4 years

Clark and I celebrated our 4 year wedding anniversary in Cape May, New Jersey.

It is such a gorgeous resort town with picturesque Victorian houses and bed & breakfasts scattered all throughout the town. We stayed at this B&B. Very classy, indeed.

I found the interior decor to be so appealing! I just love the Victorian vintage flair. I'm pretty sure Clark couldn't care less about the interior, but I loved it.

Interestingly, the armoire in the room opened up to the tub! Not gonna lie, watching tv from a whirlpool tub is pretty stellar.

After we got settled in our room, we drove a few miles away to Sunset Beach to view the Atlantic ocean and a concrete ship (the S.S. Atlantus) that sunk earlier in the 20th century. Long story short, it was being transported somewhere and got stuck on a sand bar.  Large ships made of concrete just weren't meant to be very useful.

Clark staring out at the sunken Atlantus.

The Cape May lighthouse. I was expecting it to be near the water and not in the middle of a neighborhood (which is basically where it is located).  Clark thinks my expectation of what a lighthouse should look like is too unrealistic.  Nay.  I'm sorry if I expect every lighthouse to be perched atop a sea cliff, overlooking crashing waves and jagged rocks.  This just means I have to visit Maine where I am sure my expectations will be fulfilled.

Cape May harbor.  We had the most difficult time deciding where to eat.  It basically came down to The Lobster House and the Lucky Bones Bar and Grille.  We ended up at Lucky Bones, where I was still able to get a seafood dish--clam cakes.  They were so rich and creamy.  I wish I would have photo documented them.

The next morning I took a stroll through Cape May streets while Clark took his post-breakfast nap.  This hotel is so gorgeous, but it is shut down during the winter months.  We realized on day 1 that many of the towns established restaurants/B&B/hotels close during the winter months since cold winter weather doesn't exactly beckon travelers and tourists.

Oh, to have a residence that overlooks the ocean! Or any body of water, for that matter!

I just love this one.  The top floor even has a staircase that leads to a gazebo on the roof. Looks like the prime location for a Tobler gathering.

We actually got lucky and had decent weather.  I think the temp was in the high 60's, but the wind coming off of the ocean was still really chilly!  I told Clark that we couldn't visit Cape May and not walk out on the sand and touch the frigid water.  We had to do it.

The sand felt so nice! I can't wait for some real beach weather and maybe even a day or two of beach action this summer! But we'll have to find free beaches.  The beaches in Cape May require that you purchase "beach tags." Man, even the beaches in Europe and Australia are free.  What is up with this.

After getting our fill of ocean, sand and Victorian houses, we drove back to Philly, had a nice workout at the gym, ordered Pho takeout, and watched Contagion (such a romantic movie, I know).  

We had to improvise with massive bowls.  

It was such a fun and relaxing couple of days!  I love you more than ever, Clark! Thank you for all of your support and for working so hard for us.  Let's make year 5 the best yet! Did you know that wood is the traditional anniversary gift for 5 years of marriage?  I'll be expecting a totally awesome, whittled figurine of some sort next year ;)  

Weekend away

Finally...this past weekend we were able to sneak away from Philly for a few days.  It was pretty awesome.

We got to hang out with some really fun young people, AND some really fun old(er) people.  I showed Charlie and Greta how to take photos of themselves on my phone, but they needed a little help pushing the shutter button.

While eating lunch at a park, Greta fell into a mud puddle. Clark and I saw it coming before it even happened. She kept walking up to the puddles, almost teasing them.  Clark and I had to shout sternly to her several times to stay away from the puddles!!  Then, it happened.  And mid-fall she decided to twist her body so that her back hit the ground first. Poor little Greta. It was a chilly day.  Luckily, Kyle whisked her away to the van and changed her into her winter coat, because there was no other option than to just go back home.

Awwww, look at that muddy back.

We thought a field hockey game would commence while we were there, but it turns out we were just watching middle school field hockey practice for 45 minutes.  And it was cold.  Check out those kids, trying to get Aunt Rachel to keep them warm.

Greta kept pretty warm by running around.  Then, she got into the mud again and I had to take her to the bathroom to wash off her hands.  This little girl just loves to get messy!

Later that night we got some reading time in.

And Kyle showed us the ropes to making delicious homemade pizza.  Kim, we're gonna need that dough recipe STAT!

Lookie! Greta drew us a picture.  In case you couldn't tell, Clark is on the left and I am on the right.  Clark is wearing a hat and has glasses on.  I have long, flowing hair. Too cute.

We also got to meet the newest member of the Baltimore Tobler family.  This is Fiona.  She is such a sweet cat, and is so good with the kids.  According to Kim, the kids have not been scratched once.  And kids don't always play nice, if you know what I mean.

The next day at Scott and Dagmara's, we accidentally slept in to 11 am.  We awoke to one of the most awesome breakfasts ever. Strawberries, pancakes, turkey bacon, eggs....yum!

Later that day we drove out to Annapolis.  What a charming town!

So, this is a Man v. Food establishment that we did not feast at.  (Remember the episode where part of Adam's food challenge was guzzling a 6lb milkshake? This was the place.) After our massive brunch, no one was really in the mood.  Plus, we had an amazing dinner waiting for us back at Scott and Dagmara's apartment.

Like I mentioned above, Annapolis is pretty charming.

Watching sailboats, kind of hoping one would tip over.  But of course, they never did.

Scott and Dagmara, on our way to the Naval Academy.  I was the irresponsible one and did not have my ID on my person.  Hence, I could not get through the gates onto the campus grounds.  Hence, no one wanted to leave me behind and I ruined what could have been a very cool exploration of the Naval Academy.  Dang it.  Sorry guys...

Clark and a very old canon in front of the Maryland State House.

As the afternoon grew colder, I grew more annoying and started taking close-ups of everyone.  Here are some of the best:

Oh yeah, Clark.  Chew that gum.

Uh-huh. Just call me the paparazzi. 

Later that night we had a Hawaiian inspired meal: pulled pork, rice and cole slaw.  The picture doesn't do it justice.  It was unbelievable.

Annnnd, on our last day we did a little Zumba. Way too much fun, and way too many new moves to learn.  I learned that if you just shake your hips around like crazy you will end up with 5 stars.

Clark gave it a whirl as well. My husband is still very masculine, no matter what you think!

Once again, we enjoyed our visits to see both the Baltimore Toblers and the Alexandria Ellisons.  We love you guys and hope it's not long until we can get down your way again.  Thanks for everything!

Our foreign visitor

Last week Clark received a surprise facebook message from his former manager in Australia. She has family in Pittsburgh and flew out to PA for a month long holiday.  Being the independent traveler that she is, she traveled to Philly via Megabus for a weekend excursion. And she was kind enough to get in touch with us.  

We picked her up downtown and took her over to Tony Luke's for an authentic cheesesteak. Only, Clark thought American cheese would be synonymous with cheese wiz, and ordered all of our sandwiches incorrectly.  So Juliette didn't even get to enjoy a Philly cheesesteak the way it's supposed to be experienced.  She didn't mind, but I made sure to give Clark a hard time about not clarifying the order with the cashier. Typical guy mistake.

Then, in our continued effort to support Man v. Food featured establishments, we decided to indulge ourselves at the Franklin Fountain.  Now, when the Mount Vesuvius ice cream sundae was presented on Man v. Food, it looked MASSIVE and pretty intimidating for even the most fervent ice cream lover. Since we thought it would be huge, we decided to split the sundae three ways.  Turns out, the Mount Vesuvius isn't so massive after all. I definitely could have handled it on my own. It was tasty, but I'm all about quality AND quantity.  I just expected more, I guess. 

After ice cream we walked around downtown, drove back to the apartment for some quiet time, then returned Juliette to her hotel downtown when it got kind of late.

It's always nice to see a familiar face, and we're so happy she reached out to us while she was here visiting.  We're excited for a couple of other Australian visitors in July!  We are always excited when people want to visit us.

Apparently my car has over 300,000 miles. That, and I'm just talking nonsense today.

Hi guys.

Wow. Never did I think I would become such an inconsistent blogger! I blame school entirely.  It's a killer.  Case studies are wearing me down one by one, by one, by one.  But I'm not on here today to blog about school.  I'm here to blog about anything BUT school.  Specifically the dudes at the lube station who claim that I should return for an oil change by May, or when my car reaches 308,000 miles.  What? Really dudes, my car is in the 40,000 mile range, so how did you screw this reminder sticker up so bad? Bad day, I guess. I get it, and I'll let it slide this time around.  But I will have you know that if my car ever reaches 300,000 miles, I will deserve some sort crown or prized jewel along with a reminder sticker.  My Versa ain't never gonna make it close to 300,000.  Frankly, I'm shooting for 140,000.  If she can make it that far, I'll consider it a success.

We really haven't been up to much lately, aside from school and work. I've felt so tied down lately, and with our current schedules, we just can't get away for day trips or weekend trips.  This is unusual for us, since we always make the effort to get out and see things.  It's frustrating to want to explore the surrounding areas, but not be able to due to time constraints.  Being a grown up sometimes really, really sucks.  The good news is, however, that Clark has recently sound some talented musicians to jam with! We are both excited for this opportunity  because he has had the toughest time finding people to play music with since we moved out here.
So what are we looking forward to most this spring?? Welp, spring break is right around the corner and I cannot wait to get out of Philly for a few days!  We'll be heading down to Baltimore and Alexandria, and then on our Anniversary we'll be heading over to the Jersey Shore (the classy part of the Jersey Shore, that is.  I.e. Cape May.) to celebrate year 4 as husband and wife.  I got a killer groupon deal for a bed and breakfast, and I made sure to call right away to stake claim to sweet suite with a whirlpool tub for two.  Rock on. I'm crossing my fingers for decent weather, but I'm not counting on sunshine and 60 degree days.  Today it snowed while I was on my long run. I basically ran into a blizzard, turned around to play it safe, and within 20 minutes the sky had cleared and the sun was out shining. Crazy East coast weather. 

We were at Kohl's the other day trying to find some new kicks for Clark.  In the process, we found him some awesome sweaters/long sleeved shirts, and I found my most favorite novelty tees in the whole wide world.  The first time I saw these were probably two years ago at Kohl's in Vegas.  Each store's inventory must be a slightly different, because I could never find them at other Kohl's stores.  Anywho, these shirts just make me smile.  They are so funny!  Especially if you have an immature sense of humor like myself.  Clark told me I should try on the size small.  I told him I would never wear these types of shirts, I just like them.  He said if I like it I should wear it.  Uh-oh.  Clark, DO NOT buy me these tee shirts.  I WILL NOT wear them.  They are funny and I like to look at them, but I will not wear them on my person.  I'm making this very clear publicly so you know I am serious.

So glad my phone has a decent camera and I can email myself photos. How can you not smile and laugh at this??

Have I mentioned that I am taking a sabbatical from running? I am.  It's the truth.  I'm switching gears and hoping to focus more on weight lifting.  And eating clean. Today was my last long run for at least 9 months.  I'll continue to do short runs a few times a week, but I will primarly be focusing on gaining muscle and getting toned.  Ohhhh yeah.  

Like the title of this post reads, I'm just talking nonsense today. And it's so cathartic!  I'm going to try to be more diligent with my blogging.  Being busy with school is a lame excuse, even if it is true.  

New Milestone

Remember when I posted about this larger than life goal?? Naw, you probably don't, but that's OK.

Well, I'm pleased to announce that I, Rachel Tobler, successfully completed one whole chin-up tonight!! ROCK ON!

Seriously though, I'm really stoked about this accomplishment.  I'm only disappointed that Clark was in the other room and did not see me attain this long awaited goal.  He only heard my squeals of excitement before I ran up to him to tell him the news. I tried to do another with him watching a few minutes later and failed by a slim margin.  So, I'm hoping that by Sunday I can do a chin-up in his presence, while he records my miraculous feat.  I know I successfully did the chin-up, I just need to see the proof.

I guess the resistance band wasn't a waste of money, after all!

A friendly reminder of Australian cookie superiority

I'm sorry Pepperidge Farm, but your version of Tim Tam cookies is in no way equal to the authentic, Australian produced Tim Tam. Don't get me wrong, I'll still eat them because they are pretty dang good and I can use them to TIM TAM SLAM, but they do lack a certain quality. I attribute the problem to the type of chocolate used.  The Commonwealth countries just have better chocolate altogether.