life lately | 2

During the summer of 2010, every time I heard the song, "Edge of Glory" by Lady Gaga I went nuts. I danced - in my kitchen making dinner, in my bedroom in my underwear, in dance clubs with my eyes closed, in a bar even if everyone else was standing still. I loved that song so much that my friends still text me when they hear it. Life lately feels like that song - like I'm right in the jazz solo - my very favorite part - leading up to the climax, to those notes when Gaga lets loose and you can tell she's going a little nuts herself. I'm right there, right on the edge of the GRE, on the edge of my graduate school apps being completed, on the edge of a big trip to Ecuador, on the edge of everything I want and have been working so hard for. I'm on the edge, and for the first time, I can see the other side.

1. Nothing and nobody in the world is happier than this 3 year old pup of mine on a hike on a fall day. Except maybe me.
2.  Zan and I stopped by one of our very favorite wineries, Gadino Cellars, after a recent hike. I joined the wine club - I felt irresponsible for spending the money and like a adult with my stuff together all at once.
3. The last time I saw a drive-in movie I was about 4 years old, and my brother and I camped out on the hood of my mom's old Chevy S-10 pickup truck and watched Batman. It was a blast from the past and the most fun date night when Zan and I drove in to watch Good Will Hunting at the new Union Market in northeast DC. We ate gourmet popcorn from a food truck and I devoured a homemade apple ice cream cone.
4&5. After buying a bike, I wanted to test my limits and my thighs so Zander and I took the beautiful, scenic Capital Crescent Trail out to Bethesda for an arts and crafts fair. We rewarded ourselves with peach mimosas and apple pie punch at Brickside, one of our favorite restaurants in the area and biked really carefully back home.
6.  My favorite food? Homemade pizza. We do it right with extra garlic, sausage, and pepperoni. And mushrooms on Zan's half.
7. Sonia and I went to see If/Then, the new Broadway musical previewing in DC in November and December, starring the one and only Idina Menzel. The second she opened her mouth and let that first note fly, goosebumps covered my body, and I could hardly breathe. She's just spectacular. Walking to the National Theater, I passed the White House and stopped to take it in.