Our one year wedding anniversary is two weeks from today - on September 1st (Labor Day).
We haven’t planned anything to celebrate, besides the tradition of eating the top of our wedding cake, which has been sitting in our freezer, in plain site for so long, I am surprised I have not devoured it already.
What I’m (we’re, really) wondering is, do people following the anniversary gift-giving traditions? For example, the “traditional” gift for one year of marriage is paper, and the modern gift is clocks. Does the wife actually give her husband something made out of paper - tickets, a painting, whatever - or a clock, watch, etc.? Yeah, it’s a silly question, but it must be tradition for some reason.
What did you do to celebrate? Or what would you do?
Although Steven and I didn’t do anything productive in the true sense of the word this weekend, we did:
Purchase tickets for the two of us and my parents to see Robin Williams at the Chicago Theater on September 27. (I HATE TICKETMASTER. I had four seats together, then it wouldn’t recognize my password, so I lost the seats. Now we are not sitting together. Sad face.)
Exercise! We went jogging on Saturday, and will go jogging again tonight. I’ve gone jogging everyday this week except for Friday!
See Tropic Thunder. It’s true, Robert Downey Jr.’s performance is brilliant. It was a bit drug out, but still really funny. And although the “retard” bit was a bit offensive, I don’t think it was that bad. I honestly wouldn’t have thought too much of it if I hadn’t heard about all the controversy before hand.
Locate and purchase a copy of Mario Kart for the wii. Now Steven can be happy. I hope.
And… meet up with Felicia (and a friend) from Confessions of a geeky blogger! We met for lunch at Rock Bottom Brewery and had an awesome time. Felicia is one of those girls you like right away - 100% friendly, open and lots of fun! And I love her voice! Is it weird to say that? She just comes off as a warm and true-to-themselves person. If that makes sense. I’m so happy I got to meet up with her! I hope her friend wasn’t too bored with us - but I doubt it, she was just as cool as Felicia.
Steven and I just finished watching Definitely, Maybe. You could probably guess that I put it on our netflix list, but we both liked it.
The story is about Will, who is going through a divorce when his 10-year old daughter Maya questions him about how he and her mother met. Will tells Maya the story of three women in his life - his college sweetheart, his best friend, and a talented writer - and leaves it up to Maya to guess which is her mother.
The story made me think about when Steven and I first met and what a wonderful start we had to our relationship.
Yes, it brought back all those warm fuzzies, that I feel I must share with you.
I met Steven the Friday before I started my freshman year of college. We were at the same Frat party (reluctantly drug there by friends) and two completely random people introduced us to each other. Steven ended up walking me back to my dorm and (aww) asking me for my number. He promptly called me the next day to invite me to watch a football game at a friend’s house.
You know when you immediately get that feeling about someone? That there is something intriguing about them, and you want to spend more time with them? You’re giddy and happy and excited and nervous all at the same time? It was like that.
It was my first week of college, and already I was thinking, “when will class be over so I can see him?” We both went away for Labor Day weekend, and the whole time, I was thinking about him. I remember telling my parents about this new “friend” I met. I called him immediately when I got back to school.
Steven was a senior and knew a lot about the town that I didn’t. It made me feel special when he would take me to places he liked - like this coffee shop, where we would “study,” which really means we stared at our books for awhile, then would start talking and flirting, and sitting closer to each other on the couch.
I had so much fun getting to know him, finding out his interests, sharing our pasts, being coy with each other…
… it just brings back a smile to my face. I wonder if there is a way to recapture that mystery, intrigue and excitement of first getting to know someone. Even thinking about it now makes me feel that kind of contentment.
Would you believe me if I told you I’ve been too busy to write a post about my Saturday driving (okay, riding) a Lamborghini Gallardo?
No? Yeah, I wouldn’t believe it either. I mean, who doesn’t have time to write about an amazing experience like that?
The truth is, I’ve been wallowing in self pity since I uploaded Saturday’s photos on my computer and realized that, even though I’ve lost 20 pounds, I still look like a giant blob. I’m eating healthy (I didn’t even gorge myself as planned last weekend!), and I’m making time to exercise… but I’m just disappointed in myself for getting this… big.
Oh well… on with the show…
Last weekend was a lot of fun. Andrew and Megan (Steven’s brother and his girlfriend) arrived in Chicago on Friday. I was really excited to spend some more time with Megan because they’ve been dating since the holidays but I’ve only met her once, and really wanted to get to know her better! Even though we got to hang out for a bit Friday night, I wish we would have had more time to chat.
The rest of the family (my parents, sister, brother and his wife, and Steven’s parents) arrived while we were picking up the Lamborghini in the Chicago Loop.
After we picked the car up (and had to fill it up with gas!!!), Steven and I drove it up Sheridan Road, along Lake Michigan… in the rich neighborhoods. Then, he stopped at our favorite bakery to pick me up a surprise birthday cake! We arrived at home, and nearly everyone was there, ready to “Ooo” and “Ahh” over the car. Even some neighbor that I’ve never seen before came to look at it.
(Wow, this is getting really “Dear Diary.”)
Steven gave everyone a ride (9 people!) while I stayed inside and “entertained.”
Then the two of us drove it back to the city. Or should I say, sat in it in traffic? Sadly, sitting in a Lamborghini Gallardo in the Edens sucks just as much as sitting in any other car. Except, in any other car, you don’t have all the staring, drooling, thumbs up, waving, and “camera-phoning.”
I think it is fair to say that everyone was pretty stoked to ride in it.
I liked it. It’s quick to take off (0-60 in 4 seconds, yes we tested), sleek and sexy, and fun to ride it. Exhilarating.
But… I’ve also ridden in a Ferrari F430. And the Gallardo isn’t as smooth, doesn’t sound as great from the inside, or feel as comfortable.
But it still kicks ass.
Listen to it purr under the Chicago highways…
How fast do you think we were going here?
We finished the day by going to my favorite restaurant, Red Robin, with the whole family.
This brings me to another point, or rather, question: do you have any family or friends that totally bring out the silly in you?
That seems to be my younger sister. I am not sure how we ended up sitting next to each other at dinner (what I mean is, Steven was on the other side of the table), and I feel sorry that Andrew and Megan had to sit across from us… because my sister ended up making me laugh so hard that I actually had to spit my food out into a napkin.
We get totally silly when we are together, and I love it. I wish she would hurry up and graduate and move out here already!
All of my family left Saturday evening, but Steven’s parents stayed until Sunday, so that was nice.
But I am still worn out from it all.
Check out even better photos of the car on Andrew’s blog! And leave some comment love!
1. I skipped my morning and afternoon nap on the train yesterday ( was reading a book).
2. Then I stayed up until 1:00 making Fruit Pizza and writing the previous post (I would have done it earlier but it was league night).
3. Then I woke up at 2:00 to use the bathroom and found these:
(Not Data, although he DID trip me on the way out. I just think all pictures look better with him in them, don’t you? But why does this picture look so YELLOW?!)
Yes, these are Rock Band drumsticks! Did my immature and childish continual-hinting throughout the entire month of July pay off?
It sure did!
I ran to the bed and said (shrieked?) to (sleeping) Steven “What are these?!?!” I wonder if he wanted me to find them in the morning… he probably didn’t plan on getting out of bed at 2:00 in the morning to play with the new Wii and Rock Band game for about an hour.
But if I would have found them in the morning, all of that fruit pizza would have gone to waste. Because I would have called in sick to play with the Wii all day.
So, I am tired because I woke up for an hour to play Wii then…
4. I had to get up at 4:30 to catch an earlier train to make it to a meeting on time.
Ugh. You do the math.
The good news is, I still have enough energy to play Rock Band tonight. Now, I know it is lame to write about a video game, especially one that other people have been raving about for sometime now, but I really REALLY wanted this game. I had dreams about it. I thought about it at work. I talked to everyone I know about it. And now, I have it! Thanks Steven (and I promise, I will still exercise with you - outside)!
Look at the beautiful fruit pizza I (meaning Steven) made to take to work today:
Because if you can’t indulge and eat something bad for you on your birthday, when can you?!*
Steven and I laugh every time we talk about fruit pizza, because we think the title is a bit misleading - it makes it sound healthy! I mean, it almost looks healthy from the picture, right?
Well, I (meaning mostly Steven) just made it… and can tell you, there are a lot of hidden sweets in there that are adding on calories. But damn, it is going to taste so good… let me know if you want the recipe!
*And by eating something bad for you on your “birthday,” I mean your birthday, as well as the weekend that follows it, when your family is coming to visit and it is going to be a big fun, stuff-your-face party (Hopefully. God. Why else would I have been eating healthy all week?!).
Do you “save” stories for people you don’t see very often? Every once in awhile, I experience something/see something/etc., that makes me think of a specific person. For example, the event might pertain to a certain interest of theirs, or maybe contain a hint of irony that only they would understand. It’s one of those situations when you think, ”Oh, I’ve got to tell ‘so-and-so’ about this. They sure are going to get a kick out of it.’ “
I’ve saved a lot of stories for someone I’ll never be able to tell them to – my uncle Tom, who passed away just over two years ago.
He was really excited that I was going to be living in Rome for a semester. We stayed in touch via email and postcards while I was there, and I think he even read my website.
But there were things I couldn’t explain in emails, postcards, or on my website. There were things I wanted to tell him, specifically, about in person. Things I knew he would find humorous. Things I knew he could relate to.
And I’ve saved more stories for him since then. But what am I supposed to do with them now? All they do it keep me up at night, when I’m thinking about how I never had the chance to share them.
Notice anything funny about my shoe in the picture below (not that it is old, dirty and worn out)?
Yes, one of shoelace bows is missing.
Let me tell you a little bit about Data’s shoe fetish.
One time, Steven bought an expensive pair of shoes at the Kenneth Cole store downtown. Over $200 expensive. He only wore them on days he had to look “dressy” at work. I don’t know if they were very comfortable or not, but they sure looked nice on him.
Data didn’t think they looked so nice. He chewed them up during the night. Maybe Data just has expensive taste? That was the end of those shoes, anyway.
Steven learned his lesson - he shouldn’t leave his shoes out overnight. Now, he takes his shoes upstairs every night, to protect them.
Whenever Steven forgets his shoes downstairs, Data is drawn to them. Steven often unties the laces in the morning to find out he now has 2 extra, loose, pieces of shoelace. Or little bite marks around his shoes. Or toys in them. I always leave mine downstairs, because Data seems to leave them alone (probably because they stink so much).
Well, not anymore. After one year of living here, he finally pulled the shoelace trick on me, only this time, he left me with one bow on each shoe, instead of killing both. How nice.
He hasn’t attacked any of our house guests’ shoes yet, but don’t say I didn’t warn you!
