Oh Gee Golly . . .

It happened. I turned 25. That's right, 2-5. I moved on to the 25-30 box, and I like it. I don't feel older, but then again I don't think anyone ever does. This year my birthday was amazing. Probably the best I ever had. Saturday Me, Zach, and the McNeals ventured into NYC for shopping, dinner, and a comedy show at the Upright Citizens Brigade in Chelsea. Right before the show we filled up on delicious Urban Style BBQ from Rub BBQ. So good and so unexpected. ---I had BBQ duck---The show was absolutely hilarious. One of the writers from 30Rock performed, she was fantastic, but so was everyone else. Eventually we headed back home. Such a wonderful day!



Sunday I slept in and felt like I did pretty much nothing. However, I did the laundry and cleaned the house. . . . but it was still so relaxing. Zach---the bestest-friend-husband-comic relief I have ever had---made me the most delicious dinner. Actually it was not just for me, the McNeals and our good friends Ruth and Eric also joined us! For dessert we had cookie cake. My favorite. Monday--the actual B-Day--was spent working. Which actually wasn't that bad. My boss made me a cake! After work Zach ordered pizza and then we opened gifts. So fun. So blessed. So So So blessed.

Love you and miss you all.

Thanksgiving Week

This past week was fantastic. Our great friend/brother Josh came to town for a week of fun and Thanksgiving. We played games, went to Lambertville/ New Hope, enjoyed Princeton, and simply hung out.


Thanksgiving was spent with the McNeal family. We celebrated at their house. It truly was a perfect day. The food was delicious, the company was perfect, and everything worked out. Rae was gracious enough to supply pretty much everything on her own. . . . .**Good job Rae! You did an amazing job and everything was delicious and your home was wonderful and cozy!**. . . .

Christina came into town so she could catch Josh before he went back down South. We played more Phase 10, went to the Record Exchange, enjoyed some delicious hot chocolate from the Bent Spoon and laughed a ton. . . . sooo good. She was also sweet enough to venture into Verizon with me so I could get a new phone. Thanks!

Tomorrow means going back to work for me and jumping back into school work for Zach. But in a couple of weeks we head to Florida for two whole weeks. So there's that to look forward to!
Love you and miss you all.

Also. . . .

Do that many people really buy Hess Trucks? Apparently! Did you know the first Hess Toy Truck was made in 1964 and a new one is produced every year? I want to know who owns all of them.

While I was researching my new found interest---Hess Trucks---I found this little gem:


No banana will ever be bruised again. Thank you, oh wise inventor, thank you.

Hi again. . .

So for some reason the text in my last few posts have been causing me some problems. I disagree with the fonts rudeness. Any whoo. . . .

Last weekend Zach and I went into Lambertville/New Hope. We had a ton of fun relaxing and walking down the beautiful streets. We had lunch at a restaurant called Havana. I am pretty sure we chose the most delicious items off the menu, but I hope not because I would like to go back.


Though I didn't find anything cute to bring home, Zach found an old batman soundtrack album, and a gift for our friends! The gift is a secret. . . . because it's a gift. The towns that surround Princeton are adorable. Every time we visit a new town I find myself saying, "One day I want to live in a small town like this one, that's at least an hour from a city, and in the South." Just like that little town I made up. . . . . everyone please join us?

Also, our cats love eachother.


Love you and miss you all.

cont. .

So that was D.C.. We had an amazing time. I was reminded me of how much I miss my family in Florida. One day we will go back, but for now, New Joysee is our home.


On a sadder note:
Last Tuesday I learned that my grandfather had passed away. Though the past few months of his life were the rockiest parts of our relationship . . .he will be remembered as an amazing, hilarious, and wonderful grandfather. Obviously, my feelings towards my grandfather and the appreciation I have for him could never be fully expressed in a blog. He was loved and he will be missed. Death is sad, but I know he is happy in Heaven with my grandmother.

Hi there.

Zach and I spent Halloween weekend with my parents in D.C. for the Rally to Restore Sanity. As I have mentioned before. We stayed in an amazing condo---thank you Jones Family---and had a wonderful weekend. Cathy and I did not last long at the Rally. About 45 minutes in we were both exploring one of the Smithsonian's. We had a lot of fun relaxing and looking at all the cool exhibits. Plus we caught a 3D ocean film in IMAX. Eventually we met back up with Zach and Dad and then headed back to the condo to relax a bit before dinner. The weekend flew back and I wish we could have spent soo much more time together. Here are some pictures.

Our amazing never-will-forget-view:

And again at sunrise (because it's so pretty):

The eight hour walk to the Rally:

Oh what fun

Sometimes I get super nostalgic. Mainly because certain times in my past were super fun. In fact, they were super fun most of the time. Some of these times were captured on video. Not all of the times, that would be impossible, but just tiny glimpses of the past. Like this gem:



I realize that this may seem like nothing to a lot of people. But I am pretty sure that for the people in the video, this little video brings back a lot of good memories from a really really funny time. I loved living with these girls, and do not be fooled, living with a boy---whom I love and would never in a bagillion years change roomies---- is in no way the same thing. We still have funny times. **think GUMBY** But if you are in college. . . or just out of college. . . . you should live with girls who you plan on being friends with forever (and ever and ever and ever and ever).

In other news, Zach is currently writing a 10 page paper. It's due Sunday evening. Right about now he should be on his 5th page. But that's just a guess. He is in the computer lab typing/thinking/being a genius. You might be wondering why he is working on his paper right now since it is due Sunday evening. Because you know Zach, and you know that he enjoys/ends up writing his papers at the very last moment. Works best under pressure? He is writing now because WE are going to D.C. TOMORROW to meet up with MY PARENTS!! YAYYY I am so dang excited. Perhaps I will video a bit from this weekend, because it's going to be filled with laughs and good times.

More random: My friend Victor being awesome. . . sorry you can't see him that well .. . . but he sounds AWESOME!



hermmm what else. I am currently reading through The Girl Who Played With Fire by Stieg Larsson. Not so great. There are way more boring/slow parts than good. I am determined to finish it because I paid for it. The Help is next and I am super excited.

Love you and miss you all.

Things that are awesome:

Thing #1. Zach and I woke up this morning at 6am and headed out to enjoy a 3 mile walk with one another. It was cold and lovely outside.

Thing #2. While we were walking we saw a woman (presumably the mother) jogging with her 6 and 7 year old children. I don't actually know how old these kids were. . . . but they looked real tiny.

Thing #3. Going to Stewarts for chili dogs and a root beer float on Sunday afternoon with Zach.

Thing #4. The video that was recorded on the drive to Stewarts. I'm a safe driver.

Zachinator?

Nothing exciting has happened and there is no news. However, I am going to post something because I'm tired of being told I don't post enough.
Recently I learned that one of the woman I work with collects American Girl dolls. Which you might think, "OK, kind of odd for a full grown woman to collect dolls but it happens." However, this woman calls her dolls her "children." She baths them, cuts their hair, and changes their clothes. She has been known to say things like, "Well, I've got to go home and give the kids a bath." Yes, she is married and as far as I know, the husband is fine with his wife's adopted children. To top off the obsession, there is a cork board above the desk where everyone keeps pictures of their kids. Among all the human children there is a picture of 6 doll-children sitting on a staircase smiling for their proud momma. Interesting eh?

Zach has been super busy with school and his field education. He can post about that whenever he wants to. I know I wouldn't do it justice.

ALSO! I completely slacked on posting about a crazy awesome gift that Zach received from our good friends Eric and Ruth. the Zachionfigure (sorry if I spelled that wrong.)


I know, super impressive. Plaid shirt, thick beard, hairy hands, chests, and arms. . . . couldn't have been more on point. This is just one of the many reasons why we enjoy our friends Ruth and Eric.


We are planning on going to D.C. for Rally to Restore Sanity. To be honest though, the only reason we are going is to meet up with my pops! He is going to be riding his motorcycle up from Tampa. Crazy man. He's stopping along the way so that's good. We are really excited to see Dad and even more excited that we get to spend the whole weekend with him. At some crazy rally. I will be sure to take pictures of all the rally-ness.

That is all. Love you and miss you all.

So I couldn't sleep this morning. I woke up at 5am. Which was no good. I watched a bit of TV because I was really bored and I knew that Zach wouldn't want to wake up and play. . . . .and then I got on my computer.

Which is where this came from.

Love you and miss you all.

Demolition Time.

I am not quite sure whether or not I have mentioned this before now, but we currently live right across the street from a demolition site.


Our buildings siblings are being knocked down. Kinda sad. . . .kinda cool. Apparently a lot of the neighborhood kids are freaked out by it because their old friends used to live in those houses. . . .. and now where are they going to come home to? In those rubble-filled spots will one day be our new homes. Well, our new homes that we will move into and then a year later move out of (and maybe come back to Saint Augustine?).


This past Sunday Zach, Rae, and I went out to Terhune Orchards for Apple Day! Last year Zach and I spent at least an hour and a half wandering around. . .this year we all knew that we just wanted Cider Doughnuts and yummy goodies from the store. So we were there for maybe 20 minutes. It was great.


This is Bella. We are dog sitting her for the weekend while our friends (her parents) are out of town.

Work is good. Life is good. I can't wait for winter!
Miss you and love you all.

Guest Spot: Zach's Little Victories

I don’t know that this is really an account of a victory, small or otherwise, on my part or just one
of the many goofisms which comprise the overwhelming majority of my daily business. Nonetheless it
stuck out in my mind as being representative of what our life is like together. So, to set the scene, Kaley
and I went camping with the McNeals and we were sitting around roasting marshmallows over a tiny
charcoal grill. We were roasting them over a grill because fires were banned, so was swimming. This
camp ground didn’t allow camp fires or swimming. Sounds like a lot of fun, right? Well, jokes on you Bass
River Camp Ground, it was.

So the rest goes like this:

Kaley: Honey, would you get me a marshmallow?

Zach: Sure. (disappears)

Kaley: blah blah blah

Kevin McNeal: Blah blah blah movies blah blah blah

Rachael McNeal: Blah blah blah my hair is red blah blah blah

Zach: (returns after some time with no marshmallow)

Kaley: Where’s my marshmallow, honey?

Zach: (puzzled with dawning realization) Oh, I was standing at the table thinking, and then I realized
there was a marshmallow in my hand. I figured I must have wanted it. So, I ate it.
True story. I would argue that it counts as a small victory because my wife has to live with stuff like that all the time, and I got a marshmallow. If you're wondering if my wife ever got her marshmallow, then you obviously don't know her or her indomitable will when it comes to getting what she wants.

new job and way cooler more interesting things

Have you ever worked with ALL women? Working with only women is dangerous. Everyone is catty and someone is always pissed at the world. On the other hand, everyone is very understanding. Well, almost everyone.
Today was no good. The entire time I was being trained by this one woman. She's one of those people who have a way of making you feel like a big idiot (which I know I'm not so the whole time I just wanted to punch her right in the face and leave). At one point in time she looked at me and said, "Well, I already went over this with you once so you should obviously be taking notes." This was prime punching-in-the-face time. But I held back. Anyways that sucked. . . .I will be having a conversation with my supervisor tomorrow morning.Moving on. Awesome things that have been happening lately:

Rhode Island!! Zach and I headed North to visit the Grandparents. We love them because they are awesome. Here are some lovely pictures.





Zach made a delicious meal for six! He just wanted to. So we invited the Hedges and the McNeals and Zach made delicious yummies. Apple butter glazed pork chops with homemade mashed potatoes, sauteed zucchini and squash, salad, and dinner rolls. So delicious.


CAMPING!!!! Last weekend Zach and I headed to Bass River State Forest for camping! Rae and Kevin were already there with the tents all setup. It was sooooo fun. The weekend was full of bocce ball, Rook (a card game), delicious food, wonderful weather, and laughing. Lots of laughing. It was so nice to be in the middle of a forest with no city noise or yuppy people. Noteworthy items: --We got kicked out of the lake because apparently we're not aloud to swim after Labor Day Weekend (water dragons?) --Zach is able to climb up trees real fast and with little effort. --Rae and I are amazing camper-cooks. -- We also are really good at reading for long periods of time while sitting right next to one another while Zach and Kevin hurl hatchets at trees. --Smores are in fact delicious over charcoal grills. --We also were not aloud to build a fire because it hadn't rained in a while. --Bocce ball and Rook are both very good games. --Zach can juggle bocce balls (in case you were wondering). Collage time.


almost forgot the sweet painting/birthday gift I made for Rae!

Zach's Little Victories

For some time I’ve been contemplating writing a guest spot for my Wife’s blog. I thought since she gives the broad strokes of what’s been going on in NJ, I’d set forth to create a window into the smaller, less visible aspects of our life. While such a view is by nature narrower, it offers a more nuanced perspective. So I hope it will sketch in some of the details and display more of our unique character.

This first guest spot is a poem I wrote. I was reading some essays by Eugene Peterson from his book Subversive Spirituality. He’s a well known pastor and scholar and he utilizes a lot of classic literature and poetry to give depth to his writing. I thought I would try to explore my own artistic faculties in preparation for this next academic year. So this is a first attempt and may expose me as a novice poet.

Some clarifications I bet my wife would feel better if I included. First, I apologize for the expletive in the first line. Second, she defended the odor of the couch, which I could not debate since my nose is mostly ornamental. On its best day it can barely be bothered to be breathed through, much less smell anything with any reliability. So, I know I couldn’t out smell Kaley on the smellingest day of my life. Third, the stains are nearly invisible and can only be seen by the trained observer. All this is just to say, please, no one send us a new couch, because this one really isn’t all that shabby, although I assure you many will find it rather ugly in person.

The Golden Years of My Furniture

By Zach Grant

Yellow couch you look like shit

Like Big Bird ate dayglow threadbare mustard

My cat retched up tarry bile on you

The stains scrubbed into a rusty tint

Chronicling “cheechy-mon’s” digestive misfortunes

You smell like you look

I’d end you with fire by the tracks

But my wife loves you

And so do I

So So So Good.

These past few weeks have been wonderful. Besides getting a new job, and simply loving it, I have made my way to NYC, enjoyed a couple date nights, and even survived a wild safari trip. . .(Six Flags park style).

The Safari included Zach and I driving around in the good ol' Saturn on this 4 mile long road that takes you through a whole buncha different animals and their habitats. The cool/dangerous/interesting part about it was that there were no fences that kept most of the animals from getting real close to your car. Zach and I definitely thought that the rhino's were going to impale our car. . . . he looked kinda mad. It was awesome.


I have been wanting to go to NYC by myself for a while . . . so I can walk around and only be concerned with what I want to do and how fast I want to do it. So I planned to go, but then I found out that my friend Victor's (who lives in NYC) parents were going to be in town. I really wanted to see them (they are great) so I ended up spending most of the day with them. It was sooooo much fun. I also got to see Come Fly Away. Real good.



Good times had by all.

Love you and miss you.

Good Times. . . .

This past Sunday five of my closest girlfriends road-tripped all the way to Princeton, NJ. We had a wonderful time. They arrived on a Wednesday. Unfortunately I had to work Thursday and Friday morning. . . . however we managed to have a grand ol' time none the less. Wednesday and Thursday night was spent hanging out and touristing around the town. Princeton is beautiful so it is fun to show people around, but it's also kinda hot out and. . . .well I was real tired.



We also went out to Terhune Orchards. . . which is favorite. This time I did two things there I had never done. . . .tried their Cider Slush----delicious and refreshing---and fed the goats for a wopping dime. Zach and I definitely felt more at home after realizing we know Princeton well enough to show our friends a good time.



Friday night was so great. We. . . .me, Cally, Jenni, Halie, Hollis, Megan, and my dear wonderful friends Rae and Ruth. . . . drank some amazing Sangria. . .among other yummies. . . .and played hilarious games---Three Round Charades and Catch Phrase. It's so fun to act silly and laugh so dang hard with your closest pals (sigh--miss them already). We all had such a great time.


Saturday morning we woke up (some slower and sicker than others) and headed out to NYC. We took the ferry which is always so much fun and super convenient. Once we got there we headed straight to Times Square to pick up our tickets for Promises Promises. While we waited for the show we headed to Ellens Stardust Diner. Also a grand ol' time. Watching waiters and waitresses sing (some quite well) while waiting on tables is very impressive. Finally it was time for the show! Soooo good. Highly recommend it. After the show we wandered around the city. Highlights: couple doin' the nasty in Central Park right next to the entrance of Strawberry Fields, searched for Once Upon a Tart in SOHO (closed :( ), had a delicious dinner in Greenwich Village. . . . Yay for good times and amazing friends.




On another happy note. I got a new job! Though I will miss Starbucks and its inhabitants. . . . I am looking forward to learning a new job, having a more normal work schedule (8:30-5 Mon-Fri), and having the opportunity to save a bit more money. I will be working at an Ophthalmologists Office as one of 7 (?) front desk assistants. Did I mention I am excited about being able to wear perfume, paint my nails, wear my hair down, and not come home smelling like coffee? Oh. . and scrubs! Thank you, Jesus!

Miss you and love you all!

Trip to Florida.

Well it's been a while. So for you 16 or so people who read my blog, I apologize, because so much fun stuff has been happening! Let's start with our new decor in the apartment. I know, get excited. Before we left for Saint Augustine we found a freakin sweet green couch on the curb, so of course, we adopted it immediately. No we did not replace our old couch because it too is awesome. So we had to rearrange everything. . . .and this is what we ended up with! Also----Zach got me pretty flowers that lasted FOREVER and while we were in Saint A we picked up some new bedding. . . ch ch ch check it out.



And now for the Fourth of July! We celebrated by eating lots of yummy food with our neighbors and friends and then lighting stuff on fire. Is there any other way? I made a yummy broccoli salad for everyone and then a star studded apple pie for Zach.


After the fourth we worked and did boring things and THEN we went to FLORIDA!!! We had so much fun! We visited friends, played games, went to the beach, went to the beach, went to the beach, went to Colleen and Hats wedding, celebrated Callys birthday, went to the movies, and ate at yummy places. So good. We shall start with a lovely group shot before the wedding. This was taken from the top of my car. . . still pretty good.


The ceremony was beautiful. It was held in front of the Barracks in Saint Augustine, right in front of the water. Colleen looked gorgeous and Hat looked, as Zach says, "Hat had a butt that just won't quit."


The reception was held inside the barracks. Very pretty. Jeff caught the garter, he always catches it. We all nibbled on yummies, danced, ate cake, and then sent the bride and groom off with sparklers.

Love you and miss you all.