Proof

I'm up to two in a row now.  Dang, gettin' strong feels so good!

PS, I found our future kitty.  He is so cute and happens to be FIV +.  Clark seems to be concerned that "they" can't eradicate the feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV, aka feline HIV).  Hmmmmm....shouldn't he be more concerned with the eradication of HIV?  Just a thought. His antics make me laugh.

This past week (for lack of a more exciting title)

Guess who just worked a 56 hour work week???

It was this guy!! Rocking his "party" shirt which I find terribly embarrassing.  But since he's my sugar daddy he can do whatever he wants.

So Thursday around 9 pm Clark finished his horrible 56 hour work week.  He picked up an extra shift last week, so really he should have only worked 48 hours.  But noooooooo.  Each night he had to stay at work 2 extra hours to finish up.  So his 4 shifts took 14 hours to complete instead of 12 hours, and he ended up with a 56 hour work week. Yuck.  He didn't go to medical school for a reason.  All he wanted to do Thursday night was celebrate with a pizza party.  So celebrate we did.  Lately we're huge fans of pizza parties.  The pizza place we order from even has our number stored in their system and they answer us by name when we call.  We feel so special.

Then Friday I received my nerdalicious glasses in the mail from www.coastal.com.  OH.MY.GOSH. I love them.  I think I've moved on from Zenni.  I've found a new love, and it is Coastal. Clark tells me I'm his sexy scientist, and I'm totally ok with these endearing terms.  He likes the glasses, and that's all that matters.

Friday night we went out with the guys in Clark's band and I got to sport my new glasses for the first time.  It was way fun, their significant others are awesome, and I'm just stoked Clark has cool people to play music with.

Saturday morning we woke up early (9 am is too early on a weekend in this household) and went to see the The Hunger Games at 10 am.  I didn't even know matinees started that early!  Yes, I do have to be like everyone else on facebook and announce that I WENT TO SEE IT AND IT WAS AWESOME.  Clark was not so impressed.  Sometimes I don't understand him.  Yes, the movie should have been a little gorier.  But I get that the movie has to reach a younger demographic, hence the PG-13 rating and sparse gore.  Man, can you imagine if it was rated R?  Anywho, Clark was unimpressed but I thought it followed the book quite well.  

Later that afternoon I had a study session with my friend.  She has been dating a guy for a while now and I helped her reach the conclusion that she is ready for marriage, and equally important, that she wants to get married! Gosh, I feel like I'm a part of something huge! She'll make an amazing wife, and I'm already excited for her to get engaged.  The study session turned out to be successful on two completely different levels.

Saturday night we rented J. Edgar and ate some UHMAYZING pulled pork sandwiches.  Seriously y'all, Clark is the master at crock-potting some pulled pork.

And mid meal Clark's sandwich fell apart and warranted a quick photo with my phone.  I had no problems, but Clark's sandwich was just too much for the hoagie to handle.

And now, off to the start of another stressful week.  I live for the weekends now, even though I still have to study and complete massive amounts of work.  Only 4 more weeks to go until I get a break from this strenuous semester!

SPRING HAS SPRUNG

This past weekend I went on a stroll through the park, and purposefully took my point and shoot along to capture the beautifully, blooming trees.

I loved how happening the Mister Softee ice cream truck was.  

I also loved seeing bicycles locked to stop signs, and seeing the park bustling with life.  It indeed means warmer weather is on it's way!

I was not the only crazy person out taking picture of trees.  So many people were stopping by this particular tree to get photos.  Pictures don't do it justice.

I hope you all have a great first day of spring...tomorrow!

Pretty smart dude, that Clark

Yesterday Clark passed his Medical-Surgical Nursing Certification exam!  In the field of nursing, becoming certified in any specialty is a pretty big deal.  It comes with extra letters behind your name, not to mention a pay raise.

To celebrate, we had a pseudo pizza party and talked about how smart Clark is and how he should be president.  Well, I guess we didn't really talk about the last part.  

This pizza is UNREAL--in the best way possible. Meaning: it is so so sooooo good.  

Oh my amazing pizza, how we could eat you every day because your ingredients are so quality and tasty.  Maybe MSG is mixed in with the dough, sauce and cheese.  

Annnnd, I think this is his I'm-exhausted-after-taking-a-175-question-test-just-let-me-eat-pizza face.

Our pseudo pizza party wouldn't have been complete without diet dr. perky.  Mmmmm, like flat Dr. Pepper. Nothin' wrong with that.

Congratulations on such a great accomplishment, Clark! I'm really proud of you and the hard work you put into studying for this test!  

You the man!

A visit from Coach Wrieden

My good friend Jenna has family in New Jersey.  Lucky for me, I got to spend time with her during her most recent trip up North!  How else was she going to get to the Philly airport at 6:30 am? ;)

Jenna and I, we go way back.  She's now a successful distance coach at a university in North Carolina. We were roommates and ran together at ASU.  I spent three consecutive Thanksgivings at her parents' house.  Good times.  She coached me through my marathon back in 2009, and even though I didn't do so hot, she busted out a 2:50.  

The evening started off with some chicken falafel sandwiches and fries.  Then we rented Dolphin Tale and watched it from the comfort of our living room on our not-so-massive laptop.

Great setup, don't you think? Someday Clark and I will own real furniture and maybe even a tv!

We ended the night later than expected thanks to daylight savings, talking about any and everything.  I miss my ASU girls so much! 

Miss you, Jenna! Hope it's not long until we can meet up again!

The most comfortable outfit ever

If only I lacked pride....then I could unabashedly wear my pink robe out in public every day.  It's so warm and cozy.  It truly is my most comfortable outfit ever.

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!