So I’ll admit, I’ve been having some problems with balance lately.
Luckily for me my work schedule is based on an academic calendar so I get some time here in Dec-Jan to reset the scales again and get things back closer to unity. Look forward to some posts then (including a 2011 wrap-up) In the meantime watch this video of one of Meg’s Calm Jars.
I was the mastermind who engineered Thanksgiving 2011. I talked my mom into taking us to her very dearest friend, Deb’s home in Boston. With my dad gone and things changing so fast, I really wanted to return to some kind of normalcy. Deb’s family has always been our Thanksgiving tradition. My mom’s family was in Kentucky and Colorado; her parents died young. We spent Christmas with my dad’s family.
So we traveled Kevin and I from Minneapolis and Mom from Indiana to visit our dear Deb. We visited the Boston Public Library, shopped on Newbury Street, paid homage at the JFK Museum and Presidential Library, saw Christian Marclay’s video installation “The Clock” at the Museum of Fine Arts, admired the view and the cuisine at Legal Seafood Harborside and ate noodles at Wagamama. We reconnected with friends- old and new, and I am grateful for that.
Contrary to popular belief, I had a really annoying cold combined with strep throat, not Tuberculosis recently. (I say “had” even though I still have to clear my throat more times and than I can count in a day and cough more than I’d like, I’m getting over it I swear.) This illness and my incredibly overbooked work and social calendar have caused me to be absent both here and pretty much everywhere else online. Perhaps I’ll recap in a future post, but for now I can show you the last project finished and the next event planned
Gianni Schicchi - Performed by the CSB/SJU Music Department
Packers Tickets for Sunday November 20th
I’ll catch up soon. . . Well actually probably in December. Take care everyone.
Kevin
Once upon a time, I was a babysitter. I babysat most weekends from my 13th through my 18th birthdays. It was good money. My parents never got cable, and I got to watch a lot of Nick at Nite. As an only child, I wasn’t great with resolving sibling arguments, but the kids were usually fun and well-behaved with me.
So when our dear friends asked if we could babysit their darling five year old for a weekend, I thought, no problem. In fact, this will be fun and easy. I know Nate well. He’s a good kid- polite and sweet. The truth is I underestimated the whole situation. I didn’t anticipate he’d be homesick, have an accident, or be up before it was light out. We are wiped out! I still love Nate and will gladly take care of him again, but it was a good reminder that parenting is not easy. (TRUTH: Any success we owe to our friend Brooke who hosted the WORLD’S BEST PLAYDATE and propped me up.) Here are the weekend highlights:
Thank you to our friends for trusting us with your most prized possession. (We’re still anxious to be parents.)
I needed to laugh tonight. K. makes me laugh frequently, but a little Awkward Family Photos or Cake Wrecks will usually do the trick. Here’s to another 100 posts on my sweetest find. More great family photos and cakes too.
I love you, Kev.
Stuff we have enjoyed together recently:
Meal- Pumpkin Ricotta Stuffed Shells from Country Living Magazine
Book – The Grace of Silence by Michele Norris
Movie- The Way
Exhibit- Conversations in Wood
TV Series- Firefly
Seasonal Ritual- Apple Pie
Event- Kevin’s Birthday and Catholic Memorial High School Reunion
There have been UFO sightings in Maple Grove. Not of the Roswell variety, but Kevin finds them equally jarring and mysterious. UFO stands for UnFinished Object. He has learned that his wife is incredibly adept at starting projects (or making objects), but less interested or less talented in finishing them. Kevin calls this multiple project syndrome; I consider it following my passions and energy. To his credit, my man gets things done. So I am working more on a blanket that I no longer want people to consider a beautiful placemat. I hope someday it will cover both of us.
Ok so I’m not sure what excuse I have to just be getting the wedding photos up online, but if you think of a good one, please let me know.
The photos in the slideshow (click HERE for the FULLSCREEN version) below were taken by our good friend Louisa (and her assistant Jess) – Louisa works for Rivets and Roses Photography.
Please contact Meg or myself if you see a photo you’d like to have (we have the ability to do that and we don’t need to bother Louisa – or we may already have plans to send you one soon anyway)
We received an incredibly generous gift card for Kitchen Window as a wedding present. We purchased an ice cream scoop, some syrup to make soda (with our soda stream,) a shaker (for sesame seeds), ghirardelli chocolate for home made-mochas with the Nespresso, and a pot rack.
The pot rack is designed to go on the wall, which we thought would be better since we’re just renting. The instructions say you’re supposed to attach each mounting point to a stud. However, I don’t know any walls with studs only 7 1/2″ apart. So to reinforce the rack, I purchased a piece of stainless steel. I had to cut/drill/countersink/ and sand(polish) it. Check out the pictures below, I think it turned out pretty well.
Kevin’s family (John, Janet, and Grandma) hosted a beautiful party for us today. About sixty people joined us for a picnic. A few of the guests were with us for the wedding, but most had not been able to join us in Minneapolis. We are near the sixth month mark, and I loved sharing wedding photos and talking about the wedding. We had a beautiful celebration in January. It was fun to reminisce.
People asked, “How is married life?” I want to shout “AWESOME!” Kevin is more sober- we’ve been through a lot. It’s true. We haven’t just learned to share a home, prepare meals, sleep in the same bed (we both snore), or decide what to do with free time. My dad’s decline, death, and memorial service were major events in our first six months. We’ve crammed so much of the ups and downs, I’m looking forward to some quieter days.
Still it is fun to look back….
