T&L

As we tuned in on NYE to watch the New York ball drop, a commercial from Walt Disney Resorts reminded me that 2012 is a leap year. It was a two part commercial. Part one (aired a few minutes prior to the new year) announced that 2012 would be a leap year and that viewers should stay tuned because Disney had a big announcement to make (and, you know, that whole ball drop thing was coming up too). Part two (aired a few minutes into the new year) was the announcement, something about the DisneyWorld and DisneyLand resorts being open 24-hours on February 29, leap day.

The premise of the commercial was “what would you do if you had one more day?” Of course, Disney’s hope with their commercial and subsequent “One More Disney Day” campaign is that if you were given the gift of just one more day, you’d spend it at one of the Disney resorts making magic with your loved ones. While it is highly unlikely that Ted and I will be scrounging together the bucks to spend a day making magic waiting in long-ass lines at Disney this year, the commercial did get me thinking.

“What would I do if I were given just one more day?”

I thought about the things that are most important to me in this life. The list is short and simple: My husband, my family, my friends, love, laughter, adventure, great food, seeing and appreciating all the incredible places and astounding, miraculous beauty the world has to offer, and sharing it all with others. Everything else is filler.

So I dreamed up two scenarios. The first being a limitless, no-holds-barred, time-and-money-are-no-obstacle, leap day of my dreams and the second being a little more realistic of a leap day plan.

Here’s what I came up with:

Dream Leap Day – I’d invite all of my nearest and dearest friends and family and even some random person who has been struggling and could really use a break to vacation with me at some truly wondrous locale (Machu Picchu, the pyramids in Egypt, a castle and gardens in Germany, the baths in Budapest, the Blue Lagoon in Iceland, a private island in the tropics, the snowy igloos and aurora borealis of the Lapland in Sweden, the blue waters of Greece, the vineyards of Italy, the Great Wall of China, a palace in Poland or Russia, the rice fields of Bali…you get where I’m going with this) where we’d dine on an endless smorgasbord of exceptionally divine food and drink, and we’d love and laugh and adventure and explore and spend this one day together, doing something truly magical and appreciating every second of it.

Realistic Leap Day – Since I only work from 2:30-5:00 p.m. on Wednesdays I would treat myself to a little something special that morning – maybe a long mid-day nap, or tea, a cupcake  and a good book at a sweet little cafe, or a luxurious massage, or a walk through one of Cincy’s pretty parks. I would call my family just to check in, say hello and tell them that I love them. I would try to give my kids a really fun day at work. I would give some money to that homeless person on the street corner. Then after work I would treat my husband to an awesome dinner out at a little restaurant with phenomenal eats. Perhaps we’d meet some friends afterward for a night out on the town or for some good old fashioned fun – bowling, movie, board or video games, a sporting event, or an evening at the comedy club or even just watching the world go by from the top of Mt. Adams. I would spend time with the people I care about, and treat them to a little something nice if finances allowed, and appreciate one extra day to laugh and love.

This year, that age-old wish of all the things I could do if I had “just one more day” is a reality because we are all being given the gift of one more day. One more day to hold your husband tight. One more day to tell your parents that you appreciate them. One more day to celebrate friendship. One more day for that dream vacation to see the world if you’re that lucky. One more day to help out someone in need. I encourage you all to take just five minutes to think about the things that mean the most to you. If you were given just one more day, how would you spend it? Who would you spend it with? What would you do? What would you treat yourself and others to? What would you appreciate? What have you always wanted to see or do? Would you volunteer to feed the homeless, or finally adopt a pet, or make peace with someone, or spend it doing your favorite hobby?

I know that leap day falls on a Wednesday this year, so most of us will be working and unable to take that day off to spend galavanting at an amusement park, or curled up in the arms of our family, or to embark on that world-class, exotic vacation, but I urge you to think about what you can do with the gift of one more day this year. It doesn’t have to be costly or extravagant. It doesn’t have to require a whole lot of time or effort.

Think of one or two little things you can do to celebrate that one extra day this year, and go out there and be thankful and enjoy it!

What are you going to try to do on February 29?

In January I began working part-time at job #1, the museum, after a bittersweet 4-month employment hiatus due to our wedding and subsequent move to Cincinnati. We got our nice new TV, and Ted’s parents came to visit us in Cincinnati for a long weekend.

In February we enjoyed a solid Packers Superbowl win. We watched the game at the home of some of our friends, who happened to be Steelers fans.

In March Ted had and recovered from knee surgery, we explored the town of Milford, celebrated St. Patrick’s day in style with green eggs and ham and beer-batter pancakes for breakfast, and I bought my awesome bike, Carmela.

In April we went to our first Cincinnati Reds baseball game and Ted’s parents came to visit us again. Cincinnati also nearly broke the rainiest month on record statistic. So much rain!!

In May my sister, brother-in-law, and nephews drove in from Chicago to spend a few days with us in Cincinnati. We showed them all our great city has to offer, including the Taste of Cincy festival, and we checked out a couple race horse farms and museums in Kentucky, including Churchill Downs. I started working part-time at job # 2 as the education outreach director for a neat Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky based dance company.

In June I flew home to Texas for a visit with my family, friends, and kitty. I gorged myself on heat and Mexican food and it was wonderful. Meanwhile Ted spent that week in Green Bay finishing up a road case building gig. I also drove to Chicago for a night to celebrate the birthday of my cousin Tammy.

In July Ted’s sister, brother-in-law, nephew, and niece came to visit us in Cincinnati over the 4th of July weekend. We took it easy, played Wii, and went to Coney Island for some rides, games, and fireworks.

In August we selected and put a deposit down on our new apartment and I started working part-time at job #3 (a professional theatre company). I turned 25 and Ted turned 32, and we cruised to Alaska for our long-awaited honeymoon!

In September I got a stylish update with new Coach glasses, we drove to Green Bay for the Packers home opener game against the Saints, and then to Door County for a perfect fall weekend together to celebrate our 1-year wedding anniversary (a little early!) in the place where we got married. I also started part-time at job #4, teaching musical theatre, and my new niece Halle Grace was born in Virginia.

In October we left behind our beloved first home and moved to our great new apartment. We spent much of the month moving, cleaning, unpacking, and organizing. We also celebrated our official 1-year wedding anniversary on the 22nd with a bottle of our wedding wine, the top layer of our wedding cake, and a sweet dance to our first dance song.

In November I cooked my first Thanksgiving dinner for just Ted and I. It was really nice to spend Thanksgiving together, just the two of us, and to start our own traditions. We watched the Packer game, relaxed at home, gave thanks for all our blessings, and enjoyed each other’s company. We also finished the long design process for our three wedding albums. They turned out amazing!

In December my musical theatre kiddos rocked out their final performance, we spent a glorious Christmas in Texas with my parents and sister’s family, and a little excitement rounded out my year when there was a small fire and subsequent mid-morning evacuation at job #1 on New Year’s Eve (everything was okay). Fun stuff!

And that was our 2011! It was a good year for us, and for this we are very thankful. I’m excited to usher in 2012, but will leave 2011 behind with fond memories of our first full year in Cincinnati as husband and wife. We’re hoping 2012 brings me one full-time theatre job that I’ll love, happiness in Ted’s job, more travel opportunities, and most importantly, the blessings of good health, prosperity, happiness, and appreciation for our many blessings for both ourselves and our dear families and friends.

What are you wishing for in 2012?

Happy NYE!

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year! I hope you all enjoyed a warm, safe and blessed Christmas with your loved ones and are all geared up to welcome in 2012!

So, I know it’s been a while since I’ve blogged – 9 days – which is officially the longest length of time between posts since I started our little blog over 13 months ago.  Though I love blogging, I love spending quality time with my family and friends more. We so rarely have the opportunity to all be together relaxing, adventuring, or simply catching up on chatter and hugs that I cherish those moments when I can get my hands on them. Frankly, as soon as Texas for Christmas was on the agenda, blogging over Christmas was off the agenda.

But I’m back, and with plenty of pictures to share! As always, click to enlarge the photos.

We had a deliciously wonderful time in Texas. It was utterly relaxing and fun and full of love and appreciation and it gave us the warm-fuzzies all over.  Our family doctor gave Ted a steroid to help keep his Sancho allergy at bay, so he was able to actually enjoy his time in Texas with us instead of living in sniffly, sneezy, headachy, nose-blowing misery. My sister, brother-in-law, and two nephews made the drive down to San Antonio from Chicago for the week and we all loved being home with my parents for Christmas. Here were the highlights:

• Going out to PoPo’s for a big, long, down-home family dinner together on our first night in Texas.
• Lovin’ on and playing with my kitty.
• Catching up with my girlfriends.
• Scrabble marathons.
• Sleeping in and luxurious mid-day naps.
• Browsing the sweet little antiquey main street shops of Boerne with Ted and indulging in delicious FroYo.
• Mowing down on Texas BBQ (the only BBQ worth eating) and a magnificent lunch of sandwich croissants and creme puffs at French Sandwich, my all-time favorite lunch eatery in San Antonio.
• Introducing Ted to God’s gift to Texans – the almighty breakfast taco. It was a beautiful moment.
• Christmas morning breakfast of cheese grits, eggs, sausage, bacon, breakfast tacos, french toast, biscuits and gravy, pastries, orange juice, coffee, and more at The Hungry Horse in Boerne – our annual Christmas morning tradition where proceeds benefits the Boerne EMS, fire department and other emergency services.
• Mom’s home cooking – tortilla soup, French onion soup, white chili, queso dip, kiss cookies, guacamole, lasagna, broccoli cheese casserole, homemade meatballs and sausage, and lemon meringue pie made with lemons from mom’s lemon tree!
• A scorpion under the Christmas tree. Ted’s Christmas wish was to see a real, live Texas scorpion. Wish = granted. That scorp knew a thing or two about great timing and opportune placement. The sneak was hiding beneath the tree, under the last present.
• Our annual German firebowl party whereby our friends and family gather round for food and merriment while ladles full 100 proof southern comfort are set ablaze, poured over a cone of pure sugar, drizzled into a bowl of hot red wine mulled with oranges and cinnamon sticks, and served in sugar-rimmed glasses. Yeah, it really is just as awesome as it sounds.
• Getting in the Christmas spirit with old vintage children’s toys and classic model trains at an eagle rescue sanctuary in the Texas hill country before heading deep into the heart of Old San Antone to enjoy the lights on the ever-beautiful River Walk and pay our respects to the Alamo.
• Building a fire outside in the chiminea while downing mugs of hot mulled wine and watching Ted bound around the backyard with our neighbor’s long-legged, high-jumping, spirited, lab puppy Felix.
• Ted and my dad reconstructing a part of my dad’s old HO-scale childhood model train set. Those trains haven’t run in over 50 years, so it was really incredible to see them pulling the boxes down from the attic, sitting on the floor taking apart the engines to check the motors, cleaning the tracks with steel wool, hooking up the wires, and watching those trains take their first chugs in half a century. Our favorite was the train car that shoots a helicopter into the air!
• My mom and my nephew Lochlan baking Christmas cookies.
• Decorating the tree and the house for Christmas with dad.
• Christmas Eve mass.

Hope your Christmas was just as special!

In other news our upstairs neighbor was, apparently, gifted a BB gun for Christmas because he’s taken to hanging cheap silver ball ornaments from the bare trees outside and shooting at them and then not cleaning up the remnants. Super classy.

Happy Holidays to you and yours!

This year’s Christmas card!

Please excuse the shoddy photography and supremely poor editing, but I wanted to extend our well-wishes for a happy, healthy, and joyful Christmas season to all our friends as well!

Merry Christmas!

We have so very many blessings to be thankful for!

(via)

I am thankful for…

• the blessing of a happy marriage and a loving husband
• the roof over our head that provides a safe, warm, dry place for us to live
• good health, strong bodies, and able minds
• food to nourish us
• plentiful, clean water to drink
• clean and warm clothing
• our educations
• employment to sustain us
• a reliable vehicle
• being raised by loving parents in happy homes
• our faith
• lasting friendships
• years of happiness with so few troubles
• waking up each morning
• freedom and peace
• the sacrifices others have made
• the talents we were blessed with and the things we do well
• the great city in which we live
• our five senses
• the beauty of the world
• kindness and generosity
• community
• help when we’ve needed it
• humor
• a life rich in spirit, joy, laughter, adventure, and love
• the responsibility to give back
• to have so much to be thankful for
• and three days off….amen!

I am thankful…

(via)

…every day of the year.

Today is our last day renting our house, the day we turn in the keys for our home on Dunn Rd. We lived there for less than a year, but that year taught us so much. We learned about leaking basements and concrete foundations, weather-stripping and hardwood floors, insulation and landscaping, shoveling snow off a 316 ft. driveway and raking a secret garden full of leaves, the upkeep of a century old home and re-installing a mailbox after a utility truck takes it out, constructing a fire pit, and a whole lot about budgeting and responsibility. We learned about life as a married couple, and made our own first holiday traditions, and worked hard, and relaxed, and laughed, and cried, and struggled, and triumphed in that house. It was our first house. The house we came home to as a newlywed, married couple. We put countless hours of hard physical labor into that house, left it a little better than we found it, and it may have sucked our bank accounts damn near dry, but it was ours. And it holds a lot of beautiful, wonderful, happy memories. I won’t pretend this isn’t hard. I’ve shed many a tear over leaving this place. Most days I still cannot drive past it without tears streaming down my face. But I am happy to have had it for this one year and I know that it will always be our sweet little house, the fruit stand, set way back off the road on quiet, tree-lined, Dunn Rd.

A little piece of it will always be ours. And a little piece of us will always belong to that house, for as long as she stands.

Tomorrow is our one-year wedding anniversary! I don’t know about you, but I find it absolutely astonishing that in about 24 hours we’ll have been married for a full year. I could go on for days about how strange it is that only one short year ago I was finally in Door County – one of my most favorite places on Earth – basking in the wonder of a sweet autumn, or sitting in a little salon getting a rare treat of a manicure and pedicure, or joyfully greeting beloved family and friends as they poured into town, or setting up the tables in the reception hall, or putting the finishing touches on this and that, or rehearsing our ceremony, or enjoying the world’s most awesome rehearsal dinner in existence, or thinking how darn lucky I was to be marrying Ted, surrounded by our incredible family and friends who’d travelled all this way to be a part of something so special to us.

But that was a year ago, not last week or even last month. A few weeks ago I was thinking about this blog. A blog called “Newlyweds in Cincy.” I’d been struggling to come up with a clever title for this little blog I wanted to start to document our life and keep our friends and family in the loop. I was searching for something that really spoke to our new life together, but that wasn’t as bland or cliche as “The Story of Our Life.” Because that could be about anyone – but this was sbout us. Newlyweds in Cincy fit the bill. It summed up our entirely new circumstances of being newlyweds living in a brand new city and had a nice ring to it. So, there you have it. Newlyweds in Cincy.

I didn’t really think about how well that blog title would adapt to life in a changing world. I didn’t think about what would happen when we were no longer newlyweds, or when we moved to another city. I guess I just thought I’d just be lazy and keep it, or I’d change it when it no longer seemed appropriate because we we’d been married for 4 years and living in Iowa for two and a half of them, or something like that.

Then I got attached to it. I like the name Newlyweds in Cincy. I like what it says about us. A happy couple exploring our new home and all the great things it has to offer, and weathering life’s up’s and down’s as a team. As our one year anniversary approached I contemplated the name. When is a couple no longer newlyweds? After one month? Six months? A year? I’m sure most people would call it after a year. You get that one year to bask in the newlywed status, to make googly eyes at each other and hold hands in public and shamelessly flaunt your wedding pictures and proudly proclaim that you’re newlyweds and then after that you’re cut off – now you’re just married. I wondered if it was time to change the blog title to something more “appropriate.”

But the more I thought about it, the less I agree with branding “newlyweds” as a designated period of time. I believe newlyweds is less about the amount of time that you’ve been someone’s husband or someone’s wife, and more about a state of being, a feeling, a way of life.

And that’s why I’ve decided not to change the title of this blog, likely for as long as it exists. It’ll always be Newlyweds in Cincy, or Newlyweds in Philly, or Newlyweds in Austria, or Newlyweds in Timbuktu for all I care. The location will change – I can promise that. Theatre folks are nomadic after all. But the newlyweds won’t change. Because I see nothing wrong or misleading about still being newlyweds (though you may not ever publicly call yourselves so) after three years, or nineteen years, or forty-seven years.

My parents have four children, nine grandchildren, a few half-children (foreign exchange students they housed, foster children they helped raise, etc.) and have been married for over forty years. They’ve moved nationally and internationally many, many times and have faced their fair share of trials and joys. They have one of the best, most loving, marriages I have ever witnessed and when I see them laugh together, and tease each other, and do something kind or helpful or selfless, or go one some great adventure together, or even just sit at the table for lunch and a cup of tea, I just know that they’re still newlyweds.

I have a best friend who has been married for five years and they’re one of the happiest, most playful couples I know. Definitely newlyweds. Another friend and her husband, who have been married for nearly the same length of time, have some of the best teamwork going in terms of planning their future and achieving their goals together. They’re still newlyweds. My sister and her husband have one of the kindest, most respectful marriages I’ve seen after seven years. I’d say they’re still newlyweds.

So with our one-year anniversary looming closer every minute, I think we’ll keep on being newlyweds, thanks. And this blog will go on being Newlyweds in Cincy for as long as we’re in Cincy. And then we’ll just be newlyweds somewhere else.

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It’s the big one folks – the quarter century mark.

Yep, that’s me now! A freshly minted twenty-five.

Yay!

The number tells me that I am no longer in my early twenties, but my mid-twenties. A whole new category altogether. Isn’t that weird? Because I still feel 22. I will be officially described as a daughter/wife/friend in her mid-twenties. Spooky.

Does this mean I’m a real adult now?

(Or did that happen when I turned 18? Or moved away from home? Or got a big girl job? Or when I got married? Hmmm. I guess I really am an adult. When did that happen?)

Regardless, I’m ready for it and I’m stoked! Twenty-four was good to me in so many tremendous, life-altering ways and I sincerely hope that twenty-five is a blessing beyond belief as well – full of just as much joy, excitement, laughter, positivity, good eats, good times, love, and adventures as one can possibly cram into 365 days.

It’s also worth mentioning that yesterday was Ted’s birthday….30 again!

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A very happy birthday to my funny and weird, yet handsome and totally endearing husband! What a guy! :-)

Last year for his 31st birthday my mom sent him a Happy 30th Birthday card. We loved it. Ted will be turning 30 every year for the rest of his life, we decided. I only hope there’s a vast and stunning selection of brilliant 30th birthday cards to tide us over for the next seventy years.

This year we’re celebrating the birthdays in our own special way.

More on that later.

But it’s totally excellent, in case you were wondering. In fact, I cannot think of more spectacular way to ring it in.

While I’m at it I’m going to throw out a big old ball of birthday love to my mom, who is celebrating her birthday tomorrow!

Birthday love all around.

And cake. Lots of delicious cake.

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(mint chocolate ice cream’s my fave, if you’re sending it)

See, I told you I love August.

Who might this sweet little darling be? She’s the 12 wk old kitten Ted rescued from a tree last night! My co-worker Anna sent out a Facebook post around 9 o’clock yesterday evening requesting the help of anyone with a tall ladder near the Mt. Washington area to help her get a stuck kitten out of a tree at her apartment complex. The kitten was about 25 ft. up and had been clinging to the lofty branch for over two days without food or water. She was terrified to climb down and mewed loudly and desperately every time a person passed by her tree, pleading for their attention and help. A regular ladder wasn’t tall enough to reach her and both the fire department and humane society turned down prior phone calls to help the stranded, frightened little girl. We were enjoying an episode of Master Chef when I checked Facebook and saw the post at about 9:15.

Kitten in need of rescue? Pull, heartstrings, pull! We have a tall extension ladder just aching to be used, and we only live six minutes from her apartment complex! Between my whining, the pathetic look on my face, the realization that his wife wouldn’t sleep that night (meaning, he wouldn’t sleep that night either) if she knew there was a terrified, hungry, dehydrated kitten out there that we didn’t help, and because he’s a stand up kind of guy, it didn’t take long for us to load the extension ladder into the truck, along with a few work lights, extension cords, thick gloves to protect against kitty claws, and a can of tuna – for good measure.

One look at the tree was enough to see that even the tall extension ladder wasn’t going to cut it. The kitten looked down and cried, her little eyes glistening in the moonlight. These are the moments that I am proud to have a smart husband and a tall, manly pick-up truck. Ted backed the bed of the truck up against the trunk of the tree, unfolded the ladder, and positioned it precariously with the base of the ladder on the tailgate and the top of the ladder leaning against the tree. Anna and I stood on the base to secure it. Ted climbed up, up, up into the canopy of branches. Even on tiptoe at the top rung of the ladder, arm outstretched, the kitten was still about a foot away. The kitten was happy to see Ted, but too scared to jump down into his one free hand.

It took a lot of reaching, a little coaxing, and some sweet talking before the kitten was able to show Ted what she wanted him to do. She nudged his hand with her outstretched paw over to the trunk of the tree. She slid her tiny head under his hand so he could grab her by the scruff of her neck. Once he had a hold of her, he readjusted her so his hand was under her rib cage. He carried her down the ladder and plopped her into an awaiting cat carrier. She never used her claws or thrashed her body.  She was simply relieved to be rescued. Ted says she was the sweetest kitten he’d ever come across.

I thanked him profusely for being my hero and an all-around amazingly sweet guy to dangerously rescue an animal he’s not even fond of and highly allergic to late on a Monday night. I told him he’d already accomplished his good deed for the month and it’s only August 1! What an over-achiever ;-)

If you live in the area and you’re in the market for a sweet friend, she’s looking for a loving home. Can you say no to this sweetness?

Didn’t think so. It’s okay – I can’t either.