Saturday, January 24, 2009

Liz at Birthdaytime

I would/will post a birthday entry for anyone else in the Toledo family, so it's only fair that I post about my own, right? Last year, on my birthday, I woke up, put my hair in an up do of sorts (woke up late) and went to work. The work day was void of any birthday fun, aside from my lunch with Lyndsay (thanks, friend). I had only been at my job a few months, and was planning to split at any moment; maybe they could sense it, because no one acknowledged my birthday. I learned later that no one's birthday is celebrated, unless the birthday person should bring a treat in, begging people to ask what the big occasion is. I felt slightly consoled when I was finally clued in to their fun protocol, but on my actual happy birthday, I wanted to throw a cupcake at someone...but I didn't have any to throw since I didn't make any for myself. As a side note, working at the University of Phoenix completely spoiled me; any holiday, birthday, baby, wedding, Wednesday, etc. was celebrated in our office-it was great.

This year, in preparation to becoming a year older and wiser, I decided to act like it and took the day off from work. It took (professional) begging, but I got my wish. It was nice because Nate didn't have class until that night, it snowed like crazy all day, and I wanted to stay home and stare at the Christmas tree (I've since taken it down, okay). We went out to lunch at the Elephant Bar Restaurant, then walked around the mall until my feet hurt (bad shoe choice) and Nate had earned a spot in heaven. He braved several stores that annoyed even me, but I still wanted to shop in them. The cats had planned a crazy party for me at home, I got my cupcakes, some fun presents, some fun birthday wishes, and I've eased gracefully into 28....

What has been your favorite birthday day?

Thursday, January 8, 2009

Sharks at Christmastime

Nate and I have yet to visit the Toledo Zoo for an official look at the animals, but we've already been twice and have had a great time. Just before Christmas, we visited to check out the Christmas lights. We got in the spirit of things first by eating at a Lebanese restaurant near our house. Toledo was tundra/Hoth cold that night, and I'm still impressed by my own staying power. The aquarium stop helped (my hands especially) us reach a normal temperature for a bit, so hooray for fish.

Sleeping seal-it was encouraging to see an animal enjoy a temperature that low


Pretty much everyone yelled "NEMO!" at this tank

Jelly fish

The Merry Christmas Shark
Impossibly big tree with Nate's silhouette

Lizsicle

Christmas...was a while ago...

...but my tree is still up, so why not still blog about it? Nate and I had the pleasure of visiting the "tah" over Christmas!
A good time was had by all; how could we not with a PT Cruiser?! After finding the car rental desk, we were told that driving an economy car (take notes people) in the snow is "extremely dangerous". Really. After getting the opportunity to yell back to the girl that our car as booked was "FINE" (I was watching the bags), she suddenly realized they were out of economy cars (tricky girl) , so a PT was it. And I'll say it. I loved how they drive. Nate likes a nice Buick, and I apparently like a nice Chrysler. See, Detroit is good for something.
Our visit included lots of family gatherings, a few friend gatherings, a few workout sessions, new houses, new babies, new snowblowers, and last but not least, snowglobes...Alisha. We also fit in a trip to Murray Park, Temple Square and the Castle Creek Inn (all while Nate was sick! We are so efficient!)Having a car of our own really helpful and allowed us to tour the Sandy area quite nicely (and in style). We are so blessed to have such a great family and friends. Some pictures:

Steve and Lizze transferring music

Nate and I showing off a Lizzie original

Lilly, Afton and Aunt Liz

Afton and Nate

Vince in his basket
Liz and Grey
Grey's responsible dad
Afton, Nate and Lizzie