Just FYI

Clark got home from work tonight to find me hunched over with nausea and stomach pains.  In retrospect, I think the nausea/pain was caused by stress/the overwhelming nature of my studies.  Anywho, As he browsed YouTube looking for a band from Phoenix who played an alleged song titled Kick Down the Door (the vow he made on our wedding day to take care of me in sickness AND in health was dismissed pretty easily), I sat curled up in a chair next to him, and he found this:

Tip: Yelling is also used in sports to contract the diaphragm and give you an extra power boost.

Man, I can't believe this video has so many dislikes.  According to our standards, it is pretty entertaining.  And now I know everything necessary to kick down a door properly.

Changes

For starters, it snowed today, and I really thought we might escape this winter without snow.  I debated on going running in the freezing mist (can't really call it a rain) for about an hour until my guilty conscious gave in.  However, I had to cut my run short because the sidewalks and running path were so slick.  Breaking a bone does not seem like the ideal situation right now.

Also, I have now entered the unfamiliar world of smart phones.  In one of my classes, my peers and I received a lecture within a lecture on why we all should have smart phones during our clinical rotations.  Boy gang, my professors really made it sound like I would fall behind if I didn't succumb and join the elite field of smart phone users.  I was only one of two people in my class who raised our hands when asked if anyone did not have smart phones.  Nothing like peer/instructor pressure to motivate me to get a new phone and add a data package to our plan!  This better be worth it, as I was really hoping to get through school/life without a smart phone.  I don't know, I guess I'm not the type of person that desperately needs to have my phone with me at all times, and be able to update my facebook status thirty times a day.  So, I vow NEVER to add the facebook app to my phone.  There's way too many other fun apps to browse through and use anyway.

To changes! (Cue raising our glasses of sparkling grape juice together. Or wine. Or soda.  Whatever you prefer.)

The signs you see in Wilmington...

We had to visit our bank in Wilmington today (since Chase bank is not represented at all in PA).  We saw this sign from our parked car.  I didn't even know that people ate muskrats.  Huh.

It ain't homemade, but it'll do just fine

She's sure pretty, ain't she?

I cannot begin to tell you how thrilled I am to have bedding (i.e. a quilt) that finally fits our bed!  Since we first purchased a queen size bed back in September, we have been sharing one full/queen blanket from my college years and one twin sized blanket made for Clark when he was on his mission.  It's been kind of uncomfortable due to the inconsistent sizing of the blankets and I often feel like I'm in a tangled mess when I wake up.  We've refused to use our California King comforter because it hangs over the bed onto the floor and it grosses us out.   You'd feel the same if you had experienced a flea infestation as badly as we did.  Anyhow, after much deliberation, I finally settled upon a quilt from JC Penney that fit my qualifications.  Long story short, it was much cheaper at the JC Penney back in WA state so I had my Mom purchase and ship it to me, and I sent her a check in the mail to cover the cost/shipping.  It arrived yesterday and I couldn't be more pleased.  Coupled with my fuscia blanket from my college years, I was so warm last night!

Now I just hope Clark and I can stop upgrading/downgrading mattress sizes.  Seriously, we've owned every mattress size there is in the 3.8 years we've been married.

Also, I vow to learn to quilt...someday in the not so distant future.  Something simple like my new quilt.  Square pieces of fabric sewn together, how hard can it be?  (Someone please tell me it's easy and that there are helpful tutorials online. Please.)

The last couple excursions before the start of spring semester

Scott and Dagmara came to visit over my last free weekend before the start of my grueling spring semester (thanks for coming, guys!).  Since Clark had to work all day on Friday, I decided to keep the troops entertained by exploring some of downtown and then trekking ALL the way back to our apartment by foot. It's a three mile walk from downtown back to the apartment, but there was plenty to see along the way, and in reality, the walk didn't even seem that long.  Our first stop was Macy's, so Scott and Dagmara could bask in the aesthetic beauty of the building's interior.  They even got to hear the WORLD'S LARGEST PIPE ORGAN in action, so that was a plus!

 Go point and shoot, stitching together two photos properly!

 World's largest pipe organ.  YOU KNOW IT.

One of the many beautiful churches in this city. This was taken downtown, at the beginning of our trek back to the apartment.

Making our way back to University City.

Below is the Fisher Fine Arts Library on UPenn's campus.  I will soon have an entire post devoted to awesome buildings on campus and row houses around our neighborhood.  At the end of December my friend Sheri and I walked around a good portion of University City, photographing really cool structures we've wanted to shoot for months. So, the post will be coming soon and YOU WILL LOVE IT. That is a threat.  Kind of.

 On the steps of College Hall.

Dagmara and Scott and the red door of The Arch, also on campus.

On Saturday we drove out to (and around) Amish country.  I love seeing the horses and buggies on the roads, and I love seeing laundry drying out on clothes lines.  It's just so charming and rustic.  Just so you know, Clark loves  Intercouse.  Several years ago when we visited Kyle and Kim (when Kyle was in med school at Penn State) Clark purchased a Shirt that read: I *heart* Intercourse.  He hasn't worn the shirt since living in Pennsylvania (probably doesn't want to look like a tourist in his state of residency, but people on the West coast and in Australia sure loved it :)

  Though I know the Kitchen Kettle Village is a total tourist trap, I still enjoy walking around the shops, especially the furniture stores where I tend to daydream about owning such fine craftsmanship.  I have never had the courage to take photos in the furniture shops as I don't know if it is considered faux pas and I don't want the Amish to think I'm trying to inconspicuously photograph them.  

We spent way too much time in the Jam & Relish Kitchen.  There were so many different items to try and every single one was so good!  The pumpkin butter, lemon curd, and sweet potato butter were all divine.  We knew we wouldn't be able to escape Amish country without a few items, so we proceeded to look through other shops before making our purchases.

Everyone checking out the mailboxes. 

The horse and buggy mailbox is just adorable.   

Clark's window shopping/shopping stamina is rather low so he took frequent breaks.  He's got that pissed off look in his eyes, but I'm not really sure why.  He wasn't upset, I swear.  It just appears that way.

Annnnnnd, here we are back at the Jam and Relish Kitchen.  Just too many choices! 

Loading up!

This shop was a taste tester's paradise!

Clark was clearly satisfied with our purchases.

We stopped by the National Christmas Center, but in the end we decided not to take the tour. I find it baffling that ticket prices remain the same even in early January.  Now had there been a discount we may have given in.  This is definitely one of those things that we may have to do to get in the holiday spirit come Dec. 2012.

Our spoils of a nice Saturday afternoon--besides the obvious opportunity to spend time with family.  (PS, this particular lemon curd is actually produced in Scotland, but it was cheaper than the lemon curd produced in PA and we couldn't tell the difference taste-wise.  Our little secret.)

Thanks for coming to visit, Scott and Dagmara!  We're so happy you were/are willing to have little adventures with us.  Love you guys!

Group shot!

My Dad emailed me this photo from our day up in the mountains before Christmas. Love it! We're just missing Clark and Cedar. 

What we did on Clark's Wednesday off

Our main objective was to make it to the Poconos.  We did make it, however we got sidetracked along the way and ended up here:

Clark and I actually own a Martin guitar, so visiting this site was kind of a big deal. However, we had no idea that the factory is located right here in Pennsylvania.  Nazareth, PA to be precise.  We were stoked when we passed the little brown sign on the freeway that instructed us to take the next exit and basically drive into a neighborhood to where this guitar factory is located.  

We were able to walk through the museum, however, we missed the factory tour.  Tours only take place three and a half hours a day, from 11-2:30pm.  We showed up around 3pm.  We were still able to see pretty guitars and read up about the history of Martin guitars at the museum, though.

All the magic happens behind these closed doors.

We did make it to the Poconos as dusk settled in.  Obviously, because of the dark, we weren't able to see much of anything at all.  I think we'll definitely plan another trip up that way in the summer so we can actually take the Martin factory tour and witness some of the beauty surrounding the Pocono mountains.

What we did on Clark's Tuesday off

Drove down to Wilmington, Delaware to determine whether it is a place worth revisiting and walking around in warmer weather (i.e. spring or summer).

Went to Costco (no pictures).

Went to Target. (Pictures of dollar treasures below! Much to my dismay, Target no longer carries dollar weekly planners.  I've bought planners at Target for the last three years, and I'm sad to say that now I'll have to resort to the Dollar Tree in hopes that they have what I'm looking for.  I will miss the dollar Target weekly planners dearly.)

Bubble Bath ( I just can't avoid the appearance of evil, I guess ;) )

Can never have too many of these!

Stickers for the seven year old children in our class at church.

I'm always needing notecards.  These definitely beat trying to strain the creative part of my brain to construct my own.

Pencils for our seven year old kids at church.  We will bribe them to be reverent if we have to.

And when we got back from Delaware, we put up our mug rack.  Now I can show off my kitty cat mug, fish mug, and unicorn mug without even having to use them.

Happy New Year!

We had grand plans for New Year's Eve, which consisted of either watching the fireworks down at Penn's Landing or driving to Bethlehem, PA earlier in the evening to watch their giant peep drop.  Instead, we decided to pig out on smoked salmon dip and eggnog, watch Crazy, Stupid, Love from the comfort of our bed, and engage in our favorite pastime: pillow talk (what were you thinking? Hmmmmmm?).  It was pretty fantastic. All in all, a great way to ring in the New Year, me thinks.

Christmas in Baltimore, MD

Violet holding toys out of Lucia's reach (poor  little Lucia)...

Charlie and Greta opening gifts side by side (best friends forever)...

Lucia enjoying her limited time in the doll's high chair...

 The adults waiting anxiously to open their presents...  just kidding...kind of...  

Every little girl's dream: a Barbie camper van.  I may or may not have been a little jealous...

The camper van could not be assembled fast enough...

Unwrapping one present after another, after another...

Clark looking seriously impatient while Chad helps Violet with a toy...

Janet enjoying the evening's events...

Charlie playing with some Star Wars figurines...

Janet and Kim watching their children revel in the great multitude of unwrapped gifts...

Jan capturing the action...moving children are NOT easy to photograph...

Thank you Clark for our new, amazing camera lens...

Lucia wondering what the heck she just unwrapped...

After the gift unwrapping had ended, and after singing Christmas carols (so so so fun!!!) to the tune of Karl's borrowed guitar, we ventured over to the Miracle on 34th Street...

December 26th: Lucia demonstrating her massive Tobler appetite...I was told that before I arrived she ate a banana the size of her leg...

Cousins eating donuts and sharing a laptop screen to watch entertaining Disney videos...

Cousins sharing an even smaller screen to watch entertaining videos...

It was over too quick, but we were sure happy to have spent the Christmas holiday in the presence of family and friends.  Thank you Kyle and Kim for hosting yet another holiday gathering.  We miss the madness of rambunctious children already...