I woke up Saturday, September 19th fairly early needing to empty my bladder. But it wasn’t going to be just another early morning pit stop. I was going to pee on a stick! Rob had wanted me to wait until Sunday because that would have made it officially one week from when I was supposed to start my period but I told him to take a hike. I was going to be peeing on that dang stick Saturday morning and he couldn’t do anything about it!
Ok, I didn’t really tell him that. But I was so excited to confirm my pregnancy that I convinced him to let me do it on Saturday rather than torture myself for another day. So as soon as I woke up, I grabbed that dang little stick and headed to the bathroom. Being that Rob is always getting up to use the bathroom, whether it’s in the middle of the night or early morning we happened to pass each other in the hall. He was headed back to bed. I was excited about what I was about to do and Rob acted like he didn’t really care. But really I know he did.
It didn’t take long. Two little pink lines popped up almost immediately. I contained my screams until I ran back into the bedroom and jumped on the bed and yelled “honey, I’m pregnant!” Not that we didn’t already have our suspicions or anything but the stick confirmed it, which meant I could finally get excited. Holy smokes! I was finally pregnant!
Later that evening Jason and Diana came to our house to pick us up. We were going to the Chicago Blackhawks Hockey game. As soon as they walked in the door I had to tell them that we were finally pregnant. They were one of the very, very few people who knew that we had been “trying” so I was safe to share the news with them.
We thought it would be fun to announce our pregnancy as a surprise. So we had kept our “trying to get pregnant” news a secret. We were also planning on not spreading the good cheer until I had successfully completed the first trimester or at least the majority of it. And let me just tell you, that was going to be a task for me. I was ready to call my family and tell them right then and there.
Rob was scheduled to leave on September 27th to spend a month in Oregon doing a rotation. I didn’t want to go to my first doctor’s appointment without him. I just didn’t think that was very fair. He was just as excited about the pregnancy as I was so I wanted him to be able to be at the first appointment. So I made a phone call Tuesday morning to the doctor’s office with hopes that they would be able to get me in sometime that week. I knew it would be a long shot but hey, it was worth a try.
Imagine my surprise when I told the lady on the phone what was going on and she scheduled me to come in that same day. Wahoo! So Rob and I were able to go talk to the Doctor Tuesday, September 22nd. Granted I was a little early in the pregnancy to do a full 1st visit work up but at least we were able to talk to the doctor as a couple. And I was able to schedule another appointment for two weeks later to go back and get the full work up.
My second appointment was on October 8th and because my hubby was out of town and unable to come, I took my best friend Diana. Besides all the blood work and other “fun stuff” the doctor was going to be doing, they were also going to do an ultrasound to make sure everything with the baby looked good and to date the pregnancy. We didn’t want Rob to miss out on the ultrasound so when my visit came time for the ultrasound, the nurse brought Diana into the room and she used her camera to video the screen of ultrasound machine. That way Rob would be able to see what I saw. The doctor was so great. He knew why we were videoing the ultrasound so he did a very nice job at narrating everything nice and clear so when Rob watched the video he would hear what the doctor was telling me.
I left the appointment knowing that I was really, truly pregnant. Heck, I saw the little parasite on the screen, it was for real! And I knew that I was 7 weeks, 1 day along which dated the due date at May 26th, 2010.
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Pregnancy Story - part one
After six years of marriage, undergraduate schooling, a move to Illinois and three years of medical school, we were finally ready to start taking the necessary steps toward adding to our family. We discussed a wide variety of issues some of which included when or around what time would be the best time to bring a baby into our family, when I should go off birth control to allow my body to start working on its own, when to stop using “other” birth control methods, how we would financially handle a baby and so on.
We figured out at what point in Rob’s schooling he would feel comfortable adding a baby to our family, not because he didn’t want a baby but with all of his traveling and schooling when he would feel most ready to add another “worry” to his list. Just nailing down a time frame had both of us, mainly me, pretty excited. However, I had to keep my excitement under wraps because our timeline was still a little ways away and there was no sense in spreading news that wasn’t going to be put into effect right away.
As life moved on like normal I realized that I wouldn’t be able to accomplish one of my yearly goals if I were to get pregnant. So I had to do some quick research. I found a list of marathons that were at the beginning of the summer and started narrowing down which marathon I was going to claim as mine. Once I found the marathon I wanted to run, that was near the beginning of the summer and close to us, I started training. You see, I’ve set a goal to run or bike a big event at least once a year and I didn’t want to have to forfeit that goal just because I wanted to get pregnant. So I did all of my marathon training for the year of 2009 in the winter months. It wasn’t the easiest way to train but I got the job done and loved every minute of the marathon.
We weren’t sure how long it would take my body to get on a regular hormonal cycle since I’d been on the pill for so many years but we decided I would stop taking them in March. Shortly after that we had decided to stop preventing a pregnancy from happening. Then once my marathon was over in June we actively started monitoring my monthly cycles and took full advantage of our knowledge.
As each month passed we were both really positive and able to continue looking forward, knowing that the pregnancy would happen on the Lord’s time frame. That doesn’t mean that I didn’t count each day with anticipation or excitement. But as each month would pass and “aunt flow” would visit, I was able to keep positive and know that it just wasn’t the right time.
It took my body five cycle periods to steady out and regulate on a steady 28 day cycle. Once that happened, I only went one extra cycle before I was impregnated. On Sunday, September 13th, the day we flew home from Utah after riding in the LOTOJA with my family, I anxiously waited to see if I would start bleeding or not. When nothing happened, I started to get excited. But as to keep myself in check, I didn’t get too excited. We didn’t want to rush into thinking I was pregnant just in case I wasn’t. So we didn’t use a pregnancy test yet. We wanted to let my body work and let us know if I in fact was going to be pregnant or not. We waited until the next weekend to take a pregnancy test.
To be continued….
We figured out at what point in Rob’s schooling he would feel comfortable adding a baby to our family, not because he didn’t want a baby but with all of his traveling and schooling when he would feel most ready to add another “worry” to his list. Just nailing down a time frame had both of us, mainly me, pretty excited. However, I had to keep my excitement under wraps because our timeline was still a little ways away and there was no sense in spreading news that wasn’t going to be put into effect right away.
As life moved on like normal I realized that I wouldn’t be able to accomplish one of my yearly goals if I were to get pregnant. So I had to do some quick research. I found a list of marathons that were at the beginning of the summer and started narrowing down which marathon I was going to claim as mine. Once I found the marathon I wanted to run, that was near the beginning of the summer and close to us, I started training. You see, I’ve set a goal to run or bike a big event at least once a year and I didn’t want to have to forfeit that goal just because I wanted to get pregnant. So I did all of my marathon training for the year of 2009 in the winter months. It wasn’t the easiest way to train but I got the job done and loved every minute of the marathon.
We weren’t sure how long it would take my body to get on a regular hormonal cycle since I’d been on the pill for so many years but we decided I would stop taking them in March. Shortly after that we had decided to stop preventing a pregnancy from happening. Then once my marathon was over in June we actively started monitoring my monthly cycles and took full advantage of our knowledge.
As each month passed we were both really positive and able to continue looking forward, knowing that the pregnancy would happen on the Lord’s time frame. That doesn’t mean that I didn’t count each day with anticipation or excitement. But as each month would pass and “aunt flow” would visit, I was able to keep positive and know that it just wasn’t the right time.
It took my body five cycle periods to steady out and regulate on a steady 28 day cycle. Once that happened, I only went one extra cycle before I was impregnated. On Sunday, September 13th, the day we flew home from Utah after riding in the LOTOJA with my family, I anxiously waited to see if I would start bleeding or not. When nothing happened, I started to get excited. But as to keep myself in check, I didn’t get too excited. We didn’t want to rush into thinking I was pregnant just in case I wasn’t. So we didn’t use a pregnancy test yet. We wanted to let my body work and let us know if I in fact was going to be pregnant or not. We waited until the next weekend to take a pregnancy test.
To be continued….
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
What's that funk?
Rob and I had a little chat last night and I think we nailed down the problem. It’s not that I haven’t had anything to write about or tell you. I just haven’t been in the right frame of mind to talk about anything.
We’ve had a lot going on over the past few months and due to the compiling of certain things, I seem to have become a homebody. I kind of fell into my own routine while Rob was gone for a month and that somehow included a slight mental shutdown that hasn’t rebooted since he’s come home, and left, and come home again. It’s not that I’m depressed or sad or upset over anything. I have simply hit a slow mental moment and prefer to keep to myself. If that makes sense.
I still function just fine. I go to work every day and interact with people. I go to the gym and talk to people I know there. I even go have fun with the girls when we have girl’s night at Mirinda’s house. But when it comes to me volunteering information or being perky outside of those kinds of activities, it just doesn’t happen. I seem to be just fine with not writing about my day. Or calling and talking to someone about things. I even feel like I’ve been somewhat irritable when I talk to people on the phone.
And you know what I’ve realized? It’s not fair. It’s not fair to you for me to act that way. But most of all, it’s not fair to my Mom, Dad or sisters. It’s the first baby of the family, we should all be acting like little school girls with excitement when we talk about it. And I’m the one dropping the ball on the school girl excitement. Something’s wrong with that picture don’t you think?
So to all of you and especially my family, I’m sorry. I’m sorry I haven’t been spilling my guts about all the pregnancy stuff and how exciting it is. I’m sorry I haven’t allowed you to be a part of this exciting time in our life. I promise you, here and now, that I will do better. I promise to have a new update in the next day or two about what’s been happening with the baby growing inside me.
And I PROMISE to get out of the funk I’m in so we don’t have to go through another dry spell of posts.
We’ve had a lot going on over the past few months and due to the compiling of certain things, I seem to have become a homebody. I kind of fell into my own routine while Rob was gone for a month and that somehow included a slight mental shutdown that hasn’t rebooted since he’s come home, and left, and come home again. It’s not that I’m depressed or sad or upset over anything. I have simply hit a slow mental moment and prefer to keep to myself. If that makes sense.
I still function just fine. I go to work every day and interact with people. I go to the gym and talk to people I know there. I even go have fun with the girls when we have girl’s night at Mirinda’s house. But when it comes to me volunteering information or being perky outside of those kinds of activities, it just doesn’t happen. I seem to be just fine with not writing about my day. Or calling and talking to someone about things. I even feel like I’ve been somewhat irritable when I talk to people on the phone.
And you know what I’ve realized? It’s not fair. It’s not fair to you for me to act that way. But most of all, it’s not fair to my Mom, Dad or sisters. It’s the first baby of the family, we should all be acting like little school girls with excitement when we talk about it. And I’m the one dropping the ball on the school girl excitement. Something’s wrong with that picture don’t you think?
So to all of you and especially my family, I’m sorry. I’m sorry I haven’t been spilling my guts about all the pregnancy stuff and how exciting it is. I’m sorry I haven’t allowed you to be a part of this exciting time in our life. I promise you, here and now, that I will do better. I promise to have a new update in the next day or two about what’s been happening with the baby growing inside me.
And I PROMISE to get out of the funk I’m in so we don’t have to go through another dry spell of posts.
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
I know..
Ok, yes I know I'm a jerk. I haven't updated my blog in a really long time. And I know there are so many of you out there just waiting to hear what has been going on in our most exciting lives. And I've left you hanging. Sorry.
Really I just haven't been in the mood to write anything and my camera doesn't work anymore so I can't give you any pictures, not that there would be a lot anyway, but it gives me another excuse to my lack of blogging.
We honestly, truly haven't been that exciting over the past few months. Rob has been crazy busy with going out of town for rotations and interviews. And me, I'm not really sure what I've been doing for the past few months. It feels like they've all blurred together. A whole lot of nothingness. I think.
One thing we did do that was pretty fun, we went downtown to the Shedd Aquarium with Jason and Diana. They are members at the Shedd so they get special perks. One of those perks was a behind the scenes night. It was after the Shedd's regular business hours and we got to see the workers feed some of the animals, watch a training session with the whales, go into the animal clinic and see really tiny baby jelly fish and all kinds of extra fun things. One of the neatest parts of the night was when we got to go up above the giant tank at the front of the aquarium and see what it looks like from the top.
Our Thanksgiving was very nice. Rob had to work that morning but it was ok, it gave me time to work in the kitchen and get things done before he came home. We had dinner over at the Chatfield's house. They, along with the other couples in attendance, are also students and without family in Illinois. So it worked out great. We all celebrated together and ate a ton of yummy food.
Now we're gearing up for what the next few months will bring. It's gonna be crazy!
Really I just haven't been in the mood to write anything and my camera doesn't work anymore so I can't give you any pictures, not that there would be a lot anyway, but it gives me another excuse to my lack of blogging.
We honestly, truly haven't been that exciting over the past few months. Rob has been crazy busy with going out of town for rotations and interviews. And me, I'm not really sure what I've been doing for the past few months. It feels like they've all blurred together. A whole lot of nothingness. I think.
One thing we did do that was pretty fun, we went downtown to the Shedd Aquarium with Jason and Diana. They are members at the Shedd so they get special perks. One of those perks was a behind the scenes night. It was after the Shedd's regular business hours and we got to see the workers feed some of the animals, watch a training session with the whales, go into the animal clinic and see really tiny baby jelly fish and all kinds of extra fun things. One of the neatest parts of the night was when we got to go up above the giant tank at the front of the aquarium and see what it looks like from the top.
Our Thanksgiving was very nice. Rob had to work that morning but it was ok, it gave me time to work in the kitchen and get things done before he came home. We had dinner over at the Chatfield's house. They, along with the other couples in attendance, are also students and without family in Illinois. So it worked out great. We all celebrated together and ate a ton of yummy food.
Now we're gearing up for what the next few months will bring. It's gonna be crazy!
Monday, November 2, 2009
Diaper Delight
What would you think if you received a "dirty" diaper in the mail? Well, that's how we announced our exciting news to our families. Some, who we knew would get our humor, only got the diaper. Others, who we weren't sure would appreciate the humor, got this little note.
Oh diaper delight, what do you hold inside?
A book, a box or building block?
No, it must not be,
It’s too soft to be any of these.
A duckling, a dog or dinosaur toy?
No, it must not be,
It’s too flat to be any of these.
A cracker, a cookie or cotton candy?
No, it must not be,
It’s too smelly to be any of these.
Not a toy, an animal or edible, what could it be?
I’ve got it. I know. It’s a….
It’s a diaper gram, to you from me.
When it’s full and squishy, it’s you we’ll seek
Because as grandparents you’ll be,
Your practice in changing,
Will come in nice and handy.
May 26th is the due date to be,
For Rob and Tiff’s parasite to join this family.
Oh diaper delight, what do you hold inside?
A book, a box or building block?
No, it must not be,
It’s too soft to be any of these.
A duckling, a dog or dinosaur toy?
No, it must not be,
It’s too flat to be any of these.
A cracker, a cookie or cotton candy?
No, it must not be,
It’s too smelly to be any of these.
Not a toy, an animal or edible, what could it be?
I’ve got it. I know. It’s a….
It’s a diaper gram, to you from me.
When it’s full and squishy, it’s you we’ll seek
Because as grandparents you’ll be,
Your practice in changing,
Will come in nice and handy.
May 26th is the due date to be,
For Rob and Tiff’s parasite to join this family.
Monday, September 28, 2009
206 miles
LOTOJA is a single stage bike race that covers 206 miles over three states in ONE day. If that sounds a little bit crazy, let me just say, it is. However, crazy or not, it’s become some kind of tradition for my family. In 2003 my mom and I pedaled our bikes to the finish line for the first time while my dad rode on the tandem with his friend Toni. By the year 2004 we had everyone in the family riding LOTOJA. Jamie (my older sister), Morgan (my little sister) and Rob (my hubby, of course) crossed the finish line for their first time while it was a returned event for Mom, Dad and I. Since then there hasn’t been a year gone by that LOTJOA hasn’t been an end of summer event for the family.
This year my Mom and Dad were planning on riding the tandem together. So it came as a surprise when they called us about a month before the race to ask if we would want to fly out and ride it with them. Instead of riding the entire 206 miles on their own they thought it would be more fun to have everyone participate. You see, since Rob and I have moved from Utah we haven’t been able to go back and ride it with them. And since Morgan has grown up and gone to college she wasn’t going to ride either. So my parents decided to have us all come and ride a section of the ride with them. Dad would still ride the entire route at the front of the bike but he would change his back rider at each feed zone (aka rest stop).
Rob and I were pretty excited that they wanted us to come out and help peddle the bike from Logan, UT to Jackson Hole, WY. We weren’t sure when the next time would be that we would get to ride in LOTOJA so even to ride just a section of it was pretty exciting to us.
Race day, or casual ride day in our case, came and we were ready to ride. The day started bright an early with a wake-up call in our hotel room at 4:00 AM. OUCH! That was early. We slowly drug ourselves out of bed and began our preparations for the day. By 5:45 AM we were at the start line, in the dark. Mom was our first stoker of the day. (Side note: the person on the back of a tandem bike is called a stoker. All they do is pedal. They don’t get to control anything else. They just pedal and pedal and pedal… ) Once Mom and Dad were off and pedaling in the right direction the rest of us jumped in the truck. We needed to follow the route for the support vehicles and be to the first feed zone in Preston, ID before the bikers made it there.
We successfully made it to the first feed zone, gathered the musette bags with the food and water Dad had requested for each feed zone and I put on all of my cycling garb. (musette bag: a bag you fill with food, fresh water bottles or anything else the rider might need. If they’re serious racers they’ll grab it from their support person and sling it over their head without stopping. The racer will take what they need from the bag, put their empty bottles in it and throw it to the side of the street when they’re done transferring what they need. The racer’s support person will then walk up the road and find the bag.) When mom and dad pulled into the feed zone it was still a little dark with a little chill in the air. It was just chilly enough that I kept my arm warmers on for the ride. I was glad I had them on. My fingers and toes were a little cold for the first little bit of our section.
My section of the ride was pretty much all up hill. We left Preston and climbed to the top of Strawberry Canyon at 7,424 ft elevation. Once we made it to the top we wasted no time in zooming to the bottom, headed for Montpelier. Some people think climbing a hill on a tandem would be easier than on a single bike because you have two people. But that exact reason is what makes it more difficult. You have to balance two persons weight as you climb, the bike is heavier, and you have to work together. While dad and I seemed to do a pretty good job at climbing together, we sure made good time on the downhill. Tandems can absolutely fly down hills. It is pretty fun yet at the same time a little nerve racking. I just made sure to tuck my head in behind my dad and keep my thoughts off of how fast we were going. By doing that I was able to enjoy the scenery as we sped past it.
Speaking of the scenery, I was in absolute heaven all weekend. It was absolutely beautiful. The entire day of riding had the back drop of amazing mountains and country life. I think I actually had to pick my jaw up off the ground a few times as we drove/or pedaled through the canyons. Quite honestly, the trip made both Rob and I miss the West even more. We would love to end up somewhere back in the West where we can walk out our door and be greeted by beautiful scenes like we saw over the weekend.
Once we made it to Montpelier, ID Rob climbed on the bike for his stretch of the ride. His section had two big mondo hills to climb. Rob was ready for it. He pedaled with all his might and loved every second of it. After the first big mondo hill the riders and support vehicles traveled along the same roads so we got to see Dad and Rob as we passed them. They were climbing the second big mondo hill when we caught up to them. We of course had to hoot and holler for them as we passed them. We also got to hoot and holler for Jamie as we passed her. She had caught and passed the tandems by the time we, the support vehicle, passed her. She was quite the rock star on the ride.
Rob climbed off the bike in Afton, WY with a huge grin on his face. He had loved every minute of his ride. Morgan then climbed on the bike and before we knew it we were all back on the road, Morgan and Dad pedaling away on the bike and the rest of us in the truck. We met back up with Dad and Morgan in Alpine, WY where Morgan climbed off and Mom climbed back on the bike for her second section. She’d trained a lot more than the rest of us so she got to ride to segments of the course. Rob was still pretty pumped about riding his section and he was chomping at the bit to get back on the bike so about half way up the canyon at King’s Peak we pulled over. We waited for the tandems to make it to that point and Rob climbed on my dad’s single bike and rode the rest of the route with them on his own, well, borrowed bike.
You seriously couldn’t have made him a happier boy. He loves riding his bike. We, the support crew drove our way to the finish line at Jackson Hole, WY and found a spot to cheer and take pictures of the big finishers. It sure was fun to see Mom and Dad and the rest of our friends on bikes come across the finish line. They even finished before dark. Wahoo!! We also reunited with my grandparents, my bro in-law Adam and my rock star sister Jamie who raced and took third place in her women division. Way to go Jamie, You’re awesome!
After we all made it successfully to the finish line we headed to the hotel where we ate dinner, swam in the pool and took showers to wash off all that sweat and salt. I have to tell you, the shower I took that night was anything but pleasant. It was the absolute coldest shower I have EVER taken. I could have jumped in glacier water and had warmer water. Eek!
The next day we drove all the way from Jackson Hole, WY to the Salt Lake airport, jumped on a slightly delayed plane and flew home to Chicago. It was a very quick trip but we had an absolute blast.
This year my Mom and Dad were planning on riding the tandem together. So it came as a surprise when they called us about a month before the race to ask if we would want to fly out and ride it with them. Instead of riding the entire 206 miles on their own they thought it would be more fun to have everyone participate. You see, since Rob and I have moved from Utah we haven’t been able to go back and ride it with them. And since Morgan has grown up and gone to college she wasn’t going to ride either. So my parents decided to have us all come and ride a section of the ride with them. Dad would still ride the entire route at the front of the bike but he would change his back rider at each feed zone (aka rest stop).
Rob and I were pretty excited that they wanted us to come out and help peddle the bike from Logan, UT to Jackson Hole, WY. We weren’t sure when the next time would be that we would get to ride in LOTOJA so even to ride just a section of it was pretty exciting to us.
Race day, or casual ride day in our case, came and we were ready to ride. The day started bright an early with a wake-up call in our hotel room at 4:00 AM. OUCH! That was early. We slowly drug ourselves out of bed and began our preparations for the day. By 5:45 AM we were at the start line, in the dark. Mom was our first stoker of the day. (Side note: the person on the back of a tandem bike is called a stoker. All they do is pedal. They don’t get to control anything else. They just pedal and pedal and pedal… ) Once Mom and Dad were off and pedaling in the right direction the rest of us jumped in the truck. We needed to follow the route for the support vehicles and be to the first feed zone in Preston, ID before the bikers made it there.
We successfully made it to the first feed zone, gathered the musette bags with the food and water Dad had requested for each feed zone and I put on all of my cycling garb. (musette bag: a bag you fill with food, fresh water bottles or anything else the rider might need. If they’re serious racers they’ll grab it from their support person and sling it over their head without stopping. The racer will take what they need from the bag, put their empty bottles in it and throw it to the side of the street when they’re done transferring what they need. The racer’s support person will then walk up the road and find the bag.) When mom and dad pulled into the feed zone it was still a little dark with a little chill in the air. It was just chilly enough that I kept my arm warmers on for the ride. I was glad I had them on. My fingers and toes were a little cold for the first little bit of our section.
My section of the ride was pretty much all up hill. We left Preston and climbed to the top of Strawberry Canyon at 7,424 ft elevation. Once we made it to the top we wasted no time in zooming to the bottom, headed for Montpelier. Some people think climbing a hill on a tandem would be easier than on a single bike because you have two people. But that exact reason is what makes it more difficult. You have to balance two persons weight as you climb, the bike is heavier, and you have to work together. While dad and I seemed to do a pretty good job at climbing together, we sure made good time on the downhill. Tandems can absolutely fly down hills. It is pretty fun yet at the same time a little nerve racking. I just made sure to tuck my head in behind my dad and keep my thoughts off of how fast we were going. By doing that I was able to enjoy the scenery as we sped past it.
Speaking of the scenery, I was in absolute heaven all weekend. It was absolutely beautiful. The entire day of riding had the back drop of amazing mountains and country life. I think I actually had to pick my jaw up off the ground a few times as we drove/or pedaled through the canyons. Quite honestly, the trip made both Rob and I miss the West even more. We would love to end up somewhere back in the West where we can walk out our door and be greeted by beautiful scenes like we saw over the weekend.
Once we made it to Montpelier, ID Rob climbed on the bike for his stretch of the ride. His section had two big mondo hills to climb. Rob was ready for it. He pedaled with all his might and loved every second of it. After the first big mondo hill the riders and support vehicles traveled along the same roads so we got to see Dad and Rob as we passed them. They were climbing the second big mondo hill when we caught up to them. We of course had to hoot and holler for them as we passed them. We also got to hoot and holler for Jamie as we passed her. She had caught and passed the tandems by the time we, the support vehicle, passed her. She was quite the rock star on the ride.
Rob climbed off the bike in Afton, WY with a huge grin on his face. He had loved every minute of his ride. Morgan then climbed on the bike and before we knew it we were all back on the road, Morgan and Dad pedaling away on the bike and the rest of us in the truck. We met back up with Dad and Morgan in Alpine, WY where Morgan climbed off and Mom climbed back on the bike for her second section. She’d trained a lot more than the rest of us so she got to ride to segments of the course. Rob was still pretty pumped about riding his section and he was chomping at the bit to get back on the bike so about half way up the canyon at King’s Peak we pulled over. We waited for the tandems to make it to that point and Rob climbed on my dad’s single bike and rode the rest of the route with them on his own, well, borrowed bike.
You seriously couldn’t have made him a happier boy. He loves riding his bike. We, the support crew drove our way to the finish line at Jackson Hole, WY and found a spot to cheer and take pictures of the big finishers. It sure was fun to see Mom and Dad and the rest of our friends on bikes come across the finish line. They even finished before dark. Wahoo!! We also reunited with my grandparents, my bro in-law Adam and my rock star sister Jamie who raced and took third place in her women division. Way to go Jamie, You’re awesome!
After we all made it successfully to the finish line we headed to the hotel where we ate dinner, swam in the pool and took showers to wash off all that sweat and salt. I have to tell you, the shower I took that night was anything but pleasant. It was the absolute coldest shower I have EVER taken. I could have jumped in glacier water and had warmer water. Eek!
The next day we drove all the way from Jackson Hole, WY to the Salt Lake airport, jumped on a slightly delayed plane and flew home to Chicago. It was a very quick trip but we had an absolute blast.
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Oh, Zach
Oh, Zachery! Is it really so? Are you really twelve years old and in middle school? You’ve gone from a young, rambunctious child to a maturing young man in the blink of my eye.
I’m so glad you and your family were able to come spend time with us here in Chicago. It was fun to see Binks in all her lady like glory. You’re going to have to beat off the boys when she starts dating. Good thing you have a few years to master your technique and decide what kind of boys you’ll allow her to go out with.
QT, oh boy she sure was a hoot. She sure loved that spinny thing at the park. I’m surprised she didn’t get sick after all the spinning she did. And although she hasn’t grown much, she’s still as cute as ever. Now, MicMac, he was an absolute riot. I love his full of life, full speed ahead personality. He only hit the sack before everyone else on one occasion. Which was a little surprising since we quite literally walked his legs off downtown. What a trooper.
At the ripe old age of FIVE you were head over heels in love with your uncle Rob. Through your young eyes you looked up to him in every sense of the being. It didn’t matter where or when, you two loved to wrestle and tickle each other. Play ball and make-believe. Jump on the trampoline and play tag. Your laughter and joy could be heard from miles around. And when your uncle Rob was ready to date a girl at a serious level, it was you. You, your sister and parents at whom the young girl would need to meet the ultimate approval.
The girl who would meet your approval would be very lucky, for she wouldn’t only be gaining a husband, but a family. A family with a young boy in it that would become a friend and nephew. How I was able to trick you into loving me and giving your uncle Rob the thumbs up on approval, I don’t know. But I did it and I’ve been reaping the benefits ever since.
Since the day I gained your approval I’ve watched you grow in height, start school, play a few sports, be baptized, gain a testimony, gain a few more siblings, learn some life lessons and become an incredible young man.
I’m so glad you and your family were able to come spend time with us here in Chicago. It was fun to see Binks in all her lady like glory. You’re going to have to beat off the boys when she starts dating. Good thing you have a few years to master your technique and decide what kind of boys you’ll allow her to go out with.
QT, oh boy she sure was a hoot. She sure loved that spinny thing at the park. I’m surprised she didn’t get sick after all the spinning she did. And although she hasn’t grown much, she’s still as cute as ever. Now, MicMac, he was an absolute riot. I love his full of life, full speed ahead personality. He only hit the sack before everyone else on one occasion. Which was a little surprising since we quite literally walked his legs off downtown. What a trooper.
Rob and I had an absolute blast showing you all the fun things in downtown Chicago, riding the trains, walking the long lengths of the Magnificent Mile, eating lots of chocolate from the Hershey’s Chocolate store, wrestling on the air mattresses that were taking up our entire living room, having a nerf gun fight in the trees, swimming, and just hanging out with you.
I’m so glad your mom and dad decided to bring all of you with them on their trip to visit us. It wouldn’t have been the same without your cute faces. We miss you already.
We miss your laughter and noise. We miss your hugs and teasing. We miss the blanket strewn couches and floor. We miss all of you and we’ll be counting down the days until we get to hug you again.
We miss your laughter and noise. We miss your hugs and teasing. We miss the blanket strewn couches and floor. We miss all of you and we’ll be counting down the days until we get to hug you again.
Thank you, Zach, for being such an incredible person. Thank you for being my friend and an awesome nephew. You will always be my first. I love you. I hope you had fun visiting the big city of Chicago.
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Ice Cream Cake
I attempted to make Rob an ice cream cake last weekend for his birthday. I honestly couldn't tell you the last time I've eaten an ice cream cake. And because I haven't eaten or seen an ice cream cake in ages I was kind of flying by the seat of my pants when I was making it.
I knew that I wanted a cake that wouldn't end up too hard or dry once it was frozen. Also, I wanted a frosting that would freeze too hard. As far as the ice cream part went, I didn't put much thought into it, which I should have. I just figured you put a layer of ice cream in it and called it good.
Well I sure learned a little something about that. They are usually called "ice cream cakes" for a reason. Most of the cake IS NOT in fact cake, it's ice cream, which I figured out after I had this beauty put together.
Mine ended up being a frozen cake with some ice cream in the middle. Oops!
I wasn't too concerned though. It tasted delicious. It was nice and chocolaty with a very nice texture for being frozen. If I were to make another ice cream cake, which I'm sure I will now that I know I can do it, I would definitely use the same recipe for the cake and frosting. I'll just add more ICE CREAM. :-)
I sauntered over to Smitten Kitchen for the chocolate cake and frosting recipe. She uses this chocolate cake recipe quite a bit and the frosting appealed to me because of its softness, like I said before, I didn't want it to be a rock once it froze.
Try them, you'll like 'em.
Double Chocolate Layer Cake
Adapted from Gourmet, March 1999
The recipe below is for 2 10-inch layers.
For cake layers
3 ounces fine-quality semisweet chocolate such as Callebaut (I used chocolate chips)
1 1/2 cups hot brewed coffee (coffee brings out the flavor of chocolate but since I didn't have any I used hot chocolate. You could probably just use hot water or milk too.)
3 cups sugar
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch process)
2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
3 large eggs
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups well-shaken buttermilk
3/4 teaspoon vanilla
Make cake layers:
Preheat oven to 300°F. and grease pans. Line bottoms with rounds of wax paper and grease paper.
Finely chop chocolate and in a bowl combine with hot coffee. Let mixture stand, stirring occasionally, until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth.
Into a large bowl sift together sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. In another large bowl with an electric mixer beat eggs until thickened slightly and lemon colored (about 3 minutes with a standing mixer or 5 minutes with a hand-held mixer). Slowly add oil, buttermilk, vanilla, and melted chocolate mixture to eggs, beating until combined well. Add sugar mixture and beat on medium speed until just combined well.
Divide batter between pans and bake in middle of oven until a tester inserted in center comes out clean, 1 hour to 1 hour and 10 minutes.
Cool layers completely in pans on racks. Run a thin knife around edges of pans and invert layers onto racks. Carefully remove wax paper and cool layers completely. Cake layers may be made 1 day ahead and kept, wrapped well in plastic wrap, at room temperature.
Chocolate Sour Cream Frosting
Adapted from The Dessert Bible
Makes 5 cups of frosting, or enough to frost and fill a two layer 9-inch cake
15 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1 1/4 teaspoons instant espresso (optional, but can be used to pick up the flavor of average chocolate)
2 1/4 cups sour cream, at room temperature
1/4 to 1/2 cup light corn syrup
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
Combine the chocolate and espresso powder, if using, in the top of a double-boiler or in a heatproof bowl over simmering water. Stir until the chocolate is melted. (Alternately, you can melt the chocolate in a microwave for 30 seconds, stirring well, and then heating in 15 second increments, stirring between each, until the chocolate is melted.) Remove from heat and let chocolate cool until tepid.
Whisk together the sour cream, 1/4 cup of the corn syrup and vanilla extract until combined. Add the tepid chocolate slowly and stir quickly until the mixture is uniform. Taste for sweetness, and if needed, add additional corn syrup in one tablespoon increments until desired level of sweetness is achieved.
Let cool in the refrigerator until the frosting is a spreadable consistency. This should not take more than 30 minutes. Should the frosting become too thick or stiff, just leave it out until it softens again.
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Hi, Cute Boy
Hi there, cute boy. It was your birthday this last weekend. Yes, you're a little older in age. It's okay, you don't have to grow up if you don't want to. I like you the way you are. I like that you sing silly songs and make up goofy, weird "terms of endearment" for me. I like that you know how to act like a kid and have fun.
I like that you can sing songs and ride bikes at the same time. I like that you find some kind of fascination with wearing worn out, holy pants and t-shirts (even though I think you look like a hobo some days) instead of the new clothes I buy you.
I like that you make me think outside-the-box when you ask me off-the-wall questions. I like that you make my job of cooking dinner simple. If it has anything cheesy, spicy or saucy, you'll eat it. Or that you never want your own dessert, but a bite of mine is a must.
I like that you think my pink crocs somehow fit you and you wear them to the grocery store. I like that you ARE still a kid.
I love that you make me laugh every day. Thanks for being my babe. I love you.
Happy Birthday.
Friday, August 28, 2009
Togetherness
We only have one bathroom in our house, one SMALL bathroom. To most, this might cause some troubles in the home but to us it’s just another way to embrace being together.
We are both very respectful of the others needs when it comes to using the sink or mirror. For instance, if I were to need the sink to wash my face or hands but Rob was using the sink, I would simply say “out of my way!” and he would kindly move. Then I would have the ability to use the sink as I pleased. And respectfully I do the same, move out of his way, that is, when the words “out of my way!” are demanded. It’s a very effective method to getting the space you need in the bathroom.
Who am I kidding? Life isn’t always peaches and cream. Sometimes the other person doesn’t move when the words “out of my way!” are said. It’s when this happens that you have to throw your weight behind the words. Girls, this is when hips come in handy. But you have to watch out. Boys know how to use their elbows and ouch, those things are pointy and can hurt if placed in the right location. Not to mention, it really doesn’t end up being a fair fight. With their height and weight, boys are definitely at an advantage in the “out of my way” challenges.
Um yea, it really isn’t a fair challenge. Come to think of it, I’m the one at the receiving end of “out of my way!” demands more often than not. I’m too afraid of those elbows and weight disadvantages to test the waters. Ok, so maybe I don’t win in the battle of the location but there are other ways of showing those boys whose boss in the bathroom.
Like when you’re brushing your teeth and you need to spit. You just lean over and spit some of your mouth froth into the sink then keep brushing. When he tries to lean over and spit his mouth froth, lean over and spit yours again. Yes, your mouth is full and it’s very important that you spit right at that very second. Don’t question me. Just keep spitting when he needs to spit but be careful, he might start to catch on to you. And you might get a little something dribbled on your shoulder if you don’t take this action with some caution. Not to mention it might turn into an all out battle of the sink.
Water flying, toothbrushes whacking and mouth froth dribbling.
It really can turn messy if you’re not careful. Oh yea and take extra caution of your fingers. Toothbrush swords come mighty close to those phalanges.
Hmm, so small bathrooms really do bring us closer together, together in battle.
On guard!
We are both very respectful of the others needs when it comes to using the sink or mirror. For instance, if I were to need the sink to wash my face or hands but Rob was using the sink, I would simply say “out of my way!” and he would kindly move. Then I would have the ability to use the sink as I pleased. And respectfully I do the same, move out of his way, that is, when the words “out of my way!” are demanded. It’s a very effective method to getting the space you need in the bathroom.
Who am I kidding? Life isn’t always peaches and cream. Sometimes the other person doesn’t move when the words “out of my way!” are said. It’s when this happens that you have to throw your weight behind the words. Girls, this is when hips come in handy. But you have to watch out. Boys know how to use their elbows and ouch, those things are pointy and can hurt if placed in the right location. Not to mention, it really doesn’t end up being a fair fight. With their height and weight, boys are definitely at an advantage in the “out of my way” challenges.
Um yea, it really isn’t a fair challenge. Come to think of it, I’m the one at the receiving end of “out of my way!” demands more often than not. I’m too afraid of those elbows and weight disadvantages to test the waters. Ok, so maybe I don’t win in the battle of the location but there are other ways of showing those boys whose boss in the bathroom.
Like when you’re brushing your teeth and you need to spit. You just lean over and spit some of your mouth froth into the sink then keep brushing. When he tries to lean over and spit his mouth froth, lean over and spit yours again. Yes, your mouth is full and it’s very important that you spit right at that very second. Don’t question me. Just keep spitting when he needs to spit but be careful, he might start to catch on to you. And you might get a little something dribbled on your shoulder if you don’t take this action with some caution. Not to mention it might turn into an all out battle of the sink.
Water flying, toothbrushes whacking and mouth froth dribbling.
It really can turn messy if you’re not careful. Oh yea and take extra caution of your fingers. Toothbrush swords come mighty close to those phalanges.
Hmm, so small bathrooms really do bring us closer together, together in battle.
On guard!
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Oh the stories to tell
Ya know it’s amazing to me how fast time goes sometimes. I mean by golly how the heck did I get to this point? I’m not 21 anymore, I’m actually starting to see small wrinkles under my eyes when I wake up in the morning, I can’t eat all the chocolate in the world without having to go to the gym and sweat for an hour to keep my hips from instantly expanding, I treat the kids and teenagers at church like I actually have some kind of knowledge to share with them, and they actually listen to me, And holy smokes, I’ve been married for almost seven years! How did this happen? When did my life take that turn? Oh dear, I need to sit down.
Ok, now that I’ve caught my breath and regained focus, I can reveal how I’ve made it this far. How, even after seven years my mom still tells me that my hubby and I act like newlyweds. Are you ready for it? Here it is. We fill our relationship with laughter. It doesn’t matter if it’s laughing together or laughing at each other. I swear there is never a day that goes by that we don’t tease or make fun of each other. We have all kinds of stories to tell, some I can’t even make it through without laughing so hard I almost pee my pants. It’s true I’ve been there many a times. But peeing in my pants isn’t really where I was going with this story. That will have to wait for another day.
So, because I’m nice, or just weird, I’m going to share some of the stories and incidents that have occurred at our house. (Mom and dad J, I know how you don’t quite approve of some of the topics I’ve discussed on this blog, like the toot tracker, so I’m warning you now. Some of these stories might not fit your fancy. There, I said it. You’ve been warned.) I don’t want to overload you with ALL of my funny stories all at once so today I’m just going to recount what happened last night. Then maybe tomorrow I’ll share some more, if you can handle it that is.
So last night was a typical night. We were sitting on the couch watching a little Discovery Channel after we had just eaten our scrumptious enchiladas. Mmmm… those enchiladas sure were delicious. Oh my mouth is watering just thinking about them. Oh sorry, back on topic. Right, so we were sitting on the couch, in our underwear mind you, because we had already taken our shower for the night since we had been to the gym earlier. Come on, don’t be shocked. You know that if you’re a couple without children, you totally sit around in your underwear. It’s just a fact of life. Don’t be haters if you have children and don’t get to do this anymore, it’s not my fault. So we’re sitting on the couch watching the Discovery Channel in our underwear when Rob says (in his most excited voice), “Hey, feel this. I think there’s something growing in my panties!”
Bhaa! I totally started laughing. But get this, he was absolutely serious. He really wanted me to feel something in his panties. So, still laughing, I reach down and place my hand where he instructed me, on his OUTER thigh. :-) Low and behold there really was something in his panties. So I turn his pant leg inside out and fish out the culprit. It was a wad of my hair tangled in the fabric. Unfortunately my hair being tangled in clothes from the laundering process happens from time to time around our house so it wasn’t too surprising that it was the culprit causing my hubby problems.
Now, back to the “Hey, feel this. I think there’s something growing in my panties!” I could not stop laughing. And although Rob was laughing with me, he was still a little perplexed as to why I thought it was so funny. He had legitimate reason to say what he did, right? But because I was still giggling like a school girl he finally asked, with his head tilted to the side and a look on his face that said he wasn’t quite sure about me, if I was going to blog about the incident.
Can you imagine what people would think if I put that phrase on my blog, I asked?
Call me immature if you must, but you know that I know what your first thought was about that phrase!
“Hey, feel this. I think there’s something growing in my panties,” had me in a fit of hysterics all night.
Stay tuned for the next installment of “catch phrase at the Johnson residence.” :-)
Peace out, Yo!
Ok, now that I’ve caught my breath and regained focus, I can reveal how I’ve made it this far. How, even after seven years my mom still tells me that my hubby and I act like newlyweds. Are you ready for it? Here it is. We fill our relationship with laughter. It doesn’t matter if it’s laughing together or laughing at each other. I swear there is never a day that goes by that we don’t tease or make fun of each other. We have all kinds of stories to tell, some I can’t even make it through without laughing so hard I almost pee my pants. It’s true I’ve been there many a times. But peeing in my pants isn’t really where I was going with this story. That will have to wait for another day.
So, because I’m nice, or just weird, I’m going to share some of the stories and incidents that have occurred at our house. (Mom and dad J, I know how you don’t quite approve of some of the topics I’ve discussed on this blog, like the toot tracker, so I’m warning you now. Some of these stories might not fit your fancy. There, I said it. You’ve been warned.) I don’t want to overload you with ALL of my funny stories all at once so today I’m just going to recount what happened last night. Then maybe tomorrow I’ll share some more, if you can handle it that is.
So last night was a typical night. We were sitting on the couch watching a little Discovery Channel after we had just eaten our scrumptious enchiladas. Mmmm… those enchiladas sure were delicious. Oh my mouth is watering just thinking about them. Oh sorry, back on topic. Right, so we were sitting on the couch, in our underwear mind you, because we had already taken our shower for the night since we had been to the gym earlier. Come on, don’t be shocked. You know that if you’re a couple without children, you totally sit around in your underwear. It’s just a fact of life. Don’t be haters if you have children and don’t get to do this anymore, it’s not my fault. So we’re sitting on the couch watching the Discovery Channel in our underwear when Rob says (in his most excited voice), “Hey, feel this. I think there’s something growing in my panties!”
Bhaa! I totally started laughing. But get this, he was absolutely serious. He really wanted me to feel something in his panties. So, still laughing, I reach down and place my hand where he instructed me, on his OUTER thigh. :-) Low and behold there really was something in his panties. So I turn his pant leg inside out and fish out the culprit. It was a wad of my hair tangled in the fabric. Unfortunately my hair being tangled in clothes from the laundering process happens from time to time around our house so it wasn’t too surprising that it was the culprit causing my hubby problems.
Now, back to the “Hey, feel this. I think there’s something growing in my panties!” I could not stop laughing. And although Rob was laughing with me, he was still a little perplexed as to why I thought it was so funny. He had legitimate reason to say what he did, right? But because I was still giggling like a school girl he finally asked, with his head tilted to the side and a look on his face that said he wasn’t quite sure about me, if I was going to blog about the incident.
Can you imagine what people would think if I put that phrase on my blog, I asked?
Call me immature if you must, but you know that I know what your first thought was about that phrase!
“Hey, feel this. I think there’s something growing in my panties,” had me in a fit of hysterics all night.
Stay tuned for the next installment of “catch phrase at the Johnson residence.” :-)
Peace out, Yo!
Monday, August 17, 2009
Weekend creations
This weekend was full of culinary creations. I tried another PW recipe, made a Smitten Kitchen cake and re-made a PW pasta dish I’ve made once before. Oh and during the week I made my own chicken and rice creation that turned out really yummy.
PW’s chicken recipe I made on Friday night was pretty delicious and it was easy. I even had Rob help me make it while I was busy chopping veggies for some homemade salsa. So if you ask him, he’ll tell you he technically made dinner. Being the nice wife I am, I let him lay claim to it.
Instead of eating it plain like P-dub says to do, we put it on some buns and ate it like a sandwich. Mm’mm Mm’mm good.
As for the cake I made, it was a cinch to make. No baking required. Deb from Smitten Kitchen says this cake is called an Icebox Cake. I thought it looked so fun and easy that I had to try it.
The recipe says to make it with sweetened whipped cream but I didn’t have enough for the cake so I used a frosting recipe that tastes and looks like whipped cream, but it’s not. I would suggest using the real stuff if you plan on making this. While the cake was yummy, it wasn’t to die for.
The recipe says to make it with sweetened whipped cream but I didn’t have enough for the cake so I used a frosting recipe that tastes and looks like whipped cream, but it’s not. I would suggest using the real stuff if you plan on making this. While the cake was yummy, it wasn’t to die for.
The frosting I used was a little too much for this cake. By the time I made it half way through my piece I was on a sugar high. Whew, a little too sugary for me. And I love sugar if that gives you any indication of how sugary it was.
I do plan on making this again but next time I’m going to use the real cream and maybe add some ice cream into the layers. Oh, that would be heavenly don’t you think?
My other PW recipe was her Baked Lemon Pasta dish. I really enjoyed it the first time I made it so I thought I would make it again. Once again, I enjoyed it but it wasn’t a real winner for Rob. If he eats pasta or rice they have to be swimming in some sort of sauce and while this recipe was somewhat creamy, it wasn’t up to par with the amount of saucyness Rob would prefer. So he ate it like a good husband but he didn’t go back for seconds which was a good indication that he wasn’t a big fan. So if I want to enjoy the lemony pasta again I’m going to have to make it when he goes out of town again.
Goodbye for now yummy lemon pasta. I enjoyed you while you lasted.
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Watch out!
I would like to throw something out there for everyone to think about. Whether you are a runner, a cyclist, a driver or even a spectator, PLEASE PAY ATTENTION!
Accidents happen so quickly and we would all be doing mankind a big favor if we put a little more effort into paying attention to our surroundings. I had the unfortunate opportunity of watching my friend be thrown from her bike last night when a driver decided to not pay attention to ALL of his surroundings. It was such an awful sight to see when car and bike/leg came in contact and then see said body try to take instantaneous flight lessons. Bodies aren’t meant to fly. They don’t have wings. They don’t even have feathers. They’re not supposed to take flight and when bodies try to fly without the appropriate flight gear, they hit the ground.
When bodies hit the ground it’s not a pleasant sight people. It’s unnatural, scary and heart stopping.
Luckily my friend was being watched over by angels and she walked away from the accident fairly unscathed. Her bike on the other hand was much more unfortunate. It didn’t get to walk away. Well ok, it doesn’t have feet or legs so it wouldn’t have been able to walk away but it wasn’t able to roll away either. It had a few broken limbs and would have been sent away in the ambulance had they been kind enough to recognize the importance of a bike to a rider. A bike is VERY important to a rider. You can’t very well be a rider without a bike can you?
Oh never mind.
Back to my point, PAY ATTENTION TO YOUR SURROUNDINGS! Cyclists don’t want to be ran over by big heavy automobiles and I’m pretty sure drivers don’t want to have on their conscience that they ran over someone either. So drivers, put down your phone, stop texting, put down your lipstick or mascara, for heaven’s sake put down that big mac and LOOK BOTH WAYS, not just once either. Look both ways multiple times before you put that petal to the metal. Sometimes you don’t see things the first time. Oh and don’t forget, cyclists can usually travel at speeds faster than a snail so don’t assume you can beat them to a turn or you can get out of their way if you pull out in front of them. One last thing, please move over. Cyclists are small and don’t generally need that much room compared to your big bad SUV’s but it’s pretty frightening when you go speeding past us with only inches between us.
Cyclists and runners, always be on the defensive team. Those big hunks of metal, and I don’t mean the boys driving will smoosh you if they make contact with you. They’re not to be reckoned with. Look for oblivious drivers, don’t assume they see you. If you haven’t made eye contact with them chances are they haven’t seen you. And just because we technically have the right-of-way as a pedestrian it doesn’t mean drivers will honor your right. Some of them couldn’t care less about your right-of-way on the road. They’re in a hurry dang it and they’ll run over anybody or anything that gets in their way.
Happy riding, running or driving. May your eyes be opened to your surroundings from here on out.
Accidents happen so quickly and we would all be doing mankind a big favor if we put a little more effort into paying attention to our surroundings. I had the unfortunate opportunity of watching my friend be thrown from her bike last night when a driver decided to not pay attention to ALL of his surroundings. It was such an awful sight to see when car and bike/leg came in contact and then see said body try to take instantaneous flight lessons. Bodies aren’t meant to fly. They don’t have wings. They don’t even have feathers. They’re not supposed to take flight and when bodies try to fly without the appropriate flight gear, they hit the ground.
When bodies hit the ground it’s not a pleasant sight people. It’s unnatural, scary and heart stopping.
Luckily my friend was being watched over by angels and she walked away from the accident fairly unscathed. Her bike on the other hand was much more unfortunate. It didn’t get to walk away. Well ok, it doesn’t have feet or legs so it wouldn’t have been able to walk away but it wasn’t able to roll away either. It had a few broken limbs and would have been sent away in the ambulance had they been kind enough to recognize the importance of a bike to a rider. A bike is VERY important to a rider. You can’t very well be a rider without a bike can you?
Oh never mind.
Back to my point, PAY ATTENTION TO YOUR SURROUNDINGS! Cyclists don’t want to be ran over by big heavy automobiles and I’m pretty sure drivers don’t want to have on their conscience that they ran over someone either. So drivers, put down your phone, stop texting, put down your lipstick or mascara, for heaven’s sake put down that big mac and LOOK BOTH WAYS, not just once either. Look both ways multiple times before you put that petal to the metal. Sometimes you don’t see things the first time. Oh and don’t forget, cyclists can usually travel at speeds faster than a snail so don’t assume you can beat them to a turn or you can get out of their way if you pull out in front of them. One last thing, please move over. Cyclists are small and don’t generally need that much room compared to your big bad SUV’s but it’s pretty frightening when you go speeding past us with only inches between us.
Cyclists and runners, always be on the defensive team. Those big hunks of metal, and I don’t mean the boys driving will smoosh you if they make contact with you. They’re not to be reckoned with. Look for oblivious drivers, don’t assume they see you. If you haven’t made eye contact with them chances are they haven’t seen you. And just because we technically have the right-of-way as a pedestrian it doesn’t mean drivers will honor your right. Some of them couldn’t care less about your right-of-way on the road. They’re in a hurry dang it and they’ll run over anybody or anything that gets in their way.
Happy riding, running or driving. May your eyes be opened to your surroundings from here on out.
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
I HEART Chocolate
One of my weaknesses is chocolate but if you put peanut-butter and chocolate together, oh my goodness. I can’t keep my hands off. I love it so much I can hardly pull my eyes away let alone control my hands from grasping the little piece of heaven and putting it in my mouth.
So really it was no big surprise that I immediately knew I had to make THIS little delight when I saw the ingredients. Heck, who am I kidding the name of it alone had me salivating.
I couldn’t even get a picture of the whole dessert because of my lack of will power. I had to eat it. I had to eat it right then and not waste any time on taking a picture of the masterpiece.
I beg you, please…. Go home and make this immediately. You will thank me. I promise.
It was absolutely delicious and quite easy to make. Don’t let the cheesecake scare you. Embrace it with open arms. Then after you embrace it you can enjoy its creamy richness and delightful flavor.
Oh, I almost forgot.
I made this yummy cake a few months back. It too is a chocolate peanut butter delight.
It is a chocolate cake with whipped peanut butter ganache in the middle, chocolate ganache frosting and chocolate curls to top it off. Mmmm… it sure was fantastic too.
Happy baking everyone.
Monday, August 3, 2009
Fun with the Cubs
Wrigley Field-night game-July 7, 2009
The Tuesday after our fun camping trip the four of us went to a Cubs game, compliment of my boss. He has really great seats so we’re nice and close to the field. This time however he had switched seats with someone else so we were on the same row just one section over. The switch of seats seemed to be a good thing for us this time. Rob caught a foul ball! We wouldn’t have even had a chance at trying to catch it if we were in the original seats.
The happy boy and his foul ball
The happy boy and his foul ball
This is how the catch played out.
Ball is whacked and it starts flying in our direction.
Crowd: All jump up and throw their arms in the air in an attempt to catch the ball.
Me: stay sitting and just watch.
Rob: Stands up but just watches as the ball is headed for the rows behind us.
Crowd: lots of bodies pushing and arms flailing. (ball gets knocked forward away from their outstretched hands)
Rob: See’s the ball coming our direction.
Me: lean away from where the ball catching crazy people are.
Rob: Jumps up and snatches the ball in his little fingers, quickly pulls it in and tucks it under his arm, sits down and looks around.
Crowd: looking around not sure who has the ball or where it went.
Me: laughing that Rob has once again caught a foul ball.
Those of us surrounding Rob and saw the whole thing play out got a good laugh at his snatching abilities. The boys in front of us thought it was hilarious the way he tucked it in and sat down like he hadn’t seen a thing. The lady next to him was grateful he caught it because she didn’t want to get clunked in the head and she wasn’t about to attempt the snatching herself. And a few sour people gave Rob crusty looks as they thought he should have given it to the kid a few rows back who was smooshed by his over-zealous dad who wasn’t able to catch the ball.
We seemed to have problems getting a picture with both of us looking at the camera or smiling. There were a few more poses in between these but you get the idea.
This past week my boss took all of us from the office to the Cubs game. It was quite the experience. We rode to and from in a limo and we watched the game from the rooftop of Lakeview Baseball Club. It was pretty sweet. We had free range of the food and beverages and the view of the field was incredible. Not to mention the weather couldn’t have been any more perfect. It was nice and sunny with a slight breeze. Luckily I had sunblock with me or I would have been fried to a crisp. Spending the day in the sun and watching a baseball game is much better than sitting at a desk in the office. Even if it was a little awkward at times being the only girl AND the only one not drinking alcohol, especially when we stopped at a bar after the game. Being sober while in a bar is good for people watching I guess.
This past week my boss took all of us from the office to the Cubs game. It was quite the experience. We rode to and from in a limo and we watched the game from the rooftop of Lakeview Baseball Club. It was pretty sweet. We had free range of the food and beverages and the view of the field was incredible. Not to mention the weather couldn’t have been any more perfect. It was nice and sunny with a slight breeze. Luckily I had sunblock with me or I would have been fried to a crisp. Spending the day in the sun and watching a baseball game is much better than sitting at a desk in the office. Even if it was a little awkward at times being the only girl AND the only one not drinking alcohol, especially when we stopped at a bar after the game. Being sober while in a bar is good for people watching I guess.
Wrigley Field from a rooftop. July 29, 2009
Ostrander Construction hard at work.
Left to right: Steve, Bill, Lee (the boss), Greg (the intern), Ed and me in front.
Go Cubs Go! :-)
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Camping
Does anybody remember their fourth of July adventures? I do. Since I never let you in on all the fun when it happened I figured I’d do a little game of catch up now. Well it all started one dark stormy night…. No I’m kidding. I had you scared there for a minute though right? Ha, okay I’m getting serious now.
Well our Fourth of July weekend was spent lying in the dirt, eating delicious foods, smacking mosquitoes, catching wee itty bitty fish, spitting our food out in front of people, performing social experiments and just having a grand ol’ time.
We went camping in Michigan. The End!
Oh that’s not the kind of story you wanted? Oops. Ok I’ll elaborate just a little bit. Just for you.
We found ourselves camping deep in the woods of Michigan because 1) Rob had spent a month in Detroit, MI doing a rotation, 2) we were tired of camping in a grassy park and calling it camping, and 3) we were ready to have an adventure and we hadn’t done any camping yet this summer. So the Bowlers and I packed all the goodies and headed out to meet up with my hubby on Thursday evening.
As Rob was already in Michigan and closer to our final destination than we were, we had to guide him in the right direction to where we wanted to go camping. He was a little concerned with us when he saw a sign that said “Do not pick up hitch hikers, prison nearby”. I don’t know what he was so worried about. We never heard any sirens or anything. Oh and that man I met wearing that beautiful orange jumpsuit was a very nice person. He really was. *Those of you who don’t know that I’m yanking your chain right now, I am. Rob did see those signs but we never even saw where the prison was. We really were completely safe.
Well our Fourth of July weekend was spent lying in the dirt, eating delicious foods, smacking mosquitoes, catching wee itty bitty fish, spitting our food out in front of people, performing social experiments and just having a grand ol’ time.
We went camping in Michigan. The End!
Oh that’s not the kind of story you wanted? Oops. Ok I’ll elaborate just a little bit. Just for you.
We found ourselves camping deep in the woods of Michigan because 1) Rob had spent a month in Detroit, MI doing a rotation, 2) we were tired of camping in a grassy park and calling it camping, and 3) we were ready to have an adventure and we hadn’t done any camping yet this summer. So the Bowlers and I packed all the goodies and headed out to meet up with my hubby on Thursday evening.
As Rob was already in Michigan and closer to our final destination than we were, we had to guide him in the right direction to where we wanted to go camping. He was a little concerned with us when he saw a sign that said “Do not pick up hitch hikers, prison nearby”. I don’t know what he was so worried about. We never heard any sirens or anything. Oh and that man I met wearing that beautiful orange jumpsuit was a very nice person. He really was. *Those of you who don’t know that I’m yanking your chain right now, I am. Rob did see those signs but we never even saw where the prison was. We really were completely safe.
The campground was awesome. It was a small campground with trees and dirt, nobody was sleeping right next to us and the river ran right next to us. It was sweet. We spent the weekend thoroughly enjoying ourselves in our little campground. Friday morning when we woke up and familiarized ourselves with the layout of everything we headed out for some fun. We drove into the nearby city and found some maps and fishing poles. We spent the rest of the day hiking up and down the river a little bit pretending to fish. I say pretending because we didn’t catch anything. That poor little river must not have any little fishies in it. But even with our lack of success in the fishing department, I had a good time. I found myself a nice tree to sit on while the boys tried their darndest to catch something. While we were there we had a good time laughing at all the people floating the river too. They kept getting stuck on a fallen tree. It made for some very good entertainment. After our failed attempt to be good fisherman we went back to camp to make dinner.
While Diana’s idea for dinner was well, a good idea, it didn’t taste very good. I don’t think any of us would recommend making pizza in a dutch oven. Ick!
The next morning was full of all kinds of excitement. Little Miss Diana had found an article for a Cherry Festival in Traverse City that she wanted to attend. Since we all love Diana, we went along with it. We walked the streets of Traverse City and saw some volleyball tournaments, sat on the lawn and watched part of the air show, tasted the many different varieties of cherry mixes (I don’t really recommend putting cherry in everything), ate some yummy cherries then we had a cherry pit spitting contest into the lake. Jason sure knows how to launch those pits. He was the champion that’s for sure.
After our adventures at the cherry festival we went on the search for a lake to fish in. When we neared the lake and realized it was quite busy Jason decided to try and find his own lake front location. We ended up in some crazy secluded spot that was only good for a thrill for the boys and their desire to drive a jeep like it’s a big 4x4. Boys will be boys. Needles to say, we didn’t stay at that lake. We drove around a little more, asked some locals and ended up at a nice quiet little lake. Ahh… it was a breath of fresh air. It was so quiet and peaceful.
Here at this lake is where we caught our fish. They weren’t very good fish, I don’t know anything about fish and I can’t remember what they called the fish we were catching but they were very little and spiky. But no matter what kind of fish they were, it was fun and now I can officially say I’ve been fishing, caught a fish and gutted a fish. Whew, it was a blast. After I caught a few of those little guys I turned the pole over to Rob and let him have at it. Diana enjoyed a little fishing too. She even ended up in the water up to her hips. Actually she had only waded in up to her knees until I got the hook stuck on the one and only stick in the lake. She went in deeper to help us out by un-snagging the hook. She sure is a great friend.
Later that night after we had eaten our yummy chicken and potatoes dinner, the boys put the two dead fish in some trees. They wanted to see which fish our little raccoon friend would go after. It was their “social experiment.” However they performed the experiment a little backwards. They marked their territory around the wrong tree. So of course the raccoon took the fish from the lower tree that wasn’t marked. Once again, boys will be boys.
The next morning Diana and I stayed in the tent to sleep in a little while the boys woke up early to go fishing at the lake. When they returned they were acting a little silly but it didn’t really register with Diana and I since our boys are always acting silly. However, when I became a little more cognizant and was able to focus on what the boys were saying I realized they weren’t acting silly just because they’re silly boys. They had been trying to show us something without actually pointing it out too us. Rob talking to Jason like he was a patient and instructing him to sit down is when I finally piped up and asked “What happened?” you know with that “Ok boys, what did you do this time?” kind of tone. They immediately started giggling and Diana sat straight up knowing that it was her husband who was the one needing medical attention. Yep, Jason caught the biggest fish that morning. He caught himself. With a fishhook stuck in his finger Dr. Rob started the procedure of extracting the object. All I can say is it’s a good thing I had followed the feeling of needing the medical bag when I was packing. So we performed surgery right there next to the fire pit. Thank heavens for Dr. Rob.
Shortly after the operating room was cleaned up we packed up camp and headed home. Not without stopping for some lunch first though. When we stopped for gas we pulled our lunch out and ate right there in the parking lot of Meijers. It was delightful.
And there you have it folks, the Fourth of July camping adventures of Rob, Tiff, Jason and Diana. There never is a dull moment with the four of us together.
Thursday, July 16, 2009
A VERY Pressing Matter....
We apparently have a very pressing matter to attend to at my house. Let me start by asking this, have you ever laughed at something and unexpectedly passed gas? You know the ones where you let out a “HA” and at the same time think “Ack!” because you felt a slight rumble down under. Oh yes, you know what I’m talking about. You even know the exact place and time it happened because it was so embarrassing. You were surrounded by friends, family, or here it is… your boyfriend/girlfriend. Or maybe you were lucky and this happened to you in a room full of strangers. I don’t know but I do know that just about everyone has had it happen to them, at least ONCE. And that includes you girls who still somehow believe that girls don’t do that kind of thing. THEY DO!!
Yes, my little hiccup of embarrassing “pass gas” moment was like that. Mine however was a little more traumatic. I happened to be sitting on Rob's lap when it happened, and we were at his parent’s house with his family, before we were married. Oh sure we were engaged and very close to becoming husband and wife but by golly it was still embarrassing.
Now almost seven years later, my dear sweet husband has thought it funny to ask a question that I honestly don’t know the answer to. I refused to answer the question last night when he asked it because I didn’t know the answer to it. Quite honestly, I didn’t want to condemn myself to such a title by answering it in such a way when I didn’t know the answer. And what is that question you’re wondering. It’s this.
Do I, Tiffany, fart on Rob more or does he fart on me more?
Now how can I honestly answer such a question? I’m obviously throwing all caution to the wind by sharing this with you but let’s just put it out there. I mean what the heck right? We all know every single individual on the face of this beautiful earth has to pass gas, FART, toot, or whatever else you call it. Just because my mother, the sweet dear, passed her genes on down to me and in so doing passed the unforgiving gene to fart, doesn’t mean I fart on him more than he does me. It doesn’t. And I would give that gene back to my mother if I could, but then she would have to give it back to her mother and she back to her mother. It just isn’t going to happen. So I’m stuck here living with a genetic deformity.
And let me just tell you, Rob can let ‘em lose just as well as I can. Yes, I did fart on him but in our almost seven years of being married, he too has let his fair share of farts out on me. So how does he expect either one of us to honestly answer such a question? He doesn’t. He just wants to get a riff going. He just wants me to admit to something so he can laugh about it. He is very devilish in ways such as this, especially when he takes it one step further and sends a text to our friends and family to tell them to email or text me and ask that “who farts on who more” question.
To Rob’s mom, I’m sorry you had to hear this. I’m sorry you had to see the good for nothing things your son is up to. But when I receive emails from friends with plot charts and diagrams labeled Toot Tracker, with totally made up numbers mind you.......I had to rat him out.
You girls out there seeking a good, kind, loving husband, you better have a true sit down, heart-to-heart with the guy’s mother before you commit to anything. You might end up with a husband who thinks it’s funny to throw his wife under the embarrassment bus. Or you may just end up with them anyway. I can’t really blame their mothers for wanting them out of the house if this is how they act.
Good luck to you and may the genetic deformity of passing gas NOT be with you. Peace out! Gas Out! Or just go ahead and Pass Out! I think I will.
Yes, my little hiccup of embarrassing “pass gas” moment was like that. Mine however was a little more traumatic. I happened to be sitting on Rob's lap when it happened, and we were at his parent’s house with his family, before we were married. Oh sure we were engaged and very close to becoming husband and wife but by golly it was still embarrassing.
Now almost seven years later, my dear sweet husband has thought it funny to ask a question that I honestly don’t know the answer to. I refused to answer the question last night when he asked it because I didn’t know the answer to it. Quite honestly, I didn’t want to condemn myself to such a title by answering it in such a way when I didn’t know the answer. And what is that question you’re wondering. It’s this.
Do I, Tiffany, fart on Rob more or does he fart on me more?
Now how can I honestly answer such a question? I’m obviously throwing all caution to the wind by sharing this with you but let’s just put it out there. I mean what the heck right? We all know every single individual on the face of this beautiful earth has to pass gas, FART, toot, or whatever else you call it. Just because my mother, the sweet dear, passed her genes on down to me and in so doing passed the unforgiving gene to fart, doesn’t mean I fart on him more than he does me. It doesn’t. And I would give that gene back to my mother if I could, but then she would have to give it back to her mother and she back to her mother. It just isn’t going to happen. So I’m stuck here living with a genetic deformity.
And let me just tell you, Rob can let ‘em lose just as well as I can. Yes, I did fart on him but in our almost seven years of being married, he too has let his fair share of farts out on me. So how does he expect either one of us to honestly answer such a question? He doesn’t. He just wants to get a riff going. He just wants me to admit to something so he can laugh about it. He is very devilish in ways such as this, especially when he takes it one step further and sends a text to our friends and family to tell them to email or text me and ask that “who farts on who more” question.
To Rob’s mom, I’m sorry you had to hear this. I’m sorry you had to see the good for nothing things your son is up to. But when I receive emails from friends with plot charts and diagrams labeled Toot Tracker, with totally made up numbers mind you.......I had to rat him out.
You girls out there seeking a good, kind, loving husband, you better have a true sit down, heart-to-heart with the guy’s mother before you commit to anything. You might end up with a husband who thinks it’s funny to throw his wife under the embarrassment bus. Or you may just end up with them anyway. I can’t really blame their mothers for wanting them out of the house if this is how they act.
Good luck to you and may the genetic deformity of passing gas NOT be with you. Peace out! Gas Out! Or just go ahead and Pass Out! I think I will.
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Toes
Well here it is. Those two innocent looking blisters on my toes from the marathon have worked their course.
My toenails came off this past weekend. It didn't hurt at all. It was as if the nail had just been saturated in water for way too long. They were nice and soft and pulled right off, along with the dead skin where the blister had been.
I thought it looked pretty cool but I am weird like that. So of course I took pictures to share with the rest of you.
You can see that I still have what looks like a toenail on both toes. It is in fact a toenail but it is very, very soft and very thin.
As a side note, I am so STOKED about the response I've received about the Wasatch Back run. So far I have Mom, Jamie, Morgan, Rob, Christa, Michelle and possibly Alisa committed to running this crazy run with me in 2011. You guys (well mostly gals) rock! I can't wait. Crap, too bad it's not for two years. I'm going to go crazy waiting. :-)
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Oh My Heck!!
I know I've said it before but I'm going to say it again, I AM CRAZY!!
Yes, I am. Why am I crazy? Because this is what I want to do next.
The Wasatch Back Ragnar Relay Race.
Doesn't that just look so AWESOME? I know it does.
Ok but in order for me to accomplish this next psychotic endurance goal, I'm going to need some crazy friends to join in. I can't do it on my own. Who's with me? Anybody? Hello??
Fine. I'll let you think about it and get back to me. Besides, I don't know if I'll be able to do it next year anyway, with us moving in May and all. Who knows where we'll end up and if we'll be able to make it back to do something like this. But the year after that, I'm definitely doing it!
Yes, I am. Why am I crazy? Because this is what I want to do next.
The Wasatch Back Ragnar Relay Race.
Doesn't that just look so AWESOME? I know it does.
Ok but in order for me to accomplish this next psychotic endurance goal, I'm going to need some crazy friends to join in. I can't do it on my own. Who's with me? Anybody? Hello??
Fine. I'll let you think about it and get back to me. Besides, I don't know if I'll be able to do it next year anyway, with us moving in May and all. Who knows where we'll end up and if we'll be able to make it back to do something like this. But the year after that, I'm definitely doing it!
Friday, June 19, 2009
Bowling
A few weekends ago we tested our skills on the lanes. It was pretty hilarious and of course a BLAST. By some crazy miracle I won the first game. I couldn't believe it. Heck, nobody could believe it. I am in no way good at bowling. How I pulled off the score I did on our first game is beyond me. However, my true bowling skills really shined through on our second game. I went from the best score to second to last. :-) Yep that's more like it.
I never knew how entertaining a bowlers face could be until I started snapping pictures. Ha,ha, yes I'm talking about the actual bowler's face. Not the Bowlers we're bowling with. :-)
I'm used to only seeing the backside of a bowler so this was a new experience.
It takes some serious concentration to throw a ball down a lane.
And it's not just throwing a ball down a lane. You're actually trying to hit things at the end of the lane too.
I think it helps if you pull funny faces.
Or do funny things with your hands.
Or do funny things with your hands.
Sticking your tongue out helps too I think.
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