Dear Readers,
Since my blog was recently hijacked by our wedding, you’ve been missing out on the tame occurrences in our day-to-day lives. Allow me to enlighten you. We, along with the handful of eye-candy robins and blue jays frequenting our trees, have been gratefully enjoying really nice weather for the past few days. I’m talking mid-50s and bright, warm sun! My herbs and my toes are in heaven. This is huge since I’ve been permanently frostbitten since November. Next weekend our weatherman says we’ll be in the 60s (!!!!!) which would be excellent for a quick afternoon visit to Bass Island, a huge paved trail perfect for rollerblading and biking (um, on the bike I don’t have yet). Now the trick is us both being off work at the same time (or at all, for that matter) so we can go together. It’ll also be perfect weather to dry out and cover all the chipmunk holes in our firepit and have a fire again, which we’re planning on for Friday night!
In the meanwhile I’ve been amusing myself with grand plans of a spring camping trip in Hocking Hills (um, in the tent we also don’t have, as Ted observantly pointed out. But we’ve got the bed of a truck and blankets!) complete with canoeing, hiking, biking, ziplining, cave crawling, archery, cooking over an open flame, and swimming. I’ve also been dreaming of a long-weekend trip to Texas to see my family, friends and Sancho (my handsome boy!), and to relish in the delights of terrific Mexican food and tubing down the Guadalupe river slathered in sunscreen. As if that weren’t enough scheming for the week, I’m tossing around thoughts of a day at King’s Island Roller Coaster Amusement Park (only 45 minutes away!), pro baseball games (Cincy Reds v. Milwaukee Brewers and Chicago Cubs), another Cincy Cyclones semi-pro hockey game (on $1 beer and $1 bbq night of course), a morning at the zoo, and maybe, just maybe heading down the Louisville for the Kentucky Derby the weekend of May 5th. Tickets to actually see the race are totally unacquirable partly because they’re sold out and partly because the least expensive one is about $2,000 booked three years in advance. But $40 gets you general admission into the grounds to see the horses lining up, watch the races on big TVs, and be there simply for the atmosphere and excitement of it all. There’s possible visits to Cincy from both of our sisters sometime in the spring/summer, and hopefully a honeymoon in store for us by the end of August if we can make it happen! So much to look forward to!
Ted had a crazy hectic schedule last week working 9 a.m. to 1 a.m. almost every night in preparation for the opening of the opera The Marriage of Figaro at CCM this weekend. He did manage to sneak away early one night so he could get some sleep and so that we could have a relaxing evening downing wings and queso at Buffalo Wild Wings while playing their electronic trivia game thing. Another afternoon I got off work just in time for his dinner break so on my way home I met him at Mac’s downtown while he ate, much like we used to do when we were both on dinner breaks between show calls at BoarsHead and MSU in Michigan.
Last night he got me a comp. ticket to see Figaro (my first opera!). The story’s trickery, mistaken identity, disguises, unrevealed secrets, and bawdy humor remind me of many of Shakespeare’s plots, which I loved. The orchestra sounded amazing, the voices were very pretty, and I loved the costumes, set and lighting. But I gotta be honest with you, it was a 4 act, 3-hour opera, and by act 4 I was struggling just to stay look awake, not because of the performance, but because that’s a really long time to shut-up, sit still, and not pester the crap out of the monocle-wearing opera fanatic next to you every time you change positions. All in all, I definitely prefer Shakespeare to opera, but it was enjoyable nonetheless and I’m really happy I got to experience one.
In Ted world, he’s in physical therapy two mornings a week for the next few months for his elbow, which leaves him sore but should ease the pain in the long-run so that hopefully he can keep working hard, take up bowling league again, and stuff like that. He’s also got an outpatient knee surgery scheduled for March 1st. It should be pretty non-invasive and with a fairly fast recovery time. His long-awaited 2nd generation iPad is rumored to be released this week as well. It’s his wedding present from me and he’s been anxious for it since October, so we’re both excited that it should be available within the next month!
In my world, I’ve gotten a lot of reading done lately and I’m loving it. I’ve been able to read four books in the past two weeks. I really like memoirs, so that’s been my focus lately, but I’m open to whatever the library has that sounds good. It’s a nice change to have a chance to read, even if it is only at work. One of my best friends loves to read too. She’s a mom and in grad school, so if she can find the time, so can I. Every time I read a book I’m reminded of how badly I want to write a novel or a play. I know I’m capable of it (though getting published is a whole other ball of wax), but it would take a lot of time, dedication and persistence (and an agent if I have any hopes of publication). I’ve also come to understand that Cincinnati is the San Fransisco of the mid-west. So many hills!! I’ve started driving my car in 3rd gear most of the time and its worked wonders so far – my car’s transmission is much happier and I can scale the hills much more smoothly and without worrying about rolling backwards at stoplights. I don’t work today so I’m relaxing, reading outside in the gorgeous fresh air, popping in a red box flick and dining on delicious Chipotle carryout. The makings of a perfect Sunday! I always feel kind of bad relaxing like this when I know Ted is stuck inside at work all day until 2 a.m. (strike of Figaro and load-in of Rent), but I’m looking forward to the days when he’s home and we can do all these things together. So that’s what we’ve been up to lately. Hope everyone out there is enjoying a leisurely Sunday at home and taking advantage of some nice weather!
