migrating south

matt and i had the luxury of being able to take a quick vacay to texas during may during a 5-day-off stretch in my work schedule. we were there the 21st - 25th and enjoyed catching up with family and friends and the warm, sunny weather (which i never would have guessed i'd miss!). i didn't take a ton of pics this time, due to the extreme exhaustion that tends to come with working several days in a row before leaving town, then attempting to see and do everything you want to while in town....some day i will learn to just take some actual vacation days! okay....y'all know me...maybe not. at any rate, enjoy the photos!

texas visit, may 2010

it runs in the family

this post is solely for the purpose of showing off the two athletes in the family: matt & lexi. as you know, lexi has recently taken up frisbee for her leisure-time activity. matt, on the other hand, has returned to golf. at his dad's invitation, matt has been taking advantage of his time between jobs to brush up his golf game. he assures me that in the business world a good golf game will come in handy...he claims this as "research" and "job preparation." riiiiight. not that he needs to justify it to me, anyone who knows my hubby knows that he works hard and can justify some time on the links with his dad. so......enjoy your golf time, honey, you've earned it!

i should also note, that *all* the pics for this post were taken by matt -- thanks, honey! it also means that he is not actually in any of them...sorry!

lex with her frisbee

run, girl!!!

i *love* this pic, she looks like a puppy!

steve takes a swing as uncle larry watches

a perfect golf pose

enjoying the scenery

road trip!!!

when you spend most of your waking hours at work (in one hospital or another), it's hard to imagine spending your days off doing anything other than lazing around at home, not bothering to change out of pajamas, or putting on makeup, or doing anything other than possibly reading a good book or making a much-needed trip to the grocery store. of course, most of my days off consist of "catching up" on all the things i don't do on the days i work: laundry, shopping, cleaning, blogging..etc, but this past friday i took a real step away from the ordinary and spent an entire day just having fun.... !!!

that's right, despite my desire to be lazy, i listened to my fun-loving, more spontaneous side (yes, it's there, i really do have one!) and ventured out of columbus and about 200 miles away to meet up with my friend crystal, who is a nursing school buddy.

here's the backstory: at the same time matt moved here to ohio, crystal moved to washington, DC to pursue her CRNA degree at georgetown. so we are both TWU grads, both texas girls who are "displaced" and we both ended up having to live without our spouses for a while until new jobs were found and houses were sold. i moved to ohio to be with matt at the end of october, and rich was finally reunited with his wife in DC in january (just in time for the blizzards, oh joy!).

so crystal and i decided that despite (or between?) our hectic schedules we should plan a day to hang out somewhere about 1/2 way between columbus and DC. the meeting spot (proposed by the iPhone "meet me" app): morgantown, WV.

i should probably mention at this time that most people in ohio make fun of west virginia. the closest thing i can liken it to is texans mocking arkansas. there was more than one joke, when i told people of my plans for a road trip to WV, asking if i was headed there to marry a cousin or lose a tooth....ouch! sorry WV, i hold no ill will towards you! so, since the college town was pretty much exactly 1/2 way between us and required us each to only drive 3.5 hours (or *maybe* i made it in three.....) and we were really just going to see each other, and not go sight-seeing, it seemed to be a perfect meeting spot.

always one for a road trip, i packed up my snacks, ipod, cell phone, camera and sunglasses and headed east around 10am. the drive was great, through rolling hills and green trees. of course, there was hardly any "civilization" between here and there, save the few cities that the highways actually cut through.

west virginia

one of the most amusing parts of the drive was that i actually drove through the states in this order: ohio -> west viginia -> pennsylvania -> west virgina. apparently there is no highway that cuts southeast through west virginia...weird.

once i arrived in the "thriving metropolis" of morgantown, i parked in a tiny lot and met crystal at the micro-brewery. we enjoyed some *very* tasty food and really delicious beer. we attempted to ask our waitress for suggestions on what else we could do while in town, but she wasn't helpful.....at all. so we walked around town and decided to get pedicures. the first salon we walked to didn't appear to offer them at all, so we asked some other girls on the street who recommended a spa in a hotel, "the tallest building in town." nice. so we trotted about a mile down the street and into the building only to find out that they had absolutely no available appointments. *frown!*

so, we gave up on pedicures. we started to walk back to the brewery, but took the more scenic river-walk route back. on the way back, it started to thunder...then rain...then pour! after taking shelter under some trees and then a storefront awning, we decided to head back to the brewery for another beer and watch the rain from the patio.

after enjoying another beer, we decided we should probably get some caffeine to counter-act the tasty brew before we drove 3+ hours home. so we found the closest starbucks, ordered some frapuccinos and talked for several more hours until it was time to say goodbye. sober and caffeinated, i headed back to columbus, which suddenly looked like a huge metropolitan area. it really is all relative...

thanks for a great day out, crystal! i had an amazing time!!!

and thanks to my ever-loving hubby, who encourages me to actually "take a break" now and then. he offered to stay home with our dog when we couldn't find anyone to watch her for the day so i could spend time with crystal!

dinner fit for a king

on thursday night, matt & i had the opportunity to enjoy a fabulous dinner with the family: steve, jacquie, heather and miah. steve & jacquie treated us to a delicious steak dinner at ruth's chris steakhouse. for those who haven't been, it's a true "dining experience" complete with linen table cloths, martini's served table-side (so as not to spill any on the transport from the bar), and napkins that are re-folded while you venture to the restroom. the food is amazing, and honestly, i'm not sure which i would rank higher: the food or the service! although, i did commit the ultimate steak-house faux pas and ordered chicken as my main course instead of steak. *gasp!* in my defense, the chicken was *delicious* and stuffed with cream and butter and smothered in tasty herbs (healthy sounding, i know). also, i knew that i would be able to have some of my husband's steak, so i wasn't going to not eat some of the USDA choice beef!

in addition to the food and service, the company was wonderful...arguably the best part of any dining experience! thanks steve & jacquie, for a great night out!

matt & his dad

heather & i

miah & jacquie

our waitress shaking up my pomegranate martini

being served my martini

buy her a beer! she's 21...

...in dog years! it's true! our baby girl turned 3 on may 2nd. sadly, the day went by without much celebration (and no beer!). other than a trip to the dog park (which *is* a lexi favorite), the day was pretty routine and i spent most of it at work. however, this didn't seem to phase our precious pup and she didn't seem to mind that we didn't even give her any presents (she's such a good girl, never a complainer!). don't think that she hasn't gotten *anything* though, as she is the reason that we recently paid to have two sections of carpet replaced in the apartment, and she has already had received two frisbees and a new bone this month!

why the frisbees? lexi has recently learned to actually live up to her breed...no she's not a chemist... i meant the "retriever" part! never a fan of tennis balls (or any other toys we could throw in an attempt to make her fetch), we had pretty much given up on the idea of ever being able to play fetch with -- and subsequently wear out -- our dog. until one day at the dog park someone suggested a frisbee and lexi *loved* it. matt is still working on the whole concept with her, but she is getting better and better at the whole go-get-it, bring-it-back and drop-it concept. and, as with anything, lexi is always more motivated when there's a treat to be had for her "good behavior."

our frisbee-lovin' 3-year-old

so, again, why "frisbees" instead of "frisbee?" well, because the first one we bought was a cheap plastic one and, needless to say, it's probably floating around in some inanimate-object heaven right now commiserating with our carpet, old chew toys, my favorite black pants and a host of other things about it's early demise at the jaws of our dog. the new frisbee is some chew-resistant ultra-durable thing...we'll see.

so what else is lexi enjoying right now? here are her favorite things:

- being fed

- getting petted

- slobbering on unsuspecting people

- going to the dog park

- barking at neighbors who walk by

- sunning on the patio

- car rides

- her bed

- peanut butter

- having people visit (because they all come to play with her, right?)

all-in-all she's a good dog, and a pretty sweet girl. we love having her around (mostly) and are hoping that we'll (mostly) love having her around for several more years!

happy birthday, lex! we (really do!) love you!!!

to see pics of her the day we brought her home, click here!

time for an upgrade!

the faithful Dell

for those who are wondering why the last few posts took so long to, well, post...it's because our faithful old dell (aka - "jill") finally gave out on us. despite much coaxing, praying and, yes, cursing, the poor old PC finally succumbed to old age, and quite possibly, a faulty video card -- the autopsy reports were inconclusive. she was a faithful computer, surviving not only the move to ohio, but the move from my parents' house to our house on brewster before that, and she never complained. she was well traveled and faithful, serving my parents for approximately 3 years before taking up residence with us, and dutifully acting as our primary computer for nearly 6 years. yes, in computer years she was *ancient.*

there were no signs of her impending doom, and i like to think she went peacefully. i finished surfing the web one night, we went to sleep and the poor PC never really woke up the next morning. her monitor had become completely useless. blind to her inner workings, we vainly tried to keep her on life support. initially with a new monitor, and then through various other techniques -- but it was all futile, she was gone.

do not cry for her, though, she is well remembered through her contribution to our new computer. we saved her hard drive, and she lives on in the documents, pictures and other media safely stored within it. by now she has probably completed her trip to the recycling yard courtesy of apple computers. my mother and i took her in to the shipping center together (it was only fitting that her two owners where there to say goodbye). so she will continue to be useful in other ways...way to go, jill!

maddie sue helps me with "jill"

and now, i would like to introduce you to the newest member of our family, who is going to have take the place of poor 'ol jill.....introducing, the 27" iMac!

iMac has been a wonderful addition to our little family here, arriving shortly after jill's departure. mac settled right in in no time at all (about 15 minutes of set up before we were cruising online together, oh joy!), but that's not to say there haven't been difficulties in the transition. i've had to learn how to upload and organize photos again, and re-load picasa in order to complete my lengthier blog posts (and thank goodness that they have picasa for mac's now!). i've had to figure out how to edit pictures (which was actually quite fun...and fairly easy to do), and how to work a slightly different version of excel for our budget, word for our documents, and transition my iTunes collection to a new computer. it wasn't always easy, and there has been more than one, "this is an iMac for goodnesssake! it's supposed to be EASIER" (or "faster," "more simple," etc.) comments made to my supportive (and already mac-saavy hubby). fortunately, though, my new computer is patient and slowly i am easing into a comfortable, and hopefully lengthy, relationship with the iMac.

rest in peace, old Dell PC. welcome, new iMac!