I'm baaaaaack

So I didn't forget the password, I didn't fall off the face of the earth, but I did get sidetracked by lots of fun stuff happening.  Here's a quick photo recap:

I went to a 2nd bridal shower in Dayton for one of my best friends.  Cake and champagne on a Sunday? Absolutely.

A couple weeks later, we celebrated her last night of being single with an 80's themed bachelorette party in Columbus.  There were feathers, jelly bracelets, primary colored make-up and jellys.  It was a blast.  The rest of the pictures are marked for friends and family, to protect the guilty.

We took the trip of a lifetime to Santa Theresa, Costa Rica.  We zip lined, we drank coffee, we walked on the beach and most importantly - we celebrated the marriage of a "forever" friend.  It was a magical experience and will likely be getting its own blog post.

I started a new job.  With green hair from the trip to Costa Rica.  Its the change (the job, not the hair) that I needed to make and I'm excited and reenergized by the opportunity and the company that I'm now a part of.  Good things apparently do come to those who wait (although I still hate it).

We celebrated the marriage of two great friends.  The wedding was gorgeous, with lots of small touches that reflected the personality of the bride and groom.  We ate, we drank and we celebrated and of course, we were one of the last ones to leave.

Nerdy husbands...

...get really excited when your former boss cleans out her office and locates a white elephant gift from two years ago and it turns out to be a light up ant farm and then gives it to you to take home to your nerdy husband.

A Moment

This wasn't the reason that I brought the camera outside.  Its the reason I'm so happy that I did.

My Weekend Started Last Wednesday

Weekend recap (as a "single" lady, I took full advantage) thorough the lens of my iPhone and thanks to some image enhancing with iPhoto.

• Happy hour with PSL.  Took the opportunity to cook myself dinner by ordering a fish sandwich and some fries.  I also learned that my new iPhone has the capability for optical zoom.

• Lunch with the work gals.  It was Barracuda's birthday, you know.
• Dinner with the girls.  We "golfed" 18 holes on the patio at Jimmy V's.  Good food, better conversation.
• A "19th hole" beer with PSL.  I think he decided that we should date while Nick was away.  We also found out that his tie matches the inside of my change purse!  We sent the photo to Nick.

• Daycare for Chino!  Oh happy day, he had so much fun. Ran him home after work...

• Dinner with the Franklin girls.  Lost Shepherd is officially approved and will be added to the regular restaurant rotation.
• Drinks with Andy-roo!  Followed by more drinks with Mr. Beer Guys and tug of war with PJ McDuck (aka Boris)

• Hubby Returns!  I welcomed him by serenading him with Alejandro through Andy-roo's sunroof.  Sadly, there's no picture.
• Drinks with Andy-Roo and Hubby too!  The band, The Winnie Cooper Project did a pretty fun rendition of Snoop Doggy Dog.
• McDonald's.  Thank goodness for our delivery boy.  He was thrilled, can you tell?

• Flat tire repair.  I was sitting on the curb "helping".

• Chino got a pool!  Woohoo!  I wore Nick down enough and he relented.

• Drinks with Hubby!  Powell Festival was lame, so we headed to the Liberty Tavern
• Ice Cream.
• Back to the Future!  We're lame and fell asleep.
• Visit with the Grandparents-in-law.  Turkey burgers ala Nick. YUM.
• Bodega with Andy-roo and hubby too!  Youngs Double Chocolate Stout + Jeni's Salty Caramel = L O V E

• Crazy thunderstorms.  Amazingly enough, the power stayed on.

Are you terminal?

The answer is no, I'm not.  But someone made a bit of a joke about it a few weeks ago when they found out that I was about to embark on my first 1/2 Marathon.  The exact statement was, "Are you sure you're not terminal?"  It was mostly because we had just returned from a dream vacation in Europe and then were planning to run 13.1 miles.  Why?  Just to say we did it.  I say we, but this little endeavor was totally my idea.  It was one of those things that I had always wanted to do, but that I could never get the guts to actually attempt.  I would come up with every excuse from, being too fat, to not having time to train, to not knowing where to start.  You name it, I thought of it.

This time though, I outsmarted myself.  I registered for the race in February.  Yep.  Early-bird registration.  This means that I was committed and had to figure this thing out.  So, I found the training plan, running shoes, running pants and finally a perfect bra configuration, and got things under way.  We ran our short distances during the week and long runs over the weekends.  Side note:  We ended up taking two weeks off for Europe (planned in the training schedule) and another week (unplanned) post-Europe as we both recovered from some gnarly chest colds.  For us, the three week hiatus wasn't the best of ideas, but it was the situation and we made the most of it.

For me, running is about 90% mental and 10% physical.  For some reason, I get it in my head that I can't do it, won't do it, am not built to do it, etc and then I start walking.  I know that I'm strong and cardiovasularly fit and able to do this, but no matter what I told myself, I wouldn't just KEEP GOING.  This was a source of ultimate frustration for Nick, because he is my #1 cheerleader and he knew I could do it.  He'd been trying to tell me for weeks actually, but I refused to listen. 

Three (I think?) weeks before the 1/2 marathon, we had to run about 7 miles.  I had a crappy day and couldn't even finish 3.  Pissed was an understatement.  I knew that I could do it, but I couldn't bring myself to do it.  That makes sense in my head.  Nick finished more than I did, but even he didn't get farther than 6 (which to me might as well have been 60). 

The next weekend was the breakthrough that I had so desperately needed.  We ran from the Hills Market, down to Antrim, around the lake and back.  I made it about 7 miles before I had to stop.  Yep!  Seven!  I couldn't believe it.  The next weekend, I was able to do the same route, but add another lap around the lake - all without stopping.  I was so proud that I wanted to cry. 

The following weekend was the race.  I was so nervous and excited and scared all at once.  Of course the weather didn't cooperate with us, and the rain started to come down.  I had started out a little faster than I would have liked, so I ran out of gas a lot sooner than I had wanted.  Originally, I had hoped to run about 10 miles before I would have to start "wogging", but I feel like I didn't make it much past 5 before I had to alternate.  Add to that the rain, and it was a pretty miserable race for me.  The important part though?  I finished.  I jogged across the finish line and completed my goal of 13.1 miles.  The thing that made me mad?  I did it in 3:04.  My goal was under 3:00.  However, I did it.  I finished and didn't allow quitting to be an option. I listened to my body and slowed down when it needed me to.  I allowed myself to enjoy the experience (as much as possible, anyway) and to inspire other people like me who thought that 13.1 miles would never be an option.  I allowed myself to enjoy running.  That in and of itself was the ultimate achievement.

Nick

  Me

Making the most of the winter

Saturday was a cross-training day, so instead of another 60 minutes on a treadmill or on an elliptical machine, we saddled up our mutt and headed to the park.  Our intention was to hit the pet trail at Highbanks, but we found that it was open to cross country skiers only.  We ignored the sign, but quickly realized that the deep, slushy snow would be no fun for anyone, so we turned around and decided to just take a walk.  I had the camera with me, so I captured some photos of the day.

A view of the trail by the river.  I'm kind of proud of this shot.

Playing with the "blurry background" feature on my camera.  I liked how it looked like these two leaves were holding on for dear life.  The bit of color against the gray-ish background caught my eye.

Looking down river.

 This sort of looked like a heart.  I think that Nick was rolling his eyes when I snapped this one.

"Mama, where did that snowball go?"

Chino in action.

The rest of my pictures are up on Flickr.  Enjoy!

Brownie points for the hubby

On one of our nightly walks with Chino, Nick and I were discussing social media, namely Twitter.  Originally I signed up for a Twitter account to try to understand the ins and outs, tweets, retweets and follows.  We have clients who are dipping their toes into social media, so I figured that I should at least be able to have an intelligent conversation about the subject, and to do that I needed to gain somewhat of an understanding.

So I told Nick that he should follow me on Twitter, since 140-something other people think I'm interesting.  Without skipping a beat he says in a somewhat sarcastic tone, "I don't need to follow you on Twitter, I follow you with my heart."

And he says that he's not quick witted?  I beg to differ.

He said sweatshop, I said workshop

I've had a bloggeriffic post ready for quite some time, but it was part of a surprise, so I've had to be hush-hush.  The surprise was for my mom and mother-in-law, and since my mom and dad are both fans of this blog (hi!!!), I couldn't mention what was taking place at our house on a nightly basis.

First, the all important background information...

When I was younger, my mom taught me how to crochet.  I never really followed any patterns, I would just make things up and work on little projects here and there.  Fast forward to my mid-twenties when I rediscovered crocheting and in the process I developed a love for Lion Brand Yarn.  It was more a love based on the comprehensive information found on the Lion Brand Yarn website--tutorials, free patterns, project ideas and did I mention, FREE PATTERNS?  Anyway, I began a folder of wish list patterns, mostly easy ones that would allow me to watch trash TV and work on my various projects at the same time.  I prefer these types of patterns as they require little to no thought or counting as trash TV watching can be a strenuous task, you know.

My recent projects have been baby blankets as gifts for my group of fertile friends.  During my search for mindless, yet meaningful patterns, I also rediscovered granny squares.  Nick thinks that they look like coasters.  What you do is make a bunch of these little coasters, sew them together, add a border and voila, you have yourself a blanket.  As I was working my fingers to the bone for the spawn of my very deserving friends, I thought that it might be nice to make a couple of homemade Christmas gifts as well.  I actually wanted an excuse to buy the latest yarn, Holiday Homespun, which is available in luscious holiday greens, reds and whites, all laced with some sparkle for added cheer.

When I searched for available patterns, I was lucky enough to stumble upon a holiday blanket, made up of granny squares.  Since I had just completed two baby blankets for September arrivals, using this same technique, I was confident that I could get two more finished in time for Christmas.  I mentioned the idea to Nick, who agreed that it was an excellent gift idea for two mothers who have everything.  His one concern was how the gift could truly be from both of us, if he wasn't able to crochet anything.  I asked if he'd help me to prepare the yarn, by making "yarn balls" out of each skein.  Doing this before the project makes crocheting easier by avoiding the inevitable tangles at the end of a skein.  For most husbands, this would have been enough, but not for mine.  He wanted to really contribute.  So, in addition to "yarn balling", I suggested that he help sew the squares the strips together to assemble the blankets.  He was up for the challenge and after a quick lesson and a trip to Michael's, for his own scissors and needles, he was off.

This picture was of the beginning of the process,  strip number one or two of 22 (for two blankets).  About halfway through this strip, he declared himself to be "one mean whipstitcher" and rightfully so.  By the end of 2-3 strips, he was ready for this project to be done.  By the end of his first 11, I had realized that in his haste, he had forgotten securely tie the ends of the yarn to secure the strips together.  Whipstitcher extraordinaire, yes, but end tier?  Not so much.  Never fear, I was here, and we were able to make some quick repairs to the squares that were trying to detach themselves from blanket number one.

By blanket number two, we were both pros.  I was cranking out the squares in batches, ready to be whip stitched into strips.  Nick was whipping and stitching, making sure to securely tie the knots at the end of the strips to avoid the fiasco of blanket number one.  Admittedly, this wasn't his favorite project, but I'm so proud of him for not giving up and leaving me with 110 squares to make into two blankets.  We finished two days before Christmas and as expected, the mothers were thrilled with their homemade gifts,  and impressed that we had both contributed to the project.

Yes, I know that this blog is about my life, his life and a dog named Chino, so it wouldn't be fair to exclude him from this project, or this post, now would it?  No, of course not.

Ok, well he tried to exclude himself from this whole project, but we all know that he can't escape my clutches.

I would like to give him a special shout out for his outstanding behavior, consuming no yarn and chewing on zero crochet hooks during the making of the two Christmas blankets.  This is no small feat for a dog who has eaten knitting needles and has run through the house, leaving a wake of slobbery, tangled yarn in his path.

My boys

Before you look at this picture and say '"awwww", you should know that Chino is probably trying to push Nick off the couch.  Real men don't cuddle, you know.

Crying wolf

I've been known to make fun of Nick for his constant need to call me at any and all phone numbers, when he needs to reach me. There have been days when I hear my cell phone ringing (or vibrating) and then when I don't answer that, my work phone starts ringing, followed by an email with a subject line of "where are you?". He blames it on the fact that my cell phone is only charged or audible about 70% of the time, so he has to contact me by alternate means. I contest that sometimes I just need to be unreachable.

Yesterday was a banner day in connectivity. I spoke to him on my way from work to an event and then we exchanged random texts about Chino's latest and greatest escapades in the back yard (escapades being bowel movements and one of our favorite topics of conversation). See how everything ties back to Chino? After marveling at his latest (Chino's not Nick's) deposit in the backyard, the texts ended as I went back to focusing on my event and Nick headed out to the golf course.

Fast forward to about 9pm. I get home from my event, unpack the car, make some dinner and lay down on the couch to catch up on some trash TV (90210 and Supernanny) and I hear my phone vibrate. Only a text (two buzzes), so I ignored it. Then I hear the phone actually ring, ok - probably my sister - I'll talk to her tomorrow. Then, the house phone rings. I get up in a huff, thinking that someone REALLY must need to get a hold of me. Here's the conversation:

L-Hello?
N-Hi...just wanted to let you know I'll be home in a few minutes.
L-Where are you?
N-On Cheshire Rd., near the vet's office.

~~side note - I just Google mapped and he was calling from approximately 1/2 mile away, so close that Google recommended walking directions in addition to the usual driving route~~

L-Then why are you calling me?
N-To see what you were doing.
L-How about you just ask me when you get here, or better yet, see for yourself?
N-Oh ok - see you in 2 mins.
L-Bye.

While I was up, I decided to check my text messages and/or voicemails. Turns out that he had called at 10:02pm and texted at 9:24pm to tell me that he'd be home in a bit. The actual point at which he called the house was around 10:05pm when I had ignored the other attempted notifications.

This morning, as I'm finishing up my routine, getting dressed and out the door, the house phone rings. I ignored it since I was down in the basement, rummaging through the dryer for something to wear. Next, I hear the familiar buzzz of my cell phone on the kitchen table. I look down and its a random 740-phone number, meaning Nick is calling me from work. I almost didn't answer it, but decided that it was Friday and there was no need for bitchiness before 9am and he wasn't calling from his cell phone, which might mean its important. Turns out that Mr. Connectivity had locked his keys and cell phone in his truck and had misplaced his spare key. Lovely. So I took the detour to his office to unlock the truck and give him some shit, since this is a frequent occurence of his. Key locking, that is. I almost didn't answer my phoneS this moring because of last night's communication escapades.

This post wouldn't be fair unless I acknowledged my own phone stalking tendencies - but I save those for important questions, such as "what's for dinner?" or "can you come pick me up for lunch?"

Boy toy

Yep, that is an exhaust system for a 2000 VW Cabrio. In our hallway. Fully assembled.

Morning Convo.

On the mornings that I don't go to the gym, which has been more often than not, Nick comes up to wake me up and say goodbye before he leaves. Its a comforting routine. He turns the light on, the radio and then comes over to make sure that I'm somewhat coherent. This morning's convo, however was blog worthy...so here it goes.

Nick: Good morning! Chino's been fed, let out and is downstairs. I slept well, did you?

Me: {{Incoherent gobbily goop}}, so-so.

Nick: How come?

Me: You were snoring, but were on your side already so I had to find an alternate means of stopping it (Linda does snoring demo).

Nick: Hahaha. How?

Me: I tried poking, yelling and slapping. That didn't work. So I flicked the band of your boxers and underwear. That worked.

Nick: You gave me a wedgie?

Me: Nope. Just flicked the bands. I had to do it a couple of times. I figured this out after hitting you in the head with your pillow did nothing.

25 Random Things

There's been a facebook forward circulating for a couple of weeks that asks people to list 25 random things about themselves and then tag friends, prompting them to do the same.  I've found out a lot of interesting facts about some people that are already very interesting.  Here are  my 25 things:

1. I married my first boyfriend.
2. I could eat cereal for every meal of every day and be just fine.
3. I was the only one from my high school who went to Ohio State.  I think of it as one of the best and worst decisions of my life.
4. I miss my family every day.
5. I treat my dog like a child and I understand why you may think that its strange.
6. I've developed an obsession with houseplants, I refuse to believe that they're dead until the last leaf falls.
7. No matter what I do, I can't seem to kick my nail biting habit.  I know its horrible and I know that they're ugly, but I really can't seem to stop.
8. I think I want to run a 1/2 marathon, just to see if I can.
9. The thought of having children someday, scares the living crap out of me.
10. I've never been arrested.
11. Rarely satisfied, I'm often in search of "the next best thing" and because of this, often times have trouble living in the moment.
12. I've used geography as an excuse for losing touch with a lot of great friends.
13. I can chug beer faster than most boys.
14. My favorite band is the Offspring and I hope I get to see them this summer.
15. There's nothing better than driving with the windows down, the music up and the sunshine shining.
16. My biggest fear is failure.
17. It takes an act of God (or Nick) to make me take medicine, even when I'm sick.
18. I played the cello from 3rd-12th grade.  I think that I should pick it back up, but keep finding excuses not to.
19. My favorite  move ever is Hook.
20. I'm horrible at sending cards and remembering birthdays, even though I have them all written in my calendar.
21. I wish I had a better relationship with my in-laws.
22. Before Nick and I start a family, we are going to Europe.
23. I'm guilty of judging books by their covers - both metaphorically and actually.
24. I don't like drinking hot beverages when I'm cold.
25. My home decor and organization skills have really been developing in the last year or so.  They're not quite there yet, but every now and then, I see flashes of greatness.

Good things come to those who wait

Its hard for me to type that title, but its true.  At least it has been for me anyway.  This past weekend, I got the chance to hang out with a group of friends that I didn't plan on making.  One of them, who had recently moved to NYC expressed her surprise that Nick and I haven't gotten another dog yet. Nick's stance on this subject is "Hell no".  Mine is, well if it happens, it happens.

Thinking of this made me think of an observation that Nick made the other day.  We were searching for something - a  mission of some sort - and I found that something something that I liked-mission accomplished-but was refusing to believe that I was able to find that exact something that I was looking for, but with little to no effort.  It sort of just happened.  Yes, whatever it was we were searching for was very inconsequential, but it was symbolic of how our lives have been thus far.  Which is where the observation comes into play, as it defines how we've found each other, found our careers, our house, our dog and some of our friends.

Starting with our relationship in general.  Nick and I were the two people in our groups of friends that were always single, without prospects.  That sounds pathetic, and I assure you that its not the case.  We still had fun, enjoyed college, met and dated people, but hadn't found OUR PERSON, yet.  Next, we begin chatting online (yeah seriously, internet dating) and become friends.  Very close friends, but not the romantic kind.  Last weekend, however, Nick made a confession.  He claims that he said it once before, but he said that as soon as he saw my picture, that very first time, before we were even entertaining the notion that we'd be more than our screen names for each other, that I was "marriage material".  Something about my picture triggered that in him.  Kind of a big deal for a 21 year old college student.

Fast forward about a year and all of the sudden, we were now "Nick and Linda".  Fast forward a few years later and he's working in Zanesville, I'm working in Columbus and we're talking marriage.  Three years ago this past Sunday, January 18, he asked me to marry him.  He said that he was ring shopping and found the one that he just knew was meant to be mine.  It wasn't a long, drawn out search, it was just it.  Our wedding was much the same way.  We did little leg work, we just seemed to find the right places, things and venues that were just, us.  Just ask any of our friends if they were surprised when the Dreamland Express rolled up to take them to the church and you'll probably understand.

Back to the dog conversation.  Chino was the same type of phenomenon.  We were not dog shopping, we weren't even looking.  Nick's aunt was looking and successfully found and adopted two puppies.  Since she was such a proud dog mom, she sent out pictures along with photos of the rest of the litter - desperately looking for homes.  Of course, I wanted to go look at them, and of course we fell in love with two of the little male pups.  I had it in my head that a fun dog name would be "Neato Pachino...Cap, Frap and Al Pa"...Chino for short.  So Nick and I crouched down, the two male pups facing us and called for Chino.  The little yellow fur ball came right to us, and we were hooked.  We both knew that it was a bad idea (it was the July before I graduated with my Master's and I was working on a paper.  We were also in the thick of wedding planning).  Knowing nothing about puppies, except that they were cute and fuzzy, we took on the challenge.  Chino quickly shattered our "rainbows and sunshine" attitude, but he balanced his diabolo antics with lots and lots of laughter.  Again, we stick by the story that he found us - and he was meant to be our dog, since we were able to take everything that he dished out and remain hopelessly in love with him at the end of the day.

Rewind again to our weekend with a new group of friends.  These friends used to be just co-workers, but have turned into so much more.  It was something I wasn't expecting when I found my job.  I was expecting a career change and a chance to try something new.  I wasn't expecting the atmosphere and the energy that I found in the people that I work with.  I wasn't expecting to have as much in common with them as I do, let alone wanting to hang out with them OUTSIDE OF THE OFFICE.  I'm very grateful for this group and for the fun and energy that they add to my life.  They make my 8-10 hours per day, more than a job, and make me feel very fortunate.

They are a part of what I've come to realize as my (our) path.  Going after what I want, showing initiative is vital, but so is letting things happen as they happen.  When I sit back and relax, the best things seem to come to me, strengthening my relationships, enriching my experiences and connecting the dots.

Man time

Linda: Will you take Chino to daycare this morning?

Nick: Sure.

Linda: Take his blanket with you, so he can snuggle up in the front seat.

Nick: Why does he need a blanket?

Linda: Because the car is freezing since it sat out all night.

Nick: When I take Chino to daycare, we have MAN TIME.  I take off my shirt, put the windows down and enjoy the ride.

Linda: Mmmhmmm

Nick: Besides, I have my truck warming up as we speak.

My Happy Hubby

Here's a snapshot of Nick's afternoon off.  This unplanned 1/2 day vacation interrupted Chino's 12 hour nap with bright lights and loud noises.  Chino's revenge? Going all Gene Simmons on Nick to show him who's boss.  After which, he immediately went back to pretending not to care. What Chino doesn't know is that these spontaneous bursts of affection are quite enjoyable, since it gives us a small inkling that Chino likes us, just a little, even if he chooses to fake indifference.

The inner workings of the male mind, set to music.

Absolutely hilarious.  Thanks Marci!

A romantic walk with his mistress

At lunch today, Nick decided to take his mistress for a walk.  Proving her worth once again, she was able to some great pictures of the walking trail in Mount Vernon.  I'm adding the great scenery to the list of why Mt. Vernon isn't such a bad place to work, behind gourmet coffee, pepperoni balls, giant cookies and cheap beer.

I sure could go for a good "buger!"

Hello everyone, this is Nick and I'm making my first "guest blog!" Though, I'm not sure how you could consider this a "guest" blog seeing as I'm logged in as Linda. In any case, Linda has been somewhat bugging me to guest blog and I finally got something worth guest blogging about. So here it goes....

On my way to lunch today, I saw this sign in front of a restaurant....



Is it just coincidence that you can order a buffalo" buger" from the menu??

Ok, there it is, my first ever "guest" post!! Hopefully just one of many to come!!

ps - the buffalo buger is really tasty - I suggest you order it if you ever find yourself at Barb's Diner in Mt. Vernon, OH.

Shopping

Nick and I decided to go to Kohl's on Sunday in search of some dress shirts and ties for him for the cruise.  If you know the two of us, you know that we're both pretty casual people, so the ins and outs of menswear are lost on us.  

We decided to start with ties and then find some shirts that we thought matched.  I'm spinning the tie racks around - in the MEN'S department and what do I find?  I real life clip-on tie for big boys. Really!?!?!  Who wears these things?  Even my cargo shorts obsessed, stained shirt wearing, tennis shoes at all times husband knows how to properly wear a tie.  In this picture, he's only smiling because he wants to strangle me with the daisy tie that we did not purchase.