Flat Tires

Well, it seems that flat tires follow me. I've gotten 3 in the past few months... This is what happened today:

We were driving up to my parent's house to visit my mom for her birthday (HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM) when Matt sped up and the car started making a funky noise.

Me: your car needs to shift
Matt: no it doesn't
Me: Look at your RPM's, you almost at 4. It needs to shift.
-- at this point, the car shifts, but funky sound continues --
Matt: something's wrong.

So we pull over, and there's a flat. I say, no big deal, there's a donut in the trunk.

Matt's trunk doesnt open. There's half a key broken off in the lock, and the button to open it from the front doesn't work.

So I squeeze into what has to be a 2x2 whole in the backseat and manage, after a few awkward minutes, to force the latch open from the inside.

And when I say awkward, I mean, I could fit through this whole up to my hips. So my bottom half is stuck in the backseat and my head and arms are in the trunk.

Next is getting the tire off.... One of the nuts is stripped. I really have to use the bathroom. So I leave Matt to wait for help to walk to the hotel about a mile ahead. A lady stopped and offered me a ride, but I refused. It ended up being further than I thought, but I made it in time. The lady at the front desk was SUPER nice and let me use the bathroom and even take some ice back for the cheese that was getting warm awful quick in the car. She offered me coffee and water and said I could stay as long as I liked to wait for help to arrive. But the cheese was getting warm. So I headed back --

And as it turns out the Maine Turnpike has tow trucks that just drive around and look for stranded people! And this guy managed to get the stripped nut off of the car and put the donut on, but the tire is ruined.

So we go to a local VIP to see if we can get a new tire real quick and still manage to make it up to see my mom. This guy says he had NO TIRES that were the right size, and that he would have to special order a nut -- odd for a tire store, to me.

Saco to Summersworth, we finally get 2 new tires (keep the treads even) and a rim to put the tire that wasn't ruined on for the future.

$200 later, we have a fun story, but we missed my mom's birthday and my friend's baby shower ...

Interesting day, to say the least.

Our Honeymoon: Part 4

Monday, 2/1/2010: Cozumel, Mexico

Let's see... I seem to have misplaced the "Fun Times," which was a daily activity sheet. I highlighted everything we did/wanted to do, which made this job easier.

Alright. Let's see how much I remember.

Mexico was a blast! My favorite port by far! We left the ship early to do some shopping before our excursion that day. Everyone was friendly, but not overly aggressive. There was a nice man who ran a cart who Matt attempted to hold a short conversation with in Spanish, and he sold us some very nice souvenirs.

Then we went BACK through security to drop off our goodies in the hotel room and changed into our bathing suits and back to Mexico we went for our dolphin adventure! It seemed to me that the people working for dolphin cove were very rehearsed. Their favorite word was "okay." "Okay swimmers, okay?" Haha! On the ride to the cove the guide said that they had 4 baby dolphins, but we wouldn't be swimming with them. However, our pool, (we were split up into groups) swam with two adults and a baby. The water was cooler than I thought it would be, but it was ocean water... If I had to guess I would say it was 78degrees. Which I suppose is warm for the ocean, but colder than I expected. We all took turns hugging the dolphins, petting them, giving them a kiss, and then finally they pulled us across the water on their bellies! I was one of the first to get a belly ride, and water splashed in my face the whole way down, so they let me ride again. Matt must've been a pro, because he didn't get any water in his face. Oh well, I got to ride twice, so it was worth the water up my nose!

After the dolphins, we got lunch at the cove and went back to the ship. They actually had shuttles so we could have left any time we wanted before like 5pm or something. I wish we had stayed longer, because there was a shopping area about 8 blocks from the cove that we could have walked to, and we could have experienced a more authentic Mexican shopping experience (lol) than the stores right off the port. But swimming with dolphins was tiring, so we went back to the ship. Turns out it was a good thing too, we weren't allowed to wear sunscreen into the pool with the dolphins, and I forgot to bring some to the cove so Matt got a little sun-burnt. Not bad, but it would have been if we had gone shopping.

Back at the ship we did a little more of the usual (hot tub, ice cream, buffets, ect.) and then went to our couples massage! Neither Matt or myself had ever gotten a massage from a trained professional (hopefully it will become a regular occurrence now with Chelsea's current career choice *wink, wink*) but we both loved it. It was relaxing, but painful where my neck meets my shoulders. Those muscles had been bothering me months before the cruise, and now, two months later they are starting to bother me again. But the massage helped for a little while. It wasn't cool after, though, because they tried to sell us some $40 massage oil or something. I think all together the products they recommended we purchase came to $200, which we passed on.

This may or may not have been the day I passed out so early I missed dinner (served at 5:45pm....) Or it might have been the next day.

Tuesday, 2/2/2010: Fun Day at Sea
Wednesday, 2/3/2010: Fun Day at Sea

The day's at sea all seemed to mix together. We ate, sat on beach chairs, lounged in the hot tub, did some cruise planned activities, mostly trivia...

Even without the Fun Times, I'm pretty sure that Tuesday and Wednesday were pretty relaxing. And that's about it!

My Loving Husband

So, sometime in January Matt said something that was just too funny not to share.

I decided that that happens a lot, so I've started a journal with all of the funny/random/stupid stuff my husband says. I call it "My Loving Husband."

One of my recent favorites is this:

"a book can't be that great unless it's got some crazy psychotic dragon fight in it."

Now, normally I like the feeling better when it's read out of context, but the reason this is a favorite is because of the background story...

There's a book I've been trying to get Matt to read. I read it, and I thought it was right up his ally. So, of course, I've been talking it up. He finally borrowed it from the library, and read the first thirty or so pages. I was, once again, talking it up. He then said the statement quoted above. The reason I thought he would like the book so much? It's got dragons in it. LOL. Furthermore adding to the funny, is the reason he had dragons on his mind: apparently he had a dream the night before that there was a dragon and he was about to be manly and save me when I told him, "It's okay, I got this," and a fireball came from my face and slay the dragon.

Yeah.

Hailey: Let's play puppy dog! I'm the puppy, you're the mommy, and Uncle Matt's the daddy!

Me: Okay.

Hailey: Woof!

Me: Good puppy! *pats on the head*

Hailey: Woof!

Uncle Matt: Puppy, go in your kennel!

Hailey: (sadly) Woof?

Our Honeymoon: Part 1

Forgive me in advance for the seemingly long and boring posts to come, but I want to record all of the wonderful memories from my trip before it's all just a blur.

I also plan on uploading some of the pictures we took from the trip, but there are factors that are keeping me from uploading them right now, including the possibility that my computer will crash if I try to do ANYTHING besides browse the internet.

Friday, 1/29/2010:
Although our travel didn't start until noon-ish, our journey started at approximately 2am. I had a terrible cold the past two weeks, and in the early morning hours at work I was feeling... Well, it was like when you've been sitting or laying down for a long time and then stand up really quick so the blood rushes to your head and things start going black... Matt said he's never felt that feeling before, so maybe it's just me. Knowing that I had limited medical access on the ship and feared that I wouldn't get better without antibiotics (and the fact that I felt like crap) I left work early to go to the emergency room. Turns out, in my hypochondriac state, I was diagnosed with a viral infection. AKA: a cold. And I actually felt much better now that I got to sit down for a while.
Skip past a precious few hours of sleep that Matt and I were not expecting to get (he left work early and met me at the ER as well) and we're counting down the minutes! We were packed, the cats were fed, and the house was spotless. Finally, we can't handle it anymore and go to the airport about 3 hours early, which actually was the amount of time the airport reccommends! Turns out we could have gotten there like 15 minutes before the flight left and been fine, haha!
Random side story: I was wearing all my jewelry for formal night on the ship the day we left. I didn't feel safe with my nice jewelry (particularly the diamond tennis bracelet my aunt got me as an engagement gift) in either the checked bags or carry on luggage. Turns out the bracelet would have been safer in there. because a link broke in the airport, and by a series of fortunate events, I happened to see a good samaritan hand something to a security guard, which prompted me to check my wrist and notice my bracelet was missing! I probably would not have even noticed until later that night had I not seen him hand the bracelet to the guard!
Okay: Now to takeoff. It was windy, so there was a lot of turbulence at the low altitudes and takeoff was sooo scary! Our seat had a perfect view of the wing, so I could REALLY see how much the plane was bouncing aaaand yeah. Not my cup of tea. Matt was fine. I think. At least he didn't grab my hand in fear! LOL
Throw in a delay in Newark, and we get to Miami around 11pm. It's 72 degrees, and although it wasn't HOT, it was humid. And nice. The palm trees were gorgeous. Everything was green! Floridian drivers are insane. I've never heard anyone use their horn as much as our shuttle driver did, lol! Hotel is decent. Nothing to blog about it really, I used my credit card points and got the hotel room free for the night, and it did it's job.

Printer Woes!

I think I had a dream that I had posted this post, and maybe that's why my posting is behind. Because subconsciously, I had thought I already posted!

Anyway, so after already procrastinating on the invitations, I finally go to print them out, and my printer keeps giving me this bogus "out of paper" error. It's a bogus error because I did have paper in the printer. So I call up customer service, but because my printer is a year and a half old, it's no longer under warranty. (Keep in mind, I hardly use it. Like, under a dozen times I've printed from in in the past year and a half.)

So they give me my options:
Pay a bunch of money to have them diagnose it, additional fees apply if I have it sent in to be repaired.
Pay a larger bunch of money and I can have all my problems for three months diagnosed (or something like that)

I could pay the first amount twice, and get a brand new printer. Plus, I needed one ASAP 'cause my invitations were already late. SO -- my mom gives me an early bridal shower gift: a new printer! YAY!

I'm all excited, I set it up right away and test it out... Only to have it give me an "out of paper" error.

[pause for dramatic effect.]

At this point, I'm freaking out. It wasn't even the same brand printer (after non-quality printers plus lousy customer service, I changed brands.) The only thing I can think of is that it HAS to be me, but at least I could return this one! So I read the instructions carefully again "place paper to the far right." I look, and it's placed to what I had originally, in my haste, determined to be the "right" side. Well, the right side was the wrong side, and I had placed it to the left!

Mission Invitations: Complete.

Oh, the Irony!

In the "about us" over in the side you'll read that although Matt and I knew each other and were friends prior to Camp Agassiz, it's right after camp that we really got to know each other. What you don't know (and what Matt didn't know until today) is a dream that I had at camp. It's so funny to look back now.

It was maybe the second day of camp, and Matt had been really busy thus far and we didn't really hang out that much, but that night I had a dream that we were at that camp, and his dad married us! There were some other things, I don't really remember the dream that well now, but I DO remember what I thought of when I woke up: "What am I crazy, Matt and I would never get married! Heck, I probably wouldn't date him even if he asked!"

... Two weeks later, our relationship started.
... Two years later, our wedding planning begins!

Oh, the irony.

The Story

So, if you didn't already know or didn't guess from the two previous posts,

MATT AND I ARE GETTING MARRIED!

Yep. And you all want to know how he did it. Well. I've had a couple requests.

The night before Valentines Day Matt asked if I wanted to get up early to see the sunset (yes, he said sunset, but I still said OK.) And so at 6:42 we rushed all the way there because Matt was convinced we wouldn't make it there in time for the sunrise (which is SO unlike him). We went to the top of Garrison Hill Tower in Dover, NH (you can see the picture in the previous post) and watched the sunrise! Shortly after the sun was fully up this is what my memory retained as far as conversation:

Matt: *says something sappy*
Me: You're a sap!
Matt *responds with something about how I love that he's a sap*
Me: *Says something about love or whatever*
Matt: More than you know *get's down on one knee* Will you marry me?
Me: ....
Me: You're a sap!
Me: *nods head, hug, smile*
Matt: I'm glad you said yes!
Me: What would you have done if i said 'no?!'
Matt: I would have jumped off the tower (which is like 6 stories)

And before you ask: I was half-way surprised. I was reserved about expecting it, but I had a few tip-offs.

My Favorite Story

Let me try and actually write this in story form, and not the ramble on type of writing that I tend to use in the blog...

I love staying out late during the early summer; even though the sun is gone, it's warmth still remains. If I could chose the weather, I would make every night like that night. I would always sleep under the stars.

That's just what I did that summer night. I slept under the stars with my two best friends. Now, I could lie to you. I could tell you that this was the perfect summer night: clear as Crystal with every star plainly shining back at us. But that would be a lie.

The only weather related perfection about that night was the temperature. Just maybe it was those pesky clouds blocking our view that was incubating Central Maine, keeping it at that perfect 68 degree weather all night long. However, that was not our focus that night. We talked of God, creation, and just how small we felt next to the distant stars that we could not see. If only the clouds would part, if just for a minute, so that we could see their magnificent beauty, we said.

We talked of some other things as well. Nothing I can remember, I suppose we talked of boys and church and school (and all the drama that comes with being a teenager). But the conversation was not what makes this my favorite story. We whispered and giggled, every so often hearing my brother talk to his computer in the house some 3 dozen feet away. During these mundane moments, a miracle happened.

No one was raised from the dead, no fatal illnesses were cured. No one trekked across the surface of the pool, and no one slayed a giant with a single stone. But God gave us an everyday sized miracle, just for us. The rest of the world probably did not notice, and the rest of the world probably did not care. The rest of the world was not looking, but we were. We watched as the clouds parted. They did not part completely; but a perfect circle had formed directly above where we lay. God exposed to us His glory, along with the moon and the stars that we so longed to look at that warm summer night. And then it was over.

As quickly as the clouds parted, they swept back together revealing only a dim glow where the moon reflected the sun's light behind the clouds. It was okay though; It was enough. The brief glimpse, the perfect circle... I suppose that if the clouds completely dissipated, this would not be my favorite story. That night the Red Sea parted for us; typical teenage girls living a life that seemed so mundane. What I know now is that there is no such thing as a mundane life.

My faith is the reason I know there was a miracle that night, and it is the miracle that night that keeps my faith alive. That's why this is my favorite story.

Like Father, Like Daughter...

*Daddy and Laura are on the 4 wheeler. At 9 at night. In November. Just browsin' through the trails.*

Laura: Daddy, I feel like singing a song. Wanna know what song?

Dad: What song?

Laura: Good Vibrations (anyone who's ever been on a 4wheeler would get this pun)



*later on, still on the 4 wheeler, discussing trees*

Daddy: Look at all the beach trees! They're nice and straight! Not growing 5 in one inch...

Laura: *observing trees*

Daddy: There's another one! Oh, and that one there, that could possibly be a son of a beach; seeded from one of the bigger trees.



We're so punny!

Ninja's and Pirates

So, recently I was trying to describe my friend Mark to my mom.

"He's weird [he has long hair, so to my mom, that is weird] and he likes to talk like a pirate."

Can anyone else imagine the response/look I got from her at that point?

"Well. Not talk like a pirate a lot, he just says 'arrgh' a lot."


Well, just recently I had told Mark this pick-up-line that involved ninja's, and he loved it... Of course, because of the ninja. He then proceeded to tell me the difference between the two:

(forgive me, Mark, if I slightly misquote you. My memory isn't perfect)
"Well, most people know I tend to favor pirates, but they're all... Grow long hair, get drunk around campfires and on ships and sing songs obnoxiously off key... But ninjas, they have their place. They're more slick and shaven... Stealthy and suave... They're more [trying really hard to remember the word he used... I'm gonna use classy.] classy. Sometimes, it's just nice to be classy. It would be wrong of me not to recognize the ninja, although I am partial to pirates myself. Most of my friends are ninjas though, it's kind of funny."

After this portion of the conversation ended, we proceeded to talk about black and white socks, among other things... But that I'll save for another day!

Disclaimer: Permission for use of conversation was granted by the conversationee.

Special Air

I have two shoe boxes in my hand for the Christmas Shoe Box ministry, empty at the time, when Karen approaches:

"Whatcha got there?"

"Shoe boxes."

"What's in the shoe boxes?"

"Air."

-pause, as I decide to say something funny-

"But it's special air! Wanna whiff?"

"Yeah!!"

-I open the box quickly near her nose. She at this point gets greedy with the air, and steals the box.-

"Stop! That air is for underprivileged children! STOP IT!! You're the reason Americans have a reputation to be greedy. THIS IS WHY AMERICANS ARE OVERWEIGHT!"

... I guess you had to be there.

Pumpkin Carving: Part 2

On to Sunday afternoon! On this day, we had a visitor: The Meesh. Unfortunately, she is in none of the pictures because she took 90% of them.

Matt's pattern was too large for the pumpkin, but since it was a fairly simple design I just drew the symbol onto his pumpkin and he traced the marker line. I proceeded to use the more tedious pinhole method. He finished carving his entire pumpkin before I even finished punching out the pattern!

Let me create a visual: Matt. With a seraded knife, much like a two sided saw. If you don't know Matt... Just imagine a 7 year old boy... Excited, but impatient. He was sawing it so fast that he accidently pulled the knife out of the pumpkin while sawing and jabbed it in a totally different place 3 times.

20 minutes later, Matt's masterpiece is finished. Rough, but finished. Meesh cleaned it up a little bit after that.

2 hours later, my masterpiece is finished. My hands are cramping, but my masterpiece is finished!



P.S. I wasn't really sure how to go about roasting pumpkin seeds until after I had already left them in the oven at 425degrees for about 25 minutes. (The recipe said 300degrees) About 5 seeds were eaten, but the spices weren't all that great that I chose anyway, so they're now going to become part of a landfill. Yay me!

P.P.S. ITS A ROSE! Not a cabbage, not a snail, not a one eyed pig. ITS A ROSE!

Pumpkin Carving: Part 1

Here's the gist of my conversation with Matt on Saturday night.

L: Okay, time to carve pumpkins!
M: I don't wanna carve. Let's just carve your pumpkin together...
L: So basically - I carve and you watch?
M: TOTALLY!
L: No.

*discussing pumpkin carving*

L: But the pumpkin seeds have to dry overnight!

*discussing pumpkin seeds*

The art of compromise: We began our pumpkin adventure with just gutting them on Saturday night!

Me: Woah, this stuff is so gross, I love it! *up to elbows in pumpkin goo*
Matt: I'm supposed to stick my hands in there?!
(I used my hands, he used primarily tools, and washed his hands at least three times)

I'll lay your guts out on a table!"

The inside of my pumpkin after about a half hour

The inside of Matt's pumpkin after about a half hour... Slacker.

3 Tests down...

So I just completed the 3rd test of the semester, and after having 2 not so great scores, I'm finally feeling halfway confident about this one. We'll see how that goes.

In other news: there is none.

So... How about a story!!

The other day at work, we all had our faces painted as some of the guys on the higher part of the hierarchy of management were gonna show up, and we wanted to look spirited... Ally and I got the same design (mirrored) so that we were like each other's half. But then we didn't take if off, and hung out around augusta, and got some interesting looks. Ally tried on a kids size dress, and surprisingly it ALMOST fit! Umm.. we got slushies. We made them pretty. :)

Here's a couple of pics:

Alright!

I admit it! I'm a sucker for a good hug... I broke down and ended up driving down to South Berwick for less than 24 hours on Tuesday/Wednesday. I left after work, arrived shortly before 6pm, and left SB at 3pm the next day, going straight back to work. It was fun though, we settled my stuff in a little, and then went to see FIREPROOF: Okay, so we're not married, but it was still an awesome movie that any couple could learn from. Matt has the book "The Love Dare," so he tells me, and I'm itching to buy fireproof the book. Like any non-hollywood movie, the acting could have been better, but after about 10 minutes you don't even notice. We're all spoiled if you ask me. All in all, it was an awesome movie that would make any woman with normal tear ducts cry. As I did. It was quite funny though, because although this really is like a chick flick, it's also a "couples" movie, so everyone in the theatre had a partner. Whenever there was a scene that warranted tear flow, you could hear the guy's laughing at their spouses. And the fact that the other guys in the audotorium were laughing only made the guys laugh even harder, because they all knew what the others were laughing about!

After that we got in some long awaited hugs and special matt/laura alone talking time, and I slept, he worked. I now have an air bed rather than the couch to sleep on, and it's so much better on my back, but the heat isn't as warm as it has been previously, and add that with the fact that an airbed doesnt absorb heat and is always cold... Then figure in the fact that I'm a walking icicle and used 2 comforters and a nap blanket all SUMMER (add in a down comforter in the winter)... And you've got me freezing my butt off! Note to self: pack extra blankets! (I only had one that night)

The next day we got my oil changed... ate at pizza hut.... and napped. It was a short, and other than the movie, it was an uneventful trip. But well worth the gas money, in my opinion. I really needed some hugs!

Creepy Cutie

this somewhat resembles the face that Matt made when we were hanging out in my room (in the basement, with one small window) when there was a funky noise outside. It was a sqeaky, scratchy kind of sound, the exact sound you wouldn't want to hear on a dark, wet, foggy night like that night was. I already knew what the sound was, but I decided to play along.
"Matt! There's something at the window! Can you check and see what it is?!" "No way, that's wicked creepy!" "Please, Just trust me!"












It was my kitty, when she wants to come in she paws at the window, and the pads on her paws squeak. It was hilarious. This was after she came in, but whatever.

P.S. These are awesome pictures for a camera phone, btw, aren't they? 2.0mexapixel... not too shabby.