Concrete Aspirations 2008 in summary

In April 2008, inspired by Vanessa, I made my own list of things I wanted to accomplish in 2008. Many successes, some fell through the cracks. Here's the list and what happened! Bolded items are completed. I don't feel too bad that I didn't finish all of it, as I didn't start at the beginning of the year.

1. Read all of Jane Austen's books — Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, Mansfield Park, Emma, Northanger Abbey, Persuasion, Lady Susan.
2. Attempt all the recipes from mom, at least once. — barbecue meatballs, biko, eclairs, beef brisket.
3. Finish Mere Christianity.
4. Read Velvet Elvis, Soul Cravings, and The Barbarian Way.
5. Decorate my canvas bag. The bag I intended to decorate I ended up not using because I got a couple other free bags. However, I'd still like to decorate it. This will go onto my 2009 list!
6. Finish our wedding thank-yous. — just need to sleuth out 1 more address. The person in question moved, so we're a little stymied. I think that we could consider this one basically completed.
7. Catch up scrapbooking. I failed to order photos, because I don't want to use Wal-Mart, but I want matte finish... Again, this will go onto my 2009 list.
8. Watch all of The Godfather movies with Ian.
9. With Ian, complete, in order written, the Chronicles of Narnia. — finished The Silver Chair. We started C.S. Lewis's space trilogy, so we put Chronicles of Narnia on hold temporarily. I'm hoping to finish both book sets in 2009!
10. Whittle down our collection of stuff.
11. Write Grandma every month.
12. Re-start our potted herb garden when we get back to Kansas in August. — herbs are (hopefully) in winter hibernation! I think, after discovering some information, that they dried out because the air wasn't humid enough, so I think they are dead. But I'm going to try again, for the third year, to find success in container gardening!
13. Finish the process of changing my name at necessary institutions.
14. Attempt to do a folded-book art sculpture.
15. Back up my photos to Picasa or Flickr (decide which one!). My indecisive nature worked against me on this one, and I've discovered that Shutterfly has cool sharing sites for the photos you upload to order from them, so I'm going to do more research as I order photos for scrapbooking.
16. Learn Tagalog. We're going to continue these lessons in 2009 and our trip to the Philippines in the summer will help too!
17. Catch up in my journal.
18. Keep up the habit of weekly meal planning.
19. Clean the apartment at least bi-weekly.
20. Improve my athletic skills (a.k.a. things like play catch with Ian).
21. Exercise at least 3 times a week. — yay for Wii Fit!
22. Get up in time to put on makeup and do my hair for work, if I want to. It's been hit or miss. I'm going to be even more ambitious in 2009 in this department though!
23. Work on my creative writing 2 times a week. — signed up for NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month: 50,000 words in November).
24. Finish knitting the scarves/hats I bought yarn to make.
25. Pick out the wedding photos to order/have in an album and relay to Gina. We had to wait until we spent time with family, so they could pick out their images. We'll be ordering in January! (Finished June 2009!)
26. Plan a creative, fun, inexpensive date once a month.
27. Learn a really good bring-to-share homemade side dish recipe and dessert recipe.
28. Hone in our budget and really stick to it. I'd like to note, this happened twice as we had to adjust the budget when Ian went back to school!

Our 2008 Christmas Letter

Because of Ian and Anna’s commitment to environmental stewardship (not the hippie kind), they’ve decided to make their first-ever family Christmas letter a digital version. This has nothing to do with the fact that they are poor newlyweds putting Ian through his final year of grad school, resulting in a lack of funding for the hundreds of stamps required to send an actual paper letter to everyone near and dear to them.

Brit and Joe's wedding weekend

Britni is going to be so happy I'm finally getting to this! It's cold outside, and Ian is off doing his wedding responsibility as best man... i.e. doing the bachelor party thing (don't worry, dinner and an evening of Wii). Which means I'm doing some serious catching up on the blog and Facebooking photos while watching some fun crime scene television. And Britni and Joe's wedding festivities are next in the time line.

The bachelorette party and bridal shower were in August, right after Ian and I got back into town. Quite the whirlwind! But the other bridesmaids were fantastic and helped out so much, that I didn't really have to worry about anything. We started out at Chandra's for dinner and gifts. And I won't divulge the giggles we shared there! After Britni opened all her presents, we headed to della Voce, the new fancy Italian restaurant in town. It was so much fun!

Here's the bride-to-be trying some cannoli.

beautiful party attendees!

We were so glad Lyndsay could make it back!

Several people walked up and congratulated Britni, courtesy of her bachelorette ribbon.

The next afternoon was the bridal shower, complete with 4-pound cake.

Here's all of us bridesmaids with the beautiful bride-to-be!

And me and Britni together! BFFs forever! *wink*

And then, September 19, comes the wedding rehearsal!

They are so excited!

And the actual wedding day, September 20!

Bridesmaids smelling Brit's beautiful bouquet.

The classic bathroom shot.

After tossing the petals.

Me with my moms!

Shiny bridesmaids.

Best friends, now both married!

Brit and Joe, we love you both. Congratulations again!

Christmas Thankful List

Australian strawberry licorice. I learned at Chocolate that Americans don't really know how to make good licorice/gummi candies.
the end of the semester.
running into friends and family randomly while shopping.
eating good food with good friends.
package tracking.
my back-ordered present for Ian shipping in time for Christmas!
Christmas lights.
snow.
me not having a wreck on snowy streets.
Ian's fabulous snow-driving skills so I don't have to drive.
fun crafty blogs to inspire me.
soup.
cookies.
bananas.
Bananagrams (the game).
blueberry muffins from Early Edition.
amazing family to spend time with over Christmas.
space heaters.

Tag! I'm it!

I read Gina's (our photographer) blog, and she got tagged. I thought it seemed like great fun, so I was really excited when Sarah tagged me!

So here's how the game works:

• link to the person that tagged you. (check)
• post the rules on your blog (tada! Now just imagine me saying that like Wall-e...)
• write 6 random things about yourself (check)
• tag 6 people at the end of your post (check)
• let the blogger know that he/she has been tagged (check)
• let the tagger know when your entry is up (check)

I really like making lists. Especially on sticky notes. At work last year, Amy left me a sticky note that said "I think you need another sticky note on your desk!" The humor was in the fact that the edge of my computer screen looked like a square sticky note wreath. You'll find sticky note lists all over my desk at work, virtual ones on my beloved mac, and lists on bits of paper all over. I cleaned out my purse tonight and I think I found six. Not counting the lists I actually wrote in my planner...

I attended 5 straight years of K-State football games with perfect attendance. Home games, anyway. I love football.

I'm obsessed with Google. Seriously. From Gmail to Google Docs to Blogger... What's not to love?

I love macaroni and cheese in any shape or form. Fried, baked, Stouffer's out of the microwave...

I have a hard time stopping things once I start. For example, this is the reason why I didn't sleep the night Britni and I purchased Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (at midnight, of course).

I really like vanilla: ice cream (especially Breyers or Cold Stone's cake batter), cake, scents... When Ian's family took us to The Vault Creamery over Thanksgiving, I discovered a new favorite candle smell: "Vanilla Cupcake."

Now step 4. I'm tagging AmyJo, Megan G., Sarah G., Vanessa, Beth, and Ellie Jo (or Mandy or Ben... you can pick who you target on this one... hah!)!

Our cross-country adventures

This is another in my efforts to catch up in blogging. This post is devoted to our trip home from Philadelphia. We made the trip in three days, with three big stops!

We left later Tuesday evening (instead of Wednesday morning) so we'd miss the morning traffic in the Washington DC area. Before we actually headed out of town, we took one final picture from the top of the Museum of Art steps.

After saying goodbye to Philadelphia, we headed towards DC and arrived there around 10 p.m. which worked out in a way, as there wasn't very many people out at all the monuments. We saw the Washington Monument, and my new favorite, the World War II Memorial.

Ian got some good shots of the Washington Monument, the grounds of which were recently redesigned by Olin.

They keep the Capitol building well lit.

The World War II Memorial is just beautiful.

We spent Tuesday night across the river in Arlington, then left early the next morning. Our next big stop was Monticello, just outside of Charlottesville, Virginia. The ticket was a little pricey, but it covered a tour of the house, and then you were free to roam the grounds, with several other tours of the grounds for no extra charge. It would definitely be a great deal for a family to spend the day there! Here are some of our favorite shots.

We couldn't figure out how it worked that the tree was growing into the ground, then back out. Since when do trees send out runners?

Ian enjoyed the steps up to Monticello.

Monticello on the nickel at Monticello.

They had activities for kids, one of which was writing with a quill. These are some of the kids' efforts hanging up to dry.

Thomas Jefferson was quite the gardener. They still keep the garden growing from many of the varieties he created (vegetables, orchards, vineyards, and more), and harvest and share with the families of the workers.

Thomas Jefferson's grave is in the family plot.

We spent that night in Lexington, which gave us a lot of time the following day in Louisville! We first stopped by the Louisville football stadium, then toured the city.

Here's a self-portrait of us on the field at Louisville after meeting Ian's Uncle Jim's friend, Louisville's equipment manager.

Unfortunately, it was off-season at Churchill Downs, so we didn't get to see any horse races.

Ian in front of the Louisville Slugger Bat Factory: we had to take the tour!

Ian wanted to see the riverfront, designed by Hargreaves Associates.

As we walked along the riverfront back to the car, we saw this sign and wondered if they were serious... they wouldn't pollute the river like that, would they?

After departing Louisville, we made our way to St. Louis to spend the night at Anthony's house. It was fantastic to see familiar faces again, and Anthony's folks are amazing! The next day, we cruised into town just in time to check into our apartment. Home sweet home! And once again, thank you to our friends and family for putting your time and muscles into getting our stuff into the apartment and getting us settled. We love you all!

Don't forget to vote!

You still have a couple hours (give or take, pending your time zone) to vote, if you haven't yet! Ian and I voted this morning. It was my first time to get a sticker, as all my prior votes had been cast via absentee ballot. Yay!

Our final weeks in Philly

Another in my efforts to catch up! Here I'll semi-detail our final days in Philly, again, with lots of help from fun photos! First up, we finally made it to see the Real Pirates exhibit at the Franklin.

Here's the bell of the Whydah, the Pirate ship the exhibit explores.

These are some of the artifacts they had on display (photographs apparently weren't permitted... oops).

Here's the replica of the ship.

Here's us before our IMAX presentation. This is take 4. Ian couldn't keep his eyes open in the prior photos, so this is his attempt to keep them open.

Here's the view from the steps of the Franklin. This is where Riley was sitting waiting for the clues from the kid, if you're a National Treasure fan.

Ian was feeling a little under the weather this day, so after we got home, he took some DayQuil. The following is the photo series of him taking his medicine.

Before leaving, we also went to South Jersey with Fred and Laura to indulge in an authentic Filipino restaurant, which has a Filipino channel on, and a grocery store. Here's Ian with the canned squid in natural ink we discovered.

We went back up to Olin so Ian could get more work done, but on the way home we tried some old-fashioned ice cream at The Franklin Fountain. The prices weren't old fashioned. Ouch. But it was tasty!

Kissy picture, because it's fun!

The next day was back in studio. I got bored, so I made art with the gummies. Here, the school of Swedish fish is trying to escape two dinosaurs. Note the dinosaurs got one, which they ripped in half.

After our final bible study, we enjoyed some dinner at The Urban Saloon with our good friends, Luke and Amit. Ian had a burger with peanut butter on it!

On our very last weekend, we squeezed in the Pennsylvania Dutch Festival and the historic circuit.

Here's the Amish making the best doughnuts you will ever experience.

As demonstrated by Ian.

We took a lunch break from the Constitution Center, which we visited after the market, and Ian had fun "feeding" the birds in Independence Mall.

All of this, of course, was squeezed between Ian working on projects and us packing. Talk about crazy! But we enjoyed every final moment of our 8-month honeymoon!

fall thankful list

leaves turning colors
having a reliable car to drive
warm coats
cozy blankets
books
Ian getting to come home to me
An amazing husband who cooks dinner for me
church office volunteers
friends I haven't seen in a while
hot food
toaster streudels, especially raspberry!

I'm tired of you, Anonymous.

So the Phillies made the World Series. And everyone there is excited. It's enough to make me contemplate retracting my statement that I would never cheer for them, because their fans are jerk-faces who can't realize it's JUST a game. This is, of course, generally speaking from our experience, both as opposing-team fans at a Cubs vs. Phillies game, and as objective observers at two other Phillies games. At our first game, we were verbally attacked multiple times at the game and cussed at out car windows when we were walking dejectedly home, 30 minutes away from the stadium. At another game, we witnessed a crowd of teenagers cussing loudly and making lewd remarks (spurred by a 50-something woman who was completely intoxicated and flashed the crowd) in front of a large group of young children. Their fans are known to be horrible, although not as "passionate" as Eagles fans.

Despite all this I was making a slow transition until tonight, when I get a comment from "Anonymous" who says "get over yourself and go back to your state, we don't even want you in philly." (If you're such a proud Philadelphian and Phillies fan, why can't you take responsibility for your words?)

Thanks, we got that message at our first game, multiple times with multiple words I will not repeat. Obviously you didn't read the post to see the reasons for my position. I'm not thinking about myself. I'm thinking about the thousands of people you cannot behave decently towards because you can't get over yourself. You are only reinforcing my conclusion. I'm horrified at how you, to "support" your team, verbally attack anyone not wearing Phillies gear. I don't believe anything, sports, politics, religion, gives you an excuse to to treat another human being like dirt. How is that supporting a team? I can't bring myself to join a group of people who, collectively, act in this manner.

Having said that, I do know some great Phillies fans: friends from church, William (the homeless guy near our old apartment), and others. And for their sakes, and their sakes only, I will be happy if the Phillies win.

Jordan & Karen's overlapping visits

First off, happy birthday to Micki and Debbie, yesterday and tomorrow, respectively!

Ian's up in studio again working on an essay test and his master's project stuff, so I'm doing another catch-up blog. Today I tackle Jordan and Karen's overlapping visits! Jordan stayed with us for a week, and Karen visited on a weekend, with a full day overlapping for the four of us to all spend time together. It was great to see you both!

I'll start with Jordan's visit following our return from the Big Apple. When Ian and I were working Jordan enjoyed roaming the city, from Penn's campus to Rittenhouse Square (home of Jordan's new favorite statue: the lion attacking the snake, in bronze). In the evenings, we took him to some must-see Philly landmarks. First up? Geno's Famous Steaks. We tried Pat's with Sarah, so decided to try the flip side, and boy was it tasty.

Here are Ian and Jordan enjoying the cheesesteaks.

This is Geno's....

This is Pat's, which is across the street. We liked Geno's better... no political statement though, just straight up for the food.

On the walk home, we came across this sweet bike shop!

The next day, on the walk home from work, I saw this protest march: "Dalai Lama, stop lying." The Dalai Lama was in the city giving speeches at this time.

After Karen arrived, she joined us in our new game obsession: Bananagrams, which we picked up at a Barnes & Noble in NYC. People have told me it's very much like speed Scrabble. We just know it's fun!

Here's Jordan with "quintillionaire." He lost the game, but we were impressed!

Friday I had the day off, so I joined Jordan and Karen in exploring the historic side of Philly. We took the Independence Hall tour and wandered around the area.

Our tour guide was great!

Here's the stairs they snuck up on in National Treasure.

We were tired, so we took a nap under this amazing old tree.

We also saw The Dark Knight on opening day.

Here's Ian holding our popcorn!

The next morning, Ian saw Jordan off, we slept more, then explored with Karen. We took her to the Italian Market. One of our discoveries was a cool spice shop with an old carousel horse in front of it. The sign says "Ouch — my back hurts. Please don't ride me. Neigh Neigh Neigh Neigh Neigh Neigh."

We also viewed the cityscape at night from the Rocky stairs.

I accidentally tipped my camera mid-photo and it came out like this!

Sunday we enjoyed a great church service, then a great lunch at our beloved Caribou Cafe. We introduced Karen to the butterscotch brioche bread pudding!

We wandered around Penn's campus, and Ian had a little too much fun with the camera. These are just a few of the many shots he took!

We're so glad you both could visit. We appreciate your friendship so much!