Congrats Christen

My best friend (who happens to live 2000 miles away) gave birth to her first child-- a babygirl on July 13, 2010 at 2:27 pm. At 7 lbs 12 ounces and 20.5 inches long she is one of the most adorable babies I've ever laid eyes on. I'm biting at the bullet to book my flight to Florida.

Congrats to the Ries family!!! Aunt Jess and Uncle M can't wait to spoil her!

Ps. C: do not expect me to get baby fever when we get there. you might as well prep yourself on having another before I pop one out :)

French Toast

The boy's brother, D, and his girlfriend came to visit this weekend. They had yet to see the new house and took advantage of D's 4 day vaca from work to sight see in Baltimore and visit us. We always talk up Blue Moon Cafe around our family. Mainly because it's that damn good. So this morning before they departed, we ventured to Blue Moon.

Blue Moon is about the size of my living room and has only a handful of tables, meaning there is no area to wait inside of the restaurant. We waited for about an hour, in the rain, before we were seated. We had just ordered drinks when in walks Duff, from Ace of Cakes. He walked right up to the owner and planted a big, long, wet one on her lips. Of course, the man who makes delicious cakes dates the chick who is known for the best breakfast in town. Match made in kitchen.

D is shitting his pants with excitement and plotting ways he can accidentally bump into Duff. At one point he even gets up to go to the "bathroom" just so he can walk by him. D begins "inconspicuously" taking pictures of Duff each time Duff gets up and walks to the kitchen. I mean, when you're doing the chick who owns the place, you can get any damn well thing you please out of the kitchen. After the third picture D tries to take, Duff takes out his phone and snaps a picture of D. Pure awesome. D's face turns an attractive shade of fire engine red.

Duff walks over and explains to us how he has an entire album of folks who have over the years covertly attempted to take his pic. He chit chats with us for a few minutes and then takes a real picture with D, that of course, went straight to facebook. Meanwhile, I'd love to see Duff's album...

He left right as our food was served and D could hardly manage to eat the Capt'n Crunch French Toast put in front of him. Now if only we could convince Duff to make the boy and I a wedding cake for something less than our first born.

Going Abroad

I was on hold with a mortgage company at work today so I typed in the address of a blog I like to read from time to time. I read through 2 or 3 posts and then clicked the 'Next Blog' button, browsing onto other blogs to pass away some idle time. I came across a couple, who after 50 years in the States, have packed up and moved to Africa. I'm not sure if they are missionaries, apart of a government program (and I suspect not), or if they just decided they needed a change of pace but whatever it is, I'm in awe.

At one point in my life I thought it would be "fun" to go to China to teach kids English or travel to an impoverished country and work at building a better life for the locals. Of course, college and internships and social activities and a "real job" consumed much of my time and that "thought" stayed just that, a thought.

So, I've decided that before the age of 30 I will make it my mission to turn that thought into action, to help improve the quality of life for those who haven't been afforded the same opportunities I have. And after revealing this ephiphany to a friend of mine, it looks like I may have some company on my travels.

Bathroom Humor

For the first 10 years of my relationship (yes, you read that right, 10) with the boy we pretended like we didn't fart or poop. We never shared bathroom humor jokes or anything of the such. When we moved in together all of that changed. Literally, overnight the boy forgot about every manner his mama ever taught him. Although, oddly enough he still shuts the bathroom door when he pees. I don't even remember the popping of the bathroom humor cherry. But I do know one day it was there and the next day it wasn't.

We now discuss bathroom habits, routines, lack of routines, and all kinds of disgusting crap I wish I didn't know or share mainly because that boundary has been crossed and frankly, there is no going back. So it makes this story that much better.

Last Fall the boy found himself in a terrible predicament. He got into a car accident, one that he was not responsible for and ended up getting cited for Driving on a Suspended Driver's License due to the MVA's failure to include an apartment number on his registration. Thankfully, I used to work at a law firm and my old boss agreed to represent him in Court for a small fee.

While waiting for the boy's case to be called we had the misfortune of listening to a REALLY old attorney read names of people requesting expungements. In the middle of litigating, the dude let out the loudest, longest far I've ever heard. The other attorney's in the room were trying to cover their full-on laughs, not giggles or snickers but straight up laughter. The Judge couldn't even pretend he didn't hear it.

So tonight when this old dude standing in front of me made more room in his stomach than 5 seconds earlier, I just looked at the boy and shook my head. I hope when we're 105 and still going out to dinner with one another we don't give a damn who hears us fart either.

Birthday Card

After a 4 hour long happy hour I raced home to get my damn work clothes off. Not so much because they were uncomfortable but because I have insane sunburn and couldn't wait to go commando. As I walked in the front door, the boy bellows "there might be birthday cards on the table for you". Ah yes, my birthday is tomorrow (although I've been celebrating all weekend). Two cards were in fact waiting for me- one with Jess scribbled on the front and one with Mom written on it. The boy insisted I open the one from the Tuck first that oddly enough had picture of the Tuck on the front. Well, the Tuck's twin anyway ( I mean, if we're not getting royalties for that pic it must not be our dog, right?!).

Moving along, the next card was from the boy. He couldn't have called Hallmark and said "put a, b, and c in this card" to make it anymore perfect. We are not a sappy couple. He doesn't plan elaborate dates or buy outlandish gifts on the reg. But he's thoughtful. When he goes to the store he brings me home kit kats and cokes. When I'm sick he comes home on his lunch to check on me. He makes me breakfast in bed occasionally and tells me he loves me just because. And this card expressed just that.

There were lines about having too much pride and being a jerk, lines about dancing with me and telling gross jokes, lines about never being on time and letting me do all the work. But it ended with how he may not be perfect but he's perfectly him. And it's true. Our relationship is a far cry from perfect. We fight, we cuss at one another, we go to bed angry and say things we don't mean. But we love each other. Good, bad, or indifferent. At the end of every day I'm just happy I share my life with him. The small moments, the big moments, and every moment in between.

I'm thankful to spend another birthday with him. Especially since I get the day off from having to walk the dog. Score.

Gypsy Dog

Our dog, the Tuck, rules the roost. Seriously. He paws at us, we take him out, he whines at us, we pick him up, he brings us a toy, we throw it. He apparently sent us to obedience classes...and we excelled with flying colors.

Having the Tuck around is like having a built in comedian. We make him dance, we give him silly hair cuts, and we pretend he talks like Borat. Fun, right? Until the little monster needs to go outside. And it's not even so bad when he only has to pee, but it's a bitch when he has to go #2. Especially because we apparently live in high society wherein our homeowner's association takes 900 years to approve the plans for our fence so our dog can crap in our backyard. Wait, we should probably submit those plans first...

Anyway, the boy and I are in a constant war over who has to take the dog out, plastic bag in hand. The most common method of solving this complex problem is rock, paper, scissors.

For the third time in a row...V.I.C.T.O.R.Y. This time with papahhh.

Five Years

Five years doesn't seem like that long ago. In fact, as cliche as it may sound, it seems like just yesterday I took my first step on Towson's campus and met a wonderful group of people. I came across this picture last night and it made me think how different my life is now compared to my life in'05. Living sitch: In '05, I shared a 4 bedroom apartment with three other girls. Two of the ladies I am still in contact with , one...well, I have no idea what her life is like these days. Today, I'm sharing a house, my very own, with a man who I will be marrying in 11 months.

Makin' paper: I worked part time at the University bookstore with a fab group of people where I laughed a lot, excelled at sudoku, and threw up a many a times. I've since upped my work hours to full time plus some for a great job with the government. My t-shirts and sneakers have been traded in for suits and heels, morning sodas and advil to coffee and an english muffin.

Friends and folks: I won't say I have a new group of friends rather I've expanded my old gang, because for the most part, we're all still friends. The same group that got busted for underage drinking on Sept 3, 2005 (and for the the record, only the 3 people who lived in the apt got citations) are now legally drinking together. A couple have been lost along the way but a few more have been gained.

Heart matters: Nothing has really changed in this department. Add a major breakup in '07 followed by a major engagement in '09 and you're up to speed. It took us a minute to figure things out but it's been mainly smooth sailing post '07.

It may not seem like THAT much has changed for me in 5 years but with a college graduation, a couple jobs, a white furry dog and my seemingly carefree, somewhat crazy life has transitioned into a big pile of stability. It's amazing that even my clothing style has changed. I've traded my American Eagle/Hollister wardrobe for a new chic look. I do still secretly enjoy plaid still. Even my long brown curly locks have been chopped off into a much easier, stylish do-although at the request of my future husband/mother I am growing it back out for the wedding. Spoiler alert- the day after the big shin dig, it's going to be gone with the wind. I must be doing something right though because I must admit, life is pretty sweet at the moment.

I can't wait to compare life in the next 5 years. Hopefully foreign travel and a closet full of expensive heels are in my future.

What have you done in 5 years?