America at Its Best

I just got back from DC, and I had a ridiculously good time. DC definitely had an electric buzz in the air while we were there, and I've never seen our country so darn loving, happy and hopeful. It was amazing.

My trip there was quick, but I laughed a lot, cried (happy tears!) and froze my butt off. Although, Tish, Liz, David and I were unable to be there for the actual inauguration (it's a long story, but basically we all got screwed by gates that never opened, and we weren't the only ones, according to a number of articles, including this one), we did make it home in time to watch it at home all together and I, for sure, felt like I was there. (Chanting "Obama, Obama, Obama" in 13-degree weather at 6:30 am with a few thousand people will do that.) Thankfully, I have video from a little of that.



Along with a quick video of what I do best: Accidentally take video when I'm trying to take a picture. And curse.



For more from the trip, check out my pics here and Tish's pics here. I certainly had a FABULOUS time, and I'll always remember it. Cheesy as it is, I've never felt more proud to be an American. I not only witnessed history, but I got to witness it with some of my best friends. I can't wait to see what our future holds.

Oh, and for a more detailed play-by-play of our trip, check out Tish's post. She got the details yo and has video of us in line! 

A Belated Holiday Card

Each year I say that I'm going to do holiday cards...next year. From college until two Christmases ago, my excuse was that I didn't need to do holiday cards if I wasn't married. And then, last Christmas, I used the craziness of thank-you cards as an excuse. This year? I really have no excuse. So, if you sent me a holiday card and I didn't reciprocate, it's not because I don't love or care about you. I do. It's just that when it comes to cards, I'm lazy. My apologies.

But, I'm posting to make amends. Below is my Christmas card. It's festive, happy and even includes a puppy. You forgive me, right? 

From my crazy, lovable family to yours. 

P.S. Stay tuned for a resolutions/birthday look-back and look-ahead. Plus, how almost all of the dreams on my dream board came true. (Those things really do work!)

Friend Feast and a Belated Anniversary in Lawrence

As if everyone hadn't had enough turkey on Thanksgiving, Ryan and I had the KC peeps over the Sunday after T-Day for what I call "Friend Feast." The name is a little misleading as we didn't feast on friends (ewww), but it was a feast fit for friends. Check the bird:

For the first year, Ryan and I brined our turkey. If you're not familiar with brining it's basically dunking your bird in salty, herby water overnight. We did it in a cooler that was left out over night. Classy!

But, the technique resulted in a really moist, tender and tasty bird. Definitely a repeat. As per the generous nature of our friends, everyone came with tasty dishes and wine galore. AKA: Heaven.


This was also the first year that everyone had a partner for the holidays. Yes, it was a little sickening sweet, and Mike and Katrina decided to emphasize that by dressing alike. How cute.


Here we are before the meal. Unfortunately, no pics after, but just imagine us full and groaning. You know, a traditional Thanksgiving meal.

Last weekend, Ryan and I celebrated a belated anniversary in Lawrence. Isn't it just lovely? We were totally wrapped up in nostalgia from Ryan's grad school days.


We ate at Free State Brewery for a lovely lunch and beer, did some shopping on Mass and just generally got away. It was fantastic.

We stayed at the historic Hotel Eldridge and loved it. The staff was nice, the rooms were clean and spacious and it was quiet. Even on a Saturday night.

No mint on the pillow, but that's okay.

Granted the view wasn't much, but whatev. 

Before out night of gorging ourselves on pad thai from Thai Siam (simultaneously the best and worst restaurant in Lawrence) and drowning our sorrows from the MU game (or lack thereof) in a bottle of scotch, we stopped by campus for some serious reminiscing. Here's Marvin Hall. Where Ryan spent 90% of his time (including sleeping) from 2004-2007.

We had such a great time. And although I took no pics in Henry's, they still have sangria, and it's delicious. Well, the red is. They added white recently, I guess, but avoid. It's terrible. 

We Baracked the Vote!

Thanks, Erin and Tish for hipping me to the coolest phrase/blog title ever. I apparently was living under a rock and never heard it. Love it though! And I loved Tuesday night. LOVED it. Almost can't believe it. Now, as usual, a photo essay. You can see how happy we were.

Sarv and Ryan gleefully make blue Kool-Aid/vodka/sugar water for us to shoot when states go blue.

First state called, take one down! (We took 26 by the night's end, but no worries, they were weak, people. WEAK! We knew what we were in for.)

The boys watching the results come in. 

And it's called! The happiness/shock of its awesomeness sets in. Fastest election to be called since I started voting.  

Can you believe it?! Yes, we can!

Everyone got stickers! And smiles!

Peace, love and a whole lotta Obama!

We have a future! We can still live in the US! We can be proud of your country's president! Hooray! 

Celebration double-fist pump.

Ryan's pours glasses of champagne for all. With an extra bit of sauciness of course.

Gosh, it's so awesome. I can't wait to see how this country changes...

Happy Halloweenie!

Before I get into Halloweenie pics, I must first share some photos of the birthday girl! In celebration on her first estimated year of life, Miss Siena got a new collar, a new harness and doggie ice cream. I think she enjoyed it.

Sitting quietly for her treat.

Collar close-up: We picked pink so people would stop calling her a him.

Now for the really fun stuff. I freakin' love Halloween. And while many of our friends were in different states so we couldn't all celebrate together like we usually do (slow tear, fast tear), we did our best to make the most of it. Regretfully, on Halloween night at Charlie Hoopers, my camera died, so I didn't get pics of Jim and Jessica. Jessica went as the bailout bill and Jim was the golden parachute. It was brilliant.

Ryan went as one of the Beastie Boys from the Sabotage video. Love it.

'Stash close-up.

I've wanted to be a flapper for FOREVER. Finally, I made my dream come true.

Sarv went as the Joker in the beginning scenes of The Dark Knight. It freaked my ish out.

Group pic!

On Saturday, Ryan and I spent some time walking around the Plaza and waiting for a table at PF Changs. It was an hour-and-a-half wait, but we had a gift cert, and it was a nice night, so really no complaints. It gave me ample opportunity to shoot. :)

Everyone loves this fountain.

You may walk now. 

Sunset in the park...ahhh.

Finally, I stake out Ponce de Leon. Home of the...

ELUSIVE PONCE DE LEON SHEEP!!!

Long Overdue

I effing hate squirrels:
Well, now that I have that off my chest, let's address my inability to blog. Well, in all fairness, things have been a tad nutso lately. I spent months complaining about my crappy work situation, then spent time soul searching, then Erin and I created FBG. Next, I lost my mind working with the Small Business Association, started interviewing for jobs, finally landed a job that was created for me (both figuratively and literally), had a bizarro hush-hush-quit-my-job experience, went to Chicago, and now I start my new job on Monday. Phew. And to think that I once thought that my 26th year of life would be the most exciting. 27 ain't too shabby all in all, and God knows what 28 holds.

This weekend also marks two exciting things: 1) Ryan and I's one-year anniversary is on Sunday, and I'm so excited for it. We really picked a beautiful time of year to get married, and it's so nice that each year I can look back on that beautiful day. Awesome. 2) Siena's estimated birthday is on Monday! The booger turns 1, and I plan to spoil her rotten with doggie ice cream, a new collar and a new leash. No cake though, I'm not that nutters.

The only other thing that I should mention is that I recently made and decorated the ugliest cake imaginable. And I really tried to make it pretty (I swear!), but apparently my cake skills are in need of some serious sharpening. As is my recipe for icing. See?

Why did I, a Mizzou grad, bake and decorate a cake that says Texas on it, you ask? I lost a bet. Damn Longhorns.

Siena's Shenanigans and Other Events Since I Stopped Finding the Time to Blog

Things at the Nut have been crazy lately. My day job has been going as usual, I started teaching two boot camps (on the Nelson Lawn!) and then there's the "extra" project I've got going on the side. Sheesh. Not to mention having fun with friends, spending quality time with the fam and enjoying/chasing after my very large puppy. This is one summer for the books. Here's an abridged version of what's happened since I last blogged almost three weeks ago. Shame on me...

Siena Update
1) Siena has developed quite the sense of, er, humor. Her latest "game" is taking a prized possession from inside and running outside to chew on it. The fun part comes when Ryan or I go out to get it from her. The chase is cute the first couple of times, and then it gets old--quick. Her most recent treasure was a water spritzer. The same one that we use, I mean used to discipline her. Funny, Siena, really funny.

2) While I was making stir-fry for this post, Siena sneaked up and literally slurped up one of my noodles, Lady and the Tramp style. She sucked a long noodle all the way to her mouth with the tip hitting her nose. I laughed hard at this, which I'm sure is not the best way to teach her to not go after people's food.

3) Siena has a BFF. Her name is Izzy, and she lives next door. I've mentioned her before. Apparently, Siena can't bear the thought of them being outside at the same time without being able to run around/bite/play together. So, my little darling puppina JUMPED THE 4 FOOT FENCE to get to her. Then Ryan and I spent all day adding chicken wire and fence extenders to the chain-link fence to prevent further rendezvous.

4) Siena has also entered destruction mode. This was once a double-knotted, heavy-duty chewing rope (with minty floss!). Now, it's the spaghetti monster:


More moments of zen with Siena:




People and Plant Update
1) This summer has been unusually cool. And it hasn't been that humid. It really doesn't feel like the big Mo, but I'll take it. A few weeks ago, Ryan and I, along with some friends, hit up the annual Shakespeare in the Park festival. This year they put on Othello, and it was fantastic. You can bring your own food and wine in, too, which makes it that much sweeter. As you can see, we had quite the feast.






2) Sadly, I forgot my camera on the 4th, but I guarantee it was filled with Kodak moments. We first hit up my parents for a grill out with a ridiculous amount of meat, and then went over to a friend's for more meat, beer and bocce ball, which Ryan is now obsessed with. I have to admit that it is fun, despite it having the most boring wiki entry ever.

3) Ryan and I have been working our butts off in the yard, and we're finally reaping the rewards. You may remember the garden we planted back on Memorial Day? Well, little garden has grown. Check this out.


Besides making pesto with the loads of basil I've grown, this weekend we even got our first red grape tomato. Here's my moment of zen:

Silver Ain't Too Shabby

Every year, I put myself through sports-related hell. Maybe you've heard of it? It's called Kansas City Corporate Challenge? For some reason, year after year, I sign up for a multitude of events, many of which I am not talented in (swimming, track, tug of war, to name a few).

However, I am talented in tennis, so each year I get really pumped to play doubles tennis. My partner and I, who eerily look related, have similar styles of play and make for a great team. The first year we played we took bronze; the second year we took silver (only because I was in Disney World at the time -- for work, people. I was WORKING HARD). This year, J Squared, as we like to call ourselves, was hoping for the gold. But no. I, my friends, was a headcase. But I'm getting ahead of myself...

We were supposed to play Saturday, and I was psyched for it. Then I spazzed out, forgetting what time we were meeting to warm-up or play and arrived at the courts more than an hour early. Then, once it was time to play, our competitor didn't show, and we won by forfeit. This was good, but bad because we only spent 30 minutes playing with another team who was in the same situation, but, like us, refused to go home without doing anything. (Seriously, I don't wear a skirt for nuthin.)

Then on Monday, during our semifinals match, I came with no game face. I kept over thinking, over hitting, under hitting and doing anything else besides getting the ball in the court. It sucked. I can't believe the other "J" in J Squared didn't smack me. The team we played was good, no doubt, but we ended up playing a grueling three set match that lasted darn near three hours. It should have lasted one hour, but we pulled it out. Barely. Sheesh.

Then, after 20 minutes of rest and six baby carrots (we didn't intend on the marathon tennis), we hit the court again...for....another...three setter (another 2+ hours of tennis). Dear Lord, help. We ended up losing, but I swear it was only due to muscle fatigue and brain failure. And for our state, we really did make some hella good shots. (I finally pulled my ish together for this one; I was too exhausted to continue being a headcase.)

Here's a pic of us before the match:



Thank GOD we didn't take one after.

Summer Lovin'/Domestic Bliss

Although we celebrated Memorial Day a few weeks ago, this weekend is the first one that felt like it was really summer. I wore shorts and flip flops all weekend, and I went to a pool party (without even getting burnt!). That's a recipe for summer right there.

This weekend, Ryan and I also did some outdoor upgrades to the Nut, including the planting of five native grasses along the backside of our neighbor's fence. Previously, nothing had grown here except weeds, so this was a major improvement.



Each grass plant is supposed to grow five feet tall. They don't take a lot of water, either, so they're quite eco-friendly (and require little commitment from us, which rocks).




After we were done planting, Ryan moved some of the extra dirt we had to a wheelbarrow. While I was taking pictures, I captured Siena in the wheelbarrow. How she got up there without tipping the whole dirt-filled thing over (the wheelbarrow has a very wobbly tire situation going on), I have no idea.


If fact, she was actually quite content in the wheelbarrow.

Although, I haven't come up with a nickname for Siena's love of gardening, her most recent eccentricities have landed her three new nicknames (in addition to these mentioned earlier this year). There are as follows...

1) Scooter Paws: Siena LOVES sliding around on our wood floors. Ryan and I can stand with our feet hip-distance apart at opposite ends of our living room, and she'll run from person to person, sliding under our legs. I really should try to get video of it sometime...

2) Frito Lay: On certain days, Siena smells just like America's beloved corn chip, Fritos. It can be a day or two after a bath, and she'll smell like this. It's not really a bad smell. It just makes me want to eat chili. It's weird, and I can't explain it.

3) Puppina: One day, I said Siena was acting like a puppy princess, and then this came out of my mouth. Sometimes, for extra fun, I call her Pumpkin Puppina, as she is the color of pumpkin.