this area knows how to survive!

Let's talk weather!  2011 came in with a bang and we are not done yet. 

It started with snow - and lots of it.  We used all our snow days and M & I started to get nervous about our vacation and leaving on time.  (No worries though)  We spent a few days cooped in the house.

This summer.  It has been H.O.T. HOT HOT HOT!  Where are the cabana boys?  With this heat, we should have spent the whole thing at the beach, but we didn't make it to the beach once.  Well, we went to the lake in Chicago, and it has a beach, but it is not the same. 

Last week, we had an earthquake.  I thought that living on the East Coast, I would never experience an earthquake.  Wrong!  I wrote all about it in this post. It was a 5.9 on the Richter scale.  Which was huge for this area.  Tons of freaked out people.

And then as it there hasn't been enough weather, we survived a hurricane last night!  Irene came and went and you can tell she was not the friendliest weather we have ever met.  Everyone was saying that Irene was supposed to be huge with 100mph winds and tons of destruction.  We were supposed to have food and water for a few days and bunker down for downpour and winds.  Yesterday.  It started raining around 11, but not real rain.  It was spitting.  Nothing more.  All day.  Around 9 it started actually raining.  At some point over night it became windy.  And then we lost power.  Misty climbed in bed with me and would not get out.  Bones just slept. 

This morning, the dogs woke us up at 7 this morning.  We went out to survey the damage.  There were major limbs down, but not on anything valuable.  One neighbor had a giant limb down next to his car and leaning on the hood.  But that was all the damage.  Matt decided that this was a sign to take down a lot of the ugly tree in our backyard.  And I went back to sleep until 11 - because it was gloomy outside.  I didn't intend to sleep that late, but I did. 

I checked in with the fam - they were all safe and in one piece.  My sister's car might have some damage.  Otherwise, all safe and sound.  My dad lost power.  My brother in NYC had nothing remarkable - and he was bummed!  We bummed around for the rest of the day.  Matt cleaned (because he couldn't play video games).  I cleaned out the spare bedroom.  Around 2 the power flickered.  And the oven screamed.  But then it disappeared again.  At some point in the afternoon, MCPS texted us and told us that we might have tomorrow off because there were a lot of areas without power.  Around 5 the power came back!  And then we started showering, laundry, and vacuuming. 

So, in conclusion, weather - you can suck it!  Snow, heat, earthquakes, and hurricanes.  DONE and DONE!  All we need is a little wildfire and then we would have the rest of the country beat!  Wait a second, our neighbor lit some of the field behind our house on fire this summer too!  WIN!  Wildfire - check!  What's left?  oh just an empty can of weather whoop ass!

The End of Summer & First Week Blues

Since being home from all my travels so much has happened!  I came home Friday night for a wedding on Saturday.  Scott & Sokhan have been together for 10 years and finally tied the knot!  The coolest part of the wedding were all the outfit changes.  I asked, they had 8 different outfits throughout the day.  I guess the piece of information that is missing is that Sokhan is Cambodian, so they had traditional Cambodian & American attire. 

All the guys from college

Sokhan, Matt, Me, Scott

Then we had a week before we went back to school :(  And we did a lot!  Well... between Chicago and my trip, we started painting the hallway.  Matt finished it while I was away.  So after I got home, we started putting the house back together.  All the pictures & paintings needed to get put back up.  I also reframed all the pictures from the bathroom.   I still have to put those back up.

see if you can see yourself in any of these shots!!

Then we went back to work.  We had meetings.  And Freshman Orientation.  Oh, and an earthquake.  That's right.  On the East Coast.  An EARTHQUAKE!  We were both in school when it happened.  It was weird.  The floor started to feel like the ocean; it was just kind of, I don't know, moving.  Like a sheet of plastic.  The only problem was that we didn't know what to do... we don't have earthquakes.  So we sat there.  Then the people in the classroom panicked; they crawled under furniture and tried to put 20 people under the doorway.  Then we evacuated.  I think the building had stopped moving at that point.  And it was towards the end of the day, so almost everyone left at that point.  When we got home, the dogs were kind of freaked out and they hung out with me for the rest of the day.  Apparently, there was an after shock in the middle of the night too.  We slept through it and the dogs didn't bark either.

And now we are waiting for Irene to get here and make some noise.  So far it has just rained.  And I don't want to jinx anything, but I think an earthquake & a hurricane in the same week is a lot for the east coast.  I would like to hear the wind though. 

I am seriously trying!

I have recently learned that my husband is amazingly patient.  I always knew that he loved me more than I understood (don't hate, it's true) and that because of that he put up with a lot of my crap - both personal and all my crap.  But it dawned on me yesterday that he was so much more than I give him credit for.

So where to start with real words and information?  How about 6 years ago?  Oh... make that 7, when I moved to MD.  I went to IKEA with my parents and bought a desk.  I thought it would be the right size.  I thought I wanted something small-ish with a few shelves.  And for awhile, it worked.  I never loved it, or worked at it either.  It was too small.  But I kept it and dealt with it for 3 years!  Then Matt & I moved in together.  (Wow, that sounds so much longer ago than it feels).  And we went to IKEA, and bought me more of a table.  I used it for about 3 days.  Then I realized I hated that more.

Then, last spring, Matt's father passed away.  I don't want to get into all that, because I will cry in the next few moments if I do.  But I loved his desk.  He had a wooden roll-top desk.  It is gorgeous and I always admired it.  It was the only tangible thing of Gerry's that I loved and wanted at all.  Matt & his brother Phil went out of their ways to get that beautiful, pain-in-the-ass, heavy, wooden, desk into our house.  And here I met disappointment again.  While I loved the desk because I love (present tense) Gerry, I hated the desk because (again) the desk was not deep enough.  I couldn't open my laptop on it.  I couldn't grade papers at it.  And I filled it to the brim with stuff I didn't need and then shut the drawers.  Bad news.  Sad face.  We called Salvation Army yesterday...

...Because we went to IKEA.  4th times the charm?  Fingers crossed!!! Pray for me (but mostly my husband!!).  I told him that what I really want from a desk is something like my desk at work.  It has lots of counter space.  It has a space for a desktop computer and tons of space to grade papers.  But it is huge.  And way too big for our townhouse.  So that wasn't an option.  But then we found a desk at IKEA that fit the bill!  And it has space for two desks - so Matt (who has been using the first desk mentioned since we moved in together) and I will be sharing a space.  Now my husband is more brave than patient.

So we Matt set up the desks and the bookshelf that separates them (the only saving grace for Matt).  And 15 minutes after he was done building, his desk was completely setup.  15 minutes.  Not an exaggeration.  15 minutes.

It has now been 24 hours, and I have all but one box of crap put away.  And yes I am starting to call my stuff crap because it is what I have - crap.  And I recognize that it is crap and not necessary (except the letters or cards that people have sent us, those just make me feel good).  So I purged.  Not all, but a lot.  2 garbage bags full, well mostly full.  And all necessary.  I even made a box of books that I am donating to the library. FYI - that picture is from last night.  Right now the middle is empty, well except for my computer.

So the desks.  Let's see if it works. 

Clearly I am not being compensated by anyone.  These are my opinions (mostly of myself).  But I would love to be compensated by IKEA, I mean look around my house, I have a ton of their stuff.  So, right, just my opinions of their stuff.

Colorado, Part 2

August 9

Eliza had a different Dr. Appt. today.  She is one smart lady for scheduling all these while there are two extra bodies around to take care of her cuties.  Today, we all went together.  Julie held A. and knitted (shocker, well actually she hasn’t done much of that since we got here).  G & I ran up and down the hallways at the Dr’s office going “vroom.”  Also, G. learned two new words today – pop & boom!  From a game I had been playing with her!  WIN!

When we got home it was time for a nap.  And a new diaper.  G & I have been sharing large iced teas (well I have been drinking the iced tea and then filling up the cup with water for her) and we drank 4 large cups worth of water this morning while running.  Ravioli for lunch.  G woke up.  And since today was so wonderful (i.e. NOT HOT!!!!) we went to Garden of the Gods.  It is a natural rock formation that is pretty spectacular.  There are no words to describe it at all, so I won’t even try.  

 

For dinner Julie and I made pizza.  I bought the dough on Saturday at Poor Richard’s.  Tonight I sautéed onions & garlic, butternut squash & zucchini.  On the pizza we added mozzarella and turkey sausage.  It was amazing, if I do say so myself.  And considering that Matt normally cooks pizza (well calzones) in our house, I was mighty proud of myself.  We also had a side of asparagus.  I think I am still trying to make up for all the fried food from the first part of this trip.  

August 10

Today was an around the house kind of day.  There was playtime in the morning, followed by naptime, then lunch, and then more naptime.  Then we got ourselves together for an outing.  We left early in the hopes of having a cupcake, but the shop was closed.  So we found a different bakery down the road and bought a cupcake, 2 rum balls, 2 peanut butter cups, and an orange-cinnamon roll.  Everything was good except for the cupcake.  I thought it was dry and the icing just blah.  I liked the sprinkles the best – and that is pretty bad for a cupcake. 

We were actually on our way to a FRG meeting.  It is a group for the families of people in the army.  Eliza is in charge because Sam is in charge.  They met at the bowling alley and then we all bowled.  By the time we got home it was late and way past G’s bedtime, but she ate dinner and got ready for bed like a champ!  I made zucchini, butternut squash, and beans for dinner over salad.  It was delicious!  I also found some goat’s milk brie!  LOVE LOVE LOVE!  We watched So You Think You Can Dance (everyone is now addicted – shame it is already the end of the season) and went to bed.    

August 11

I am very conflicted.  Today is the last day of the trip.  I am looking forward to seeing my wonderful husband again tomorrow, but I will miss the ladies.  This trip has made me so grateful for the friendships I have but regretful for leaving them alone for so long.  Does that make any sense?  I have missed these ladies so much since we graduated college; wait, since we got home from Spain 7 years ago.  I say this every year, but I think having spent the last two weeks with women (& their families) whom I truly love, that I actually will keep in touch better.  Because without them, my life is less full. 

So today.  Was a sneaky kind of day.  Last night, Julie made a comment to be that I made sure happened today.  We gave Eliza 12 hours (Starting last night at 9:19pm) to come up with something to do OUTSIDE OF THE HOUSE and ALL BY HERSELF!  I mean seriously, there were 2 of us left to contend with 2 sleeping babies – how hard could it be? Especially since they loved and trusted us.  No sweat.  And seriously, when had Eliza spent any time alone in the last few weeks, wait months.  So this afternoon, we kicked Eliza out!  Then we ate lunch and played in the rain.  She went shopping for clothing for HERSELF!!!  And brought us home groceries so I could make stuffed shells for dinner.  We did forget about the eggs, and then the cheese after Julie had come home from the grocery store.  But it was delicious.  I stuffed them with ricotta, mozzarella, mushrooms, zucchini, and spinach.  YUM. 

 

Tonight we also watched the season finale of So You Think You Can Dance!!!!!  LOVE!  Funny, because my darling husband called me right before we started watching it to tell me that he knew who won already! I mean well, duh, different time zone!  But that he approved of the winner.  I have fought every urge to call him back now and tell him that I know also!  But it is almost 3 in the morning his time, so that is just NOT happening.  Especially if I want him to pick me up tomorrow.

In other news, I finished my quilt tonight!!!! With tons of help, support, and patience from the SPECTACULAR Julie!  She has been so wonderful throughout the whole process!  I couldn’t have picked it up so quickly without her (and her sewing machine!! hehe).  

Off to pack.  Then bed.  Then play with the munchkins for a little while before Julie takes me to the airport.  Sad night.

 


August 12
Today was the longest day of flying ever.  The flights were completely uneventful - thank goodness.  Just long.  Metro home.  I called Matt to pick me up.  When I got in the car he told me two very interesting things.  First - I was supposed to call when I transferred lines (so he could have bought me flowers on the way to pick me up).  Second, he baked me a cake!  He intended to make me cupcakes, but he couldn't figure out where the liners were, and he couldn't call and ask.  But the best part, only 1/4 of the cake was left when I got home!  I love my husband!  He is too funny!