Uhhh..

Trying to think of things to tell you. Here is what I've got:

-Frank has a cold. This is rare and unfortunate. He never gets sick, and he fights it off with everything he can think of. Hopefully it won't stay long and the beach air this weekend will kill it off by Friday evening.

- R is having his operation today. That means he'll be one sleepy/groggy puppy for a couple of days, which is fine with me. He'll also get chicken and rice for dinner for the first time in his little life. I'm hoping he'll forgive us, or at least forget about the surgery when he realizes his culinary fortune.

- I'm on a 'summer schedule' at work, which means I arrive at 8 and leave at 4. The arriving at 8 part stinks, but the leaving at 4 is pretty awesome. This continues until next week, then I go back to 9-5.

- I'm not playing fantasy football this year. I don't feel like being the commissioner and no one else volunteered to step up, so we're just not doing it. I'm ok with this, I think I need a break.

I think that is all for now. Have a happy Tuesday!

Puppy Visit

We have a third dog this week! Can you count all three in this picture?


This is Canela, the Finnish Spitz. Her owners are in Hungary for the week so she is hanging with us. She and Hamilton are good friends, Rutledge is a little too friendly with her, which she doesn't really care for...

More From Philly

Thanks to a tip from my boss, Em and I hit the Reading Terminal Market for breakfast on Saturday and Sunday. It is a really cool indoor market that (obviously) used to be a terminal for the Reading Railroad! We LOVED it and decided we'd eat there every day if we lived in Philly. They had everything from delis to grocers and a used book store.


The first morning we had crepes - mine had strawberries, blackberries, and cheesecake. Yes, cheesecake. And it was wonderful.


After breakfast we hit the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall. The Liberty Bell took all of 5 minutes because we didn't read any of the exhibit information...oops.


The Independence Hall tour was nice, only lasted about 45 minutes. They open with a little talk from your tour guide/ranger, then lead you into the main building.


First up is the old court room. The King's crest that hung in this room was the same one that was dragged through the streets of Philadelphia and later burned after the Declaration of Independence was read aloud to the public.


The second room is the State Assembly room, mostly known for being where both the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were signed. The big chair at the front table is where George Washington sat and the table in the foreground is likely where the PA Delegates were seated.


The structure and details of the building were beautiful. I really wish people still used the kids of molding and detail in their homes and public buildings.

Already Worn Out

Too tired for words, here is a photo montage of what we did last night and today.

I'm Excited About: Emily!

I'm headed off to Union Station this afternoon to catch a train to Philadelphia to spend the weekend with Emily! I haven't seen her in way too long so I'm very excited to get to spend three whole days with her.

We chose Philly because neither one of us has ever toured the city. I'll be sure to take lots of pictures and tell you all about it when I get home on Tuesday!

Have a great weekend!

Happy Anniversary!

"In case something exciting happens" turns 1 today! I can't believe it has been a year, and I can't believe I still have stuff to talk about.

Exciting things that happened in the last 365 days: (in no particular order)

-Frank graduated from law school

-Frank took the Bar Exam

-We got a second dog

-We moved back to Arlington

-We traveled a lot

-Friends got married

-Friends had babies

-I finished grad school

-I cut off a foot of hair to donate to a great cause

-and I "redecorated" the house a million times

Thanks for sticking around through it all!

Slumber Party in the basement

We had a family slumber party in the basement last night, all four of us.

You see, we still don't own a lawn mower and that little tid bid of information explains why we had a family slumber party in the basement.

Not seeing the connection? Weird.

Yesterday, Frank listed an ad on Craigslist looking for someone to come cut our grass. We weren't any closer to deciding when/where to buy a mower and the lawn was just out of control - something had to be done. A 19 year old college kid quickly responded and agreed to cut the grass (front and back) for $20. Done!

He came over in the afternoon and did a good job. He also mowed over a cord running from our outdoor AC unit to the house. And then the AC stopped working. Strange.

So far, we've paid $20 for the grass cutting, $80 for wire repair, and we still don't have a functioning AC so another repair guy is coming today...cost is tbd.

This lead to two things:

1. we will be purchasing a lawn mower, asap.

2. we had a family slumber party in the basement because it was cooler down there, and throw in an air mattress (read: heat syphoning device) and everyone wins!

Hopefully the AC will be repaired sometime today, fingers crossed!

(**UPDATE** The AC has been fixed! Hooray!)

Landscaping

I've decided that I want to build some flower beds in the back yard. I have decided this for two reasons:

1. My puppy eats flowers that are on his level, so I need something raised and/or protected in which to grow things.

2. I'd like to block off a part of the yard and somehow train/bribe/beg the dogs to use that space for their 'business.'

I saw a picture of some nice looking raised beds, but now I can't find it again so you'll just have to follow me on this. I'm thinking of those oval-ish, long pieces of wood that I could stack on top of one another for the sides. I'm also thinking of two or three flower boxes across the back of the yard.

If this ever comes to fruition, I would most likely try to grow herbs or veggies in one of the boxes while sticking to pretty flowers in the other one or two.

Anyway, it is a dream I have - a dream to have a pretty yard, clear of puppy landmines.

But first, I need a lawn mower and I need it to be less than a million degrees so I can A) mow the lawn without dying and B) take care of the insane weeds that are currently climbing the outer walls of our house (aka, maintain the current landscaping).

Dear Home Depot, any interest in sponsoring my ventures? We could call it "If she can do this, truly anyone can!" I think it would be a big hit for you.

I'm Excited About: Cleaning

This isn't exciting. I'm excited about cleaning and doing some yard work this weekend.

Frank is traveling to Atlantic City for a bachelor party, so the boys and I are kicking it at the house by ourselves this weekend.

They sleep a lot, therefore it is an excellent opportunity to get some serious laundry and cleaning accomplished. (I feel like this exact scenario has played out before...)

So, I'm excited about cleaning - and I'm sorry that it isn't exciting for anyone else.

Lies

I can't sit on it anymore. There is a lie being perpetrated on tv in the DC metro area.

I'm not talking about the "Real Housewives of DC," none of whom live in DC or have any business doing anything with important people in DC. This is an even bigger and more outrageous lie.

Rodney.

Have you seen the commercials? He is a lifeguard who claims to be saving people in the DC Metro area from their dull summers and horrible lives. Sounds great, right?

It isn't.

He is an Ocean City, Maryland lifeguard.

I've been to Ocean City, Maryland and it is not somewhere that I'd like to be rescued to... it is more of a place I'd like to be rescued from.

4 years ago the nonprofit I worked for took us all to OC for the day. Most people chose to go fishing out on the ocean (read: more than 50% of them got sea sick...fun!) but 4 of us chose the option of hanging on the beach for the day. We figured we could lounge in the sand, drink beer, throw the ball around and generally chill for the day.

OC had other plans for us. Would you like a list of things that aren't allowed in OC? You would!?

1. no music
2. no frisbee
3. no ball and glove
4. no drinking
5. no pets
6. no horseplay
7. no fun of any kind

They should change their name to "Dean Wormer's Favorite Beach."

The four of us ended up having to drink warm beer out of Quizno cups, and Tina nearly got arrested for being on the beach with a cooler.

So, just in case you were tempted to be "rescued" by Rodney, just remember that those commercials are lies, all lies.

Home

We just spent a week on vacation. With no homework. No studying. No papers.

In case you don't know how amazing that is, let me remind you that my wonderful husband had to spend a day writing a paper on our honeymoon.

This was HUGE.

We slept in, lounged by the pool, lounged on the beach, and slept in some more.

It was just what we needed after three years of law school.

So, please excuse my lack or blogging over the last week - I promise I'll be more vigilant for the rest of the month.

Our New Friend

I found this guy above our pool chairs. He is large. And he has a friend.


Please don't get any closer to me, Mr Lizard. Stay on your fence until I'm behind some closed doors.

Ick.

Crossing the Mason-Dixon

Frank and I set out for a northern adventure on Friday, complete with visits to Gettysburg, Vestal, NY, and the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Gettysburg was a surprise stop, we didn't realize we'd be driving right past it on our way to Vestal. We hopped out of the car and into the visitor's center for a bit, then drove out to the eastern side of the battlefield. After walking up a small hill we found ourselves on cemetery ridge, the position of the Union Army, looking down onto Seminary ridge which is where Pickett's charge originated.

It was neat to see the actual layout of the battlefield, though it seems impossible to comprehend 6,000 men charging from the other side of the field.

We decided to return at a later date, when we would actually plan to see the entire area - also maybe in the fall or spring when it isn't a billion degrees plus 100% humidity.

Back in the car we continued our trip up to Vestal. We were headed up that way to celebrate Aunt Pearl's 70th birthday with Frank's dad's family. It was fun to see everyone, most of whom we hadn't seen since the wedding. It was a really nice gathering, complete with a performance by a female barber shop quartet (one of AP's favorite hobbies)! We got to hang with the family a little longer at Aunt Rene and Uncle Rick's after the official party.

Frank and I called it an early night, though, and headed back to the hotel to get ready for the next day's adventure: Cooperstown!

We drove to Cooperstown to the Baseball Hall of Fame around 9am. It was a nice drive through the mountains and a few cute towns. Cooperstown (technically a "village") is adorable! Clearly exists only for the Hall, but the stores and restaurants are well kept and tourist friendly without seeming too tourist-trappy.

The Hall was pretty cool - we got the AAA member discount of $1.50 off - full of old memorabilia and educational displays. The two upper floors are a baseball museum; pictures, letters, bats, paychecks, and jerseys everywhere. It was really neat to see the evolution of the game right there in front of you. The actual Hall of Fame is on the first floor and holds all of the plaques. I was amazed at how consistent the plaques seem to be, even though they have been in production for so long!

It was a great day, and a great weekend, but we were glad to be home after that 8+ hour drive!