Life and Times

Where shall I begin?! I finally got the site up and done and posted and etc etc etc...It took an age!! We saw Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy and loved it. Not exactly like the book but fun and funny anyway. The guy who plays 'Zaphod' is 'Guy' from Galaxy quest. We had a good laugh over that. Well, it's nearly official. We have selected a new apartment (STAY PUT, WOULD YA??) I can just hear you saying that. Don't worry. Our current address and contact info will always be posted here. We can't ever escape! AAARRRRGGG!!! Not even if we wanted to. There are all kinds of photos up now, after over a year of none but the sad ole Matt and Ariana one. It's like a deluge! We have a digital camera and you will probably see photos that you might think to yourself, "why didn't they delete this??" But here you are, stuck with us. I can't quite give up the film yet, so there will always be those artsy photos in the big middle of it all. Perhaps this is my answer to why I was always so CRAP at scrap-booking. I just needed to find my medium. Because really, after I am gone, who is going to look at all that cutesy paper and think, "Wow." I just can't justify it! (They will more than likely be pitched by our children who will by then be good and sick of having a packrat for a mom, because I am sure to drive them crazy with it!!) Perhaps I am just cheap. Perhaps I just don't have the attention span for it. Who knows. So the news is we found a lovely 2 bedroom for only $525 with windows galore and lots of space for all the aforementioned junk-fest that I have going on. Honestly, I just need some shelves, if I could just have some shelves. Bookcases actually. It is in an old apartment building built in 1906, with a fallout shelter in the back! Who knows if we will need that, but it can't hurt to be prepared. We are hoping to look at it one last time next week before we lay our moo-la on the line, but I am pretty sure that its a keeper.

One year down...more to go

Matt and I have celebrated our 1st Anniversary!!! We went camping for the weekend at Mammoth Cave park and our weekend was much like the first year of marriage can be...full of trials. It rained and rained and rained, our camping mats popped, we couldn't get a fire going, the lovely spring weather turned to nearly snow, but we weathered it and learned a few lessons about camping, ourselves and token operated showers. We nearly gave up, but after a fairly strenuous 4 hour cave tour, we emerged to bright sunny spring weather and decided to stay. A trip to Wally World and we were set to weather another night in the tent. We came home and had to put all of our clothes in trash bags to launder because they smelled so strongly of burning wood. But all's well that ends well. We came home and cooked all the food we had not been able to in woods due to weather and after a 2 hour nap had a lovely Anniversary dinner at home followed by an early bed time. Campin' sure can take it out of ya! So we made it. Hooray!
On another note, a year of marriage has done crazy things to my waistline and I am back on the Weight Watchers plan. I will be posting my progress with photos on a new part of this site, coming soon.

Family Wedding!!

We've just returned from Mari-Carmen's (Ariana's younger sister) wedding and can you believe it, we drove to Texas and home!! What were we thinking. Actually, Ariana had some clearing out to do at her Mama and Papa's house,(old dolls and books and random boxes of clothing from college) and we needed the trunk room to get it all home. Now if we could just get it put away! The wedding was so beautiful, as was my sister and Matt and I helped and stayed up late getting things ready. I think I still smell of LAVENDER! Or at least my underwear drawer will for awhile with all the little packets I took home. Our drive was made very enjoyable by a wonderful book on tape called "THE 13 GUN SALUTE" By the late Patrick O'Brian. Part of a wonderful series that has been made into a film called "Master and Commander." All the swashing and buckleing a person could want!! It was so great to see family and catch up on everything. My oldest sister Shiloh has added a third to her brood, Josiah and he is a cutie. It was the first time I had seen him in person. Caleb and Faith, her other children are so talkative and have personality practically coming out of their ears!! Check out the pictures!

Happy New Year and Valentines Day...all of them later than usual. Matt and I are nearly a month into each of our new jobs and with new jobs come new stresses, but also benefits. We decided to up and move to a bigger place on the other side of town, leaving behind our old haunts in the 12th South district. Cant say that we are terribly thrilled about having to drive to our old coffee shops rather than walk, but you pay a price for 2 bedrooms...literally. Have a peak at our contact page for our new address. Now we have room for guests!!
Matt is coming up soon on his 30th birthday with a mixture of excitement and dread. Though Doc Brown thought 30 years was a nice round number...Matt is not in that camp. I still think he is fabulous and I am sure that wont change with age. (His SUPRISE PARTY went off without a hitch!! Check it out!)
So we have been exploring east Nashville and quite a few of our friends live over here, making it easier to be social. I guess there is nothing like your first place together though and so we miss it.

Happy Christmas to all!

Christmas is so weird with a husband. I got to have a room all to myself in my parents house rather than kipping on the couch. It was interesting. I thought to myself, I am sleeping with a boy! And my parents know!! B-Zar. At best. Well, a Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night. See you next year!

They say it's my birthday...in chicago...or something

Somehow 7 months have FLOWN by and it is nearly my birthday. The first big "to do" since we have been married. (maybe I am leaving something out) We took a weekend trip to Chicago to visit Matt's brother and his wife (Mike and Christine) and have a BLAST! I can't wait to go back and Matt would rather move there!
We went to the Zoo in Licoln Park and saw tons of animals, but the most impressive was the Polar Bear who I could watch for hours. He must have been bored out of his mind by the way he swam in the same pattern around his enormous glass tank, only taking a moment to pause and roar at any smaller human dressed in black who got near the glass. (It must have made him long for seals...)
Also, on Halloween night I stepped in a huge hole that was camouflaged by leaves and sprained my ankle! On the way to a costume party! So I showed up as limping hippie! The cool air was lovely though and the upside was my sweetie pushed me around in a wheelchair when we went to the Field Museum, which was so VERY amazing by the way. I got to see Sue! The city was such a very cool place. Christine and I thrift shopped and had a lovely girls day while the men folks froze their buns off playing GOLF of all things. (I think it was Matt's first time)
On a side note, I have taken up knitting and can't wait to get going with my knitting page. I love it! I could waste hours doing this stuff.

To everything turn, turn turn...

So much in so little time!! Matt is still working for Progeny and he likes it most days. I can't say I blame him. I am working still as a nanny but am trying to pick up some extra days. We discovered not to long after my last entry that being on the road is not for newly-weds. I shall find another way! Never fear! My Toyota, I fear is on it's last legs. However, since cars have no legs, one can never be sure...
Matt is getting tired of his car too so we are thinking of selling both plus the big scary van that Matt was driving when we met in favor of one nice car. We both have bikes and I live within walking distance of the place where I work. Anyway, all of that is still in the works with us. Who knows. Matt has gotten about 5 job offers this week and has been emailing resumes like Mad, but we are trusting God for that one and not getting our hopes up or putting our hopes in a new job as the solution to our mountains of school debt.
We have been making friends and re-connecting with old ones and I have to say it is at once wonderful and taxing. We had gotten so used to having time for us that is odd that we have something to do most nights and not as much time for just the two of us.

Under the Western Sky

We had a great time in Wyoming and South Dakota. We went caving, went to Devils Tower and Mount Rushmore. All in 2 days!!! We put 800 miles on the rental car and awesome memories in our brains and on film. The sky in Cheyenne was so big!! I felt pinned under the western sky. Laura Ingalls writes about this. It also made me think of that and Sarah, plain and tall...

Headed West

Two weeks turned into three so I am joining Matt on the 17th for 8 days in Chyannne. We found super cheap tix on West Air, which I had never heard of, and Matt's new company will let me stay in his hotel room for free! How can anyone expect us to stay apart!!?? Alas, this means I will not be in TX for Father's Day. Happy Father's Day anyway. I love you Papa!

On the Road Again.

I am going back on the road!!! Well, sort of. The reason being is that Matt got a brand new "jeerrrob." 'Job' for those of you who are not in the Strong Bad know. So I am down to working only 2 days a week as a nanny and the other days as a musician, working on booking shows, writing songs, putting together press packs etc. Matt goes in a week for training to his new job. The job is in Cool Springs, just south of Nashville, but the training is in Chyanne, WY. Only two weeks...we can make it.

New activities risk wife's health...news at 11

Matt joined his work softball team and is pretty fast running those bases, though I nearly got beaned sitting in the bleachers by several wild balls from the home plate and outfield. Believe me, there will be photos soon.

In sickness and in health

"In sickness and in health" came into play very soon for us when a kidney stone in Matt landed us squarely in the ER until all hours of the night about a week after we got back from our honeymoon. It gave me a scare to see my big strong husband weak, pale and in lots of pain, but he recovered and is working on preventing more!

Honeymoon synopsis

Our honeymoon was in the Smokies in a lovely cabin in the moutains between Pigeon Forge and Gatlinberg, TN where we white water rafted, drove through the mountains and generally enjoyed each other's company. We highly recommend the cabins in the mountains for getaways! We are going to have pictures of the trip up soon.