 23. Walk at least 2 miles a day, 3 times a week for 60 days 24. Teach JJ to rollerblade 25. Keep a journal, at least twice a week, for 60 days 26. Read the entire Bible 27. Check out books from the library every month - and read them 28. Eat at least 3 servings of fruit a day for 30 days 29. Eat at least 3 servings of vegetables a day for 30 days 30. Try pilates, regularly (meaning once a week or more over a period of 30 days or longer) 31. Try yoga regularly (see same stipulation as above) 32. Go to a Steelers game at Heinz Field 33. Play the violin with an orchestra again (events such as an East High orchestra reunion for the Messiah concert count) 34. Learn how to dice vegetables without being afraid I'm going to cut my fingers off 35. Visit Sabrina's house ... and not worry that my throat is going to close up 36. Meet Florence - JJ's grandmother (who just turned 89) 37. Swim in a Master's swim meet - and have at least one of the events be butterfly 38. Run a 5K in less than 30 minutes 39. Get my own Tivo 40. Learn how to make an omelette 41. Visit the North Carolina mountains 42. Go hiking in the North Carolina mountains 43. Visit a winery and do a wine tasting 44. Make a toast with champagne 45. Get an iPod and an iTrip 46. Own a set of silk or satin pajamas 47. Buy lingerie because it looks good - and only because it looks good 48. Visit Central Park in New York -- take my rollerblades -- and skate in Central Park 49. Buy a set of dumbbells and lift weights at home at least 3 times a week for 60 days. 50. Take a photo, and have it be artistic enough that I can hang it up on my wall and it doesn't embarrass me 51. Buy a lottery ticket and actually wonder if I'm going to win 52. Go to one of Genna's dance or gymnastics performances/competitions 53. Go to one of Walker's soccer, baseball, football whatever he ends up doing games 54. Hear Sean preach 55. Get both a manicure and pedicure (I have now had a pedicure but not both!) 56. Go to a shooting range and fire a gun 57. Learn how to throw and catch a football 58. Find (and keep) a spiritual mentor 59. Keep a prayer journal, every day for at least 30 days 60. Make pasta from scratch 61. Repair my bike (it needs a new chain) and ride it twice a week for a month 62. Write an article or short story. Submit it for publication somewhere. 63. Help build a Habitat for Humanity house, or at another housing project 64. Help out at a soup kitchen 65. Have a dinner party where I decorate, cook, plate, and serve - and it's a great success. 66. Cook a traditional Thanksgiving dinner by myself 67. Read C.S. Lewis' The Great Divorce 68. Read Beloved by Toni Morrison 69. Write a short story, poem or song in the name of Christ 70. Add at least 3 new artists to my repetoire of enjoyable music (so far I've added already John Mayer and Aimee Mann -- so these don't count in my 3 -- any more suggestions?) 71. Go see Rascal Flatts in a concert 72. Make JJ a cherry pie - and have him enjoy it! 73. Read the newspaper (or online version of it) every day for a week 74. Give $1000 (over the next 1001 days) to newhope's capital campaign 75. Try something suggested in the Kama Sutra (AFTER I get married of course!) 76. Learn to play golf 77. Go camping with JJ 78. Save up enough money to buy matching end tables and a coffee table 79. Grow fresh herbs 80. Learn to make amaretto sours and lime margaritas - and actually drink them 81. Try Guinness 82. Start bottle of vitamins and finish it without missing a day. 83. Visit Charleston, SC 84. Learn how to make spinach artichoke dip 85. Swim the mile in an official meet 86. Go bass fishing 87. Take Genna and Walker camping ... in a backyard 88. Tailgate before a major football game 89. Get a wine rack. Fill it with wines from at least 5 different states. 90. Watch every episode of Iron Chef (Japanese - not American) 91. Read my Bible every day for 30 days 92. Learn calligraphy and write out a favorite verse or poem. Frame it. Hang it on the wall. This means my calligraphy has to be presentable. 93. Read biographies of 2-3 famous painters - Vincent Van Gogh, Claude Monet, Frida Kahlo. 94. Learn HTML. Create a homepage. 95. Register a URL. Publish my homepage. 96. Get skinny enough to buy a bikini. Wear it. In public. 97. Read Blue Like Jazz 98. Take a cooking class 99. Go to the Smithsonian. 100. Get a house plant. Don't kill it. 101. Enjoy my wedding. So there you are. Stay tuned for the 101 in 1001 updates.

Posted by Mrs. Cooper at 6/02/2005 10:57:00 AM | Permalink | Comments

This past weekend the Coopers (that would be the Perry Coopers and not the Moultrie Coopers) came up to Durham. And the Wongs flew down from Wichita. They had never met and most everyone figured it was high time they did. Jackie and Terry got here around 12:30am on Saturday and my parents' flight was due in around 4 pm on Saturday. Saturday morning the Coopers took JJ and me to breakfast at Rick's Diner (my first Rick's experience and it was very good) and then we stopped by Michele's to see her townhouse (and Dylan, of course) and finally Terry took me and JJ shopping for more presents. Saturday night we went out for Chinese, Sunday we all went to church (except my brother) and then lunch at Maggiano's. At the conclusion of the weekend I came to realize that there are definitely some differences not just between people themselves but between the two families' philosophies on upbringing and just their lifestyles in general. Then I realized that I am the luckiest girl in the world - I get to PICK which parts of the two different sides I become a part of because being an Asian American I get the best of both. Here are my favorites from when East meets South. Some of them are one sided, some of them happen on both sides. They're all equally good. East meets South The tradition of feeding your children well when you see them is a good one. I'm all for it. Especially since even though JJ and I have gotten more adventurous with our food, there's nothing like being taken out to eat or having a multicourse meal made for us. South Rather than give money, southerners love to give presents. I'm not much of a gifter ... I wasn't raised with gifts that came in boxes and had ribbons and bows. Not only that but gift receiving isn't my "love language" so while I love getting and giving gifts it is not the be all end all of my existence. However, marrying into a southern family means I get gifts and to that I say, bring. it. on. East On the other side of the gift-giving is the Chinese tradition of "hong bao" or "red envelope." These envelopes are filled with money and given out on special occasions. The idea is that the money inside will lead to prosperity and that it is one person's gift to another, no strings attached. Hong bao is a great tradition. South The idea of bringing up children in solid, Christian (mostly Baptist in the South, but my soon-to-be-in-laws are Methodist) households is a good one. Even though there are those who grow up and decide that the faith is not for them, there cannot be any real danger to once-a-week worship and a way of life that comes with a reference manual (aka The Bible). I'm a fan of that God guy myself. East Families in Chinese culture are close knit. That means that you might have 3 full generations living in one house. This has both its up and down sides. For one thing, it means that a child will truly appreciate the meaning of family. But on the other side of that, it means that parents are responsible for children long into adulthood. That can mean a couple of things. While wonderfully generous in spirit, it means that it is possible children might feel dependence long after they should be independent and it also means that parents tend to have unquestionable authority. This could end up being both good and bad. South This is probably more of an "American" mindset than a mindset unique to the south but the idea of teaching children independence from a young age is one that we can see. Just walk into your nearest McDonald's where your cashier is 16 or your local grocery store where the bagger is 15. There are, of course, plus and minus sides to this as well. On the one hand the children are being taught independence, self-sufficiency, and if they're lucky will end up finding what they want to do in life (that's what JJ did - he started working for the local paper at 15 and has been a journalist ever since). On the other hand, these jobs can end up being distractions from school and home-life. It, like the Chinese traditional way of life, has both its good and bad points. So there you have it. A crash course in the cultural and life differences of Chinese and American Southerners. In 5 weeks East will meet South ... and it will be good.

Posted by Mrs. Cooper at 6/02/2005 09:55:00 AM | Permalink | Comments