island drinks

This blog post is a bit belated, but I'm finally getting around to posting about our cruise!

I was off the entire week of our anniversary so I had lots of  time to pack and get ready and just enjoy some time off work.  I love the way we celebrate our anniversary.  We always make it special.  Some people do it big for their birthday or celebrate all month for it but I love celebrating our anniversary more than I do my birthday.  I wonder if it's because I am so used to celebrating September 18th-it's the date we celebrated as our dating anniversary so we celebrated it for 6 years before we were even married.

On Monday of that week, Matt was at work late and my mom came down to pick Jax up to take him back to her house for the week but we managed to fit in some Cooper's Hawk wine tasting and dinner before she left.  It was great to get to spend some quality time with her.

On Tuesday (our actually anniversary), Matt got off work early and we headed downtown for our dinner reservations at Fogo De Chao.  We went there for dinner last year and hadn't been back since.  That place is amazing.  I think I was finally no longer full from the year before.  You get SO much food and it's all you can eat yummy salad and delicious steak.  Matt's heaven.  He was frustrated at me when he saw how big my salad was because he thought I was wasting my time on salad when I should be eating crazy amounts of steak.  Don't you worry, I was able to handle eating it all :).

Lovely free dessert! It was sooo good. We finished the whole darn thing too.

A dozen roses from Matt's sweet boss.  These were waiting on the doorstep when we got home.

On Wednesday, Matt was off work and we followed tradition by riding the motorcycle down to Southern Indiana.  One year we rode all the way down to French Lick, but we've done Oliver Winery for at least 3 years now.  The weather is usually beautiful-still warm in the 70's, sunny, and the leaves are just starting to turn.  It was exactly that this year.  It was what we needed to just get away after working so many hours the past couple months.

Pretty sure this lady had never used an iPhone camera before...this took like 3 tries because she kept hitting the wrong button 

Thumbs up for Matt's fab hair-braiding skills

Thursday morning came bright and early.  My friend Amber picked us up at the house at  4 am to take us to the airport.  I was a little bit sad because I didn't have time to eat breakfast before I left the house, but then I realized that an Egg McMuffin and a Fruit and Maple Oatmeal were waiting for me in the airport McDonald's so I got over it pretty quickly.  Our flight down to Orlando was non-stop.  I dedicated a solid 2 hours (give or take) to learning the new BodyPump release that I was going to be teaching when we got back from vacay.

We took a 45 min shuttle ride to Port Canaveral to our final destination...our cruise!  We got out of that shuttle and onto the boat and all of our worries and stresses from the hard-working summer were gone. We were one of the very first people on the boat and we bee-lined it straight for the lunch buffet. I was focused on food and putting my swimsuit on immediately after to soak up the sun; Matt was focused on "wow look at that boat" and "I want to see them take the rope off when we leave" and talking all machinery and technology to me.  He was sooo interested in the way the ship worked and how we were going to get out of the port etc.  Such a man.

1st island drink of the trip. The plan was to not buy toooooo many of these...but they were so yummy and Matt's Listerine bottle of whiskey was confiscated so we enjoyed us some island drinks :) 

We brought our bottle of Oliver champagne (from our anniversary trip to Oliver last year and which we saved all year to drink on our next anniversary) on the boat and popped it that first night.  It was soooo delicious.  It was a Catawba Sparkling Wine.  I could've drank the whole thing, but I felt it fair to share with my husband :).

We really enjoyed just sitting out and watching the water as we sailed.  It was so peaceful and relaxing...and a little scary that this huge cruise ship was still above water.  My paranoid side gets the best of me sometimes.

Breakfast was my very favorite meal on the ship.  I loved getting up, heading to breakfast when most people were still sleeping and watching the peaceful water and sun.  Oh and they had my beloved Cheerios!

We arrived in Nassau, Bahamas on Day 2. We woke up and the ship was docked.  We kind of lazily made our way off the boat by about 3ish.  Most people got off the boat right away in the morning so the boat was pretty empty.  We took advantage of the quiet pool and relaxed, had some lunch, and then made our way out to Nassau.

That raincloud? Yeah it unleashed right when we got off the boat 

 

This Disney boat was awesome!

Our travel back to home was a little less pleasurable than the trip down.  We got to the airport WAY too early.  Like 4 hours early.  They were going to charge us $100 to get on the earlier flight...even though there was room.  So we sat in the smallest airport ever (Melbourne, FL) for 4 long hours.  They had one "restaurant" inside the security gates, but we found out they only served pre-packaged cold sandwiches.  I was starving and that just wasn't going to cut it.  After Matt's convincing, we walked out of security and ate at a restaurant that specialized in anything fried.  After 3 days on a cruise ship of unlimited eating, we basked in a grilled chicken sandwich.

Jax had been up at my mom's all week and I was really missing him.  We didn't get back home until 9ish.  The plan really wasn't for me to get Jax until the next day or the next, but I sweet-talked my mom into meeting me in Lebanon so I could see my pup.  After traveling all darn day and then another 30 min drive I was so happy to get home and in bed with Jax at our feet.

We had such a great time and the trip was exactly what we needed.  I really did feel refreshed and ready to go back to work (well not ready to go back to work, but I didn't feel so wiped out while being there).  Not sure when our next vacation will be, but I guess I should start saving now!

two years

Two years?! No way it's been two years since the best day ever.

  I love celebrating our anniversary especially because we got married on our "dating anniversary" so it's super easy to keep track plus it's even more special when we get to celebrate.  This year marks 2 years married and 8 years together.  It is so funny to think back on when we very first started dating-me a Junior in High School and Matt just moving to Florida for school.  I used every single paycheck from working as a cashier at Marsh to buy plane tickets and flew down to see him every single break I had from school, even if it was just a Monday off.  Matt still had his long hair and I don't think either one of us could have ever imagined where we would be 8 years later.  My life would not make sense without him in it and I am so thankful we get to go through this life together. 

Happy Anniversary Matthew. I love you :)

Annual Monument Circle picture :)

mid-week recap

Call me a lunatic, but I've been feeling guilty lately.  Guilty about leaving my fur-child home alone too much...ok cue the crazy comments.  With all of the overtime I have been picking up to pay for our upcoming cruise, Mr. Jax spends a lot of time talking to himself all day. If I feel this bad with a fur-baby, how the heck am I going to feel with a human baby?  He gets extra kisses and treats when I get home from work and extra walks and playtime when I am off and not out running around.  Maybe I should take him to the gym tomorrow to watch me teach my class. I'm sure he could hang :)

Vacation with Matt is the only thing on my mind lately.  I am so excited! Even though it's a quick trip I am hoping it will still feel like we got away.  We both have off the day before we leave and I think we will carry on with tradition and head down to Oliver Winery to celebrate our anniversary.  We have a bottle of last year's sparkling wine that we saved until this year's anniversary to drink.  I am hoping we can find something this year to save to for next year too!  I made reservations for Fogo De Chao on Tuesday night for our actual anniversary.  I think my body requires a year in between the food coma that ensues after dinner there.  

I don't know what I got us in to, but I signed Matt and I up for the Color Me Rad 5K Run next weekend.  We are doing it with a big group from Kiwi so it won't seem so bad.  I have never ran a 5K. Heck I never run.  The most running I do is in the 3 minute track in BodyAttack.  Matt hasn't run since...I don't even know. Last year?  We will probably be a big pile of sore muscles the next day.

cruisin'

Matt and I haven't been on a vacation since our honeymoon to Jamaica 2 years ago.  We are getting ready to celebrate our 2 year wedding anniversary (and 8 years together!) so we figured what better time to get away.  Matt hasn't been able to take vacation time since he started at UPS, but now that he is able to take time for vacation he is going to take off 3 days.  I've already got my days covered for work, now I just need to find a sub for my BodyPump class.

I spent a lot of time researching where we should go.  We tossed around somewhere in New England, Florida, Las Vegas, Colorado, Michigan, and came to the conclusion that our best bet to really feel like we got away and to be the most efficient with our money was a CRUISE!  Matt has never been on a cruise and I haven't been on one since I was 10. We are taking a 3 night cruise to the Bahamas. 

 I finally booked it last night after pondering back and forth I just decided we needed to book it.  We haven't booked our airfare yet because we are trying to figure out a plan to see our friends in Jacksonville the day before we ship out.  With how busy the NICU has been this summer, we are going to be able to pay for this entire vacation strictly from money I make from overtime and bonus pay on busy days.  That, ladies and gentlemen, is phenomenal.  Yes, I have been kicking my butt by working so many hours non-stop, but the end is in site and it is quite a sweet deal.  5 days of uninterrupted time spent on a big cruise ship and beach with my husband.  No work to do, no stress to be had, just relaxation and celebration :).

By the time we get to our vacation we will definitely look like these joyous people frolicking... :)

playing harder

Life has been so packed busy and I haven't been taking the time to blog.  These are the times I should be blogging to know where all the time is going!

Matt and I have both been working our butts off.  He has been swamped at work.  They really need another supervisor in the department where he supervises and it looks like that might be happening soon which will be so awesome.  Matt comes home so exhausted.  Last week he went in at his normal 6 am start time but stayed until 8 or 9 pm every night.  The part-time supervisor that was helping in there quit at the beginning of the week and his other full-time supervisor was on vacation so it was all on Matt.  I know he can't wait to have some more help in there so he can do his job and be able to come home at a decent time. I will love that too.

I have also been working like crazy...it seems to be our theme this summer. I am shocked we still find time to see each other and do fun stuff.  The NICU has been steady at 80 babies for about a month now.  We technically have a capacity for 75 babies, but we somehow squeeze more.  We are putting twins into the same bedspot and triplets into rooms to free up space. It's almost comical when we all think we simply cannot admit anymore babies and we get a call that we are getting twins.  Then we scramble to figure it out and shockingly it gets done.  I have been using this opportunity to get in a little overtime...well a lot of overtime.  I've been steady at over 50 hours every week since the beginning of June.  Although I am tired and feel pulled in about 50 different directions with work, Kiwi, time for family and friends, and time for Summer fun I am also thankful to have a job that I love and that I have the opportunity to get overtime if I wanted to.  The more I work the better vacation we can take...

After all that work talk, it solidifies my contemplation of us going on a vacation for our anniversary.  We need it. Badly.  Matt is going to take a couple days off towards the end of that week and we are getting away. We don't quite know where yet but I know we are going somewhere.  We are considering a 3 day cruise, but we also may go somewhere we can drive to.  Who knows. All I know is we are getting away :).

Other random news.  Jax got his first ear infection last week and I got my first speeding ticket today. Matt washed our cars today while I layed out...and then I had to wash the windows but that's ok. I am going to the dermatologist this week for a spot on my shoulder-it's been there for awhile but I have been brushing it off.  The paranoid nurse side of me is forcing me to finally have it checked out.  We have some fun pool parties and a golf tourney and a beer pong tourney coming up these next couple weekends so that will be super fun and summery. 

Here's to working hard and playing even harder :)

lake life

This weekend we were lucky enough to spend time with family up in Michigan City.  This is where I grew up and spent the first 12 years of my life.  We spent a lot of time at the beach on Lake Michigan as I was growing up and it is always nice to be back up there.  My grandparents still live there so we all gather at their house which is just a short walk/even quicker drive to the beach.  My mom, niece and nephew, and Uncle's family were all there this weekend.  I absolutely love spending time with all of them.

Matt and I drove separately to his mom's house where we dropped Jax off and then I hopped on the motorcycle with him and we rode the rest of the way to MC.  It was SO HOT on Saturday.  I got up at 7 am to water the flowers before we left and it was already 82 with 60% humidity.  Once we actually got on the bike it was even hotter and more humid.  It was over 100 degrees during that ride.  I did ok until about 3/4 of the way there and I hit my wall.  My butt hurt, I was hot, getting sunburned even through my SPF 30, hungry, thirsty, and just done.  We pulled over to a Burger King and grabbed a little snack and rest and then headed the rest of the way up there.  Matt handed me back his headphones with the radio playing and said it would help.  It actually did distract me from my complaints the rest of the time :). 

I have never been so happy to arrive at my grandparents house.  We were shockingly the first ones there. That rarely happens.  We hung around for a little bit catching up with them and then the rest of the fam trickled in.  We ate lunch and then the girls packed up and headed to the beach.  I thought we were all going like usual, but the boys wants to stay back and play cards instead.  It started off hot and then a front came through around 3 pm and brought cooler weather and some nice waves in the lake.  It was absolutely gorgeous down at the beach-cooler with a nice breeze and then water was actually warm enough to get in!  We actually all got in and made our way out to the sandbar-tugging the kids along when they couldn't touch.  I don't remember the last time Mary came to the beach with us (I'm SO glad she did) while it was hot and sunny or the last time my Mom got in the lake water before August.  It was a great time :) My only regret is that I didn't take more pictures! I am a bad aunt and didn't get one of my niece and nephew together.

Lake Michigan

Playing in the sand

We came back to the boys in the middle of an intense Euchre tourney so we all showered up.  The whole crew went up to New Buffalo for some Redmak's burgers.  It was busy as always but the weather was so nice no one minded waiting almost an hour outside.  The food was delicious and the company was priceless :).  "Do you guys serve pizza? Sushi?" It took while for our waitress to warm up to us crazy people.

Matt's first Redamak's burger

After dinner, we all stopped at Oink's ice cream on the way back home.  Redmak's and Oink's are both a huge staple in my childhood up in MC.  We visited there a lot. It was awesome to get to go this weekend and also to show Matt what its all about. He had never been to either.

Absolutely packed at 10 pm on a Saturday night

 We came back, played around with Apple TV (you can stream your photos and videos from your iPhone to their TV just through their WiFi...we had a lot of fun with this), and the final four people awake finished the night with a Euchre game.  My team lost but there were plenty of laughs to make up for that.

I think we called this "3 generations of facial hair"

All photos from my iPhone and blown up bigger so sorry for the poor quality. 

This morning, we had a fantastic homemade breakfast of pancakes, egg casserole, and the best watermelon I've ever had.  Once we got around to cleaning up everyone started to pack up to leave.  That's always the sad part. I never want it to end. I can't wait until we are all together again!

summer rituals

It's so funny how daily/nightly rituals change between the Winter and the Summer.  I've got to say that I am really loving Summer rituals.  It must be the sun setting later but it is so motivating to get stuff done!

On my days off, I usually am teaching in the morning and then it's either time for errands (groceries, Target, Costco), a day of cleaning, or a good dog walking/laying outside/reading outside kind of day.  The latter is my fav of course, but those don't happen very often. Or if that is what I'm doing I usually feel guilty for not doing the other two options.  If I am off and not working out at night, I try to have dinner ready by the time Matt gets home (or close enough to then).  I have a taken a few random PTO (vacation) days this Summer, mostly because we have something planned that night, but then it gives me a whole extra day that week to do my own thing.  It's nice to only work two days week.  I could get used to that...

It is so nice to have Matt home in the evenings too. I am loving his hours.  It gives us time at night to eat dinner together and unwind.  The only thing I would change is if he wasn't working 10-11 hour days Monday-Friday.  There's not a whole lot he can do about that right now, but it would be so great for him if he only had to do 8 like most people (well, normal Monday-Friday people).  Selfishly, I would get to see him more and spend more time with him, but it would also not wear on him so much.  Oh well, can't complain about having a job these days!

Another Summer ritual that I can't say I absolutely love (sometimes it's relaxing and nice to be outside, but then it just turns into an annoyance) is watering all the plants and flowers and new trees.  With our drought we've had so far this year I am having to get out every single night and water them! If I for some reason don't have enough time to do everything at nights when I have to work, I still always at least water my potted plants and most importantly-my tomatoes! Mt tomato plants are really shocking me.  What I mean by that is that they are actually growing and producing those special little red things! My cherry tomato plant is thriving-I have already eaten about 10 from that and there is still a lot to go.  I have a really hard time seeing a red one on the wine and not eating it.  I have to consciously tell myself not to, so it will get more ripe, taste better, and then maybe I can eat more than one at a time! Or make something from them! It is so hard to contain myself though.  I almost have to smack my own hand when I reach for one.  My beefsteak tomato plant on the other hand isn't doing the greatest.  I am hoping it's just because they take about 2 weeks longer to mature than the cherries, but right now I only have one measly green one.  That green one is definitely growing bigger but it's the lone ranger for now. To be honest, if my cherry tomatoes keep on the right track I won't even mind if I only get one beefsteak tomato this year.  Hey, that's at least one night of BLTs right?

We've also been busy with the projects again.  We almost set out to divide and conquer our spare bedroom this weekend, but then we knew if would turn into more and we weren't in store for that.  I did end up getting the guest bedroom looking fabulous though! Matt had told me we really needed to get some stuff up on the walls and off to Home Goods I went.  I hung this little shelf/sconce set I bought last year and then bought a nice mirror and picture for the walls as well as some decorations for the shelves I just hung.  I got everything up on the walls tonight and it looks great!  Hanging stuff on the walls is never my favorite thing to do-especially when you are married to the "have to get your measuring tape and level and pencil and center it and level it and blah blah blah".  Yes, Matt it does look great but I wish I could just magically know where to put it and it look just as good :).  Only thing that bedroom needs now is a ceiling fan!

I'm pretty sure they say this every Summer, but this has got to be the hottest on record.  Well, actually I know it is because we have had at least 5 days that have broken the record for high temperature that was set back in 1930s!  This whole 100 degree stuff has got to go.  Our Spring was so beautiful, I wish that could've just carried over into Summer.  I don't see any relief coming either.  Rain and a little cool-down please :)