Happy Birthday Josh

All my love on your 27th.

Jess












Any new readers out there, curious about what happened before our first date? (And really, that first date was a long time in comin'!) Head here.

The time I told Josh he couldn't kiss me

Back by popular demand - more selections from the Josh & Jessica story.

Well, the drama was finally over. Josh liked me and I liked Josh - at the same time. Whew! After our fateful discussion on the nursing school steps, the next step was an official first date.

Actually, the first step was to tell Carrie. Josh wanted to be the one to tell her - he felt it was the right thing to do. However, I couldn't keep my big mouth shut - I was too excited and ended up blabbing it everyone in sight. Not my proudest moment. So of course Carrie found out the very next day - and through the grapevine. She wasn't pleased - especially with Josh. But it all worked out in a few days - she was very gracious.

Then came our first date. Josh was going to pick me up at 6 on a Saturday evening, but at 5 I had a "house meeting" planned with my seven other roommates. They were nice enough to let me duck out of the "who is cleaning the bathroom on which day" conversation early so I could all dolled up for the big event. I came back downstairs right before 6, and was immediately sent right back up to my room.

You can't get the door for your own date! They told me. And back upstairs I went. What they really wanted to do was interrogate Josh when he came to pick up me. And so they did.

710 Catherine Girls (Carrie included): Come in. Sit Down.
Josh: Uh... okay...
710 Catherine Girls: What time will you have her home?
Josh: Uh...
710 Catherine Girls: How's your car running?
Josh: Uh... okay...

And so on. Mostly in good fun - Josh was good friends with most of those girls and they really enjoyed giving him a hard time.

Finally, after they'd harassed him enough, they called me back downstairs. Wiiitttteeeee, he's here!

Before we left, one of my roommates, Julie, took this picture of us:



For almost 3 years, I didn't know it existed. I'd forgotten all about it. But Julie actually saved it for all that time and gave it to us, framed, for our first anniversary. How sweet is that? Jules, if you're reading this, thanks again!

Josh took me to TGI Friday's (we were told it was THE first date place to go) and then rented Top Gun. I remember being so nervous I couldn't eat. It was a little weird to think about - I mean, we'd shared meals so often! And then I told him something I'd been thinking about for the few days leading up to that point:

I don't want you to kiss me for a month.

I think I was feeling totally overwhelmed with life at that moment. Another school year was starting. I was living in a house for the first time, starting up another Bible Study in the dorms at Michigan, starting a new job at the cafeteria, and then had added a new boyfriend to the mix. Not just a new boyfriend - my first boyfriend. And my best friend. I'd been on a few dates, but nothing serious up to that point. And I'd never before been kissed - the very idea freaked me out. What if I wasn't any good at it?

At that time I felt that one more new thing would push me off the deep end.

I think Josh was surprised, but he was sweet and very understanding.

We almost made it a month.

Totally Exhausted

This is Riley. Utterly tired, to the depths of his being.

Granted, he usually spends about 80% of his days asleep. We affectionately call him our "little lazy ass" because he spends so much time unconscious on the futon (shown here) bed, and couch.

But do you know how I can tell that he is really and truly exhausted? The fluffy purple bone toy sitting right next to him.

And it is intact.

Riley loves nothing more than to tear into a toy and pull out all of the fluff. In his world, it ranks right up there with heading to the dog park to play with other dogs. Funny enough, he has almost limitless energy when he is around his little friends. He keeps 'em running around and around, barking and nipping and growling in the playful way dogs like to do. He could do this for hours on end. And we're like, "who is this dog? Surely not our lazy ass."

We have this completely terrific place here in Bloomington called The Dog House. It is a cage-free dog boarding place. I really don't like the idea of boarding Riley in a place where he'd be stuck in a cage for hours on end. I'd feel terrible leaving him there! But The Dog House? He loves it because it allows him to do one of his very favorite activities - romp about with other canines. He never sets foot in a cage, even at night. They actually have a room set up like a living room in a house, complete with couches and even a TV. I'm sure he feels right at home, except that our home hopefully smells better.

And we love it because we can get away for a weekend without feeling guilty.

We spent this past weekend exploring our soon-to-be home town, and we're now experiencing a dog so wiped out you'd think he was drugged. It will take him a few days to recover.

If only there was a similar place for kids someday.

Oh wait, there is. They're called grandparents.

Put To The Test

Exactly one day after my chocolate resolution, we randomly were invited to partake in a classic chocolate-eating activity: making s'mores.

I don't think I've ever made s'mores in the dead of winter, so I was a little surprised by the invitation. But what Friday night activity can be better roasting marshmallows over the gas log in someone's living room? Not to mention delicious. So we quickly agreed to join them for the activity, with one caveat: the chocolate had to be fair trade.

To be fair (ha - get it?), we agreed to pick up the chocolate if they'd take care of the rest. Josh about fainted when we ended up spending over $11 on 3 candy bars. But we had to try a few different types, in order to discover our favorites, right? And now we have leftovers - perfect.

And you know what? The s'mores were very, very delicious! Here you have it: a fair trade s'more.

Our favorite s'more friendly chocolate was the vanilla flavored one shown below.
The first fair trade chocolate experiment went off without a hitch. Now on to chocolate chip cookies!

And if you're looking for less expensive fair trade chocolate, try Trader Joe's. They're selling it for $2 a bar, by far the best price we've seen.

So True.

Courtesy of Indexed, a great (and quirky) blog.

Tickets to Europe? Check.

Woo hoo! Old Country, here we come.

Last night we found a screamin' deal on a roundrip flight and just had to jump on it today. So much so that I called my boss at home this morning (we have MLK day off) to double check that it wouldn't be a problem.

In late May we'll fly from Detroit to Brussels (random city, I know, but cheap is cheap), and return in mid June. We just started plugging in different cities within a 6 hour radius of Columbus (Chicago, D.C., Cincy, Indy...) and different European cities (Paris, Amsterdam, Rome...) into the search fields on travel websites. After about an hour of fruitless searching for a decent fare, we stumbled upon something sweet. We quickly called my parents, who decided immediately that it was too good to pass up. They'll be joining us for the first half of the trip!

Now, the only thing we have set so far is the flight. The trip itself is wide open! But here's what we're tentatively thinking:

First: The Netherlands

I've always wanted to see the places where my grandparents grew up and where my uncles and aunts were born. I want to see the rivers my Opa patrolled as a water policeman and eat in the restaurant that was built out of the house where my Oma was born . My dad, who has seen all of these places before, will be our travel guide. He also grew up speaking Dutch at home, so he can act as a translator, too! Throw in a visit to some old Dutch relatives, and we'll be all set. A family history trip!

My family has talked about taking a trip like this since I was in about third grade. My parents would always say, "we'll take you when you're older." Well, I'm certainly older now and we're actually going.

Second: Up in the Air, but maybe Paris

After spending a few days in Holland, we'll all head out for another adventure before my parents head back to the states. Paris isn't too far, so that could be a fun option.

Third: Italy

When we first started thinking about this trip, we were all, "lets go wherever - we're completely open to anything." That has slowly but surely changed to, "when we go to Italy this summer..."

We'll have a solid week to tour around Italy, and we're completely jazzed about it. We're all about the cities and the historical sites, but would also like to take it easy in a countryside B&B, too. We have LOTS of planning to do!

We couldn't be more excited.

Scratching the Surface

You know how you always have a list of things you'd like to learn how to do? Skills you'd like to pick up someday?

Mine includes things like:

-Piano playing
-Knitting/sewing/quilting
-Upholstering
-Gravy making
-Photography
-Bloggy HTML
-Turkey carving
-Digital scrapbooking

You know, for when I have time.

But learning Photoshop has been on my list for a long, long time. I know many of you are old photoshopping pro's, so just bear with me and my beginner excitement.

I started reading The Pioneer Woman a few weeks ago, and ever since have been inspired to learn how to use the program. She consistently blogs about Photoshop, and her website includes step-by-step instructions for how to make things happen. Woo hoo! Just what I need. AND her website has free actions for downloading. I just learned what those are! And have totally enjoyed using them.

I'm currently working on a belated wedding gift for my cousin, Erin - her album. I'm doing it in a classic (and hopefully classy) scrapbook style but wanted to play around with some of her pictures before I had them printed out. Not that they need too much - Erin and Pablo were a beautiful couple and they had an incredible spot!

So, for your viewing pleasure:

Straight out of camera (SOOC):

And all done up:


I know, I know, it isn't anything earth-shattering. But a) I'm new at this and b) I don't want her wedding pictures to look too touched up anyway. I'm going for a natural look. And I'm totally pumped.

For the record, I used PW's "soft and faded" and "quick edge burn" actions, and then touched it up a bit to get rid of the shadow. It was totally easier than I thought it would be.

And now the issue becomes which to choose...

SOOC:

So do you go with a great B&W?

Or a vintage style?

Or more of a classic wedding take, bridal glow and all? (And, somehow, grass that got too close to neon green. So maybe not.)

Or perhaps something closer to the SOOC? The options are limitless, it seems.
After much deliberation, I think I'll go with this one:
What do you think? Vote, please!

Clearly, I've discovered that this is a ton of fun to mess around with! When will I ever bring myself to do laundry again?

It might not happen for awhile.

And fellow IU-er's? Go and download the Adobe suite for free (yes, free) while you still can. DO. IT. NOW.