tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12523855794039510842024-03-13T11:03:36.000-06:00Dani & Kelly (and T & E, too)Danihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03259921255145699869noreply@blogger.comBlogger98125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1252385579403951084.post-1044084380958152442014-06-16T22:02:00.002-06:002014-06-16T22:38:14.234-06:0040 Weeks Pregnant and Some Updated Nursery PicturesSo today's my due date.<br />
And I still look like this:<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Enormousness</td></tr>
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I figure it's a good time to organize my bump pictures:<br />
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All of these pictures were actually taken in the exact same place in the nursery, so you can see how things progressed in the background a little bit. There are some updated pictures of the nursery without a fat girl in them below, but first all the things I think when I see my reflection lately. Most of the time it's Negative 1 saying "Enormousness" like in the first
video (at about 44 seconds), but occasionally it's the Babybel cheese saying "I'm huge!" like
in the second video. Apparently my inner thoughts like accents?<br />
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Now for the nursery pictures: <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">The crib, as well as <a href="http://danimariesthoughts.blogspot.com/2013/09/labor-day-weekend-i-made-baby-mobile.html" target="_blank">the mobile I made last fall</a>. I never updated that post, but I finally did remove the clips and stagger the sheep better so they look a little less like a crazy herd and more like a mobile.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">That dresser that will double as a changing table. I actually do have a pad, but it's in our room right now because my mom is going to stay in here for a couple weeks, because it's not only the nursery, it's also the guest bedroom. Also, there are<a href="http://danimariesthoughts.blogspot.com/2013/03/diy-front-facing-bookshelves.html" target="_blank"> the shelves I built</a> over a year ago, and the chair where I'll cuddle my baby. I can't believe he could be here any day!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zTwKsfTb8FA/U5-1QJi7i0I/AAAAAAAAB48/o43cZT5exTc/s1600/IMG_0185.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zTwKsfTb8FA/U5-1QJi7i0I/AAAAAAAAB48/o43cZT5exTc/s1600/IMG_0185.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">And no guest bedroom is complete without a bed. We put a ton of pillows on it so it can be like a super big "daybed" when we don't have guests. Kelly thinks it's his nap bed.</span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">The pictures over the bed. I know they're simple, but I kinda love them.</span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-s5etCxG5b3E/U5-1RLq89FI/AAAAAAAAB5Q/UbIDUPLpNcg/s1600/IMG_0189.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-s5etCxG5b3E/U5-1RLq89FI/AAAAAAAAB5Q/UbIDUPLpNcg/s1600/IMG_0189.JPG" height="640" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">The other side of the dresser. The guitar has actually been moved and replaced with a garbage can with a lid because...you know...changing table....</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ya0qgy0vRJY/U5-1Rz_umWI/AAAAAAAAB5k/nYVEjDLoq_o/s1600/IMG_0193.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ya0qgy0vRJY/U5-1Rz_umWI/AAAAAAAAB5k/nYVEjDLoq_o/s1600/IMG_0193.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">And for some reason there's the view of the crib from the other side...so you know where the closet is...</span> </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lw95KvCF0rI/U5-1SdSujoI/AAAAAAAAB5s/BqL40-yE3rs/s1600/IMG_0194.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lw95KvCF0rI/U5-1SdSujoI/AAAAAAAAB5s/BqL40-yE3rs/s1600/IMG_0194.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">A closer look at the poster over the crib. It's a superpower flowchart we bought at a cool store called <a href="http://trohvshop.com/" target="_blank">Trohv</a> on 36th Street (a.k.a The Avenue for Baltimoreans.)</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3OjycajXP5c/U5-1QqgBCcI/AAAAAAAAB5E/YWhn5rX0C9Q/s1600/IMG_0188.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3OjycajXP5c/U5-1QqgBCcI/AAAAAAAAB5E/YWhn5rX0C9Q/s1600/IMG_0188.JPG" height="441" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">I LOVE seeing all his tiny outfits in the closet! The cutest ones were gifts from all the sweet ladies at my baby shower.</span></td></tr>
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There you have it. A gigantic Dani who has been having contractions approximately every 10 minutes for a week now and is ready to have this baby already, and the nursery Baby T will come home to. I'm so excited!Danihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03259921255145699869noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1252385579403951084.post-43946753392387232482014-03-13T19:42:00.002-06:002014-03-13T19:45:45.324-06:00New York CityA couple of weeks ago Kelly and I took a Friday off work and had a little long-weekend trip to New York. We had a ton of fun, and I guess it was something of a babymoon, since it was probably our last overnight trip before our Baby T is born. (I guess it's fair we get a babymoon since we never had a honeymoon...unless you count <a href="http://danimariesthoughts.blogspot.com/2009/06/starting-our-life-together.html" target="_blank">moving across the country two days after getting married</a> as a honeymoon. Our car did say "Just Married" on the back window, so maybe it counted?)<br />
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We only live a couple hours away from NY, so driving was no big deal, and since we had so much fun on our <a href="http://danimariesthoughts.blogspot.com/2011/09/i-cant-believe-i-had-whole-summer-off_11.html" target="_blank">Philadelphia trip</a> a few years ago just ditching the car at the beginning and hoofing it all weekend we just did that again. It was even easier in NYC with a metrocard, though. On Friday February 21st we left in the morning and drove to Newark, NJ and left the car in a parking garage. It's much cheaper to park in NJ than NY. It's also easier to drive in NJ than NY ha ha. Then we took the train from Newark Penn Station to NY Penn Station. Normally we go to the WTC, but it was still closed because of falling ice from that super cold snap the east coast had in February. It worked out well, though, because we were planning to do the touristy Liberty Island and Ellis Island ferry that day, but on the drive up decided to go to the Met that day instead. So we got some lunch and ate on a (wet) bench in Central Park and watched kids play in the snow, and then spent the rest of the day at the Met. I have been there a few times now, but Kelly has never been. I had been telling him to choose what he really wanted to see and we'd do that first because it is so huge you'd have to live inside the Met for a few months (<span class="hw">à</span> la <i>From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler</i>) to see everything. I don't think he believed me until we got there. I guess it is maybe something you have to see to believe. We ended up starting with one of the temporary exhibits on Faberg<span class="st">é</span> eggs, then hit the Arms and Armor, made our way to 19th Century European Art, meandered through the Medieval Art, and ended up in the Egyptian Exhibit. We also forked over $8 for two root beers in the American Wing Cafe because all that walking-around-looking-at-stuff had me and Baby T thirsty and wanting to sit down for a bit. And Kelly wanted one too because he's a soda addict. If you go, I would suggest sticking with the drinking fountains if at all possible. We also purchased a Met magnet to add to our souvenir collection on the refrigerator.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kelly and some flashy armor</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me and Baby T having a chubby party with Henry VIII's armor from his fat phase. At least he probably bought a coat that could button over his belly.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Degas (one of his paintings from his mild ballet days, as opposed to his many weirdly-posed-naked-female paintings)</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Renoir</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Painting by Picasso... bet you didn't guess that!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of Van Gogh's self portraits</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kelly doing his best Egyptian impression. Not.</td></tr>
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That evening we took the train back to Newark, picked up the car and checked into our hotel, located within walking distance from Newark Penn Station. We were able to leave our car in the hotel parking lot for free for the rest of the trip. That was part of the reason we decided to get a hotel in NJ instead of in Manhattan. Most hotels in NYC make you pay an additional daily rate for parking, which can add up fast. <br />
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The next morning we took the train back to NY and got breakfast at a doughnut place in the Lower East Side called Doughnut Plant because Kelly is a foodie and looked up a few places he wanted to eat at, and apparently this was his top pick. I must admit the crème brûlée doughnut I had was worth the subway fare and the 5 block walk. After breakfast we jumped back on the subway and took it down to Battery Park and got tickets for the ferry to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">On the ferry</td></tr>
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This was another thing I had done a couple of times already, but Kelly hadn't. It was really fun just wandering around Liberty Island with Kelly, and we eventually got an Argentinian guy to take a picture of us after we took one for him. I didn't understand anything, since he and Kelly chatted in Spanish, until he handed me his very nice camera and posed. I only forgot one thing on this trip: my camera charger (for my awesome camera I got for Christmas! Fail!), so he had to take our picture with Kelly's phone. It turned out pretty good for a phone pic, though.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We went for a less-crowded side-view, rather than jostling for a photo op from the front because we're chill like that</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Though I did manage to grab a quick picture from the front when we were walking around that way.</td></tr>
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Then we went to Ellis Island, but didn't stay very long because all the exhibits were closed because of Superstorm Sandy last year. That was something I should have looked into beforehand, but didn't even think about. It's a beautiful building, architecturally, though, so still worth the trip. Plus we got another magnet for our collection.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-G_xZvZN3Ll8/UyJUbXIbyzI/AAAAAAAAB2M/u1wvbN_q89Q/s1600/WP_20140222_030.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-G_xZvZN3Ll8/UyJUbXIbyzI/AAAAAAAAB2M/u1wvbN_q89Q/s1600/WP_20140222_030.jpg" height="400" width="223" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Crappy phone pic of inside the building on Ellis Island </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-3Wpxv6tO5wE/UyJaM-G2vzI/AAAAAAAAB28/cnk51PHAWgs/s1600/WP_20140222_032.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-3Wpxv6tO5wE/UyJaM-G2vzI/AAAAAAAAB28/cnk51PHAWgs/s1600/WP_20140222_032.jpg" height="223" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hey! I can see New York from here!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-IDrQ6gIDTLQ/UyJUcEVZuMI/AAAAAAAAB2Y/1XmQVzKwGc4/s1600/WP_20140222_040.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-IDrQ6gIDTLQ/UyJUcEVZuMI/AAAAAAAAB2Y/1XmQVzKwGc4/s1600/WP_20140222_040.jpg" height="223" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me and Kelly chillin' on Ellis Island</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-adL1b59eRtM/UyJUc2bz50I/AAAAAAAAB2c/9oyy2f14rpg/s1600/WP_20140222_042.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-adL1b59eRtM/UyJUc2bz50I/AAAAAAAAB2c/9oyy2f14rpg/s1600/WP_20140222_042.jpg" height="400" width="223" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I snapped this while we were waiting to get back on the ferry</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
After catching the ferry back to Battery Park we headed to Little Italy for lunch. We were planning to try a different restaurant than our old tradition, da Nico's, but Baby T was grumpy, hungry, and tired (okay, I was, but it's nice to blame him since it was my big ol' belly causing most of the orneriness) so I was fed up with looking at menus on the street and we ended up just going to da Nico's anyway. I have to admit, I was disappointed. If we go back for a meal in Little Italy, it won't be at our old standby. I hate to say it, but I've had tastier food at Olive Garden, and I'm not a fan of Olive Garden at all. I guess having our own Little Italy in Baltimore has made it less impressive elsewhere? I don't know. Disappointment notwithstanding, I had food in my tum and got to rest my feet and baby belly for a bit, so I was good.<br />
<br />
We had time to kill, so we wandered around 5th Avenue, and went to the New York Public Library, and of course found some books to buy. We kept it to a minimum, though, since we knew we had to carry them around for the rest of the day. Kelly also took us to a comic book store in Times Square he had to see. It was huge and pretty fantastic. (Albeit in a why-can't-there-be-ANY-chairs-here!? kind of way for me.) Times Square on a Saturday night was a mistake I should have seen coming, though. It's the crowded, insane part of NYC the locals avoid, and that people from elsewhere probably think all of New York is like until they actually visit. Actually walking around Manhattan, especially in the tourist off-season like February, is great and not crazy-busy. But Times Square is. However, we were going there anyway, because we had tickets to a Broadway show that night. So after Kelly's nerd-dream-come-true we went a few blocks over from Times Square where it was calmer and grabbed some shakes at McDonald's to hold us over, since we were both still pretty full from our late lunch, and then dove back through Times Square to get to the Shubert Theater were we saw <i>Matilda</i>. It was so amazing! I loved the music, the sets, and the actors. It was creative, and funny, and different, and wonderful. I think it was really in keeping with Roald Dahl's book. A child cast actually did a large part of the show, and those kids were incredible! Sometimes teaching teenagers in Baltimore makes me forget that children can be well-behaved, and disciplined enough to freaking <i>act on Broadway</i>. We had a great time, and I think <i>Matilda</i> was the highlight of the trip for me, only a tiny step below my all-time favorite Broadway experience of <i>Thoroughly Modern Millie</i> which would be completely impossible to ever be beaten.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Hwd4-QsoKDk/UyJUdJeSaDI/AAAAAAAAB2k/zgV0ZAS_O40/s1600/WP_20140222_043.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Hwd4-QsoKDk/UyJUdJeSaDI/AAAAAAAAB2k/zgV0ZAS_O40/s1600/WP_20140222_043.jpg" height="400" width="223" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I kind of quit taking pictures by this point. Here's a quick picture snapped in Times Square before <i>Matilda</i>. Of course with the phone. Curse my forgetfulness!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
After the show we caught a late train back to NJ and slept like rocks at our hotel. My baby-carrying stomach muscles were screaming at me a little, and my feet and calves perhaps a little more (especially in the middle of the night when I inevitably got those stupid charlie horses), but we had so much fun! The next morning we drove home and then relaxed the rest of Sunday so we could be ready for the week of work ahead (spoiler alert: we weren't, of course, because even when we veg on the couch all weekend we never are quite ready for another week of work, but made it through anyway.) Overall, we had a really fun trip, and we were glad we kept it pretty relaxed. Since we had both already been to Rockerfeller Square, Wall Street, St. Patrick's Cathedral, Trinity Church, and a bunch of other places, we were able limit it to the couple of things we really wanted to do and not feel like we needed to squeeze everything quintessentially Manhattan-y into our little weekend jaunt.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NcK0WHGzs5s/UyJdxLB09PI/AAAAAAAAB3Q/4f_Nt4OEOqU/s1600/IMG_0120.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NcK0WHGzs5s/UyJdxLB09PI/AAAAAAAAB3Q/4f_Nt4OEOqU/s1600/IMG_0120.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Four new magnets for our collection: The Met, Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, and Matilda</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
I think I want at least one more weekend trip before the baby comes...but perhaps somewhere that would require a little less walking...<br />
<br />
Danihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03259921255145699869noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1252385579403951084.post-76707359054016710072014-02-01T14:55:00.001-07:002014-02-01T14:58:31.823-07:00It's a...<div style="text-align: center;">
<br />
<br />
<br />
...new O's fan!</div>
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-N4spiWlQ5_g/Uu1sqnnUZ6I/AAAAAAAAB0g/6p6SooL6M00/s1600/003.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-N4spiWlQ5_g/Uu1sqnnUZ6I/AAAAAAAAB0g/6p6SooL6M00/s1600/003.JPG" height="400" width="340" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">Also, it's a boy!</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br /></td></tr>
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Danihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03259921255145699869noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1252385579403951084.post-821478117110886892014-01-26T17:46:00.004-07:002014-01-26T18:02:59.856-07:00Random Updates: Christmas, an Embarrasing Moment at an Aquarium, and Some Thoughts on Pregnancy<br />
It's been awhile. It seems like I always need to say something like
that in the few-and-far-between posts on this blog. Our lives aren't
that fascinating, though, so I guess it makes sense. Maybe all that
will change when Baby T joins us in June and everyone will be sick of us. Anyway, I thought I'd just
record some random things we've been up to and thinking about since
mid-December since I'm really bad at keeping a journal now.<br />
<br />
First is Christmas. We decorated our apartment and had our own little Christmas morning a week early so Kel and I could exchange presents and give the cat a new bed and a catnip mouse (which she alternates between mauling and taking care of it like it's her kitten). The coolest thing I got was a new camera for all the upcoming baby pictures I hope to be awesome at taking. I think Kelly would say his best present from me were binoculars for birding and such. He also got a 3DS I bought on the cheap from one of his friends, and he's been enjoying that more than he would probably care to admit. Now, for memory's sake, some pictures of our little Christmas:<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uRezKfEwVl8/UuWf8iB-liI/AAAAAAAAByA/YQ0X1nSYX3A/s1600/Christmas+2013+and+January+2014+009.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uRezKfEwVl8/UuWf8iB-liI/AAAAAAAAByA/YQ0X1nSYX3A/s1600/Christmas+2013+and+January+2014+009.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our tree, that we decided was called Sam as we were throwing it away (technically, Kelly was acting like Libby was saying bye to the tree because she LOVED it, and he said "Bye Sam!" in his Libby voice, so it stuck. For the last few moments of its life.)</td></tr>
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<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-69T8YKdKTYM/UuWf-E7gf1I/AAAAAAAAByU/2fS8E2kahQ4/s1600/Christmas+2013+and+January+2014+013.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-69T8YKdKTYM/UuWf-E7gf1I/AAAAAAAAByU/2fS8E2kahQ4/s1600/Christmas+2013+and+January+2014+013.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We finally bought a nativity this year. Who knew ebay was the place for it? Don't mind the generous gap between our bookshelves, the floor is uneven, but they're anchored to the the wall so it's all good.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9E1EygfBSLA/UuWf98kA9vI/AAAAAAAAByE/wQXPec6H-W4/s1600/Christmas+2013+and+January+2014+014.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9E1EygfBSLA/UuWf98kA9vI/AAAAAAAAByE/wQXPec6H-W4/s1600/Christmas+2013+and+January+2014+014.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our stockings and little Christmas Angel bell thingy. I'm sure it has a real name, but I sure don't know it.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hYp7sgYiTMA/UuWh76c4NHI/AAAAAAAABzM/sEFQBsIdUj4/s1600/Christmas+2013+and+January+2014+010.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hYp7sgYiTMA/UuWh76c4NHI/AAAAAAAABzM/sEFQBsIdUj4/s1600/Christmas+2013+and+January+2014+010.JPG" height="378" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">That's right. I made Kelly some Star Wars snowflakes. I got my x-acto on and rocked at it! This is R2D2 in case you can't tell.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-110wpvw-SJo/UuWh6zsnt4I/AAAAAAAABzE/3PalqemV1ig/s1600/Christmas+2013+and+January+2014+011.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-110wpvw-SJo/UuWh6zsnt4I/AAAAAAAABzE/3PalqemV1ig/s1600/Christmas+2013+and+January+2014+011.JPG" height="400" width="398" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And Boba Fett. And no, I am not this super awesome on my own. I got the templates from <a href="http://anthonyherreradesigns.com/index.php/component/content/article/8-ahd-blog/8-star-wars-snowflakes-2013" target="_blank">here</a>.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bITeOQ0xEOU/UuWf7Wyn04I/AAAAAAAABxs/ALXmCOQ3Xbk/s1600/Christmas+2013+and+January+2014+005.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bITeOQ0xEOU/UuWf7Wyn04I/AAAAAAAABxs/ALXmCOQ3Xbk/s1600/Christmas+2013+and+January+2014+005.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our "Christmas" morning mess</td></tr>
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<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PUWIzHnwm7A/UuWf74NR4cI/AAAAAAAABx0/SI8zQwSUcjc/s1600/Christmas+2013+and+January+2014+006.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PUWIzHnwm7A/UuWf74NR4cI/AAAAAAAABx0/SI8zQwSUcjc/s1600/Christmas+2013+and+January+2014+006.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Libby enjoying her present. I promise it's actually big enough for her, she just sucks at getting in there all the way.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
We went home for real Christmas. I told about three people I would let them
know if we were headed home for the break and we would do something,
and I'm the worst person ever and didn't even call them. Sorry to the few
friends I have left. I really do love you guys. I'm just a very lazy
person. I was so tired from growing a human inside me and dealing with the last vestiges of morning sickness I just hung out with my family, and then I got
sick at the end of our trip and only ended up seeing Kelly's family
ONCE! How terrible is that? Hopefully we move back soon (this summer,
maybe?) and I can right that wrong, and hopefully my old friends will
re-friend me despite my lazy ways. It was really nice to be with
family, though. I got to meet my new nephew, who goes by Tiger on the
web. There's a picture on Facebook you can see if you're friends with
me. I don't want to break my sister-in-law's trust and post it on a
public blog, since she's really really careful and smart about internet
safety. He's super adorable and I just wanted to cuddle him, but
usually he wanted to stand up on his cutie little legs when I was holding him, which was cool too. Kel and I were
feeling a little jealous, realizing we could have had a 7 month old if
we hadn't miscarried last year. It wasn't bad, though, since I am
pregnant so at least we know that it's coming. It was really fun and
sweet seeing my brother and sister-in-law as parents, too. We also got
to spend more time with my sister Cami and her new husband Robbie, which
was really fun, especially since we hadn't had the opportunity to get
to know Robbie very well before that. One of the many problems of
living thousands of miles away! They are a really awesome couple and we
love how Robbie hands Cami's sass right back to her, and we had a lot
of fun with them both. My younger brother Bryan also took a lot of his
Christmas break to spend time with us, and as always he is one of the
funnest (I know it's not a word) people I know. Other than
that, I mostly probably bothered my parents by always following them
around, but I really enjoyed just being with them and talking to them.
We spent Christmas morning at Kelly's parents' house and had a really
nice time chatting with his parents and brothers and sisters-in-law, and
seeing our cute nephews on that side. We gave Liam a Buzz Lightyear
shirt and wings and it was really fun watching him run around and jump
off the couch with them. I'm excited our baby will have such awesome
grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins on both sides. He or she will
be in the same grade as my brother's baby, and almost exactly two years
younger than Emery on Kelly's side, which is pretty awesome.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-MDD7bv657pE/UuWb0mKzfLI/AAAAAAAABxU/PmCKBugUpHk/s1600/1495497_10202045283366566_2008883985_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-MDD7bv657pE/UuWb0mKzfLI/AAAAAAAABxU/PmCKBugUpHk/s1600/1495497_10202045283366566_2008883985_n.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of the Christmas dinners we enjoyed</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
The
other thing I wanted to write about was visiting the National
Aquarium. They have a deal on Fridays after 5PM during the non-touristy
season, and Kel and I have been a few times already since we've lived here, so we went couple weeks
ago and just wandered for about two hours and had a really fun time together. I was a little bummed this
time that they changed part of the exhibit and almost all the stingrays
were gone. They used to have a huge shallow pool with some smaller
sharks and a bunch of stingrays. I love watching stingrays swim
around. They're so cool. And if you're lucky enough to see their tummies they have cute
little smiles.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PImhz6Po29M/UuWjUx1ryiI/AAAAAAAABz0/Z1yYsUOUB_0/s1600/Christmas+2013+and+January+2014+033.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PImhz6Po29M/UuWjUx1ryiI/AAAAAAAABz0/Z1yYsUOUB_0/s1600/Christmas+2013+and+January+2014+033.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Not the best picture, but see its little smile?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
But the new exhibit was cool too, just not AS cool. And
it was our first real outing since I got pregnant, because I spent a
couple months basically sleeping and feeling sick. Kelly even managed
to have a "Kelly Moment" by staring at something and nudging a person he
thought was me standing next to him about seven times before finally
looking over to see why I wasn't responding, only to realize it was a
guy. With blue hair. And a nose ring. Now that I think of it, I maybe
should be offended he thought that was me. Right after that the actual
me came up to him as he was explaining his mistake to blue-hair-guy,
and then as he was blushing and telling me what happened we heard
"Kelly!" and turned around and there was a couple from church sitting
there, probably witnessed the whole thing, so we had an awkward
conversation with Kelly blushing and stammering and me trying not to
laugh. But we did manage to invite them to our house for dinner that
Sunday. When we were chatting with them at our house it turned out they
didn't notice anything, but got a good laugh from the story.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UZZ7tPO5HKU/UuWjTTAkv1I/AAAAAAAABzc/sKKsWUi2Tj0/s1600/Christmas+2013+and+January+2014+020.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UZZ7tPO5HKU/UuWjTTAkv1I/AAAAAAAABzc/sKKsWUi2Tj0/s1600/Christmas+2013+and+January+2014+020.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jellyfishing! Jellyfishing! Jellyfishing!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-R2UMtfbe_00/UuWjTjgsgVI/AAAAAAAABzg/fsYeoN0hWGI/s1600/Christmas+2013+and+January+2014+023.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-R2UMtfbe_00/UuWjTjgsgVI/AAAAAAAABzg/fsYeoN0hWGI/s1600/Christmas+2013+and+January+2014+023.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some stingrays and a shark takin' a nap</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-uPcB1nRZmO8/UuWjTgwnmEI/AAAAAAAABzk/EhZ3DHhi1xs/s1600/Christmas+2013+and+January+2014+025.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-uPcB1nRZmO8/UuWjTgwnmEI/AAAAAAAABzk/EhZ3DHhi1xs/s1600/Christmas+2013+and+January+2014+025.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Oh, I was tempted.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5ebaQXPWqSA/UuWjUr74KpI/AAAAAAAABz8/liRvB-c3m_0/s1600/Christmas+2013+and+January+2014+027.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5ebaQXPWqSA/UuWjUr74KpI/AAAAAAAABz8/liRvB-c3m_0/s1600/Christmas+2013+and+January+2014+027.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sea urchin and some fishies</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hadab5oSpG0/UuWjUkwZS1I/AAAAAAAABz4/-7Ss7ZTEua4/s1600/Christmas+2013+and+January+2014+031.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hadab5oSpG0/UuWjUkwZS1I/AAAAAAAABz4/-7Ss7ZTEua4/s1600/Christmas+2013+and+January+2014+031.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The rather large eel who looked rather like the Grinch. He totally smiled for this picture, though.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-j2VbQnh-GDE/UuWjV1EGtzI/AAAAAAAAB0E/YZG5-lTe-7Q/s1600/Christmas+2013+and+January+2014+036.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-j2VbQnh-GDE/UuWjV1EGtzI/AAAAAAAAB0E/YZG5-lTe-7Q/s1600/Christmas+2013+and+January+2014+036.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Aquarium selfie!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Other
than that, basically the only thing going on is I'm pregnant! This one
feels so different than the last one. I feel guilty about that. The
first time I found out I was pregnant I immediately was so excited and
in love with our baby and started planning our future. This time around
I feel like something inside of me won't quite accept that it's real. I
remember having the exact same detached feeling the day Kelly got home
from his mission, and the day we got married. Both times I thought I
would be jumping-around-crazy-excited because the best thing ever was
about to happen, but what actually happened was I just calmly got ready
and couldn't quite believe it was actually happening. Okay, on my
wedding day I did having a screaming freak-out at my hair, so "calm"
isn't the right word there, but I wasn't feeling like I was about to get
married, either. With this pregnancy I keep having to remind myself
that after trying for a year, it's finally happened.<br />
<br />
I
also wasn't sick at all with the last one before I lost the baby, but
this time I had morning (more like 24-hour) sickness pretty bad since
about week 6 and it was barely easing off when we went home for
Christmas around 14 weeks along. I tried to remember to be grateful,
since they say that's a good sign. I think Kelly did too, but he was
pretty sad about missing his wife for two months. He takes very good
care of me, though. I lost a lot of weight the first trimester because
of my morning-sickness-induced anorexia/bulimia. My appetite is
starting to come back now and I have a little, yet obvious, baby belly now,
but I'm still not up to my pre-pregnancy weight. It works, though,
because most of my normal clothes still fit. It's awesome, because I
decided I really hate shopping for maternity clothes, so I can put that
off a little longer.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RYI8JtUmHQQ/UuWmRvSa1kI/AAAAAAAAB0Q/5xVKkQsYr7E/s1600/Christmas+2013+and+January+2014+040.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RYI8JtUmHQQ/UuWmRvSa1kI/AAAAAAAAB0Q/5xVKkQsYr7E/s1600/Christmas+2013+and+January+2014+040.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Li'l baby bump. Kelly and I agree it looks bigger in real life. As an aside, I really can't figure out what to do with my hands in these pictures.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
I am super paranoid about losing this
baby still. I thought once I passed the point where I lost the first
one I would start connecting better and feeling safer, then I thought maybe
once I got past the first trimester, and now I'm hoping when I find out
if it's a boy or girl or feel it moving. In the last week or so I have
been connecting more to Baby T and starting to plan on actually having a
real baby come June, so that's been really nice and feeling
pretty good. I still have a ways to go, but at least I know it's starting to feel real. I think that's why I've been feeling really bad about not
documenting anything about being pregnant this time. Last year when I
was pregnant I wrote a bunch of posts that I never published, but at
least I have them for the memories. <br />
<br />
Another weird
thing about this pregnancy that I wasn't expecting was feeling some
strange form of survivor's guilt. I spent a year grieving for my baby
and trying and failing to conceive and feeling jealous of others'
pregnancies and babies, and forming a sort of unspoken (and maybe
unshared?) camaraderie with other women struggling with infant loss and/or infertility (even though I officially missed the label of infertility by a matter of weeks). Now that I have exactly what I wanted, I'm hyper-aware of the fact that
my own pregnancy could be causing others those same feelings of pain and
jealousy that I so recently struggled with. I haven't announced that
I'm pregnant in Relief Society's "good news minute" or posted a ton of
Facebook statuses or really talked much about it to people other than
family. And my students. My students are VERY interested in everything
about me being pregnant. I guess I'll continue that story in a minute. But really, this is the first public talk-about-being-pregnant thing that I've done. And I'm doing it more to record the memories, and so my family at home can see a picture of
my burgeoning baby bump since they're not here to share it with me. I
really hope that I don't hurt the feelings of my friends who are in the
middle of their own struggles with baby loss or trying to conceive,
especially those whose fight with this has been way longer than mine. Please know you're in my thoughts and prayers everyday.<br />
<br />
Back to my students to end this on a happier note. I ended up
telling my students pretty early on that I was pregnant. Like 6 weeks
along. First, I was really paranoid about losing the baby and needed to
take it easier than I usually do, so I did a lot less running around
and getting pens and paper for every Tyron, Darius, and Hakeem, and a lot more sitting down and telling them to get
their own dang pen. Second, I had a minor freak out when a couple
students tried to bring a chicken box into my room (for those of you who
aren't from Baltimore, that's fried chicken and french fries, often
eaten with sriracha sauce on top, as in this case), so they knew
something was up. Finally, when I was 6 weeks pregnant I was teaching
fourth period and suddenly ran to the trashcan and barfed (fortunately I
made it). Obviously my students weren't going to let that slide and I
let the cat out of the bag. It spread like wildfire. So the whole
school knew Ms. A was having a baby pretty darn quick. I was just glad I told my principal as
soon as I knew I was pregnant because of my paranoid need to take it
easy, so she heard it from me and not through the grapevine. My students have been surprisingly sweet to me,
and instead of asking me to come help, they tell me to stay in my seat
and they come to me. They are also pretty good at remembering my sense
of smell is crazy and eat their chicken boxes, ramen noodles, Doritos,
and other vomit-inducing things before coming into my classroom.
Students also tell each other off for being annoying or disruptive
because "she's pregnant!" The weirdest thing is so many of my girls
have had babies, or are currently pregnant, so they like to chat with me
about pregnancy symptoms and living with babies. Most of my students
also debate about if it's a boy or girl, citing very
official sources like how I'm carrying, the severity of my morning
sickness, and trying to put their hand on my tummy and feel the vibes or
something. I try to avoid the last one as much as I can, but people
can be pretty handsy when it comes to a baby bump, and many of my
students have a seriously lacking sense of personal space as it is. I think they are almost as excited as me, Kelly and our moms are to find out the gender ON THURSDAY!!!!! (After we get the news to everyone in our families, I'll post it here, I promise.) Anyway, the
sweetest thing my students do is just check in everyday.
Some of them aren't even in any of my classes currently. They just stick their
heads in during passing periods and ask "How's the baby?" It's been
really nice so far to be able to answer "Good!"Danihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03259921255145699869noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1252385579403951084.post-76981438965366964192013-12-09T10:51:00.000-07:002013-12-10T09:49:46.432-07:00PatiencePatience must be something I have to learn. I've never been a very patient person, but I've found that the things I've had to wait for are the things that are most important to me. Kelly and I were very lucky to meet pretty early (no patience needed there), but unlike many of my friends and peers from Utah who meet and marry within a year, Kelly and I had to wait over four years before we had the opportunity to get married, and a lot of that time was spent apart, either because we attended different universities located 300 miles apart, or because of his mission to Uruguay. We both knew for pretty much the entire four years we were going to get married, and sometimes having patience was very difficult. The good thing about this is I think Kelly and I really, truly value our marriage. Neither of us wonder if we did the right thing, or chose too soon, or rushed into things. We're honestly just very very grateful to finally be together. We do errands and chores together, help each other out with everything, and basically really hate being apart. I'm not saying our marriage is perfect. Of course we disagree sometimes, and I snap at him over stupid things, and I tease him way, way, way too much, but we love each other. We are always there for each other, and the fact that we are sealed together for eternity is one of the things we are most grateful for.<br />
<br />
Another thing that we've had to wait for is being with our family. Kelly and I both love our families very much, but two days after we got married we moved across the country for work. This has been a blessing in our lives because we get so much time together and rely completely on one another, but it has also been difficult being so far from home and our families. We have now lived here for nearly five years, and while we have come to love Baltimore (well, most things about it), we miss our families a lot and hope to be able to move back to Utah soon. Or maybe get everyone to move out here. Somehow I don't think that's going to happen. Because we've been apart, though, we really appreciate our families and their love and support, and because we miss so many big events like the births of our three nephews, most holidays, baby blessings, and birthdays, we are grateful for the ones we do get to be around for like Christmas and weddings, and we work hard to be able to visit home to be with family when we can. I feel like because we've been apart and had to wait to be together we have realized how very important our families are to us.<br />
<br />
As many of you know, the third thing we have had to have a lot of patience about is starting our own family. After being married for about two years, I started wanting to have a baby. There were many many reasons which I really don't want to go into here, but we decided to wait. It was annoying and sad at times, but we knew it was for the best. When we finally felt the time was right it was very exciting and fun wondering if I was pregnant and imagining how our lives would change. We were both ready to expand our family and bring more love and meaning to our lives. We were quite lucky and it didn't take too long to get pregnant, but if you read my last post you'll know that I miscarried. It was so heartbreaking to have all those hopes and dreams handed to us and then snatched away so quickly. As soon as we got the okay from the doctor we began trying again, but month after month I'd get my hopes up only to be disappointed. All the while I was counting down how far along I would have been with the baby I had lost, seeing pregnancy announcements from friends on Facebook, and watching women at church who I had been pregnant with start having their babies, and aching for one of my own. Patience would be a good thing to have, but unfortunately I haven't learned it well enough and need to have it forced on me. After I passed my baby's due date, I felt like maybe I could finally begin to heal and things began getting a little better. I know that because of the miscarriage and the subsequent difficulties with conceiving I have become a softer person, and definitely more aware of the heartache of others. I have a dear friend who had two miscarriages that I know of, and still no news of a baby, and I hurt for her everyday. As the months passed I realize more and more that just like waiting both to marry Kelly and live closer to family has made me more grateful for them, the most important things in my life, when I finally have a baby I will be so much more grateful for that child than I would have been without the wait.<br />
<br />
One year to the day from miscarrying our baby, we found out we are expecting again. It's been very scary, but we are also so grateful for the blessing. Fortunately, none of the complications of the last pregnancy have been present, and now that I have passed the first trimester and things are looking very positive so far, we are overjoyed to announce that we should finally be having a baby of our very own in June 2014.Danihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03259921255145699869noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1252385579403951084.post-25955656682537626422013-10-16T19:42:00.001-06:002013-10-17T17:36:01.348-06:00Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance DayI meant to post this yesterday, but of course I was slow.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vW1Ya_7Sjd4/Ul9BRmWZjvI/AAAAAAAABw8/jkS47qNusfU/s1600/pregnancy-infant-loss-remembrance-day.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="290" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vW1Ya_7Sjd4/Ul9BRmWZjvI/AAAAAAAABw8/jkS47qNusfU/s400/pregnancy-infant-loss-remembrance-day.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
Yesterday was Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day, and October is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month. I never thought I would be on this end of things, wanting people to know that pregnancy loss happens more than you might think. I also want to send love and support to any mothers and families out there who have lost a baby, or babies. I know that October 15th and Awareness month is about infant loss in all ways, not just miscarriage, but since I've only experienced miscarriage, it's what I will be addressing. I miscarried a year ago this week. I went to the ER and found that my baby's heart was no longer beating on October 15, 2012. The reason I wanted to write this is because a lot of women have lost a baby to miscarriage, and for some reason it often turns into a taboo subject. I was surprised by how many women came out of the woodwork and told me about their own miscarriage, or in some cases multiple miscarriages, after finding out I lost my baby, and I never even knew. Even if women do talk about their pregnancy loss it is often not recognized as the death of a child. My hopes and future and plans were pinned to that baby. It was ripped away from me when I lost my pregnancy, and I never even got to hold my baby, or find out the gender or give him or her a name. A lot of people didn't know what to say to me or how to act. Many said insensitive and even hurtful things on accident or in ignorance. Things like, "what did you do?" "When are you going to have kids? You guys have been married for awhile, now!" Or on Mother's Day, when an innocent 10-year-old asked for my Mother's Day chocolate bar that my church gives all women 18 years and older, because "it's not like you're a mom." Without the extra sensitivity to others' unintentional comments, I still felt a lot of ridiculous feelings that I knew were ridiculous, but I still felt them. I felt extreme guilt. What had I accidentally done to kill my child? I took a hot bath before I knew I was pregnant! You're not supposed to get too hot! Maybe I damaged some chromosomes or something? It was ridiculous, because I followed all the pregnancy rules; it was just one of those things. I felt like I let my family down. Women have babies all the time. It's one of those big things we're made to do, and I couldn't do it. I told my parents I was pregnant and it was going to be their first grandchild and I couldn't follow through. I knew even as I was feeling these things that I was being stupid. My whole family was loving and supportive and sad for my loss, not judging me on failing to carry my baby to term, but I still felt that way. Not to mention the extreme jealousy and even dislike of women who were still pregnant or who had babies. I tried not to, but it hurt so much. I remember seeing little twin boys sitting in a grocery cart and bursting into tears, while my sweet husband tried to guide me away.<br />
<br />
The reason I share all this is not for pity, but because it needs to be recognized that women who miscarry have lost their child. The moment she finds out she's pregnant her life is different. When all
those plans and dreams crash around her, it is one of the most
awful moments of her life. And if women want to talk about it, they should be able to without people cringing on the inside. The best thing you can do if you know someone who'd lost a baby is just recognize it as true loss. Ask them how they're doing and if you can do anything to help them out. A few people sent Kelly and me cards, and one sweet woman brought me flowers. Another asked me if I wanted to go get lunch; I didn't feel up to it, but just her reaching out to me meant so much. My family was loving and supportive, and Kelly babied me for months because I felt so terrible physically for weeks, and emotionally until well after the due date. Please don't brush it under the rug, because a mother (or father) who has lost a baby will never, ever forget.<br />
<br />
For women or anyone else dealing with loss from a miscarriage, I found a couple sites helpful when I was in the thick of it:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.miscarriagesupport.org.nz/index.html">http://www.miscarriagesupport.org.nz/index.html</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://thehumbledhomemaker.com/2013/10/baby-born-into-heaven-via-miscarriage-or-stillbirth.html">http://thehumbledhomemaker.com/2013/10/baby-born-into-heaven-via-miscarriage-or-stillbirth.html</a><br />
<br />Danihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03259921255145699869noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1252385579403951084.post-87988133313283849742013-09-15T20:59:00.001-06:002013-09-18T11:19:01.587-06:00Labor Day Weekend: I made a baby mobile!School started. It is fine. I like my students. I think I'm a bad teacher. Labor Day weekend was very much needed after the longest first week of school ever. Anyway, I've made no secret about wanting to have a baby, and my brother and his wife's baby was due September 1, and Labor Day has a birth-kind-of-word in it, and it was that time of the month that I was hoping I might be pregnant so over Labor Day weekend I made a mobile.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-m-1YPoxEqX0/UjZHKwoy_fI/AAAAAAAABsw/ikW5WSxaV6I/s1600/100_3626+a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-m-1YPoxEqX0/UjZHKwoy_fI/AAAAAAAABsw/ikW5WSxaV6I/s400/100_3626+a.jpg" title="DIY Baby Mobile" width="265" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ta da!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
FYI, I'm not pregnant, and my nephew was born a few days later than his due date, and he is oh-so-cute from the pictures I've seen. Being an aunt from 2500 miles away is not much fun, though. Neither is finding out my nephew's name from FACEBOOK! *cough* Kevin you kinda suck a little *cough* (Kevin is my brother who failed to tell me the name of my own nephew. Of course my sister-in-law cannot be blamed for this oversight since she had just given birth and had better things to do...unless she specifically took time from cuddling her baby to force Kevin not to tell me so they could maniacally laugh together, in which case that was mean...but that's very unlikely. She's not evil, you know.)<br />
<br />
Anyway, some of my few readers may recall a certain<a href="http://danimariesthoughts.blogspot.com/2013/04/spring-break-nurseryguestroom-style.html" target="_blank"><b> bedroom I furnished in orange, white and grey</b></a>.<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1leGbs6IbkU/UjZJCVfk1II/AAAAAAAABs8/HI1ys8Y6iX4/s1600/100_3033.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1leGbs6IbkU/UjZJCVfk1II/AAAAAAAABs8/HI1ys8Y6iX4/s400/100_3033.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
I knew I wanted a mobile above the crib, you know, when we get one. And my sister even gave me an old picture-hanging thing from her old room that could work as the hanging apparatus of said mobile, but I didn't know what to put on it. Definitely not one of those chinzy pastel things you see with cartoony bugs and veggietales and nonsense like that.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-F1ome9Uag8I/UjY3bz9bF5I/AAAAAAAABns/mWc26tYInak/s1600/13793288.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-F1ome9Uag8I/UjY3bz9bF5I/AAAAAAAABns/mWc26tYInak/s320/13793288.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This one is particularly classy-looking. (In case you love it, it's from <a href="http://www.target.com/p/tiny-love-take-along-princess-mobile-pink/-/A-13793288#prodSlot=medium_1_4&term=baby+mobile" target="_blank"><b>Target</b></a>, also, sorry for calling it classy in a sarcastic caption.)</td></tr>
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If I'm going to have a mobile, I wanted something either abstract like this (except putting glass over a baby's bed is not such a good idea. I'm not stupid.)<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-eJhfD40HtbU/UjY5D_BVX3I/AAAAAAAABn0/mrkGkzbj-GI/s1600/70eed3e4825afbc32cce2fd1b508035d.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-eJhfD40HtbU/UjY5D_BVX3I/AAAAAAAABn0/mrkGkzbj-GI/s400/70eed3e4825afbc32cce2fd1b508035d.jpg" width="237" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image from <a href="http://www.pinterest.com/pin/201817627024314194/" target="_blank"><b>here</b></a>. Before you click you should know it's a lingerie store's website, but it does have a post on how to make this. And don't judge me, I found it on Pinterest.</td></tr>
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<br />
or something that actually belongs flying in the air, like planes, birds, or butterflies. Also, I didn't want to stray from our orange/white/black/grey thing. As you can see, my options were quite limited, especially because this room is gender-neutral, since, you know, we don't actually have a baby (or even one in the making) yet. Planes scream BOY; butterflies scream GIRL; birds scream SCARY! (In case you don't know me, birds were never an option because I'm scared of them.) Pandas fit the color scheme, but why would pandas be flying? Also, why would I pick pandas? Polar bears, zebras, cows and tigers were more of the same story: all fit the color scheme, but none of them fly, and I am not particularly in love with any of them, so I was still stuck. But who cares? I don't need a mobile. I don't have a baby. The end.<br />
<br />
<br />
Then I saw this on Pinterest:<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ZkX5D1XfX7I/UjY3YjzWUEI/AAAAAAAABnk/ErqKrq1d8YQ/s1600/il_570xN.318933844.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ZkX5D1XfX7I/UjY3YjzWUEI/AAAAAAAABnk/ErqKrq1d8YQ/s400/il_570xN.318933844.jpg" width="372" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pinterest linked me to <a href="http://www.etsy.com/listing/94869016/baby-mobile-sheep-lamb-nursery-decor?ref=shop_home_feat" target="_blank"><b>this Etsy page</b></a></td></tr>
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Sheep! Sheep are black and white, so color scheme: check!<br />
<br />
Sheep don't fly, BUT are commonly portrayed as jumping over beds being counted by sleepless people, so the flying thing: narrowly-on-a-technicality, check!<br />
I'm not really obsessed with sheep either, but these ones are cute, so... okay!<br />
<br />
However, there is no way I'm spending $80 on five tiny cutie sheep tied to a needlepoint frame. Okay, a bare wicker wreath, whatever. But I decided I could make something similar myself. Even though I don't sew, I have a can-do attitude when it comes to saving mah moolah. I'm crafty, right? I'm creative, right? I have a slight artistic flair, right? I'm stubborn and do what I want, right? Given all my self-professed credentials, I thought I'd give 'er the old college try.<br />
<br />
So I skipped along to Joann's and bought a yard of fuzzy baby blanket white stuff, and half a yard of black rib-knit cotton (overkill by the way, but I never professed to have done the math beforehand. Because I didn't.) It only cost me about $6.<br />
<br />
I even took a picture of all the materials you need. I'm so good I should start a blog!...wait...<br />
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Materials
needed for sheep: White fuzzy fabric appropriate for fluffy lambs,
black fabric, black thread, white thread, eye-colored embroidery floss
(I made each of my sheep have different colored eyes which is why I have
a bunch of colors), sewing needle, scissors, pins, batting, and some
paper for a pattern. And if you want to make a mobile, you'll have to
figure that part out yourself.<br />
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I started by making a pattern:<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LxfiVvyq0Zo/UjZG_W7HSvI/AAAAAAAABok/Gd7j2oGrKkQ/s1600/100_3541+a+-+Copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LxfiVvyq0Zo/UjZG_W7HSvI/AAAAAAAABok/Gd7j2oGrKkQ/s400/100_3541+a+-+Copy.jpg" width="311" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pattern for sheep face, sheep leg, and sheep body</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I also needed ears and a tail, but I freestyled those with each sheep, because what can I say? I'm a rebel like that. <br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mKgI2ZY6V_A/UjZG_v2hAUI/AAAAAAAABow/nvLHAJ_z7NU/s1600/100_3542+-+Copy.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mKgI2ZY6V_A/UjZG_v2hAUI/AAAAAAAABow/nvLHAJ_z7NU/s400/100_3542+-+Copy.JPG" width="352" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mP2y_mgbV6c/UjZG_mZEW3I/AAAAAAAABoo/i8EJkw9LmiU/s1600/100_3545+-+Copy.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="263" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mP2y_mgbV6c/UjZG_mZEW3I/AAAAAAAABoo/i8EJkw9LmiU/s400/100_3545+-+Copy.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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I actually cut out the face and legs with the fabric folded in half, therefore the pattern stayed folded in half, but it reminded me where to line up the folded fabric.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-owu6AyN2Yzs/UjZG_zA4pBI/AAAAAAAABpI/pDW9plEhY4c/s1600/100_3546+-+Copy.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="316" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-owu6AyN2Yzs/UjZG_zA4pBI/AAAAAAAABpI/pDW9plEhY4c/s400/100_3546+-+Copy.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The little nubbin is the tail, the long thing at the bottom are the ears, at least the way I did them for most of the sheep.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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After I had everything cut out I pinned the legs and the face with the ears where I wanted them, like so:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-o_vhvooCb8k/UjZHAb_MISI/AAAAAAAABpA/c7YEBDnp8ao/s1600/100_3551+-+Copy.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-o_vhvooCb8k/UjZHAb_MISI/AAAAAAAABpA/c7YEBDnp8ao/s400/100_3551+-+Copy.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">See how the ears are pinned inside the face?</td></tr>
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In case you're bad at sewing like I am, remember to pin it inside-out. Then I just stitched around the outside of the legs and the face, careful to keep my ears where I wanted them. I chose to do all my stitching by hand instead of using my sewing machine, because the pieces are so tiny, and I didn't feel like it was worth doing battle with my sewing machine over something I could do by hand more easily anyway.<br />
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Then I turned them right-side-out. I found that using my scissors to push the little legs through worked well.<br />
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I had to put the batting in the legs at this point, but not the head yet. Scissors worked well for that too.<br />
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I used leftover batting from when I upholstered the headboard, so it's blanket batting, not the clumps of stuff someone might usually use for plush toys, but it worked fine for me.<br />
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I set the legs aside and went back to my sheep's face. After making a couple sheep, I realized that sewing the eyes before I put the batting in and sewed it to the body worked best. I should have realized that from the beginning; I'm dumb, I know. Anyway, I used embroidery floss for the eyes, and just made a few stitches for each one. This sheep had brown eyes, but others had different shades of blue, green and hazel. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-b8Pf0tx7mFs/UjZnA2NG-wI/AAAAAAAABt4/qf6VBCadvhQ/s1600/100_3577+-+Copy.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-b8Pf0tx7mFs/UjZnA2NG-wI/AAAAAAAABt4/qf6VBCadvhQ/s400/100_3577+-+Copy.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In this pictures you can see how his little ears were attached.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mTaTPl2V86Q/UjZnBJMkEjI/AAAAAAAABuE/Yvd1LOE6Yq4/s1600/100_3582+-+Copy.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mTaTPl2V86Q/UjZnBJMkEjI/AAAAAAAABuE/Yvd1LOE6Yq4/s400/100_3582+-+Copy.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Looks messy on the inside...</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-p2KXvgcDY8Q/UjZnBdm2TVI/AAAAAAAABuM/UpOfaVK0o3I/s1600/100_3596.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="387" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-p2KXvgcDY8Q/UjZnBdm2TVI/AAAAAAAABuM/UpOfaVK0o3I/s400/100_3596.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cute little eyes on the outside, and aren't those floppy ears adorable?</td></tr>
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After getting his li'l face and legs put together I had to stitch him all together. So I laid it out like this<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CUxgeom7GBo/UjZnB2xUk2I/AAAAAAAABuc/zJ0y1p4zg_Q/s1600/100_3597.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CUxgeom7GBo/UjZnB2xUk2I/AAAAAAAABuc/zJ0y1p4zg_Q/s400/100_3597.JPG" width="355" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I pinned the ears out of the way so they wouldn't accidentally get sewed to the body</td></tr>
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I pinned the legs and tail to both sides, just pinched in the middle of the seam, but the head was pinned so it opened into the body. Did that make sense? Here are some pictures:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rtWwG8DCUpM/UjZnCZMPyII/AAAAAAAABuk/jsOMRW_A4Ik/s1600/100_3599.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rtWwG8DCUpM/UjZnCZMPyII/AAAAAAAABuk/jsOMRW_A4Ik/s400/100_3599.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The legs and tail only have one pin, because it goes through both layers of white and the leg/tail.</td></tr>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-j0XVdpVJkck/UjZnB3Z2SlI/AAAAAAAABuU/6S6Lz2ekyfo/s1600/100_3598.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-j0XVdpVJkck/UjZnB3Z2SlI/AAAAAAAABuU/6S6Lz2ekyfo/s400/100_3598.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The head had two pins, one for each side of white, so it won't be flattened when I turn it right-side-out.</td></tr>
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Hopefully that cleared up what I don't know how to explain with words. Also, just in case this post seems crazy, just know I am on cold medicine while I'm writing this. The last time I took any type of medication was over a year ago. I've been off all forms of medication, as well as sushi, caffeine and a bunch of other things since we've been trying to get pregnant. But this weekend I have the king of colds and I know I'm not pregnant so I caved, and I feel a little weird, so I'll have to proof read this next week to make sure it's not too off the wall. I've already caught a ton of weird typos, I can't imagine how many I've missed in my drug-induced state. Back to the topic: sheep.<br />
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I stitched around the head<br />
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and then started at the tail and stitched to in front of the front leg, leaving the chest area open.<br />
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I used that to turn the sheep right-side-out, and then to stuff it.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--QhEEByLykE/UjZnDyTJwOI/AAAAAAAABvM/k-lacm9S9i4/s1600/100_3607.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--QhEEByLykE/UjZnDyTJwOI/AAAAAAAABvM/k-lacm9S9i4/s400/100_3607.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2WKmsabSaRQ/UjZnEEsWBwI/AAAAAAAABvU/H6RNPftqHOU/s1600/100_3608.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2WKmsabSaRQ/UjZnEEsWBwI/AAAAAAAABvU/H6RNPftqHOU/s400/100_3608.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
Because I was using blanket batting, I cut it into squares and folded them to make it kinda lumpy. Sheep just seem like they should be lumpy to me. I don't know why. I also used my scraps to stuff my sheep, so it cut down on waste, and sometimes white batting shows through stretch fabric, like I was using for the head, so the black scraps in there kept that from happening.<br />
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Then I just stitched him up! <br />
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The first sheep I did took a couple hours, but after that I could whip one up in about half an hour, so I would put on a Doc Martin on Netflix and make a sheep. I made 2-4 a day and it wasn't bad. In total, I made 10 sheep, because that's how many clips there were on the mobile thing I got from my sister.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-b5nOdDQmdG8/UjZnGPgZusI/AAAAAAAABwU/GonhIu5NQIk/s1600/100_3624.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" height="383" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-b5nOdDQmdG8/UjZnGPgZusI/AAAAAAAABwU/GonhIu5NQIk/s400/100_3624.JPG" title="DIY sheep baby mobile" width="400" /></a></div>
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Right now it looks like a quite a flock; it looks just like the real thing, see?<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pDbCrnC55qU/UjZy5DtFGxI/AAAAAAAABwk/IfEWGT2ElYw/s1600/6520ab34197c6b50d638fff9f17547f4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="301" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pDbCrnC55qU/UjZy5DtFGxI/AAAAAAAABwk/IfEWGT2ElYw/s400/6520ab34197c6b50d638fff9f17547f4.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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But I think it might be a good idea to switch it up by removing the clips and stitching them onto the little rings so it looks cuter, and then stagger them at different heights so they aren't so clumped together. I don't know. I've got time; it's not like I have sleepless baby desperately waiting to count sheep at this point. It's not even hanging anywhere. It's just clipped to a hanger in the closet. Well, there's my mobile for now. Hooray! Sheep!<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-O_RSBodfNVI/UjZzjo-75zI/AAAAAAAABws/GA017SoVnOU/s1600/89747b901d9c71f82539e61d4c2ab9e6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="327" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-O_RSBodfNVI/UjZzjo-75zI/AAAAAAAABws/GA017SoVnOU/s400/89747b901d9c71f82539e61d4c2ab9e6.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Maaaaaaa!</td></tr>
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Thanks to <a href="http://www.littledalefarm.com/Littledale_Scottish_Blackface_Sheep_Page.html" target="_blank"><u>Littledale Farm</u></a> for the real blackface sheep photos<br />
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Danihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03259921255145699869noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1252385579403951084.post-12913211020463035062013-08-17T22:57:00.005-06:002013-08-17T23:13:37.521-06:00There and Back Again: A Trip to Utah that Included Driving Pretty Much Across the United States Twice<br />
So Kelly and I pretty much drove across the entire country this summer. Twice. Since we both had the summer off, we decided to not only attend my sister's wedding in Utah, but to drive to it from Baltimore. And then of course we had to drive back home. I thought I'd just document our little adventure since I am terrible at writing in my journal now, and share some pictures with whoever cares enough to read my blog. Get ready, just like the trip this post is really long. Here we go!<br />
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So we planned to leave on June 28, but then we just randomly decided to leave a day early, around 5AM. So the night before we got things ready, and as nights before always go, we ended up staying up quite late. We tried to go to bed around 1:30 or so, but the list of last things to do before shoving off in the morning kept running through my head and finally I asked Kelly if he was asleep. He wasn't, and was just as restless at I was, so we just got up, did the last few things and hit the highway around 2:30 AM...with no sleep. I kept thinking of the episode of <b><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ObkTU6ZWa2w" target="_blank">The IT Crowd when Moss and Roy play hooky.</a> </b> "We're bunking off!" To see what I'm talking about go to 1:13 on the video below and watch for a couple seconds. <br />
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Anyway, we're crazy. We drove all the way to St. Louis on no sleep. We have driven from Utah to Baltimore before, when we moved here in <b><a href="http://danimariesthoughts.blogspot.com/2009/06/starting-our-life-together.html" target="_blank">June 2009</a></b>, two days after our wedding, and we took I-80 that time, so to mix things up we took I-70 going out this time. Basically we just drove straight through the first day, and spent the night just across the Mississippi River from St. Louis, in Collinsville, Illinois. The next morning we woke up early and went to the <a href="http://www.cahokiamounds.org/explore/" target="_blank"><b>Cahokia Mounds</b></a>, the largest ancient Native American site in the country. They have a museum and archeological digs, and huge mounds built by the native people who lived there. It was pretty interesting.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Monks Mound. It's bigger than it looks. See the tiny tiny person at the top of the stairs?</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-In9yoIqg_ck/UhAxDKiIy0I/AAAAAAAABcc/PYQ-A1Ypoqk/s1600/100_3156.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-In9yoIqg_ck/UhAxDKiIy0I/AAAAAAAABcc/PYQ-A1Ypoqk/s400/100_3156.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I walked up and back down Monks Mound. And this is just the first half of the stairs.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">St. Louis as seen from the top of Monks Mound</td></tr>
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Then we crossed the Mississippi River into St. Louis and parked our car on the banks of the river. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cheapest parking lot in town, I'm sure.</td></tr>
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and we wandered around the Gateway Arch. We chose not to go inside because the line was crazy-long, but we got some good pictures from the outside.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I was leaning up against our car when I took this picture. See how risking our car getting flooded by the Mississippi River was worth it for parking so close and so cheap?</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ooh so artsy.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pYNFNKBIrFs/UhAzZdWeIeI/AAAAAAAABds/D8WbhUzty8M/s1600/100_3188.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pYNFNKBIrFs/UhAzZdWeIeI/AAAAAAAABds/D8WbhUzty8M/s400/100_3188.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wow! Kelly and the whole Gateway Arch!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-up0OZrLNnH0/UhAzYxWeYkI/AAAAAAAABdU/214tJ-gGXrw/s1600/100_3181.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-up0OZrLNnH0/UhAzYxWeYkI/AAAAAAAABdU/214tJ-gGXrw/s400/100_3181.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yes, this is my picture with the Gateway Arch. Can we just say that Kelly is nowhere near as good of a photographer as I am? </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Patriotic.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ByI_Q-8pB1c/UhAzY_PHaTI/AAAAAAAABdY/388k0d_yGBQ/s1600/100_3183.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ByI_Q-8pB1c/UhAzY_PHaTI/AAAAAAAABdY/388k0d_yGBQ/s400/100_3183.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Okay, now I'm just showing off my artistic angles that Kelly can't even dream of capturing with his seriously-lacking photography skills.</td></tr>
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After that we went to Park Avenue Coffee for gooey butter cake, apparently it's a thing in St. Louis, and Kelly, being the foodie that he is, tends to know what the local food is for any given place, and has to try whatever it is when we're in town. Gooey butter cake is amazing. I got the triple chocolate, and Kelly got the white chocolate raspberry. And you can order it online from the place we got it (<a href="http://parkavenuecoffee.com/content/gooey-butter-cake" target="_blank"><b>here</b></a>, if you care to). Hang on, I have to go remind Kelly my birthday is coming up so I can get some....<br />
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Okay, I'm back! Sorry no pictures, but I don't do food pics very well. I just eat.<br />
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We got a 2-hour metro pass and rode the subway to the Union Station and wandered around there and basically had a nice day of it. We left St. Louis around 2PM and kept driving west. In Kansas City we stopped for barbeque and I guess we went to the wrong place because it was disappointing. We drove until pretty late and slept in the car at a rest stop about an hour outside of Denver and then did the last leg to Ogden, UT the next morning, but instead of saying on 70, we cut up to Cheyenne, WY and took 80 into Utah to save some time.<br />
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In Utah we had a really fun time being with our families for a month and just hanging out and enjoying our time off for the summer.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-QAdzY9_CeLQ/UhA6Kw-LjDI/AAAAAAAABeY/gCAwiMLtrfw/s1600/IMG_1927a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="330" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-QAdzY9_CeLQ/UhA6Kw-LjDI/AAAAAAAABeY/gCAwiMLtrfw/s400/IMG_1927a.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ahern Family Portrait July 2013</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Zvg10y75ub8/UhA26DTImNI/AAAAAAAABeA/PswgPvV_MIY/s1600/100_3198.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Zvg10y75ub8/UhA26DTImNI/AAAAAAAABeA/PswgPvV_MIY/s400/100_3198.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Revisiting "Our Bridge" where Kelly proposed to me (and where we made out a lot while we were dating).</td></tr>
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Cami and Robbie's wedding was beautiful, and Kel and I are super excited to have Robbie in the family. They got married in the Brigham City temple, and the luncheon was at Maddox and it was so nice as well as tasty. The reception was at the Hilton Garden Inn in Ogden and turned out very pretty, and Cami was a gorgeous bride. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">All wedding photos taken by Urban Roots Photography</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My family's portrait July 2013. (Don't mind my bad hair day. Kelly and my grandma are lying about the fit I threw that morning while trying to wrangle it. Shrieking profanities at my reflection? Me? Never!)</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hangin' out at the reception (I had gotten my hair a little more under control by that point.)</td></tr>
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It was fun to see a lot of people that I haven't seen since my own wedding, and then I only spent about 10 seconds per person, so this time it was really great to have real conversations with aunts, uncles, and cousins like Kevin and Tanja, Jody, Julie and David and Amanda, and friends like the Marsdens, the Fennemores, the Barlows, and lots more. I think I was asked about a kajillion times if I was still living in Baltimore and if we were ever going to move home. I told everyone we'd love to move home, but you know, we sorta have jobs in B-more and no jobs in Utah at the moment. So if anyone hears of good jobs in Utah or surrounding states for two history majors, let us know! <br />
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That night after cleaning up, we washed Robbie's car because his uncles and who-knows-who-all <strike>trashed it</strike>...um...decorated it. Turns out my parents, Bryan, Kelly, and I are excellent car washers at 2AM. I'm sure there's some sort of niche business we could start with those skills.<br />
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We did some other fun things, too. We went to the Fourth of July Parade in Huntsville, and had a barbeque with Kelly's family. Then we had a second barbeque with my family. I went on my first-ever motorcycle ride. My brother Bryan, bought one last spring and took me on a short ride. I thought it was really fun and realized my brother is even cooler than I thought.<br />
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My mom took Kelly, Bryan, my Aunt Jody, and me to the Utah Olympic Park where we went on the bobsled, zipline, and alpine slide.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-li_d2LhGv_s/UhBAYdODg_I/AAAAAAAABfg/dUeUMws_rEU/s1600/969256_10201016971379409_759719298_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-li_d2LhGv_s/UhBAYdODg_I/AAAAAAAABfg/dUeUMws_rEU/s400/969256_10201016971379409_759719298_n.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Just about to go bobsledding! And if you go, don't try to readjust on a short straightaway, because you will hit another corner faster than you think and the Gs will force your head back and you will not be able to get it up again. Constant vigilance! Also, my bad hair day had disappeared by this point. Or did it? I wore a helmet just to shroud that in mystery. Kelly wore one because he's smart.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kelly, me, Jody, and Bryan just about to go on the alpine slide.</td></tr>
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We also went canoeing up Causey Reservoir with Kelly's parents, and after we went as far as we could we had a picnic and then rowed back. It was nice to be outside and Kelly's mom pointed out a lot of cool birds along the way. I also saw some hummingbirds and other pretty birds on the feeders at their house.<br />
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I was going to go canyoneering with my dad and Bryan, but I chickened out after doing the 9th Street cliffs in Ogden. Which is weird, since I've been before.<br />
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(Wow, it seems like I should have pictures of more of these things. Apparently I'm not a photographer, after all.)<br />
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We also had dessert at Kevin and Lindsey's new house (my brother and sister-in-law) and got the tour. It's very nice and I'm jealous ha ha. And we were invited to lunch at Kelly's brother's house and had fun with Eric and Keri and our two adorable nephews. And Kelly's oldest brother Ben and his wife Holly took us to Taggart's Grill and it was delicious and we had a really fun afternoon with them. And of course we spent most of our time between my parents' house and Kelly's parents' house. Everyone was so great about letting us hang around and mooch food and beds and everything. Thank you families! We seriously have the best family ever. Thank you everyone who fed us, housed us, lent us cars, and gave up your time to be with us.<br />
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Sooner than we could believe our month was up and it was time to drive across the country again. Since we had done I-70 and I-80 by this point, we decided to take I-90 back to Maryland. So we took I-15 up through Idaho, hooked onto 20 and went through Yellowstone, which was really cool. Kel and I had both been there before, but I was not quite 6 and Kelly was about the same age, so it was fun to go as adults.<br />
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We accidentally timed Old Faithful perfectly. We don't have smart phones so we couldn't use the app to see when the next eruption was scheduled, but we wandered up, found a seat, took a picture with it's tiny-baby steam in the background<br />
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turned around, and it erupted!<br />
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Cool, right?<br />
We took the southern part of the loop and saw the Paint Pots and the Great Fountain Geyser,<br />
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then jumped ahead to Old Faithful (which I already wrote about in case you zoned out for a sec) and then backtracked to see the Black Sands Basin,<br />
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and also the Midway Geyser Basin where the Grand Prismatic Spring is, among other things,<br />
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and then we went up to Yellowstone Canyon to see the park's namesake and the falls. We hiked around in there and that was fun.<br />
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We saw lots of deer and bison,<br />
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a woodpecker,<br />
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and missed wolves by a couple minutes. Kelly was bummed.<br />
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We spent that night in Cody, Wyoming at a dumpy motel that was priced like a 5-star hotel suite and the next morning we went to the Buffalo Bill Historical Center.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We even got Buffalo Bill himself to pose with us</td></tr>
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It was pretty big, which was surprising for pretty much being in the middle of nowhere. Some of the exhibits were Smithsonian-quality, and some were not-so-cool, but we really enjoyed the Yellowstone Natural History part, and the Native American exhibit. We ate lunch at a local cafe and then headed east until we hooked up with a scenic byway through the Bighorn Mountains. They were so pretty and had a lot of cool overlooks and stuff.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">So flat...</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Does anyone know why the road is paved red through big chunks of Wyoming and South Dakota?</td></tr>
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Then we were able to hook onto I-90 and drove all the way to Rapid City, South Dakota where we spent the night. The end of that day's drive was through the Black Hills and it really is amazing how all the trees really do make them look black.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Black Hills</td></tr>
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The next morning we drove to see Mount Rushmore and the Crazy Horse Memorial. We literally just drove by Mount Rushmore and snapped pictures out the car window, but we stopped at the museum by Crazy Horse and donate money so they can keep building it. I didn't know before the fact that the government has no part in carving that, it's all still run by the family of the guy who initially started it and the money to do so all comes from museum fees and donations.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pic from the car. Pretty good, eh?</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I didn't know there was a profile view. I thought it was pretty cool.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">You can't tell, but the Crazy Horse Memorial is right behind us.</td></tr>
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To get back to where we wanted to be we had to drive past Mount Rushmore again, so we actually got out of the car and took some pictures from the side of the road. I had always heard how disappointing Mount Rushmore is (same story as the Statue of Liberty), because they make it look so huge in movies, but in real life it's tiny and far away, so I was actually impressed by how big it was because I was expecting it to be dinky. Hooray for underestimating things so they seem cool when they top your tiny expectations!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-yKzjl3Mr320/UhBLy3kZVuI/AAAAAAAABlI/80Y8ApAUtT8/s1600/100_3413.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-yKzjl3Mr320/UhBLy3kZVuI/AAAAAAAABlI/80Y8ApAUtT8/s320/100_3413.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me and Mt Rushmore</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-t_rgVGuj7os/UhBLy2evO3I/AAAAAAAABlM/Ixtbq9iwDxM/s1600/100_3414.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-t_rgVGuj7os/UhBLy2evO3I/AAAAAAAABlM/Ixtbq9iwDxM/s320/100_3414.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kelly and Mt Rushmore</td></tr>
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After that we headed east again and took a detour through the Badlands National Park which was very pretty. I figured that if I was living back in the day I would build my house somewhere in there because if you did it right it would be pretty easy to defend. How's that for random?<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Badlands self portrait</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">First attempt at panoramic photo</td></tr>
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Our plan was to drive until we got tired and spend a couple hours sleeping in a rest stop probably somewhere in Iowa, but that was before I drove over something and mostly pulled off the wheel well liner on our front passenger side. Ironically, I think that what I ran over was actually another car's wheel well liner. It was dark, what I ran over was black, and it blew in front of me when I was passing a semi, so I couldn't swerve. I slammed on my brakes, but still hit it. We patched it up as best we could on the side of the freeway, getting a kazillion mosquito bites in the process, and then stopped at the next exit which happened to be Mitchell, SD, and looked at it in the parking lot of a gas station. It had come loose again and rubbed on the tire, which ripped the liner to shreds. We were tired and ornery and decided to wait until it was light outside to try to fix it, so we got a room in Mitchell for the night. The next morning we bought some zip ties and duct tape and Red-Green-showed that baby up. Since we were stopped in Mitchell, we decided to drive by the Corn Palace since I made a shoe-box-sized parade float of the Corn Palace in fifth grade as part of my state report on SoDak. Awesome!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sorry for the bad phone pic</td></tr>
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Then we drove and drove and drove and drove. On our way to Baltimore in 2009 we stopped in Elk Horn, Iowa which is a Danish town which had a windmill that was taken down and numbered piece by piece in Denmark and then rebuilt in Elk Horn, and a really delicious Danish restaurant (also, the only place to eat in town, a detail that will be important in a minute) and we thought that was pretty cool at the time so we decided to jump from I-90 back onto I-80 so we could hit up Elk Horn again. We took I-29 down the west side of Iowa to get onto I-80 and then got to Elk Horn just when we were getting hungry for lunch. Unfortunately, the restaurant closed 2 minutes before we got there. So we bought some postcards to mail to our parents (we sent postcards from Yellowstone, Cody, and Mount Rushmore the other days) and a magnet (we decided a while ago that instead of getting crap that takes up a lot
of space or postcards that get stuck somewhere you never see, the only
souveniers we buy are fridge magnets. And sometimes books, but more
because finding books about the Crow Indians is easier at a museum in
Wyoming than Barnes and Noble at home. But magnets are good. They're
small, they're useful, they don't require shelf/wall/drawer space, and
since they go on the refrigerator, we can actually see them) (sorry for the extended tangent in parentheses; to remind you we stopped in Elk Horn, restaurant was closed, so we bought postcards and a magnet) and hit the road again.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Elk Horn Windmill. And two tired people.</td></tr>
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We ended up driving to Toledo, Ohio before we couldn't take it anymore and slept at a rest stop for a couple hours. Just so you appreciate how far we went that day, get a map out and notice that we drove through half of South Dakota, all of Iowa, Indiana, Illinois, and a chunk of Ohio that day. It was interminable. Fortunately, we had a Dave Barry audiobook to listen to or we would have gone crazy. The next day we just plowed on until home. We were getting as tired of being on this road trip as you are getting of reading about it. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xxF2u8Zm6fY/UhBRLQCO8TI/AAAAAAAABnE/oEzCV9lNq-E/s1600/100_3491.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xxF2u8Zm6fY/UhBRLQCO8TI/AAAAAAAABnE/oEzCV9lNq-E/s400/100_3491.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kelly's tired of driving face</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Apparently this is what my tired face looks like after spending two straight days in the car.</td></tr>
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It was a relief to come home and to find everything fine with our apartment and our cat still living, though a few pound heavier. Seriously, she's enormous. We're so grateful for Anna and Andrea for watching our cat! And I feel terrible that the last week we were away Libby apparently was so lonely that she decided that if she pooped on the bathroom floor a few times we would have to come back to punish her. Thank you Andrea for cleaning up after our nasty cat, and sorry Libby for leaving you so long! We won't do that again. We were afraid Libby would hate us for leaving her, but luckily, she's been really lovey since we got back. We can tell she missed us.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Home at last. All three of us are so relieved.</td></tr>
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So there's our Utah trip and the there and back again. We ended up driving over 5,100 miles, and added eight magnets to our souvenir collection. And we got our wheel well liner replaced, and yes, that is actually what it is called. I looked it up. Anyway, I think it'll have to be another four years before we forget enough to want to drive across the country again. Unless we're moving home permanently. In that case, I would pack up a U-Haul and start driving tonight.Danihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03259921255145699869noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1252385579403951084.post-34439410501767952362013-06-15T20:29:00.000-06:002013-06-15T20:54:52.305-06:00Freeze Frame! Er....Change...Frame?<br />
So I had this frame:<br />
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I got it as a wedding present (four years ago) and I like the look of it, but I wasn't so wild about the quote. It just seems that where you go and what you do actually do matter, right? I mean, if you go to prison or something like that, it matters. And if I'm going to display a quote in my house, I at least want it to be something I like. And believe. Because of this, I decided instead of half-liking it, just to change the quote! So I took the frame apart (except the glass was superglued in place, and I decided not to fight that battle), and sanded it down and painted it. Because the sanding lightened the words quite a bit, it only took two coats of black paint to cover them all the way.<br />
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Then I formatted the replacement quote how I wanted it using Microsoft Word, printed it off, and taped it on the frame (obviously after the black paint dried all the way) where I wanted the words to go.<br />
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I just used a normal pen to trace over the letters, making sure to press down enough to leave a little dent-outline in the frame.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">You have to look close, but you can see the faint outline from where I traced the letters from the paper.</td></tr>
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Then I filled in the lines with cream-colored paint using a tiny brush.<br />
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Sure, it's not perfect. Some of the letters are a little uneven, and I kind of wish I had spaced the lines of text closer together, instead of having it look double-spaced, and maybe made the font even larger, but hey, I can always repaint it again if I want. Besides, this quote is much more accurate for our lives. It's from A. A. Milne in a Winnie the Pooh book, but it fits us, as Kelly and I have certainly been on an adventure for our married lives thus far. Plus, I can finally check it off my to do list; I've only been meaning to repaint it for four years.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-49yPSuYQMXk/Ub0hrxB7yDI/AAAAAAAABcE/eVW2izZ5nS8/s1600/100_3102.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-49yPSuYQMXk/Ub0hrxB7yDI/AAAAAAAABcE/eVW2izZ5nS8/s400/100_3102.JPG" title="Repainting words on a chunky wood picture frame" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sorry for the wonky angle, it was the only way to avoid the superglare from the camera flash.</td></tr>
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Danihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03259921255145699869noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1252385579403951084.post-46403239614852639002013-06-03T19:10:00.001-06:002013-06-03T19:11:41.722-06:00Finally!Last Saturday was graduation at the high school where I teach and I really didn't want to get out of bed that morning to go (it started at 8:30 on a Saturday morning, really school? Our students don't even get to school until 10 at the earliest!) but then I thought about a bunch of my students who were graduating and some of them are the first in their family to get a high school diploma. Some of them have been at this school since it started in 2009-10 (a.k.a. as long as I have been there, (four years if you're lazy like me and don't want to do the math) which sounds great since high school is normally four years, but my school is an accelerated program for overage students who have dropped out or got kicked out of other schools, and you can go from zero credits to the required 21 credits in less than two years if you just pass all your classes. So having some of those kids from my first year graduate is a pretty big deal, since some of them have literally been in high school for 6 or 7 years. So short story long (sorry about that), I went and it was nice and I got a kajillion hugs, and a bunch of thank yous and it reminded me why I go to work everyday. For them.<br />
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Then I got home and karma paid off.<br />
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Yes, my Johns Hopkins Diploma was waiting for me. Which is super exciting, because like some of my students who took 7 years to get their high school diploma, I took 4 years to get my masters degree, in what originally was supposed to be a 2 year program. I finished all my Hopkins classes back in Spring of 2011 (right on schedule), but I was feeling a little overwhelmed at the time and decided not to do my portfolio presentation or some of the other random requirements until the summer and get my diploma in August, just a couple of months later than originally planned. No big deal. The other random requirements were some undergraduate economics and political science classes because I got my Masters in Secondary Social Studies, but my undergraduate degree was just History, so my transcript didn't have enough classes in some of those other social studies areas. So in May 2011 I signed up for some BYU online classes and worked on them for a couple weeks and then I put off everything because, hey, it was summer break and I could always finish in the fall! Besides, my classes had a whole year before they needed to be finished. So I worked really hard and finished my portfolio in November and then my sorta-adviser (because my original academic adviser retired in May, and I wasn't assigned a new one, so things got all sorts of messed up there.) got confused and told me when it was due, and actually that was the day of presentations so no dice, it got put off until May, a bit frustrating, but no big deal because I hadn't finished my classes yet! So I waited and waited to hear back about that and they didn't have presentations in the spring because they changed the program and blah blah blah and finally I finished the portfolio in May, but once again I put off my online classes and had to buy an extension and I had dropped the econ one because it was ridiculous that I had to tear pages out of a $150 textbook and physically mail (yeah, in an <u>online</u> class) them to the professor who also happened to be the author of said textbook so now I needed to sign up for another economics class somewhere and...yeah, so August 2012 it is! I got my online classes finished that summer, but all the econ classes I tried to sign up for at a local community college were full, so that didn't happen, so Fall 2012 it is! Then in August I got an email that my Praxis scores were no longer valid to go towards my degree (even though I'm already a certified teacher!) since they changed the test to incorporate the the common core or some nonsense so I decided <i>nevermind! I don't need a masters!</i> But my parents and Kelly weren't having it, so I tried to sign up for the Econ class and they were all full, so I took it in Spring 2013. I finally got around to retaking the Praxis in April (easy, but waste of a Saturday. Boo!) and sent the score report in on May 14 and never heard anything back, so I wasn't sure if I was going to graduate. Especially because I decided not to walk because <i>I'm so done with this</i>. In fact, this morning I pondered aloud to Kelly "I wonder if I graduated or not?" (JHU's graduation was on May 23, by the way.) And then today I got home and there was my diploma! I guess it's finally official; I have my masters. You may all call me "master" now, and I will call everyone "padowan."<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bVOtMApcP9I/Ua05_eyHTDI/AAAAAAAABao/6wZgG05Japw/s1600/Johns+Hopkins+Diploma+censored.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bVOtMApcP9I/Ua05_eyHTDI/AAAAAAAABao/6wZgG05Japw/s400/Johns+Hopkins+Diploma+censored.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My sister in law wrote a good post about online safety, so I remembered to censor out my maiden & last names. I can't remember if they are on this blog somewhere or not, but at least they're not in this pic! Or the other one up there!</td></tr>
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Now we just have to get Kelly through school. He's talking about getting a masters in Latin American History. That's way cooler than my degree. Now I want another one! Except I don't want to do any of the work. Do you think JHU does trade ins?Danihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03259921255145699869noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1252385579403951084.post-60464416384219262872013-04-01T00:05:00.001-06:002013-04-01T00:30:02.444-06:00Spring Break Nursery/Guestroom StyleThis past week was spring break, so Kelly and I both had the whole week off. Kelly, being a first-year teacher used it to recuperate and try to bring his stress levels down. This being my fourth year I don't have as much lesson planning and craziness to deal with, so I didn't feel the need for a whole week of chillin'. In fact, I had a hankering to do some DIY. As I previously mentioned, in <a href="http://danimariesthoughts.blogspot.com/2013/03/diy-front-facing-bookshelves.html" target="_blank"><b>this post where I made some front-facing bookshelves</b></a>, the second bedroom is my current project. Here's where we were at the beginning of spring break:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bXSkAuiozdg/UVkTUsg83VI/AAAAAAAABTM/I-VLrZBDLwI/s1600/100_2923.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bXSkAuiozdg/UVkTUsg83VI/AAAAAAAABTM/I-VLrZBDLwI/s400/100_2923.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The bed for guests</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-nUwLrRHtVnU/UVkTVQkAKkI/AAAAAAAABTg/3DZFddTtK7M/s1600/100_2929.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-nUwLrRHtVnU/UVkTVQkAKkI/AAAAAAAABTg/3DZFddTtK7M/s400/100_2929.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The dresser that will sometime in the future double as a changing table, the chair I bought last fall, and the bookshelves I made and wrote about in my last post</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Progress, but still needs curtains and the table and lamp are stand ins</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-pnwQzvfwiBI/UVkTVHAzWTI/AAAAAAAABTc/Iv_k0W9dhjw/s1600/100_2927.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-pnwQzvfwiBI/UVkTVHAzWTI/AAAAAAAABTc/Iv_k0W9dhjw/s400/100_2927.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The desk that needs a new home. This is where the crib will go someday.</td></tr>
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I made a list of the things I can do for our future nursery/current guestroom: <br />
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I decided that there were things that worked for now as a guest bedroom that could cross over for the nursery, and there were something I couldn't really justify doing until we are pregnant, and probably into my second trimester. Maybe I should do it all now and call it faith?<br />
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Anyway, the first thing I was able to cross off my list was the headboard. I found out a couple years ago that upholstering a headboard is super easy (as I showed in<b> <a href="http://danimariesthoughts.blogspot.com/2010/08/hey-look-i-diy-ed-again.html" target="_blank">this hyperactive-Dani-wrote-a-blog-post post</a>.</b>), so I decided just to do that again. Where the bed is situated, it is in front of the window just a little. When I made the bed the pillow would hang back onto the window sill and sleeping on a bed with no headboard means your pillow always slides back into the crack between the top of the mattress and the wall. Annoying! Because a headboard would block part of the window, I decided to make it
low enough to be functional, but not really visible. So it is only 28 inches
tall and a lot of that is behind the box spring and mattress. <br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VXhw734tCfA/UVkVdQ1bcBI/AAAAAAAABWE/-KFDT-Y-rzE/s1600/100_2950.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bXSkAuiozdg/UVkTUsg83VI/AAAAAAAABTM/I-VLrZBDLwI/s1600/100_2923.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bXSkAuiozdg/UVkTUsg83VI/AAAAAAAABTM/I-VLrZBDLwI/s400/100_2923.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Not cool.</td></tr>
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I dragged Kelly to Lowe's and found some plywood and had it cut to 55''x28'' and paid for it with the gift card my parents gave me for my last birthday. Then I went to Joann's coupons in hand (well, first I dropped Kelly off somewhere else because he didn't want to come to Joann's with me) and got 2 yards of some 100% cotton in plain grey that was sturdy enough for some staplegun madness and was not stretchy (stretchy is no good for upholstery) at only $4.99/yd may I add. It's goes well with the chair I bought for the nursery (that was when we were still expecting, so no gigantic leaps of baby-furniture-faith yet). When I went back to the batting I found a very pleasant surprise. Crib batting was a near-perfect size for my headboard at 45"x60" and it was normally $12.99, but it was on sale for $2.97. I bought two. Then I had a coupon for 40% off one non-sale item (the fabric) and another for 25% off my entire purchase. I gave another 25% off to the lady behind me because hey, why not? So the entire headboard cost $11 of my own money, plus $13 for the plywood that I got with the gift card. Not bad. I was pretty excited when I picked Kelly up waving my Joann's receipt.<br />
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I ironed the fabric, laid out a layer of batting, centered the plywood on it and left a couple inches in every direction and cut off the excess. Then I stapled it at 12, 6, 3, and 9 o'clock.<br />
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Then I just went around the rest making sure the batting was tight, but not stretched out. On the corners I was very careful to make them as flat as possible. To do this I just tucked it like this:<br />
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Next I just did the same thing for the second layer of batting and the fabric. <br />
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Woohoo! Headboard!<br />
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I probably will secure it to the wall at some point but for now it just rests on the frame and is smashed against the wall by the box spring and mattress. I used a scrap of 1x2 from the bookshelves to keep it even on the back, since the windowsill pushes it out from the wall on one side<br />
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It is just high enough to hold up the pillows when the bed it made, so you can't really see it much. <br />
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But yeah, I got it done in about an hour, so not too shabby for the first Saturday of Spring Break.<br />
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For the rest of the break, I worked on some other things on the list. We had a little side table already as you can see in the previous pictures. But black doesn't really go, so I thought about painting it white or orange. I found some material online at fabric.com for curtains and it's quite orange and will be right behind the table, so I decided white would be better.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Future curtains</td></tr>
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So I sanded the little table down and painted it with leftover white paint from the bookshelves I made a couple weeks ago.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The first coat always makes me nervous.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Okay, it wasn't quite done in this pic, but I have a completed picture of it later in the post.</td></tr>
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The art in the bedroom wasn't quite doing it for me, either. I thought it would be cute to have baby pictures of me and Kelly and of our baby but after I got it up there I changed my mind.<br />
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So I got on Pinterest, looked up some things and ended up making my own using Word and Paint mostly, although I did copy ideas from some things I saw. I have GIMP which is like the open source version of Photoshop, but I'm not so good at it, but I am like a savant with Paint ha ha ha. Here's what I ended up with:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FYUpu5sONFo/UVkenHH-c3I/AAAAAAAABZw/l-VhiyOiQAg/s1600/100_2992.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="orange and white nursery" border="0" height="145" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FYUpu5sONFo/UVkenHH-c3I/AAAAAAAABZw/l-VhiyOiQAg/s400/100_2992.JPG" title="Nursery Art" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I just painted the mats of Ikea frames with a sponge brush and acrylic paint. It turned out pretty well, I think, although the color isn't true in either of these pictures.</td></tr>
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Next up, the mirror:<br />
I had been looking for a mirror for a long time. We checked places like Home Goods, TJ Maxx, Ross, and I was searching Craigslist everyday for something suitable. I wanted something round to soften all the straight lines in there, and <b><a href="http://www.target.com/p/graco-charleston-classic-convertible-crib-classic-white/-/A-11218258#?lnk=sc_qi_detailbutton" target="_blank">the crib I'm eying</a></b> has a curved top, so a round mirror would work nicely with that too. Finally we decided to get a mirror that was a little more than I wanted to spend at Ikea, but it was perfect, so we headed over and it wasn't there! But there was this fantastic silver one. I thought about painting it white, but after holding it up I decided I love the silver, so I hung it up. The back only had hardware for one screw, so I put a 143 lb. anchor in the wall and hung the mirror with that, and then used some heavy-duty 3M command strips at 4 o'clock and 8 o'clock so it doesn't shift around. It's solid, so someday when we put a changing pad on top of that dresser, I'm not worried about the mirror flattening our baby mid-diaper change.<br />
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Halfway through spring break we went to Richmond, VA to check it out. Since moving to Baltimore we've been trying to visit most of the big sites along the east coast. Richmond wasn't really what we thought, but our hotel was great and we ate at a surprisingly good restaurant called the Strawberry Cafe. The next morning we checked out the Museum of the Confederacy and the Confederate White House. Don't worry, it's not run by the KKK or anything. It was actually an interesting museum focusing on the South during the Civil War without condoning slavery or starting your own country. And the white house was super interesting and the tour guide was awesome! I wish I caught his name, but apparently he was an extra in the movie Lincoln, so I'll have to see if I can spot him. That evening we drove home and it was a nice tiny getaway.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SvInOGSSGzQ/UVkfgAhHIxI/AAAAAAAABZ0/tNvsEt2Y9Yw/s1600/100_3000.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SvInOGSSGzQ/UVkfgAhHIxI/AAAAAAAABZ0/tNvsEt2Y9Yw/s400/100_3000.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Confederate White House--ssomehow I only took one picture during the whole trip. </td></tr>
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On the way home we stopped at Ross where we'd previously seen an orange lamp when we bought a curtain rod. I was eh about the lamp at first and Kelly lurved it right away, but the more I thought about it, the more I wanted it, so we got it and crossed bedside lamp off the list (I got the lamp shade from IKEA because it matches the wall-mounted lamp by the dresser).<br />
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On Friday the fabric I ordered online arrived via UPS and I spent that evening making curtains. I do own a sewing machine, but I'm not so good at using it, so I ended up using iron-on hem tape and it made the hems look a lot crisper and cleaner than I could have with a sewing machine. I hung them "high and wide" as<a href="http://younghouselove.com/" target="_blank"><b> Sherry Petersik of Young House Love</b></a> likes to say to make a statement on that wall and to let in the maximum amount of light. And yes, I won the chevron debate with Kelly. I mean, he DID pick the colors for the room after all; it's only fair I get to pick pretty much everything else, right?<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-AQ4bjO0ZzCM/UVkVnU7PS5I/AAAAAAAABYQ/V-XrCGVrgKk/s1600/100_3021.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-AQ4bjO0ZzCM/UVkVnU7PS5I/AAAAAAAABYQ/V-XrCGVrgKk/s400/100_3021.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The space behind the headboard worked perfectly for tucking the curtains back.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-10VPs8-p5ck/UVkVmzyctvI/AAAAAAAABYU/rsEcB0tzG0w/s1600/100_3018.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-10VPs8-p5ck/UVkVmzyctvI/AAAAAAAABYU/rsEcB0tzG0w/s400/100_3018.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
<br />
So far I love this room. Now I just need to move the desk somewhere else. In the meantime, my list is looking like this:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xKdYMA-3J44/UVkmAKmF8hI/AAAAAAAABZ8/pOXZnYlFQOk/s1600/100_3048.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xKdYMA-3J44/UVkmAKmF8hI/AAAAAAAABZ8/pOXZnYlFQOk/s400/100_3048.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
<br />
Now we need some guests to come stay...Mom? Dad? Cami and Robbie sometime after your wedding? Friends with whom I am terrible about keeping in touch? Come on guys, we're just an expensive plane ticket away!Danihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03259921255145699869noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1252385579403951084.post-62325311547071593652013-03-17T12:20:00.001-06:002013-04-01T00:32:41.121-06:00DIY Front-Facing Bookshelves<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<![endif]-->So I decided I'm a master carpenter now.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-burALBSRxro/UUXUIpxlnSI/AAAAAAAABQY/d8C_lenWXHI/s1600/100_2856.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-burALBSRxro/UUXUIpxlnSI/AAAAAAAABQY/d8C_lenWXHI/s400/100_2856.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yeah, I made these.</td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3BzA1GwvMtQ/UUXUHn94RJI/AAAAAAAABP4/ckBkMsy5GFY/s1600/100_2840.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>
Ok, maybe not exactly master carpenter (or even anything near carpenter, if I get right down to it) but I did have my
first adventure in woodworking (okay, more like “building a very basic
something out of wood”) that wasn’t prefabricated by IKEA, or getting plywood
cut at Home Depot and <a href="http://danimariesthoughts.blogspot.com/2010_08_01_archive.html" target="_blank">stapling batting and fabric over it</a>.<br />
<br />
<br />
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Let me start at the beginning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Early last fall we learned we were expecting
a baby.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We were planning on this and had
moved to a new place with a second bedroom for that very purpose.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, since moving, the second bedroom had
been full of stuff we hadn’t figured out where to put yet, but finding out I
was pregnant lit the FINISH THAT ROOM fire under us and we got rid of stuff,
finished unpacking things that had been sitting in there, got bedding for the
bed so it can double as a guest room, and bought a big comfy chair for cuddling
with our baby.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A few months into the
pregnancy I miscarried and I shut the door to the second bedroom and left it
that way for four months.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I thought
working on it would be healing or a coping mechanism or something, but it wasn’t.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I couldn’t go in there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All our dashed hopes and dreams waited in
there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the last few weeks, though, I’ve
been feeling like I needed a project, and even though we’re not expecting yet I
knew I had a project in that bedroom.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maybe
I have grieved enough to start healing?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I can go in there again for more than grabbing my guitar, at least.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I figured we
could get it set up as a guest room with things that could double for a nursery
(hopefully soon).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So we got pillows and
blankets, a dresser that was the right height to double as a changing table when
we get there, and started hanging things on the walls. It has felt good to work
on it, and made me feel more hopeful about trying again.</div>
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<br /></div>
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The room is a bit on the narrow side and knowing that we
still need room for a crib, we don’t have a lot of space for a bookshelf.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you’ve been in our home, you know we have
a quatrabagillion books on no fewer than 7 bookshelves located in the living room
and our bedroom, plus a giant floating shelf of cookbooks in the dining
room.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We have more books than anyone in
a 2 bedroom apartment probably should, but we don’t have many children’s books
yet, and nowhere to put them when we do get them. We want our children to have
books of their own in their rooms.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
always valued reading and literacy and was grateful to my mom for reading to me
and my siblings and both parents encouraging us to read, but after teaching in
an urban school I am even more thankful for having a literature-rich
childhood.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(Thanks Mom and Dad!) Anyway,
to sum up, our future kid must have books, and a bookshelf in the second
bedroom was needed but space is limited.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I decided front-facing bookshelves would be perfect for a nursery.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s like functional wall art! It stores the
books, but in more flexible space than a bookcase, and it is way more fun to
see the covers than just the spine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
also decided that hanging them on the wall so they could be near the chair
without taking up floor space would be ideal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
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Thus I started my hunt for the perfect shelves.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Buying them was a bust.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There are lots of floating shelves, but I’d
have to add a lip to keep the books from sliding off, and way too many that
were okay-ish but cost more than I was willing to pay/<a href="http://www.shelvingshop.com.au/shopexd.asp?id=712" target="_blank">only available in Australia</a> or just <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Boon-Turf-Front-Facing-Bookshelf-Green/dp/B007D1SK2Y" target="_blank">downright ugly</a>. So I turned to making
something, and I steered far away from anything involving plain boards from the
hardware store because I didn’t feel confident doing anything like that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I found one using <a href="http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/my-room-dosmadison-wi-111317" target="_blank">fabric and a double curtain rod</a>, but it wasn’t the clean look I was going for.</div>
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I found a super cheap option using <a href="http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/look-rain-gutter-bookshelves-89974" target="_blank">rain gutters</a> and
seriously considered it, but after going to Lowe’s I realized the rain gutters
available there not only were cheap ( :) ), but also looked cheap ( :( ).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And there wasn’t a good way to disguise them,
so they’d always just look like cut up rain gutters.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So that idea was tossed away like <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=plq2R4TSuZg" target="_blank">yesterday’s jam</a>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s always a toss up when you want things
that to be cheap but look expensive.</div>
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So I was left with no other option:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>enroll in a carpentry program.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not really, I just DIYed some shelves out of
some 1x6s and 1x2s.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(That’s totally how
you pluralize lumber measurements, by the way.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I found <a href="http://helpinglittlehands.blogspot.com/2011/02/easy-front-facing-picture-book-display.html" target="_blank"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">this website</span></a> that
made it look not as hard as I thought and I gave myself a pep talk about
putting lumber together into something functional.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then I measured exactly how long I wanted the
shelves to be and dragged Kelly to Lowes and told him (and myself) this was a
good time to bust out the Dremel he bought me for Christmas.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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I can’t believe I am taking this long to write about
this.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sorry people who made it this
far.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you want here’s a final picture
so you can stop reading now if you want.</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-r9KacDJJIas/UUXUKj841DI/AAAAAAAABRc/f49tKrmfAMg/s1600/100_2905.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-r9KacDJJIas/UUXUKj841DI/AAAAAAAABRc/f49tKrmfAMg/s400/100_2905.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Look, I made some
bookshelves for the nursery! Hooray! The End!</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Moving on without the non-reading whiners:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
picked out the two least warped or knotted 1x6x6s I could find, and one 1x2x6
and got the Lowes guy to cut them into two foot lengths, so I ended up with six
2-foot lengths of 1x6, and three 2-foot lengths of 1x2.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then I made Kelly carry them to the car for
me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I mean, I did pay before taking them
to the car.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m not a kleptomaniac.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Well, technically my parents paid for it
because I finally busted out that gift card they gave me for my birthday.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(Thanks parents!)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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At home I sanded all the pieces down with the sanding
attachment on my Dremel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Keep in mind I
have never done this before, so don’t judge me too much.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I know I’m a complete amateur here. (And if
you make some shelves following what I did and yours don’t turn out fabulous or
they drop books on your head or something, you can’t sue me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is just a story of something I did, not
a step-by-step tutorial by a professional.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Anyway, so I sanded them and found out I like my Dremel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It be cool, yo. (Sorry, my Bawmo’ swagga
slipped out ya’ll.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After I wiped them
down with a microfiber rag to get off the sawdust, I drilled holes where I
wanted the screws to go. Even though I’ve never really done this before, I do
know that screwing straight into the wood is more likely to crack it; drilling
pilot holes prevented any cracking.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For
the first shelf I measured very carefully and made sure all the holes matched
up perfectly, and then drove in the screws.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It was very tedious and I hate measuring.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I know it’s probably not the best but I really really hate
measuring when things need to match up like that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> It stresses me out or something. </span>The first shelf turned out great, but it took
way longer than the other two because I figured out a lazy trick that probably
everyone already knew but me, but I still felt smart anyway.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On the next two I figured out how far up I
wanted the holes to be on the outside board.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I needed them in the middle of the second board because I was putting
the screws through the really narrow side.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>So I drew a line across the first board how far in I wanted the screws
to be and then marked it crossways using a measuring tape where I wanted my
screws to go.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I did 2 inches from the
sides and all the screws are 4 inches apart.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mb_u2R1QJes/UUXUHmCysGI/AAAAAAAABP8/c08--vro0D0/s1600/100_2833.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mb_u2R1QJes/UUXUHmCysGI/AAAAAAAABP8/c08--vro0D0/s400/100_2833.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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Then I drilled those holes and put the screws in so they
barely nicked out of the other side.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-sUhD9jyO1cs/UUXUIO-2acI/AAAAAAAABQQ/JU6das4CSVE/s1600/100_2845.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-3BzA1GwvMtQ/UUXUHn94RJI/AAAAAAAABQI/hcYe06loGu4/s1600/100_2840.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-3BzA1GwvMtQ/UUXUHn94RJI/AAAAAAAABQI/hcYe06loGu4/s400/100_2840.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-sUhD9jyO1cs/UUXUIO-2acI/AAAAAAAABQQ/JU6das4CSVE/s1600/100_2845.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-sUhD9jyO1cs/UUXUIO-2acI/AAAAAAAABQQ/JU6das4CSVE/s400/100_2845.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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Then I lined the board with screws up where I wanted to put
it into the second board, and pushed it down.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>When I took it away there was a tiny little divot where the pilot hole
needed to be drilled. </div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-g0kF7bQzCbo/UUXYLQjAz7I/AAAAAAAABSQ/DjWqtHsZ9Zg/s1600/100_2848a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-g0kF7bQzCbo/UUXYLQjAz7I/AAAAAAAABSQ/DjWqtHsZ9Zg/s400/100_2848a.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Hooray for half the measuring! And there was no need to
be perfectly precise since I’m going to cover up all the screws anyway!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So I made sure the divot was centered so I
wasn’t going to accidentally punch a screw through the side.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Fortunately I have a pretty good eye and
managed to get the screws in straight freehand.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I’m sure there’s something you can buy to make sure you’re drilling
perpendicularly if you’re not as spatially gifted as I am.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The divot was nice, because sometimes when
I’m trying to place the drill bit on a penciled x I have a hard time getting it
right on, but the little divot made the bit stay right where I wanted it before
I began drilling.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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So after I got the pilot holes drilled in the second board I
just put them together and finished driving the screws all the way in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I also made sure I sunk the heads a little so
I could fill them and paint over it smoothly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>So now I have three two-foot shelves!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-burALBSRxro/UUXUIpxlnSI/AAAAAAAABQg/CTUlinZAXTw/s1600/100_2856.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-burALBSRxro/UUXUIpxlnSI/AAAAAAAABQg/CTUlinZAXTw/s400/100_2856.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
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Since that was enough work for one weekend, I spend the next
week gazing lovingly at my beautiful shelves.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>On Saturday I drilled three holes in the back where they would fasten to
the wall.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This works great since they will
be hidden by the books anyway.</div>
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Then I filled all the holes and dings and the sides where it was still roughed up from being cut. I was going to get wood filler, but I already had some spackle and read recently on <a href="http://younghouselove.com/" target="_blank">Young House Love</a> that they used plain drywall spackle to fill in the nail holes on their <a href="http://www.younghouselove.com/2013/02/breaking-down-our-57-board-batten/" target="_blank">board and batten</a> and it worked great, so I decided to go for it to save me and my giftcard some dough. The spackle worked great. I always do a few applications just to make sure every single thing is filled in. After it dried I used my dremmel to sand them and round off the corners and edges (it's for a baby's room after all! Kids run into stuff all the time. Especially any child of mine and Kelly's.)</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-FK8DHBQ23pg/UUXUI6v7VAI/AAAAAAAABQk/EKd8_-CfXNg/s1600/100_2860.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-FK8DHBQ23pg/UUXUI6v7VAI/AAAAAAAABQk/EKd8_-CfXNg/s400/100_2860.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dremmeling like a champ! (Okay, actually it wasn't on in this picture. This is like one of those Unsolved Mysteries reenactments since I had to use the camera with my other hand. Imaginary dremmeling like a champ!)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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After I wiped everything down I was lazy and busy with other stuff so it took forever to paint them, but over the course of the next two weeks I got the three coats of white paint on them and let them cure for a week, partly out of that's-what-you're-supposed-to-do and partly because I got the flu. </div>
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Finally, I hung them on the wall using 2-inch screws, making sure at least one screw on each was
through a stud, and I put in heavy duty anchors in the other ones.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </div>
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And I've gotta say, using a level to hang shelves is awesome, because the level just sits on the shelf while you line it up. No balancing act like with picture frames. And I also made sure they were lined up vertically with the level. </div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-59qyFPamsXU/UUXUJrz6P5I/AAAAAAAABQ4/T3wJ8ZjkrhY/s1600/100_2892.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-59qyFPamsXU/UUXUJrz6P5I/AAAAAAAABQ4/T3wJ8ZjkrhY/s400/100_2892.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">hol nuva levo</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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And now I’ve got
bookshelves!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-e576yI0dHR0/UUXUKvBPwgI/AAAAAAAABRQ/PnbwCnhc8hw/s1600/100_2899.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-e576yI0dHR0/UUXUKvBPwgI/AAAAAAAABRQ/PnbwCnhc8hw/s400/100_2899.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
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I put some books that qualify as appropriate for children on them, but knowing us we'll definitely get some more.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> And since it's by the chair I left a spot for a glass or mug, and a coaster fits in there perfectly.</span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-r9KacDJJIas/UUXUKj841DI/AAAAAAAABRc/f49tKrmfAMg/s1600/100_2905.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-r9KacDJJIas/UUXUKj841DI/AAAAAAAABRc/f49tKrmfAMg/s400/100_2905.JPG" title="DIY front-facing bookshelves" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">DIY Front-facing bookshelves</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-B9EzN5PEh4Y/UUXULE3_LHI/AAAAAAAABRo/yXFgZLZ9PZ8/s1600/100_2914.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-B9EzN5PEh4Y/UUXULE3_LHI/AAAAAAAABRo/yXFgZLZ9PZ8/s400/100_2914.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4xd8IMoWtkU/UUXULGRcymI/AAAAAAAABRk/pxKTV8IdJME/s1600/100_2909.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4xd8IMoWtkU/UUXULGRcymI/AAAAAAAABRk/pxKTV8IdJME/s400/100_2909.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yG7cPy8a-G8/UUXULuHHCMI/AAAAAAAABRs/qNAKUG3pnAI/s1600/100_2920.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yG7cPy8a-G8/UUXULuHHCMI/AAAAAAAABRs/qNAKUG3pnAI/s400/100_2920.JPG" title="DIY Front-facing bookshelves" width="300" /></a></div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XlD76pNLnIs/UUYEkmdS1hI/AAAAAAAABS0/SZTYas2PyfY/s1600/100_2929.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XlD76pNLnIs/UUYEkmdS1hI/AAAAAAAABS0/SZTYas2PyfY/s400/100_2929.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Someday we'll get a mirror over the dresser and move the map and guitar somewhere else. I think a round mirror would be cool.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SRh2N0ejUbQ/UUYEkrODfnI/AAAAAAAABSw/ml7CONvvTPk/s1600/100_2927.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SRh2N0ejUbQ/UUYEkrODfnI/AAAAAAAABSw/ml7CONvvTPk/s400/100_2927.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The crib will eventually go here. The desk will go...not in this room.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dgvnCj-Wkxk/UUXUM-W-e0I/AAAAAAAABSM/T5ita1N97js/s1600/100_2926.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dgvnCj-Wkxk/UUXUM-W-e0I/AAAAAAAABSM/T5ita1N97js/s400/100_2926.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It's starting to look somewhat finished. I want to paint that little
bedside table orange and we desperately need some curtains. I'm
thinking white and orange chevrons, but Kelly's anti-chevron. I'll
probably win, though.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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There's still a lot to do in the room, but we're getting there and at least the bookshelves are done. Now we need a baby to read
to.</div>
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Danihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03259921255145699869noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1252385579403951084.post-48049510905516760792012-12-10T17:59:00.001-07:002012-12-10T17:59:48.054-07:00Today I realized I'm a nerdBecause Kelly and I had a serious discussion about the pros and cons of having an ewok as a pet. Then I wondered whether it would be ethical or not since ewoks are kind of intelligent lifeforms. <br />
<br />
Also, we would name it Bubba.Danihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03259921255145699869noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1252385579403951084.post-35608451528677442792012-11-24T15:11:00.001-07:002012-11-28T18:37:24.069-07:00Moving Day...well, days...many of them<br />
I know that I haven't really waited that much longer than usual to post, but at least this time I had some excuses besides pure laziness. For those of you who haven't heard, Kelly and I were pregnant and I was SO TIRED all the time! So of course I didn't feel like writing about moving to a new place. Fortunately I was never morning sick, though, so that's good. Just about when the tiredness finally started to become manageable, I lost the baby. It has been a really difficult thing for both of us, albeit in different ways. It has been a heart softening experience. Most of the four years Kelly and I dated were long distance, and even though we knew we were going to get married we had to wait and be apart. It wasn't always fun, but it made me appreciate Kelly and our marriage and just being able to be with him so much. I know when we do have a baby we will appreciate it that much more for having to wait and go through heartache to have it. Also, thank you to everyone for your kind words, the cards, and flowers. We felt your love and prayers and love you all.<br />
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Well, there's where we've been for the last few months. I started writing this post about moving at the beginning of August (only slightly delayed, right?) because we moved at the end of of July, but with taking pictures and uploading them and school starting and being tired or crying all the time I just never finished it. Anyway, come tour our new apartment!<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-OigoU0-bzdE/ULE2etPrIWI/AAAAAAAABGA/Hd0hbWzyRVs/s1600/100_2470.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a>We are officially more than established in our new apartment by this point. Of course we still have some work to do, but we've got most things hanging on the walls and our furniture where we want it. The problem with moving into a bigger place is all the sudden we feel like we need to buy more things. Fortunately we have a bed and a couch and a table (we hate two of those three, but they're all functional for now), unlike our last move when we loaded up our '98 Ford Escort and drove across the country with ourselves, our car, our clothes, a box of books, and a few wedding presents. So we're good. Actually while we were moving we were thinking "How on earth did we get so much stuff!?!?!" Especially considering what we started our marriage with. So we spent six, yes SIX days moving. We got the keys to our new apartment on Thursday July 26 and had to be out of our old apartment on the 31st, so while Kelly was at work from 8AM-7PM on Thursday and Friday, I scrubbed everything in our new apartment and made as many trips as I could with stuff I could carry by myself and fit in our car. On Saturday we rented a U-Haul truck and our friends from church/heroes of the day Ben and Devin came and helped us carry all the the big stuff down three flights of stairs, load it into the truck, drive it to our new place, and then unload and carry it UP three more stories (stairs, of course) to our new place. Thank goodness we only have a few heavy heavy things (actually the three pieces of furniture mentioned above, the couch, the dining table, and the queen-size mattress.) The rest were all IKEA bookshelves and chairs and the box spring and stuff like that. So Saturday was the first night we spent at our new home. On Sunday Kelly and I made a couple more trips--mostly bringing our FOURTEEN BOXES OF BOOKS!!! (Are we insane!?!) And Monday and Tuesday I cleaned everything in our old apartment and brought the last few things to our new home. Anyway, I thought I'd share some pictures. First our old apartment/first home together. Yes, it was kind of sad moving away from the setting of our first three years of marriage, but by Tuesday we were both really ready to be done moving and basically say "good riddance" to the place with its rocking toilet, drippy faucets, crooked stove, missing tiles, and chipped bathtub. Okay, pictures:<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Why yes those ARE all filled with books!</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Empty Living Room and broken blinds that we don't miss</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Goodbye tiny bathroom that required us to take turns getting ready</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Little kitchen and the drippy faucet that could have institutionalized Kelly had we stayed any longer</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Libby is excellent at photobombing. And she kind of looks like an owl. Is it just me?</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Last picture of us in our first home together. Yes we were that tired.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Libby made sure we didn't leave her behind</td></tr>
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And now our new home, which has a nicer kitchen with more cupboard and counter space, a second bedroom and bathroom, bigger living room, dining room and balcony, and more closet space! Although the faucets work like this:<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">If you visit us, you have been warned. </td></tr>
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But we are loving it here! Here's a tour of our new home:<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Home is where your stuff is...ish</td></tr>
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Welcome to our humble abode. Here's our makeshift entryway.<br />
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...and our wall o' books<br />
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...and our couch, with a random desk behind it. Eventually we're going to get some chairs and have a reading nook back there. Don't mind the nerf gun under the couch. Kelly got it after I miscarried so I wouldn't have to get off the couch to keep Libby from scratching the carpet when she wants attention. Kelly has also gotten shot with it when I want attention.<br />
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Here's the aforementioned random mix of furnishing that will someday be replaced with comfy chairs and a little table. And behind the curtain is the sliding door that leads to the balcony.<br />
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The console table behind the couch and our tv set up. Although that has changed a bit since I took this picture.<br />
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Here's the whole front room put together for you. It still needs some work, but hey, we've only been here a few months.<br />
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Here's the dining room. It's attached to the living room. Also, I hate that table. but it was free and it works for now. "Buy a new dining set" is on the agenda.<br />
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This is the view of the kitchen from the dining room<br />
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Much more spacious and so much more storage than our last kitchen. Although the curtains need to go.<br />
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Here's our open shelving and system to hold all our fancy kitchen stuff. <br />
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Kelly was super excited he could watch TV from the kitchen. I'm not complaining either.<br />
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If you walk through the dining room there's a hallway and the first door off that is a closet, but the next one is the second bedroom. I was working on it as a nursery, and I think I'm going to paint it and do some stuff to it anyway. We're planning orange, grey and white. <br />
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Here's the chair I bought to cuddle with my baby in. And I will, just not as soon as I thought.<br />
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Right now we have our old desktop in there, but we're looking to replace it and move it elsewhere. This is where the crib will be.<br />
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This picture isn't really anything, just the closet in the second bedroom, but while I was walking around the house taking pictures Libby was following me and would wait patiently until I moved to the next room. I thought it was cute. She loves me even though I shoot at her with nerf guns.<br />
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Here's the hallway looking straight out from the second bedroom. Our room is straight ahead, a bathroom and frame wall is on the right, and a pantry and washer and dryer is on the left.<br />
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Here's a better look at our frames. We filled them with random stuff we like that are too nerdy to display where guests would see. Ha ha. The one with the glare is a Keep Calm and Carry On poster. <br />
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Our washer and dryer is across from the frame hall. I can never go back to the laundromat. It would kill my soul.<br />
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Our guest bathroom. It's actually Jack-and-Jill, so the master bath and the guest bath share a shower </div>
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This shower, in fact.<br />
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And our bathroom. Now that is a mirror and vanity for two looks like. Hooray!<br />
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And our bedroom. <br />
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I still need to hang something above the bed.<br />
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Our dresser with my green Craigslist mirror that is now black and looks like it was made for our dresser. The door on the left leads to the bathroom, and the door on the right leads to the hallway. Those closet doors in the hall is where the washer and dryer are to give you a frame of reference.<br />
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Now you've been through our whole apartment! Hooray! Our cat was really scared at first and was running around
while staying as low as possible and hid inside our couch for a few
hours. She's good now. She's liking all the space and the way bigger
balcony.<br />
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We have already done a few fun things here. I had my 25th birthday. Kelly gave me a saphire necklace.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">You can also see my first attempt at a 5 part braid in this photo</td></tr>
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Over Labor Day we watched my TFA buddy's dog Pepper. He's a yorkiepoo
(Yorkie and Poodle mix. I can never get over how funny that name is
hahahahahahaha) and so little and cute. We had fun, but we're glad we
don't have a dog. We're kind of really really really lazy people, so
playing fetch and keeping a dog company so he doesn't cry every single
day would not be ideal for us, but we had fun with him for a couple days.<br />
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We
also had some of Kelly's friends from Michael's over for games and food
on a Friday night in September, so we have hosted some people here once so far.
That was pretty fun, even though I didn't know most of them very well.
So we're settling in and it's our home now. We are still working on the
second bedroom even though there isn't a baby coming to stay in it at
the moment. It is kind of theraputic, actually, and I feel better about painting fumes and that kind of stuff without having to worry about what it could do to the baby. For the time being it
works great as a guest room, so if you know us come visit. If you don't
know us, either make friends with us and build a trusting relationship
first, or stay away!<br />
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For Thanksgiving it was just Kelly and me here in Baltimore. Kelly and I
made dinner together (okay, he made most of it. I helped a little).
We had a rotisserie chicken and parmesan mashed potatoes, stuffing, peas
in cream sauce, salad, cranberry sauce, and rolls, with Kelly's creme
brulee for dessert. We mostly just enjoyed having a couple of days
off. I gave Kelly his xbox I got him for Christmas early so he could
enjoy it on his time off, and I uphostered our shoe bench and a chair.
I'll post pictures of that later. Meaning probably in March. Hopefully
not. Anyway, to finish this LONG post up, here are some pictures of our Thanksgiving:<br />
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Kelly cooking Thanksgiving dinner--apparently at the speed of The Flash judging by the blurriness of this picture.<br />
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Our third Thanksgiving together. And our first at our new apartment.<br />
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Kelly made us a feast for two<br />
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Kelly's mom always sends us a little package each holiday. This year she sent us some Turkey salt and pepper shakers for our table. I'm sensing a family tradition in the making.<br />
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For the whole month of November we wrote down things we are thankful for and put them in this jar. It was a good thing for us to do while grieving. Even though we have sad and difficult things happen to us, we were able to think of so many things we have been blessed with and are so thankful for. We read them right after dinner and it was really fun. I was going to be all fancy when I made this and printed out a template and was going to Xacto knife it out and made a stencil and spray paint the words, but I got my Xacto on a killed it, so I got frustrated and just freehand wrote the words with a sharpy. Sometimes cutting corners works out. Don't tell my students I said that.</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-QwkAtvT7iHM/ULE3FvjJVHI/AAAAAAAABMo/rNm5dbrtnmo/s1600/100_2688.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iVr1KikgwI0/ULE3GlKIEmI/AAAAAAAABM0/oIa6OhtMslQ/s1600/100_2765.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iVr1KikgwI0/ULE3GlKIEmI/AAAAAAAABM0/oIa6OhtMslQ/s320/100_2765.JPG" width="240" /></a><br />
Kelly playing a game on his early-Christmas-present-xbox.<br />
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Now I can't think of a good way to end this. I always was terrible at writing conclusions to essays. In fact, in high school on AP tests I would write my whole essay and write a sentence and a half of my conclusion so it would look like I ran out of time so I wouldn't have to write it! Of course, it only worked on the last essay, so if there were three I still had to write two conclusions, so the reviewers could probably see right through me after reading two weak conclusions and seeing I conveniently didn't have to write the last one. Anyway, in conclusion, we love our home, come visit if you know us, and s--Danihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03259921255145699869noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1252385579403951084.post-69884308157909359122012-10-16T16:37:00.000-06:002012-11-28T18:41:00.911-07:00MiscarriagePart of me wanted to keep this to just me and Kelly and close family because it's private and sacred and, although I should know better, I feel like I've failed. The other part of me wanted to scream it to everyone and have the whole world to cry with us. <br />
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I didn't know how to say it, but my mom so eloquently did. Thank you, Mom, for your beautiful words, initial enthusiasm, love, support and your shoulder to cry on, the best even from 3000 miles away. <a href="http://thegeorgiapages.blogspot.com/2012/10/who-i-am-today-7th-prompt-in-nonfiction.html">http://thegeorgiapages.blogspot.com/2012/10/who-i-am-today-7th-prompt-in-nonfiction.html</a>Danihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03259921255145699869noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1252385579403951084.post-70826919084799572172012-07-06T18:25:00.004-06:002013-04-01T00:34:26.617-06:00The Power is Out: What We're LearningIt's Day 7 of not having electricity. Baltimore has been treating us so well! (That was sarcasm, for any Sheldons out there.) In 2009 we had "Snowpocalypse" (or "Snowmageddon" if you are of that school) when in snowed so much they wouldn't allow non-government vehicles to be on the roads and we lost our power for a few days (however I also got six snow days off of school, so I wasn't complaining too much), then last summer we had an earthquake (some of our pictures are still hanging crooked from that...don't judge me) and a few days later Hurricane Irene hit us and we were without power for 3.5 days. Then last Friday (June 29) we got hit with some kind of freak storm and we have been without power ever since. In a heat wave. And it's very humid, which I think is the WORST THING EVER! If you know me even a little you probably already know that because I complain about humidity all the time. Anyway, our power company keeps giving us times that the power should be back on, the first being July 4 at 12:30 in the afternoon. Then 10:30pm. Then 6:30pm the next day. Then nothing. Then 4:00 today. And now it's set for 6:30pm tomorrow. Kelly and I don't believe them anymore. We have also almost given up hope of ever having electricity in our home ever again...or at least until we move at the end of the month. At the rate we're going, that might really be the case.<br />
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So, since I am now an expert at living through a heat wave (100+ degrees outside four 5 out of the 7 days so far) with no power for a whole week I will share ten things we learned.<br />
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1. Some things you should definitely own in case of a power outage or emergency:<br />
-flashlights (or even better a lantern; see ); at least one per person so you don't always use the buddy system in your own home.<br />
-candles and matches in case your flashlight dies<br />
-a cooler<br />
-ice packs or a lot of ice in your freezer for your cooler<br />
-car charger for your phone <br />
-food that doesn't need to be refrigerated or cooked, because even if you have a gas stove, in the summer you will NOT want to turn it on, and eventually all your food in your fridge will go bad. And if you need to evacuate, it's easy to take with you and eat on the go. Also, make sure you have adequate food and water stored in your house, and necessities like soap, basic first aid stuff, and TP in case of an emergency, because the grocery store could be closed or cleaned out. When snow is forecast here, the first things gone at the store are bread, milk, and toilet paper. Also, we are lucky because we found out that some people in the area don't have water or electricity!<br />
-books to help with boredom<br />
-something to cook with if you don't have a gas stove, especially if it's winter, or businesses around you are also out of power so there's no where to go get groceries or go out to eat.<br />
-it's always good to have warm clothes and a giant warm blanket on hand, in case you're left without power in the winter.<br />
-lots and lots and lots of batteries, especially extras in the right size for your smoke alarm and flashlights.<br />
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Story time: our smoke/carbon monoxide alarm's battery has died twice since the power went out. Those things go faster than you think when it's entirely reliant on the back up battery instead of electricity. The first night we had to go get a 9-volt battery at 3:45 AM because the thing kept chirping and we couldn't sleep. It turned out to be a good thing, though, because we were able to get ice before there was a run on the bank, which leads us to the second thing we learned:<br />
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2. Get ice early. We actually learned this lesson in the aftermath of Hurricane Irene. When the power didn't come on on the second day, we got worried about our food going bad and I went to 9 different places trying to find a bag of ice. I was lucky to get the very last bag at the gas station I stopped at last. This time around the power went out at about 11PM on June 29, and we got ice at 3:45AM on our battery run. The next day most places were running low or out, and the day after that there was none to be found. Unfortunately, when you get ice the first day, and there is no ice after that to replace it with, after 7 days, all your food will be bad if the weather is very hot. Case in point:<br />
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Although our power's not on yet, I cleaned out the fridge because it was as warm inside it as outside it and had been for a couple days, and things were stinking! Even our pickles went bad. That's how hot it got in our house. And don't worry, I scrubbed out the whole thing after I took these pics.<br />
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3. This one is only for summer, open all the windows at night. If it is still too hot, sleep next to the one that gets the most breeze. It's the only way we are still alive. If you are in a super hot/humid place like Baltimore that doesn't cool down at night and you are on the top floor, go ahead and leave all your windows open all the time, otherwise it will be even hotter inside than it is outside, also you will not be able to breathe. Seriously, the air feels heavy out here and even worse inside with no circulation.<br />
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This was our sleeping situation, next to our screen door out to the balcony.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The baby gates by the window is to keep Libby from scratching the screen since it was installed brand new with the new windows on Tuesday. Libby sits on our mattress during the day when she's not sleeping under the couch, which is where she's been spending the majority of her time as you can see below.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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4. Again, only when it's really hot, block direct sunlight coming into your house. We actually are moving in a month and the windows were scheduled to be replaced in our apartment this week, so we had to take down all our curtains, which would have done this job pretty well, but such is our luck. We have a tree that shades the windows into the main part of our apartment, but nothing over the window in the bedroom, so we are keeping that door closed and try to not go in there, because it is at least 15 degrees hotter in there than in the rest of the apartment. In the living room we have vertical blinds that block the light pretty well, and in the dining room we set our air mattress against the window during those hours when the sun is coming in. This tip and the last one when I said to keep your windows open all day in certain situations are kind of opposites, so we experimented and figured out what worked best for us. We kept the window open, but for a few hours when the sun was coming in blocked the light and then as soon as the sun passed overhead opened everything back up again.<br />
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5. If you can, buy a battery-operated fan. We only managed to scrounge one up yesterday evening, and it made all the difference. When I walked into Bed, Bath, & Beyond and saw one left, I knew God saved it for me (sounds dramatic, but that's how it felt when I saw this little beauty waiting for me). We actually slept last night, and this morning we agreed it was worth the cost of the fan and the 8 D batteries it took to run the thing.<br />
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My new best friend--tied with Kelly.<br />
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6. A lantern is so much cooler than a flashlight. It lights up 360 degrees instead of only where you point it. It has a hook so you can hang it on things. It has feet so you can set it down and use both hands and it doesn't roll away. Ours is made by Black Diamond and takes 4 AA batteries, and those lasted for 4 days, so keep your extra batteries handy, those sell out almost as fast as ice.<br />
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Our lantern, which Kelly's brother Ben gave us for Christmas a couple years ago. THANK YOU BEN & HOLLY!!<br />
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See how we hooked in the shower? P.S. get used to cold showers. I have. Kelly hasn't. Guess who smells better. (Just kidding about the smell! However, while I can take a quick normal shower, Kelly takes forever trying to wash his hair without the water touching anything but his scalp, and basically sponge bathing to keep out of the direct line of <strike>fire</strike> cold water.)<br />
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7. Make sure you have a cooler. They also sell out as fast as ice. Fortunately we already had one, but during our quest for a fan that lasted about 6 days, we heard a lot of people asking for coolers and a lot of store employees saying there weren't any left.<br />
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8. Don't live on the top floor of your apartment building in a summer outage. I know you can't help this (neither could we) but I'll tell you ahead of time, it sucks. When we get about half-way up the last flight of stairs, it's like walking through a wall of hot hot air. I've never experienced anything like it in my life, except maybe the opposite version of walking into a restaurant freezer and feeling that super dramatic change in temperature from one step to the next.<br />
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9. Find out where there is electricity and air conditioning and spend the hottest part of your day there. If you have work, this is one of those rare times when you'll actually look forward to going there. If you are on summer break like I am, find places you can loiter in air conditioning without getting in trouble like the mall or go to the movies or explore stores you always wanted to go to but never had time.<br />
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10. Know ahead of time places with WiFi and outlets available for you to charge your computer if you don't have a smartphone (I don't.) Out here Panera, Dunkin' Donuts, and Barnes & Noble are currently acting as second (and third and fourth) homes for me and Kelly. I have discovered Panera has the most comfortable seats, best access to outlets, and the best food, but it's awkward to stay there very long since it's a restaurant, and also go after 2pm to get a seat with an outlet. Barnes & Noble is okay to stay at for longer amounts of time, and you are not obligated to buy food first. Dunkin Donuts is open the latest, but you will need to buy at least a donut or they'll probably give you dirty looks. I haven't tried not buying something first, so that's only a guess. We've figured when to migrate from place to place. For example, I started this post in Panera over lunch, and am now finishing it at Barnes & Noble with my new friends (I get more everyday) who also don't have power at home. <br />
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Bonus tip: when you pass 5 trucks from your power company on your street and all the people are inside of them sleeping, take a video and narrate with the temperature, how long you've been out of power, and general venting about your feelings on the situation. I tragically didn't think about this and Kelly told me I should have done that when I told him about it later. For the record, it was 101 degrees and the power had been out for 6 days by that point. <br />
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So if you ever lose power for 7 days and running, go to Barnes & Noble and check out some tips from a survivor, albeit a whiney one. Also, if you have a cat, don't try to move it to the coolest part of the house, because it will just run away again. At least if your cat is as dumb as Libby.<br />
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**Update! Our power came back on Friday night! It was so hot we went to a late movie and when we came home as we were driving up to our apartment we saw the outdoor lights of our building were on! At first we both just thought "why does this look weird?" and then at the same time we realized the power was on and did a seated-and-still-driving-happy-dance, which may or may not have included some happy crying and nearly jumping out of the car while it was still in motion and then running up three flights of stairs to our apartment so we could turn the light on. So, we all survived (except for all of our refrigerated/frozen food, minus three kinds of Tabasco (I don't know why we had three kinds, we just did), soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, an unopened jar of relish, an unopened jar of capers, and a Costco box of York peppermint patties...yes, all the Yorks are deformed now, but still edible. I'm sure we could make some kind of meal out of that right?).<br />
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Also, at about 3AM Monday morning we woke up and the power was out again. Kelly called the power company and they said it would be on by 6AM, but it's kind of hard to trust those guys! Neither of us could get back to sleep because it was such a horrible feeling, knowing we had just gotten it back and had replaced a bunch of stuff in the fridge and now it was out again. When we got up at 6:30 the power was still out and I was on the verge of tears, but as Kelly was getting ready for work the fan in our bedroom turned on around 7, so there was much rejoicing. And the power's been on since then, so hopefully it doesn't go out again, or one of us (probably Libby) is going to need a padded room and a straight jacket.<br />
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Other than being terrified of the power going out again and an empty refrigerator, the only lasting effect has been forgetting to turn on both the hot and cold water. Weird right? When the power was out, we both just turned the hot water handle in the sinks and shower, but it doesn't work so well when the water heater is actually working! We've both been surprised by too-hot water when we're washing our hands, or getting a gulp of warm water when we're expecting cold. Who knew you could get so lazy about turning on the water taps?<br />
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<br />Danihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03259921255145699869noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1252385579403951084.post-58749067459032578362012-06-23T22:13:00.001-06:002012-06-23T22:14:14.714-06:00Crouches Come to BaltimoreOnce again: I'm the worst blogger ever. Now that I got that out of the way, here's some cool stuff I've been up to!<br />
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Okay, I haven't been up to too much that qualifies for the category of "cool stuff" but that's okay. I'll tell you about the boring stuff too! Lucky you!<br />
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So since February, which is the last time I posted, the thing I did most was teach the third trimester at school. I had a few students who are pretty awesome people. Then again, most stopped coming around the beginning of May, although last year only 12 students passed my class in the third trimester, and this year 36 did, so attendance was up a little from this time last year! Hooray progress! Fortunately, each of my classes are only 1 trimester long, so many more passed US and World History during the 1st and 2nd trimesters so I'm not a complete failure of a teacher.<br />
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In other teaching news, we had our second graduation and that was nice to attend. Some really amazing students graduated and are going to go on and do better things than high school. It was fun to go and support the ones who really worked for it.<br />
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Kelly turned 25 and graduated in May. Fortunately not from high school (that would be ridiculous). He graduated with his B.A. from Towson University, and now he's all good to go for teaching Spanish starting in the fall! I hope his first year is 18 bajillion-trillion times better than mine. Anyway, his graduation was long and boring and I had to sit all by myself since both our families live a few thousand miles away. We decided neither of us are going to walk when we get our masters. I should be done in August, so that will be good to be done and not have to do all the pomp and circumstance (ha ha ha I'm so hilariously funny! Get it? Because I'm talking about the stupid hats and ceremony, but that's also the name of the processional music. Do most people know that? Or just us Bountiful Elementary kids who had Music Start?)<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-t6ABg9IQ_0A/T-aRmSxvPtI/AAAAAAAABBk/oWpdhh4T640/s1600/100_2303.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-t6ABg9IQ_0A/T-aRmSxvPtI/AAAAAAAABBk/oWpdhh4T640/s400/100_2303.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kelly's birthday cupcake. A quarter of a century isn't that big a deal, I guess.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fLxwyOXhQoo/T-aFJuPHYcI/AAAAAAAAA-0/N5Ps658V5c0/s1600/100_2309.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fLxwyOXhQoo/T-aFJuPHYcI/AAAAAAAAA-0/N5Ps658V5c0/s200/100_2309.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Towson University Graduation...well, the one Kelly was in.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ilQ7uRNqvdw/T-aFK8dPQcI/AAAAAAAAA-8/dDqW2ls-vzU/s1600/100_2311.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ilQ7uRNqvdw/T-aFK8dPQcI/AAAAAAAAA-8/dDqW2ls-vzU/s200/100_2311.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Believe it or not, that blur is Kelly walking across the stage.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kelly: college grad. And tired and hot and ready to get the heck out of there.</td></tr>
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School ended on the 13th and it was a bit of a drag to pack up everything in my classroom knowing that I would have to unpack all of it again in August. I was hoping Kelly would get a job somewhere that is not Baltimore so I could quit, so most of this year I was thinking this was the last one...but alas, it wasn't. Anyway, the best part of the last day of school was my parents and younger brother and sister flew in that evening! <br />
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They timed it perfectly because the weather was so amazing the whole time they were here! It had been either super hot and humid or very rainy before they came, and their last day it started getting really muggy and hot again, but the week they were here it was very pleasant and not too humid. (Humidity, if you can't tell, is my least favorite thing about living here. Kelly keeps thinking I'll get used to it someday, but I never will. I am meant for desert air, not the sauna I currently live in.)<br />
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I stole some pictures from facebook that my mom and sister (Cami) posted because I didn't take very many, I guess because I was too busy enjoying just being with my family (minus Kevin & Lindsey, sorry you couldn't make it guys).<br />
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The evening they got here we got burgers at Abbey Burger, which was tasty as always, and louder than usual on account of the O's game. Then we came home and we ate crème brûlée Kelly was nice enough to make, and they met our cat, Libby. I think Kelly and I need to have a baby because they way they played with and watched our cat is kinda like how Kelly's family is with our nephew Liam.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dG97ykzrwXk/T-aFSUFlO4I/AAAAAAAABAU/H9-B-kGnu68/s1600/Fat+Libby+6-15-2012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dG97ykzrwXk/T-aFSUFlO4I/AAAAAAAABAU/H9-B-kGnu68/s400/Fat+Libby+6-15-2012.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">For some reason my family couldn't get over how fat Libby is.</td></tr>
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The next day we headed up to Gettysburg and spent the day driving around the battlefield. Kelly wasn't feeling very well, so he didn't come. We had all done Gettysburg before, except my brother Bryan, so we didn't do the museum part. My dad loves the Civil War and told us a lot of awesome things about the battle. We packed sandwiches for lunch and watched squirrels and cardinals while we ate until a bird decided to break up the party by splattering the picnic table with poo. Then we went to the cemetery where Lincoln gave the Gettysburg Address. When we came home we watched <i>Catch Me if You Can</i> because Cami is obsessed with Leonardo DiCaprio.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-amzDxzHC9KM/T-aFRC1G-zI/AAAAAAAAA_8/k1oIbHu0a_c/s1600/Crouches+at+Gettysburg+6-14-2012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-amzDxzHC9KM/T-aFRC1G-zI/AAAAAAAAA_8/k1oIbHu0a_c/s400/Crouches+at+Gettysburg+6-14-2012.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cami, Mom, Dad, me and Bryan on an observation tower at Gettysburg.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4vvfU9Xixe8/T-aFQ8oW7SI/AAAAAAAAA_0/4nvQa4R94bA/s1600/Cardinal+at+Gettysburg+6-14-2012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4vvfU9Xixe8/T-aFQ8oW7SI/AAAAAAAAA_0/4nvQa4R94bA/s320/Cardinal+at+Gettysburg+6-14-2012.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cardinal at lunch. Who knows, this could be the bird that pooed at us.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-h9A-08Z9FGY/T-aFS2xoYhI/AAAAAAAABAc/5VOquAj9TAc/s1600/Gettysburg+National+Cemetary+6-14-2012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-h9A-08Z9FGY/T-aFS2xoYhI/AAAAAAAABAc/5VOquAj9TAc/s400/Gettysburg+National+Cemetary+6-14-2012.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is where Lincoln stood to give the Gettysburg Address.</td></tr>
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The second day we split up. We had planned to go to the second part of the Air and Space Museum, but Cami didn't want to. She decided she wanted to go to the Holocaust Museum instead, so my mom, Cami and I went there, and the guys went to the Air and Space Museum. I tried to tell Cami that while amazing, the Holocaust Museum is very sobering. I don't know if anyone can really understand the feeling unless they've been there or somewhere similar. It is amazing how there can be so many people milling around in there, and still be nearly silent. There was a bunch of middle school kids there who had been laughing and goofing off coming in, but once they got into the main exhibit they were so quiet and respectful.<br />
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After that, we cheered up a little when we met up with Kelly, Bryan, and my dad at the National Zoo. It is so fun in the spring because there are baby animals! There was a tiny baby howler monkey and Bryan, Kelly and my mom saw a baby burrowing owl, Cami and I didn't because it was in the bird house, and we're both scared of birds, but upon seeing the pictures we both agreed it was adorable. The tamarins are always fun, and how many people get to see a gorilla pull poop out of its bum with its fingers? I think we were all worn out by the time we got home.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-G-cNsij4FZQ/T-aFNI69P1I/AAAAAAAAA_M/oYIPLRWKSRo/s1600/100_2319.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-G-cNsij4FZQ/T-aFNI69P1I/AAAAAAAAA_M/oYIPLRWKSRo/s400/100_2319.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Somehow this is the only picture I got at the zoo. Well, I tried to get some of the baby howler monkey, but they were all blurry. Bryan has some of the baby burrowing owl, so ask him if you want to see it.</td></tr>
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On Saturday we headed up to Philadelphia and went to Independence Hall and saw the Liberty Bell and went to Reading Market for lunch (of course we got Philly cheesesteaks!) Then we headed to Longwood Gardens, which I've written about on here before. We saw the fountains and the idea garden, which weren't open the last two times we went. They had some really cool ideas for home vegetable gardens. We also did the conservatory, of course, and then ended off the night with a fountain/light show. Kelly and me and my mom enjoyed it (I liked the fact that the music was big band), but my dad and Bryan got bored, I think. Cami didn't come because she was tired of museum and history stuff.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-FQ2txotq9As/T-aFTCFmgaI/AAAAAAAABAk/l38ZbMIkrB0/s1600/Independence+Hall+6-16-2012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-FQ2txotq9As/T-aFTCFmgaI/AAAAAAAABAk/l38ZbMIkrB0/s320/Independence+Hall+6-16-2012.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bryan, Me, Kelly, and my dad walking to Independence Hall for our tour with the "saucy woman" national park worker, and a random guy walking to the Liberty Bell.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kelly and me at Independence Hall</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My parents and Independence Hall</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Trnu7e4zg7A/T-aFQMiLjOI/AAAAAAAAA_k/0EHS5GiEzHQ/s1600/100_2328.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Trnu7e4zg7A/T-aFQMiLjOI/AAAAAAAAA_k/0EHS5GiEzHQ/s400/100_2328.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Inside Independence Hall where they signed the Declaration of Independence and Constitution.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-nBVF3v5yZWQ/T-aFRie6BRI/AAAAAAAABAE/PkJHKqnnAn4/s1600/Dad,+Dani+and+Kelly+at+Benjamin+Franklin%27s+Grave+6-16-2012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-nBVF3v5yZWQ/T-aFRie6BRI/AAAAAAAABAE/PkJHKqnnAn4/s400/Dad,+Dani+and+Kelly+at+Benjamin+Franklin%27s+Grave+6-16-2012.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My dad, me and Kelly at Benjamin Franklin's grave. My dad and I got good luck for tossing pennies that landed on the headstone face-up. Kelly's rolled back to us under the fence. It was only later that I realized that sounded kind of mean throwing pennies at someone's grave, but the proceeds are used to keep up the grounds.</td></tr>
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On Sunday, Cami and Bryan stayed in bed but my parents came with Kelly and me to church. After church we went back to DC to drive around some of the monuments because Bryan hadn't been there before. (Cami, once again decided not to come, but hung out in our apartment instead of the hotel, so she could watch movies and get online and play with Libby.) We also went to the National Cathedral. It is so huge! There was some information about the damage it received in the earthquake last August, which was really interesting to learn about. It is amazing how such a small quake did so much damage. We did go into the Lincoln Memorial since you don't really get the whole experience without going inside, and then we went past the Vietnam War Memorial and found the name of a man my dad knew. We came back home pretty early and Kelly showed off his cooking skills by making chicken marsala and cheddar chive biscuits.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">National Cathedral, view from top.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3kWgkbXOTQk/T-aFT3pM2nI/AAAAAAAABA0/K5jQll7zcic/s1600/National+Cathedral+6-17-2012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3kWgkbXOTQk/T-aFT3pM2nI/AAAAAAAABA0/K5jQll7zcic/s400/National+Cathedral+6-17-2012.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">National Cathedral</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BDhagh7e5JI/T-aFSF-4XHI/AAAAAAAABAM/3yJnD3mCM8E/s1600/Dani+and+Kelly+National+Cathedral+6-17-2012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BDhagh7e5JI/T-aFSF-4XHI/AAAAAAAABAM/3yJnD3mCM8E/s400/Dani+and+Kelly+National+Cathedral+6-17-2012.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me and Kel at the National Cathedral</td></tr>
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<br />
On Monday we finally did something Cami wanted to do: Ocean City! We drove 3 hours to the beach and just relaxed all day on the sand and walked up and down the boardwalk. It was nice after all the walking we had done in the days before. Then we hit some outlet malls to bought Kelly some "teacher clothes," and asked a local for a restaurant suggestion for dinner. The Captain's Galley was not that great. I got my first real sunburn ever. I think the only part of me to every burn before was my hair part, but at Ocean city I burned my legs, arms, and face. Kelly thought it was hilarious the next day when I was surprised that being in the sun hurt. Joke's on him though, I'm already tan and he'd still red!<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dKtfQzdWbW0/T-aTdfOFcRI/AAAAAAAABB0/GLAfLQHqCOE/s1600/100_2338.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dKtfQzdWbW0/T-aTdfOFcRI/AAAAAAAABB0/GLAfLQHqCOE/s400/100_2338.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kelly sleeping on the beach.</td></tr>
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<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fYLSUPsjmA0/T-aFQmT_suI/AAAAAAAAA_o/l6CJcW4Y824/s1600/Cami+and+Mom+Ocean+City+6-18-2012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fYLSUPsjmA0/T-aFQmT_suI/AAAAAAAAA_o/l6CJcW4Y824/s400/Cami+and+Mom+Ocean+City+6-18-2012.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cami and my mom at Ocean City, MD</td></tr>
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<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-MhztsaWltmE/T-aFUPVM-bI/AAAAAAAABA8/YnCl7m4KUFI/s1600/Ocean+City+Boardwalk+6-18-2012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-MhztsaWltmE/T-aFUPVM-bI/AAAAAAAABA8/YnCl7m4KUFI/s400/Ocean+City+Boardwalk+6-18-2012.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Boardwalk at Ocean City (my mom took this picture)</td></tr>
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<br />
Tuesday was our last full day with my family here, and nothing really worked according to plan. We were going to go to Fort McHenry for the Sail-ebration commemorating the 200th anniversary of the War of 1812. Fort McHenry is what Francis Scott Key could see when he wrote the National Anthem, so it's kinda Baltimore's claim to fame. Unfortunately, it was apparently too full, because cops blocked the road so we couldn't get there. So we went to Annapolis instead. Kel and I hadn't been there before, and it's basically a tourist trap of a state capital. So that wasn't great. So we came back to Baltimore and tried to go on the Constellation, (it's a ship in the harbor) but it was too late, it had closed. So we wandered around the harbor and cooled off in the Barnes & Noble. That was probably the funnest part of the day. Then Kel and I tried to take my family out to eat crab, but the place was closed. So we came back home and watched Malcolm in the Middle on Netflix while eating steak and salad Kelly, my mom and me quickly whipped up.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-p_YFeiet4Zs/T-aFU8SXJNI/AAAAAAAABBQ/xc4Mfsdy5ow/s1600/US+Military+Academy+Harbor+Annapolis+MD+6-19-2012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-p_YFeiet4Zs/T-aFU8SXJNI/AAAAAAAABBQ/xc4Mfsdy5ow/s400/US+Military+Academy+Harbor+Annapolis+MD+6-19-2012.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Annapolis Harbor from the US Navy Academy</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qwhzu2mVzIA/T-aFTeVl65I/AAAAAAAABAs/jADToIxWjmk/s1600/National+Aquarium+Baltimore+6-19-2012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qwhzu2mVzIA/T-aFTeVl65I/AAAAAAAABAs/jADToIxWjmk/s400/National+Aquarium+Baltimore+6-19-2012.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">National Aquarium-we didn't go inside, but it sits right on Baltimore's Inner Harbor.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<br />
Wednesday was sad because my family went home. We met at the Towson mall since Cami wanted to go in there because it was across the street from their hotel, and we wandered through there, then let them check out the Trader Joe's since there's not one in Utah, and had brunch at Towson Hot Bagel. Then we said goodbye and they got home safely that night.<br />
<br />
Kelly and I had so much fun! It was our vacation too, since Kelly starts his summer training next week and we're moving next month, so I'll spend the summer packing, moving, and unpacking. We hope my mom and dad and Cami and Bryan had as much fun as we did, and we miss them a lot. The next day we just chilled at home and rested. Yesterday we went to Brave, but it was a letdown. It felt like a second-rate Disney movie--definitely not up to Pixar's usual standards. Think <i>Brother Bear </i>plus <i>How to Train Your Dragon</i> (but not as good at that one) plus cliche oh-no-I've-cursed-us-we-need-to-break-it-before-time-runs-out. Not horrible, but pretty ho-hum.<br />
<br />
So that's that. Aren't you glad I haven't been posting for all these months since nothing happened until my family came? You're welcome for being so considerate and making a super long post all at once instead. Hopefully I'll post a little sooner next time with pictures of our apartment before packing stuff up, and some of our new apartment when we get there! I'm so excited to move!Danihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03259921255145699869noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1252385579403951084.post-2445434690092115742012-02-28T21:15:00.004-07:002013-04-01T00:50:13.554-06:00December through the PresentGet that play on words? Because in December we get presents.....It sounds like a Richard Paul Evans book...I'm so lame. I'm gonna lie and say Kelly pointed that out to me when he was reading over this for me. Ha ha Kelly's so lame. So Kelly's (lame) pun notwithstanding, I (once again) am terrible at keeping my valiant readers up to date on my life. I'm very very sorry, because I do know you live for this stuff. No more delays; here goes:<br />
<br />
So, way back in December I totaled The Mr. Darcy (my first car, and our only car) on the freeway (I'm okay!), then we went a couple days without one, which wasn't the most fun thing we ever did, and then we bought a new one, a 2009 Corolla which Kelly has dubbed Carolina. I just realized we don't have a picture of our new car. I'll have to take one sometime.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CJ2Q10Un7aM/T02pShi89uI/AAAAAAAAA-s/R_n3D0kb1oU/s1600/Photo0053.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CJ2Q10Un7aM/T02pShi89uI/AAAAAAAAA-s/R_n3D0kb1oU/s320/Photo0053.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Poor Darcy. The damage actually doesn't look so bad, but the airbags came out and that alone would have cost more than the car was worth to fix.</td></tr>
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<br />
Then a week or so later I got pulled over for my first time ever. So that was, well, kinda horrible, especially since I was in an area where a lot of my students live, and while I was waiting for the officer to write out my ticket I hear "HEY MRS. A! YOU GOT PULLED OVER!!! HAHAHAHAHAHA!! HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!" Yeah...a few of my students were across the street pointing at me. Laughing. Saying inappropriate things like yelling at the policeman that I probably have illegal substances in my car (of course I didn't/don't, but they probably had some on them. I kinda wanted to ask the police officer if he could let me off the ticket if I could tell him where he could arrest some kids with drugs). It was about then that I decided never to drive again because apparently after 8 years I just started sucking at it. But Kelly won't let me because I have to get to work somehow. I tried to solve that dilemma by offering to quit, but he won't let me do that either for some reason. There is no reasoning with that guy!<br />
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<br />
Then we went home for Christmas and it was so much fun. We hung out with our families, and pretty much relaxed for the whole time we were there. We had fun with our nephew Liam and went to SLC with my family, including my newlywed brother Kevin and his wife Lindsey. We had a back-and-forth Christmas between my house and Kelly's house; it's pretty nice we haven't had to make any tough choices about where to spend any major holidays yet.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-S8GiHs3ntvg/T02eAIKld6I/AAAAAAAAA9k/CuutCi4bdaU/s1600/100_2111.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-S8GiHs3ntvg/T02eAIKld6I/AAAAAAAAA9k/CuutCi4bdaU/s320/100_2111.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kelly, me, and Bryan at the Tabernacle</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1_1RO1VRNGY/T02d9h2uc5I/AAAAAAAAA9c/b21pMbzLxsU/s1600/100_2101.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1_1RO1VRNGY/T02d9h2uc5I/AAAAAAAAA9c/b21pMbzLxsU/s320/100_2101.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kevin and Lindsey with some lights on Temple Square</td></tr>
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<br />
Kel and I attended an unofficial Juniper Reunion. I saw a bunch of my old college buddies that I haven't seen in a few years, like <a href="http://snickerbecky.blogspot.com/">Becky</a>, <a href="http://pegalu.blogspot.com/">Amy</a>, <a href="http://stevenandlindsey.blogspot.com/">Lindsey & Steve</a>, Annette, Bryan, Nate, Blake, to name most of them. And there was a guy I never met before who thought the fact that my name is Dani is the most hilarious thing in the whole freaking world. I heard the quote from <i>The Shining</i>, "Come play with us Dani. Forever. And ever. And ever." come from his mouth about a bagillion times. So....I'll just leave that there.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jyPVeGNfEaQ/T019X469MYI/AAAAAAAAA8c/1dGMhjQ3pDc/s1600/Juniper+Hall+Reunion+Christmas+2011.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jyPVeGNfEaQ/T019X469MYI/AAAAAAAAA8c/1dGMhjQ3pDc/s400/Juniper+Hall+Reunion+Christmas+2011.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
It was pretty awesome when I walked in, though. I think it's the closest I've ever come to feeling <strike>like a celebrity</strike> somewhat popular, though I believe that the actual sentiment was more like Hey-Dani-we-missed-you-a-little-plus-we-are-all-nice-and-somewhat-exuberant-people. So that was really fun. Later in the trip I also got to see my old roomie Janalee and meet her husband, Danny. It was fun to catch up with everyone.<br />
<br />
It was sad to say bye to our families and come home to Baltimore, and the all night flight was a killer, but we made it, and our apartment and cat were both fine when we got home. Although our evil cat Libby was happy to have someone to play with again (I use the phrase "play with" loosely, think more like "attack"), she didn't seem very happy when we took away her giant bowl of food.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wKYn906TxNM/T02eCBhVVoI/AAAAAAAAA90/Txwf2NVEFVM/s1600/100_2117.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wKYn906TxNM/T02eCBhVVoI/AAAAAAAAA90/Txwf2NVEFVM/s320/100_2117.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">When we got home we found that Libby had left a present in my shoe. Fortunately not a typical Libby present, which tends to be poo.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DTYfbHg7SbA/T02eWP9ob9I/AAAAAAAAA-c/3R_EHpydo8M/s1600/100_2177.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DTYfbHg7SbA/T02eWP9ob9I/AAAAAAAAA-c/3R_EHpydo8M/s320/100_2177.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We got her a Christmas present too, a crab in honor of living in Baltimore....</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-olq2S6NLjKI/T02eRkp3MKI/AAAAAAAAA-U/v5rOPJeU5MM/s1600/100_2165.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-olq2S6NLjKI/T02eRkp3MKI/AAAAAAAAA-U/v5rOPJeU5MM/s320/100_2165.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">...which she subsequently ripped an eye off of.</td></tr>
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<br />
In January I taught some more. I have some pretty cool students this trimester. Tomorrow is the last day of finals and I'm quite sad to have some of them leave my classes. Of course there are a couple others to whom I say "I tried my best with you, good riddance." I'm the worst teacher ever!!! Although I missed school yesterday due to the previously-mentioned traffic ticket (I went to court to see if I could get probation, so I wouldn't get points on my license (success!)) and someone had scrawled "BEST TEACHER EVER" in blue pen on my desk. It was probably meant sarcastically, but I haven't cleaned it off yet.<br />
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In other news, we were pretty convinced Kelly was going to get into Teach For America, and we were hoping for somewhere closer to home like Vegas or Denver, and we told everyone about it all excitedly and we waited and waited for January 17th to see where we would end up and start making plans....but he didn't get in. I can't quite figure out why, but I guess there's another plan for us. So we went about a month pitying ourselves and wondering what to do, but on Saturday Kelly got a job teaching Spanish here in Baltimore for next school year. Hooray! Not closer to home....but not any farther, either. In celebration we went to <a href="http://www.abbeyburgerbistro.com/">Abbey Burger</a>, which has a checkoff list of all the delicious stuff you want on your burger. So tasty. Anyway, I'll probably work another year and we'll pay off Kelly's student loans and probably a huge chunk of the car and throw the rest into savings for...future things...that I want very badly....right now....but Kelly says we have to wait longer :(<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JGSEPbsQZ5M/T02eIHMJdxI/AAAAAAAAA98/xwe_bfBkr7I/s1600/100_2147.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JGSEPbsQZ5M/T02eIHMJdxI/AAAAAAAAA98/xwe_bfBkr7I/s320/100_2147.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My parents gave us a puzzle of Las Vegas for some good vibes for TFA, I put it together and we kept it out until the 17th. Needless to say we put it back in the box that night...not so good vibes I guess...</td></tr>
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Hmmm....anything else <strike>interesting</strike> I feel like writing about? Um...Our cat has been trying new tactics to try to let us know she REALLY wants to be fed. We give her dry food for cat breakfast and cat after school snack, but before we go to bed she gets half a packet of wet food. She lives for the stuff and starts letting us know around cat after school snack time that she wants her good stuff. The best attempts recently have been jumping into the refrigerator where we keep the uneaten half-packet of food in a ziplock bag, licking her empty food bowl, licking the outsides of her empty food bowl, licking the floor around her empty food bowl, and the best so far is what we like to call the "dying of hunger" approach.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7VSXJaruk-I/T02eXH3y9qI/AAAAAAAAA-k/h279beOLjCU/s1600/100_2185.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7VSXJaruk-I/T02eXH3y9qI/AAAAAAAAA-k/h279beOLjCU/s400/100_2185.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Libby's dying of hunger approach</td></tr>
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When we go into the kitchen, she slowly makes her way to her food bowl, as if she can barely stand, and right before reaching it she collapses. It's quite a performance and she seems quite pathetic...until you leave the kitchen and she trots after you.<br />
<br />
Oh, for an early Valentine's Day present Kelly bought me a bench and I loves it. It's great to come in, be able to sit down to take your shoes off, and not track outside stuff onto the inside stuff. <br />
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hA5I1fmPUkw/T02eKRn_7KI/AAAAAAAAA-M/c0ulxc0qMTQ/s1600/100_2160.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hA5I1fmPUkw/T02eKRn_7KI/AAAAAAAAA-M/c0ulxc0qMTQ/s320/100_2160.JPG" width="240" /></a><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-r7Hccjg6y_Y/T02eJc-C1yI/AAAAAAAAA-E/2UzbmipNNIw/s1600/100_2150.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-r7Hccjg6y_Y/T02eJc-C1yI/AAAAAAAAA-E/2UzbmipNNIw/s320/100_2150.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is the present that was on the bench. It was for my friend Cara and her new baby. I took a picture of the card for my mom, because I made it while I was on the phone with her so I was telling her about it.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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Now for some other pictures of random stuff...since November, I guess...<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LI5_fH6awZ0/T02dh08RD1I/AAAAAAAAA8k/Sqvfqmkz07Y/s1600/100_2045.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LI5_fH6awZ0/T02dh08RD1I/AAAAAAAAA8k/Sqvfqmkz07Y/s320/100_2045.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our Thanksgiving feast of chicken marsala, mashed potatoes, dressing, and peas. And the chef himself.</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-dCPZGAjVNmY/T02dmgtCc8I/AAAAAAAAA8s/qoGrbJEW6lw/s1600/100_2047.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-dCPZGAjVNmY/T02dmgtCc8I/AAAAAAAAA8s/qoGrbJEW6lw/s320/100_2047.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ahern self family portrait Thanksgiving 2011</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-pJazFyK0KD4/T02duYQinXI/AAAAAAAAA88/rDDLqCXpkLY/s1600/100_2065.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="nursery art, monogram, washer monogram" border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-pJazFyK0KD4/T02duYQinXI/AAAAAAAAA88/rDDLqCXpkLY/s320/100_2065.JPG" title="diy monogram" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I made this for our nephew Liam for Christmas. It's made of washers and I got the idea from Pinterest.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-26mwY1OX610/T02dzZUuEfI/AAAAAAAAA9E/p0XYVLkW-hA/s1600/100_2081.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-26mwY1OX610/T02dzZUuEfI/AAAAAAAAA9E/p0XYVLkW-hA/s320/100_2081.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our Christmas tree! We called it Baby, because we didn't put it in a corner this year.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Libby LOVED this tree this year. She would sit under it, hide next to it, stare at it, play by it, etc. She was sad to see it go.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-27hxs1mqrSM/T02d5O5xYcI/AAAAAAAAA9U/zFN7f4CE6Z4/s1600/100_2089.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-27hxs1mqrSM/T02d5O5xYcI/AAAAAAAAA9U/zFN7f4CE6Z4/s320/100_2089.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It's pretty sad when you upload your pictures from your camera and 75% of them are of your cat who is a pill and really does poop on the floor sometimes. Kelly...we need something else cute to take pictures of...hint hint.</td></tr>
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So that's the update into the meaningless drivel we participate in everyday. Aren't you glad I update you on the exciting comings and goings of the Aherns?Danihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03259921255145699869noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1252385579403951084.post-46370232816782364512011-11-12T09:14:00.003-07:002013-04-01T00:47:15.252-06:00Longwood Gardens<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<i>(After writing this whole thing, I thought I should let you know that as usual, I went off on a tangent in the beginning. So if you don't want to hear about me having a cold for a week, skip down to the part that says "Longwood Gardens" to read about why I actually wrote this post. That's right, my tangent was so long and off-topic I had to put another title in there.) </i><br />
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Kelly and I went to Longwood Gardens in Pennsylvania a couple weeks ago. I meant to post last Saturday when I had time, but I ended up coming down with a sore throat and fever on Friday night and spending most of this week feeling sick and overall just completely worn out. Fortunately now I just have a dry cough and I'm starting to get my energy back. If I have what the doctor said I have (a nasty cold virus that's going around) and so far her symptom progression prediction has been correct, it should turn into a wet cough in a couple days and then go away. <u><span style="color: red;">AFTER WRITING THIS I DECIDED TO ADD A WARNING FOR PEOPLE WHO GROSS OUT EASILY TO NOT READ THE REST OF THIS PARAGRAPH. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!</span></u> I have to admit when snot-like substance was coming out of my eyes that was the worst. But I just stayed home all week and avoided contact with Kelly and every other human being and washed my hands and slept a lot, so I could say it wasn't the worst week ever. But it wasn't necessarily a good one, either. Wow! TMI. I bet you all liked the eye-snot part. Don't worry I went to the doctor and it was just the same virus attacking my eyes. That sounds so creepy. But I'm blind now, so nothing worse can happen, right? Just kidding Mom I can still see just as well as I always could. So still not very well. The worst thing is I have to wear glasses for a few weeks, which if you know me is even worse than eye-snot. I just keep going with this thing...sorry, I'm done. </div>
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I should add a warning up there for all persons squeamish. ... Okay, it's up there now. (I'm thinking of you Bryan. Remember that time at dinner when Dad said something like, "We bought the new toilet for our bathroom remodel." Or something like that completely non-gross with the word "toilet" it in and you freaked out and refused to eat anymore? That warning up there was for you. If you read it and can never eat again, it's your own fault that you'll be fed through an IV from now on.)<br />
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Now I'm thinking that if Longwood Gardens ever Googles themselves, they won't ever want to read about what I thought of their beautiful gardens and plants and exhibits and stuff. They just think I'm a nasty person who had a cold. It's a weird habit of mine to go off on tangents before getting to what I really want to write on this blog, isn't it? Okay, I'm starting with the real point of this post now. I suppose I should put the title down here:<br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">A few weeks ago Kelly and I decided to go on a day trip and we thought about all the places around us that we still wanted to visit. We narrowed it down to Mount Vernon and Longwood Gardens. Then we got on <a href="http://longwoodgardens.org/"><u><b>Longwood Gardens' website</b></u></a> and read about it and decided it sounded really cool. We were also excited to head north, because we figured we could keep driving another 40 or so minutes and have dinner at Chifa in Philadelphia again because we loved it so much when we ate there over the summer.</span> We planned it for one weekend, but something came up so we moved it back a week. Of course it ended up being the only time it ever snowed in October out here, but we went anyway. We got most of the way there before it started snowing and it didn't really start sticking to the ground until we were there, so no problem there. (Somehow we still passed 3 car wrecks in the 15 minutes we were on the road when it started snowing. I don't know what happens to people out here. I mean, they can drive in the rain. Why not snow when it melts into water as soon as it hits the road? I suppose that is a deep philosophical question for another time.)</div>
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Kelly and I were smart and brought our coats, hats, mittens, scarves, and umbrellas, so we were prepared for the weather. We also decided that since we each got $10 off the entrance price for being students, we could stick to the conservatory this time and come back in warmer, or at least drier, weather to see the rest, which, by the way, includes an Italian fountain garden, three giant tree houses, a topiary garden (I have to admit I called it a "bush-sculpture garden" for a placeholder until I could look up what it was actually called.), an idea garden for home gardeners, a garden railway, a flower garden walk, an open air theatre, a waterlily display, and even a cow lot! The conservatory is enormous, so we spent over two hours just exploring in there. Basically it was just a giant building with a lot of glass, completely full of plants. We also happened to go during the chrysanthemum festival, so that was all in there too. We watched a short intro video when we first got there and they have different a different focus or theme all year round, like orchids, a Christmas theme, spring blooms, and even a few months focus on the fountains. I think the best way to explain the coolness of the stuff we saw there is with pictures, so here we go:<br />
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As you can see, when you first walk into the conservatory it is beautiful! I think it is amazing that gardeners can create this! I just realized this is from the opposite point of view, though. You come in down at the far side.<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-G5OOT-cJpyA/Tr6TyKpRmtI/AAAAAAAAA6Y/A6dkHJ-WPt0/s1600/100_2019.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-G5OOT-cJpyA/Tr6TyKpRmtI/AAAAAAAAA6Y/A6dkHJ-WPt0/s1600/100_2019.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="chrysanthemum festival" border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-G5OOT-cJpyA/Tr6TyKpRmtI/AAAAAAAAA6Y/A6dkHJ-WPt0/s400/100_2019.JPG" title="Longwood Gardens" width="400" /></a><br />
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This is one chrysanthemum plant! You heard me, ONE! There are over a thousand blossoms on this thing!<br />
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These are gigantic plant-spheres hanging from the ceiling. I don't know how they do this, but I would love to try this someday when I live somewhere with windows that will actually support plant life. Hey, me and my black thumb can dream, can't we?</div>
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So you thought that one chrysanthemum plant was amazing up there? This also is ONE PLANT. They grafted in a whole bunch of different types of chrysanthemum onto one plant and thus we have THIS:<br />
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Kelly was so excited when he saw this tree. He said they were all over in Uruguay. </div>
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Come, take a closer look.<br />
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Dun dun DUNNN!! Don't crash your bike into that thing. Neither you nor your bike will survive. Actually, I'm surprised Kelly never did trip into one of those when he was down there. He's pretty accident prone.<br />
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These are nectarine trees! They train them to grow flat against a trellis, cool, huh? <br />
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Like I said, there was a chrysanthemum festival. They were everywhere! Part of it was people could enter a contest with their own arrangements, so we took a look at that.<br />
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Here's a closer look at the ceiling-o-umbrellas. For some reason I love this.<br />
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JrLtOdkaNz0/Tr6Vo22iwCI/AAAAAAAAA8U/h9Tj3wCgRn8/s1600/100_2043.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="umbrellas as art, umbrella ceiling, parasols as art" border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JrLtOdkaNz0/Tr6Vo22iwCI/AAAAAAAAA8U/h9Tj3wCgRn8/s400/100_2043.JPG" title="parasols on ceiling" width="400" /></a><br />
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Now for a bunch more pictures of flowers and stuff! I'll try to tell you what they are.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sweopQl_-os/Tr6TvgR-jII/AAAAAAAAA6A/HJPIO-DNgFM/s1600/100_2013.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sweopQl_-os/Tr6TvgR-jII/AAAAAAAAA6A/HJPIO-DNgFM/s400/100_2013.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Spider Mum. Kelly thought these were the coolest flower ever.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yet another room in the conservatory. There were so many I couldn't even tell you the number.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kelly and I giant ball of flowering plant.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Birds of Paradise</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Another room</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It's as big as his head!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I'm trying to remember the name of these...Chinese something...I think hyacinth?</td></tr>
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As you can see, we had a really fun time seeing all of this beautiful stuff. We kept thinking about how God must have the most amazing imagination to create so many different kinds of plants and flowers for us to enjoy.<br />
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When we left, the snow was sticking a lot, so we held off on the rest of the gardens, which were outside. We also decided to not risk driving the rest of the way to Philly for Chifa, which was very sad for both of us. Instead we got hot chocolate and headed home. It was a little nice to get the rest of our day at home when we hadn't been planning on it, though. Anyway, thanks for the fun afternoon Longwood Gardens! </div>
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Danihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03259921255145699869noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1252385579403951084.post-84277704315046152882011-09-22T17:43:00.002-06:002013-04-01T00:36:51.240-06:00Work EnvironmentSo I was looking back through my blog a bit...I don't really know why I do that, but I do, anyway, and I came across a couple pictures I posted of my classroom way back in my first year of teaching. Keep in mind, those are pics of my classroom that "made my students feel unloved" according to Mrs. Evil, my former vice principal and arch nemesis (current). Fortunately, she got fired. What a horrible statement, but seriously, she made my life hell that year. That's not really what I wanted to get into (especially now that things are much better with the new administration). What I really wanted to share are some pictures of my classroom that actually makes my students feel loved....or something. Some of them are actually from the end of last year, but it's basically the same this year. Except they painted the walls white instead of sickly blue, and we got new desks and my chairs all match this year. However, the chairs are all now sickly blue. But at least students aren't dragging their favorite chair to their favorite desk at the beginning of class anymore!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">The front door of my classroom. Welcome!</span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XWWdHQ-VF2M/Tnu_xG4j5XI/AAAAAAAAA5k/dLIJp6cRaXs/s1600/2011+Christmas+2010+and+January+2011+049.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XWWdHQ-VF2M/Tnu_xG4j5XI/AAAAAAAAA5k/dLIJp6cRaXs/s400/2011+Christmas+2010+and+January+2011+049.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">The other corner of the front of my classroom, and no, my map does not roll up. It is permanently stuck in that place unless I climb up on the radiator to switch it to the US map, which I very occasionally will do if I REALLY need it.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xCDIQY5WS1A/Tnu_dK9vYEI/AAAAAAAAA5U/ScaslkSBSVg/s1600/2011+Christmas+2010+and+January+2011+034.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xCDIQY5WS1A/Tnu_dK9vYEI/AAAAAAAAA5U/ScaslkSBSVg/s400/2011+Christmas+2010+and+January+2011+034.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">All my students keep their work in their folders which they keep in these bins under the chalkboard.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-QffFFdyfxFg/Tnu_x0mU82I/AAAAAAAAA5o/xRTDeagHhWU/s1600/2011+Christmas+2010+and+January+2011+050.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-QffFFdyfxFg/Tnu_x0mU82I/AAAAAAAAA5o/xRTDeagHhWU/s400/2011+Christmas+2010+and+January+2011+050.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">If you turn around from the front door, you will see the back of my classroom. There's my class bulletin boards, my Great Work board, a place for students to check their grades, my World History Word Wall, and the Mastery Wall.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bU6R8BFmhWg/Tnu_cEi8YWI/AAAAAAAAA5Q/I5G89UPku0A/s1600/2011+Christmas+2010+and+January+2011+029+Student+Mastery+Wall.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" height="222" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bU6R8BFmhWg/Tnu_cEi8YWI/AAAAAAAAA5Q/I5G89UPku0A/s400/2011+Christmas+2010+and+January+2011+029+Student+Mastery+Wall.JPG" title="classroom mastery wall" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Here's a closer look at the Mastery Wall. (Yes, I very discreetly blanked out my students' names. I'm not sure if you noticed) On each assessment, I see what state learning goals students scored at least 80% on. So let's say questions 5, 6, 13, 21, and 23 are about Westward Expansion, and you missed number 23, but got the other four. You would have gotten 80% Mastery on 5.1.4.a or whatever the state number is. Then you would get a sticker in the corresponding box! Believe it or not, my high school students LIVE for those stickers.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-eTkZktXOgDo/Tnu_3e65m8I/AAAAAAAAA5s/xD7wMFPoPAw/s1600/2011+Christmas+2010+and+January+2011+051.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-eTkZktXOgDo/Tnu_3e65m8I/AAAAAAAAA5s/xD7wMFPoPAw/s400/2011+Christmas+2010+and+January+2011+051.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">This is the other corner of my classroom I haven't shown yet. Tucked back there is another door that is missing a knob, so I made that my teacher's desk corner. The red bulletin board is full of students' goals for my class. Above that is my US History World Wall. There's also the Student of the Week Board, No Name paper board (since doing folders, that hadn't been too much of an issue), my cupboard of art supplies, and a bunch of binders I give away. This shot is from last year (as you can tell by the mismatched chairs). I have the same projector, but this year I have a cart with wheels and a laptop to go with it! How fancy, right?</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vdpS8PqJQS8/Tnu_WUiDCaI/AAAAAAAAA5I/F0tnmJ4hZnk/s1600/2011+Christmas+2010+and+January+2011+024.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vdpS8PqJQS8/Tnu_WUiDCaI/AAAAAAAAA5I/F0tnmJ4hZnk/s400/2011+Christmas+2010+and+January+2011+024.jpg" title="US History word wall" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Here's a closer shot of my US History Word Wall. Awesome. I think it's a little useless, but supposedly it makes my students feel loved.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-T7mxYLsm_ls/Tnu_d8jsLqI/AAAAAAAAA5Y/Uvi2Fa881YY/s1600/2011+Christmas+2010+and+January+2011+036.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-T7mxYLsm_ls/Tnu_d8jsLqI/AAAAAAAAA5Y/Uvi2Fa881YY/s400/2011+Christmas+2010+and+January+2011+036.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">And here's a close up of one of my student's goals. Woohoo! </span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PtvW8JCWWZA/Tnu_VXLep1I/AAAAAAAAA5E/01nI4I7cbm8/s1600/2011+Christmas+2010+and+January+2011+022+Wall+of+Fame+blur+names.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="classroom incentives, classroom praise, testing incentive" border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PtvW8JCWWZA/Tnu_VXLep1I/AAAAAAAAA5E/01nI4I7cbm8/s640/2011+Christmas+2010+and+January+2011+022+Wall+of+Fame+blur+names.jpg" title="classroom wall of fame" width="324" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">The last thing I haven't shown yet is my Wall of Fame. It's on the closet next to the door of my classroom (the one with a knob) My students love it and <u>drag</u> their friends/babies/parents/parole officers/pets/perfect strangers into my classroom to point out their name on the Wall of Fame. So far it's a bit empty this year because we haven't taken any tests yet. You get your name on here if you score over 90% on a unit assessment. This pic is from right after the first test in the third trimester last year, so there are a few names on there (which I have blurred out) but it's because I only had about 13 students coming total.</span></td></tr>
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I hope you enjoyed the tour of Mrs. A's classroom! Come back anytime, but remember, you have to come IN the back door (the one behind the filing cabinet) because it's the only one that will unlock from the outside, and go OUT through the front door, because the doorknob is broken off on the inside on the back door, so you can't turn it. Also, it might be a good idea to come in October-November-ish after the humidity goes away, but before it gets too cold in Baltimore, since one of my windows is still broken from hurricane Irene.Danihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03259921255145699869noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1252385579403951084.post-13814697327892408282011-09-11T21:44:00.004-06:002013-04-01T00:49:14.554-06:00I Can't Believe I Had a Whole Summer Off and Never Posted a Single Thing on This Blog...I feel like I start every blog post with an apology for taking so long between posts...that's kind of dumb because probably none of you except my mom even really notices or cares...so... sorry I took so long between posts, Mom. I know I had all summer off, but it felt like my summer no-school laziness begat more laziness. Oh blerg, I talk to you on the phone all the time, Mom! What are you complaining about? I retract any apology anyone may have gotten from the above statement. It's my <strike>life</strike> blog and I post when I want!<br />
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Earlier today I posted my 9/11 thoughts, so if you're reading this one first, please don't think I'm heartless and unfeeling. I had some time today to write on here, so I got on to post about my summer, but started with 9/11 thoughts...it just felt wrong to switch gears and add all this stuff on the end of that post. So if you want to hear some September 11 heartfelt memories and those kinds of things, check out the post from earlier today. I promise I left my usual snark out of it.<br />
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Moving on to the summer that just ended (*<i>sob* (</i>meaning sad crying, not an acronym for something more in the expletive category which may or may not be fitting if shouted here)), and a couple stories that happened right before it started:<br />
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I guess I'll start with the first thing I promised WAY back in June (still not apologizing for the three month delay): <u>The Shelf That Tried to Kill Me!!!</u> Dun Dun DUUUUUN (if you didn't get that, it was musical...figure it out. Also, I need to stop with the parentheses. IT'S MY BLOG AND I'LL INSERT RANDOM COMMENTS LIKE THEY'RE SECRETS IN PARENTHESIS IF I WANT! And type-shout, too, apparently.) Ok, the shelf-star of the story that took place last May, or June maybe, looks great now<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Shelf...it has some different stuff on it now, like the Bluebird Cafe Syracuse teacup and saucer Kelly's mom gave us for our 2nd anniversary while we were home (our wedding luncheon took place at the Bluebird) and I moved one of those empty yellow flowerpots because it looks lame with them both stacked there...anyway this shelf wants me dead.</td></tr>
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But it was evil to get up there. You see, we were running out of shelf space on our massive wall of bookshelves...yeah, we need to get rid of some books (you'll notice I didn't put that in parentheses like I was tempted to..Aah!.I just can't stop!). So being the awesome genius that I am, I thought, "Hey! Let's get a floating shelf for one of the vast empty walls in our dining room, and keep our cookbooks on it!" So we went to Ikea and got one. Also we got a box of screws with sturdy-looking anchors there. Foreshadowing alert: big mistake. Do not, I repeat, DO NOT buy anchors at Ikea. This sounds like common sense now, but I guess we were stupid back then...three months ago. They were not sturdy. More like, um....slippery? That might be the word I want. So the shelf instructions said "Just make sure one of the three screws is in a stud and I should hold up to 30 lbs!"<br />
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"Woohoo!" thought I, "I'll just put anchors in all of them and make sure two screws, if not all three, are in a stud just to be safe."<br />
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Irony, you b----...ad, mean, nasty thing.<br />
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So Kelly and I skipped happily to a hardware store and bought a stud finder and I think this may have been when we decided to purchase a level that would have been helpful when I hung up our headboard way back when. (Parentheses sidenote: Every single time I use or even think about a level, I think of a sketch from MadTV that isn't even that funny, but the link is <b><a href="http://youtu.be/YJnGRuidOXI">here</a></b> because it wouldn't let me embed the video. I think Kevin and/or Bryan were there when I saw this. If you either of you remember it you're cool.)<br />
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So I used the stud finder to locate three studs and used 2-inch screws and anchors and got it all on and it felt sturdy. So trusting Ikea I put a couple books on there, maybe like 15 lbs. And it all came crashing down! I jumped back, but if I hadn't I might not have feet anymore. I ended up getting super-heavy-duty anchors from a real hardware store and put in not three, but seven screws, four of them in studs and the rest anchored. Before I put anything on it I tried to wiggle it...I was much more observant this time and noticed that it still didn't feel as sturdy as it probably should. So we went back to Ikea and got three L brackets, I don't really know the real name of them, to brace it from underneath (<i>The Magic School Bus</i> taught me that triangles are the strongest shape) and used 2-inch screws there, too, just to super-stabilize things. Finally, it worked! It now holds more than 30 pounds of books and Kel's Food Network magazines and some other stuff. It even lived through the earthquake last month with no problems at all. I got it to work with my extreme stubbornness, and it looks pretty good, I say! The only problem is it took us awhile to get used to it, so we ran into it a couple times after it was first up on the wall. But along with looking cute, it freed up a whole shelf on our wall o' books for my ever expanding misc/Dick Francis collection. Also, keep in mind the adorable green teapot on the shelf in the picture up there. It is important later. Kinda. I guess.<br />
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Next story. <u> The Evil Nail That Really Did Take My Foot Off--(Or At Least Caused a Nasty "Contusion" as the Witch Doctor Put It. </u><br />
We were having some people over on a Sunday evening and I was putting a few last things away before they got here. As I walked from the linoleumed kitchen to the carpeted living room, I scuffed my heel on a cheapo thresholdy-thing. It's basically just a little gold metal thingy nailed down to the floor to hide the edge of the carpet, but whoever put the nails in took hammer lessons at idiot school so they were all kind of crooked and therefore the heads were sticking up a bit. One of these caught me square in the center of my heel and took a huge chunk of skin out. So when our guests got here, I was sitting on edge of the tub crying while my blood ran down the drain and Kelly was trying to clean the massive gouge and patch it up. <i>(I put this in parenthesis and italics because it's kinda gross and if you're really squeamish don't read it. I've given fair warning. Fortunately it left a flap of skin still hooked on one side, so we got it the right way around and we were able to stick it back over the wound after we cleaned it out with peroxide and Neosporin and band-aid it up.)</i> Gross part over! It wasn't really too nasty, right? So I was limping a bit, but a few days later it was feeling a lot better and I could walk normally. Story over, right? Wrong. About four days later I was feeling pretty good and then Evil Kelly and Evil Parents ganged up on me and told me since I hadn't gotten a tetanus shot since kindergarten I had to go get one. I dug my heels in (ha ha...punny) but Kelly brought up all sorts of nasty pictures and information about tetanus online (Wikipedia, you are my new enemy), and he saw my resolve slipping because I wasn't sure that was the death for me and he took the opportunity to literally heave me into the car and take me to the doctor. Once we got there he had the nerve to ask if he could go to the comic book store next door while I was back in the office. He took one look at my face and decided he would stay in the waiting room. Well, one tetanus shot and three x-rays later, a crazy witch doctor from somewhere in Africa told me "I haf to cut tis open! Tis will not heal!" I said "Liar! It is almost healed already you crazy fake doctor!" But I didn't really, because no matter what Kelly says, I actually am a pretty nice person. She said there was something black in the cut on the x-ray and she had to get it out or my foot would shrivel up and fall off. She numbed it up, which was painful. Who sticks a huge needle into someone's foot and then wiggles it around just for spite!? I think maybe she was a mind-reading witch doctor, so she knew what I was calling her in my head. Then she cut the flap off and dug around for awhile and I was crying and she told me to buck up. Then she said, "Oh! Nevermind, there was nothing in there. That was remarkably clean! It was just the scab I saw on the x-ray." Then I strangled her. In my mind. In real life I limped out to the waiting room with my "Contusion on foot" paperwork and shot Kelly a look of death for taking me to the crap-doctor from The Simpsons...only African style (Why oh why couldn't I have gone to Dr. Hibbert?). He is so lucky he wasn't at the comic book store because he would have had to walk home after I roared off in the car without him, and he would have been locked out of the house for a few days. He is also lucky he didn't spontaneously combust from that look I sent his way. I had taken that day off work (a Friday) because we were supposed to go to Philadelphia that weekend, but I was in no shape for walking so we stayed home. When the numbing wore off my foot hurt, but my arm hurt worse. Tetanus shots are so freaking horrible! My mom actually told me a story that illustrates in nicely if any of you have forgotten the pain (I certainly hadn't even though my last tetanus shot had been nearly 20 years previous when I was 5, which is why I was so reluctant to get another one in the first place. On to my mom's story:): when she was 10 she fell through a window and <u>cut up her left arm</u> really bad and had to get a whole bunch of stitches. She also got a <u>tetanus shot in her right arm</u>. She said that she was doing everything <u>left-handed</u> for the next couple days because the arm with 20 stitches hurt less than the one she got the tetanus jab in. Yeah...it's that bad. (Update: she actually wrote about that experience on her own blog <a href="http://thegeorgiapages.blogspot.com/2011/11/stitches.html"><u><b>here</b></u></a>.) So I was really whiney and made sure Kelly and my parents knew how extremely miserable I was and Kelly took me shopping. He got me that green teapot I pointed out on the shelf-that-wants-me-dead, some blue nail polish while waiting for my horse pills at the pharmacy (yeah, those on top of everything else. I hate you Dr. African Nick---and no, that is not her real name. Dr. Nick is the aforementioned shady doctor from The Simpsons for those of you who don't watch enough TV) and at TJ Maxx he got me a cool beaded throw pillow for our bed. I also neglected to mention the amazing bench he got me for our anniversary. Thank you Kelly! He also took very good care of me, and only rolled his eyes when he thought I wasn't looking in response to my constant complaints. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--NWnknMH25M/Tm180iu0bxI/AAAAAAAAA4Y/ShJTgw7LZlU/s1600/100_1885.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--NWnknMH25M/Tm180iu0bxI/AAAAAAAAA4Y/ShJTgw7LZlU/s320/100_1885.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">There's the pillow (the white one) and the bench I got for our 2nd anniversary and my artwork and headboard in all their crooked glory. I think I need to "whole. 'nother. level" it out. Well, the pictures used to be straight until the earthquake hit. I still need to straighten everything hanging on our walls after that...except for the shelf that wants to kill me. That thing is SOLID.</td></tr>
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But really, I think my house is trying to kill me. <br />
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Enough milking that story, I healed eventually. And school ended for the year! So this brings us to yet another story: <u>Kevin and Lindsey Get Hitched...and We Flew to Utah To Be There When It Happened:</u><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RQHq8bI_KWk/Tm1x1uS67cI/AAAAAAAAA20/uv8e2kd4nuE/s1600/100_1904.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RQHq8bI_KWk/Tm1x1uS67cI/AAAAAAAAA20/uv8e2kd4nuE/s320/100_1904.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Aw, I think they're in love!</td></tr>
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Kel and I jumped on a plane and headed to Utah. My brother Kevin got married this summer, so we made it a good excuse to go home for two weeks. It was so nice to be with our families, and to be out of Baltimore humidity and into the wonderful dry heat of Utah! We had so much fun. Kevin and Lindsey got married in the Logan Temple and had their wedding luncheon one day.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-66Fy2BZKEaM/Tm1yp8-4U8I/AAAAAAAAA24/WYDcmPGF0YA/s1600/100_1890.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-66Fy2BZKEaM/Tm1yp8-4U8I/AAAAAAAAA24/WYDcmPGF0YA/s320/100_1890.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kelly and me at the Logan Temple waiting for pictures</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DbPmCuh2luU/Tm1yqm3BrEI/AAAAAAAAA28/SSj5dG4I4k8/s1600/100_1897.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DbPmCuh2luU/Tm1yqm3BrEI/AAAAAAAAA28/SSj5dG4I4k8/s320/100_1897.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cami and Kelly, both looking cute.</td></tr>
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The next day they had an open house in Pleasant View that my parents threw. It was supposed to be in our backyard, but it was really windy and rainy, so it got moved to the church cultural hall. I thought it turned out really nice. Good thing, too, since we worked all day on it hanging lights and lanterns and everything.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jCWCnsmkFIo/Tm1y03PmukI/AAAAAAAAA3A/yGUEbyyoNMY/s1600/100_1909.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jCWCnsmkFIo/Tm1y03PmukI/AAAAAAAAA3A/yGUEbyyoNMY/s320/100_1909.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kelly was smart and actually took a few pictures of the open house we put on. However, he didn't check to see if they were blurry or not...but there was an ice cream bar!</td></tr>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JpBdWwrA92w/Tm1y1vGEmQI/AAAAAAAAA3E/Y2FCH4TEFRU/s1600/100_1910.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JpBdWwrA92w/Tm1y1vGEmQI/AAAAAAAAA3E/Y2FCH4TEFRU/s320/100_1910.JPG" width="320" /></a><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_qM1eVK8GcI/Tm1zBapNqMI/AAAAAAAAA3I/F5gmaGlQKH8/s1600/100_1911.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_qM1eVK8GcI/Tm1zBapNqMI/AAAAAAAAA3I/F5gmaGlQKH8/s320/100_1911.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
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It was so much fun to see everyone from the 2nd Ward and from Bountiful. I got told that the movie <i>Freedom Writers</i> reminds them of me...that made me feel bad because teaching here is nothing like that. At all. But it was sweet of everyone to think of me.<br />
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Then we got a day off, and the day after that we went up to Declo, Idaho for the reception at Lindsey's grandparents' house. It was nice not to have to do anything hahaha, but we didn't know anyone so Kelly, Cami, Bryan, and I chilled at a table and talked. On the way home we missed the freeway entrance and didn't get home until 2AM or something, but it was a fun drive.<br />
<br />
<br />
The rest of the trip we had a fun fourth of July at Kelly's parents' house and went canoeing on Pineview Reservoir and saw a great blue heron rookery, which was really cool. And we just generally hung out with the people we love.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-766OYD39160/TnKf9yGTdRI/AAAAAAAAA5A/K9qQNYGGmmo/s1600/2011+6-28-11+Crouches+at+Kevin%2527s+Wedding.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-766OYD39160/TnKf9yGTdRI/AAAAAAAAA5A/K9qQNYGGmmo/s320/2011+6-28-11+Crouches+at+Kevin%2527s+Wedding.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Crouch Family!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2vhGuk9fA0E/Tm19gdqtdDI/AAAAAAAAA4c/dFzlE9JIvu4/s1600/IMG_1060+5x7+%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="228" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2vhGuk9fA0E/Tm19gdqtdDI/AAAAAAAAA4c/dFzlE9JIvu4/s320/IMG_1060+5x7+%25282%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ahern Family!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
It was hard to come home. Especially when we stepped out of the airport and felt the damp air. Humidity, I want to kill you as much as my house wants to kill me.<br />
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<br />
Okay, last story: <u>When We Finally Took Our Trip to Philadelphia That Had Previously Been Held Up by a Witch Doctor and a Tetanus Shot</u><br />
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Yes, in August we finally rescheduled our previously-canceled-due-to-foot-and-arm-pain Philly trip that was supposed to happen in early June. We were able to get a hotel right in the city-center for cheap on Priceline and we just parked our car and walked everywhere. We went to the Franklin Fountain for old-timey ice cream and sodas.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Q1kQyonAb-Y/Tm1zFPi04jI/AAAAAAAAA3M/gsoaj9GIk5o/s1600/100_1925.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Q1kQyonAb-Y/Tm1zFPi04jI/AAAAAAAAA3M/gsoaj9GIk5o/s320/100_1925.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Franklin Fountain Mint Something-or-Other that we fortunately decided to share since it was so huge.</td></tr>
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<br />
Then we walked around Independence Park, and went to the Franklin Institute and saw the huge mummy exhibit (no pictures allowed there). Then we checked into the Marriott.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-X6j1IqdbK6o/Tm1zXt9IomI/AAAAAAAAA3c/76LCSS5Pt4k/s1600/100_1936.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-X6j1IqdbK6o/Tm1zXt9IomI/AAAAAAAAA3c/76LCSS5Pt4k/s320/100_1936.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I can't remember what this was, but it's in Independence Park...same with the next two pics</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-a0ooOOJvKyc/Tm1zLCWKhWI/AAAAAAAAA3Y/ZnKE4oK6OHc/s1600/100_1934.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-a0ooOOJvKyc/Tm1zLCWKhWI/AAAAAAAAA3Y/ZnKE4oK6OHc/s320/100_1934.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gSkwWpqGEG0/Tm1zGN4PE2I/AAAAAAAAA3Q/T9rloaVNwxI/s1600/100_1929.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gSkwWpqGEG0/Tm1zGN4PE2I/AAAAAAAAA3Q/T9rloaVNwxI/s320/100_1929.JPG" width="240" /></a><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-yUbMRQfsf6s/Tm1zs4_wpgI/AAAAAAAAA3g/gXOtTo0t5ZE/s1600/100_1943.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-yUbMRQfsf6s/Tm1zs4_wpgI/AAAAAAAAA3g/gXOtTo0t5ZE/s320/100_1943.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Independence Hall on the outside...yeah, it's under construction.</td></tr>
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The next day we got up early and got breakfast in Reading Market, which is huge and full of cool stuff and good food. Then we went to get tickets to Independence Hall, but they were all gone. They said we could go after 5PM without one, so we went back to Independence Park to see the Liberty Bell, but the line was so long I said "absolutely not" I mean, I like history, but apparently my impatience overrides it. Instead we went to a really old movie theater and saw Midnight in Paris. Then we went back and saw some other things at Independence Park. The line at Independence Hall was outrageous and I put my foot down and said we could go in it next time when we were smart and got tickets early early early in the day. However, the line at the Liberty Bell went way down so we went in there instead.<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-s0tOMr9rK8Q/Tm1zt8Qxh9I/AAAAAAAAA3k/gW-ZQolV9_8/s1600/100_1945.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-s0tOMr9rK8Q/Tm1zt8Qxh9I/AAAAAAAAA3k/gW-ZQolV9_8/s320/100_1945.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Liberty Bell with Kelly and Kelly's pudgy-lookin' wife</td></tr>
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Then we got back to the hotel and rested up a bit and walked in the rain to a Barnes and Noble and browsed around and got some books to cuddle up with later that night. As we meandered back to our hotel, we stopped at the famous LOVE sculpture<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-yK2J2aKz6kw/Tm1zv_vKE6I/AAAAAAAAA3o/ulnYdKWup1M/s1600/100_1946.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-yK2J2aKz6kw/Tm1zv_vKE6I/AAAAAAAAA3o/ulnYdKWup1M/s400/100_1946.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">LOVE in Philly</td></tr>
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<br />
and found this really weird place with a bunch of things like giant dominoes and chess pieces and monopoly things, so we snapped some pictures there and also got some of the local architecture. <br />
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--vvDOFJI-Fc/Tm10GFfkaaI/AAAAAAAAA30/WdwMUqMDJV0/s1600/100_1951.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--vvDOFJI-Fc/Tm10GFfkaaI/AAAAAAAAA30/WdwMUqMDJV0/s320/100_1951.JPG" width="240" /></a><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-q2i57w4uOVQ/Tm10Fa4p3gI/AAAAAAAAA3w/uDpUXFO0ews/s1600/100_1949.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-q2i57w4uOVQ/Tm10Fa4p3gI/AAAAAAAAA3w/uDpUXFO0ews/s320/100_1949.JPG" width="240" /></a><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KUgLPtmpOKE/Tm10BLOImEI/AAAAAAAAA3s/D0Mrk4xaCg0/s1600/100_1948.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KUgLPtmpOKE/Tm10BLOImEI/AAAAAAAAA3s/D0Mrk4xaCg0/s320/100_1948.JPG" width="240" /></a><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TcZR4DXJdbM/Tm10MVwc5HI/AAAAAAAAA4E/XFw_McME7sE/s1600/100_1955.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TcZR4DXJdbM/Tm10MVwc5HI/AAAAAAAAA4E/XFw_McME7sE/s320/100_1955.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">City Hall</td></tr>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wVliuwOg4j8/Tm10X7w03NI/AAAAAAAAA4M/ghGxyAlvO9o/s1600/100_1957.JPG" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wVliuwOg4j8/Tm10X7w03NI/AAAAAAAAA4M/ghGxyAlvO9o/s320/100_1957.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Masonic Temple</td></tr>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6gopd-3xjDA/Tm10IAMWnhI/AAAAAAAAA38/Ek2BKLq5cD8/s1600/100_1953.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6gopd-3xjDA/Tm10IAMWnhI/AAAAAAAAA38/Ek2BKLq5cD8/s320/100_1953.JPG" width="240" /></a><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QJO5jRBX6cU/Tm10KpSbgtI/AAAAAAAAA4A/3iCc66dE5Wk/s1600/100_1954.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QJO5jRBX6cU/Tm10KpSbgtI/AAAAAAAAA4A/3iCc66dE5Wk/s320/100_1954.JPG" width="240" /></a><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TcZR4DXJdbM/Tm10MVwc5HI/AAAAAAAAA4E/XFw_McME7sE/s1600/100_1955.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rX5_-_9sl9Q/Tm10YlouXPI/AAAAAAAAA4Q/V0Dq1KqQcKw/s1600/100_1959.JPG" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rX5_-_9sl9Q/Tm10YlouXPI/AAAAAAAAA4Q/V0Dq1KqQcKw/s320/100_1959.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Marriott Hotel</td></tr>
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<br />
Then we went back to our room and cleaned up and went to an AMAZING restaurant called Chifa. Chef Jose Garces made a super interesting menu there, mixing South/Central American and Asian flavors to make delicious and original masterpieces. It's kind of cool, because the entrees are quite small, so you get 3-4 and share them family style. All of it was really good, but our favorite dish was duck tacos with kimchi on top. It sounds weird, but I think it may be one of the best things I have ever tasted.<br />
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<br />
The next day was Sunday so we had bought some things for breakfast and the 1 1/2 hour drive home the day before at Reading Market. We got up, ate that, watched some TV, checked out, and headed home. It was such a fun trip! It was really nice just to have a getaway with Kelly. It was also nice to be close enough to walk everywhere and not have to drive. I had always had a nasty opinion of Philly since I had Teach For America institute there, and lived there without Kelly for over a month, only two weeks after we had gotten married, but this trip was so fun Philly holds much better memories for me now. I would love to go back and see some more things.<br />
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Did anyone really make it this far in this post? I know it's super-long, but I had a lot to cover. That's most of the big things. Summer was mostly relaxing at home for me. Kelly worked, so I had a lot of alone time to exercise (a tiny bit), read, sleep, clean, watch Nate Berkus, and make stuff, like repainting this recipe box I found at Goodwill for Kelly!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rRIMFEEsouQ/Tm1-PAd3S2I/AAAAAAAAA4k/vlzf6xhw1DE/s1600/100_1962.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rRIMFEEsouQ/Tm1-PAd3S2I/AAAAAAAAA4k/vlzf6xhw1DE/s320/100_1962.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Before: Fresh from the shelves of Goodwill</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DfmM2OIUkOk/Tm1-OeaWoiI/AAAAAAAAA4g/HCOtnXukNxo/s1600/100_1961.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DfmM2OIUkOk/Tm1-OeaWoiI/AAAAAAAAA4g/HCOtnXukNxo/s320/100_1961.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Before: The Inside Edition</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JUoMFTSjfZo/Tm1-RIPP1FI/AAAAAAAAA4o/878TkfwcgJk/s1600/100_1963.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JUoMFTSjfZo/Tm1-RIPP1FI/AAAAAAAAA4o/878TkfwcgJk/s320/100_1963.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">After cleaning, sanding, and many many coats of paint and some hand-painted lettering by moi</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-eTrxh-nVKYU/Tm1-UCmVo-I/AAAAAAAAA4s/9deDFnpp2nA/s1600/100_1966.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="goodwill find, refinish wood" border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-eTrxh-nVKYU/Tm1-UCmVo-I/AAAAAAAAA4s/9deDFnpp2nA/s320/100_1966.JPG" title="Repaint an old wooden box" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">After: The Inside Edition--I seriously love the shiny red paint in there.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fV048OsgZBc/Tm1-U6f4jEI/AAAAAAAAA4w/qsfR8oszNGg/s1600/100_1968.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fV048OsgZBc/Tm1-U6f4jEI/AAAAAAAAA4w/qsfR8oszNGg/s320/100_1968.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One more gratuitous picture of my work. </td></tr>
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<br />
I should have worked on my Hopkins portfolio and those stupid online classes I need to finish up my masters degree, but I didn't do a single thing on any of them this summer. I went back to school on my birthday, although the first week is teachers only. That night Kelly gave me some presents, like the new Jane Eyre movie and a basket for storage in our living room that I love, and took me to a Korean BBQ place for dinner. My mom sent me a Lowe's giftcard so I got the cordless drill I've been wanting.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YzAseU0IF3c/Tm1_YMMb5FI/AAAAAAAAA40/-Div4ieFqRE/s1600/100_1969.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YzAseU0IF3c/Tm1_YMMb5FI/AAAAAAAAA40/-Div4ieFqRE/s320/100_1969.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">24-year-old me, my movie, and my basket</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nyVI7TLOXHY/Tm1_Y-vrE-I/AAAAAAAAA44/TD4DLUshNdY/s1600/100_1970.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nyVI7TLOXHY/Tm1_Y-vrE-I/AAAAAAAAA44/TD4DLUshNdY/s320/100_1970.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My new basket in use holding magazines and our fluffy nap blanket. Oh, and Libby, whose first reaction to my new basket was to bite it.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JEua4nFeKyI/Tm1_bRdlRDI/AAAAAAAAA48/xrc-m6rzccE/s1600/100_1994.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JEua4nFeKyI/Tm1_bRdlRDI/AAAAAAAAA48/xrc-m6rzccE/s320/100_1994.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My new cordless drill! Thanks, Mom!!! I put up a new curtain rod with it yesterday. Kelly was getting frustrated because he had to take this picture about 50 times because apparently the way I actually hold drills makes it look like I'm flipping off the camera...also my face looked weird in a bunch of them. Kinda like how it looks weird in this one.</td></tr>
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I was at school in a teacher meeting when the earthquake hit. It was actually a little hilarious to see all my Easterner colleagues freak out when they realized what was happening. The first two days of school for students were cancelled because of power outages from Hurricane Irene, so that was kind of nice, although our house was without power for five days and a lot of stuff in our fridge went bad, despite my 4 hour quest for ice. Cold showers were getting a little old, so we celebrated a lot when it came back on. But school's going okay so far. I'm teaching U.S. History to one class, Advisory to one class, and World History to three classes, so it's a lot of work to prepare for three different subjects, and my classes are all really big this year. I don't have enough desks for everyone who comes in a few of my classes, and there are still a ton of people absent. My rosters are all around 50 students, which is kind of insanity. But I'm loving my students so far this year. I was dreading school starting, but I think it will be a good school year. Okay, I really am done now. I make no promises, but I am going to try to stay up to date better on here so posts are of a more reasonable length in the future. Okay, Dani out (for real this time).Danihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03259921255145699869noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1252385579403951084.post-77135982643062475272011-09-11T18:09:00.003-06:002013-04-01T00:49:50.141-06:00Ten Years AgoI got on here today to update the world about my summer adventures and all those things I promised to write about in my last post way back in June, but it seemed fitting to start with a 9/11 tribute. After I wrote it, I didn't think I could really switch gears and put my normal sarcasm and annoying "pretend-I'm-awesome,-okay?-snarkiness, and all the fun things I did this summer into the same post...it just didn't seem right, so I'll post that stuff later tonight, but for now I'll just leave you with my thoughts and memories from 10 years ago today<br />
<br />
I noticed on Facebook earlier that a lot of people posted a little something, so I wanted to participate. I remember I came home from marching band at the high school up the street so I could catch my carpool from my house to the jr. high, because I was in 9th grade, so not yet in the high school building. I was upstairs talking to my brother Kevin who was about to head to school too, when we heard my dad downstairs shout "Good Heavens!!!" but we immediately knew there was nothing good about it; it was more a super shocked and horrified exclamation. Kevin and I ran downstairs and saw one of the World Trade Towers smoking on TV and the news person saying that a plane had crashed into it. I remember we were all thinking it was a terrible mistake. Did the pilot fall asleep? Did he lose control of the plane? How did this happen? Then I saw a little silver glint flying the the air. At the last second I realized it was another airplane; then it crashed into the other tower. I will never forget that feeling sinking in deep that this was no accident. It was an attack. I remember watching and watching replays of that and listening to the newscasters talking. It was probably only 15 minutes or so before my carpool picked me up to go to school. I don't remember the ride, but I remember when I got to school listening to the students who knew about it tell the students who hadn't heard yet, and hearing about the other airplanes crashing into the Pentagon and in Pennsylvania. Our principal got on the intercom and told teachers to turn their TVs off and get back to teaching and this had nothing to do with us, but only one of my 7 classes didn't have the TV on that day. I remember Mr. Toponce, my Geography teacher, telling us that our principal was an idiot and this has everything to do with us, that this was our country, our people, and our history in the making. I watched the South tower collapse in Mr. Nelson's Science class.<br />
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That evening the youth at my church were putting on a dinner for the elderly people in our ward. We had been planning it for awhile and most of the food was already made, so we couldn't really cancel it. It was actually a wonderful (though sorrowful) experience for me, and I'm sure for many other teenagers there that day. We were able to listen to people who lived through Pearl Harbor talk about that experience, and how the country and their lives were changed by that, and how it would probably be similar for my generation and 9/11. Later in the evening some youth were starting to act dumb, thinking back on it, it was probably their way of coping with catastrophe, but Kevin and I couldn't take it anymore, so we went outside and just walked laps around the church quietly talking to each other about what had happened. I remember my family was a little financially tight at the time, and as we were walking Kevin brought up that he was working as a janitor at the high school, and he knew I needed a graphing calculator for my math class and he wanted to buy it with his money instead of having my parents buy it. We went out and got it that night. It's weird how vividly you remember small details of days like that. I don't know if I've ever written all of this down. I used to be an avid journal writer, but I don't think I started until my sophomore year of high school. I stopped when I started teaching because I was so busy with other things, which is sad, but honestly, my first year of teaching was so horrible I don't think I want to remember it. Though it was also my first year of marriage, and I <i>do</i> want to remember that part. Anyway, my writing has wandered all over today. Sorry. This turned out much much longer than I anticipated. I guess the point of all this is I just want to say that my prayers are with the families of victims and rescuers lost that day, and also the soldiers subsequently lost because of the events of September 11, 2001.Danihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03259921255145699869noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1252385579403951084.post-55234913874855788762011-06-16T10:45:00.009-06:002013-04-01T00:38:37.113-06:00Artsy FartsyKelly and I have decided that we're going to stay in our apartment for at least another year. We have been looking at other places to move, especially places closer to my job, but alas, we have decided to renew our lease for year three in B'more. Since we're staying here, and since I've had more free time since the school year is wrapping up (seriously, I haven't seen a student at school for the last two and a half weeks. Tomorrow is the last day, though!) I have had some free time for making our apartment feel even more like our home, especially in the case of remedying some huge white blank walls. I am pretty proud of some artwork I was able to DIY so I thought I'd brag on my blog. Woohoo!<br />
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First, I saw this picture on Sherry Petersik's Pinterest Page (heh heh, alliteration):<br />
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LmnFQiPwywc/Tfo7oIFIbxI/AAAAAAAAA1w/f5D0hx3M_l4/s1600/Book%2Bart%2Binspiration.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5618869045647929106" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LmnFQiPwywc/Tfo7oIFIbxI/AAAAAAAAA1w/f5D0hx3M_l4/s400/Book%2Bart%2Binspiration.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 355px;" /></a>For those of you who are not my husband or mom you probably have not heard me say "On that blog I love..." but I say it all the time, because I love the blog <a href="http://www.blogger.com/www.younghouselove.com">younghouselove.com</a> which is written by John and Sherry Petersik. Anyway, so I saw this and Sherry's suggestion to run pages through a printer. So I did. AND ENDED UP WITH THIS! (Unfortunately I am not a professional photographer like whoever took my inspiration picture. It looks better in person, I promise.)<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-o8USQ789gyQ/TfpG9mL7siI/AAAAAAAAA2I/oP1UIsvM2No/s1600/Easter%2Banniversary%2BDIY%2Bmadness%2B045.jpg"><img alt="book art, page art, print on book page art" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5618881509134676514" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-o8USQ789gyQ/TfpG9mL7siI/AAAAAAAAA2I/oP1UIsvM2No/s400/Easter%2Banniversary%2BDIY%2Bmadness%2B045.jpg" style="display: block; height: 210px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" title="easy DIY art" /></a><br />
Cool, right? I just used pages from an old old book from the Baltimore Book Thing (where you go on Saturday and Sunday and get any books you want for FREE!) that we had lying around waiting to go back, and Googled for pictures I liked or that represented us in some way. Then I used my amazing computer skills to combine some together, erase parts I didn't want, make things darker/lighter, and so on. So I ended up with a butterfly because Kelly likes bugs, a teapot because I collect them (ok, I <span style="font-style: italic;">want</span> to collect them), a calla lily because that's what my bridal bouquet was made of, the Delicate Arch as a representation of our Utah roots, and the hot air balloon one has the Baltimore skyline below it because, well, we live here. As for the birds on the telephone wire, I don't know what possessed me to use it (it's a cool picture) but I definitely wasn't thinking of it as an artistic representation of my morbid fear of birds. Well, I guess that's what it is now. Also, it's all printed on pages from a history book, so that's appropriate for history major/teacher people like Kelly and me. Anyway, if you are thinking of doing something similar <a href="http://etc.usf.edu/clipart/index.htm">this website</a> has a lot of basic pen-and-ink-drawn-looking clip art on it. Also Google images is amazing because you can narrow you search by color, size, etc. Also, can I just say that since I had that frame lying around from my college days, this project was $0. Sah-ah-weet!<br />
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But hold on, that's not all. I also fell in love with these from Crate and Barrel (also introduced to me by my Young House Love BFFs--I mean, by the fine authors of Young House Love who I have never actually met).<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vlwDTcz_HKI/Tfo-_ifxqfI/AAAAAAAAA2A/qdPE5H7VJdg/s1600/ClassicalSymtrySet6.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5618872746410879474" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vlwDTcz_HKI/Tfo-_ifxqfI/AAAAAAAAA2A/qdPE5H7VJdg/s400/ClassicalSymtrySet6.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 258px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
But what sucks is they cost $70. EACH. Um...no way is a cheapo like me spending $210 for half of them. I want three for above our bed because our picture frame that lived there was cute, but way too small for the space. So I had an idea.<br />
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First, I got three 12x12" frames then I got a bunch of 12x12 paper in red, black, grey, and white (all from Michael's, where Kelly works so we got a discount).<br />
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My plan was to trace a design based on one of the C&B pieces onto one piece and then use an Exact-O knife to make it into a stencil. Then I was going to sponge on white paint on red, black, or grey paper to make it look like the C&B version, but better matched to our bedroom's color scheme. However, once I got them all Exact-O'ed they looked awesome by themselves, so instead of using them as stencils, I just laid them over the top of different colored paper and popped 'em in the frames. I thought a stencil would be easier, because then if I messed up, since they are all repeating patterns, I could just just move the stencil around and get 'er done. But I got my Exact-O on and I rocked at it! See?<br />
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cDwX7PHL2tc/TfpG-C87dfI/AAAAAAAAA2Q/NKtfkIy2fMo/s1600/Easter%2Banniversary%2BDIY%2Bmadness%2B068.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5618881516856374770" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cDwX7PHL2tc/TfpG-C87dfI/AAAAAAAAA2Q/NKtfkIy2fMo/s400/Easter%2Banniversary%2BDIY%2Bmadness%2B068.jpg" style="display: block; height: 144px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" title="DIY art" /></a><br />
Anyway, thanks for letting me blog brag. I was just so proud. I'm actually a little sad the Crate & Barrel-inspired ones are in our bedroom because no one gets to see them except me and Kelly...and now all you guys. I feel better now.<br />
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P.S. I will post a wide-shot of the bedroom later--the bed wasn't made and it was also covered in stuff like the level, hammer, measuring tape, etc, and I was standing on it when I took this picture. I must say it looks pretty cool, but now it's obvious that we hung the headboard before we bought a level, so that will have to be fixed someday. Also, I will regale you with adventure stories of attempting to hang a shelf which then nearly killed me when I was putting books on it, a vicious attack from a nail in our apartment and subsequent trip to the doctor for a tetanus shot, followed by Kelly guilt-purchases for me for making me go to said doctor. Be excited.<br />
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P.P.S. Since this is about art, I thought I'd share some watercolors Kelly and I did of each other awhile back. I can tell Kelly really thinks I'm beautiful.<br />
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2WZkRLXTXnI/TfpRYpTQdSI/AAAAAAAAA2w/v5xn9rjxbAs/s1600/Easter%2Banniversary%2BDIY%2Bmadness%2B006a.jpg"><img alt="amateur watercolor portraits" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5618892968943449378" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2WZkRLXTXnI/TfpRYpTQdSI/AAAAAAAAA2w/v5xn9rjxbAs/s400/Easter%2Banniversary%2BDIY%2Bmadness%2B006a.jpg" style="display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 309px;" title="family activity" /></a><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Y_Wnw4NrYYw/TfpQUJqDh9I/AAAAAAAAA2Y/QUfaRrgWhto/s1600/Easter%2Banniversary%2BDIY%2Bmadness%2B006.jpg"><br /></a><br />
I also did one of Libby, and when I hung it up she kept looking at it. Coincidence? I think probably.<br />
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-G3f1jIZmfYY/TfpQU2KeEvI/AAAAAAAAA2o/PgbJry1yPmQ/s1600/Easter%2Banniversary%2BDIY%2Bmadness%2B008.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5618891804165149426" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-G3f1jIZmfYY/TfpQU2KeEvI/AAAAAAAAA2o/PgbJry1yPmQ/s400/Easter%2Banniversary%2BDIY%2Bmadness%2B008.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 300px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9kbIApmzD6w/TfpQUc43B6I/AAAAAAAAA2g/w7BK0HJsrqA/s1600/Easter%2Banniversary%2BDIY%2Bmadness%2B007.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5618891797380401058" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9kbIApmzD6w/TfpQUc43B6I/AAAAAAAAA2g/w7BK0HJsrqA/s400/Easter%2Banniversary%2BDIY%2Bmadness%2B007.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 300px;" /></a>Danihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03259921255145699869noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1252385579403951084.post-78257742537839459242011-05-26T21:25:00.004-06:002011-06-16T13:02:51.641-06:00End of the LineToday I had my EOY conversation with my PD (see my <a href="http://danimariesthoughts.blogspot.com/2010/08/hey-look-i-diy-ed-again.html">point </a><a href="http://danimariesthoughts.blogspot.com/2010/08/hey-look-i-diy-ed-again.html">about acronyms</a>!? If you aren't in TFA that didn't even make sense to you!) Translation: I had my End of Year conversation with my Program Director today. That's right, my two year commitment with Teach For America is coming to a close. I was reading back through some of my posts and it looks like I have a very negative view of teaching (mostly because every time I write on here I am on some sort of break and thanking my lucky stars that I don't have to go to work). I just want to rectify this. Teaching is the most difficult thing I have ever done in my life. Correction: my FIRST year of teaching is the hardest thing I've ever done in my life. Actually it was that combined with Kelly coming home from his 2 year mission in Uruguay, us getting married two months later, then hopping in our overloaded Ford Escort two days after that and driving across the country to a place where we had no home, no jobs, and no family. I'm not saying being married to Kelly is hard (it's the best!) just all of that smooshed together was uber stressful. I'm not even going to get into my evil assistant principal. I am trying to forgive and forget, so you can ask my mom and Kelly about those horror stories.<br /><br />Anyway, what I was really trying to get into in this post is that I don't hate teaching. I just needed some breathers during that school year, and definitely appreciated every chance I got to not teach, cower in fear of my ass. principal (yes, that particular abbreviation was intentional), and take 2 seconds away from lesson planning to spend time with my wonderful, adorable, loving husband who saved my life and sanity last year. I hated my job last year, but it's not because of my students, or what my job was. I was actually quite successful with my students, and I love every single one of them, even A the corn chips kid. (He and many other students from last year still come and eat lunch with me.) I was horrified by the terrible organization (rather complete lack thereof) of my school and administration. I was literally terrorized by one school leader, and saw many chances for awesome students to do great things crushed by the inexperience, ignorance, or simple spite of the administration. It was heart breaking to go to work every day and work my hardest to help my students graduate, only to find that due to poor organization they had already passed my class at another school, or were not allowed into that chemistry class they needed to graduate, or kicked out of school for standing up for a classmate to ...I'm sure you can guess who.<br /><br />Fortunately, our whole administration from last year has been sacked. Our new administration is leaps and bounds better, more supportive, and (imagine this) they actually care about the students at our school. We are having our first graduation this year!<br /><br />I keep getting off topic, but what I am really saying is this: teaching is so rewarding. I love my students. I love the insights they have and all the things they teach me. I love Baltimore, I love Baltimore Liberation HS, I love History, I love TFA (never thought I'd be saying that 2 years ago). I just want the world to know that the achievement gap is real. My students do not get the same opportunities as other, wealthier students in our nation, simply because of the zip code in their home address. I have never had textbooks in my class. Most of my students never used Microsoft Word before this year, and we had very few opportunities to use our tiny computer lab to practice. These students have good parents who love them, care about their children's educations and futures, and even read to them since they were knee-high to an ant. Parental involvement is NOT the problem causing the achievement gap. Bad schools are. Even worse administrations are. Uncaring teachers are. Social promotion is. Chronic absenteeism with no consequences is. If you live in Utah and go to Weber High like I did, don't listen when people tell you Utah has horrible schools. You are lucky to go to a school with SMART boards, computer labs, projectors, enough paper, textbooks, markers, colored pencils, lots of electives like art class, band, choir, shop, sports teams, student government, a school store, a decent cafeteria, an attendance monitor, counselors, and sex ed. Take advantage of the opportunities given to you. My students don't have these things. My job is to give them a good education anyway. I am not the best one for the job, and I always feel like I am letting them down. They deserve so much more than what life has given them. I am overwhelmed by my job. I love my job. I am saddened by my job. I am angry at so much of what I see at my job--that the system has chronically failed my students. Teach For America is trying to fix these problems all over the nation, and while it is a big step in the right direction, it alone will never fix the problems plaguing our nation's educational system. But I do believe that its alumni who go on to start non-profits and schools, and move into school leadership, public policy, and politics are passionate people who have seen the problem first hand. It is time educators have a say in educational law. Teach For America (especially my PD Kate) supported me at school, helped me become a better teacher, and taught me that this enormous problem can be fixed one day.<br /><br />I guess what I'm trying to say is this: thank you TFA, thank you Kate, thank you Baltimore City students for helping me become a better person. Thank you for stretching me to my limits and then some. Thank you for making me grateful for my education and opportunities that I didn't do anything to earn. It's time I pay up. Even though this is the end of my two year TFA commitment, I will be in the classroom next year. BCPSS, you have not heard the end of Mrs. A!Danihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03259921255145699869noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1252385579403951084.post-70344335444072233332011-04-01T22:14:00.003-06:002013-04-01T00:51:39.273-06:00Corn ChipsI was thinking about this experience the other day and it made me laugh inside. I thought I'd share:<br />
Last year I had a student in class, A, who was yelling at another student to leave, even though it was his class too. Then A started yelling at me to kick the student out. His big complaint was that he "smelled like corn chips." I was getting very exasperated at this point, because I wanted the student to stay, didn't smell anything (let alone corn chips), was frustrated at how insulting A was being, and embarrassed for the second student. I asked A to stop and to apologize and he refused, so I just leaned in real close and whispered, "Somebody should tell you what you smell like." I really didn't mean anything by it; I mostly wanted him to shut up and maybe think about how embarrassed he'd be if the roles were reversed. A, however, literally freaked and started asking all his neighbors "What do I smell like!? What do I smell like!?<br />
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I win.Danihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03259921255145699869noreply@blogger.com2