{p,h,f,r}: Spring flowers, little babies, and big troublemakers

Because I’ve got a ton of pictures to post, time to post them, and it happens to be Thursday!

{pretty}

I’m not sure I ever appreciated rose bushes until this spring.  We have several well-established bushes outside our front door, and it seems like every day there are twice as many blooms as the day before.  They’re not wimpy, either; it’s hard to get a sense of scale from the photos, but most of them are bigger across than my hand.  I’m finding myself outside taking photos of them pretty often, and an important part of Maddy’s morning ritual is to go look at the blue sky and the pink flowers.

 

{happy]

After some lengthy scheduling delays, we got to take a peek at Baby Spike (so named thanks to all the people who have told us that our first child was so good that our second is destined to be a terror).  Our last ultrasound was a pretty disappointing experience, with a tech who wouldn’t let me look at the screen until the last 10 seconds or so.  This time, we got to go to the fancy imaging department at the children’s hospital, where the whole thing was broadcast on a big HD screen for our viewing pleasure.

Everything looks great, but Johnny was once again unable to determine the gender, try as he might.  He leans toward wanting to find out, and I do not, so our deal is that if he can tell by himself without professional help, he can know.  It’s amazing how the resolution is so good that they could count every individual finger bone, but the two of us totally had no idea if we saw anything or a lack of anything in the gender department.

 

{funny}

The new morning calisthenics routine never fails to amuse us (and that ponytail doesn’t hurt, either!).

{real}

In case I ever doubted it, it has become abundantly clear that Johnny and I do not dictate all the activity of this house anymore.  Just yesterday, Maddy realized that she could suddenly reach both Johnny’s guitar and the coveted (and full) coffee mug on its formerly-safe shelf.  With the help of those admittedly-cute tiptoes she’s demonstrating above, she can pretty much reach any flat surface in the house, and it’s time to do round two of baby proofing*.

*The lazy kind, where I pretty much just make sure there are no knives near the edges of the counters.

 

Linking up with Like Mother, Like Daughter for {pretty,happy,funny,real}

Halfway There?

Here we are, at (a little past) the halfway point of this year!  Today I’m going back over my New Years Resolutions to see where things stand six months (and one baby) later.  Since I conveniently made seven resolutions, I’m linking up with 7 Quick Takes as well.

1 – Have a baby

As predicted, this one happened.  It wasn’t even so bad!

2 – Establish a good housekeeping routine

As it turns out, I was right to have very low standards for this one.  I’m just starting to get back into a post-baby routine, and it’s true that getting one room tidied, plus making dinner, is about enough for one day.

3 – Read at least 15 books

I have a whopping 13 books on my 2015 Goodreads shelf, but some of them were started long ago, and others have been abandoned permanently.  Of those 13, I’m counting 9, plus 2 that are still in progress.  I don’t think I’ll have any trouble getting to 15.

4 – Go to Confession at least once a month

I think I’m on track with this one, but I have to admit that I don’t remember much of March and only a little more of April, so I may have missed.  Of course, if I don’t remember what happened, am I really culpable for anything that happened?  (I kid, I kid)

5 – Improve my food photography skills

This one took an unexpected hit, because I didn’t consider the fact that to have food photography, one must first make food.  Maddy has thrown a bit of a wrench into my ability to plan, make, serve, and eat dinner without someone crying (sometimes, it’s even her!).  We’re also stuck in a bit of a rut, and while there’s dinner on the table every night, it’s the same rotation of five meals (and one of those five may rhyme with Schmostco Schmizza).

In any case, when I do take photos, I’m being a little more deliberate with the setup, and pretty pleased with the results.  I’m hoping to step up my game in the second half of the year.

Look forward to more wins like this rice.

6 – Run a 5K

Being too cold is no longer a concern.

Well…we’re still running, Maddy and me.  I don’t know that we’re making swift progress, but there’s a long time between now and Turkey Trots.  We’ve been getting out 2 or 3 times a week to run, but it’s harder to find a good time as it gets hotter.  I’ve been saving my podcasts for run-time listening.  Thanks for keeping me company Fountains of Carrots and This American Life (and the last couple weeks, Little House Mothering)!  It’s like running with smart, interesting friends who don’t expect me to answer when I’m out of breath.

7 – Write at least 50 blog posts

If I’m counting correctly, this post makes #28, so gosh, I’m right on schedule!  A baby really does make the best content fodder.

Visit Kelly for more Quick Takes – her summer bucket list is positively ambitious compared to mine!

2014 in Photos

Well, it’s been a heck of a year, that 2014.  Overall, pretty great (except for the 6 weeks this summer that were a complete blur of exhaustion and nausea, but well, it’s even hard to complain about that).  It was hard to narrow the year down to one photo a month, but here’s my best attempt.  I’ll spare you the belly shot slideshow (I know, disappointing, but it’ll make it’s way up someday).

January

Back when winter was still pretty.

February

Snow day?
If you insist, but we’re really getting tired of this winter thing.

March

NYC!
Johnny was ready to move there; I’m just glad it’s close enough for a weekend trip.

April

Happy 25 to me!
Next year, skip the cake.

May

We spent our first anniversary in Boston.
Photo credit: stranger in the restaurant who was baffled by my camera
Awkward hand placement: all me.

June

Oh, hey there!

July

I came through on the other side of morning sickness in time to make it to vacation weekends in Montreal and Maine.

August

Back to Minnesota to photograph a wedding!

September

Hey, baby! This picture is getting old; we’re anxious to see you again!

October

Cheating with two here:

All the roadtrips.

I fulfilled a lifelong need to learn how to swim, and actually enjoyed it!

November

Happy Thanksgiving!

December

Guess whose stocking was fullest. Yep, the nameless one. Thanks for your excitement, family members!

So, that’s the quick year in review.  2015 will, I predict, be the year of baby photos and other “little” changes.

Check out other people’s photos at House Unseen!

7 Quick Takes: Maternity clothes and getting things done

[1]

Women of the internet: I need your opinions.  I feel like my maternity wardrobe is kind of hit-or-miss, and I have a feeling that just adding a belt is not the solution to every problem.  This description of different pregnancy body types and how to dress them is really useful – I just know it! – but I can’t figure out what my type is to begin with.  I don’t think I’ll ever qualify as “small all over,” but apparently I still look the same from behind, and high vs. low is a total unknown.  Johnny defaults to “You’ve never looked prettier,” which is nice but not always the kind of evaluation I’m looking for.  I swear I’m not fishing for compliments, so help me out – big all over, small over, carrying high, or carrying low?

[2]

I would just like to take a minute and say that the title of the new Star Wars movie makes me even less excited to see it than I already was.  It just sounds…boring.  Like I’m going to have to watch aging actors yawn for two hours.

[3]

This past week, my to-do list started exceeding the brain space I have available right now.  To be fair, I can only keep track of about 1 thing at a time (as long as it involves food), but it was time to outsource.

30 items later, I’ve managed to simultaneously feel like I have a handle on things, and that I’ve got a ton to do in the next little while.  Luckily, there are little things (“put laundry in dryer”) mixed in with more daunting tasks (“finish quilt” and “assemble crib”).  And better still, I shared the list with Johnny, so that he can join me in killing every Saturday for the foreseeable future.

[4]

Having made my list, I’m enjoying the satisfaction of checking things off regularly.  I just wrapped up a very big photography project and did some minor website updates (thank you, WordPress, for being so user-friendly!).  Finally, yesterday, my computer was free to get a much-needed memory upgrade.  My various projects would’ve gone better if I had done it before or during, but I didn’t want to risk a catastrophe, so I waited.  My only memory of swapping out RAM involves my dad doing it years and years ago, and as I recall, that’s the weekend I learned lots of fun new vocabulary, and the computer came out pretty much lobotomized.  Things have come a long way since then: I didn’t even have time to take a photo for posterity.  It literally took me less than 15 minutes to accomplish, start to finish, including the time it took me to get my pregnant self on the floor to disconnect all the cables.  And now my computer is so improved that I can listen to Pandora while blogging, which is a big perk.

[5]

I can’t believe how long I put off getting an Instagram account.  It’s fast becoming one of my favorite social media outlets (out of the…two I use).  It’s just so easy to post quick things on the go.  Twitter has no appeal for me, but Instagram…Instagram I can do, and have been doing, so check it out.

 

[6]

My swimming lessons deserve an entire post of their own – preferably one guest-written by Johnny (despite the fact that I think he may have snuck a few photos from the bleachers).  For now, I’ll just say that I have not drowned, I’m being taught by a teenager whose great goal in life is to someday get contact lenses (those were the days), and I have learned to propel myself through the water to a small degree.  Also, I’m really enjoying it.  It’s pretty much the highlight of my Monday/Wednesdays, and I was happy to realize that there’s a pool in the gym at work.  Future children: your mother isn’t totally lame!

You may think this looks dorky, but it was taken before I figured out that a nose clip also really helps.

A final observation: the combined age of the four staff members there (2 lifeguards, 2 teachers) is almost certainly less than the age of the other woman in the class with me.

[7]

Finally, we’re at 26 weeks now, or to put it more dramatically:

These days, baby’s favorite pastime is kicking the ipad off my stomach when I’m lying down.  Meanwhile, I’ve moved into “eat all the time” mode.  This morning, I shocked Johnny by telling him that I can eat a full turkey sandwich and apple for breakfast around 9, and be hungry again by 11:30.  And I don’t want to say I’m nesting, but I did stay up until after midnight last night cleaning the kitchen and bathroom.  After I finally went to bed, Johnny was brushing his teeth, and I realized urgently that I *needed* him to change the hand towel in the bathroom before he came to bed.  Whatever this mad urge is, I’ll take it.

To Boston: The New England Tour Continues

We continued our tour of New England attractions last weekend when we were able to (finally) visit Boston at length.  Given that we’ve lived in this very small state for almost a year, it’s a little ridiculous that we hadn’t been able to make the trip before now.  Our first effort was thwarted by a rainstorm of ark-requiring magnitude and our second trip involved a quick dinner in the dark and rain, so I don’t count that.  This time, we had a leisurely three-day trip that happened to include our anniversary.

We were staying near the Prudential Center, so we started off our trip with a stroll through the shops there.  There was a Trader Joe’s around the corner, which was the highlight for me; Johnny’s starting to realize that he could get me to move anywhere if there was a TJ’s within a reasonable distance.

For dinner the first night, we walked through a quiet and pretty neighborhood to Giacomo’s, a well-reviewed, cash-only restaurant.  We started with the artfully-arranged caprese salad below, and then had to narrow down our entree selections from a very large selection of meatless options.  Johnny got lobster ravioli and I had tuna and swordfish over squid-ink pasta.  They were both fantastic, but I wouldn’t have minded just getting a double order of the ravioli…

We were also within walking distance of the First Church of Christ, Scientist, so we took a long walk through that area.  It’s a really beautiful building covered with interesting architectural details. Unfortunately, it’s also neighbored by a truly hideous brutalist building (on the right in the photo below).

We agreed that the comma is really what makes this hilarious.  It’s just begging to read with a long, gravity-laden pause: “This is Christ….scientist.”  And it involves one of these guys:

Anyway, moving on.  But actually, not moving too far, because we saw this the next day.

Unfortunately, my google searches for “Jesus shoe salesman” came up with nothing, so I’ll stick with this:

“Peter, you must get something with better arch support.”

We took in some excellent urban scenery…

…And Johnny got to play a little basketball.

The neighborhood near our hotel is home to several conservatories and universities, and the housing around there is lovely.  We walked several miles through some really peaceful streets, and even I had to admit that this was city living that I could handle.  We even managed to wander into a church with Perpetual Adoration.

Nothing completes an old distinguished apartment building like Comic Sans.

On Sunday, we got brunch at a cafe/bookstore, and then made our way to Mass at the Cathedral.  Johnny ran into an old friend in the entryway, and the proprietor of the cathedral bookstore insisted on pulling Pope Francis out into the open so we could get a better photo.

One whole year down – happy anniversary, dear!

Still smiling on the way home, before he needed three doses of benadryl.

 

7 Quick Takes – 5Ks, Boozy Cookies, and Book Reviews

 

Alright, back again with no good excuse except for being busy and not taking time to type things up. Ye old Instagram feed has been busy, though, so anyone who wants to know what we’ve been up to can follow along there.

[1]

I mentioned a while back that my first 5K was coming up. Well, that morning dawned cold and rainy, but we got up anyway, bundled up (as much as one can before running), and headed out.

My main, pathetic, goal was to finish in less than double Johnny’s time, and hey, I did that handily. He assured me (truthfully or kindly) that the weather probably kept most of the “wimps” home, so the overall field of runners was better. This made me feel a little better about finishing noooot quiiiiiite last in my age category (which only had 14 people in it!). The run looped around the fairgrounds, which included lots of unexpected mud and running through animal exhibit barns. Very classy. It was sponsored by a local liquor store, so everyone got a beer at the end. Luckily, I knew myself well enough not to drink more than an inch or so. Exertion plus and empty stomach were not the ideal environment for downing a tall cold one.

 Anyway, I’d do it again, but probably not until I’ve actually trained adequately (that is, can actually run the whole distance without stopping).

[2]

The running of the grand race was, of course, in honor of my birthday. Johnny insisted that I open his gift early, and when I did I was greeted by this message, so typically sentimental:

Such a romantic. But inside were two cookbooks from my wishlist, which was great. The first was The Chinese Takeout Cookbook, which is a must-have for anyone who enjoys chinese food. The other was this baby:

We love this book so much that we’re on a first name basis with it. The first week of ownership was full of “Marcella says…” and “What would Marcella say?” (The answer, by the way, is that Marcella would say never to use any herbs other than fresh, unless all European vegetation has been rendered inedible by a nuclear explosion.)  It’s a delightful book – Marcella earned a doctorate in Biology before she started cooking, and the writing is intelligent and delightfully pretentious. Last week we celebrated “Fresh Pasta Friday,” which may have to become a tradition, if for no other reason than that it’s so photogenic.

[3]

While we’re on the subject of cooking, I’d like to point out an article that was making the rounds this week, about the science of the best chocolate chip cookie recipe. It’s very long, and pretty interesting, but I’ll save you some potential effort and tell you…meh. We tried them last night, and were not overly impressed. They were okay and all, but for our money, the winning recipe is still the Cook’s Illustrated browned butter version.  Or, for something different…

[4]

Brown butter bourbon cookies.  I made these last weekend to give to a priest friend we visited (it was Kentucky Derby day, after all), and it was very hard to get Johnny to let go of the bag at the end of the day.  Okay, I had some separation anxiety too.  Luckily, I have a Costco-sized bag of pecans, and roughly a gallon of Jim Beam at home (long story).  My only note is that they don’t spread at all, so either make them small or flatten them slightly.

[5]

Spring came! We’re still waiting on our first 80 degree day, but the trees have started blossoming. Allergies be damned, I went out and took some pictures, just to remind myself that hey, I’m pretty good at this whole photo thing.

At long last, it’s good to see some color.

[6]

Here’s my view as of right now.  Cookbooks all over, iPad, laundry folded but not put away.  My copy of Something Other Than God is there because I finished it on Tuesday but can’t bring myself to shelve it yet.  I’ll get to that later, though, because first I want to address something that kept me awake last night.  On the TV in background is Nazi Mega Weapons on PBS.  It involved several reenacted scenes of strategy meetings, which got me thinking about the aspiring actor whose agent called him and said, “Hey, I’ve got a great part for you in a miniseries!…Yeah, PBS…Well….they’re wondering if you can grow a mustache.”  Is there a group of five or six guys who just keep running into each other at the same auditions?  Do their mothers know what they do for a living?  Anyway, such are the things that keep me awake at night.

[7]

And finally, about that book on the coffee table.  I pre-ordered Jennifer’s book a few weeks ago, and started reading it on Monday.  I should’ve just stayed up all night to finish it, because I spent all day Tuesday wishing I was at home reading it.  It is, of course, very well-written, and compelling stuff.  It combines memoir with a dash of legal drama and medical drama; I can’t remember the last time I read a book in so few sittings.

For more Quick Takes, visit the authoress herself at Conversion Diary!

 

My Fill of Philly

As I mentioned a few weeks ago, I’m at a professional conference in Philadelphia for a few days. I got in earlier than necessary yesterday, so I was able to walk around and do a little sightseeing. I’m blogging from my phone/iPad, so apologies for any weird formatting.

The flight was on a little turboprop, which is not my favorite way to fly. As predicted, it was loud and bumpy, but everyone survived (just barely, in the case of the poor woman in front of me).

Boarding on the tarmac. Just like Air Force One.

My hotel room is pretty excellent – my first four poster bed! Before I was married, I would’ve sprawled all over. Now, I couldn’t help but contain myself to a plot the size of half a queen size.

That said, it’s an insanely comfortable bed that I became pretty familiar with after being struck by a bizarre 12-hour bug.

Before my temporary infirmity, though, I walked past Independence Hall and through Redding Terminal Market, which was quite fun.

Chocolate lungs, kidneys, noses, and hearts

It was a tough place to be on a day of fasting.

Lesson learned: I could definitely not take my current shoes on the streets of Rome. I was wearing a pretty sensible pair and still had several near misses for my poor ankles.

And finally, a view near my hotel:

7 Quick Takes: A Slice of Life

— 1 —

Last night as Johnny and I got home from dinner, we were talking about our respective commutes (I win in the “Longer and More Complicated” category; feel free to ship a trophy).  He must have referenced “my law firm,” because as we were walking up the outside steps to our apartment, our neighbors – who were sitting on their porch smoking [hopefully tobacco] – said, “Hey, are you a lawyer?”  I don’t think we’ve formally met these neighbors yet, but there was no point in pretending that we hadn’t heard.  Johnny acknowledged that he was, in fact, a lawyer (or most of a lawyer, in any case).  “Oh…so do you do, like, criminal stuff?”  Well.  I’m kind of curious about what crimes have been committed, but the conversation pretty much stopped there since Johnny does not do “criminal stuff” and just referred them to his firm.

— 2 —

I’m almost done editing photos from the wedding I shot last month.  Hopefully the long weekend will give me the last big block of editing time I need, and then I can have them out in the mail to the lovely couple.  “Unfortunately,” my editing computer will be tied up tomorrow afternoon while it serves as our TV to watch…

— 3 —

Notre Dame football!  I have to admit that the off-season was a necessary recovery period after the beyond-heartbreaking Championship game, but I’m ready to get back to my fall Saturday rituals.

— 4 —

To go back to the subject of wedding photos: ours arrived the day before our cross-country move, so I haven’t had a lot of time to sit down and get acquainted with them.  I did manage to get a Facebook album put together last weekend, but I haven’t ordered any prints yet.  That won’t stop me from shamelessly padding my post with photos.

— 5 —

For as I’ve known him, Johnny has pretty much lived off of pasta (he would literally eat it for every meal if he could).  Given that he’s genetically disposed to celiac disease, all of our friends and family (and I, most of all) have made a running joke about him being a ticking timebomb of gluten-intolerance.

Irony of ironies, last week it was me who was suddenly laid low by the very suggestion of gluten.  Yesterday I ate five animal crackers before I realized what I was doing, and that was a mistake that haunted me.  I’m hoping it’s just a temporary fluke, but in the meantime, our usual meal planning has been turned on its head.  My last grocery trip involved a lot “his and hers” groceries: flour tortillas for him, corn for me (blech); regular pasta for him, gluten-free (pictured above) for me.  Johnny was immensely skeptical of my gluten-free pasta, but once it was cooked, even he agreed that it was virtually indistinguishable from regular.  It’s nice to know there’s an acceptable option if he ever needs it, but at $3 for 12 oz, we’d have to re-work our budget on a long-term basis.

— 6 —

Johnny has been spending every evening blogging, and then I spend every morning before work editing his posts.  Last week, in honor of the wildfire burning at Yosemite, he posted a hilarious retelling of our fateful visit last summer.  One part that he didn’t mention: there was one point when we weren’t in danger of falling off a mountain, and decided to stop and walk through a meadow.  Unfortunately, Johnny brought our excursion to a quick end when he squinted into the distance and said, “Hey, is that a mountain lion?”

Still inconclusive.

What, you can’t see it?  It’s that little blip in the very middle of the photo (maybe click to enlarge?  Or maybe we were just delusional by that point).  He tried to get me to follow him, saying, “Come on – let’s check it out!  It’s probably just a tree.”  My response was a very reasonable and definitely not-shrieking, “For the love of God, are you crazy?!  Think about how that story would look in the newspaper!”  So this photo is about as close to nature as we got that day.

Never ever going back.

— 7 —

What’s that?  More wedding photos, you demand?  Never let it be said I left you wanting more…

For more Quick Takes, visit Jennifer at Conversion Diary

7 Quick Takes after a looooong hiatus

— 1 —

So, what brings me back to the ol’ blog after many moons away?  Getting married couldn’t do it, apparently, but this recipe can.  I picked up Feast on a recent library trip, and among the many recipes I bookmarked were these Baci di Ricotta (Kisses of Ricotta).  I usually shy away from deep frying anything at home, but I figured that if not on the Fourth of July, when?  Total time from pulling the bowl out to turning off the stove was about 15 minutes; it really couldn’t have been easier.  And the results – oh the results.  They were every bit as good as you’d think.  We’ll definitely be making these again.

 

— 2 —

Thanks to having to work today, I’m halfway through the hot-off-the-presses encyclical.  My Facebook feed has been full of quotes posted by other people, so I’m looking forward to getting to the second half.  I’ve underlined large portions, but here’s one thing that I particularly liked:

Faith by it’s very nature demands renouncing the immediate possession which sight would appear to offer; it is an invitation to turn to the source of the light, while respecting the mystery of a countenance which will unveil itself personally in it’s own good time. (13)

— 3 —

After getting my first order from Twice, I’m totally sold.  It’s like someone was paid to curate a collection of clothes from my favorite stores, and then marked them down 80%.  I got this skirt, and after the “$10 off first order” offer (click above to get it) plus a 20% off code that I found via google, I paid considerably less than the price on the page (including shipping).  I may never buy new clothes again.

— 4 —

On a whim, I drove downtown tonight to catch some fireworks.  After many years of trying, I finally figured out how to take decent firework photos.  Unfortunately, I didn’t end up with a great view (hence the tree in the foreground), and the show itself ended up being kind of lame.  That photo above is what they passed off as the grand finale.  Color me unimpressed.

— 5 —

Our local grocery store has been undergoing renovations for the last several months, which is probably long overdue but meant that for a long time, I literally had to go down every aisle to find what I need.  One of the big changes is the addition of bulk bins (probably in response to our new Whole Foods and its Wall of Lentils).  Chocolate covered banana chips?  Yes please.  Ginger candy for $5 a pound?  I’m there.  Of course, this is just in time for us to move across the country, but you better believe I’m stocking up before we leave.

— 6 —

Tomorrow we’re celebrating the Fourth (transferred) by hosting friends from out-of-town.  I’m looking forward to grilling, finally wearing a swimsuit I’ve owned for a full year and never worn, and relaxing a little bit.  Also, I might make another batch of ricotta mini doughnuts.  America.

— 7 —

Gratuitous wedding photo for filler!

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

Marching for Life 2013 (part 3)

By the time the March finished, we were ridiculously cold and hungry, so we sought out a place to meet all of our needs.  We ended up at this delightful pub in Chinatown that seemed very Hobbitish to me (no one else got that vibe, so maybe it’s just because I’m reading Lord of the Rings right now).

Open fire was a must-have.

Really, no one else thinks this looks like the Prancing Pony?

If he had been in the corner, I’d still be there, man.

After we thawed out with soup and Guinness (for some, not me), we headed a couple blocks over to Old St. Mary’s for a Pontifical Mass sponsored by Juventutem Michigan.

These guys were just chilling in the narthex; I couldn’t resist getting a shot through the window.

You can see more pictures here, and an album of just mine here.

The rest of our evening was pretty uneventful, unless you count the guy who jumped on the Metro tracks to retrieve his (totally smashed) cell phone after he dropped it.  With less than two minutes until the next train’s arrival, I just about had a heart attack.

The next morning, some of our contingent woke up bright and early to go to our Diocesan Mass at another nearby parish.  I had spent the night completely unable to get comfortable on the convent floor, and didn’t realize until morning that I had accidentally been laying on one of those plastic desk chair-rolling mats.  Thus, it wasn’t too difficult for me to linger in “bed.”

Compared to the last time I attended this Mass (three years ago), attendance was way up.  There were groups from pretty much every Catholic college and high school in the diocese, and a couple of the servers were former residents who are now Dominicans in D.C.

The small photo doesn’t do it justice. Click to enlarge.

Hey to you too!

Based on the photos I came home with, I pretty much put away my camera after that, although I’d swear that someone took a photo of me with Kermit at the Smithsonian.  Suffice it to say, we brunched here (salmon & cream cheese omelet – awesome!), walked it off by going to the Smithsonian, and then headed back to our host parish to pack up.  The return trip went off without a hitch, except for the 10 or so students that we were unable to locate by departure time.  We’re assuming that all of them either left the night before, or had cancelled at the last minute.  In any case, I didn’t get any frantic calls on my emergency phone, so I think we did the right thing by leaving.

A mere 12 bus-hours later, and we were home!  And since what I wore Sunday involved various pieces that I had been wearing for the previous four days, I didn’t want to inflict a photo on anyone.

And that, in a nutshell, was my experience of the March for Life.  Go Irish!  Save babies!