this entry is going to be so rock-hard amazing.  i can't even get to the pumped-up level you need to be.  it's THAT amazing. 

i have lots of photos.  of GREAT WONDERFUL things.  i'm pretty excited for you to see them.  i've had TWO great days in a row.  and i'm going to share them with you!  along with some other great things!!!!!! 

let's get going!!! 

i'm going to start by posting pictures from my birthday/oscar weekend.  AND MY CAKE!!!!  that kara made for me!!! 

let's start with the process:



the start!  as always, titanic dominated my birthday cake.  duh!



kara used a different type of frosting for the boat, water and grass areas of my cake.  it was a shinier type.  more like an icing, i guess.  maybe she'll comment with the right name.  here we see the Titanic sailing onto Revolutionary Road.  there is a lifeboat in the water.



FINISHED!!!!!!!!  whoa!  look at all that awesomeness.  i LOVED the cake this year.  lots of dialogue!  lots of great characters!!!!  i'll go over the general plot:  So, the Titanic is sailing onto Revolutionary Road with Jack and Rose standing together on the ship's deck.  Rose is holding an Oscar high in the air.  In the lifeboat, we have Tina Fey and Che.  Tina Fey is also a frequent character on my cakes.  She is saying, "I want to go to there", a phrase common on 30 Rock.  Che is saying, "Revolutionary?"  because he's on Revolutionary Road.  and, he's apparently confused.  Next to them is a grassy area where we have Meryl Streep, as Donna, her character in Mamma Mia, and The Joker.  Meryl is exclaiming, "Kate's finally winning!" and to that The Joker replies, "Meryl, it's all part of the plan!"  A phrase he utters in the film, The Dark Knight.  And then, swimming along in the lower left hand corner, is the trademark green seahorse. 

wow!  so great!  there was one year where the scene was so intricate and busy that after it was all complete my mom said, "nowhere on this cake does it say, 'happy birthday julie!'"  so, this year kara remembered to write it in at the top. 

and, kara wanted me to say that some of the dialogue is a bit chipped over in the Meryl section, but that is only because Chowder stepped on it.  kara wanted it very clear that she did not make it like that. 

love the cake!!!!!!   

so, as a surprise when i got home, Kara had decorated our dining room for the Oscar celebration!  i swear she was secretly even more excited than i was.  she's had dreams that the Oscar ceremony took place in our house, and then at her house in Providence.  basically, she wants to be wherever the Oscars are.  but, here is our dining room all decorated:






oscar colors!  gold and black!!!!!  it was soooo great.  i was so surprised and happy.  it was wonderful.  i can't believe all the work that kara put into it.  she's the best.


so, that was my wonderful birthday/oscar weekend celebration.  so much fun!!!!


so, this past wednesday i went down to Providence for the day to visit kara!  i made sure to go to bed early the night before so i would be well-rested.  of course, it didn't make a difference becase i didn't fall asleep until over 2 hours later.  LAME.  so then i got up at 6:30.  worked until 8.  left my house at about 9:20.  stop for Dunkers.  on my way!

89south.  to 93south.  1$toll.  to 95south.  to exit18.  left.  left.  right.  left.  kara's house on the right!!!!  that's how i got there!!!!!  it's super easy.  it took just about 3 hours.  i went really fast on the way there.  it kind of scared me because i don't like driving fast.  UGH and i had to listen to the radio the second half of the way because i couldn't find an ipod station.  and it was Ryan Seacrest on KISS 108.  i don't like KISS 108 because they play the same exact music every half hour and it's all techno dance hip hop clubbing music.  which is perfect if your kara and my mom who love that music.  but not perfect for julie when she just wants to listen to broadway music but can't find an ipod station. 

and i realized that i love broadway music because all the songs are about something.  about moments, or feelings, or memories.  and i was listening to that song Poker Face by Lady Gaga.  and i was just like, "what.the.heck is this song about?"  seriously??  is it about how she wants to "put on her poker face" so she can screw over guys into making them think she's interested when she's not???  is she actually playing poker??  i don't know.  

know what song i heard that i do like, though?  that song that goes, "gonna give you hell gonna give you hell" or something like that. 

ANYWAYS.  so, i get to kara's apartment and i immediately play with Ruby Tuesday, who is in providence with kara.  she was happy to see me.  she's SO CUTE i can't even stand it.  all she does is sleep under the covers on kara's bed.  so, we hung around there for a little while. 

then kara needed to stop by Johnson and Wales to drop off a form.  i waited in the car. 

then we headed over to Spike's.  we split a dog and some fries.  YUM.  this is the second time i've been to Spike's.  i had been to their Thayer Street location, but we went to this other location that was waay bigger, nicer and not as sketch.  it was over by South Main Street.  and a church with lime green accent colors. 

then we drove over to Thayer and found a parking spot.  i wanted to go into the Second Time Around because i had never been in before.  they had some really nice things.  expensive thrift store things.  no teal jackets.  then we walked up and down the street.  sampled some ice cream. 

THEN THEN THEN.  we went to the wall.  The Great and Curious Wall of Providence.  i had found out about this historical gem whilst researching for the story i'm currently writing, Divine Providence*, which is set in Prov.

*i posted the title for Elizabeth, who told me she's collecting titles.  :)

so, i had asked kara about the wall and she said she didn't know where it was.  but then, as she thought deeper and more clearly, thought, "wait a sec, that must be that giant stone wall i pass everyday but never thought anything of it until now!!!"  it's one of those things that people walk or drive by everyday, but probably have no idea what it means.  let me tell you the story of the Great and Curious Providence Wall.

so, in 1824 the Dexter Asylum was built in Providence.  named after the guy that funded it.  it wasn't an asylum for the insane, but for the poor.  it was this giant poorhouse surrounded by acres of farmland.  the people would live in the house, and work the land.  the living conditions were far from desirable.  they ate like, tea and white bread for every meal.  so, in the 1820's and 30's this man, Ebenezer Dexter decided that there needed to be this giant stone wall that ran all the way around this poorhouse.  8 feet tall and 3 feet wide in some sections.  nobody exactly knows why he wanted this wall built.  but he was like, "look, i'm not going to give you all this money until you build this wall."  and the city was like, "ok we'll build the wall."  so, by hand, the stone wall was built, running for over a mile, separating the poor from everyone else.

and the Dexter Asylum was in business as a poorhouse until 1957 when the city was like, "we should really close this place."  and then Brown University said, "we'll buy it!"  so, Brown University bought the land.  demolished the giant house.  and built their multi-million dollar athletic fields and stadiums.  but, the stone wall still stands.  still encloses the land, which instead of housing the poor now houses the ivy-leaguers.  separating the rich from everyone else??  

and so - i had to see this horrible constraint on societal mixing.  i was pretty freaking excited.  kara even said to me, "wow, you are really excited about this!"  i was.  i couldn't wait.  

and now, i present to you::  THE GREAT AND CURIOUS WALL OF PROVIDENCE



IMMEDIATELY before we found this section of wall i said to kara,

JULIE:  Aw, it'd be awesome if we could find one of the sections with the date engraved.
(a moment passes)
KARA:  You mean like that one right there?

it was really funny.  so, this says, 'Erected 1835.  Rebuilt 1875.'  this was along Hope Street. 

 

the wall hiding behind a tree



the wall hiding behind a basketball hoop.  you can see some of the athletic field behind it.  the score board.  and that giant dome.  i'm guessing that's where like, the swimming pool is. 



kara at the wall.  after we had walked along it for a little while, we walked back to the car.  and then i said, "can we drive along the wall now?"  and she said yes.  so, we started driving along the wall.  and then i made her pull over again so we could get out and take more pictures!!! 



julie at the wall!  i needed my picture in front of it because i KNEW nobody would believe that i was actually there!!!!  because it's SO AWESOME.  look how high it is! 



this was taken from the car.  i couldn't stop taking pictures!



look at that wall.  so great.  so curious. 

i'm so happy i saw it.  and kara pulled out a little piece of stone for me so i could take it home.  i have a piece of the wall now!!

while we were walking around the wall, we saw a lady running.  she had on a Dartmouth shirt and i immediately said, "omg that's the same Dartmouth shirt that Meredith Grey has on Grey's Anatomy!"  it was exciting. 

it was a great time.  after we saw the wall, we headed back to her apartment to see kitten.  she was happy to see us.  we relaxed for a minute.  then!  headed to our favorite thai place on Wickendon Street.  i like Wickendon Street.  it's  hip.  there are hip people there.  artist type.  aliya would like it there.  while we were walking to the thai place we both looked across the street and who did we see??  the lady running with the Dartmouth shirt!  now, we had seen her probably about an hour before and in a completely different section of town.  it was crazy.  we were both SO confused.  and we laughed about it for a really long time.  and then i laughed about it again on my ride home.  and i'm laughing about it now again.  ha.

we were going to take it to the park that overlooks the city, but it was too chilly.  so, we drove by the park.  it was crowded!  there was someone having a photo shoot there.  kara was really confused.  then we drove around some of the streets up there.  that's where all the really rich people live.  omg the houses are sooo nice.  and i was trying to pick out a house for a character in my story to live in.  i want to live around there.  Congdon Street.  Pratt Street, i think. 

so, we took the food back to kara's apartment so we could share it with ruby tuesday.  i gave her some pad thai.  she liked it. 

and then it was time for me to go.  a sad time in the day.  i left just after 6.  it's a 3 hour drive.  i made really good time.  i didn't hit ANY traffic problems, which was nice.  i was worried about that.  and i had an ipod station the whole way. 

got home.  really tired.  slept well last night. 

woke up for work at 6:30.  easy morning.  the toddler came running over to hug me as soon as she saw me!  that was a nice present.  then she was mad at me because i wouldn't give her a brownie.  okay - 1.  it wasn't even 7:30am.  2.  she hadn't eaten her yogurt yet.  3.  there was a sharp knife in the pan and i had to move it further away from her anyways. 

went back to bed around 8:15.  then my alarm went off at 11:30 and i thought to myself, "ugh i don't want to get up for work."  and then i took off my eye mask and saw that it was light outside!  and then i remembered, "oh yeah!  i already got up for work!  i can hit snooze for an hour and a half!!!"  SO I DID!!!! 

got up around 1.  mmm what a nice sleep.  Chowder was happy that i got up because she was hungry.  so i fed her.  she cried.  she was cute.  duh. 

straightened up a little.  got dressed.  AND THEN AND THEN!!!!!!! 

ALIYA AND ELIZABETH CAME TO VISIT!!!!!!  they're on spring break!  so they took an afternoon road trip to new hampshire!  SO GREAT to see them!!!!  we had lots of fun catching up and hanging out.  they really liked my apartment.  aliya said that it reminded her of being on a boat.  i was happy to hear that.  then she suggested that i sometimes pretend to have a hard time walking around, like the ship's in rough waters, or something.  hey, it makes sense. 

we went out to this italian place that Courtney suggested.  Lui Lui's.  it was great!  great rolls with oil.  our waitress had big earrings and lots of makeup.  and we had a Ouiji Board built into our table!  but no Ouiji mover to go with it.  so, we used the red pepper flakes.  our question:  does our waitress think we're crazy?  the answer:  yes.  it was so mystical.  there were definitely spirits among us....

just kidding.  i don't think there were any spirits communicating with us.  i mean, i guess there could have been.  but they weren't doing it through the Ouiji board. 

came back to the apartment.  i gave them a tour of the house.  they got to see a baby!  and meet Courtney and Emily!!  then we chilled in my apartment for a little while longer, and then, sadly, they had to leave.  around 10.

so much fun!!!







aliya's skeleton made it into the last one!  and look at elizabeth's blue eyes!!!! 

it was great to see them.  i miss hampshire.  i miss div 3! 

so.  i've been blogging for a while now. 

OH!  i wanted to give you the link to my Twitter page.  my new blog will have twitter right on it!  i'm excited about that.  but, until then, i know you want to know what i'm doing every second throughout the day - so here it is!!

tweet!

everyone should twitter.  then we can all be bird friends.

so, i think that's all.  i don't have any friday plans.  OH, i think i need to go to JoAnn's.  i need ribbon.  and possibly other crafty things.  i like being crafty. 

one of the things aliya, elizabeth and i talked about was opening this giant store.  aliya wants it to be a huge art collaborative.  or, in her exact words, "collabs out the wazoo!"  it would be a "slash" store.  art space/vegan gluten-free bakery/video store/animal rescue place/coffee shop/birthing center.  and so much more.  she said we could buy an old wal-mart.  i think it's a good idea.  i'm on board. 

OK.  what did you think of the entry?!?!  wasn't it awesome?!  didn't you love it?  i loved writing it.  duh!  i have great friends and a great sister.  you really don't need much more than that. 

goodnight!  loves you!  sweet dreams!!!

<3<3<3,
.Jacuzzi.Jacuzzi.