That's What Jenni Said

Yesterday I came home to two intersecting disasters. First, an angry yelling husband who had opened a letter from the DMV notifying me my driver's license had been suspended due to failure to pay a speeding ticket fine at the end of September. I explained to him that I had intended to go to the trial (to try to talk down the ticket) but that I got hung up with work emergencies and was not able to go so I called the court that day to find out how much the fine would be. Court clerk said it would be up to the judge whether to give me just the ticket or failure to appear fine or whatever and I would be mailed a copy of the decision and the fine amount. That was 3 weeks ago. Last time I checked the record online (a few days later) it still said pending. I understood they were sending it and in NY I have personally seen it take 4 months to send you the fine invoice so I waited, knowing it would come eventually. It had not come yet as of this week. So imagine my surprise when I got th

As described in my previous notes, September was a very harried month for our household. So it was perfect timing that I had arranged back in the springtime for a ladies getaway trip to the Caribbean for late September. It was the first official trip for my newest meetup group, NoVA Travelers ( http://travel.meetup.com/1256 ). I formed this meetup in early summer at the request of several of the members from my other meetups ( http://cooking.meetup.com/343 and http://walkers.meetup.com218 ) who reported that they enjoyed the short weekend trips I'd planned for those groups and looked forward to longer adventures. The basic operating principles of the group are as follows - I take input from members on destinations they'd like to visit, coordinate that info with the marketing and promotions info I am receiving on a daily basis from various travel agencies, consolidators, and transportation providers (such as the airlines or railways themselves) to find great deals for group tr

September was a busy month in our household and one of ups and downs. You've already read about our Savannah trip that began the month…and I'll write again soon about the Miami+Mexico trip that came at the end of the month. Sandwiched between those trips was a major endeavor: project move-a-parent. :) I worked diligently the first 2 weeks in September to get a lease arranged for my parents with a senior apartment complex the next town over (Woodbridge, VA), purchased all the furniture they would need for them home as well as household supplies (linens, dishes, etc), and had all the utilities turned on in their name at their new home. Tried to get as much set up for them so that when they arrived they could just slip into easy living at their new place. They're on the 3rd floor so it was a lot of trips back and forth from the car with things! Several days I was over at their apartment from the time I got off work until well after midnight putting the final touches on things

You've been missing out on the details of my daily life since I've not written a major update since August. Let's begin there and slowly cover the gap between then and now over a series of notes. At the end of August, for Labor Day Weekend, Jon and I drove down to Savannah, GA for a little Holiday getaway. We stayed at a simple motel in one area of the city not too far from the historic district. We arrived on a Friday afternoon and our first stop was Mrs. Wilkes Boarding House. Every insider's guide to Savannah listed this historic restaurant as a "must-experience" event. Website is here: http://www.mrswilkes.com/ . Jon and I definitely agree with the experts- this place is not to be missed! The historic boarding house serves up authentic Southern Cuisine for lunch and dinner family style. As we came into the restaurant, we were seated with other guests around a communal table. Then the food procession began. There was fried chicken, sausages, mashed pota

I created an lj account for the purpose of befriending people I want to keep up with in terms of their friends-only journal entries as well as joining communities I'd like to continue reading such as Fatshionista and poor_skills. I will not be posting blog/journal entries to the lj account; look for those to remain here on this blog at http://songsofgratitude.blogspot.com as well as my goings on at facebook: http://www.new.facebook.com/profile.php?id=603259739 . The new lj account is: jennireads.livejournal.com. If you'd like to add me, I'd appreciate it. :)

So here we are in October. Looking back, I realize I've not posted an update since August. I've been traveling, working, and keeping up with friends though facebook, email, and meetup. I have so much to write about now that I'd love to have an audience digest. But in order for that to work itself out I must actually have an audience. The question is, do I still have one? I suspect that much of my readership may have fallen off during my 2 month hiatus from active blogging. Is there anyone out there reading this, or will my question echo into the silence of the internet? I'd like to know before I invest time in posting entries here at http://songsofgratitude.blogspot.com