Relaxing with friends

Our dear friends Emily and Andrew came up from Charlottesville over the weekend. We didn't have any fantastic plans or anything, but who needs a special occasion to visit with friends? We went out for lunch on Saturday just after they arrived, then spent the entire afternoon lazing on the porch. Nate grilled some fabulous steaks, chicken and corn for dinner, which we devoured while sitting in the yard. What better way to enjoy the gorgeous weather?

On Sunday, the four of us drove north of the city to see our friends Kelly and Cory, and their precious little Gabby (two months!). I hadn't seen Kelly and Cory in a very long time. As in, before Kelly was pregnant! So I was very excited to visit with them and meet the baby. Between seeing so many friends and enjoying the weather, I would say it was the perfect weekend.

Well, let's be honest. It wasn't quite a perfect weekend. A Penguins win would have rounded out the perfection... We can't win 'em all, but I would have really liked to have kicked some Detroit butt!

Let's Go O's!

O-R-I-O-LES!

If you have ever been to an O's game, you have heard the sappy disco Oriole's theme song at the beginning of the game. It's awesome. And totally ridiculous.

On the other hand, I have it pumping through my head right now after Friday's fantastic game! We arrived just in time to see Luke Scott hit a GRAND SLAM! And just a few innings later, the same guy hit a home run. And since it was student night, the energy in the stadium was like nothing I have experienced before. The O's won 7-2, and it was great!

Saturday, Nate and I had dinner with his mom and sister at Iron Bridge Wine Co., in Columbia. Nate and I had been once before and were impressed. It was no different this visit. The food and wine selection are fantastic! I would highly recommend a visit. I'm sure Nate and I will be back for thirds.

Memorial Day Weekend!

We spent Memorial Day Weekend relaxing in the yard. The hammock is lovely in the sun! I got some reading done for school, and Nate got some reading done for fun. Riesling got to romp about the yard for hours - and every one of her friends stopped by at some point to say "Hi!" Riesling was a very happy puppy with all this attention.

We were supposed to head to Charlottesville, VA, for a BBQ with friends. Alas, I wasn't feeling too hot, and just couldn't imagine a 4-hour car ride each way. With regrets to our friends, we missed the BBQ. I am sure it was lovely, and I'm sad to have missed it! On the other hand, it was quite nice to spend a long weekend at home with no plans.

Our next few weekends are filling up quickly. I'm looking forward to our upcoming adventures!

My New Oven!

(and other weekend fantasticness)

Before:During:After:

I love my new kitchen!!! More thanks than I can ever give are due to my awesome big brother. He did all the work, and it looks fantastic. I can't wait to bake him some cookies in thanks!

The whole weekend was exciting. Not only were my brother and sister-in-law down for a visit, we got to celebrate our good friend's 10th anniversary of his 21st birthday with a surprise party. Everyone pulled off the surprise, our friend was shocked to see everyone! It was a lot of fun.

To continue the fun, Nate and I drove up to Philly with my brother and sister-in-law to watch my younger brother graduate from college! I can't believe he is already done. It feels like just yesterday that I was driving up to deliver the family heirloom (a really cool beer coat of arms) and help him move into the dorm. The graduation was... a graduation. But I am so glad that I could be there with the rest of the family to see it! Even my grandmother was there.

After the ceremony, we all drove back to my house for cocktails. We met up with my Aunt and Uncle near the house for some good Maryland eating - blue crabs! (I ate a burger). My cousin also graduated on Sunday, so we were celebrating both our grads. Everyone left first thing Monday morning to head back to life, but it was great getting everyone to my house, if even for a few hours. I even got the chance to show my grammy my cute little house. And she loved it! Her compliments make me feel so proud :-)

Ramblin' (wo)man

I drove nearly 1,000 miles this weekend! Nate stayed home and cleaned the basement while I had some fun.

On Saturday, I drove up to CT for my Godson's 1st Communion. I have always tried to be involved in my little guy's life. And what better occasion for a visit than his 1st Communion? I am his Godmother afterall! The ceremony was great. His church has a fantastic priest, who delivered a highly entertaining sermon for the children. My cousin had a lovely dinner back at her house after the ceremony, where I got to catch up with some family that I don't see as often.

After dinner, I continued North to visit my mom on Mother's Day. We had such a nice visit! We had ice cream for lunch, went shopping (hello, new outfit!), and had a fantastic dinner made by Dad.

On Monday, I hopped in the car once again. This time South, as far as CT (again). My mom and her cousins had been planning a surprise birthday party for my Godson's mother - a luncheon! Boy did we surprise her! She was completely taken aback by the party. She does so much for all of us - she's the most thoughtful person I know - so it was wonderful to be able to do something for her in return. I finally headed back to MD after the party, after a long weekend of driving.

I will say though, I could not have asked for better driving conditions. The sun was shining, and I was the only car on the road!

But eyes are blind. You have to look with the heart.

Thank you, Antoine de Saint-Exupery.

With that, sometimes it is nice to be able to see without a myopic blur. Until Friday, both Nate and I were heavily dependent on corrective lenses. But now, lucky Nate has had his vision restored! Thank you, Lasik! He was pretty sore for the first few hours, but is feeling fine now. His eyesight has been getting better daily. And I'm still sticking little plastic disks into my eyes every morning!

Nate and I also got to see a bunch of friends this weekend. One couple had a fun BBQ (the first of the year!) which also meant we got to see their great new house. A bunch of our others friends were able to make it too. It's been forever since we've hung out, so it was a great way to spend Saturday night. I hope we get to see all our friends again soon!

Parents!

My parents and sister came to visit this weekend! It's been forever, so I was really excited to see them. Not as excited, however, as Riesling was to see her cousin Pippi!Those two have such a ball together. Ries has a playmate, Pippi gets to run free outside (no leash!), and they both smile ear to ear the entire visit. They both slept very well after Pippi went home.

The people had fun too! My sister came down Wednesday night. Nate and I took her to look at Goucher, then grabbed dinner nearby. It's so fun hanging out with my sister, with no one else around. She's so great! I wasn't really around Thursday, as I was at work and my last day of class for the semester (!!!), so my sister hung out with Nate and Ries.

On Friday, my sister came into work with me for the morning. I don't think she was too bored... We went out to lunch with our cousin and my sister's best friend. They both go to GWU! I left my sister with her friend after lunch. She was staying in the city overnight.

But Nate and I were not left alone. My parents drove down from MA that day! The four of us went out for a fantastic dinner at Cinghiale. We all had absolutely delectable food, and highly recommend the place. Nate and I already want to go back! Yummm... We walked around the Inner Harbor for a bit after dinner to try and burn off some calories. I know I was full, and the beautiful evening air was very refreshing!

On Saturday, the four of us made our way into DC. I took everyone to see the Library of Congress. With all there is to see in DC, LOC is often overlooked. However, it is one of the most beautiful buildings in the city - with a very impressive collection! Nate particularly enjoyed all the maps. I for one am a fan of the gorgeous architecture and frescoes!

We picked my sister up at GWU, and headed back up to Baltimore for the O's game. It was a terrible game with the O's losing (of course) right up until the 9th inning. In a last ditch attempt, the O's actually looked pretty good. They really came back, and I thought they might win it! Might is the operative word. And of course they lost, but at least we had fun!

I'm always sad to see my parents leave for home, but it was great having them here just the same. And, they'll be back down again soon for my brother's graduation! Stayed tuned for that adventure (5/17), I'm expecting some complicated weekend plans...

Better Off Dead

Nate had a great weekend! He flew up to Worcester, MA for two Grateful Dead concerts. Two! Back to back! Now, Nate's not the hugest Dead Head or anything, so he was mainly there to see his friends. I'm still hearing about some of the stories and adventures from the weekend. Let's just say, they all had a grate time.

I, on the other hand, would have rather spent my weekend any other way than I did. I was home alone, with three dogs and a 20-page paper to write. I also had big plans for some gardening and house cleaning, but whatever. I started off really well on Saturday. I got some good writing in, and decided to take a break in the garden. That's where it fell apart. I dropped a rock on my pinky and just lost it. After a few hours of self-pity, I decided to check my email. And that's when I found the computer completely frozen in shut-down mode. I'm not sure why the computer decided to turn itself off, all I know is that when I turned it back on my paper was GONE. Erased. Missing.

I freaked out some more. And then spent the rest of the weekend (no more garden breaks) on the paper. I have never been so happy for a Monday!

Ries ate the Easter Bunny

Well... Ries didn't exactly eat the Easter Bunny, but she sure did eat a lot of kibbles!

I've always felt that Easter was a holiday of excess. We deprive ourselves of sweets, soda, red meat - you name it! - for forty straight days. Then gorge ourselves the moment we are sure that Christ has risen, and the Easter Bunny has filled our baskets with treats. Do forgive my sacrilegious sarcasm. Even with all my funny feelings about religion and the church, I believe Easter to be the holiest of days.

There is something wonderful about Easter. The flowers are blooming. Little girls don pretty pink dresses. And Reese's comes out with egg-shaped peanut butter cups. Oh yeah, and we remember that our sins were forgiven by one cool guy.

But back to the excess. While Nate and I filled our hungry tummies with ham and pirogies, Ries decided to partake in the festivities. Somehow she got into a bag of kibbles and ate who knows how much. I knew something was up when I tried to feed her dinner and she turned her nose up at it. My dog - my Riesling - turn down food?! Impossible. That girl never says no to a little smackeral of anything. Well, my suspicions of binging were proven on the car ride home. I turned around to make faces at the dog - and saw the pile. A pile of puke. On the seat of my car. Riesling, upset and confused, turned to me for comfort. I wanted to give her hugs, but she started to look like she was gonna puke - ON ME - again. I threw her head the other direction, and yup. She puked. This was the most pleasant car ride I've ever been on. I keep hoping that Ries will learn from her mistake, but she's back to eating everything she can get!

Happy Easter to all. Let's raise our peanut butter cups to a beautiful spring, and dreams of sugary excess next year.

C'est la Vie

It's the end of the road for our Wildcats. It was a good run, and we're proud. How many other teams can say they made it to the Final Four? Three. That's right. Only three other teams share that claim to fame! March Madness is over for me. I really don't care who wins the Championship this evening. I'm sure Nate will watch. I'm also sure I won't.

We had some other big adventures this weekend. Nate and I finally tackled the English Ivy that had mutated itself into a monstrous force along the back fence. We pulled and pulled till we could pull no more. The fence looks great! Unfortunately, the yard next to the fence is now covered by a 10 foot long pile of dead ivy. Anyone have a chipper we can borrow? There's no way we are bagging all that...

Riesling had her own adventure.

She drew up all the courage she has in her little body, and met some cows. It was a very scary and trying experience, but she is glad she did it. Those cows were just so intriguing to her. She had been thinking about getting closer to them the whole time we were in PA for the Big Game. She finally sucked it up, grabbed Dad, and went across the street. Boy were those cows big! And very curious! Ries had planned on talking to one, maybe two cows. But before she knew it, there were 20 cows at the fence, all vying to see her. It was a little scary when the big cow licked her head, but Dad and I just thought it was pay back for all the times she licks us! Even though Ries was a little spooked by her sudden popularity, she had fun just the same.