Text Messages

A few of my favorite recent text messages (and facebook messages):

Katie Keeler: 132 days til the finger lakes wine festival....I wanted you all to know!!!

.......

Martin: ( from the Verizon store) Are upgrades free if you get the standard phones
Me: (from the parking lot) I don't know. Not all of them. You're the one in the store.

......

Amanda Ann: Ahh I can't wait to see Aubrey....I've taken up this new thing...called knitting...Yes...I've turned Minnesotan....anyways I'm practicing doing baby sized stuff so I'm working on a hat for her. JORDAN....WE ARE SO EXCITED!
Katie: Ditto! (except for the knitting)

.......

Aunt Martina to Aunt Anne: Have you seen this Dutch trait....LOL (accompanied by this link) http://stuffdutchpeoplelike.com/2011/05/28/dutch-directness/
       and the following comments to the link
Me: I read this to Martin this morning. His response: "So true. Please don't wear this as a badge of honor"
Aunt Anne: Love this article.....and soooo true!!
Aunt Anne: And Jenna, it most certainly is a badge of honor!

A Proud Member of the Case Club

I noticed the other day that my wine stash was running kind of low. So when Martin passed by a favorite local winery of mine on Sunday morning, I yelled out for him to pull in so I could refil my stash. The giant wooden banner hanging above the doorway said closed and we were about to pull away dissappointed when somone opened the door.

"We don't open till twelve, but if you're just buying bottles you can come it"

Then I went inside and picked out ten bottles of wine......

"Oh, you've got to get two more. Then you'll be part of the case club and get ten percent on all purchases. ALWAYS"

Needless to say, it wasn't difficult to twist my arm and I now enjoy ten percent off all my wine purchases PLUS I get free tastings FOR LIFE.

Bringing Back the Eighties

This afternoon, we went to Martin's mom's home for lunch. Then we spent the afternoon there. Aubrey went down for a nap threw up ALL OVER EVERYTHING. Unfortunately, we hadn't packed any spare clothes for her. FORTUNATELY, we had a yellow onesie Mary got for Aubrey in Miami, a pink zip-up sweatshirt she had taken off upon arrival, and I happened to be wearing knee high socks (which covered Aubrey's entire legs).

She's really trying to bring back the 80s aerobics instructor look and certainly is pulling it off.

Looking Back

I'm fairly uninspired with stories from my own life to relay to you on here tonight, but I did see this amazing series by Tom Hussey on A Cup of Jo and I thought I would share. I hope that someday when I'm old I'll look at myself in the mirror and still see a twenty-something smiling back at me.

A Kiss Goodnight

Every night Aubrey gives kisses good night before she goes to bed. A kiss from Aubrey is like the most amazing gift one can possibly receive and afterward you feel all giddy and excited. I was having a really difficult time snapping the picture during the actual kiss, but you can see Martin getting his goodnight kiss last night.

The Best Subs in the World

For the past few months whenever the word subs, or good food, or bread, or gas stations, or just about anything halfway relatable comes up - Martin takes the opportunity to tell us about this amazing sub shop in a gas station and how it makes the best subs he has ever had.

A few weeks ago he even tried to get me one and left six inches in his lunch pail and then ran to the kitchen with me when I got home from work so I could try it. Sadly, the bread was hours old and cold by this point so, while it was good, it basically just tasted like your average sub.

On Sunday morning I suggested we go on a family field trip to try these amazing subs I had heard so much about. It's not super close to our house, but I'm always up for a Sunday drive and this seemed like a great excuse to go on one. So we set out for the Valero on the corner of 63 and 36 (which are both north/south roads that intersect each other - that's a whole other anamoly I can't explain)

And we got The Best Subs in the World. The bread. It's amazing. It's fresh and warm. Absolutely decadant. And the flavor of the toppings and the oil and the mayo and the meat just blend right into the bread in the perfect way. It really was an experience and absolutely amazing.

Aubrey thought it was delicious too!

And then, a cashier came over and gave Aubrey a cupcake! Which Aubrey loved (the girl has a thing for chocolate). As soon as she saw the cashier approaching with the treat her eyes got huge and excited. Then when we set it on the table she approached in cautiously at first, just scooping up a small bit of frosting with her finger. And then finally, diving in and devouring the entire thing.


Anyway.....for the best subs in the world....go to the corner or 63 and 36.

Running on E

On Friday I forgot to bring my purse to work. So when my low gas light lit up early in the day I had no choice but to keep driving.

Me: I've gone 27 miles with my low gas light on so we'll have to get gas before church.
Martin: Ok. Should we get gas in Albion or Medina.
Me: Why? What's the difference.
Martin: Well I don't want to run out before we get there.
Me: Oh, I think it's fine. I was talking to Kate about it and she said she has gone much much farther with the low gas light on.

On the way to Medina

Martin: How far have you gone with your low gas light on before?
Me: I think about 35 miles
Martin: Oh. We're going to blow that outta the water.....by at least five miles.
Martin: How much gas do you usually get in it?
Me: Umm. fifteen gallons. I've gotten sixteen before.

A few seconds later

Martin: How many gallons does your tank hold?
Me: Umm. hang on a sec...

I Rummage through glove compartment for owners manual. This takes a little bit of time because I spend the first couple of mintes looking through a warranty manual before I realize I'm looking in the wrong book.

Me: 18.5 gallons.
Martin:(clearly extremely nervous about the whole situation)  Oh. Man! Nothing like getting the ole' heart pumping
Me: What do you mean? That's so much more than I thought. I bet we could go a lot farther.

A minute or two later. At this point we're almost in Medina

Martin: This needle is waaay below the E.
Me: Oh, we'll be fine. Besides, it's pretty much all downhill from here.
Martin:  I feel like it's dropped significantly since we started.

30 seconds passes. I can literally see the gas station from where we are.

Martin: (with a sigh of relief) Ok. I think it went back up a little bit.