Thursday, September 30, 2010

Date Night!

Martin and I have been super busy lately. Between both of us working late, me traveling to NYC and Martin heading home for a bachelor party, we haven't actually spent time together in forever.

So I was super excited when, due in part to terrential downpours, Martin and I both arrived home from work shortly after 5:00 PM. That never happens.

So, we went to the laundromat. Wrote thank you cards. Paid our rent check. Ate pasta made by our landlord for dinner and caught up on the last two weeks worth of Modern Family. (That show is amazing, by the way, if you don't already watch it - you definitely should).

Also, I tried on a miriad of dress options for a wedding we have this weekend because my belly is increasing large and I really don't know what to wear.

So, as I read over this post - I realize this night sounds really lame and boring. And to add to it, its 9:31 and Martin is snoring next to me, but it was basically the most amazing night ever to me.

Wednesday, September 29, 2010


On Saturday morning in Brooklyn, we headed down to The Farmacy to try a good old-fashioned Egg Cream. Besides the fact that this sounds absolutely disgusting, it really is not. It doesn't involve raw eggs or even any sort of eggs as the name would imply. An egg cream is an old-time popular Brooklyn drink back when soda fountains were popular. And because Amanda was absolutely dying to try one we headed down to test it out.


The place was super cute and the owner was so friendly. And we were absolutely delighted to sip on our egg creams.
So an egg cream.

Milk.
Seltzer.
Then Chocolate Syrup.
All stirred up.
Delightful!

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

T-H-I-R-T-Y-T-W-O

Today. I am thirty-two weeks pregnant. That means I'm basically ready to pop this baby out at any day. (That's a lie, don't listen to anything I say) What is does mean is that in four weeks I will be "full-term" technically and at that point I could pop this baby out at any time without considering her premature.




I don't really have an update on pregnancy specifics like weight gain and such because I don't go to the doctor this week and I don't own a scale. I can tell you that I am starting to think this baby is getting to big for my belly because I feel like it is pushing on all sides at all times!

Monday, September 27, 2010

I Love People

I love people. People are so friendly. People are genuinely excited to see good things happening in others lives. People are amazing.

You always hear that people in New York are rude, but that is nothing like the experience I had this past weekend. People were so friendly. They were greeting me on the street as I took a stroll through the neighborhoods of Brooklyn on Sunday morning, they were holding doors open for me, and they were genuinely excited for the life inside of me.

Everyone wanted to congratulate me and give me their thoughts on babies. One woman stopped Amanda and I on the street to tell us all about how happy she was for me and about her pregnancies and then her daughter's pregnancy. A teenager dribbling a basketball in the subway stopped to say congratulations. Two different men on the subway saw me standing during a crowded trip and got up so I could sit in their spot. On man selling furniture on the side of the road stopped to ask me if I was carrying twins and then congratulated me. One man walking down the street with two crying twins following his wife who was carrying a tired toddler smiled and raised his eyes, as if to let me know, this is what you're in for, but don't worry it's not always like this.

In general, I think people are amazing!

Sunday, September 26, 2010

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

Because I haven't done a book post in forever. And because I read this book way back in May or June or something. And because I'm actually in Brooklyn this weekend. ....A book post!

(Gabe feel free to jump up and down for joy at any point in time here)

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn  by Betty Smith was an absolutely amazing novel. It was just so well written, and its so easy to read. And I just really love books where you learn snippets of people's lives. Because the preface of the book did such a beautiful job explaining the book, I"m going to let it do it for me (because I was honestly in love with the writing in the preface too!)

"In its nearly five hundred pages, nothing much happens. Of course that's not really accurate: Everything that can happen in life happens, from birth and death to marriage and bigamy. But those things happen in the slow, sure, meandering way that they happen in the slow, sure, meandering river of real existence, not as clanking "and then" that lends itself easily to event synopses.
If afterwards, someone asked, "What is the book about?"- surely one of the most irritating and reductionist questions in the world for reader and writer alike - you would not say, well, it's about the pedophile who grabs a little girl in the hall, or about the time a man went on a bender and lost his job, or about a woman who works as a janitor in a series of tenement buildings. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn is not the sort of book that can be reduced to its plot line. The best anyone can say is that it is a story about what it means to be human......instead this is that rare and enduring thing, a book in which, no matter what our backgrounds, we recognize ourselves. Francie does not say "good-bye" to the tenements or the tragedies but to the girl she once was, the illusions she once had, the life she once led." preface written by Anna Quindlen

There are also a plethora of amazing quotes throughout the novel. Here's a few.

"Suddenly Francie jumped up. Her heart was beating fast. She was frightened. For no reason at all, she thought of an accordion pulled out for for a rich note. Then she had an idea that the accordion was closing..closing...closing...A terrible panic that had no name came over her as she realized that many of the sweet babies in the world were born to come to something like this old man some day. She had to get out of that place or it would happen to her. Suddenly she would be an old woman with toothless gums and feet that disgusted people."

"The library was a little old shabby place. Francie thought it was beautiful. The feeling she had about it was as good as the feeling she had about church.She pushed open the door and went in. She like the combined smell of worn leather bindings, library paste and freshly inked stamping pads better than she liked the smell of burning incense at high mass."

"What Katie and Johnny said to each other on that special day, they never remembered. Somehow during their aimless but oh-so-significant conversation with its delicious pauses and thrilling undercurrents of emotion, they came to know that they loved each other passionately."

"And he asked for her whole life as simply as he'd ask for a date. And she promised away her whole life as simply as if she'd offer a hand in greeting or farewell."

One more, then I'll stop..

"There is here, what is not in the old country. In spite of hard unfamiliar things, there is here - hope. In the old country, a man can be no more than his father, providing he works hard. If his father was a carpenter, he may be a carpenter. He may not be a teacher or a priest. He may rise - but only to his father's state. In the old country, a man is given to the past. Here he belongs to the future. In this land, he may be what he will, if he has a good heart and the way of workign honestly at the right things."

So yeah, I have an obsession with good quotes from books and I could like many more from this book here - but I'll just let you read the book yourself!


Oh and just a sidenote, there is a tree growing in Brooklyn in this book, but its not the focal point of the story. The entire time I was reading this Martin kept asking me how the tree was doing and when I said I didn't know he didn't really find that to be an acceptable answer!

Saturday, September 25, 2010

Brooklyn!

I'm visiting one of my best friends in Brooklyn this weekend and am super excited to take in all the sites. Last night we went to a cute little restaurant around the corner and then just hung out at Amanda's apartment.

In other NY news, I was stressing out so much about driving here and finding where I was going that Martin finally told me I should buy a GPS, since we will definitely use it again.

That was probably the best decision of my life.

The entire time I was driving into NY was without problem, but as soon as I hit the city - it was like everything was at a standstill. I have never seen so much traffic!

Without the GPS I would probably still be wandering around NY trying to figure out how to get where I'm going, but with the GPS it made the 45 minutes it took to get from the edge of NY to Brooklyn much more enjoyable.

Friday, September 24, 2010

The Penguin Walk

Cashier: You're starting to waddle! It's so cute
Me: Are you serious???
Cashier: Would I lie to you?

A mere four hours later...

Store Manager: You're starting to get that pregnant walk
Me: Amanda just told me I was waddling earlier today!
Store Manager: Yeah, I love it. It makes me wish I could be pregnant again.



So, yeah. My brother wins on this one I guess, apparently I have the waddle.

Thursday, September 23, 2010

A Non-Traditional Party

Some traditions I like.

Others.

not so much.

baby showers are one of those traditions I'm not the biggest fan of.

Well, baby showers, wedding shower, anything that involves a shower

Unless, of course, its an actual shower with water, because those I love.

I jusrt really don't like the idea of sitting around in a circle and opening presents. I don't like that they're all woman. I don't like that they're in the middle of the day. I don't like that the games are weird and not really fun. I don't like that everyone is asking you about your baby - like you're the first person to ever have a baby, or get married, or whatever. And I really don't like getting gifts from tons of people, especially gifts that I registered for. I hate the idea of making a list of things I want, sending out an invitation and saying this invitation dictates that you must get me a gift and give it to me at a party where you almost exclusively watch me open gifts. That sounds like a blast, right?

So, in typical Jenna fashion, I went the non-traditional route here.

I was going to go really untraditional and have no party at all.

But I was getting so many threats, I started to fear for my life.

Also, I had so much fun at my non-traditional party, I'm really glad I didn't skip it.

I had a bun in the oven party.

This means it was at night. And there was alcohol. And I tried my best to encourage people not to bring presents (which many people blatantly ignored). And we didn't play any annoying games. And there were men there. And my husband, and a lot of other people, got toasted. And my roommates from college whom I haven't seen in forever were up. And our families were all there. And our closest friends were there. And I laughed. a lot. And we stayed up until 1:30 in the morning because the party was just so much fun.

So yeah, I'm really happy I had a party in celebration of our baby.

And thank you to everyone who came!

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Fighting the Urge

Martin: I've got that new John Mayer song stuck in my head. Half of my heart....
Me: Oh, I can't stand that song.
Martin: Well, I don't really like John Mayer, but its a catchy tune. I mean, I don't change the station when its on.
Me: Oh, I change the station.
Martin: Well, I tried to once.....but I went back to it.
Me: You just couldn't stay away, huh?
Martin: No. and I really tried not to like it!

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Thirty One

So as of today I am 31 weeks pregnant.
Which means I have approximately 9 weeks to go.
Give or take two weeks because babies are fairly unpredictable.
Crazy to think I'm going to be a mom in just 9 weeks!


Weight Gain: 26 pounds
Belly From Top to Bottom: 31 cm.
Feeling: Other than the baby kicking all the time, I am also throwing up just a little bit in my mouth approximately 37 times a day. (and yes, I'm sure you wanted to know about that).
Current Fears: Are mostly tottering between being completely pretrified to care for another human being and super excited.
Newest Discovery: This isn't so much a discovery as a "duh moment" but I have been completely obsessed with the belly band ever since I started using them back in July. On Friday I was telling my friend Katie Klotzbach about my giant dilemna which is that my regular jeans are starting to get really tight even with the belly band and the pair of maternity jeans I have keep falling down and are a pain to wear. She suggested maybe I should wear a size bigger in regular jeans with the belly band. When I got home on Sunday night I realized I have been wearing my smallest jeans with the belly band. When I wore my second favorite pair of jeans which happens to be a size bigger, they slipped on quite smoothly.
Body Troubles: I have so many stretch marks on my thighs and butt, which for the first time in my life are a "normal" size it looks like I got shot with a machine gun.

Monday, September 20, 2010

He Understands That Word.

*Phone conversation with Martin the other weekend*

Me: So, are you going to have sex wth me tonight?
Martin: Uhh, you know you're on speaker phone.....right?
Me: Oh. oops. Is anyone there?
Martin: Well, Margerito is and I'm pretty sure he knows that word.

Sunday, September 19, 2010

Autumn

So its Fall now, I can feel it in the air and because I love fall I was really excited to put touches of autumn in my modest apartment decorating.


I am absolutely in love with broom corn. I just think it is so beautiful. My mom grows it every year and I was so excited to take a bunch home for my door. It's just so fallish, and beautiful and welcoming!

Which also reminds me. In our kitchen I have three photos of watermelon and honeydew that I took. I really like them, but I leave them up year round. The other week, my good friend Katie Klotzbach stopped in and said, I like those pictures, do you change them with the seasons? To which I obviously had to reply no since I've had those same ones up since we moved into this apartment last summer. But, that is a really good idea. So now I need to know,

What fallish food should I take pictures of? And then winter, what then?

Because I know you're all amazing ( I mean, you're reading this right?) Any ideas would be greatly appreciated in the comments section.

Thanks!

Saturday, September 18, 2010

Reasons Why Wednesday Was The Most Amazing Day Ever!

Thursday was a really really good day for me. For a lot of reasons. And because I don't like to leave details out, I'll start at the very beginning (it's a very good place to start - name that movie!)

1. Martin got up at the same time as me Thursday morning giving us 15 minutes of spoon time between snoozes on our alarms.

2. The contractor I hired finally came and fixed the sidewalk at the Cortland store.

3. When I was driving from Cortland to Ithaca around noontime, I heard a Goo Goo Dolls song come on the radio. That is pretty great in itself because I love the Goo Goo Dolls. I vaguely remembered the radio announcers that morning saying something about how if you hear a Goo Goo Dolls song in the noontime hour and you are the right caller you could win tickets to see the Goo Goo Dolls. I usually never dial in for these things, but I figured what the hell. So I called.

And I got a busy signal. So I pressed redial.

And I got another busy signal.

In an effort to keep this post to a managable length I'll skip ahead and let you know this happened repeatedly about 50 times.

Then I pulled into the parking lot of the bank to deposit Martin's paycheck.

I was going to give up calling at that point.

But, I thought, I'll just keep trying till the end of this song. Then I'll stop.

So I pressed redial again.

Busy.

And again.

Busy.

And again.

Hi this is Wink 106, who is this?

I won!!!!!

I was so proud of myself, it was basically an epic moment in my life! I immediately called Martin to tell him how amazing I am and how I won us tickets to see the Goo Goo Dolls on Oct 24th!

And my day didn't stop getting better there....

4. I went to Subway to grab a six inch value meal for lunch. I love Subway, so that in itself is a reason for number 4. But also, I had the nicest sandwich maker ever! He complimented me on my freckles which always makes me feel good because I sort of have insecurity issues about them. And then, when I was filling up my drink at the fountain, he came running over and exclaimed as if we were long lost friends who had been out of touch for the last 7 to 8 months, Oh my god! I didn't realize you were pregnant before! When are you due? You look so good!

5. Then I got my haircut for the first time since February. And my hairdresser Danielle was super nice and I had a great time chatting with her.

6. Then I went to Ithaca, cruised through my work and I was completely done for the day by 4:50pm!

7. Then I started to drive home. I realized I had forgotten to get milk and a few other key groceries at Aldi (that's not really a reason my day was good) but I decided since it was just a couple of things, I didn't want to turn around and I would just stop at the ShurSave in Trumansburg. While at the ShurSave I got milk and cream cheese to make Chicken Wing Dip for Friday night and then, because the day had been going so well, I treated myself to a package of Oreos. Because I needed something to dip in the milk! And then two seperate shoppers stopped me in the store to ask about when my baby was due and share their excitement for me.

8. I thought, how can I make this day even better. So, I called up my best friend Caton and chatted with her for a while.

9. And because I really wanted to keep a good day going, I got pizza with mushrooms for dinner!

10. And then Thursday, I had inventory. So I didn't go into work until ten. So I had plenty of time to enjoy an amazing breakfast. Strawberry Sandwich, Oreos and Milk. It really doesn't get much better than that!


Friday, September 17, 2010

Domestic Terrorism

So tonight we're having a rather non-traditional baby shower at my mom's house. I say non-traditional because I have been a long time hater of anything shower. Therefore, there will be alcoholic beverages served, for those whom are able to drink, and there will be no gifts. So really, its just a party in celebration of the fact that we are having a baby.

Anyway, Martin's very talented sister made the invitations (which I am absolutely in love with!) But, at the end I had run out of paper and had a few people left to send an invite to, mostly friends from college. So, I decided to just send out a facebook invite for these few people and on the facebook invite, I also invited myself and Martin, just because.

Fast forward to four days later and Martin hasn't responded to the facebook invitation for his own party. I happen to get on the computer and his facebook was brought up, so I confirmed his attendance for him.

Later that night:
Martin: Hey, did you respond to the facebook event for me?
Me: Yeah, you were logged on so I just responded.
Martin: You can't do that. That's domestic terrorism!
Me: Well, its been like four days and you hadn't responded yet. So I didn't think it was a big deal.
Martin: Well, I was planning on responding maybe. Just to keep it fun.

Thursday, September 16, 2010

Steak Sandwiches and Steamed Broccoli


I realized I haven't posted a recipe on here in a long long long time. And I decided that needs to end. now. And what better way to end that than with something so delicious as steak sandwiches and broccoli. I mean, everything is covered in cheese sauce. So it has to be good.

Before we even start with this recipe, let me say one thing. Please make your cheese sauce from scratch! That fake stuff is disgusting and the real stuff is soooo easy.

So yeah. Here goes.

For the steak sandwiches:
Slice desired amount of thin sliced sirloin into smallish bits. I usually do strips. (note: You can buy thin sliced sirloin at the store which is basically perfect for this. If you can't find it, you can always just cut a steak so it is thin)
Chop up some onions and peppers.
Fry peppers and onions in a pan with lots of butter until they are delicious looking.
Throw meat into the pan (after you remove the onions and peppers).

For the cheese sauce:
Pour some milk, whatever looks good depending on how much cheese you are making into a pot. I am not very good with measurements and rarely use them, so I can tell you generally to use about half a cup of milk for a bag of shredded cheese (if you are buying it pre-shredded). But this is only my best guess and not very scientific at all. If you have too much milk you can always add more cheese or just cook it for a really long time till it boils off.
Stir while heating until all the cheese has mixed in with the milk.
Add seasoning.  I usually add hot sauce, cayenne powder, and black pepper. But its up to you.


For the broccoli you can either buy those steam bags or steam broccoli on the stove in a steam pot. I used fresh broccoli here, so I steamed it on the stove, but in the winter I use the steam bags.

Pour cheese over everything! Voila!


The best part about this meal is if you have extra cheese sauce (like I did) you can use it to make homemade macaroni and cheese!

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

O Yeah. That's Right.

On Saturday I met Ranatta for a midday ice cream break at 3.

Why? Because, I love ice cream. I have a new obsession with turtle sundae's, and we'd both been working all day.

As we were enjoying our ice cream, Ranatta was telling me a story of her vet school lab partner who was supposed to meet her at ten that morning to work on some stuff. Then didn't show up until eleven. Then had to leave almost immediately because he was so hung over from the night before.

Me: Oh, I was going to say that I haven't gotten drunk in a really long time. Then I remembered that was obvious.
Ranatta: Yeah, cause you're pregnant and you can't drink.
Me: Well, for a split second I forgot I was pregnant and was just thinking I am a lot more mature and responsible. But then I remembered.
Ranatta: That you're not actually responsible, you just aren't allowed to drink?
Me: Exactly!

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Fire Building Contest!

Ok, so I just realized that I promised to have a final and seperate post about my favorite event at the lumberjill show, but completely forgot! I don't know how this happened because I seriously loved this event and took thirteen pictures of it!
Here's how the event works: You grab a partner and the two of you are given a bucket with soapy water, a match, and a piece of wood. And you both get to use your axes. Then you just choose a spot and begin to set up.
Then you wait for them to say go. This event isn't for points, and although there is a small monetary fee attached to first, second, and third place - you can tell that it is just for fun by the spirit and fury the contestants compete with even after they have no chance of winning first, second, or third. I think this event is a favorite for all after a hard day of competing.
As soon as the announcers says go, one partner starts cutting the wood up into little pieces of kindling which will catch fire easier, while the other partner concentrates on getting a fire to light.
Because remember - you only have one match.
Except they do let you get another match. But you have to run up to the judge and get them one at a time. Therefore, its important that the initial spot you chose is close to the judge.
Once you get a fire to ignite, you and your partner both lay on the ground and take turns blowing oxygen into the fire to build it bigger and bigger.
And hotter and hotter.
And the first team to get their pot to boil over wins! Sounds awesome right.


I knew you would like it as much as me.

Monday, September 13, 2010

Riding Shotgun


This past weekend my parents were chopping corn silage.


Martin was obviously being a very useful and amazing son-in-law and helping them haul corn.


I was also being really useful by riding shotgun in the truck with Martin.



Which is amazing and all I really want to do with me life anyway.

Sunday, September 12, 2010

Twenty-Nine

Ok. So I'm actually almost at thirty weeks. Or I will be tomorrow. Or today. Or two days ago. Depending on which due date I go by because I got a different expected due dates at each ultrasound of the two ultrasounds I had, neither of which match up with the date the doctor originally gave me.
My belly has been growing at such an alarming rate lately, I feel like its almost neccesary to post pictures on a weekly basis. So if you still can't tell that I'm pregnant from head-on



It becomes very obvious as soon as you see a profile of me.



I mean. Its huge! Which, considering that I've gained a whooping 25 pounds already, I guess it ought to be huge.


Weight gain: 25 pounds.
Belly from top to bottom: 30 cm.
Feeling: Baby kicking all the time
Cravings: nothing crazy as of yet.
Current fears: How the heck am I supposed to know when I'm in labor and should go to the hospital
Newest baby project I'm stoked about (other than having a chance to use the word stoked!): A Belly Travels slideshow/video of everywhere the baby went with me during my pregnancy!

Saturday, September 11, 2010

Game Night!

I really love a good game night! Playing group games are just so much fun and they bring laughs and laughs and laughs. So, I never really turn down a game night.

My other half, however (not the baby because that's becoming more like 60-75% of myself rather than just half) doesn't run to a game night quite like I do. Actually, he always thinks he isn't going to like them.

But I always drag him along anyway and he ends up having a great time and saying things to me the next day like,  You know, that game night was really fun.

So I never feel bad for dragging him against his will. It's one of the things I'm good at.

On Sunday night last weekend my dear friend Caton was up for labor day weekend visiting from Nashville and she hosted a game night at her house. So, of course, Martin and I attended.

We really ran the gamete of games that night, starting out with a game called ImagineIf. It was a good icebreaker type game because it didn't really require any thinking or moving. When planning a game night its best to ease non-gamesters into more physically and mentally active games. Most notably during this game, Martin said that (of a list of choices) my ideal roommate would be Cheewbaka. When I questioned him as to why he would ever say that  his reply was Well, he's the most like me.

We then moved on to running charades. If you don't know what this is, you're seriously missing out! It's the same basic concept as charades, only you have two teams and each team competes in a seperate room. The overseer? judge? ref? whatever you want to call this person, comes up with a list of words that each team is going to be acting out. Note: there is only one list. Each team acts out the same list. You get your word from the ref and then run back to act it out for your team. Whomever on your team guesses correctly runs back to the ref and gets the next word (or phrase). The first team through the whole list wins!

Sound amazing? That's because it is!

And, because we're all perverted and terrible people, this inevitably turned into dirty running charades. It was at this point that I realized, I am completely out of touch with dirty terminology. And when I say completely, I mean, absolutely and utterly know nothing. In this round, my dearest husband (who obviously is not quite as out of touch as myself) was the ref, therefore compiled the list of terms and phrases. Of the three people on my team, myself, our friend Kylie, and our friend Andrew, Andrew was the only person who had even the slightest clue what was going on. He kept trying to act out different "terms" and Kylie and I would just stare at him wide-eyed. Poor Andrew. He kept saying things like

You girls are killing me!

and

I thought at least the pregnant lady would know something!

On a bright note, I'm much more knowledgable after that night!

Friday, September 10, 2010

Needless Concerns

I have this problem. I mean, I don't know if its a problem more than I just really can not figure out how my brain works.

I worry about things that are way way way in the future. But problems that are more imminent don't seem so much like problems to me. Just things that need to be dealt with and aren't really worth stressing over.

Basically, I stress over things that are so far away they really don't matter and don't stress about things that are so close they do.

Like everyone keeps asking me if I've starting getting a baby room ready.
To which I always reply, Well, we're living in a one bedroom apartment. So no.
For some reason this does not stress me out.

The other day my sister-in-law was asking me what I was going to do for childcare.
To which I replied, Well, I'm going to have to find something. But I haven't done anything about it yet.

These are obviously both looming concerns that I should most likely deal with. soon.

But I instead spend a good 20 minutes the other day stressing about being an empty nester. Yes, you heard me correctly, empty nester. I was just thinking that I'm only 24 now, so when the baby is 20 I will only be 44. Even if I have kids until I'm 30 that will still only make me 50. Which means I'll have at least 10 years when I will still be working and not have any kids in the house. At which point, what exactly am I working for? Not to establish a career. That is what I am doing now. Not to support a family, they will all be gone. Not to save money for retirement, it'll be too late to save be then. So I'll just be working, instead of traveling the world child-free for ten years.

So yes, if you're wondering - these are the great world questions I devote my time to.

Thursday, September 9, 2010

Poor Etiquette

Last week I had inventory at my store in Cortland. So when I was leaving the store, I was parched from counting numbers in my head all day long.

4 over 2, 6 over 8, 12 over 1, 3 over 5, .....

I have this thing where I don't just count the numbers in my head, I whisper them slightly under my breath each and every time I say an item. Which is approximately 17 items a minute. (And for once in my life I'm not just throwing out a random high number. I actually did the math on that one) So when I say I was parched, what I really mean is my throat was burning and begging for liquid.

I got in the car to head home on the 45 minute car ride and gave Martin a call to see what he was up to.
Basically of I'm at a store after 9:00, I feel like its my perogative to treat myself to some sort of giant soda beverage. So while I'm talking to Martin I pull into the McDonald's drive-thru to order a large diet coke. While I'm placing my order I lose service with Martin. Well, at some point he is no longer on the line, which I realize after I'm halfway through a really great story.

So I call Martin back.

Me: Did I lose you?
Martin: Did you get your order yet?
Me: Well, there's like 5 cars in front of me and no one is moving.
Martin: Call me back when you get your order.
Me: Why?
Martin: I hate it when people do that shit.
Me: Do what shit?
Martin: Call you and then order food or do other shit. It's poor etiquette. Call me when you done. Love you. Bye.

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Take About Ten Steps Back

While we were in Norman, OK with John we decided to check out the art gallery on OU campus. It was a really great art gallery and had a huge impressionist section along with a lot of other paintings and then also, my favorite, a huge photography display.

As we were walking through the museum there are people strategically stationed around to make sure you don't touch anything. Can you imagine that being your entire job??? Ok, so what I want you to do is stand in the room and make sure no one touches anything. Don't worry - we'll let you rotate rooms throughout the day so you don't get too bored.

Anyway, John was standing up fairly close to an impressionist painting looking at some of the details. The woman who was standing in our room was fairly talkative and when she noticed John doing this she obviously decided this was absolutely the wrong way to look at an impressionist painting. Luckily, John was very gracious.

Woman: You're standing too close to that painting to really see the picture.
John: Oh??
Woman: Take about ten steps back and look at it from this side of the room.

Woman: There, isn't that better? Can't you see so much more? Like did you notice the cows or the trees before?
John: Well, yeah, I did. But, I guess its better. I was just trying to look at some of the details. But I see what you're saying.

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Posessed

During our infamous roadtrip, we also stopped in Little Rock for a few short hours. It was, like every other day on our trip, over 100 degrees there though and we didn't have anyplace cool to keep Elly, so we just sort of walked around the city and ate lunch.

We were going to visit the Clinton Museum, but it was just so hot and there was absolutely no shady spot in the parking lot to park the car for Elly, so we decided not to. Instead we wandered through a farmer's market where I tried some hot sauce and then we wandered up and down the streets of Little Rock and through some sort of Tae Kwan Doe garden/facility. You could tell Elly was really struggling in the heat and when we got in the garden she plopped herself down on a sliver of shade cast by a step and refused to move. Poor Elly.
We decided to get some lunch and figured if we went somewhere with an outdoor patio they would let us bring Elly out there. At first, they were reluctant and when I asked the waitress about Elly she said with a look of disgust on her face, What about food and feces?? But then they saw Elly and fell in love with her like everyone does and quickly gave in. Then they were super accomodating and brought her a water dish and all the waitresses came out to visit her and because it was over 100 degrees we were the only people crazy enough to sit outside anyway.

Caton was in love with this lunch!

Then we returned to the car in a mad dash for air conditioning and found that Caton's car had become possessed! It kept randomly locking the doors every couple of seconds and honking the horn. This went on for a few minutes of us honestly thinking the car had been possessed and we would have to drive in this door locking, horn honking car for the rest of the trip when finally I realized that maybe the lock button on her automatic opener was stuck down.

And then all our troubles were solved!

Monday, September 6, 2010

Anniversary

Because Monday was our anniversary last week, Martin came home early on Sunday afternoon so we could do something together to celebrate.

And he brought me this amazing bouquet of flowers made by the spectacular local florist, Katie Klotzbach. They smell delicious. I immediately knew the arrangement was by Katie, because I am familiar with her style and it is one that I really embrace. When I asked Martin if they were done by Katie, he replied, I got them from a local florist.

Then we spent the afternoon relaxing by the water.
I'm not sure if you noticed it, but the card that Martin gave me for our anniversary, the one next to our flowers says For Two Special Friends. Martin says he realized it was a card meant to give to another couple celebrating their anniversary, but he liked it better than any of the spousal cards.

I love that he does stuff like that, it really makes me smile. I also love the messages that he writes on the insides of cards. They always make me smile too. Dear Lover, I actually picked this card out. I love you more than ever and still look forward to forever.   

and because his pen died halfway through that note.

may our love last longer than my pen did.

So I'm going to get up on my soapbox for just a second. Because really what is a blog if not a cyber soapbox?? And just say that I am so happy I took a chance on Martin. Because really, if either one of us had bailed the first time the other one said or did something freaky or something that didn't align with our life goals. Well, we would have never made it past hello.

I mean, four months into dating Martin, I asked him if we could raise our kids Catholic??? Who does that???

And Martin, well he was a staunch farmboy and a homebody, and me, well I had big plans to travel the world and have some big ass career in a far away place. And there I was senior year of college, looking for jobs in Western New York.

And just think, if Martin hadn't stuck with me through all the crazy questions and I hadn't been willing to bend just a little we wouldn't have great days at the lake and I probably wouldn't be getting cards with such cute messages in them.

Sunday, September 5, 2010

Oh Tom!


I brought my Atlas on the roadtrip with us, mostly because I didn't realize that Caton had a tom tom. And also, if I was listening to John, I would have brought it because you should always understand where you are going on a map before using a GPS.

Of course, John tried to use the map on his GPS as an actually readable map even though the screen is tiny and obviously not very detailed for inner city driving in that way. So....really....I don't know how much I should be listening to John.

Anyway, Tom was amazing, and when I say Tom, I mean tom tom, the GPS. Other than getting completely freaked out every time Caton and I got off the highway to get iced coffees at McDonald's (at least twice a day) Tom really kept his cool.

He was so amazing that halfway through the trip Caton proclaimed,

Oh Tom, you're the only man I'll ever listen to!

Saturday, September 4, 2010

Hallmark

Kansas City is the home of Hallmark. Consequently, you can visit the Hallmark Museum and headquarters there. Amazingly, this museum is free! Even better, you also receive a free sound card when you go through the exhibit. Also, it is right outside of Hallmark that the fun fountains where you allowed to play in the water exist.

So basically, I have a new appreciation and love for Hallmark after that tour.

Also, did you know that Winston Churchill was a painter??? Some of his paintings were used on Hallmark cards. Also the pansy card, is the number one selling card in America.

And somehow, this tour marked my first time ever seeing one.

Friday, September 3, 2010

Funky Griddle


Because eating is a favorite pasttime of both Caton and myself, like I've mentioned, we tried a lot of new foods on our trip. In keeping with that tradition, our last day of the trip - back in Nashville, we continued to try new things. This time it wasn't a new food, but just a new and fun way to eat an all time favorite. We went to the Funky Griddle in Nashville where there is a griddle in the middle of the table and you get all you can eat pancake batter to cook up your own pancakes on the griddle. It is unbelievably fun!


I had a ton of fun eating here and thought it was a really great time. When I told Martin about it though his response was,

So you pay them so that you can cook your own food??

It might not make the most sense in the world, but its definitely a delightful experience!

Thursday, September 2, 2010

Good Adult Fun


All along our road trip, when Caton and I were outlining our future stops, everyone we met who was in anyway associated with St. Louis was extremely excited about us visiting the city. They all thought it was completely insane that we planned on visiting the city in just one day and each person expressed a responsibility they felt to make sure our trip was perfect.
One recurring recommendation was to visit the City Hall Museum. One person told us, It's something you can only do in St. Louis.
And then when we were at lunch in St. Louis we asked our waiter if we should spend the afternoon at the zoo (which is free) or go to the City Museum.
Waiter: Oh, definitely the City Museum. My girlfriend and I go there all the time. It is a really great experience. It's a lot of good adult fun. You can go to a zoo anywhere.

So, obviously, we headed directly to the City Museum after lunch. Then we got there and realized it was $10 a person! But, we were willing to pay that for a St. Louis experience.

Then we got inside and everyone was either 10 years old and playing or 40 years old watching their 10 year old play.


So we kept wandering around and looking, and searching, and then frantically searching for some good adult fun.

But we couldn't find this "adult fun". And while it's really awesome that mostly everything in the museum is old relics from the World's Fair in 1904. It is a children's playground. And we don't have any children. So we had to settle for taking goofy pictures.

And then we left and raced through the zoo in 105 degree weather. Just to make sure we were really exhausted.