Mosquitos are trying to kill me.

It's true, friends.  Every time I step outside, no matter what I'm wearing, they seem to attack my feet and ankles.  This weekend was no exception...I have no less than 8 bites on my feet, INCLUDING on my toes!  Boo.  Last night, I was slathering hydrocortisone cream on like it was going out of style...but still itching.  Matt suggested clear nail polish, so pretty soon I was covering my feet/ankles in nail polish.  But I woke up this morning and I was super itchy again, so I put on some calamine lotion and THEN covered it in clear nail polish.

Guess what?  Still itchy.  Do you have any fool-proof remedies for itchy bug bites?  If so, pass them my way!  I'm miserable over here!!!

Adventures in Movie-Going

On Friday night, Matt and I went to the drive-in movie theater for what seemed to be a movie marathon - three movies in a row!  And yes, somehow we made it through all of them, even though the first one didn't start until almost 9:00pm!!!  We got there (way too) early, as it turned out, at around 7:45.  We were under the impression that the first movie would start at 8:20ish, but...we were grossly mistaken.  So, like any good blogger, I took some high-quality Blackberry photos.  

Here's Matt, enjoying...sitting in the car.  

View out the side window - this place can accomodate a LOT of cars!  Those were little speakers we could hook on the car window.  The sound also came through the radio, something that turned out to be not a very good idea for me.

View out the windshield, facing the screen!  
And my favorite photo of the evening, my boys enjoying themselves.  Kind of.  We brought Oscar along because...well, why not.  We put the back seats down so he had the whole trunk area to relax and stretch out.  I'm pretty sure he spent most of the time trying to figure out why we were sitting in a car for 6-7 hours without actually going anywhere.  
The first movie was Year One.  It was definitely your typical Jack Black/Michael Cera movie, but there were some funny parts.  The second movie was District 9.  I realize that this movie has gotten a lot of hype, and I had heard that it was really good.  Sadly, I pretty much hated it.  I realize that they were trying to make a statement about some humanitarian stuff (I won't give too much away in case you haven't seen it yet, and are planning to), but I just thought it was...stupid.  Plus, shortly after the movie started, we realized that my car battery had died, and I spent most of the movie worrying about that.  And that is why it's a bad idea to keep the radio on when the car is off for hours on end.  Add to that the fact that it was raining on and off, so we kept rolling the windows up and down.  Also, I have a pretty bad car battery (it died last winter because it was...cold...), so I definitely need to get a new one before it gets cold this winter.  

When District 9 ended, Matt started walking around to all the surrounding cars, trying to find jumper cables.  Yes, we have jumper cables, but they are in Matt's truck...which was, of course, at home.  Sigh.  One guy had a big truck, and said he didn't have jumper cables but he had some copper wires that he wanted to try and hotwire my car with.  Ummm...?  Matt was a bit concerned and said he would feel bad if this guy electrocuted himself, so he kept looking.  Eventually, SOMEBODY had jumper cables and we got a jump.  Phew!  

At that point, we needed to leave the car running for awhile to help charge the battery, so we stayed for the third - and last - movie, The Ugly Truth.  I had already seen this movie with Lisa on our roadtrip, but it was so funny I was looking forward to seeing it again.  Definitely see this movie!  Warning:  it is raunchy, but hilarious.

The last movie ended after 2am, which is way later than I've stayed out in a long time.  Yes, I know that's probably pretty sad, but what can I say...I just enjoy my sleep!  So, there you have it...our night at the drive-in!  I feel like it's almost a rite of passage, going to the drive-in and watching three movies in a row.  

If you have a drive-in theater near you, GO!  We packed a car full of snacks and had a blast.  Besides, you know, the whole car dying thing.  :)

TGIF!

Happy Friday, my friends! Tomorrow is sleep-in day...I am so, so thrilled. :)

I had such a good Thursday! First, I had an okay day at work...and then, I had a friend blind date with a girl that my friend Jon met over the summer. She is a 2nd year grad student in Matt's program, and interned in DC over the summer at the Kennedy Center. We had a great time talking about DC and Bloomington and public policy and all that fun stuff.

Yesterday evening, Matt and I went to a big picnic for his grad program. There were a ton of people there, and I've never seen so much (free!) food. Hamburgers, veggie burgers, hot dogs, brats, lots of rice and beans, baked beans, potato salad, and other yummies. I got to meet some of the people in his program, and just hang out. It was so much fun being social!

I know I have mentioned this (countless times) before, but...it has been difficult for me to make friends here in Bloomington. Not because people aren't friendly, but just because I don't come in contact with many new people. I sit in my office all day long, meet with kids who hate school, and then go home. I don't have the opportunity to interact with the teachers here at school, or any other young-ish people, really. I have become really close friends with my coworker, Becky, and this summer I made a great new friend, Alyssa. Hi, Alyssa!

So anyway, it was really great getting out, being social, and meeting so many new people. On Saturday, we're going to go on a tour of the local Upland Brewery with Matt's program, as well, so that should be fun!

Anyone have any fun weekend plans? Matt and I may go to the drive-in theater tonight, and I'm pretty excited. They are showing three movies, back-to-back, and tickets are only $7! Tonight, they are showing Year One, with Jack Black and Michael Cera, District 9, and The Ugly Truth. I have already seen The Ugly Truth, but it was so hilarious that I am looking forward to seeing it again! Tomorrow morning, I'd like to go to the farmer's market, and on Sunday...we will probably relax. Matt starts classes on Monday, and then he will officially be a full-time student! Well, at least until January.

So, that's what's going on with us. What's going on with you?

Blah blah blah.

Happy Thursday, my friends! It's almost the weekend!!! Excitement! :) I, for one, am ready to SLEEP IN past when the sun rises. Every day has gotten more and more difficult, and that's just not any fun.

I'm not feeling very creative today, and I have quite a bit of work to do, so I'm going to do this fun little relationship survey dealy I have seen on several other blogs. Enjoy!

♥ What are your middle names? Marie and Michael. I dropped Marie when we got married, though, and I still miss it. :( My middle name is now my maiden name, Liberson.

♥ How long have you been together? 3.5 years total, married for almost 10 months.

♥ How long did you know each other before you started dating? We really didn't. We met on a blind date and were pretty much inseperable from that day on.

♥ Who asked whom out? Matt asked me out. Our mutual friends, Jenn and Ryan, had spoken to me about him several times - we both lived in DC, so they thought Matt and I should meet. But when I discovered that Matt was a bomb tech in the Army, I wasn't thrilled...I didn't really feel like getting involved with somebody who blows stuff up for a living. But one day, I had an email from him in my inbox, and we made plans for dinner, and...you know what they say. The rest is history.

♥ Whose siblings do/did you see the most? Definitely his, mostly because they just live around 20 minutes away. Oh, and also, I don't actually have any siblings. :)

♥ Do you have any children together? Not yet!

♥ What about pets? Our hairy furbaby, Oscar. Oscar is a 3 y/o Siberian Husky/Australian Shepherd mix. He is the BEST.

♥ Did you go to the same school? No. As I'm sure you are all well aware of, I went to the University of Michigan for undergrad and grad school. Matt went to Belmont University in Nashville for undergrad, and is going to Indiana University now for grad school.

♥ Who is the smartest? I'm smarter when working with people, and Matt's smarter when arguing. :) He has a degree in philosophy, for better or worse...

♥ Who is more sensitive? Definitely me!

♥ Where do you eat out most as a couple? We don't eat out very much anymore, which is a bummer. In DC/Alexandria, our fave spot was sushi at Yamazato. We also loved Southside 818 for ribs and bbq and whatnot. Yummy! Here in Bloomington, we have had sushi at Japanee (no website) a few times, and we love Farm Bloomington - delish!

♥ Where is the furthest you two have traveled together as a couple? We went to Costa Rica for our honeymoon last November.

♥ Who has the craziest exes? Who knows. I'd say me, but Matt has never told me anything about his exes, ever! So who really knows?!

♥ Who has the worst temper? Matt. It's not so much a temper, but he can be really moody.

♥ Who does the cooking? Me! I love to cook and I do it pretty much every day. Matt will cook once in a blue moon if we're craving one of his special dishes (i.e. casseroles!).

♥ Who is more social? Definitely me.

♥ Who is the neat-freak? Definitely NOT me. Matt is way neater than I am!

♥ Who is more stubborn? Both of us! But I think Matt might win out a little bit. Not sure though.

♥ Who hogs the bed? Sometimes me, sometimes him. Lately, he's been taking over my side of the bed whenever I get up to pee. Then I have to deal with him kneeing me in the leg as I huddle on the edge of my side. Not fun.

♥ Who wakes up earlier? I always wake up first. On the weekends, I often wake up a good hour or so before Matt, and I curl up on the couch and read.

♥ Where was your first date? Yamazato sushi and spice in Alexandria, VA. Exactly two years later, that's where we got engaged, as well!

♥ Who has the bigger family? Definitely Matt! He has four older sisters, 8 nieces and nephews, and lots of aunts and uncles and cousins. I am an only child, and have a grand total of two aunts and two uncles. And 5 cousins.

♥ Do you get flowers often? Shortly after we started dating, Matt surprised me with flowers at work - a big bouquet of sunflowers. And then for Valentine's Day 2008, Matt was out of the country for work and he again sent me flowers to work. Those are my only flowers so far...they may be few and far between, but they have always been so, so special.

♥ How do you spend the holidays? With family.

♥ Who is more jealous? Neither of us are jealous...we know we have nothing to worry about!

♥ How long did it take to get serious? We were really serious right from the start, but it took awhile to say the big L word. 8 months, to be exact!

♥ Who eats more? Matt.

♥ Who does/did the laundry? We each do our own laundry, for now at least!

♥ Who’s better with the computer? Usually me. Despite the fact that Matt is good with bombs, he is terrible with technology.

♥ Who drives when you are together? We trade off.

Well, that was kind of fun. I hope you enjoyed this little peek into our super boring lives! :)

Fantasy Wish List

I realized that yesterday's post was sooooo boring. In fact, I basically just said the same thing I wrote on Friday. I apologize. To make up for it, I have decided to post my fantasy wish list for fall. Putting this together was LOADS of fun...and while it may be a fantasy list, please note that I do still want each and every item on this list and, if you contact me, I will provide my sizes, mailing address, and colors of choice. :) With our one year annivesary, Christmas, and my birthday all coming up in a row, I figure I'm bound to end up with at least one of these things...right??? Right???? :)

Item number 1: a Greyhound from a Greyhound rescue organization. I would love for Oscar to have a little (big?) friend, and I LOVE Greyhounds. This one in particular looks like a cutie. You can read more about Greyhound rescue here.

Item number 2: A diamond Tiffany Key pendant. I realize that these are kind of trendy right now, but I also think they are absolutely gorgeous. The Tiffany Fleur de Lis pendant is a little steep at $2,975, so...
...I guess I'll settle for Item number 3, the Tiffany Crown Key pendant in silver, which is much more reasonably priced at $225. Je t'aime.
Ahhhh. Item number 4. The beautiful Hobo Bodega Bay bag in Mocha. You can call this perfect fall bag your own for a mere $388.
Item number 5: The perfect fall boot, brought to you by J. Crew. Naturally. They had some similar boots last year that I lusted after. These are called the Nottingham tall leather high-heel boots, which I think look perfect in "pony brown" for $325.
Ahhhh sweaters. Don't you just love sweater weather? It is my my favorite! Per usual, I am in love with several Anthropologie sweaters this year. Item number 6 is called the High Speed Cardigan, $128.
Item number 7, also Anthropologie, is so fun and swingy looking. I bet it would look great over some skinny jeans and my Item number 5 perfect boots. This is the Puckered and Pleated Cardigan, $128.
And my last dream sweater from Anthropologie, Item number 8, is the Gentle Current Cardigan, $88.
Item number 9: An iPhone! I really, really want one. But alas, until Verizon comes out with the iPhone, I will continue to lust after everyone else's.
Item number 10: A Macbook Pro. My four year-old Powerbook is seriously on the fritz, and I'm not sure how much longer it's going to last. I am definitely going to need a new computer before Matt heads to the desert, so I will be able to communicate with him whenever. Aaaaand last but not least, Item number 11. A Volvo XC90. Hey, I said this was a fantasy wish list, right??! I love these and think it would make a fantastic Mom-mobile when the time comes...don't you? I, however, would like it in silver. :)
So, there you have it! My fantasy wish list for fall. I would also like to add a few pairs of Louboutins and pretty much everything from J. Crew, which I absolutely cannot afford at all. Is it just me, or does J. Crew get more and more expensive every year?

Anyway - this was a ton of fun. What's on your fantasy wish list?

Monday Funday

Okay, we all know that Monday is not a Funday, right?  I just couldn't think of a good title for this post.  Okay then.  Just wanted to get that out of the way.  :)

Despite being sick with some sort of sinus-y crap, I had a lot of fun!  Matt and I drove to Michigan on Friday and had dinner with my parents, then met Lisa and Randy for dessert and coffee at Sweet Lorraine's.  Sweet Lorraine's is one of my absolute favorite restaurants in the metro Detroit area, and it is also where we had our rehearsal dinner!  Yum yum yum.  If you live in the Detroit area, I highly recommend this restaurant...there are three locations, Southfield, Detroit, and Livonia.  Hmmm, and apparently, according to the website, there is now a location open in Bucks County, PA.  That's random!

Anyway.  On Saturday morning, we picked up my good friend Jon from the airport and headed into Ann Arbor for a fun afternoon of reminiscing about our youthful college days.  After a tasty lunch at Zingerman's, we wandered around campus for awhile before heading to our friends' wedding party.  It was so much fun!  And yes, I have photos of all of this.  But I am too lazy to put the photos on my computer, so...that will have to wait.  :)  

On Sunday, I took Jon to the airport bright and early, and then Matt and I started our drive back to Bloomington.  We stopped in Indianapolis and met our friends Ryan and Amber for dinner at St. Elmo's Steak House.  Y-u-m!

So, that was our weekend in a nutshell.  We had a great time, but I'm really looking forward to NOT traveling for awhile.  We don't have any other trips planned until Thanksgiving...and I can't wait to spend weekend after weekend AT HOME!  

Did you have a good weekend?

Rue La La does it again!

I know I have posted before about Rue La La, but...I will likely continue to post because they have such amazing boutiques. Imagine my excitement when I discovered that Vera Bradley will be on Rue La La tomorrow??!!! I love Vera, and you better believe I will be pressing refresh at 11:00am exactly tomorrow morning to check out the goods!

Not a member of Rue La La? Click here to access my personal invitation. If you sign up the regular way, you will be put on a waiting list.

MIA

Hello, friends. So sorry I've been MIA this week. I came down with a bit of a sinus cold the other day, and it has definitely taken me out for the count. Thanks to some Ibuprofen Sinus, I'm finally starting to feel better and can rejoin the world! And by the way...has anyone else bought cold/sinus meds since they started keeping them at the pharmacy? Wow, what an ordeal. I mean, I know it's important to keep people from buying that stuff to make meth or whatever, but...still. I was obviously sick and the people at the pharmacy still gave us the third degree. And they weren't very nice, at all. But anyway.

This week has flown by...and now, Matt and I are off to Michigan today for what appears to be the last weekend for awhile. Fingers crossed. I am so ready to stay home indefinitely!

My wonderful friend Kirsten married her boyfriend of a gazillion years, Joel, at the Chicago Cultural Center in April. They wanted to wait to celebrate their marriage until Joel had finished his PhD program. SO! We're headed to their backyard bbq wedding "party" at Kirsten's parents' home in Flint this weekend. I am really looking forward to a nice, relaxed weekend of fun with friends.

Tonight, we'll have dinner with my parents, and then meet up with Lisa and her boyfriend Randy. Tomorrow morning, Matt and I will be heading to the Detroit Metro airport to pick up my good college friend, Jon. The three of us will spend a few hours in Ann Arbor (and lunch at Zingerman's!) before going on to Flint for Kirsten and Joel's wedding party. Early Sunday morning, I'll be taking Jon back to the aiport (he has a 9am flight...ick!). And a few hours later, Matt and I will start the drive back to Indiana. We are stopping in Indianapolis to meet our friends Ryan and Amber for dinner. They are expecting their first child - a daughter named Jaida! - any day now, which is very exciting. Hopefully Amber will hold out on going into labor until after we have dinner, since we haven't seen them since OUR wedding almost 10 months ago.

So! That's our weekend. Wait, did I say it would be a relaxing weekend? I take that back. I'm already tired just typing all of it out here. What is everyone else doing this weekend? Anything fun and exciting?

Overheard from my office...kind of

As some of my older, pre-summer readers may remember, I used to frequently post about ridiculous, funny, or just plain stupid things I hear kids say outside of my office. Now that school is back in session...this feature is officially BACK. Sadly, my new office is tucked way back in a corner of the guidance office, so I'm no longer in the fray - I just can't hear kids talking like I used to. Which, to be honest, is a-okay with me. But don't worry, I'm constantly up and walking around, to the printer/copier or the bathroom or wherever, so I should still hear those little gems we're all so fond of.

Case in point:

A female high school student, staring at the printer as it is printing, to me as I walk by: "Do you know where the printer is?"

Me: "Umm, yes, you're looking at it."

Children are our future, people.

Tuesday blues

Wow, I'm tired today. I could have happily curled up in bed for several additional hours this morning! I have really noticed lately that it's starting to get darker and darker in the mornings. What a bummer. It will be winter before we know it, and soon I'll be driving to work every morning in the dark. Boo.

Last night, I made some tasty salmon marinaded in Paula Deen's peach vidalia sauce (yummmmy!) along with some brown rice and lots and lots of brussels sprouts! Up until March, I'm not sure if I had ever really had brussels sprouts before. But then, I read Lisa's post about much she loves them, complete with a yummy and simple recipe, and I thought it was time to give them a chance.

When I brought them home from the store that day, Matt visibly shuddered. He had some bad childhood memories of icky, soggy, tasteless brussels sprouts. I told him that this recipe looked tasty, but if he didn't like them, no big deal - we didn't have to have them again. I made them according to Lisa's recipe and...we both fell in love. They were incredibly tasty. Even Matt (who isn't a huge fan of any veggies or fruit) now loves them and gobbles them up whenever I make them. YUM!

So, there's that. Thanks so much for everyone's stories yesterday...and keep them coming! Becky and I are absolutely loving reading all of them. And for those of you who asked for my broccoli salad recipe...it was store-bought, not homemade. Store-bought and delicious. I'm pretty sure it can be easily duplicated, though...it involves broccoli florets, cranberries, raisins, bacon, and poppyseed salad dressing. Delish.

Last but not least...today is my fabulous friend Lisa's 28th birthday!!! If you don't already follow her over at Like a Valentine, you should. And, even more importantly, check out her other blog, Fantabulously Frugal. She's having a birthday party online from 11-3 CST, so go check it out! And make sure to tell her HAPPY BIRTHDAY! :)

Work fun

Happy Monday, my friends.  I didn't blog all weekend and I feel so...disconnected.  But I really didn't feel like it, I'm not sure why.  Matt and I were kind of riding that deferment excitement for the rest of Friday evening...we celebrated with some cyclones from Jiffy Treet, a local ice cream joint that makes amazing stuff.  Yummy!  

On Saturday, we celebrated my FIL's 60th birthday, which was lovely.  He grilled out, and we brought my favorite broccoli salad (emphasize bought, not made...sigh) and all of my SILs made several tasty yet unhealthy Indiana special treats.  You know...broccoli casserole covered in cheese and fried onions, etc.  The usual.  

On Sunday, I dragged Matt to see a matinee of Harry Potter.  I am kind of a die-hard, yet silent, fan...I've read all the books and I really think they are fantastic.  I have always enjoyed the movies, and I feel like I have to see them in the theaters because of the special effects.  So, we went.  I did enjoy it (and poor Matt had no idea what was going on or who anyone was, but he appeared to stay awake), but thought that it lacked some of the excitement of some of the other movies.  Thoughts?  Comments?  Please note that I haven't read the book for several years so I really don't remember if the book was relatively uneventful, too.

Anyway!  Today it was back to work, and I started seeing students again.  Naturally, most of them were skipping (I mean, for real?  This was the fourth day of school!) so I only saw two this afternoon.  Becky, my counterpart at the other high school, also managed to see a couple of kids this afternoon and called the second the bell rang to tell me some fun stories.

Stories = what us social workers live for.  There are always stories.  And they are ridiculous.  And this is why I love my job!  

Story Number One:

Two girls came into Becky's office this afternoon and looked really...uncomfortable and worried.  One of them, we'll call her Girl A, told Becky that the other, Girl B, had to go to the emergency room.  Concerned (and wondering why they were in her office), Becky asked what was wrong.  Girl A replied that Girl B was experiencing some "sharp, stabbing pain...down there."  Girl A then proceeded to explain that Girl B who is standing right there is "really clean, and has only had like one boyfriend."  

Still unsure of why they had come to her office, Becky suggested they all go to the nurse's office.  After some careful questioning by the male nurse (Without getting too graphic, can you tell me if the pain is...external or internal?), it was discovered that she had some sort of...internal boil.  It apparently hurt so badly that the poor girl couldn't sit down.  

At that point, Becky excused herself and returned to her office.

Gross.

Story Number Two:

Becky also saw a female student today who was talking about how she just met her dad and her grandfather for the first time this summer.  How did they reconnect?

Facebook.  Apparently, Dad and Granddad were talking about how much they'd like to, you know, find her.  One of Granddad's friends told him that all the teenage girls these days are on Facebook, so Granddad went on Facebook and did a search.  

Ta da!  Long lost daughter/granddaughter.  

Um.  Awesome.  

To all you teachers/counselors/youth service workers...what are your best stories from your experiences with kids?  I have so many more stories...wow.  Too many stories.  But I love hearing stories like this, and Becky and I are constantly swapping tales from our days as foster care social workers.  So - whaddaya got?  

Relief!

The Army HRC just called Matt...he got his educational deferment!!!  I am so relieved.  We both are.  His old report date was November 1st, and his commander gave him 77 days to finish the semester and have some time.  For real?  77 days?  Is that not a random Army number, or what?  

D-day is now January 17th.  156 days away.   

I feel like a huge weight has been lifted...it is just so much better having an actual date.  The not knowing was really getting to me.  Whew.  Another good thing - the deployment should be much shorter, as he's still joining the same unit.  Hopefully he'll only be gone from January to November-Decemberish.  

SO!  Whew.  That's that.  Are you new, and don't know what the hell I'm talking about?  You can read some background right here.  

Welcome!

I've noticed over the last couple of weeks that I seem to have a lot of new readers/commenters/followers.  I just wanted to say...hello!  Welcome to my blog!  I'd love for you to leave me a little comment telling me more about yourself!  Tell me about your life.

For those of you who don't know me as well, I'm Shaina.  I'm a 27 y/o wife to Matt, mother to furbaby Oscar, and a high school social worker.  I love reading, pretty things, Kate Spade, sushi dinners, and long walks on the beach.  I'm a Midwestern girl at heart, born and raised in the suburbs of Detroit.  I went to college and graduate school at the University of Michigan (go blue!).  I relocated to the Washington, DC area for a few years after grad school, where I met my husband, who was in the Army at the time.  He got out and we moved to Bloomington, Indiana, in September 2008 so that he could get his graduate degree from Indiana University.  We were married on November 8, 2008, in Michigan.  

I found my perfect job as soon as we moved here and started a few weeks later, working at one of the local high schools as a social worker/counselor for at-risk students.  If they fail too many classes or have truancy problems, they end up in my office.  

Matt is starting grad school full-time next week, which is very exciting!  Not so exciting are his mobilization orders, which he received a few weeks ago.  So, life as we know it will be changing when he heads to Iraq (or Kuwait...or Afghanistan...) for a year sometime this late fall/early winter.  

So, I'm Shaina.  It's nice to meet you.  Pull up a chair and stay awhile.  

Office/closet: AFTER!

Y'all remember the pictures of my cold, bare office/closet, right?  If not, you can take another look to refresh your memory.  Heinous, right?  Anyway...after settling in, I think that my office/closet is nice and homey!  In fact, I may even say that I'm super duper comfortable in there.  It's amazing what some stuff on the wall and a floor lamp does, isn't it?!

Anyway - welcome to my office/closet!  The photo looks a little crazy because my lamp is on.  In fact, I keep the lamp - and only the lamp - on all the time.  The overhead lights are brutal, and they make everything look scary.  Including me, I presume. 

Here is a small look at my desk, with my uncle's photographs of Africa on the wall.  Pretty!

Let's take another look, shall we?

Isn't this darling?  This is a Maude Asbury magnetic board I found at Social Graces in Nashville.  I am going to put some wedding photos up there, but I just don't have any yet!  

Below is my first ever Lilly Pulitzer purchase, a cute notepad/mousepad purchased at Swoozie's in Atlanta.  That store was f-u-n!  And, hiding behind it, a cute little kate spade phone message book...also found at Swoozie's.  

My diplomas.  Must look official!  Go Blue!

And, hanging out over my file cabinet, my old license plates.  They've been hanging out in the back of my car for awhile now.  I decided it was time to do something with them.  I'd like to put them in my garage, but...I don't have a garage.  

This is my boring wall of work posters.  The far right poster is the map of all the Indiana colleges.  Wow, interesting.  Over at the far left, I have a poster detailing Indiana's top 100 jobs.  Next to each job is a corresponding amount of $'s, which is supposed to tell kids how much money they'll make in said job.  I think that number 32 is "social worker."  Next to it:  a single, solitary $.  Sniffle.

Hey, let's check out the fuse box again!  Okay!  Here it is...I didn't figure out a way to make it go away since last week.  But, I do have another file cabinet over there.  As of now, it's empty, but I think I'm going to fill it with resources for my students.  We shall see.  Right now, one of my diaper boxes is my recycling box.  So for now, it stays.

Here's the desk, full on.

Check this out!  It's a super neat, hand-painted bowl that my coworker Greg brought back for me from Turkey!  I was so touched that he thought of me when he went this summer.  It is so pretty and I love having it out on my desk!

So, there you have it.  What do you think?  Have I done a good job of redecorating?  I'm pretty pleased with myself...for now, at least.  We'll see how things go as the school year progresses.  

TA DA!!!!

Okay, my wonderful bloggie friends.  Come out from behind your Readers and check out my new, improved, beautiful blog design!  Thanks so much to Ellie from Rainy Day Templates who did a kick ass job with the design.  She also dealt with numerous emails from me that lasted all day long.  You're the best, Ellie!  I have no doubt that, should you feel like relocating to Bloomington, Indiana, we would be BFFs in a heartbeat.

Coming soon:  photos of my new, improved, beautiful office!!

On pet ownership

The other day, I was cleaning the guest bathroom.  Every time I'm in that bathroom, there is this nasty smell that drives me crazy...mostly because I can't figure out the source.  And also, it confuses me, because we really don't use that bathroom.  I mean, I do my hair and makeup in there every morning, but I don't think that those activities should produce this shit smell.

After a careful inspection of the bathroom, I found the source.  It was the bath mat.  Before Matt and I got married, we registered for wooden bath mats from Crate and Barrel.  We were SO excited to register for them - in our old apartment in Virginia, Oscar made a habit of curling up and sleeping on the bath mat whenever either of us would shower.  The mat got all...you know, hairy.  No matter how much or how often I washed the mat, it would be covered with dog hair a second later.  

Then, one special day, the day we registered, we saw the wooden bath mats.  It seemed like a dream come true!  We immediately registered for two, and so far, so good.  

But anyway, back to the present.  And back to Oscar.  Oscar has kind of a weak stomach.  He throws up regularly - a few times a week.  Luckily for us, he is considerate enough to get up, trot over to a tiled area (namely our entryway or our guest bathroom) and do his business there.  Then, we grab a pile of paper towels and some cleaner and take care of the mess.

So.  The bath mat.  It stunk.  Kind of like...shit.  But also like...perhaps...old dog throw-up?  I'm sorry, this is gross.  But when I looked closer, it looked like there was possibly old dog vomit in between the cracks of our bath mat.  I know.  Ew.  I immediately grabbed the mat and took it outside to our apartment's "car wash station," otherwise known as a parking spot with a hose.  

For a good 25 minutes, I stood out there and with my fingers cleaned out all the little cracks and openings that had, you know, nasty in them.  It was gross.  Really, really gross.  

I walked back to the apartment and laid it out on the porch to dry.  Hours later, satisfied it was dry, I put it back in the bathroom for our guests.

And guess what?  I was in there this morning.  The bath mat smells like shit.  

Excitement!

Today is my half birthday!  Which means that Erin and I are birthday twins.  Happy half birthday, Erin!!!  :)  Sadly, I am the only one in my household who recognizes the fabulousness of half birthdays.  Do your husbands/boyfriends/whomevers understand half birthdays?  Yes?  No?  Discuss.

Also, just a quick yet exciting announcement to let you know that Post Smith is getting a most fabulous facelift!  I have been wanting to change the look of my little blog for awhile now, and it has taken me a gazillion years to figure out in which direction to head.  Yes, I specifically rearranged that sentence so as to not end with a preposition.  Anyway, I'm not exactly sure of the timeline, but don't worry...I'll let you know when to come out from behind your Readers and take a peek at my brand new site!  I am tres excited!!!

I hope that everyone has had a wonderful weekend (mine has been just fabulous!), and that the rest of your Sunday is peaceful and restful!  Is that redundant?  Yes?  No?  :)

Atlanta, Marietta and Nashville

Lisa and I headed to Atlanta for the sole purpose of going to the Margaret Mitchell house.  Lisa has always been a huge Gone with the Wind fan, and after I reread GWTW myself a few months ago (and then read Scarlett...and Rhett Butler's People...), I must admit that I became pretty darn hooked myself.  We ended up being a little disappointed with the MM house, pictured below.  It was a lovely house, but...for $12, we went through her tiny apartment, which was furnished solely with period reproductions - nothing original.  Blah.  Plus, no photography allowed.  Which didn't seem to make a lot of sense, considering none of it was, you know, real.  The "film museum" across the courtyard was also lacking, although it did boast the front door to Tara from the GWTW set (very neat!) and the portrait of Scarlett that hung over the fireplace in the movie.  Below is, literally, the only photo I have of Atlanta.  

However, don't let my lack of photos fool you!  Lisa and I had an amazing time in Atlanta, and I think both of us would happily move there in a millisecond.  We stayed out in Buckhead and were thrilled with the beautiful, lush, green neighborhoods surrounding our hotel.  We had fantastic cupcakes at the Atlanta Cupcake Factory (I recommend the el diablo, I think it was called...basically a spicy chocolate!  Definitely the best cupcake of our entire trip!) and visited an amazing boutique called the Young Blood Gallery and Boutique.  Young Blood is a showcase for local and emerging artists, and features a lot of art from Etsy sellers!  It is the neatest little shop, and you should definitely check it out if you live in the Atlanta area.  A bonus - it's in the same tiny shopping strip as the Atlanta Cupcake Factory, PLUS what is possibly the largest, neatest vintage home store I have ever seen!  

We also had an amazing dinner at Gladys Knight and Ron Winans' Chicken and Waffles.  A few months back, I saw a food network special with my mother-in-law about chicken and waffles - this was the first I had ever heard of such a thing.  Fried chicken?  With waffles?  And syrup?  WEIRD!  But I have to admit, I was curious.  So, we went and had a truly spectacular meal there.  And yes, I got a fried chicken breast on top of a waffle, covered in syrup.  Along with a sweet tea.  Whew.  It was all very, very tasty.  

The next day, Lisa and I headed to Marietta, to go to the Gone with the Wind Museum.  This is the only photo I have of the museum, but - it was really, really neat!  Way better than the MM House.  Plus, there were some original movie costumes and lots of autographs and such from Clark Gable and Vivien Leigh.  Really, really neat stuff.  

On our way out of Marietta on our way to Nashville, we saw this cute cupcake place and just HAD to stop.  I had a coca-cola cupcake.  But I didn't eat it right away.  Instead, I took it in the car.  Then I carried it with me for the next several hours on the way to Nashville.  Then I carried it in with me when we ate, so it wouldn't melt in the car.  Then it went back to the car for another hour and a half drive to our destination, where it sat out for awhile longer until about 9pm.  At 9pm, it tasted fantastic.  :)
Lisa really wanted to eat at the Loveless Cafe, outside of Nashville.  She has a cookbook from Loveless and was really excited to try it.  Matt told me that the last time he ate at Loveless, about ten years ago while he was in college in Nashville, the restaurant was literally in the middle of nowhere.  I wasn't too surprised to find that it is now surrounded by McMansions, a shopping area with a huge Kroger, and gas stations.

We both ordered the blue plate special - chicken and dumplins.  No, that's not a typo.  I just didn't feel right putting a "g" on the end there...because I know it's not pronounced "dumplings."
The fantastic meal came with two sides.  I ordered creamed corn and marinated cucumbers.  Lisa thought I was crazy for ordering something as boring as cucumbers, but at that point in the trip, I was desperate for fresh veggies.  Cucumbers are my favorite, and they tasted incredible!  Oh, and those biscuits??  Amazing.  Their homemade peach preserves ain't bad, either.  :)
Here's a good shot of Lisa taking a photo of her chicken and dumplins.  Her camera is super duper fancy.  I am tres jealous. 
The next morning, we headed into Nashville proper and met up with Jenny from Lucky in Love at the Pancake Pantry!  Pure deliciousness!!!!  Yeah yeah, I know you already saw this photo.  Tough.  It was out of order at the time.  And now, it's in order.  
Check that out.  Is that not the most beautiful plate of chocolate chip pancakes you have ever seen?  Yeah.  That's what I thought.  
Our last cupcake stop of the trip was Gigi's in Nashville.  Definitely not the best cupcakes we had, but I enjoyed my lemon quite a bit.  Lisa was less than thrilled with her red velvet, which you can read about here.  
And...drumroll please...that is the end of our roadtrip!  When I was dropping Lisa off at the Louisville Airport, on the way back to good ole Indiana, we realized that we hadn't taken ONE photo together the entire week.  So we took one at the airport, real quick.  It is hideous.  I cannot believe I am posting it in public, for all the world to see.  If nothing else, it is a reminder that I should always blow dry my hair in the mornings.  
I hope y'all enjoyed these recaps as much as I enjoyed our roadtrip!  Real blog posts of substance to resume again, sometime soon, I promise!

And, to answer the burning question on the tip of all of your tongues (I'm mainly talking to you, Mom and Dad!), no!  I actually didn't gain weight on this trip!  Imagine my surprise to discover that...I actually lost weight.  How did this happen?  Well, to be honest, I'm not entirely sure.  Lisa and I certainly weren't healthy.  But at the same time, we only ate about two meals a day - and on a couple of occasions, only one!  They were big meals, which we supplemented with pseudo-healthy snacks I packed and brought along with us in the car.  That being said, I'm still surprised to see the scale budge below where I've seen it the last few weeks.  But I won't complain too much!  Perhaps Southern living agrees with me more than I realized?  Or perhaps I just sweat out all my excess body weight...??!  A definite possibility.

Show us your life Friday: Reception and Honeymoon!!!

WARNING:  Photo-heavy post.  As much as I tried to keep this short, I just...you know, couldn't.  Today's "Show us your life Friday" post is the wedding reception and honeymoon - two very big things to lump into one post, if you ask me!!!  But, I tried my best and attempted to breeze over things when necessary.  I apologize for the copious amounts of photos.  

We had a slight break between our ceremony and reception, allowing us to take photographs in between and then arrive at the reception in time for cocktail hour.  This was especially important to me because I wanted this relaxed time to mingle with our guests - without feeling pressured to travel from table to table during dinner.  It was wonderful!  We had some passed appetizers, beer and wine, and hot spiked apple cider - perfect for a chilly November evening.  Here is a great shot of our guests enjoying cocktails!  

We showed up, wandered around chatting with people, sucked down some spiked cider, and cut the cake, which was displayed upstairs for everyone to see during cocktails.  The cake was small but beautiful, and it was certainly the best wedding cake I had ever had!  Not that I'm biased, or anything...but really.  It was a spice cake with caramel buttercream filling and cream cheese icing.  YUM!!!

Our guests headed downstairs to the dining room as our band played some classics from the '50s and '60s.  

Meanwhile, upstairs, we practiced our dip.

It didn't go so well during our actual dance.  Oh well!  :)

Our first dance, to "Our Love is Here to Stay"

I love this photo of us listening to some of the great toasts we heard that evening.  That's one of my closest friends, Jon, over there to the left.

Hey look, it's Lisa!  She was clearly enjoying herself.

...and wrapping up the reception photos, here is a dance floor shot.  Those are my wonderful college friends hamming it up for the camera.  Love you boys!

And...the HONEYMOON!  We went to Costa Rica, and stayed at the most amazing resort ever - Gaia.  Highly recommended.  Here is Matt the first morning after we woke up...working on his first of many pots of strong Costa Rican coffee!

Here we are at the BEACH!

Look, a sloth!  At Manuel Antonio National Park.

MONKEY!!!

Yes yes, I know.  Cheesy.

Here we are, looking a little weird and tired and sunkissed, at dinner one night.  Look, I have long hair!  Weird, right?!

I can't remember if this is right before or right after we went zip-lining in the rain forest.  An absolute must!  It was a total blast, even though I was scared to death most of the time.

One of many afternoon mojitos in the pool...yummy!!!

The hotel had the most amazing infinity pools.  Seriously.  We hung out in the pool pretty much every day and sipped mojitos.  It was paradise.

Goodbye, Costa Rica!