The Adventures of Erika and Joel

It feels like Fall...

2008-09-03T18:29:00.003-05:00

It feels like Fall right now. Really cool, crisp nights, the days are cooling off a little, a few leaves are starting to fall, and the Bison football team is winning once again! I love Fall! The scents, the colors, the food (apple and pumpkin everything), the excitement of school starting up again, leaving the windows open at night and waking up all cuddled up under warm blankets in a chilly room.

With Fall arriving, the students are back on campus, which meant lots of preparation for Welcome Week and the tutoring center opening up again. I'm also taking two classes and teaching one this semester, which I am excited about. Teaching is very challenging - my parents were both teachers but I don't know that I truly appreciated how hard they must have worked! Even this one credit class is very time and energy-consuming.

So, to get away from it all for awhile, Joel and I decided to take a weekend to relax. We went to the Minnesota zoo, spent some time with Joel's parents, Deb and Steve, visited an apple orchard, played lots of Wii and checked out downtown St. Paul with Meeks for a bit (lots of craziness surrounding the RNC right now). It was wonderful!! I feel very rested and revived.
On returning home, I had a chance to harvest some more tomatoes and jalapenos (check out the picture below). My garden is still going strong, though I'm guessing I'll only get a couple more weeks out of it.

Beautiful butterfly in the butterfly house at the zoo

Terrible picture of Joel, Howie, and I lazing around.

Surprise Party for Joel's 30th Birthday!

2008-08-11T19:03:00.007-05:00

Joel is turning 30 on Wednesday!

Much celebration was necessary for this momentous occasion, so last Saturday (with the help of many family and friends) I threw him a surprise birthday party! It was a PERFECT night - the weather was gorgeous, there weren't any mosquitos out, there was plenty of good food and great company.

Joel has a pretty predictable routine, so everybody showed up around 6:30pm, Joel finished working a little after 7:00pm, rode his bike home, went through the front gate and got his surprise when he came around the corner to see everyone on the deck! I tried to get a picture of his face, but he was still riding his bike, so I got a blurry picture of the fence instead :)

Here's the birthday boy:

Everyone hanging out, waiting for Joel to show up...

Joel, Josh, Jamie and Luke

Aaron "manning" the grill

My favorite 30-year-old (well, 30 in two days)

Many, many thanks to everyone for coming to help celebrate Joel's birthday! Special thanks to Robbi for helping me get everything ready that day!

The Taming of the Tomatoes

2008-08-03T21:30:00.005-05:00

My tomatoes were out of control. So one of my weekend projects was to give them a little more structure in their lives. :) After a couple hours of detangling and staking and tying, here are the results:There are literally hundreds of grape and yellow pear tomatoes on these two plants. The two smaller tomato plants (in the front on the picture above) are full-size tomatoes and are just starting to yield.

Now that I've staked up the big tomato plants, my poor little pepper plants can get some sun too. They were being overshadowed by the tomatoes.

By the way, those stakes are six feet tall. The plants are actually taller than I am. Pretty sure they are going to take over the world soon.

Also on my weekend project list was repainting the outside trim of the sliding glass door. That did not go as well as the tomato taming project. I am apparently very bad at painting "in the lines." I will leave the remainder of the painting to Joel and I'll stick with my plants. I seem to be doing well there. Have a great week, everybody!

Survey from Dandelion Soup

2008-07-27T08:36:00.004-05:00

Do you like blue cheese? Nope.
Have you ever smoked heroin? Definitely not.
Do you own a gun? No.
What flavor do you add to your drink at Sonic? Don't have a sonic - gee these answers are boring.
Do you get nervous before doctor appointments? Depends on what the appointment is for... :)
What do you think of hot dogs? Love them! Hebrew National are my favorite (highly recommend them!)
Favorite Christmas Song? Silent Night
What do you prefer to drink in the morning? Coffee, delicious coffee
Can you do pushups? Yes. DO I do pushups? Rarely.
What's your favorite piece of jewelry? My wedding ring (pretty typical answer, but it is true). It is one-of-a kind and worn with love!
Your Favorite hobby? I love reading and really enjoy biking.
Do you work with people who idolize you? Pretty sure I don't.
Do you have A.D.D.? Nope.
What's one trait that you hate about yourself? I take things personally too often - need to learn how to relax and brush things off more.
Middle name? Lynne
Name 3 thoughts at this exact moment. Can't wait for the coffee Joel is grinding right now. Can't forget to let Howie back in from outside. My back kind of hurts - slept funny last night.
Name 3 things you bought yesterday. Snap peas, baby potatoes, and walla walla sweet onions (I went to the farmer's market)
Name 3 drinks you regularly drink. Water, diet soda, coffee
Current worry right now? Out of dog food. Need to pick some up today.
Current hate right now? Mosquito bites (I can NOT leave them alone)
Favorite place to be? Home with Joel, Gus and Howie.
How did you bring in the New Year? Celebrating with Robbi & Friedo in Duluth and then enjoying the Childs' Annual New Year's Day party!
Where would you like to go? Norway, Greece, a million other places but those two are the top
Name three people who will complete this. I can't... maybe Robin?
Whose answer do you want to read the most? I'm going to go with Robin's then :)
What color shirt are you wearing? Faded blue (thanks for the Counteract T-shirt, Meeks)
Do you like sleeping on satin sheets? Eww. No. Linen or cotton all the way.
Can you whistle? Yes.
Favorite color(s)? Used to be pink... might be changing now. I've become quite a fan of green...
Would you be a pirate? Yes!
What songs do you sing in the shower? I don't sing in the shower, but if I did, I think it would be "Sir Duke" by Stevie Wonder
Favorite girl's name? See answer to #33
Favorite boy's name? I'm partial to "classic" names like Amelia and Henry
What's in your pocket right now? No pockets, wearing sweaties.
Last thing that made you laugh? Joel
Best bed sheets as a child? Rainbow Bright
Worst injury you've ever had? When I was 12 I cracked open my skull a little while rollerblading - had to get a section of my head shaved for the stitches.
Do you love where you live? YES! I love Fargo and our house.
How many TVs do you have in your house? Two, but we only use one.
Who is your loudest friend? Since I am probably one of the loudest people ever, it is hard to think of a "loudest" friend. If I had to, I would say Kelsey or Morea since either of them can probably keep up with my "loudness" when necessary.
How many dogs do you have? Two - Gustav and Howard (a.k.a. Gus and Howie, Gusbus and Howiebot, etc.)
Does someone have a crush on you? I'm guessing not.
What is your favorite article of clothing? Big fan of my Born shoes.
What is your favorite book? Does the entire Harry Potter series count?
What is your favorite candy? Chocolate-covered raisins
What is your favorite sports team? The Bison!
What song do you want played at your funeral? Amazing Grace
What were you doing at 12 AM last night? Trying to stay awake through the entire movie, "Hairspray." I didn't make it.
What was the first thing you thought of when you woke up? It got stuffy in our bedroom with the fan off all night.
Why was Question 50 missing? I don't know, but I've decided to create a new Question #50: If you won the lottery, what is one thing you would do with the money, not including donating to charity? I would walk into the gorgeous brick mansion on 8th Street and ask, "How much?"

My plants

2008-07-26T11:26:00.004-05:00

I promised pictures of my garden and flowers, so here they are. I'm fairly proud of myself that I've managed to keep my plants alive this long! Enjoy!

Early garden and flower bed in the background - you can already see that a couple of my tomato plants are ridiculously big...

My garden today, after I harvested all of the beets.

My mutant cabbage. Three heads in one!

My beet harvest - Joel is very excited.

My very first red tomato...

And my first green pepper...

My tomato plants now! Howie is getting big too! - looks like he got some Miracle Gro as well :)

The flower bed along the garage.

The geranium I got from Mom.

One of my mums - they got huge!

Ok. I'm sure you've all had enough pictures of vegetables and flowers, so here are my boys...
Aren't they cute?

I know, I know...

2008-07-03T11:25:00.003-05:00

I have a hard time posting when it is beautiful outside. Well, truth be told, I have a hard time posting pretty much any time, but that is particularly true when the weather is nice. Joel and I have been enjoying the sunshine, the fairly dry weather, and our budding garden and flower beds. Life is good. There have been lots of little events that past few weeks that should probably have been shared as they happened. Quick synopsis:

*Being a home-owner is great, but not all fun and games (of course). In early June, Joel came home from work to find our basement covered in about an inch of water. It had been raining constantly for about five days and the water table had risen and risen, until the water underneath our house had nowhere to go but through the cracks in our basement floor. Six hours of wet-vaccing later, and many, many, many sweeps of a squeegee, Joel and I decided we would just have to wait until the water went down. Our basement dried out completely about three days later. We were actually pretty lucky. We caught it early enough that we didn't lose very much. Joel's old twin bed was on the floor, so that was a little bit soggy to say the least, and my decorations were in cardboard boxes, so I had to unpack them all and let them dry off. It was Thanksgiving, Halloween, Christmas, and Easter all at once in my house for a day or so. Robbi came over to help me pack up, for which I am very grateful. The basement has stayed dry since then, but we are still looking at ways to keep the water out...

*When it rains it pours. Our fridge went out shortly after the basement flooded. However, there is a positive side to this one - now we have a spankin' new one that actually keeps food cold and is EnergyStar rated. We like to think of it as saving money in the long run (on electricity AND on all of the food that isn't spoiling like it did in our old fridge).

*At work, Summer Orientation is well underway at work. I LOVE seeing the new students come to campus and get registered. They are so excited and anxious when they get here. It is fun to see them start to get to know one another and to help relieve some of those nerves that they have about where to go and what to do and whether or not they look good while doing it. It doesn't seem that long ago to me that I was in their place or that I was an orientation leader helping to shepherd them around campus. Of course, I was never as "young" as they are. Fun fact: about half of the incoming freshman students at NDSU were born in 1990. That's right folks, 1990...

*We are currently puppy-sitting for our friends, Kaarin and Nate, who recently tied the knot and are off on their honeymoon. Bandon, a three-month old Australian cattle dog has been staying with us since this past Sunday and has been keeping Gus and Howie very entertained with her antics. She is adorable. We will try to get a shot of the three of them together, but no promises - they don't stay still long enough to take a picture!

Okay, those are some of the highlights. I will take some pictures of our garden here soon so you can see that I am actually managing to grow things (I've only killed a couple beets and a pepper plant or two).

Happy and safe Fourth of July to everyone!

Happy Birthday Gus!

2008-06-08T21:14:00.002-05:00

Gus turned 2 today! Best puppy ever! (ok...Howie is pretty great too). Little man is growing up so fast.

Need ideas - please comment

2008-05-25T16:49:00.003-05:00

I need ideas for my blog's name. I am just not liking what I have had so far, but as many of you may know I am not a creative person. I'm more of a picky little details person - not so much good at coming up with ideas, great at planning how to make things happen though...

SO - please give me some suggestions. If I choose to name the blog after your suggestion, I will shower you with wonderful gifts and praise (or at least mention you in my next blog post). Thanks!

P.S. YES - I posted twice in one day, so be sure to check out the post below for all of the exciting house stuff we have going on.

Landscaping Weekend!

2008-05-25T16:20:00.004-05:00

Joel and I are spending this Memorial Day weekend working on the landscaping around our house. It is a pretty big project for us - hauling 1200 lbs. of dirt, 1200 lbs. of brick, and doing lots and lots of digging, but it is coming along very well. Gus and Howie have been lots of "help" this weekend as well - keeping us company while we work in the yard. Here are a few pictures of what we have been up to:

Here is the torn up ground next to the garage - this is going to be a flower bed with a brick border (coming soon!). You'll notice that we have removed the (disgusting) sand from the sandbox and put in dirt for the garden (also coming soon!).

One of three deck boxes filled with delicious herbs. One of the most interesting is curry (on the right in this picture). We visited a great little farmer's market in West Fargo that had very nice looking herbs growing, and I couldn't resist.

Our newly installed brick lawn edging and our spirea bushes and a couple mums. The cedar chips smell amazing...

More mums and some hostas that are coming in nicely. Our little gnome watches over them and scares away hungry bunnies. We also found a little patch of rhubarb growing under the landscaping cloth back in the corner by the fence - very exciting!

Howie peeking out from under the fence.

Gus looking very regal as he waits for us to come back to the other side of the fence.

The front of the house (disregard the ugly grey tub). Looking pretty good, if I do say so myself! I'll try and get some "after" pictures of the backyard up once we get that done as well.

P.S. BIG thanks to Robbi and Friedo for letting us use their truck this weekend. It would have been difficult/impossible to haul the dirt and bricks in the civic. :) We appreciate you guys!

It still fits, too

2008-05-13T20:13:00.002-05:00

So, I just noticed that Shyla (Dandeelion Soup - see my list of favorite blogs), posted a short note that her wedding dress still fits. Congrats, Shy!! I don't imagine many women get to say that after having a baby - must be all that running... Anyway, thought I would share my "it still fits." I haven't taken my wedding dress out, as it has been dry-cleaned and sealed in a box, however I DID happen across two very interesting dresses from my junior year of high school. Mom brought a bunch of my old stuff to me the other weekend since I now have plenty of space to store it. One dress that I wore to the Snoball dance, and another that I wore for Halloween (my friends and I thought it would be just great to dress as hookers - think zip-up black pleather and lots of eyeliner).

They both still fit. That feels pretty good. :)

P.S. No - I will not post pictures of myself in either. The Snoball dress is hideous and the Halloween dress is black pleather. Enough said.

Howie's Big Adventure

2008-05-04T21:28:00.008-05:00

I know, I know... It has been a long time. My only defense is a serious case of cabin fever - the moment it began melting outside, I just couldn't find the time to sit inside at the computer. And now, despite the melting and snowing, melting and snowing, melting and so on... it has finally become beautiful outside. I've been spending time planting some flowers, planning a little garden, and just enjoying having a fenced-in yard for my two pups. I love being a home-owner! There are always tons of things to do, but it feels good to be investing in something so long term. There have been lots of things happening lately - work has been super busy for both Joel and I, I just finished up my most recent grad class (educational statistics - pretty painful - SO glad it is over), I took a trip to San Diego with Robbi and Meeks... the list goes on! I promise to try and update more frequently - I should definitely get some of those fun San Diego pictures up here soon. However, since I can't write about everything in one blog, I will devote the remainder of this one to what I will now affectionately term "Howie's Big Adventure."

This past Friday, Joel and I headed over to a coworkers place for a get-together celebrating the graduation of one of the student workers in my office. We brought Howie along, as there was a fenced-in yard and lots of kids for him to romp around with. While we were chatting in the sunroom, Howie was outside running around with a couple of the kids. He apparently decided that it was time for a quick detour and a snack, so he snuck away for a couple seconds and one of the kids saw him just as he was licking up the last little bit of bright blue mouse poison pellets that were located behind the garage in the yard.

YES - bright blue mouse POISON pellets.

At this point, I have to point out that my coworker would NEVER have let Howie run around if she had known the mouse poison was there. She is a wonderful, dog-loving individual who had a dog of her own for years and years. Accidents happen! Okay, back to the story...

My coworker's little girl (the one who saw Howie eating the poison) did exactly the right thing - she ran straight for the nearest adult and told her what had happened. As soon as we found out, I dashed for the phone book and the emergency vet number. The vet told me to feed Howie a tablespoon of hydrogen peroxide every 10 minutes until he threw up all of the poison. He was NOT HAPPY about it. Poor little guy threw up puppy food, hydrogen peroxide, and lots and lots of bright blue pellets about 10 times over the next few minutes until everything was coming up (and out) clear - no more blue pellets! By this time our little guy was pretty scared and worked up from all of the throwing up and I'm sure he didn't understand why we objected so strongly to those tasty blue treats.

The vet had also told me that if he threw everything up, we should just watch him for the next couple days for signs of bleeding, lethargy, and/or pale gums. Well, the bleeding would be fairly apparent, but if someone could please define for me exactly what "lethargic" and "pale" are, I would really appreciate it. I couldn't have slept for more than 10 minutes at a time on Friday night. I woke up just to listen to see if Howie was still making his snuffly little breathing noises. The next day he was acting perfectly normally - running around, eating just fine, playing with Gus, romping in the yard. Around 1:30pm he settled in for his afternoon nap.

Well, his sleeping looked an awful lot like lethargy to me... and his gums were pale pink... so I decided that I just could not take the whole waiting game any more and brought him in to the emergency clinic. The vet saw us right away, checked Howie out, and proclaimed him fit as a fiddle. Between little crying jags, I was able to ask if she was sure that he was going to be okay, if other dogs had eaten poison and lived, if there was anything I should be doing, and just how pale is pale. She was very patient, answered all my questions, cuddled Howie, and then reassured me (a few times) that Howie was going to be just fine. She gave me a week's worth of vitamin K pills, which are coagulants, just in case any trace amounts of the poison (which acts as an anti-coagulant) had managed to stick around, and sent us on our way.

So, happy ending to a very nerve-wracking incident. Howie has been his normal self all weekend. His gums are pink, he sleeps a normal puppy amount, and he is getting pretty tired of my excessive cuddling. Howie and I have now had a pretty serious discussion about why eating mouse poison is a bad thing, and I think the puppy kisses that I received at the end of the conversation were his way of saying he will be avoiding all poison-eating in the future. So, if you managed to make it to the end of this long, long story, I will now leave you with a couple pictures of Lord Howard Maxwell "Poison-Eater" Beseler Thompson. Good night!

Why, hello there...

2008-03-20T22:39:00.002-05:00

I've had a request to update with more pictures of the Howie-bot. These last few days have been an adventure. He is super feisty - very bold with jumping off furniture, tackling Gus, climbing stairs, etc... It is tough to catch him standing/sitting still long enough to get a good picture, but here are a couple:

Doing what he does best - looking cute.

Enjoying a good chew with Gus on the tug ropes...

Awkwardly (and forcibly) waving, "Hello" during a visit from Aaron.
(and a special hello to Rena, mama to Gus's brother and Howie's uncle, Klaus!)

Introducing... Howie!

2008-03-15T11:33:00.002-05:00

It was a LONG trip down to Sioux Falls and back last night. We got in about 11pm and promptly gave our new, VERY STINKY, puppy a bath and introduced him to his new brother!

Countdown: 10 hours!

2008-03-14T08:41:00.001-05:00

We're picking up Howie today!!! Will post pictures soon of the newest addition to our little family. Sioux Falls - here we come!

Playing in the snow!

2008-03-09T19:14:00.008-05:00

My two favorite boys playing in the snow today. Check out the pictures and video below!

Here's a good action shot:

Gus doing his best impression of a mean dog. (He wasn't actually snarling - he was just chewing on ice)

The Gus is quite photogenic.

Our attempt at a family self portrait.

I LOVE PEEPS

2008-03-07T12:27:00.005-06:00

I understand that the vast majority of the adult population of the world thinks Peeps are absolutely disgusting. I - LOVE - THEM! There is just something about that colored-sugar-crusted marshmallow treat that appeals to me... I'm guessing it is the sugar-crusted-marshmallow part. However, I would like to point out that Peeps are not only delicious, but due to the food coloring and several inventive molds, they are also visually stimulating. Pink bunnies, yellow chicks, white ghosts, red hearts, green christmas trees - you name it!

There are some Peeps shapes/colors that are more delicious than others... for example, I am partial to purple chicks. The purple is because I enjoy the color (no real flavor difference that I can tell), and the chicks are because they maximize the surface/sugar/marshmallow ratio. In other words, you get more delicious, teeth-destroying sugar crunch per bite.

This may not have been enough to convince you of the truly delicious nature of Peeps, but I'm okay with that. More for me.

To learn more about this delicious confection, visit http://www.marshmallowpeeps.com/

P.S. Pictures are apparently not working on blogspot right now... Never fear, I will post pictures of purple peeps presently. (I love alliteration). Purple peep pictures posted!

Your daily dose of cute!

2008-03-02T22:01:00.005-06:00

Some more pics of our new puppy!
We have decided on a name (for anyone who doesn't already know)...
Introducing Lord Howard Von Beseler Thompson! (a.k.a. Howie)

Can you stand it?? Only 11 more days!!

We picked up all of the supplies (food, bowls, toys, etc.) this past week in preparation for Howie to come home on March 14th. Can't wait!

Puppy Pics

2008-02-28T22:18:00.003-06:00

More of our new pup! He is too cute! 15 days and counting!!

High School Band

2008-02-20T18:55:00.002-06:00

I have been acused of not posting my fair share of Erika and Joel adventures, So here ya go. The high school band Erika eluded to in the last post was my recent performance run with the West Fargo High School pit orchestra. I was called as a last minuite fill in for the abandoned drum chair for Anything Goes. Erika enjoyed making fun of me, but it was kind of fun to be back in the pit. I played the very first show in that theater in '94 and 3 others (one after graduating). No other adventures to speak of.

Happy Valentine's Day

2008-02-14T18:46:00.006-06:00

This has been a fun Valentine's Day. I got a card written in binary code (as in 1's and 0's) from Joel. I did figure out what it said by googling binary-to-text conversion and then typing in about 600 0's and 1's. I also got an Alton Brown baking cookbook. I LOVE Alton Brown's recipes and his show. I don't often miss having cable, but I DO miss the Food Network.

Joel got a dozen blonde brownies from Nichole's Fine Pastry (and he won't share...) AND... this fabulous, singing robot balloon!!!!!!It sings "Love Machine," which is then stuck in your head for the ENTIRE DAY.

Gus doesn't know what to think of this giant robot balloon.

Since I am alone this evening (Joel has a high school band performance - and if you don't know what I mean by that, wait for my next blog - I'll explain), the robot and I are going to spend some quality time watching chick flicks. I guess he'll have to be my valentine. :)
Don't even ask what is up with my hair in the above picture. It's the hot new style. Trust me.

P.S. Happy six-month Birthday to my other valentine, Mr. Cutie-Pie, Adam John Fried!

Housewarming Party

2008-02-11T19:25:00.000-06:00

It is about time that I shared some pictures from our housewarming party on Friday, February 1st. We had a lot of fun celebrating officially owning our home! The closing went just fine - which was a big relief after a week of 3 to 4 phone calls per day from our mortgage consultant earlier in the week - first time homebuyer programs are amazing and are hugely helpful, but getting one is quite the process and very stressful. BUT, after 45 minutes of not understanding paperwork but signing it anyway, we were homeowners. Then it was time to party! We had lots of friends and family come over to help us celebrate...

My friend Kabes (real name: Kim Schaefbauer) came for the party from Mandan with her adorable little girl, Madison!
Joel and my brother, Aaron, hanging out in our kitchen (I still get excited when I write things like "our" kitchen...)

My HD buddies from Concordia and the "Lover's Club" (a.k.a. the significant others of Concordia HDs) hanging out around the table. This way they could stay close to the snacks and bloody mary bar.

Our good friend (and my former coworker) Brady and Ollie, the son of Jill and Jeremy (one of Joel's coworkers). Notice the similar hairstyles - aren't they fabulous?!
Tom (Joel's boss) and I rocking OUT to Guitar Hero. Tom is one of those people that is just naturally good at everything, so imagine how satisfying it was for me to beat him!
And of course, I have to show you pics of the goodies I baked. Delicious brownies from scratch - a big hit!
Fruit pizza. SO yummy.
I almost wish that we could buy a house every week and have more housewarming parties. I guess next time we'll just have to have everyone over for no reason at all.

And the winner is...

2008-02-04T08:20:00.001-06:00

Red & White! Here are some new pictures of our puppy.

Coming in March 2008!

Can't wait to meet him...

Closing Time

2008-02-01T11:34:00.001-06:00

I'm just heading out to the closing on the house!!! I may not be able to type for awhile due to hand cramps from all of the signing... :) Will update soon as a home-owner!

Please, please, please give feedback!

2008-01-27T19:07:00.001-06:00

Two updates in one day - can you believe it??

So, Joel and I are getting another corgi! We are SO EXCITED to be getting a playmate for the GusBus and an addition to our little "family." However, we are faced with a dilemma - we have to pick out our puppy. We definitely want another male, and we were hoping that the breeder would only have one color choice for us to pick from to make our choice easy. No such luck - there were two males in the litter - one tri-colored and one red & white, and we have to pick a color. This is where YOU come in! If you are taking the time to read this, please take 30 seconds to comment and let us know which color you prefer. Check out the pics below and THANKS!!!

Adorable little tri-colored corgi!

Beautiful little red & white corgi!Hard to pick, isn't it???

Here's a picture of an adult red & white for anyone who hasn't seen one:

And just for fun, here are a couple pics of Gus when he was little:

Tiny baby Gussy
Look at those ears!

Goodnight and thanks again for voting!

Delicious baked goods

2008-01-27T10:21:00.000-06:00

The baking hobby has been going pretty well! Everything has been turning out, which is new for me. Here is a pic of the thumbprints and smores brownies (YUM!) that I made for a Tupperware party I hosted at the new house. The party was lots of fun, and I am getting TONS of great Tupperware. Thanks, Shy!
I had my one month "monthiversary" at work on the 18th. I am loving my job - it has gotten busier since the students got back, but everything is running smoothly. I have also found that Joel and I have more time to spend together, which is great. We have been trying to sit down for dinner each night (as opposed to grabbing a sandwich and running out the door), and I put my pie-making skills (Thanks, Cathy!) to work last week and made a chicken pot pie, which was fabulous. I KNOW you want to see a picture, so here it is. :)
We've started putting up pictures, shelves, decorations, etc. in the house now and it is coming together really nicely. I still get excited when I walk in to the house!! The only "little" issue we have had is the furnace went out last Sunday. Great timing, right? For those of you who read Shyla's blog, we have a pretty similar story... furnace went out at night around 11pm, house got cold, no one could come at night, so I stayed up to run the fireplace on the main floor and the space heater in the basement. It was REALLY nice to have the fireplace - we managed to keep the house around 60 degrees by using it and I had Monday off of work for MLK Jr. Day, so I kept it warm until the owner came and replaced the part. One big benefit of the furnace breaking down now - since we don't officially own the house yet, we didn't have to pay to fix it. Woohoo!

We had company over last night. Robbi, Friedo, Adam, Glen & Cathy came over for supper. I tried my hand at homemade biscuits, and a pumpkin layer cake and coconut breadpudding for dessert. I'm getting this whole baking thing down...

Here's Cathy with Adam and Gus (they're buddies).

Here I am with my pumpkin spice layer cake. Beautiful, huh?

The cake looks pretty good too... hehehe

The last couple weeks

2008-01-02T22:25:00.000-06:00

Okay, here goes. I have been terrible about updating lately, so I am going to give you all a brief overview of the past couple weeks for Joel and I.
First, I have to say, this has been an amazing time in our lives filled with opportunities, exciting new beginnings, and so many blessings. We have both been overwhelmed by the outpouring of love and support from our friends and family as we moved, got settled, and "hosted" Christmas. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts to all of you! A very special thank you to Glen, Aaron, and Friedo, without whom, I am quite certain, Joel and I would STILL be unloading that uhaul and figuring out exactly how our dresser would make it up those stairs and around that corner.

After we got everything unloaded, it was time for some serious unpacking, broken up by a visit to Robbi & Friedo's place for an early Christmas celebration. The food was delicious and the company was great! It was a very welcome break from the 12 hour day of loading, cleaning, unloading, cleaning some more, and unpacking. It seems like so long ago!

We also celebrated our second anniversary shortly after we moved in, on December 17th. Though, technically it wasn't much of a celebration, as Joel had the flu, but we had an opportunity to go out later in the week for dinner and a movie and we had gone out earlier with Glen and Cathy to celebrate their anniversary as well (which also happens to be December 17th). Congratulations on 30 loving years, Glen and Cathy!

Here's are a few of my favorite pictures from our wedding:

This post is starting to get a little long, so I will summarize the remainder of the time in the following pictures:

Christmas in the new house!

Gussy Clause!

My first attempt at pecan pie

My first attempt at cherry pie with lattice... I did my best...
My second attempt at cherry pie, after a tutorial from the Queen of pies, Cathy :) She taught Robin and i how to do a real lattice!

New Year's Eve in Duluth with Robbi & Friedo - we ate at the Top of the Harbor restaurant, which was a revolving restaurant (didn't even get motion sickness!)
Happy New Year to you all and Good Night!

So you don't have to stare at Shyla's face any more...

2007-12-28T07:52:00.000-06:00

Here's a new post, but not really much of one since I have about two seconds to enter it. I know that I have not been posting much, and that I could use the excuse that I moved and then started a new job and then there was Christmas, but I also know that all of you won't think those are good excuses since everyone is busy right now. So, I humbly ask for your forgiveness for not posting... it is the Christmas season after all... :) I promise to post some pictures of Gus, the house, the fam, and my beautiful pies soon. Happy Friday!

Happy Birthday, Shyla!

2007-12-21T08:19:00.000-06:00

Have a great day, Shy!

P.S. I will update more soon - our internet has been set up at home now!

Done with class!

2007-12-13T00:40:00.001-06:00

This was me before finishing class tonight:
Now I'm done! Woohoo! I turned in my last assignment this afternoon and my class met for the last time this evening. *Hugh sigh o' relief*

Joel and I rocked out some more packing tonight and everything that is left will have to go in the "I don't give a crap any more, just find a freaking place for it" box on Thursday or Friday. Friday we get the keys to the house and then Saturday is moving day! Here's me thinking about moving in the freezing cold weather we have here:

We've already got a bottle of the finest champagne that was leftover from my brother's wedding this summer to crack open and celebrate our first night in our new home! We're also planning to let Gus have some of his favorite treat - popcorn - to celebrate as well. Here's what I'll look like when everything is finally unpacked and we are all settled:

We'll be without internet until Monday, so if we don't post, don't be alarmed (cause I've NEVER gone more than five days without posting before, ever...). Wish us luck!
And finally, a HUGE thank you in advance to our friends and family who are coming over literally before the crack of dawn in the absolute freezing cold to help us move. We love and appreciate you all!

I hate packing...

2007-12-09T21:44:00.001-06:00

Seriously, hate packing. Happy to be moving into our new house, but hate packing...
You never realize quite how much STUFF you have until you have to pack it all up. Granted, it has given us a great excuse to get rid of some stuff we didn't need any more. Since we are on the topic, if anyone is in need of some extra dishes, a small dog/cat carrier, or some cheezy romance novels, give us a call! :)
I have been really busy this past week. I am close to finishing up with my class - I turned in the major paper on Friday and just have a few smaller assignments to finish. I am working hard to wrap up everything in my current position and make sure the new person coming in has an easy adjustment (as easy as it can be coming in mid-year to an HD position). And of course, I have been packing... The walls are pretty bare in here and we are no longer allowed to use the stove for anything except boiling water since I cleaned the under-burner thingies today (I have NO idea what those things are actually called).
Now on a very positive note - I attended an orientation director's drive-in conference this past week and LOVED it. It was an opportunity for orientation professionals from around the area to all get together and share ideas about what is working with their programs and what new things are coming up. It was an awesome glimpse into some of the things I will be working on in my new position. I also had the opportunity to meet a lot of the tutors that I will be working with at NDSU when I attended their end-of-semester wrap up meeting/celebration. This week really helped me get excited about starting my new job!!!
Tonight also helped me bring a little closure to my current position. We had the hall Christmas party tonight (we can call it a Christmas party since the college is ELCA affiliated) and I got a chance to chat with some residents that I probably won't see again. Kind of bittersweet since I've grown pretty fond of many of them... I also had a gathering with my staff members and we had a white elephant gift exchange - I got a bunch of cookies. They also gave me a very nice card that they had all written in - things so nice that I'm pretty sure that I don't deserve them all. :) They also gave Joel and I a BEAUTIFUL snow globe for our first house! What a thoughtful bunch...
So, now that I've pretty much written everything I can think of, I'm going to get to work on my remaining homework. Goodnight everybody!

P.S. Congratulations to my friend, Jenny Thompson, on her engagement!!!! I'm thrilled for you!

P.P.S. Since this post was pretty boring and lacked pictures, I'm taking a page out of Shyla's book (see my favorite blogs at the bottom of the page - Dandelion Soup) and posting some pictures from when Joel and I were kids. These pics got a great reaction at our wedding when we showed them side by side in the slideshow... Notice the front teeth :) Pretty sure we were both in first or second grade when these were taken. I LOVE the teal and neon matching outfit I've got on - it goes really well with my skinned knee and my mullet.

And here is one of my favorite pictures of us ever. It was taken after Robbi & Friedo's wedding.

Pretty Accurate...

2007-12-02T22:10:00.000-06:00

My Elf's Name is:

Your Elf Name Is...

Ditzy Sugar Butt

What's Your Elf Name?

Which of Santa's reindeer am I?

You Are Donner

The most loveable and sweet reindeer, you're also a total dork!

Why You're Naughty: You keep (accidentally) tripping the other reindeer while flying.

Why You're Nice: You're always smiling, even if you've fallen flat on your horns.

Which of Santa's Reindeer Are You?

Thanks to Robbi for sharing the links for these. :)

Our house... in the middle of our street!

2007-11-29T18:31:00.001-06:00

No more broken dreams!!! We have finally come to an agreement, signed the papers, had an appraisal and we are good to go for getting our house! Move-in day = December 15th!

WOOHOO!

Because we know you haven't seen enough of it - Here is the front of our house!

And the back of it!

And the garage!

And here's Gus! He's really excited about his new yard!

Happy Birthday!!!

2007-11-29T18:23:00.000-06:00

Happy Birthday today to our nephew, Raleigh, and our sister-in-law, Lisa!!

Happy First Birthday, little man!

Happy ?? Birthday, Lisa!

Broken dreams?

2007-11-26T22:49:00.000-06:00

Okay, it is not as serious as the title seems to say, but house-buying can be a little frustrating and disheartening. We've been trying to do everything right all along the way - playing the offer/counter-offer "game" - getting a house inspection done - requesting that the sellers have a professional assessment and brace one of the basement walls - then WE hit a brickwall with the sellers on the last part... So, it might be back to the drawing board for us. Don't worry! We're not going to give up! Just wanted to give you an update. Happy faces are back on...

Busy week & Big news!

2007-11-17T15:43:00.001-06:00

What a week!!!

I was out of town at a conference starting on Tuesday afternoon, and it was a busy trip! It was a three day college and university housing conference. I had a chance to co-present on making adjustments as a first year professional with one of my coworkers, and that went pretty well. Apparently we were funny and entertaining. I also got to attend several sessions while I was there, brought back some great information to share with my department and staff, and got lots o' free stuff from all of the vendors. We stayed in a hotel that had a LOT of character (smoked, gold-foil mirrors anyone??), and I had the opportunity to show everyone just how good the karaoke version of Damn Yankees' High Enough can sound. What can I say - I love power ballads.

During the time I was gone, Joel stayed busy too! We kept in very close contact over the phone as he went through the process with our realtor and home mortgage consultant of putting in an offer on the house we wanted, getting a counter-offer, putting in another offer, getting another counter offer, and FINALLY we came to an agreement!!!!!

So, here's the big news: WE GOT THE HOUSE!! We signed the papers this morning that we officially accept the counter-offer, we're having a home inspection next Wednesday and then the SOLD sign should be going up. We'll be moving in mid-December (renting the property briefly) and then closing in February! It feels really good to not have to search any more!

I do want to take an opportunity to say a special thank you to one of my new supervisors for going out of his way to help us out, and a HUGE thank you to our mortgage consultant and realtor for helping out a couple naive first-time home buyers. Hopefully the inspection goes well! We'll update you soon. In the meantime, here are a couple more pictures of the beautiful house:

The big, beautiful master bedroom. With Joel in it.

The lovely bathroom. With Joel in it.

The backyard (the swingset is going away) and the HUGE three-stall garage. With Joel in it.

Two can play at that game...

2007-11-16T22:49:00.001-06:00

So, Robin decided to retaliate against my posting of her (very flattering) giraffe neck picture (see previous post). She did this by posting a very UNflattering picture of me in a particularly ugly hat (see Robin's blog at www.rfriedr.blogspot.com or follow the link on the side of my page). My competitive nature leads me to post this pic of Robin that was taken while we were traveling in Scotland:

Isn't she pretty? :)

The Official Offer

2007-11-10T18:48:00.000-06:00

Hey folks. So, I may have "spoken" too soon on my last post. I actually received the OFFICIAL offer from NDSU yesterday. :) The previous offer was the unofficial offer, but now it looks like the things that need to be signed are signed, the i's are dotted and the t's are crossed, and I have now officially accepted, so I'm going to celebrate again!

YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY!

So now that the offer is official, I figured I could take a moment and let you all know what I will be doing. I am going to be the Learning Services/Orientation Coordinator at NDSU, and I will be working in two different areas within the Office of Orientation & Student Success. I will be spending part of my time working with the tutoring center at NDSU (I learned that about 1000 students come through the tutoring center each week, so it is a very busy place!), and I will be spending part of my time helping to coordinate new and transfer student orientation sessions, as well as campus events like Weeks of Welcome. I'm looking forward to learning more about these programs. I will be starting December 18th!

In the meantime I will be working hard at Concordia to make sure the transition goes smoothly for the incoming hall director and the students and student staff in the building. I am going to miss everyone a lot! I have had the pleasure to work with an amazing group of professional and student staff members during my time here. It will be nice to stay in the same area and keep in contact with them.

Joel and I will be going house shopping again tomorrow evening. We will see four new houses and then revisit house #5 (see previous post). We would REALLY like to put an offer in on a house (probably #5) early this week before I take off for an out-of-town conference. Time is going very quickly! Wish us luck as we go through the new process of house buying... we'll need it. :)

I'll leave you with a picture I recently ran across of Robin doing her giraffe impression (also known as "giraffe neck"). She will love me for this...

WOW...

2007-11-07T21:34:00.000-06:00

Last Friday I was offerred (and accepted) a position as NDSU's Learning Services/Orientation Coordinator. I am thrilled! I am very excited to be working in this area and with that office. I will be starting in mid-December after the end of the semester at Concordia. Learning a new position is always challenging, but I'm looking forward to the transition.

Speaking of transitions... we are also house shopping now. Since my current position is live-in, we are looking for a new housing option. Having Gus makes renting a challenge, and we are hoping to begin "investing in our future" by buying a house. So, we went house-shopping tonight and took a look at seven different homes. Here's the breakdown:

#1 - not too bad, but the basement would need to be finished (half completed) and there had been some pretty serious water damage... pretty much a "No"
#2 - bright orange siding, very cat-smelling, and overall very run-down... another "No"
#3 - adorable little cottage home with beautiful molding, a huge yard, right by a big park, but a little small (only two bedrooms and one bath)... fun to look at, but probably not feasible...
#4 - huge character home with amazing updates, but a basement that would definitely need to be finished (half completed)... this house would be a money-sucker with all of the other updates that would need to happen... beautiful though!
#5 - beautiful updated 1890 home, two stories, beautiful open kitchen, deck, fenced backyard, updated bedrooms and bathrooms... LOVED IT
#6 - cute stucco two-story, brand new kitchen (kind of small though), small bedrooms, but overall a definite prospect
#7 - great 50's home, cozy finished basement and tons of room, HUGE fenced backyard, but it is within sight of the interstate and there is a constant background noise of the cars speeding by that would drive us crazy... unfortunately this one is a no-go

Overall we really enjoyed the time we spent looking. It is a little overwhelming, but we have a great realtor and we're maintaining our enthusiasm right now. Hopefully we will get more info on #5 and see where that one goes. Otherwise we will be looking at a few other homes on Sunday, and we'll keep you updated. We'll leave you with a few pics of #5:

Happy Halloween!

2007-10-31T08:54:00.000-05:00

Love,

Gus the Lobster

The Month of Love, Continued...

2007-10-28T15:42:00.001-05:00

Joel and I just returned from our last wedding of the "season" and the foreseeable future. We have no more close friends or family that are currently engaged, so we will probably have a bit of a break before the next one.
Hachee's wedding was absolutely beautiful! She looked lovely (of course!) and you could just tell how very in love she and Tim are. Here are Mr. & Mrs. Esser, the new happy couple:

It was also wonderful to get a chance to see everyone from back home again so soon! I had a chance to catch up with many of them at Xavie's wedding at the beginning of the month, and we all had a blast at this wedding as well. Meeks actually figured out that there was about 6% of our graduating class (of 256) at the wedding. You do the math and figure out how many that is. :) Here's the group pic (including many significant others):

You may be wondering why Gus isn't in the picture... We left him here with Lacey and Rich and his friend, Ally for the weekend. But before we brought him over there, we gave him a much-needed bath. He looked so cute in the bathtub that I couldn't resist taking a few pictures. I will leave you with those. Have a great week!

Go Bison!

2007-10-20T19:46:00.000-05:00

Today we watched the bison defeat the "big ten" gophers in a tense, but exciting game in the metrodome. Post game activities included a well needed nap (all that yelling makes a person a bit drowsy) and a trip to the town hall brew pub for some tasty eats and savory brews in good company. The night has not yet come to a close, so who knows what may come....

Look at all those beautiful Bison fans! 30,000 strong in the Metrodome. No big deal... Except it was a huge deal! I'm so proud of this team... and I'm proud to be a Bison!

Some QT with Adam John

2007-10-17T21:12:00.000-05:00

Joel and I got to spend some quality time with Adam John on Monday evening while his Mommy and Daddy were at a meeting and a good time was had by all. Here's what we did:

Adam got his diaper changed - My first diaper change ever!! Joel only had to offer guidance once (they don't exactly come with instructions...)

We did some walking around and bouncing. Pacifiers are a gift from God. :)

Finally, we got some puppy cuddling time in and did some napping.

Then Adam took his first steps, said his first word (incredibly his first word was "Rikki"... weird, huh?), and made a beautiful watercolor to hang on the refrigerator. It was amazing! He must've been inspired by his time here... :)

October - The New Month of Love

2007-10-11T18:30:00.000-05:00

October has been a little bit crazy so far... Joel and I have attended a total of three weddings so far and we have one more to go before the month is over. Last weekend Joel attended our friends, Lacey and Rich's wedding in Minnesota, while I attended our friends, Xav and Amy's wedding back home and went to another wedding with my Mom the next day for one of her neighbors.

Joel said that Lacey and Rich's wedding was a blast! They served breakfast for dinner at the reception and had the ceremony and reception at a camp that Rich used to work at that had a beautiful view. We had the pleasure of watching their pup, Ally, while they were getting married and enjoying some well-deserved downtime together after the wedding. Ally and Gus had LOTS of fun together - there was romping day and night. Literally... we finally had to separate them so they could get some sleep.

Here are Gus and Ally in an unusual peaceful moment.

While I was back home, I got a chance to catch up with a bunch of my friends and it was GREAT to see everyone! I'm excited to see them again at Hachee's wedding at the end of the month. We usually only get a chance to catch up around Christmas time at our annual party or at weddings, so this is a treat. I also had a chance to go to Hachee's bachelorette party and hang out with the ladies. There are some incriminating photos and video clips involving several women, nylons, cucumbers and tennis balls... pictures coming soon. :)

Here's a portion of "the group" from back home. We all clean up pretty nice.

Xav & Amy... and their cake with a fountain in it!

Congratulations to the newlyweds - Xav & Amy and Lacey & Rich!! Be Happy!!!

Baby Gus

2007-09-29T11:18:00.001-05:00

If you use the cell phone for perspective, you can see how little he was!!

P.S. The Bison won that game... and the next one... I love that team!!

It's GAME day!!

2007-09-08T10:27:00.000-05:00

I am SO excited. Today is the home opener for Bison Football!! Many of you may know that I am a huge Bison Football fan - I didn't miss a single home game for four years when I was an undergrad. I was a member of the Gold Star Band, which was a lot of fun - there is a ton of enthusiasm that comes from the band during the games. Anyway, lets hope the Bison can pull it off today - I'll update soon! In the meantime, here are some pics of those fabulous (and flattering) wool uniforms that we wore:

This is my friend, Jenny, and I at the Bison-Sioux game in 2002 (?). This picture was actually posted in the local newspaper. We lost, and as you can see, both Jenny and I were unhappy about it. :(

This pic is from my senior year GSB concert.

Isn't it nice when you marry someone who gets along with your family? :)

GO BISON!!

Pile O' Gus

2007-09-04T23:18:00.000-05:00

Pile O' Gus

Snuggly Gus (please ignore how awful I look in this picture and focus on the Gus)

Gus is tuckered out.
He had a long, tiring weekend of playing with his "aunts", Nellie and Sophie (golden retrievers) and the kitties at Joel's parents' home. He was so tired that he was practically non-responsive when we got home on Monday night.
We had a great time with everyone at the house - the whole family headed down to the cities to celebrate Deb and Steve's 30th anniversary (wow!!) and Jenna's 20th birthday. We went down on Saturday and came home yesterday about 10 pounds heavier. While we were in the cities, we had the chance to check out the Walker Art Museum's Picasso exhibit, which Joel LOVED and go shopping at Banana Republic, which I LOVED. We also had lunch with Meeks and got to catch up on what is happening in her world. Her pup, Jasper, is HUGE. I can't believe how big he's gotten already. And, of course, we got to spend lots of quality time with the fam, which is always great.

What we've been up to...

2007-08-24T17:21:00.000-05:00

So, it has been pretty busy around here the last few days, as Joel has been working quite a bit and getting some good practicing in, and I have been busy training my new student staff for the school year. Training is winding down now, though, and the residents will be moving in on Sunday for the most part, so the end (and the beginning) is in sight. I am getting pretty exhausted by the long days, and I am utterly sick of the sound of my own voice. However, some things have been really fun during this training week, such as Theme Bowling. My staff and I went as a Cereal Killer and victims (different cereals that were killed). Check it out:

Here's me as "Count Chocula" - maybe a little too scary for cereal. I did actually dye my hair black with that spray in stuff. I had to shampoo three times!

Here's the whole crew: Honey Nut Cheerios, Trix, Fruit Loops, Count Chocula, The Cereal Killer, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, The Hero (the cow), Frosted Flakes, Lucky Charms & Cookie Crisp

Congratulations, Robbi & Friedo!!!!

2007-08-17T22:55:00.000-05:00

Things are a little crazy right now with RA training for the next ten days or so, but I wanted to take a moment to say congratulations to two of my favorite people in the whole world - Robbi & Friedo. Their son, Adam John, was born on Tuesday, August 14th at 5:15pm at a healthy 7lb 10oz and 19 1/2 inches long. He is absolutely beautiful! Joel and I went and visited the new little family on Tuesday evening and got to meet Adam and see Robbi. What a trooper! She looked beautiful (even though she will deny that), and motherhood suits her perfectly. Friedo was a proud daddy, though his choice of clothing for his son is a little pathetic (down with Green Bay!). I will post the pictures I have as soon as possible, but until then you can check them out at their blog, www.rfriedr.blogspot.com.
Best of luck to Robbi & Friedo with baby at home as of today. You are going to be wonderful parents, and I look forward to watching little Adam grow over the years!

Happy Birthday Joel!!

2007-08-13T07:55:00.000-05:00

It is Joel's 29th birthday today, and he got to start out the year with a fresh, hot cup of coffee and a scavenger hunt!! See if you can follow the clues and figure out where his present was hidden. (Hint: all of these clues lead to somewhere in the hall we live in, but none of them were in our apartment).

Clue #1

Clue #2

Clue #3

Clue #4

Clue #5

Clue #6

and the final clue...

Finally, after all that hard work, the fruits of Joel's labor paid off and he got himself a brand new IPOD! It took him approximately two seconds to get to the computer after opening the box and here's the proof of that:

So, Happy Birthday honey, and we will see everyone at Yuki Hana tonight for dinner!

Simpsonizeme.com

2007-08-11T09:58:00.000-05:00

Sorry for the long wait, folks. To be perfectly honest, I was attempting to deny you all a new blog so that you would comment on the birthday eating options blog prior to this one. However, this attempt did not work, so here is my new post. (Though I would still invite you to take a peek at the last one and vote - Thanks!)

Meeks sent me a great picture of herself "Simpsonized" so Joel and I decided to check out the website and simpsonize ourselves. Here are the links to the results.

Erika Simpsonized

Joel Simpsonized

Not bad, huh?

Joel's Birthday - A Poll

2007-07-31T22:23:00.000-05:00

Being the undecisive individual he is, Joel is requesting help from our "faithful readers" (or anyone who just happens upon this blog) for suggestions for his birthday dinner. His birthday is August 13 and he is turning 29. He is open to any kind of restaurant, though he does tend to lean towards sea food and ethnic foods (indian, japanese, etc). He would also like to officially rule out Mexican Village and Paradiso - sorry to all of the chips & salsa lovers out there.

PLEASE post a comment with your choice. The choice that gets the most votes by August 12th will win! Let the race begin!

Gus In A Tree (second update today!)

2007-07-28T16:54:00.000-05:00

Here's Gus in a Tree. He's quite the little climber.

Here's Gus and his 'little' buddy Jasper (Meeks' pup).

Just thought everyone could use a little more Gus in their lives...

Breezy Point

2007-07-28T14:11:00.001-05:00

The past couple of weeks have been busy. Meeks and I threw Robbi a "Mommy" shower last weekend. For those of you who don't know what a Mommy shower is, here you go: A Mommy shower is a shower that is thrown for the expectant mother, instead of the baby. With all the excitement that always surrounds a pregnancy, it is easy to forget that "mommy" is still a woman herself. So we decided to pamper Robbi a little bit. Here are a few pics.

Joel and I just got back from spending four days on vacation with his family in Breezy Point. It was wonderfully relaxing - perfect weather, beautiful sandy lake, lots of food and good company. This vacation also gave me the chance to finish the newest Harry Potter book!! I won't ruin anything for you, but I HIGHLY recommend reading it (and the rest of the books) if you haven't yet. I went to the midnight opening of the book at Barnes & Noble along with Shyla, Chelsea, Meeks, Friedo and Joel (though he only came for the coffee and magazines). Special thanks to Shyla for getting there so early to get us a spot in the cafe!

I will leave you with these fun pics from vacation and a tip to check out Shyla's blog (www.dandeelionsoup.blogspot.com) for some fun video footage of the dance party the family had in our cabin.

Here is the cabin we stayed in - it had a small private beach, dock, and a jacuzzi inside!

Chelsea and Shyla canoeing back from the beach.

Raleigh with his Uncle Joel - look at those giraffe legs!

Jamie deflating the giant beach ball the easy way.

Joel and I on the back porch of the cabin.

My Birthday, etc...

2007-07-15T10:58:00.000-05:00

Sorry for the long wait! The past couple of weeks have been very hectic here. The fourth of July was fun. Joel and I got to spend the day together, which was has been a rare experience this summer. We had a pseudo-picnic with Robbi and Friedo and played some frisbee. By pseudo-picnic, I mean that we weren't actually outside, nor did we use a real grill, but we did eat picnic-ey foods. We ended the night by watching the city fireworks. We tried to bring Gus along, but he wasn't having any of the loud noises, so we ended up taking him back home. Maybe next year...

Last week was an orientation week for me again, so it was very busy. Thursday was also my birthday, which was lots of fun. The day started out a little shaky when I fell down some steps during orientation check-in in front of about 50 people, but the only thing hurt was my pride. :) Here are some pictures from my birthday and from this Saturday, when Joel and I went out to the zoo.

My birthday present from Joel - an AEROGarden!!! These are absolutely amazing. If you have not heard of them, check out the website at www.aerogrow.com. We'll have fresh herbs in our kitchen in December. Mojitos, anyone?

Gus enjoyed the wrapping paper. He was very helpful when I was unwrapping my present.

I had a Raspberry Almond Cake from Nichole's Fine Pastry. This cake is amazing! I did share...

Here's Uncle Joel giving our nephew Raleigh his very first drum lesson that night. The kid is a natural!

An awful picture of Joel and I at the zoo. We took it ourselves.

Feeding the goats. Very demanding!

This cow was hilarious! It would stick its tongue out for food if you were walking by.

I also saw the fifth Harry Potter movie on Saturday with Robbi and Tanya. I thought it was very good, though it was missing a few details that I thought were pretty important. All in all, it has been a great past few days! I hope the lovely weather is finding you all in good health and spirits!

Awwww...

2007-07-02T09:16:00.000-05:00

The last week was very, very busy, with orientation sessions running Tuesday-Friday at the university I work for. They are long days, but it always feels good to see all of the students who are coming in the fall, answer their questions, and help them get excited about school. Another week of sessions is coming up in July, and by the end of the summer about 2,000 students will have attended orientation (as well as about 3,000 parents). I am very proud of my alma mater (if you can't tell), so this is very exciting!

After the long week of orientation, I traveled home with Robbi and Friedo on Saturday for Robbi's baby shower. Lots of fun! So many little onesies, booties, baby lotions, and lots and lots of "awwww"s. I always enjoy going home with Robbi. I even spent a summer living out there with Robbi and her parents, Glen & Cathy - who are some of the most wonderful people I have ever known. They always make me feel right at home. Here are a couple pictures from the baby shower:

Beautiful Robbi and the gifts for her little guy.

Robbi and I.

My Guilty Pleasure...

2007-06-23T09:36:00.000-05:00

Weird Al Yankovic

I went to a Weird Al concert last night. This is the second time I've seen him in concert, and they were both fabulous shows. I happen to appreciate his sense of humor, but even people who don't appreciate his parodies would enjoy his concerts - he is just a great entertainer!

So, what's your guilty pleasure?

Lovely Ladies...

2007-06-19T22:27:00.001-05:00

I would like to take this time to post a quick note about two of my favorite ladies. My best friends, Robin and Michelle - better known as Robbi and Meeks. They know more about me than almost anyone and still manage to like me. Obviously something is wrong with them.

Robbi, Me, & Meeks

So here's the run-down:

Meeks is a ridiculously successful accountant who enjoys camping, dancing, and short white skirts. I've known her since sophomore year of high school and can honestly say that she is one of the most interesting people I know. Something exciting is always happening in Meeks' life. I tend to "live vicariously" through her. She just got a new german shepherd puppy named Jasper who is giving her almost as much trouble as Gus gives Joel and I on a daily basis.

Here is Meeks about to really enjoy a delicious chocolatey treat.

No explanation necessary.

Robbi is a clinical laboratory scientist, which is just a fancy way of saying she pokes around with bodily fluids/solids/etc. all day every day. I met Robbi the day I moved into the residence hall my freshman year of college. We were roommates during our junior and senior year, before she went and married my high school prom date. They are expecting their first child in August and plan to name him Erik (after me, obviously)...
That last part was a lie... :)

This picture of Robbi and I was taken in London the summer after our junior year of college. We went on a backpacking trip across Europe. Good times!

Robbi's impression of a bunch of grapes.

The three of us have shared several boyfriends (at different times), jobs (at the same time), and probably have enough dirt on each other to prevent any of us from entering politics at any time, but good luck getting us to spill the beans.

We once heard that in every group of three women there is the sweet one, the smart one, and the wild one. Guess which one of us is which. :)

The End.

Revolver - check it out!

2007-06-17T11:17:00.001-05:00

This weekend my wonderful mother-in-law, Deb, was in town. It was great to get a chance to see her and catch up. We did some shopping in the fun downtown shops on Saturday and discovered this great little retro place, Revolver, on 1st Ave. I highly recommend that everyone check this store out. I got a cute pair of peep-toe pumps and enjoyed trying on every funky hat they had in there. Lots of fun!

$6.00!!

We also had a barbeque over at Josh & Shyla's place on Saturday and I caught this great picture of Gus with his Grandma Deb.

It is wonderful to have the opportunity to be around family and friends!

Great Weekend!

2007-06-10T21:09:00.001-05:00

We had a great weekend. The weather was beautiful, I got some new summer clothes, and we attended a friend's wedding on Saturday. It was nice to catch up with some folks we hadn't seen in awhile. I managed to talk Joel into dancing with me MULTIPLE times. I think it was actually a new record for the number of times in one evening I could get him on the dance floor. This record even beats our own wedding. :)

We managed to actually get a picture of us in some semblance of dressed-up. We usually forget, so this was quite an occasion.

Here is a friend's band, Post-traumatic Funk Syndrome. They played a great show for the wedding dance. This band is lots of fun.

Joel sat in with the band for a few tunes. It is always great to get to see him play (especially something other than jazz...)

Today we took Gus on his first long ride in the Burley cart, and he did pretty well. It was much more of a workout for me to pull him around in the cart than it is just riding by myself. I will leave you with this great picture of Gus when he was just a little guy.

Have a great week!

Gus's First Birthday

2007-06-08T23:16:00.000-05:00

Hello to my friends and family and anyone else who happens to wander across this blog!

My name is Erika, my husband's name is Joel, and we are the proud "parents" of a one-year old corgi named Gus. We actually celebrated Gus's first birthday today with some friends and family. We had a fun little party in the park. It was pretty windy and we had some trouble keeping the coals hot, the ice cream cake cold, and the plates on the table, but all in all, it was pretty perfect. :) Here are some fun pictures:

This is our little guy, Gus. His full name is Sir Gustav Von Beseler Thompson. Seriously. He's even registered under that name. He's pretty much the best dog ever.

Here are some of our friends and family in the park. The furry one is Winnie, Gus's cousin, the one in the green hat is Raleigh, the ADORABLE son of Joel's brother, Josh and his wife, Shyla (on the right hand side). Also in the picture is our good friend, Friedo, who is also my brother's best friend, my best friend's husband, and my past prom date. Hope that was clear!

Here is Gus and one of his best friends, Ally. Ally belongs to our human friends, Lacey and Rich.

Here we have Gus, Joel, and I and Gus's birthday present: a Burley cart! This way he can come along with Joel and I when we go biking. His little legs couldn't quite keep up with us before.

So, this is my first attempt at blogging. Feel free to offer feedback, as long as it's good. I won't make any promises about updating though. Peace and love, hugs and kisses, or whatever floats your boat... -E