World Traveler

To kick my new job off right, I was sent to sunny New Jersey for two weeks of training.

I was gone from Oct 31-Nov 12. I filled my days with product and computer training, my nights with frequent visits to the gym and the lobby "store", talking with Nathan, and watching copious amounts of "Bones" and "Burn Notice". Everything went better than I expected, but that often happens because I'm such an anxious gal when it comes to *new* things, so my expectations are normally pretty low.

The weekend presented a problem for me: I didn't want to go into the city (read: I didn't have enough $$ to go into the city), but I didn't want to hang around all day. So, I convinced a front desk worker to drop me off at an area that had a Kohl's, Marshall's, Panera, etc. Janine ended up being delightful, and we discovered all sorts of connections (her dad is an attorney in Henderson, NV, her brother is LDS and went to high school in Utah, and I think she was born and lived in Ohio for a while). She was very nice to take me away from the hotel and I took advantage of my freedom. I stayed out from about 1:00-6:00pm and returned home as refreshed as one can be with that situation. Sunday was a late breakfast, a nap, a Law and Order marathon, topped off with a walk whilst listening to General Conference talks.

I hope my description above explains why I didn't take many pictures, but I thought I'd share some that I did take:

I kept seeing James Carville on CNN. I've been especially been entertained by him ever since he guest starred on "30 Rock" a season or two ago. Cajun Style.

Here's a picture of my notebook/proof I'm a nerd. I truly needed a notebook and this truly looks like Kathryn.

Hosscat?!

Box of candy at Rite Aid. So true, yet so weird.

Everyone all ready for Fishmas?? I still have a LOT of Fishmas shopping to do. Can't wait for Fish Friday. (Get it, Black Friday/fish fry?)

One of many

Directly after Kanab, I followed my family back up to Sandy for some more visiting. It was nice to know I can (and will) come up again and again, but there's never enough time, I've decided. Some of the highlights:

Wheeler Farm visit:

The geese are frightening and loud, the ducks are smart, and I felt relieved to run out of bread. Yes, I'm an adult.

Afton, Liz, and Lilly. They had a treat after the geese, so they were satisfied.

Lilly and Vince. We got several hand holding shots, so this will represent, but it never got old. Every time a cousin held another cousin's hand, I got the camera out and ready.

I realize this shot should've probably had a child instead of a dog, but Lucky is so cute and I missed my kitties. :)

During my stay, I had an opportunity to bond with Vince. I'm happy to report he knows me by name (usually "Hi Liz" is followed by "and Nate?"), will hold my hand and give me hugs. These steps do so much for an aunt that's been away too long.

Halloween Cat!

Amos (pictured) and Andy were once again very welcoming to us when we visited Tom and Stacey. Amos successfully got me into the Halloween spirit.

Soo...I kind of made my family participate in a last minute Halloween party:

Nate's shoes don't look like they are really on his feet, but they are....and that's his real hair.

Some of the cousins right before they were done with posing on the couch.

With the baby Bella. She wouldn't wear Nate's hair, so we settled for this shot.

Group shot (courtesy of Ethan!)

Nate successfully holding the wee Ivie. We also made progress with our relationship with her. More visits are necessary, but we're willing to make the sacrifice. :)

Kanab is for families

This year for our (immediate) family reunion, Stacey went above and beyond and found us a great place in Kanab to stay. Our original plan was St. George, but UEA and a few other things got in the way. Kanab was great though; we had a huge house all to ourselves and it was so much fun reacquainting myself with everyone again. Well, not everyone; we were missing Steve and Michelle's family. Maybe everyone for next year??

Tom taking his pool duties seriously; actually Matt and Nate were also spotted helping with this. There were some unfortunate things found in the pool, so a big thank you to them for making sure I didn't see any of them. :)

Ruth and the buttermilk child by the pool.

Jim's dog, Lucky, somehow finding this spot comfy.

Ethan and Alisha...just a little resemblance. :)

Dad and me at a lame "Hollywood movie set". The cutouts were obviously not used in films, yet this was one of the best parts of the tour.

Ruth and the wee Bella. And no, the baby isn't wearing fake lashes and lip liner...she's just pretty.

Baby Grey also just being really cute.

Some of the girls (and Vince) in the hot tub...that pool was way too cold!

Ethan, Jim, Lilly, and Lizzie in the other side of the hot tub...it kind of turned into the pool for most everyone. :)

While Pipe Springs* and the Hollywood movie set was basically a bust, we still had a great weekend. Can't wait until next time!

*in a nutshell, we had to pay for admission (which we didn't realize until we got there) and the worker at the front desk (as Matt said) hadn't gone through his Disney training. We ended up leaving with only one tantrum to deal with.

(south) Westward Ho!

September 28th, 2010:

Our original plan was to leave early that Tuesday morning. Original. Original didn't happen. Does it ever? Anyway, we found ourselves still wrapping things up around 2:00pm. We finally got everything in the truck, and then the truck wouldn't start. I realize the sound of a car/truck not starting is never welcome, but it seemed really not welcome that day. On the brink of "starvation", I went to get some food whilst Nate figured out a plan for Penske to come look at the truck. They not only showed up, but quickly, so huzzah to them. They got the truck going and we ended up leaving Toledo around 4:30pm.



This is me with our downstairs neighbor, Yvonne. She was our Toledo grandma and very tolerant of our moving out, moving in, then moving out again. She often left us treats by the stairs and made our apartment smell like home cooked food. (It didn't matter what we actually ended up eating, the smell was just comforting)

Midnight, stopping for "dinner". We found a Wendy's just in time...ordering at a drive thru window is tricky with a large truck, but we worked it out okay. The kitties enjoyed the break from their cells, but seemed to remember how unfair life was once we had to stuff them back in.

September 29, 2010:

5:00am. Still driving. Our goal was to make it to Kansas City, MO. Around Columbia, MO, things started to feel desperate/dangerous. Nate was so tired, he sounded stoned. Or what I would imagine he would sound like stoned. I wasn't really doing so well myself. I had resorted to retelling the plot to "Oklahoma!" and even during my own discussion of the Ado-Annie subplot, I almost fell asleep several times. We decided this wasn't anyway to spend our last few moments, so we found the closest La Quinta (they allow pets) and somehow managed to get there safely. Luckily, we checked in just in time for breakfast. The front desk guy let us have the room at a day rate, so we could catch up on some sleep. So by about 3:00pm, we were on our way once again, destined for a similar schedule.

This was my view for the whole trip. :)

This is to prove we were both in the truck; and happy about it.

That evening, we stopped for lunch (our sense of time was completely lost) and we drove past this lovely little place. "King Kong" apparently sells hamburgers. Why the emphasis on gorillas, then?

We saw this in Nebraska and felt it was appropriate.

September 30th, 2010:

7:00am: We had just about made it to Cheyenne when it became apparent that we'd driven too long for Kathryn's liking. We had put down diapers for them to relieve themselves on, but they had kept scratching at them, so as luck/Murphy's law would have it, when we took them out, only then did they need them. Poor Kathryn.

I was tired/hungry, so I felt gaggy, so I made Nate a deal. (wasn't much of a deal, but it was what I could do) If he would give Kathryn a bath, then I'd get breakfast. He was all for it and it surprisingly worked out pretty well.

No, a possum didn't sneak in, this is Kathryn post bath. Nate said considering the circumstances, she was pretty okay with the whole situation and seemed to like it after a bit.

Look how pretty and fuzzy she is!

3:00pm: we were on our way again. We'd managed to sleep from about 8:00am-12:00pm, which wasn't enough, but it was. It kind of had to be. We stopped for lunch in Laramie, then continued to head west, west, west. We had a lot of sun to deal with, so Wyoming seemed years long.

It seemed years long to some others I know. She's so dramatic.

We got into Sandy around 10:00pm on Thursday night. We were welcomed by the Higleys and had a lovely dinner. I'd say conversation too, but it'd only be 50% true. I was so tired I could barely respond normally, so I left Nate to socialize with his family and I went to bed.

Friday October 1, 2010:

10:00am: We both slept in the next morning and I was picked up by Ruth to go to lunch with the sibs. We met at Apple Spice Junction (a lunch favorite from our/my UOP/GoGo days) and we had a good time. It was too short, but long enough for me to be reminded that Tom will always be an adventurous eater. :)

After stopping at Alisha's to visit with her and the kids, Nate and I headed back up to his house to get ready to go. We hung out with his family for a bit more and then left around 5:00pm.

After the traffic in Utah County and a dinner stop, we landed into Las Vegas around midnight. After some discussion with our security guard, (read: begging to at least bring our truck in to get our mattress out) we got what we needed for the night and went to bed.

Saturday October 2, 2010:

8:30am: we got up to pick up the truck from our friends, the Harper's (they've helped more than I can describe), and then proceeded to unload. Our goal was to get most everything done by the time we had a few ward members show up to help with the big stuff. Turns out that was a good plan.

By 11:00am, the truck was empty besides our couch, the treadmill, and our tv amoire; we had one guy from the ward show up, Chris. Chris was a champ and just the help we needed. By about 1:00pm, we had the truck dropped off, and our stomachs fed. We looked terrible, but we were done. At least with that part of things.

From then we just had to dig out from all the boxes.

Jumping

When I look at these two pictures, I notice a few things about myself (and Nathan for that matter).

Do you see it?



When I jump in water I'm not familiar with, I need to be wearing shoes, and I must plug my nose. When Nathan jumps in water he's not familiar with, he throws his arms up, kicks his legs, (to the point that one can't even see them in the picture) and enjoys the newness of the water.

(And not to detract from my point, but this picture is awesome.)

When I ride a roller coaster, I hang on for dear life; not only because those are the official rules, but I also believe it will keep me safe. At least it makes me feel like I'm safe. Nathan, well...he makes it fun. Again, he throws his arms up, makes a joke out of the situation, and loves every minute of it.

That's not to say I don't enjoy every minute of it as well, it's just that my enjoyment is different, and more conditional on making sure maybe if I'm not truly safe, that I at least feel safe.

If you haven't picked up comparison, I'm afraid to jump right now. Jumping includes finishing packing up the house, packing everything we own, including ourselves, into a truck, and driving away into something new and unknown. I remember my brother Tom once saying that he "would prefer something unpleasant and familiar to something unknown". That is so me. Toledo hasn't =unpleasant for me/us; we've grown so much, met lifelong friends, had the opportunity to travel a lot, and somewhere along the way Nathan found time to get a law degree. :) That being said, I feel like we'll be upgrading in a few different ways (if even our living quarters), but because it's unknown, it doesn't always seem as cool as it really is and really will be.

I know I'll be safe. I know we'll have fun. I know it'll be wonderful to be closer to family. I just don't have proof yet. So in the meantime, I will let Nate throw his arms up, kick his legs and pull me into the fun with him.

I'll miss you, Toledo.

Grand Haven=Heaven

A few weeks ago, I decided I was going a bit crazy. Job hunting, waiting, more job hunting, etc gets old and frustrating and I had apparently reached my threshold. I've also decided needing to "get out" is a fun curse that my travel jobs have bestowed upon me. I think it's normal to visit different places as often as possible. Or I like to make it normal. Anyway, my mind was made up, and my mind quickly thought about how incredibly cold Lake Michigan was when we last visited and how beautiful many people have said it is in the summer. I shared my idea* with Nate and because he's nice, or felt similar, he agreed-so we headed for the lake!

*by the time it's an idea, my mind is very much set on something

See? Look how happy it made him.

We arrived in the afternoon and wandered through an Indie music fest, found someone's camera, handed said camera over to the police, then made our way to the water. This cool sunset was our reward.

We'd left our suits at the hotel because it had been a bit cooler, but by the time we arrived, we regretted our swimsuit-less apparel. We settled for feet bathing and people watching.

Nothing special about this picture, but I think it's a good representation of what look I give Nate if he's said something I deem embarrassing/inappropriate. For the record, I don't think he actually had said anything in those categories, it was just a lucky shot, I guess.

The next day we returned prepared. The weather was beautiful, the water was lovely to swim in (even for me!) and somewhere along the way, I started to feel okay again.

We had to make it a quick trip, but I'm so glad we did! By the time we got home, I was full of tranquility, satisfaction...and sand.

Speaking of beautiful, if anyone is looking for a creep-y hotel...be sure to check out Dad's Inn the next time you are passing through Northwest Michigan; it's sure to delight.

Bye, bye REC

Way back in the day when we were in the YMCA's good graces, I never would've imagined I would need to be associated with UT's (University of Toledo) REC center in order to work out. The first YMCA was dumpy, not really air conditioned, and full of wannabe meat heads/sports lovers. It would make me crazy to hear (even over my too loud headphones): "DO YOU THINK T.O. IS GOING TO BEAT BLAH BLAH?!?"

I know people care about sports, I just will never care enough to be that loud about it. Anyway, last fall...we got a YMCA upgrade; they built a new facility and it is lovely. Bigger workout rooms, air conditioning, private tvs on all the machines; their upgrades made it so I could ignore Zumba guy, coffee guy, Johnny Tremain guy, and skanky girl (that actually said, and I quote "will this exercise work my boobs??" Sorry, but it happened) more effectively. I was in heaven!

Then we were denied our "scholarship" renewal. Yes, yes, we are poor, so they were helping us out. And then they weren't. I felt more rejected than is probably normal, but working out is one thing that has, at times, kept me sane while we've been in Ohio. Nate remembered that UT has a REC facility that he could work out for free as a student, and I was required to pay a bit; but averaging both of us paying, it came out to be about the same price as the YMCA before. So we suited up, paid for me, and entered into the undergraduate zone. I couldn't shake the thought that I was one of very few real paying customers, so my expectation was higher (and/or dashed more quickly) than theirs. As opposed to the YMCA guys, these weight room guys were legitimate steroid users, they legitimately used nasty boy language, so I legitimately avoided that area. I stuck to the cardio machines where I learned I can workout and still benefit, even if my closest workout companion smells like dinner sweat, even if I have to watch "the Shore" or "The Real World", even if I see an older gentlemen doing questionable hip exercises, and even if a guy comes up to me and tells me "you can do it! (running)" when indeed I already was doing it. (Is this what flirting has come to?)

When I told Nate last night that it was our last night to go to the REC, he cheered. I'm sad I'll have to be more creative about working out for the rest of our Toledo stay, but I'm happy to be free of our time there. Will I miss being stopped in the parking lot and asked to judge who out of two friends is taller (they were adults, if anyone is wondering)? No, indeed I won't.