Georgia on my mind

This Thanksgiving Nate and I took a trip down South to see how Thanksgiving is celebrated in Atlanta. Turns out it's pretty much the same, except they have about 30 degrees on Ohio in addition to being the home of Nate's two brothers. We drove down Wednesday night and Thursday morning just in time to catch Thanksgiving dinner at Aaron and Bonnie's house. We had a great time and I learned that I can function on less sleep than I previously thought. Thanks to Nate for driving. It was at least my car? We had a good time checking out downtown, bowling, eating, moving watching, coveting Aaron and Bonnie's exercise equipment, and catching up. Thank you to our wonderful Georgian hosts!

Nate checking out pictures with Sadi and McKay

Nate helping Jackson with his church shoes

Nate, Aaron and Ben

Bonnie, Liz and Jenn

Nate, Ben and Jenn at the bowling alley

Aaron wearing some of Bonnie's old pants. It cracked me up. PS-Bonnie is skinny and just did a triathalon, so don't feel too bad.

The lake by their house was so relaxing that I tried out a yoga move or two...and realized how bad I still am.

Sitting down to dinner: Jenn, Sadi, Bonnie, Jackson, Liz, McKay

Potpourri

My happy face after I found a new hairdresser.

The photo we had to show to the marshall to prove we weren't breaking the law (intentionally).

The best photo from the Christmas card shoot.

Nothing says love like dishes and a bad rhyme

"I love little baby ducks, old pick-up trucks, slow-moving trains, and rain..."

Any guesses on the artist? If you are fortunate enough to be a Harrison child, you should know the whole song...or at least a derivation.

This cover is nice. I'm sure Tom T. Hall is a good man, but he looks a little "teethy" in this picture. Anyway, why does he get my spotlight this week? My mom purchased/was given a tape of Tom T. when I was still employed as her young dishwasher. I had my choice of Tom, Enya or OMD, so I had myself a listen every once in a while despite the lame lyrics. Not convinced?

"I love honest open smiles, kisses from a child, tomatoes on the vine, and onions".

This is from just one song. I digress yet again. Last week, I was washing my dishes; as I was scrubbing the sink, I found myself singing this song. Luckily, Nate was close enough to hear some of the choice lyrics. It's not like I don't give myself away as a geek enough...
My urge to sing "I Love" made me wonder if I had some type of memory association with washing the dishes/cleaning my sink. And no, this isn't the first time I've cleaned since then, so my theory isn't incredibly strong. Do you have any activities that remind you of songs, or vice versa?

Another treat to chew on:

"Four hundred hogs comes to eight hundred hams
And that's a lot of money for a hog-raisin' man
Four hundred hogs comes to sixteen hundred feet
The market's up and there are people a-waitin' on that meat"

Feliz Halloween!

Blog-wise, Halloween is a bit unfair. If you post even a day after...it seems SO after. I have no excuse...but my makeup did take a while to remove. Same goes for Nate's mustache.

This year Nate and I attended the law school's "Fall Ball". We both had a great time, but the event really could've been titled "Thanks for paying for the alcohol!". I'm happy to help where I can, especially if I get to meet the happy/intoxicated. Because the ticket price was a bit steep, we both felt dedicated to getting the most out of the get together. For me, that meant avoiding people except Nate and enjoying the music. For Nate, it meant coercing me to meet his friends and enjoying the music. It's fun being so similar. I especially enjoyed the wet dance floor (I'll say because of water?). Once everyone else became dehydrated, there was quite a bit more room for us to dance like teenagers. My form hasn't really improved since then, but I care less about being judged.

Not the exact cats that triggered the asthma attack, but they probably looked similar

After our official Halloween night in Toledo, we took it on the road with Alana and Joe. There was a party in Chicago to attend (yes, I realize how that sounds)...how could we stay home?

A few of the firsts:

-my first trip to Chicago

-my first trip to the Cheesecake Factory

-my first migraine at a Halloween party

-Alana's first asthma attack at a Halloween party

-our first emergency trip to Wisconsin(where Joe's parents live) because of said asthma attack

-Mine and Nate's first trip to an all hispanic worker McDonald's while dressed as a Mariachi Band member and his leading lady. It wasn't until after as I was staring into the bathroom mirror and realized how bad that may have looked.

How could they be mad at these faces??

Honestly, Nate

I have too many clothes. My mom started telling me this when I was under 10 years old, and she could still (and did as we packed up to move last year) say it today. Instead of complaining/burning excess clothing in secret, Nate recently suggested that we find a small dresser to put in the other room. That way that cats could have reign over a book case we would move by the window in our front room. Win, Win, Win.


Two Saturdays ago, after a trip to the farmer's market, Nate, Alana and I stopped off at St. Vincent De Paul's. Having grown up in Utah, I kept thinking a local soup kitchen started selling second hand furniture...but the one in Toledo just sells furniture and clothes...and hopeless pieces of computers no one will ever use. Seriously, it was like a graveyard. Anyway, I found the dresser I wanted. It was beautiful: it was actual wood, the drawers opened, and it didn't smell weird. Alana attempted to negotiate with the "salesperson", but she quoted $35 and took off. She had better things to do...like tell people she didn't know how to run the credit card machine. Deciding we could talk someone else down a bit from her quote, we held off.


Nate stopped by the following Monday, in grubby clothes and with only a loose grasp on correct grammar (he wanted to see if that would help his cause), he asked a different woman to check out a dresser for him. "$65", she says. Refusing to go upstairs to look at said dresser, she insisted that her manager wouldn't let her sell them for less than that.
Nate: "I would like to speak with your manager"

Woman: "he's not here"

Nate: "when will he be back?"

Woman: "5:00pm"

Nate: "how late are you open today?"

Woman: "4:00pm"


A good time was had by all. Nate left, planning on returning on Friday, cause the woman said so. I think it was just a day of the week that she was familiar with, but whatever. Nate went back on Friday, dressed up and with improved grammar. He said he was there to pick up a dresser, some guys showed up, put the dresser in his car and said "okay, you're all set!". He hadn't paid yet. He sat in his car. He could drive away. He could give his wife not only a dresser, but a free dresser. He could spite that crazy woman. His obstacles: we were scheduled to go to the temple that night, he didn't want to rip off a thrift store, guilt. What happened: I got a non-free, non-overpriced dresser. And Nate is awesome. So is my dresser.

I'll meet you behind McDonald's...

I'm going to assume this is referring to fireworks?

In Our Lovely Deseret

I remember when shopping at the Deseret Industries (DI)* was really embarrassing. In my fifth grade class, someone was teased because they were seen shopping there (it now seems obvious to ask how the teaser was to be able to see the teased, but whatever).

While being an adult has some definite drawbacks, I now enjoy the (social) freedom to shop wherever I want; with pride, even. Last week during my visit back to Utah, I made an impressive 2 appearances to the same DI location within a 4 day span. The first day I shopped with Ruth (my sister) and my mom. I followed my mom over to the book section and found all the church books anyone could want (or didn't want, in this case). I found some great biographies on some of the prophets, but my prize find was a copy of President Benson's biography. It's written by Sheri Dew and signed by the prophet himself, so it's not only valuable (to me), but also well written. I surfaced from the book selection with an armful of (heavy) books; maybe Ruth's raised eyebrows didn't say "you realize that a heavy baggage fee is $50, right", but they should have. I found a few great items of clothing, but we had to leave to get to a family party.

Not completely satisfied, I called Ruth the next day and asked if she was up for another visit to DI. I was in luck (or being indulged), so we returned and were in rare form. I found all sorts of work/play clothes without (much of) the guilt of a regular shopping trip. After announcing my total to Ruth's husband, Matt, he asked if they gave me the keys to the store. I've been wearing DI clothes for a week and have felt totally stylish, but my carefree DI spending reminded me of diet advice I've heard: just because you are eating low-fat cookies doesn't mean you should eat the whole box. I won't feel guilty. My box of cookies was a lot less expensive than most and I successfully avoided a heavy baggage fee by carrying on about 40lbs on my back while wearing a bad outfit. I earned my bargains.

*Goodwill or Salvation Army equivalent

Home again, home again jiggity jog

Last February, during one of my tantrums (I will blame the weather...February is depressing; not even Valentime's Day can save it), Nate suggested that I take a trip home to visit family (and maybe to give him a break??). I just returned home, from my quick visit...home. Utah gave me a beautiful weekend of weather, family, and the Deseret Industries*. I was able to reacquaint myself with my family, Nate's family, a nephew who does nothing but smile and coo, 2 enormous cats, my doctor and my favorite local park. I also was lucky enough to meet two sets of twins (2 sets=4 babies), who were all very fun, but heavier and more squirmy than my cats, so holding them felt a little foreign.

It's an odd sensation to feel sad about leaving two places; leaving Toledo in the first place was extremely difficult, but it was my return flight out of Salt Lake that said, "just stay here". Ruth and Vince got me back to the airport right on time, but after sitting for an hour in the plane, I started to get fussy because it hadn't moved yet. At that point, the passengers were told they could either stay on the plane for another hour, or they could get off the plane and complain to the gate agents. Maybe they didn't say all of that, but it happened either way. Because I'm smart, I called the airline and fixed my missed connection all while eating an apple (thanks again Ruth).

One more hour and the plane took off. I shouldn't say this, but the chatty people behind me (that found they had a ton in common) were reaccommodated on different flights and I felt so blessed. I arrived in Minneapolis without incident and I had enough time for some dinner. Remembering what my doctor had recently said about curves (they are good apparently), I decided on Burger King. I ordered my kids meal, then enjoyed this conversation:

Liz: "do you have any side options other than fries?"
BK: "nope, just fries."
Liz: "okay, fries it is."
BK: "would you like regular or apple?"

For those who are wondering, the apples aren't fried, they are shaped so kids/Liz is tricked into eating better. I wasn't quite in Ohio, but the conversation reminded me so much of Toledo that I rushed to my gate to get back to the home I discovered that I missed.

*may need it's own blog entry

Rabbits about that size

Our cats were due for a check up of sorts. Nate had a "law review v. moot court" football game (self professed "battle of the nerds") scheduled right around the same time, so while maybe I deserved to go through the cat gauntlet in the car again, I wasn't looking forward to it. To prepare, I purchased a second pet carrier (pet taxi, to be official). Ruth asked me why I couldn't just use a banker's box. She really loves animals.

The second cat carrier made my transition to the car much easier than last time. Kathryn had been napping, so I took advatage of her confusion, shoved her in the carrier and threw a couple of treats at her. I stopped off at the school to see if Nate could come along, and the four of us headed to the vet. While we were waiting, a man with his two miniture dobermans came in. Their owners asked if we had cats (Nate was holding two cat carriers) and proceeded to tell us his dogs had never seen a cat. Before I could ask him how that was possible, Nate showed off Kathryn and Mal. Once he saw them, he said, "oh ya, these guys take down things like that all the time, you know, rabbits about that size, they bring em right to me". Dead, I assume. So to translate, his dogs can kill my cats. So if anyone is curious, it is really awkward to talk about pet deaths with a stranger...in a facility that serves to save animals.

Can you be more pacific?

This maybe isn't much of a post, but I love misused words/phrases. I've heard a handful recently and I wanted to share:

-"she can talk the fur off of..." (never bothered to finish. Reason? Lack of info).

-"it's as hot as a scorcher out there!" (translation: way hot)

-"he was trying to color code it" (I think they meant sugar coat. I hope. Maybe it would feel better about bad news if the colors were organized?)

And not recent, but still my favorite... "well, you know the saying, 'idle hands...' " (he didn't finish, and I was tempted, but didn't ask, "do you know the saying??)

Do you have a favorite misused word or saying?

"They're falling now...faster"

I'm torn. I love autumn; I think it's my favorite season because it's so difficult to mess up. Last year it was so pretty here. I think the fall foliage tricked me into feeling safe about the winter to come. This year I know better, so while I'm excited for leaves, excuses to buy spicy candles, eat pumpkin-y foods, etc. I know my eventual fate.

It's early September, and I already feel like I'm done for. Nate and I had a discussion today about how to keep our heat bill lower this year, although we went swimming less than two weeks ago. I will make an effort to lay off depressing-weather-update-I can't-believe-I-live-here posts, so instead I will just say that there are already orangey leaves kicking about and I want to glue them back on the trees.

Reminds me of "The Last Leaf". If there is anything as depressing as 1-"Old Yeller" 2-"Where the Red Fern Grows" 3-"The Yearling", it's the "The Last Leaf". So that's basically how I feel, aside from the sick in bed, and totally disillusioned because a kind old man painted a leaf on a building part. No one has been that thoughtful yet. Maybe Nate can work something up this weekend.

you can't drive around with a tiger in your car

Cute, right? It's funny how deceiving pictures can be; the four of us look civilized and intelligent, yet is it true? For example, would you be able to guess that about 30 minutes earlier, I was first reasoning, then yelling at scared cat, loose in my car? It was a ridiculous request, but I thought she'd listen at least a little.

We only have one cat carrier, but I don't really think it would've changed the outcome. Nate was in class, so I planned to get myself ready, stuff the cats in their cage, and pick him up so we could get our pictures taken. Once I was ready, I started to shove Kathryn in the carrier. No way, her truck of a body said. I couldn't get her in, so I went for Mal, who is easily fooled and loves toy mice.

At this point, I was going to be late, so somehow I thought that Kathryn would be fine loose in a moving car. Stupid. Three minutes later, she crawled past my steering wheel and onto my window. Once I moved her to the passenger seat, she discovered her desired spot: anywhere near my feet. "Kathryn, I just need you to be still so mommy doesn't crash our car...Kathryn, KATHRYN" and in one, semi-graceful move, she was under my legs (the ones used for break/acceleration) and facing backward, because she was scared and wanted her face covered. "Fine" I said, "but if you move anything, I will step on it".

Kathryn stayed put until I got to the parking lot of the school. Nate, excited to be done with class, walked briskly towards the car. "We have a situation", I say. Once Nate was in the car, all was well. Kathryn glared at me from her cushy spot on Nate's lap and we made it to our picture appointment on time. Wisely, Nate also took Kathryn for the photo shoot, so my shirt (and face) was safe from her wrath.

PS-Mal was only good because she was restrained.

Lucky Number Seven

In honor of my dad's (successful) seven bypass surgery, I thought I would list seven reasons my dad is my favorite.

1-Bread: I need bread in some form for most, if not all my meals. Why? My theory is that it's genetic/hereditary, etc. My dad has the same need and if I didn't have the same "problem", I'd think it's funny.

2-Puns: My dad loooves a good (or bad) pun. This list may turn into why I'm similar, but I think it's a sign of intelligence for one to appreciate use/misuse of words...and if that is our standard, my dad is quite a brain. :)

3-Halfsies: Maybe things have changed in the year I've been away, but I have many memories including my dad taking a half a slice of something, only to return to the half, to half it again. Nate's dad is also guilty, so I think that means bad things for both of us.

4-J-ello: Not a favorite food, but a fun time. Whenever Ruth and I would need to provide an official answer to a guy that had asked us to a dance, dad was there to provide inspiration. The pinnacle: my dad pulls out a box of j-ello from the pantry cupboard and says "j, ello"....wha? It didn't really mean much, aside from a laugh and a reference to "hello". Seeing as "hello" wouldn't answer the dance question, his j-ello submission was disqualified.

5-Halloween, or whenever: I'm not sure if it has survived, but we used to have a clown mask that covered the top half of one's face, complete glasses and crazy hair sticking out the top. It seemed whenever the halloween box was stirred up, this mask found it's way onto my dad's dresser, then later his face. Glasses with fake paper eyes have also been spotted.

6-Glass, anyone?: When I was in seventh grade, my dad survived a crazy incident involving our suburban, a faulty cruise control, and the fence. He was in a suit coat when it happened cause he had just come home from work. Much later on, showing off his sense of humor, he bet someone at his office that he could still pull glass out of his pocket. Guess who won?

7-Funny Bone: From making fun of "The Colonel" at the gym (easy target), to his laughing at his own penchant for Matlock and Perry Mason, my dad can find the funny in anything.

Get Well Soon!

Duped by the Del

Today was a big day, and while I'm embarrassed on my timing, I'm still proud of the accomplishment-my car is an Ohioan! Yes, yes, yes, I just posted announcing our year mark, and registration comes around more often than that, but whatever. Nate discovered that both downtown Toledo and the title and registration office are often vacant, so I was able to get everything done during my lunch break.
To celebrate, we went to Del Taco for some eats. The arrival of the Toledo location has been an exciting event for us, but I have mixed feelings about them today. I was tricked. I was offered a medium or macho sized meal. Medium being the smallest choice she offered, I went for it. Nate and I were rewarded with a vat sized cup to fill with soda, and I have an extra taco that won't refrigerate well. The trick here is that a small option exists; I'm wondering if someone was trying to win a contest at work? Thanks, Susan. (it should be mentioned that she was really efficient and has obviously mastered the upsell)


Oh, Tom.

All this reminded me of a favorite Halloween...I had planned to go to lunch with Tom and Ruth; we decided on Del Taco (their Murray location has a long drive thru line at any hour of the day). Ruth drove, so she got to order. With Tom (dressed as one half of Siegfried and Roy complete with a blond wig and a white stuffed tiger) in the passenger seat, I hid in the back while Ruth yelled "NO, NO MACHO ANYTHING. JUST REGULAR" (there was either a broken speaker or a language barrier, I don't remember). While embarrassed at the time, today I saw the wisdom in her clear communication. Reheating a taco means heating up lettuce. Hiss, Susan.

Happy Birthday Ohio!

Although Ohio gained statehood in March, not August, it became a state for us one year ago yesterday. I still hesitate (read: cringe) to call it "my" state, yet as we apply/fight for residency however, I am more inclined to say whatever it is that will give us a tuition break. So in case the University of Toledo Residency Committee is reading...I love Ohio and will never leave. Never. Moving on, we've been here a year!

To commemorate such an event, I feel the need to review my introduction to Toledo...toll roads were an unknown to Nate and I, so we quickly ran out of money on I-80. The last toll booth I stopped at was my favorite (I'm sure the booth worker's too): at that point, I had no money, save a few foreign coins, and I had lost the ticket I was supposed to give them. I was near tears, but I also figured she had to let me through at some point. She did and gave us a new route into town that avoided the rest of the tolls. We rolled in, saw a Costco on the verge of a grand opening, and somehow managed to find our way to our apartment. Looking back, Toledo may not be a booming metropolis, but it's still big enough to consider our apartment discovery miraculous.

Once we arrived, we crept in (it was 1am), our apartment and a summer's worth of heat welcomed us. The apartment was completely bare, hot and I was so tired I wasn't rational. Nate started moving around the blinds and windows in an effort to cool the place down. It was a good idea, but...most of the windows/blinds Nate opened or pulled up came crashing down, dramatically showing us that we would be renting an "old soul". Sometime around there, I started crying because I hadn't yet (it seemed like the time). It was so hot that we decided a visit to the local Comfort Inn would be the best choice for the evening, so instead of worrying about never waking up (from the heat), I worried about my car getting broken into.

Since then, I have worked 3 jobs, Nate has finished 1 year of law school, we've purchased 3 cats, joined the local YMCA, bought a Costco membership, and most important, learned how to enjoy life with lots of (foreign) change.

Here are a few pictures of our journey east.


Liz trying to look as much like Abe as possible

Nate studying a map in Wyoming

Generic Motel: The first fly is free!
(this place is in Nebraska for all who want to avoid or experience)

Times Like These

I've taken note how much Nate loves surprises for birthdays, Christmas, etc., so I tried it out on him. I found out that the Foo Fighters were stopping in Cleveland, so I bought him tickets in April and had to bite my lip several times to avoid ruining the secret. Not sure if we had both passed the age of concerts being cool, I asked him fake questions involving Lyndsay buying tickets to a Interpol concert for her husband Erik. I'm a horrible liar, so I didn't expect Nate to go for it. I got lucky and I either pulled out a good performance or he was still sleepy. In any case, we both ended up with a surprise. Nate with the tickets, and me coming away happy that I've seen Mr. Grohl in concert.

Most of the video we took turned out better than our pictures. In it, we tried to include the drunk trio in front of us. I had forgotten how much meaning raising one's plastic cup of beer to the sky really has. We were also reminded that "rock on fingers" (don't pretend you have no idea what I'm talking about) are still way cool. Although I continue to age, I still think I can pass for a young concert goer. I wondered about the dude next to us...he was late 30s (fine) and had brought his wife and kids with him. He knew every single word (that I could see anyway) to each song; while impressive to me, I wasn't convinced his 8 year old boy really cared. Should he?


We had reserved a hotel room across the street from the concert venue, so parking wasn't an issue, nor was driving home two hours in a sleepy/deaf state. We stayed in Cleveland the next day (last Saturday) and looked around. There is actually a surprising amount to do in Cleveland, but we settled on the "Vatican Splendors" exhibit, a car museum and a big candy store. We spent too much time at the exhibits to have a lot of time with the candy. We reluctantly shuffled out of the sunny candy store and found ourselves in a Wendy's location with openly defiant/arguing workers. I got a salad cause most of it is pre-packaged. Eek.


It's a Delorean!


It's a...something!


After the concert

During the concert

Home is where you keep your sharp knives

Look who wasn't tangled up!!

Me, a farmer tan, and the Yellow family

Ah, look at it...an open trunk is a beautiful thing

Our family showing off their masterpiece

Nate and the fam after finishing a game involving flimsy rope and a dangerous fence...good times

Austin braving the trust fall...I actually did it and it was surprisingly scary

In my last post, I alluded to Youth Conference, and here we are! Last weekend Nate and I had the opportunity to serve as parents for one of the youth groups on their "wilderness camp". Anything that allows one to wear flip flops doesn't really count as wilderness for me, but I wasn't about to fight it. We met at the church in Lima, met our family, played introduction games that really weren't, and headed up what should've felt like a canyon, but really was just farther from the Interstate than when we started.

Once we arrived, we went on a hike to help us bond; I think it worked, but sad that bonding sometimes needs to include people watching others fall in mud. The next day we stayed in families and played games that included Frisbee golf, the blind walk, partner tag, and volleyball. Nate and I were also was privileged to watch a fine production of the story of the Prodigal Son. I'm trying to find a place to post the video, but until then, know that my favorite line came from India; her reason for going back to her father: "I'm out of beer". Fair enough.

That night we also had the opportunity of making our own dinner. Because we wanted to distinguish ourselves from the other groups, we got a late start. We also ran into some trouble when we realized the two "sharp" knives we had were really dull, and the others didn't even try to deceive us; they were butter knives (you try to cut a raw carrot with a butter knife and tell me how long it takes). After some great prep from the kids, and a desperate enough look on my face for some help from the Stake, our food was cooked and delicious regardless of how it tasted-we hadn't eaten all day.

Nate and I had a really good time and are healing nicely from the sun and bug damage. We learned a lot and it was a weekend well spent. Thank you to Aaron, Austin, D, Eli, Emily, Franklin, India, Morgan, and Sarah!

You can't lock yourself out of a horse

When I started driver's ed my sophomore year, I nurtured a crazy fantasy that the horse and buggy would/should come back into vogue. I figured I was safe either way from learning how to drive as no one would make a lady drive a horse around...or whatever. Once I learned the ropes, got away from Mr. Lambrum (famous for saying "I'm just going to get my pen, I'm not going to touch your leg"--rough year for accusations??), and my driving group, I did just fine and agreed that the horse wouldn't need come back with the same force as in the good old days...until last weekend. More on youth conference soon, but during a rain storm, I ran out to my car to get a jacket, so I could find my kids and Nate. In my rush, I locked my keys in the trunk. I had a strong urge to scratch at my car to get said keys back, as if that would help...instead I shared my "I just locked the keys in the trunk" moment/almost cry face with Nate and an onlooking stake leader. Because a locksmith would be "astronomical" (said the AAA guy that could only open my car), we headed back to Toledo and took the 2 hour return trip to Lima/Sidney Ohio. We ran into a really cool lightning storm and more bathtubs in lawns serving as a shrine background, (picture a bathtub, vertical and buried halfway with Mary inside, like a little house), so it wasn't a total loss.

Nate attempting to open my trunk via a missing trunk release

4th of July

To celebrate this 4th of July, Nate and I decided to visit a bed and breakfast I had heard about in East Lansing, Michigan. First though, we kicked off the day by going to/Nate being in charge of an Elder's Quorum breakfast. We were worried no people/food would show, but both came in droves; I would call that a success. After packing up, we headed north and found the Wild Goose Inn without too much trouble. The Michigan State campus is in East Lansing, but not much else; we didn't necessarily consider that a bad thing as the 4th of July would've found lots of places closed anyway.
After walking around a bit, we set out to find a battery for our new camera. For all those interested, Meijer (kinda like Super Target), CVS, and Rite Aid do not carry Kodak lithium batteries, but do keep hours on the 4th of July. After dinner at Los Tres Hombres, we were told that the parking lot of the mall is where it's at for fireworks. I thought it was a lie, but we had no other leads, so we went over. Sure enough, in between Macy's and Target was a great fireworks display that we have no documentation of (a battery wasn't successfully found until the next morning, okay?). We also discovered that East Lansing houses "Caesarland". Any guesses? Apparently it's like a Chuck E. Cheese type place, Little Caesar's style. It looked like it was still in operation, so for all interested, it's next to Best Buy.
The Wild Goose Inn has great themed rooms (ours was Autumn Arbor, hence the tree looking bed and leaves on the ceiling), and we took a bunch of pictures hoping to copy their bathroom style one day.

After checking out, we got a parking ticket, went over to the Michigan State Campus botanical gardens, and smelled perfume plants. We left Lansing, stopped at the outlet mall on our way back home, and found shirts and books for under five dollars. The top winners? Nate's button up shirt for 1.90 and my new coffe table book "Big Hair" for 50 cents.

Tour of Toledo

I hope you can see all of the words on his bold billboard. Nate will try to get an internship with him next summer so he can learn how a "bald eagle" that breaks bricks interprets law.


Just down the street from the YMCA. I don't know, it's just jazzy-the turquoise lights, the solid compliment within the title, etc. I could see this as a hair joint up off of President's Circle, the big cheesy U and all...we'll give them time to branch out.

Tell me why Jon is confused. Is he ready for the 4th season? Does he understand what that means? Can he punctuate? My favorite part: The annual "X-Mas Party" and subsequent Super Bowl party annoucements were listed on the marquee until about early May. Sorry we didn't catch it on camera until now.

Liars...

If they look embarrassed, it's probably because they are. Kathryn likes to fight Mal at least every 30 minutes, yet I found them playing nice when I came home for lunch one day. I was anxious to gather any evidence hinting toward friendship. Yes Ruth, they appreciate the craftsmanship of the blanket.

Impatient

I don't know if mine and Nate's sleep schedule could be more different. Saturday morning I woke up around 8:30am, alone. Worried something had happened, I quickly got out of bed and found Nate washing the dishes...hooray! (Dish washing isn't uncommon, I was just relieved everything was okay). Excited at the prospect of being awake at the same time, we went to the YMCA, picked up the house a little bit, then later in the evening ran errands and went out to dinner. In the midst of all that, Nate took a nap to catch up for the morning.

So last night, by the time we got around to watching a movie, I was completely ready for the day's end. I think my body gets frustrated that movies aren't about 25 minutes in length, cause that's usually as long as I last. Surprisingly, I fell asleep before a plot could be established, and I padded off to bed sometime after midnight. I'm not sure when Nate came to bed, but my REM cycles had long since began. Because this disparity in our sleep times is always present, I compromise and normally let Nate sleep in on Sunday mornings even though I want him to be awake when I am. This morning, I'm impatient. It's his birthday, and already he's missed out on so much. So far, I've wrapped his present, messed up a perfectly good banana bread recipe, and watched a cat expel her breakfast. Doesn't he realize all of these things are for him?

Happy Birthday Nate.

Belated Cedar Point News

I get motion sickness. Every year that goes by, it seems to get worse. When Ruth and I went on our cruise to Bermuda, a friend suggested Bonine for said motion sickness (thank you Sylvia). It worked like a charm, but somehow I forgot about it.
Since we have moved to Ohio, Nate has made it clear that he would like to visit Cedar Point. As exciting as it sounded to visit a semi-famous roller coaster park, I imagined a $45 ticket to nausea. Inspiration hit and I found some Bonine at Wal*Mart, so I felt prepared for our Memorial Day trip to Sandusky, Ohio. We left on a Friday night, planning to arrive around 8:30 or 9:00pm. Thanks to my inattention to detail and low blood sugar, we got to the hotel around 10:30pm (yes, one exit too soon can make a difference). Nothing much was open, so Nate and I toddled over to the local Mickey D's and started our weekend away off right.
Nate and I decided Sandusky/Huron Ohio would be lovely areas to live, if one could find a job. I guess I would feel the same about Toledo, except we'd have to find really good jobs and an exclusive neighborhood.
The first full day we were in Sandusky, we headed for Cedar Point. I hadn't heard much about the place, just something from the travel channel*. We managed to get stuck hanging half upside down (and not in any danger), but my mind was tempted to wonder if it would happen later, at a less opportune moment and on a more frightening ride. It didn't and it turned out the most traumatizing event of the day would occur in the line for an indoor roller coaster, complete with black lights and fluorescent "decoration" (that's how it always happens, right?). Anyway, although my stomach was more sound than I had hoped for, I still got a bit nauseous after too many quick lines, so by the time we made it in to the hot, dark line for the Disaster Transport, I was feeling crazy. A group of "14 year old boy" smelling boys behind us didn't help much either. I kept covering my face, leaning on Nate, and looking for, then considering the nearest exit for my escape. In retrospect, I couldn't have been much more fun that a crying toddler (or 14 year old boy), but I guess it's a great test for later on, right?
I ended up surviving the entire day and we stayed right until the park closed; we rounded off the evening by jump starting a German guy's German car and eating at...McDonald's. Embarrassing, but I did choose something different from the menu.

The next day Nate and I took lots of naps, and discovered other sights around town; that evening we went to TGI Friday's near Cedar Point. We arrived, and watched while 4 hostesses dug around in someone's makeup purse and chatted. Nate asked how long the wait was. Hostess: 25 minutes. Nate: Okay Hostess: Do you still want to be on the list?? We were called five minutes later, so I decided a smug look was in order as we passed the Clinique counter. My dinner was tasty, Nate's was not, so we decided that dessert would act as the equalizer. I ordered a piece of oreo cake. The waitress decided it would be a positive selling point to add: "Do you know how many calories that has??? EIGHT HUNDRED". I'm not a violent person, but I suddenly wondered if my feelings were close. (Sorry to ruin it for everyone else, but I figure you make as well share my pain). I laughed and smiled politely...and ordered my cake.


*The availability of this channel in a hotel room is half the vacation for Nate