for my momma

Hi.

Yep, I'm back. :) It's been a little busy lately. And I love blogging, but the crap-ass laptop I currently have makes it take a good hour and a half to post. And when I get to use J's desktop (technically it's "ours"), I have pressing things to accomplish before he steals it back. Something about "papers" and "grading papers" and "doing well in school," or something like that. The nerve. ;) (really, he offers it up all the time, but I don't want to keep him from that stuff.)

All 2 of you can thank my mother for saying at Thanksgiving: "Why don't you update your blog anymore? I keep going to read it and there's nothing. I really liked reading it!" Leave it to good old mom-guilt. ;)

So, here's the bullet rundown of our life since, oh, like September or so (save the one election post):

• lots of school. J's doing great-- presented at a couple of conferences this fall, and we have REALLY REALLY exciting conferences to go to next year. THRILLED.
  
• still loving my new(er) job. (It's been 6 months, so not so new anymore.) a little scared about the economy, but my company has never had layoffs before. let's pray now isn't when they decide to start. for now, all is very very well.
• Rosie gets in trouble every 5 minutes, but we love her and couldn't imagine life without her. She recently got spayed and scared the crap out of all of us when she ate a starfish. She's doing okay now, though, so no harm no foul. That girl sure knows how to get into trouble, but she's equally good at being a sweet little lump of love. It's hard to stay mad at her for long.
• Bailey is great, loving having a sister, still getting lots of love without her jumping in his face. He's such a sweetie.
• I traveled all over in October and November: the lake to shop with mom + sis, Chicago for J's conference and spend time with the sibs, Chicago for an IKEA run! with the ine/ene/eens, to the west coast for work, to OH-IO for turkey day weekend (after actual turkey day with my family). That was a whole lot of running.
• J turned 29. pictures will follow. he hates that I like to remind him he's in his 30th year. :)
• tree is up, lights going up this weekend, planning an all-day shopping blitz to start/finish our shopping tomorrow.
  
• Thrilled about all-day shopping tomorrow b/c after the lake + downtown Chicago shopping + IKEA... well. Any of you that know me can guess that was a bit much. So I've been shopping free for about a month. I'm ready to go all-out tomorrow, all for other people. :) SO FUN!!!

That's all I've got for now... I'll try to do a big picture post soon to catch up...
J

VOTE! (and randomness...)

long time, no update. I know I owe like 16 posts... I'll get to it, I swear... :)

We voted today... did you? If not, get your butt out there!

I stood in line for 2 hrs this morning... and J went at 10:30 and it took 20 minutes. :P

My wonderful husband knows how much I love election day, so this is what was waiting for me when I got home:


good man, huh?

off to watch election coverage... GOOOOO OBAMA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

dog update:

Yesterday Rosie and Bailey snuggled for the first time! And by snuggled, I of course mean that while Bailey was laying down, Rosie decided to rest her head on his hip, and they didn't fight. They actually stayed like that for a good 10 minutes. Progress, people! That's what I'm talking about!!

wild and crazy saturday

In an effort to be more adventurous, J and I have started trying to go out at least once a weekend to a new restaurant that is local and somewhere fun in our city. Last night, we tried a local "gastropub" in... well... on a block that is going through some revitalization.

I didn't think to break out my camera while we were there, but here are some pics, pilfered from the internet:

The interior of the joint, and what you can't see are the big screens.

What I had for dinner, though mine looked a little more appetizing (less greasy) than this...

The menu is pretty simple, with only a few choices, but good. Not a "WOW" in our book, but the rockin' beer selection and fact that they had the Mizzou game (on pay-per-view) on were good enough for us! :)

Our plans only included dinner, but on the way, we took a slight detour to drive past the the EMHE house happening near us. Because the streets were packed, and there was no close parking, we gave up, but I'm looking for an update from you, Mo! :)

On the way back, we happened to pass a local brewery where there was an event going on. After dinner, we figured why not check it out! Surprizingly, it was a free event. We grabbed a couple of beers and perused the creations showcased in the parking lot. (Please note, yet again, craptastic cell phone camera...)

The event may be free, but the beer sure isn't!

J, enjoying his first sip of Oktoberfest

Artwork in my favorite tent

The artist worked in mixed medium, and had these funny little pieces. This one cracked me up.
It says: "Aunt Marla from Milwaukee always sent the best gifts."

After we finished our beers and saw what there was to see (including some amazing, but spendy, handmade jewelery), we decided to go inside and check out the Schl*fly Shop for fun.

We didn't plan on buying anything, but when J saw this t-shirt, he had to have it.
the front...
...and the back, complete with an "unofficial" cardinal, letting you know where Schl*fly products are sold
at Busch Stadium! :)

Since it's the end of the season, we also couldn't leave without a six pack of my favorite beer, the Raspberry Hefewiezen. MMMMMMM!
It's a summer brew, and reminds me of our wedding because it was on-tap when we had our awesome rehearsal dinner at the Tap Room (Schl*fly's other location downtown).

We hope to do things like this more often. What a great Saturday night!

okay, one more.

Thanks to the wonderful Kelly, we do have a picture from Saturday night, and for all you puppy-crazies, they're in it too:

MIZZOU-RAH!!

3lbs, 14oz

That's how big Rosie is now. Since the last time we were at the vet (three weeks ago) she's gained a pound! She's still tiny as can be, but we're glad to see her gaining some weight. I shouldn't be surprised, with the amount of food she eats, but she's so LITTLE! :) We may have another 6-pounder on our hands. ;)

cuteness.

So I know why I write this blog. But I know why the three of you read this blog. And they're not the same reason.



It's not for the house pictures (or lack thereof). It's not because our lives are fascinating enough to keep you coming back for more.



It's the puppies. Admit it. They're the real draw.



So for all of you drooling for more puppy pictures, I now present Bailey and Rosie, A Sunday Evening. (Please note I did not mean to favor a certain dog, but one of them kept making a "for real, mom? Knock it off with the camera already and get my sister away from me" face...)

Under the Table and Chewing

I'll get you!

Don't forget me!! I'm cute too!!

That's right. You WILL rub my tummy. You can't resist my fat-tummied puppy charm!

I'm so damn adorable. Check out my ponytail.

A rare moment of kissing (not biting!) her brother. Bailey still doesn't love it.

(We have to hold them to get them to be this close together.)

So there you go. Your weekly dose of cuteness. Happy now? ;)