Anniversary addendum.

Since I know I'll have less than zero time to blog this week, I wanted to give an anniversary shout-out to my wonderful husband Brad. It's been more than six years since a small-town boy from the backcountry UP met a feisty pint-sized Connecticut-born chick who had no time for boyfriends. Cue the world's most bizarre love story. We celebrate two years of marriage the day after tomorrow -- and what a two years it has been!

So what will the third year of marriage bring? Only time will tell, but we're hoping it will be the best one yet!

Quick update

Yeah, I know. Delinquent blogger. Lots of fun stuff to talk about, but no time. So instead I will leave you with a picture of my feet. My mom and I got mani/pedis yesterday to celebrate her birthday -- my treat. It was SO indulgent (the only other time I've ever done this was the day before my wedding!), but completely worth every penny. The little flowers were painted on with tiny dots of nail polish. Aren't they pretty?



Sadly, two awesome hours of mountain biking yesterday afternoon with KT and her brother led to a tiny nick in one of the big toes. It's only noticeable to me, but it's still annoying.

School starts in THREE WEEKS! I need to buy my books ASAP. Wow...am I 19 years old again, or what?

Trip pix

I realized that in my blog about the D.C. trip, I did not say one nice thing about the experience -- leading anyone who read it to believe that the trip was a disaster. Far from the truth. My brother Michael and his fiancee Meghan were fabulous hosts and showed us a great time. They could have done something about the oppressive heat and the engine problem on our plane, but you can't have everything.

Here are a few photos of us in happier times.





On Friday night, we ate dinner at Nacho Mama's -- a kitchy Mexican restaurant in Baltimore with a giant zombie Elvis statue out front. My fish taco was OK (Brad's gouda and crab quesadilla was better -- luckily he was willing to share). Then we stopped at Starbucks for coffee (everyone else was smart and got iced drinks -- NOT ME!) and went to a Bar That Isn't Fancy for some beers.

On Saturday, we got up early, showered, and then my brother got ahold of one of my shirts and marveled at how small it was (maybe because I'm the big sister and he always got the hand-me-down clothes from ME). Believe it or not, it actually fit him (sort of).



After the fashion show, we rode the Metro into town, did some sightseeing, took Brad on a tour of Georgetown University (Meghan's alma matter) where much of The Exorcist was shot, and then died a little bit of heat stroke. We gave up around 4 p.m. and took a cab three blocks to Borders where we drank iced teas and read magazines until dinner. Warning: you can seriously see the pit stains on our shirts if you look closely enough.


In front of the World War II memorial -- this was the hottest part of the day. Sadly, there were "NO SWIMMING" signs all over the fountain.


This is the house from The Exorcist.


I think this was the National Archives...I was too hot to care.

After our body temperatures returned to normal, we ate dinner at the Olde Ebbitt Grille, one of the most famous restaurants in Washington (where all the presidents have eaten, supposedly -- no politician sightings for us). The food was out of this world, but I was exhausted from being in the heat all day, so I wasn't very hungry when it arrived. Unfortunately, I forgot to take pictures at the restaurant.

We then headed home in a severe thunderstorm and watched Saved by the Bell (my brother's birthday gift) until we fell asleep.

On Sunday, we spent 13 hours in an airport. I would post the photo of Brad flicking off the Northwest logo, but this is a family blog.


LIES!!!! We did not "arrive" until almost 12 hours later.

Saugatuck, Mich. -- A great place to go with your mom!

Mom and I had a great time. All the requisite shopping and buying was accomplished, many cups of coffee were consumed (seriously...that woman can down caffeine like nobody's business -- it's pretty incredible) and going to bed at 9:15 p.m. was not as lame as you might think. I may have overdone it with all the walking, but I'm planning on spending the rest of the day on the couch catching up on TV. Actually, more like work. But with the TV on in the background.

Saugatuck was pretty dead this time of year, since most of its tourism centers around boating and beaches. Although if I may make a side comment, I never really understood the Great Lakes beach thing to begin with. Since moving here, I've been to Traverse City, the shores of Lake Superior and Grand Haven -- and no matter where you go or what time of year, the sand is full of rocks, the water is 55 degrees, and nobody ever swims except for 6-year-old kids. Pretty, yes...beach, no. But I digress.

And any comments about my 58-year-old mom being hotter than me are strictly prohibited. And no, I'm not adopted, although I realize we look nothing alike. I'm basically quintuplets with my dad, brother, aunt and cousin -- you can see whose genes dominated up in this joint.

Mom's weekend

Brad's out of town this weekend for a film festival in beautiful, sunny Cleveland. Normally, I'm all about having the house to myself, but I realized earlier this week that I just wasn't feelin' it. I fantasized about finding a girlfriend who was willing to skip town at the last minute and go to Chicago or something, but I'm still not quite up for big-city navigation, plus I'd have to find someone to watch the cats.

Suddenly, I had a brainstorm. Why not leave town for one night (so I could leave the cats alone)...and go somewhere fun with my closest girlfriend of all -- my mom?

Now, I say that half-jokingly, because while my mom and I are close in that familial sort of way, we've never been close in that "go on a roadtrip together" way. I've always been jealous of people like my friend K, who goes on a mother-daughter vacation every year and comes back refreshed, tan and slightly hung over. But not only is my mom not into the beach or the bar crawl, she also doesn't like to fly or, frankly, travel at all.

My mom and I did go on one trip together -- back in 1997, when I was a junior in high school. We drove from Cleveland to Columbus so I could go on a campus tour of Ohio State. My mom hates driving on the interstate and I'd just gotten my driver's license, so getting there and back was too white-knuckled to be considered a road trip.

But somehow, I managed to talk her into going on a last-minute trip with me! I'll believe it when she shows up to get me tomorrow, of course, but I think it's actually going to happen! We're going to a small town on the west side of the state called Saugatuck, which is famous for shopping, antiques and bed-n-breakfasts. (It's also famous for being a super gay-friendly town in one of the most conservative parts of the midwest, which makes things interesting and artsy.) I'll drive so there won't be any white knuckles, and we're staying in a cute little hotel with a continental breakfast and a heated indoor pool.

So who knows -- maybe this weekend will prompt some long-awaited female bonding! Wish us luck, and stay tuned for lots of mother-and-daughter photos.

Another wedding!

Congrats to my brother and his girlfriend Meg on their engagement (after 6 years together)! Michael popped the question in D.C. this evening, where they both moved a little over a year ago. No details on the wedding yet, but it's looking to be sometime next spring after Meg finishes grad school.

Oh, and the man who never forgets anything? Forgot his camera. So all of us losers back in Michigan are DYING without pictures of the ring, the happily engaged couple, etc.

I still find it hard to believe that an attractive girl is actually going to marry my smelly, annoying little brother. All I can say is, I can't WAIT until I get to give the champagne toast -- there are a few things he's never going to live down. :)