the look of love

^ that's the look ^

This past weekend Jake and I ventured south to see the American Craft Council show in Baltimore, Maryland. There were over 700 artists there and my mother was one of them. The drive was a little long, but totally worth it. It was nice to just spend time with each other, even if it was only sitting in the car not deciding which CD to put in--I always want Christina or some show and Jake always wants anything else (He did let me listen to one Christina album on the drive home, which was incredibly gracious of him, and we both enjoyed The Lion King on the way down...although we did mutually agree upon skipping "Chow Down").

But we had a great time. Jake is really big into packing lunches for road trips so we had a veritable smorgasbord for the eight hour ride. I made hummus the night before and bought some of our favorite chips to go with it, plus some Pirate Booty (little puffed corn things that barely count as food but cover your fingers with a delicious aged white cheddar powder reminiscent of Cheetos, but without all the preservatives and fats associated with them). Jake made us some sandwiches, and I bought some chocolate- and yogurt-covered pretzels to satisfy our sweet tooth. We also had pudding, almonds, raisins, granola bars, crackers, and string cheese. It was basically Jake's standard lunch, but deliciously mobile.

We ended up traveling through nine states. That's one thing about the Northeast--everything is so bunched up together that it is difficult to take a walk without crossing a state line. We drove through Vermont, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Pennsylvania, and Maryland. We got to stay at my great aunt and uncle's house in Potomac, Maryland, just outside of Washington. It was so nice to get to know them better, and so nice of them to let us stay there. My grandma (Mana) flew in and stayed with Barbara and Ralph too, and my sister drove up from Virginia, so it was a whole family affair. My aunt and uncle and family also drove down from Connecticut and we all went out to dinner after the show on Saturday. It was quite a lovely time.

Here is everyone in my mom's booth. Except April who is taking the picture.

I also bought my first piece of art. Look how happy I am.

Unfortunately, I had to send it home with my parents because we have no place for art in our current habitat. It is beautiful though, and I am excited to be reunited with it in a few months.

On a solid note, Jake and I only have to pay three more months' rent in the SoRoHo. On a bummer note, one of the classes I was planning to take this summer is not being offered anymore. I guess I'll never learn about Urban Planning Law. Sure I'm taking two other planning courses at the same time (did I mention I will have three finals in one day while Jake waits in the car with all of our things because our lease will have run out? I guess that's for another blog...) but I was looking forward to drowning in planning-related studies.

For those of you reading this blog and planning on going to law school, don't take Administrative Law. It just blows. Hard. It wouldn't be so bad if I had had a year of Constitutional Law under my belt, but just being thrown into this constitution-heavy class is seriously bringing me down. It was not helped by the fact that I got called on in class for the first time this semester and just didn't know the answer to the question. It wasn't that I didn't read, because I did, it was because the specific case the professor was asking questions about had four parts: Administrative Hearing, Circuit Court, Supreme Court, back to Circuit Court, then eventually remanded back to the agency, and I just got lost and wasn't sure which ruling was which. What made it worse was that the professor, instead of saying something comforting, said "If you're not prepared, just tell me to pass it on."

IT WAS AWFUL.

I was so bummed for the rest of the day.

Anyway, Jake and I had a great time in Baltimore, and we would love to do it again...

as long as Jake let's me listen to a little Christina.