I must apologize for another blog lapse. Last Monday I lost someone that I loved dearly, my grandfather. He was not just a loveable friend, but a witty writer, an artist, minor league baseball player, soldier, and so much more.

After the flag folding, ear piercing rifle shots, and unending tears there seems to be little left. My mom said it best (relatively). We are so broken.

For some moments in life there are no words. So I'll leave this short and sweet. I miss you Grandpa, and I'll always love you.

I know. I know. Two posts in one day. This is unreal. LOL. But I can't tell you about the wedding without giving a peak at the minimoon. It just wouldn't seem fair.

Inspired by Jim & Pam's wedding on the Office, Joe & I decided we needed to make our Sunday/Monday after the wedding something memorable and different. Seeing as our creativity was lacking, we stole Niagara Falls from Jim & Pam. We were so enticed by the prospect of staying in a different country (the Canadian side of the falls) that we forgot entirely about some of the details. Like currency exchange, the fact that my GPS doesn't have maps for Canada, that the falls might soak all our clothing, and that we might need more than $80 in cash.

Despite all of our rookie mistakes, our road trip was a blast. We got lost in Pennsylvania, but as a result, we drove through a gorgeous state park. If I had a digital SLR in my possession, I would have been in my glory! We saw a different country. We had the most gorgeous view of the falls. We dined in an authentic Brazilian restaurant, Braza (<3) and drank a bottle of nice Canadian wine. We journeyed behind the falls and got soaked, went through a tourist trap movie (how could a "Niagara's fury experience" go wrong? lol!)and got soaked, took the Maid of the Mist underneath the falls and got soaked, and gave ourselves a cold. It was wonderful.

I've never felt so in love. so at peace. and so happy. I think couples need multiple honeymoons. At least once a year! Here are some of the pics from our amazing road trip!

We're married now, so I figured I could post kissy picks and not be embarrassed. Apparently I haven't changed that much. I'm still blushing, but it's cute, and it makes me smile.

Sorry I've been MIA for the past couple weeks. I've had a good reason. I GOT MARRIED! (WOOT!) On the rainiest day in October, I became Mrs. Malanowski (which is not any easier to write from the former Miss Drapalski!) Even the pouring rain couldn't damper our spirits. This ephemeral event, felt so much shorter. The day flew by. I was so happy I felt like I was I felt like I was walking on clouds all day. ::sigh:: I'm married. I'M MARRIED. I'm married to the love of my life. my best friend. the supplier of all my smiles. Joe.

Enjoy the pics. I can't wait to see what the photographer got. Poor thing had to battle the wind, rain, and our crazyness!

So when facebook suggested this site on the sidebar which is usually cluttered with crap, I was skeptical to say the least. But the ad had the cutest outfit on it. I am very into vintage silhouettes. So I caved and clicked. And, oh boy, they made a ModCloth junkie out of me.

So my personal favorite today is this "Glad to sea you" dress. I think it would be a lovely birthday dress with my navy trenchcoat. What do you think?


It's out of stock right now, but I'm thinking of saving up some money to buy it!

So, I must confess my greatest shortcoming - I cannot cook. I even sometimes mess-up those things that go straight from the freezer to the oven. I don't know how I do it. I only know that I cannot cook.

In an effort to actively change this situation, I decided that I would cook soup...... from scratch. Now to anyone else, this would be a simple activity, with little risk involved, but for the anti-chef, this was a big deal. So Joe cut up the veggies and chicken, and I sauteed and cooked rice, and loaded it all into a large slow cooker. The result.....

A DELICIOUS & EDIBLE MEAL! I even made biscuits to go with it!!! (I'm eating another helping for lunch today) And for desert? Divine strawberry smoothies made by yours truly!! They tasted as good as the Strawberry Extreme from Cool Beans in Salisbury.

So maybe I'm not hopeless.....

I mean, this girl just sat down and was like, I'm going to stitch an awesome shirt/sweater. Really? How talented is she? AmAzInG!!!! I want a colorful patterned shirt, some jeans, and this top. ::sigh::

Ok, so in my infinite wannabe crafty life, I decided that I would make a pillow that I saw in a blog post. It looked amazing on the blog post. Let me just tell you! I cut out all the pieces. 60 circles that turn into rosettes. I'll let you know how it turns out. Here are the pieces so far!

In the library I work in, there are 3 floors: the basement, the first and the second floor. Well, once you get to the second floor, there is an additional five more steps leading to a mystery door. The door to the roof. A door that until Friday has remained closed. I must have passed by the door 20 times and gazed outside. You would have thought it was the wardrobe from the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe or the Room of Requirement from Harry Potter.
The view from the top. What I love about the roof is the all-encompassing quiet. There's something so peaceful about being away from the hustle and bustle (and away from the bright computer monitors)

Hope you can all find a little excitement & peace in your days! : )

Today was one of those great days. Ok, so any day that Joe & I don't have to work is fantastic, but I digress. We had a great picnic at my parents' house: pork roast, veggies, and more cookies than even I could eat. Delish!

Other than pinball scores, I actually found some pretty awesome stuff online today. One crafty thing I want to make, and one green thing that I want to buy.

I am notorious for losing clips and hair ties everywhere I go. I was looking on this Cool Mom Picks blog and came across this awesome idea for a "clippie holder." Love it.

Lastly, I really like the idea for these go green bags that fold up into a ball. Check them out here & you can try to win them at Cool Mom's Picks blog. Good luck!

Boredom brings out lazyness in some people. For others it brings out obssessive compulsive behaviors. For me, boredom gives me pinball super powers.


What's your highest score?

Inspirations seem so necessary on a Wednesday. Wednesday are haunted with feelings of boredom, exhaustion, and relative discontent that it is not yet Friday.

Today is no ordinary Wednesday though. Today is the first Wednesday of fall weather! I love it. I stumbled upon this photo from Alana Davis Photography. It just summed up my childish excitement about fall. Pumpkins, changing leaves and leave piles to jump in, and fresh apples. I can't wait to venture out with my camera when the colors start changing!


I've also been listening to the 500 Days of Summer soundtrack all afternoon, and it is so relaxing. I found out that you can listen to the tracks on lala for free. So, check them out or if you don't have time for the whole album, youtube has the preview. My favorite (for some unknown reason) is "Quelqunn ma dit" by Carla Bruni. I won't lie to you, I have no idea what that translates to, but theres just something about the song that I love. What's your favorite?

Yesterday was my bridal shower. To give you some perspective on this, I insisted I did not want a bridal shower. I kicked, I screamed like a little toddler. It didn't work. lol.

So yesterday was the day. I was pacing around the house, I probably walked a couple of miles around that townhouse, and I was talking way too fast and high pitched to be understood.

Kelly, her mother, and Aimee arrived at my house to get me looking prettiful. I'd never really had my makeup done before, but Aimee did a great job. Kelly curled my hair to perfection, and I was left looking like a supermodel. Well, I felt like a supermodel. lol.

I picked my mama up (she looked adorable). And headed to Teavolve to the party. Despite my fear and anxiety, I had a really fun time. I got such sweet presents. I was amazed to realize how many people care about me and wish me well in my marriage to Joe. It was touching! (I got all teary eyed).

So all in all it was actually pretty awesome & I stayed up late last night to work on the thank yous!

(Photos to come)

So, I was blogstalking and a came across this blog entry from a photographer on etsy that I love. It features photos taken off the supersampler lomography camera. Ok, so I've been wanting a lomography camera for a while. A holga. A diana. Really, I'm not that picky. Now I've added a another to my wish list, the SuperSampler. Oh baby.

So I found a yellow version on ebay. Now I just gotta hope I win it!!! Then I can take some fun photos! Next stop, my holga starter set.

::sigh::

This weekend is Joe's Bachelor Party. He's in Atlantic City partying with some of his friends, so I decided that instead of sitting in the house feeling sorry for myself, that I would go out with Kelly last night into today.

Last night I finally saw Harry Potter. It was really good. (Okay, so I'm biased)

This morning, we wanted to play with our cameras, and go take some photography so we headed over to Dupont Circle. Unfortunately, with the combination of the rain and me not feeling well for the first half of the day, we didn't get many pictures. We still had a blast anyways. I also picked up this really cute teapot/matching napkins on clearance at TableTop. Ok so I really didn't need another teapot, but I couldn't resist it.

I finally arrived home at about 10:30 PM to an empty house. It's so weird. Ok, so I'm kinda freaked out. I'm a scaredy cat, I admit it. So scared, that I can't seem to fall asleep, and instead I'm blogging (in a blog that only 2 people visit) at 1:37 in the morning. Getting up for church tomorrow will be fun!!!

So as for the photos, I'll leave you with my two favorites, I think! Comments?

Today I am a barrel of emotions. I am sad, I am mopey, I am weak/sick, and I am grateful.

I am upset because the state of my grandfather whose been in and out of the hospital. It's hard to think of such a strong and funny man unable to take care of himself. I'm praying for him.

As for mopey, I just realized that all of my close college friends are/have moved away. I'm going to be all alone soon!! Japan, Italy, Texas, Mississippi, Marines, Philly : I am so jealous of you!!! I better make some friends soon, otherwise I will be very lonely!

I am feeling sick. My stomach has hurt for days, and before that, I had headaches.l It's putting a another damper on my mood. I think it's stress-related

Lastly I am grateful. I went to my parents yesterday, saying how stressed I was about the rehearsal dinner/wedding after party. I feel like I have to do it all myself and that I have to fix everyone's problems. My dad called me and told me to just let him take it off my shoulders. That he would plan both parties, and not to worry. That everything would be ok. I was really touched that they really thought of how they could help me and the just did it. It's kind of daunting to plan this all alone. That's why I'm glad they are helping. Maybe I can breathe a sigh of relief. Maybe.

I finally got home from work. Traffic was horrible. Now Joe is making dinner while I sit grumpily watching the thunder outside.

This Sunday, I got to go to an O's game (vs. the Angels). Budweiser gave my dad tickets and passes to the pregame party in the Budweiser warehouse bar. We had a blast. We drank some beer, ate crabcakes, chocolate covered strawberries, and hotdogs, and then managed to steal some peanuts and soda for the game. Working in a liquor store definitely has it's perks.

So today, I got our engagement photos back, and there's a couple that I absolutely love. The first was taken by our wedding photographer, and the latter two were were taken by a good friend & talented photographer Kelly Shuggars from Obscure Details.

This weekend Joe & I went on an engagement retreat. If you want to be married in the Catholic Church, you have to complete a bunch of these type of things. We meet with the priest about every other week, attend Natural Family Planning classes, and lastly, we had to attend this retreat. At first I was annoyed. Why do I have to spend an entire weekend there. I'm planning a wedding. I need that time! I HAVE A LIFE! I fumed all week and this obvious insensitivity for me time.

I must say the weekend made me eat my words. One we were at this monastary/spiritual center, I decided to embrace the spirit of the weekend. to harness this openness and this uninterrupted time to grow as a couple. Joe was put on the second floor, with the boys, and I was placed on the 3rd, with all of the girls. We were barraged with questions, some we had talked about, some that we had. Some were emotional, and some were not. We had to write each other love letters.....

We got up extra early to enjoy peaceful walks during the sunrise. It was a great weekend. I might post some of the entries that I wrote when we headed our seperate ways at night, if I can get motivated.

Hello all,

It is currently 11:25 and way past my bed time, but I have mountains of laundry to do. So to occupy my mind, I will post a couple of edited photos. Let me know what you think!

This weekend was meant for errands. Sending wedding invitations, getting flowers, doing laundry, weeding the garden, etc. I will not lie to you, none of that got done. But I did have a blast.

Saturday Joe & I joined our friend Christina in Dupont Circle. We chatted, shopped and got excellent food: Thai at DC Noodles, Cupcakes at Cake Love, and dinner and drinks at Scion. I think the highlight of our experience was the cupcakes. We talked to the owner/baker, and he recommended the best of the cupcakes: Peanut Butter. I suggest that to everyone....best cupcake I've ever had. Before dinner at Scion, which was also delicious, we went to a second hand book store called Second Story Books. I loved it. It had so many books I've never seen before. I couldn't leave without buying 2 dorky math books. (I whole-heartedly embrace my geeky side). I can't wait to dive into them.

As for today, Sunday, it started out bad, but progressed into a great day. We woke up and left Tina's at 6ish, and emarked on a mission to get our engagement shots done with Sarah & Kelly. Problem one came quickly, we couldn't get a train to take us back to our car in Shady Grove (which had Joe's clothes). They were all going to Medical Center. So finally after waiting a ridiculous amount of time, we decided we couldn't wait any longer, we had to go to Georgetown. Though it was only 5 stops away, it took over an hour.

As soon as we slowly ascended the escalator, the clouds opened up and released the rain. We were soaked to the core. I had my make-up done in Starbucks and then we changed our outfit (or what we could) and snapped some pictures around Georgetown's canal. After lunch, the stores finally opened and wwe were able to buy Joe a nice shirt for the photos. By then, we were sweating our butts off. I can only hope that we don't look like we just ran a marathon iin the photos. For now, I just can't wait to see the vision that Kelly & Sarah had.

I guess I'll just wait and see. : ) I'll post them when I get them!

The blues are because you're getting fat and maybe it's been raining too long, you're just sad that's all. The mean reds are horrible. Suddenly you're afraid and you don't know what you're afraid of. Do you ever get that feeling? Well, when I get it the only thing that does any good is to jump in a cab and go to Tiffany's. Calms me down right away. The quietness and the proud look of it; nothing very bad could happen to you there. If I could find a real-life place that'd make me feel like Tiffany's, then - then I'd buy some furniture and give the cat a name!
-Holly Golightly (Breakfast at Tiffany's)

Today, I have a case of the mean reds. I'm scared, angry, dissapointed, and brimming with emotion. I found myself crying all the way home from Virginia today because I finally realized that life is not fair. Some have it all, and some have nothing at all. For some, life is easy, and for others it is a constant struggle.

And for me.... it is a constant struggle.

So here I am in scenic upstate New York, Little Falls to be exact, and I have been wanting an ice cream cone/bar since day one. One after one, every ice cream stand/store has been "closed for vacation". Well, minutes ago, I heard the familiar chimes of a ice cream truck, with child-like speed, I grabbed my wallet, hopped down the stairs, and patiently waited for the ice cream truck that was stopped down the street.

Today I had a meeting the U.S. Department of State eDiplomacy team. It was good to talk to them today, as they are experts in knowledge management and some of the few surviving social media pioneers in government! (Go eDiplomacy!). They showed us their main community (a system of blogs. They call it communities because the idea of a blog is overwhelming to government personnel. lol. And I thought it was just NIST) and wiki.

I think that overall, their sucess was pretty inspirational. Change in government and culture is so hard to acheive. It was some much needed affirmation to our team. I also find, though, that I'm not really comfortable with the whole wiki ideas. Yes, I know I'm the new "webmaster" of the ISD twiki, but I'm not a firm believer in the application. But maybe I'm biased. I was hoping for a facebook like application.

Either way, I'm open to the idea. Just as I am finally opening up to twitter. (@AmandaDrapalski) I'm trying out the software to see if there is any benefit. I've watched some other people make really great connections via twitter, and I'm open to it's possiblilities. Wish me luck!

"Life happens." That seems to be a phrase I'm saying alot these days. Why did I need stitches on my knee? Life happened. Why am I sitting at home blogging on a Thursday morning? Life happened. I'm not quite sure how I have time to get anything done with all this life happening, but here I am anyways.

Hi there.

So today I'm working from home. Which is great, don't get me wrong. But I'm tired of sitting in my house unable to get things done. So I surfed the internet, and stumbled across Rag & Bone again (this great handmade book binding business that I'm in love with). While catching up on their blog, I saw that they had made these great Kusudama paper flowers. I'm considering making a bouquet of them for fun. How gorgeous would that be? I feel so inspired!

I hope I have time this weekend to try this out!

I've come to find out that I'm a pretty superficial person. It takes very little to make me happy. (Take your pick!)

1. shopping
2. chocolate
3. crazy adventures

After this hellish week of Joe's surgery & my own sickness, I was in need of some cheering up. Annapolis Mall pulled through. I walked in a complete sour puss, and walked out smiling and skipping in the rain with a new Calvin Klein cocktail dress & short haircut. lol.

So maybe I'm shallow, but every girl deserves alittle bit of selfishness & self confidence!

You know what I love about sick days? Crappy TV/movies. I've already watched Collateral Damage (with the Governator), Law & Order: Criminal Intent, and fallen asleep. I had soup & a brownie sundae and my throat hurts like a son of a gun. Ok, so the brownie sundae wasn't to help my throat, but it was delicous and therefore worth it.

So here I am at the end of this boring day with nothing to do but continue watching Law & Order, which has now switced to Law & Order SVU. If only I could get up the strength to do somethig productive!!!

Now, more than ever, I'm really getting amped about photography. I spend my time looking at professional photos and wondering how to get those results. People primarily believe that the better the camera, the better the photos. But I can't afford a sweet digital SLR (at least not yet). So, whats a girl to do?

I found some other techniques that are less expensive than a $1000 camera.

• Lomography is the use of a relatively inexpensive camera. Some variations of the camera distort/enhance the color, while others take pictures like out of a "fish-eye".
  
• Through the Viewfinder (TTV) is the art of taking a picture through another camera's viewfinder. The contraptions are pretty crazy, but I might be able to pull it off if I can find a good old camera to use. It will probably look as ridiculous as this one.

Now I just have to try/buy some of them & take some pictures.

Today was day 2 of 3 of the Baldrige Quest for Excellence Conference. After attending some superficial and mediocre presentations, and having a delicious lunch, I decided to leave before the probably dreadful townhall session. You know what this afforded me?

Mandy time. Unadulterated time for myself.

Like I said. The life of luxury. Even though it was only a half an hour or so before I had to embark on an epic commute, it was blissful. I entered a great little photography shop and spent my time browsing the culture, color, and vibrance of the familiar and worlds I had never seen before.

I think a sigh is in order. A sweet, satisfying sigh.

Thank goodness it's Friday! As I was typing that, I thought about TGIF tv. Does anyone remember that? Boy Meets World. Corey. Topanga. Eric. Sean. Come on! TV so good you wanted to stay home and watch! (or maybe it was just me) Do they even do that anymore?

Anyways! (Sorry for the tangent) Today I'm telecommuting and my sheer lazyness is inhibiting me from turning any lights on. I'm going to justify it as going green! So, I'll just continue to sit here in the dark and type....

This week has been full of amazing adventures. Saturday I went to te Cherry Blossom Festival, then drove down to Salisbury for the Mae concert. They were aMAEzing (lol. I'm so lame.) They're songs were so heartfelt. And they, as people, were so nice. We stayed after to say hi. They were just throwing around a frisbee and having a good time. They are going to release their songs individually on I-tunes now, giving all proceeds to Habitat for Humanity. The world needs more people like them.

On Sunday, I spent the day with my wonderful mom making tons of pillows. She is so funny sometimes. It gave Dad & Joe a chance to watch Saving Private Ryan. (Ick) The pillows brightened up my sun room so much!

Monday (as if the weekend wasn't enough) I went to the O's opening day game versus the NY Yankees. I got to see my two favorite teams play ball, so really I couldn't lose. I tailgated with my family outside the Sports Legends Museum, went to Pickles Pub, got a hotdog and cotton candy, and watched a great (but slow) baseball game. You can't beat a night like that. (The O's won 10 -5)

Wednesday was Jess Morris's birthday, so we went to the National Zoo. I finally got to see a panda! The weather was beautiful & the animals all came out to greet us, or so it seemed. Plus it was great to see a friend who I rarely see. I do miss that crazy girl.

So today is Friday & I have a half day. I'm making some easter baskets after work!

So, basically, life is good. I can't wait to have many more adventures.

I've been all over MD & VA these past two weeks. Aside from my normal duty in Gaithersburg, I've attended two conferences in VA : Social Media for Government & Computers in Libraries. I've also been going all over the place with some combination of Joe, Will, and Kelly. So, it's been pretty good.

I've found that even though I spend most of my non-working time in the car, that I still really enjoy the freedom of being on the road. I like the aidea that I could just end up somewhere new and great! Get on 70 and hit St. Louis. Take 95 to Florida. Something so desperately out of the ordinary.

I am slightly bummed. The weekend after tax season, April 17-April 19, Joe & I were planning to go have fun with our long weekend. I had titled it Taxapalooza 2009. We were only going to explore some more of DC, but unfortunately his knee is in the crapper. We went to the hospital Monday, the PCP today, got an MRI & X-rays. April 16th he goes back to his orthopedic surgeon. Wish us luck. I'm praying that he doesn't need another surgery.

I have spent the better part of several weeks now trying on an assortment of bridal gowns with little to no success. I wish I was one of those flowery girls who knew exactly what they wanted, but sadly I am not. I must confess that when I envisioned my wedding, I never really thought about the dress, but instead about the pepole . Who was there, who would I dance with... etc. Never about the details.

Oh well. After about 15 dress shops, I have found the following irritating notes

1. Just say wedding & the price triples - People pay more for their dresses then Joe did for his car. (80% cost more than my ring)
2. Simplicity is dead - Apparently a wedding day is just an excuse to wear more tacky beading & sequins than should ever be acceptable.
3. Brides think they are royalty - Why else would they all wear tiaras?
4. Every bride should want the same thing - Strapless dresses. "Hunny, you need contacts." "You should diet." "I'll put you in a corset to control your waist. " "Have you heard of a gurdle?"

The barrage is exhausting. Tonight I am going to go back to David's Bridal & pick whatever dress is within my budget. The less I spend on the dress, the more I get to spend on exploring the world for our honeymoon.

I've been struck with the dilemma of planning a stellar celebration of sorts for the weekend for April 17th - April 19th, the end of tax season. We considered many options: cruises, mini-vacations, bus trips, and overnights, all of which were slightly out of budget.

So after feeling depressed for a couple minutes, I decided we should explore the "familiar", the oldies but goodies. So, now I'm looking for cool things to do in the Baltimore - Washington metropolitan area.

Ideas?

Some Baltimore ideas from Washington Post

As of Monday, Joe & I have been engaged for a year! A whole year! Now, it is time to commence the inevitable..... planning the wedding. Wish me luck.

On a side note, I read this great quote on a Starbucks cup the other day....

The irony of commitment is that it's deeply liberating - in work, in play, in love. The act frees you from the tyranny of your internal critic, from the fear that likes to dress itself up and parade around as rational hesitation. To commit is to remove your head as the barrier to your life. - Anne Morriss

I just realized that today is Square Root Day! As a math major, I feel compelled to complete some math nerdy thing....

What to do, what to do....

2 + 2 = 4

Ahh.... now I feel better. lol.

Valentines day was a unique blend of nausea & romance. I'd like to erase the fact that the morning was filled with sickness and instead, remember my valentines day as starting at 3:30 in the afternoon.

Joe, to my suprise, took me to St. Michael's Winery, for a lovely wine tasting/dinner experience (St. Michaels is the town we got engaged in). During our hors d'oevre and glass of Long Splice wine, a blend of chardonnay & seyval, we were asked to share our quiet table. We were quickly joined by The Peck family, an older gentleman, his wife, and daugther. Their gentle, sometimes awkward, conversation was truly a delight.

After our glass of wine, mini lobster potato cakes, and chatter with the Peck clan, we were ushered down to where they make the wine. They tried to disguised the large silos of wine by old sails, draped fabric, and low lighting. As I wandered in, the live pianist & singer started to softly play love songs, starting with a personal favorite, My Funny Valentine.

The meal was accompanied with 3 more glasses of wine for the both of us and delicious veal, salad & dessert.

It was a blissfully romantic evening & definitely falls into my need for spontaneous adventures.... or perhaps I haven't discussed that...


Joe & I at the winery