My Tobler life as of late

Hello! 

My spring semester is officially complete! Half way through my program, can I get a HELLS YES!!?? Or just a heck yeah from those of you who are more refined than I am!? I am so stoked for this break.  I am finally going to finish Jane Eyre and we have an upcoming trip to Boston. And I got to watch track all last weekend in addition to helping my friend shop for a wedding dress.  Life is pretty dang sweet right now. Annnd, we're finally getting a couch on Wednesday.  Finally.

Now, I recall stating in a previous post that people who take Instagram photos think they are "professional" photographers. It's true. I happen to be one of those millions of "professional photographers."  It's so nice to hardly have to try to be artistic.  Here are the most recent Instagrams from my crappy non-iphone:

So, Clark's band just rented out a studio space where they can jam until the break of dawn (if they wanted to).  The boys were discussing some elements of their musical fusion when I captured this gem. Clark be thinking real hard. Or he be talking. Or responding. Not sure which.

And here's my man in action.  He can play so dang fast.  It boggles my mind every single time I see him play. He's just so talented.

  

This here park featured is Clark Park.  Basically a hop, skip and 200 yards away from our front door.  We love it here.  I love laying down a blanket and basking in the sunlight while reading a good book. People watching is great here, too. There's a group that gets together to play volleyball often. One of the fellas refuses to wear a shirt, regardless of the fact that his abdomen is rather undefined. I'm impressed by his confidence.  Also, when the weather gets nicer there will be men sitting around benches playing games of chess all day.  Like something you would see in a movie. Searching for Bobby Fischer right in my own neighborhood.

Clark made good on his birthday gift to me from 2010. A manicure and pedicure. Now, I'm no fancy gal. The last time I had a manicure was probably back in 2009.  These gel manicures that I'm not too familiar with are simply amazing. It's been three days and the polish has not chipped a bit.  I'm sold.  

So, at the dollar store the other night, I perused the several aisles of food as per usual.  (Nope, this girl is not ashamed.)  I came across these little guys: sealed 8 count mini mustard packages.  I was so excited!  After my excitement dissipated, my next complete thought was: maybe I should buy a couple of packages and then give away mustard as gifts.  Because they are just so cute and miniature.  And then I realized that most people would not appreciate the charm of a mini mustard like I do, so I reluctantly abandoned my idea.  But I may go back and buy a package just for myself, because they make me smile, and I do love me some mustard.

That's about it.  My dress/skirt experiment aka the Petticoat Experiment begins tomorrow.  I'm nervous for something that I really shouldn't be nervous about.  I just don't want to give in to the comfort of my robe and workout clothes any longer!  I WILL succeed and wear skirts and/or dresses for one entire month! 

Penn Relays Action

Last night I watched a HIGH SCHOOL girl run a 4:39 mile.  It was amazing, and it nearly made me cry.  Clark showed up too late and missed it. He also missed watching Villanova dominate in the women's distance medley relay.  Today we both watched as Princeton out-kicked the rest of the field in the men's distance medley relay. It was an intense race from beginning to end, and it was the best race I've seen in years. Not that I've actually had many opportunities to attend track meets in recent years, but let's just say it was the best race I've seen since I competed.  And, I'm just relieved that Oregon didn't win (still talking about the men's DMR).  I kind of have a personal vendetta against that school, and I just didn't want to see them win such an exciting race.    

Oh man, track get's me so pumped! I'm so glad I had the opportunity to see some incredibly talented athletes compete yesterday and today.  Maybe I should consider coaching as a career.  It's not too late, right?   

Springtime in Philly

I took my camera on a run through the Woodlands Cemetery because it is so gosh dang pretty inside the gates:

Ahhhh, these vibrant colors get me every time run.

Clark's FL adventure

Clark got to meet this adorable little lady last weekend in Gainesville, FL. I had to stay behind to study for my finals and put in clinical time.

Look at those beautiful eyes!

 Clark didn't return with many photos from his trip. OF COURSE. He's a typical guy. I'm just relieved that he cooperated and took photos of Presley as I requested.  Thanks again Jeff and Amy for taking such good care of Clark. He had a blast and we're looking forward to visiting in the near future! Annnnd, I think you guys need to post a video of Presley getting excited about a cup because Clark said it is the cutest thing ever.

The Petticoat Experiment

(This post really has nothing to do with petticoats.  But petticoats are frilly and feminine, so I feel it is an appropriate term to title my forthcoming experiment.)

I'm going to do a little experiment throughout the entire month of May.  Each day I have to wear a skirt or a dress.  Why, you may wonder? Because I have been feeling Blah for the last 14 months, and I'm tired of feeling this way.  And since I feel my most feminine and pretty when I wear a skirt or dress, I am going to do so for an entire month.  Obviously, it will be a very subjective experiment.  But I'm curious to find out whether I'll feel better about myself June 1st. 

I told Clark about this experiment about a month ago.  We were hanging out having some pillow talk and I said: I want to start trying.  Without getting into too much detail, this all stems from 1. growing out unruly bangs over the course of the last year 2. not having a decent hair straightener in Australia because of the different outlet voltages and my penny-pinching pocket (No, I did not want to spend $200 on a hair straightener so yes, my hair was always frizzy and far from cute), and 3. lounging in my robe or workout clothes far too often. I then presented to him my idea of wearing a skirt or a dress each day for a month.  He thought it was a good idea.  I think he likes when I try to look my best.

Of course, I won't wear skirts/dresses when exercising or sleeping.  But if I'm just lounging around, I have to lounge in a skirt.  If we go out to the grocery store or the Dollar Store (cause we are that classy), I have to wear a skirt.  If we're meeting up with friends or going out to dinner, I can't leave the house in anything but a skirt or dress.  I'm not sure how I'll hold myself accountable.  I'm working on that part of the experiment.

If anyone else is interested, feel free to join me in this endeavor.  Maybe we could hold each other accountable. Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?

Hubba, Hubba. Am I right?

Consider yourself lucky.  I could have posted a picture of a much more provocatively dressed model. This is dead sexy for the 1800's.

PS, Just watched the most depressing movie ever.  DON'T rent Melancholia.  So, so depressing.  Since when does the Earth actually blow up at the end of a movie?  Sorry, I just spoiled the ending for you.  Now there is no reason for you to watch it so stay far, far away.
The Descendants was good, though.  Definitely worth renting.

You really can't ever have too many guns

We've just added two more to our collection:

YEAH. Check this sniper rifle out. 

Clark's got that crazy look in his eyes.  He probably shouldn't be allowed to brandish the sniper rifle AND the sawed-off shotgun at the same time.  

Story goes: Clark wanted to make marshmallow guns with his scouts.  He needed to have an example to show them so he constructed the first gun at home.  I had such a blast getting shot by marshmallows and shooting Clark with marshmallows that I made him promise to make another gun with me.  You know, as a very normal family activity.  So, Monday night we made a second marshmallow gun.  And we battled.  And we both won because neither of us ended up losing an eye.

Who knew PVC pipe could provide such an element of fun?  If you are interested in engineering a relatively safe non-firearm, you can find the video here.

Easter

It is Easter.

And though I don't say it often or publicly enough, I am so grateful for Jesus' atoning sacrifice. His love for me, and for ALL of mankind is just so overwhelming and humbling...

I really wish my better half didn't have to work this weekend.  We haven't been able to attend an Easter church service together in 3 years.  Oh, the joys of working for a hospital.   Clark works 1-2 Sundays a month, regardless of what schedule he requests.  I have to regularly explain to our class of seven year old kiddos at church that Clark has to work Sundays because hospitals never close.  The idea just blows their little minds.

Since we're always looking for an excuse to binge on junk food, we put together Easter Baskets for each other.  And Clark was sweet enough to get me some wife beaters.  Nothin' like working out in men's clothing at the gym.  I hope that next year we can get around to dyeing some eggs.  We were trying to recall the last time we did it...I think it was 2007.  

I accidentally ate this bag of Cadbury eggs in less than 24 hours.  Oops.

We presented our Easter baskets to each other this morning when Clark got home from work.  He stuck my goodies in a laundry basket.  What did he get me for Easter? Diabetes.  Or pre-diabetes.  And other normal grocery items that he could have just put away the day he purchased them.  Like the sweet n' low for our oatmeal, and the sugar free pudding for when we are eating "clean" and watching our carb intake.  It may be a while before we start eating clean again.  I have to develop diabetes first...

Yes, those are important shredded documents I used for "grass," thanks for noticing!

Purple-y colored cream cheese frosting.  Wish that cake didn't disappear so quickly.

I realize this post makes us look like we're gluttonous pigs.  We're really not.  We've just had a really bad sugar relapse recently and fell weak to the power of Easter candy advertising. Anywho...
Happy Easter, y'all.    

Lovin' the SHADE

And I don't mean shade in the literal sense. Although I do love that, too.

The past couple of months I have begun a love affair with Shade Clothing. Remember them?  Yeah, they went off the deep end for a while.  I'm not sure how long they've been back (back in the they've got an awesome selection now way), but I'm really stoked about their return.

I absolutely love this shirt I just received in the mail.  It was a steal.  Just like all of my recent purchases from their site.  Seriously, ladies.  I'm not trying to push anyone into spending money frivolously, but their sales are uh-mazing.  I told Clark today that I am prohibiting myself from making any other purchases from the site, for an entire month.  This is going to be a challenge.  Because when a shirt or skirt goes on sale for less than $10, that purchase can easily be justified. And plus, you get free shipping and free returns.
What is not to love about this company?  Happy browsing.

(I feel like I've become an advertising junkie lately.  Sorry bout that.  But this is just too good not to share. )

THE Instagram

Is is just me, or does everyone with a damn Instagram app think that they are a professional photographer?


Until this very afternoon, I was envious of everyone around me with an iPhone because they all had the capability of taking professional, vintage looking photos so easily. Oh, the woes that come along with not wanting to support Apple.


Welp, I'm not jealous anymore.  Know why? Because Instagram is now available for android users! Yesssssssssssss.


Now I can join the instagramming masses and pretend that I am a professional photographer, too.


I got started today.


Ohhhhh, look at this view from my passenger window at the grocery store.  Sweet.

Ohhhhh Sherbet.  You look so smokin' hot with whichever Instagram filter I used.

But seriously, this pineapple sherbet is changing my life. One decadent, freezing spoonful at a time.

To think that I've only ever experienced lime, orange, and raspberry!  

(I must confess, I've always called Sherbet Sher-BERT.  Does anyone actually say Sherbet?  Fess up, you sophisticated people!)


Anywho, the Instagram is now available for android, and I am excited.  That was the main point of this post.  The end.

April Fools' Day, minus the Fools'

We spent all day Sunday in the company of our friends, the Gielmans.  They are wonderful people.  They love food, good music, and have a bigger computer screen than we do.  Naturally, we wanted to spend  Sunday at their house so we wouldn't have to strain our eyes watching General Conference on our laptop.  Oh, and they introduced us to this book, which I will one day purchase because it is so soooo funny and I can read it in one minute.

Clark and I contributed an 8 lb glazed ham and mac n' cheese to the day's great feast.  They provided apple dumplings.  It was an amazing day of enlightenment and eating.  And relaxing, as evidenced by the photos below:

Oh, you know you were playing on your smartphone, too.

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 ;)