Saturday...

Well... we got a little bit accomplished today... our house actually has a number as of this afternoon!!!! Yay! Now hopefully people can find our house and not be knocking on the neighbors' doors. We also got to play with the grill again and that worked quite nicely. I got the porch furniture covers washed and dried on the line and started the seeds for my summer garden as well. We're hoping that we'll still have some company for easter, but we're waiting for news to make that decision.... at least Mom and Dad should be coming.

In other news, I am continuing to do my homework on the whole planning to have a family thing... apparently I need to make sure my MMR vaccine stuff is still current, particularly that my anti-rubella titers are still good and all well in advance... so that's been added to the list (with the folic acid mom's been lecturing me on since 10 days after we got engaged!)

That's about it in news from Hershey tonight~ so I best go put some sheets on the guest bed and keep my fingers crossed that we still get some houseguests this coming weekend-- oh and find something appropriate/cute for a bridal shower that I have to go to tomorrow!

lots of posting today

So putting aside this morning,and my somewhat crappy handling of it on the phone (I have to remember that not everyone deals with things the same way my family does... and to some people it could be scary--- we respond by learning as much as we can so we can understand... I think some people prefer to learn as they go... we go with the lets hear it all now and then we can go from there strategy)

outside of that, the afternoon was pretty great. Tonight was the last night at fish fry at the church. This was our second year working at the fish fry... and at least this year most of the people know I am an adult so I get a lot fewer "what grade are you ins?" and the "is this your confirmation service project?" questions... so that's an improvement... I'm not sure what they think I should look like to prove I am 25, but apparently I am not pulling it off! This year the best I got was thinking I was 18.... I'd cut my finger pulling the tabs off soda cans for the ronald mcdonald house and asked the woman near me if she had a bandaid ... I made some sort of silly comment about not having moved up to the "mommy purse" yet. She replied "oh deary, you've got lots of time, don't rush it." After she dug a bandaid out, I went back over the few feet to craig and then laughed that I didn't think a baby at 26 would be rushing it, and the woman overheard me... she laughed and said "in that case, do it now... don't wait... I had mine at 33 and they run me ragged!" and then continiued through the evening to make similar comments.
Ah, now if only the highschool boys would stop picking on me... if only they knew!

Anyway, I love working the fish fry, we get to meet people from the church and it allows us to give back to the church. Plus we get fed for free... so thats an added bonus! Every Friday evening in lent we spend about 2 hours doing whatever they tell us needs to be done... sometimes we serve food, or clear tables, sell sodas (and in a slightly nutty fashion reorganize the 100+ cases of soda by type, brand, and diet), and for Craig... sometimes he gets suckered into shoveling. Sadly tonight was the last night til next year... but I hope next year we will be out there again.

in other news, nothing too much in the plans for the weekend... the cleaning frenzy is somewhat on hold, but I need to start planning a bridal shower for a gal I know through work... we have 2 maybe 3 weeks to get it all together... but it should be a small bunch... maybe 10 girls for it or so? I think I can handle that without too much headache.

Oh... one last note... I may have gotten my first cake making job today! One of the women I work with, her sister's step-daughter (follow all that!) has decided to probably move her wedding date way up and needs to do it all on a budget... and my coworker having seen my cakes suggested to her sister (who has seen some of my work) that I could do it... which is true... and I can certainly do it for less than most anywhere else would charge for a wedding cake. So keep your fingers crossed... I may have my first gig!!!

easter on hold

Easter's on hold... say some prayers for Christina and my little brother... it could be a long couple of days til we have a clue whats going on.

The scale was out to get me....

Ok, so I had previously set my goal for the whole losing weight thing based on what I thought was a pretty accurate measurement of my weight... I was wrong. The darned defective scale had misled me... basically it comes out to two of the "bars" being "burnt" out on the tens place on the LCD display-- this led me to believe I was 1olbs lighter than in reality... ugh, that was a depressing realization.. but it did make me feel better in that I was really bummed that watching what I'd eaten all week and exercising had lead to my "gaining" 7-8lbs.... but since I was off on my original reading, it actually works out to a small loss... so yay! (as long as it hadn't gone up that much I was more than content) SO I am no longer feeling like a complete loser, but I am contemplating purchasing a scale that actually has all the numbers on it to help protect my sanity.

In other news, we broke out the grill the other day and it is fantastic... so now Craig needed to get himself some "grill tools" (using my kitchen ones was too dangerous for him-- not long enough handles he kept complaining... sheesh.. all he burned was a couple fingers, and I didn't see a single blister or anything... jk he's just fine). Yesterday on a shopping run we found him some parts for the grill so he is a happy camper.

The blazer is behaving ok this week so far, but I need to get it to the mechanic before everyone comes up here for the holiday... not that I really have a clear idea of who is coming when... I know Christina is coming in on Thursday evening-- but outside of that-- John keeps changing his plans... and mom and dad are just saying saturday... so its a bit of a mystery. I did get the guest room pretty well ready for Christina, but I still have to get john to decide if he wants us to get the futon mattress down from the attic or just sleep on the couch so I can get that taken care of. And then that leaves the last dash clean of the house to get the leavings of Murph (well... roomba does the floors, and scooba will mop, and the auto shower thingy does a pretty good job with the shower, but I have to dust and clean the bathroom up and that kinda stuff). We still have a little paint to touch up and some junk to clean off the front porch--- the patio furniture needs to be hosed off, the cushions need to be laundered, and I need to get my garden cleaned up a little bit out front so we can hopefully enjoy the bulbs that are starting to come up-- but all in all, we're in pretty good shape. Yay for spring... and now, back to work.. the mice need me.

Notes on Wednesdays

Yesterday was a pretty average day... but Wednesday is Wing Night at Shakey's, There are a bunch of us (somewhere between 4 and 20 grad students and their associated significant others) that go every week at 8pm for 15cent wings (cajun honey barbecue being the best flavor) and to hang out, catch up, and relax. We've been doing this for over 2 years now-- and while the size of the group varies-- it is there every week-- we've even convinced the bouncer not to charge us cover and we have our own "assigned" tables up in the back-- we've outlasted most of the waitresses-- so we're breaking in a new one now... another couple weeks and she'll have everyone's orders memorized! I never thought I would be a "regular" at a local dive bar.. but it has happened, and we all enjoy it.

In other activities yesterday, we took the Murph for a nice hike again, only this time we made him carry his own toys and junk in his saddlebags... amazing how many looks we get for that one. I feel the dog should carry his own poo though, not me! So on one side, his tennis ball on a rope-- the other side grocery bags just in case. The only thing is you have to get the tennis ball in the bag without him seeing you put it in there or he just spends the whole walk trying to bend his head over in weird yoga positions to get the ball out of the bag on his back... amusing, but hard to keep him moving. We tried taking the cat along on a walk once by putting her in the saddlebag... needless to say, that was an utter disaster-- so I tried a leash on the cat.. she doesn't like that either, so no outdoors for the Tiki-- she is our indoor only kitten. She has become fascinated with the outdoors, but only with the protection of the window screen keeping her safe and sound on the windowsill-- better for her sanity-- and less escape worries for me!

So far so good... and Upromise!

Well, we took the Murph for an hour long walk last night-- he was BEAT. He slept without moving around for a change-- and was not a pain in the butt during dinner either. He'd forgotten some of his manners, so its back on the choke collar until he remembers not to pull on the leash, but that shouldn't take too long. It was nice to be outside though!

In other random news-- I think the verdict for easter food has been leaning towards the wellington like offering-- my Pappy is pretty picky with his foods and lamb would be going way out on a limb for him... and we all like our meat cooked to different levels, so individual wellingtons will be easier on that front too-- so barring major upheaval... beef it is.

On a side note, my first transfer from my Upromise account to my student loans is supposed to go through this week! That's $127 less that I now owe AES through Upromise earnings... yay upromise, its free-- easy, and you can get other people to earn money towards your college loans or for the younger bunch... saving towards college-- so why not do it! It takes time for the savings to build up, but-- anything is better than nothing, and ITS FREE!
(if anyone out there is looking for an account to contribute to... I am more than willing to accept all donations, ugh... stupid college loans) So go, sign up for Upromise... for yourself or someone else! (Thanks for the help Mom!)

Starting today.

So I've been reading and doing my homework and decided I need to lose a little weight. These first few months of marriage have been a little too nice to my waistline--(and Craig's) so we've decided to do something about it.
I am currently at my all time high... which is particularly annoying as at the wedding I was at my best in years-- ugh, anyway--

My current BMI is 28.3-- too high, and I would like to get it down to around a 25. I know BMI isn't the most ideal measure of weight but, it will do for this purpose-- I do not have the frame that I should be down near 113lbs (seriously-- some of the tables recommend that for my height--) for me that would be unhealthy, but I need to do some work. So to that end, I need to lose about 15lbs, though I would be happy with 10. Craig has set his own goals, but its up to him if he wants to share or not.

I would like to lose this weight to help improve my health before we start trying to conceive-- plus if I can drop my weight a little I will also help lessen the issues associated with PCOS, and hopefully make it easier to conceive when we get there.

To this end, I am going to try and keep track of this on here... maybe it will help me if I feel accountable (even if it is just to the internet)-- so today is day 0. I weighed myself this morning and it came in at 152-- so down a little from the last time I weighed myself... but I need to keep going!

(**** PS-- I am not unhappy with my weight or anything like that, I just know that if I can do a little better then it will be all the better for the future, I don't look at myself and see "fat" or anything-- but for health, I should be doing better****)

Colorado Trip

At the beginning of March I was sent to a meeting in Keystone, Colorado for work. The meeting was titled Stem Cells and Cancer and was really a perfect match for presenting my thesis project and getting a little feedback to help me tie together the parts and hopefully get it all finished so I can graduate someday. This trip turned into a very fortunate coincidence for Craig who tagged along to go skiing-- a lot, and in exchange I got someone to carry the heavy luggage-- and my favorite free ski lessons!
So off to Denver and then the 2 hour shuttle ride to Keystone-- the base there is at almost 10,000 feet above sea level with the peak at almost 13,000 feet-- the altitude really got to me, but by the 3rd day I was out and about skiing (and doing that whole science thing I was there to do). We got some amazing photos while we were on the slopes, and as the weather was gorgeous, I definitely enjoyed my first ski trip to a "real" mountain.

Here are a couple of pictures from our trip.

Sorry mom, no cameras allowed in the exhibit hall!

Yes, I need a helmet-- I am a bit clumsy on skis! (but I made it down some really really steep trails this time!)

The view from the highest peak, and I made it down from there all on my own without falling! (the slopes on the mountain behind us are Breckenridge)

Wow, it really was just beautiful up there, if only the oxygen would hang around!

Ah, my "Wild Irishman"

A couple of pictures from our trip to Jacksonville/Amelia Island, Fl in December. On the top is one of me with Craig and the second is me with my "little" brother John. Ah yes, we toured the budweiser factory (they hand out free beer too!) and we had to pose for a shot with the gigantic Clydesdale statue. And how can you beat tanktop weather after weeks of freezing cold PA winter!

Easter preparation and plans

In just under 2 weeks my brother and his girlfriend Christina will be at our house... here's hoping we can get it ready in time! My parents will be here 2 days later for the Easter weekend. This will be my first "big" "fancy" house party-- (we had ~25 people over for the 3rd annual Cookies and Cocoa in December-- but that was not for a nice dinner and all, and it was just one evening)

I am trying to come up with some impressive displays of my cooking and baking and housekeeping in general-- here are the plans thus far-

-Must clean guestroom and change linens, I also need to find a rug for the floor in there!
-Tidy up bathroom, and permanently mount a curtain over the window (there is one kinda tacked there for the moment)
-Remove craig's bins of ski junk from the hall and get that to be a hallway again
-touch up paint in the stairwell that got beat up in the desperate attempts to fit furniture up the tiny winding staircase so we could have a bed and a dresser.
-design and plan food for the weekend-- and shop for it-ugh, that is not going to be pretty at the grocery store-- thank goodness for Easy-Scan
-come up with a fabulous fancy dessert for Easter dinner (cake decorating class should help there)
-Clean out living room and hopefully get the monstrously huge plants my dear husband loves ever so much OUTSIDE for a few months -- seriously these things are HUGE (and in bad need of some sunshine, and maybe some water too)-- that depends on the weather though, it has to get a bit warmer first.

-- other things to be added as needed

-- I will probably try and post some of my meal ideas on here to see if I can get some votes--
Currently debating between beef wellington (newer version, no foie gras... I have a thing against eating filtering organs) and some sort of leg of lamb thing (we are definitely a red meat kind of bunch) I am definitely making this cream of asparagus and spinach soup recipe I found online... so that one is set. everything else is still up in the air. Any suggestions?
-

The Final Cake for Course 2

Well, here is our final cake for course 2! I think it turned out really well. This is just a quick cell phone pic, I have some better ones on the camera at home and I will try and get them uploaded soon. Yay for a frog cake! (and yes, the teacher thinks we are nuts) And here is a movie to show it off and also make you a little dizzy-- I am no filmmaker!




For comparison, here is our final cake from course one.

Cake class

So after the insanity of baking my own wedding cake (which turned out gorgeous if I do say so myself (see the picture there!)) Craig is now pushing me to open a cake business of my own and make wedding cakes for others (and in his eyes, for profit). I am not allowed to have outside employment due to my grad student contract (they want us poor and grateful for the scraps we are given)-- so I cannot go into this full time, but I am enjoying it. I started the wilton method cake decorating classes at the local Micheal's-- and craig decided to take them along with me -- he gets to eat the practice cakes.

I am pretty sure the teacher thinks we are nuts-- everyone else in the class does the same boring yet pretty cake and our are a little out there-- radioactive symbols (a big hit when we brought them to the nerd factory we work in), snakes, funny colors, ants-- you name it... everyone else does the same flowers in the same colors-- not so exciting. Don't get me wrong we are doing the flowers too, we're just putting them in more interesting settings-- so its been fun. Our flowers are the best in the class so we get a little antsy to try something a bit more challenging and interesting and we do.

Tonight is our final cake for level 2-- every one else will be doing white basket weaves with pastel flowers and small sugar blue birds... we're making frogs, cattails,lilypads and dragonflies-- with oodles of flowers to grow around the pond -- so the teacher will be satisfied-- our required basket weave will be in chocolate buttercream as the ground. I will have to take a picture and send it along so I can share it. We've got all the flowers made, so all we have to do in class is basket weave the cake and then place the royal icing decorations... I have high hopes for it.

Plus I tried a new chocolate cake recipe and I am pleased with it, I sliced the layers for torting this morning before work, so all I have to do tonight before class is fill and crumb coat the cake and make enough buttercream for frosting it.

I'll send a post later with the picture to share!

Murphy, Our golden Retreiver

Murphy's collection of stuffed frogs. Craig went a little crazy with the skee-ball and won me all these stuffed frogs. No sooner did we walk in the house than the Murph claimed them as his and tried to fit all three in his mouth! I managed to catch this shot of him guarding them all before he ripped any legs off.

They "retired" my China pattern

Grrrr.. I am annoyed with Waterford-- they went and cancelled my china pattern. What were they thinking? Its lismore... their most timeless crystal pattern then made into china-- why are they cancelling it... ugh. I thought I had years to accumulate the bits a pieces I still was hoping for--- grrrrrrr. So now I am on a mad scurry to find places that have them and that I can at least have matching sets for a few people.
I know in the big scheme of things this is an incredibly minor thing-- but Craig and I battled over a china pattern for EVER trying to find on we both could like-- and this was perfect-- tie in to the fact that Lismore is the pattern his family has had for crystal and that we stand to inherit (or kidnap piece by piece as we visit his parents) and it was the perfect match. ugh.
ok, off to scan the internet for good prices and forward them to our parents-- they have offered to stock up on them and then dole them out to us as Christmas/Birthday/whatever presents for the next dozen years or so. So that's a relief at least.

ok, off to spread sheet land for forwarding to family (i'm lucky they are willing to help!)

Tiki

Here goes nothing!

So after stalking around my sister-in-law's blog (www.ourvietnameseladybug.blogspot.com) for a few weeks, I have finally broken down and started my own. So for the moment, a little about where I am from and what's going on in our lives.

Craig and I met online (emode) and so it only seems appropriate that I go online to track the happenings of our first year of married life. (admittedly starting a bit late!) We dated for just over a year and then Craig proposed in downtown Philly (at the statue in "LOVE" park cheesily/sweetly enough) and 9 months later, we were married.

Shortly before we were engaged Craig purchased a home nearby where we live now-- its a great home, but it has been quite the project to get it to a habitable state. (the first week he was there, the drain line from the only bathroom cracked and flooded the downstairs leaving the ceiling and the bathroom in a state of utter chaos and Craig with nowhere to shower!)

Since then we have gutted the bathroom and kitchen and entirely redone them, we have pulled miles of hideously harvest gold and avocado green fuzzy wallpapers from the walls, ceilings, shelves, and floors (yeah, I have no idea why they did that) and found some nice wood floors under 3 layers of linoleum and carpet (why carpet a kitchen?)-- so we are enjoying having an improved home. We just got our room painted (one more night in the pepto pink prison would have done me in) and hopefully tonight will polish off the last of the touch up painting in the main part of the house.
Which leaves just one room, the littleest bedroom-- the one Craig has claimed as the office-- but the rest of the world refers to as "the nursery". I think he's accepted (and is excited) that we need that room as a place for any little ones that may join our family-- and so he's finally let me choose some colors for the room. In a completely non-committal decision, I think we are doing the "nursery"in pale yellow and green. Neither one of us is big on pink so-- worst case we have a girl in a more unisex room... which works for us!
(plus I am a frog fanatic and have absolutely fallen in love with these 2 sets of crib bedding in blues/greens/yellows with frogs--- http://www.cradlencrib.com/bdolf.html or http://www.babysupermall.com/main/products/brd/brd324pfrg.html)

Well, thats it for now. I better go do some work and stop baby day dreaming for a bit.