Wedded bliss
Well, it’s been almost a week since I became a wife. So far, it’s been a good trip.
The day went quite well, despite a major dress malfunction 5 minutes before the ceremony (which was fixed by my new mother-in-law, God bless her). The ceremony was perfect, the weather was great and everyone had a good time. I really do think going low key, family picnic-like on the reception was the best idea. Everyone was so relaxed.
I was so happy to see so much of my family. I had relatives in from Wisconsin, Ohio, Virginia, Colorado, Indiana, Illinois and Florida make it out to see us exchange vows. Even people we were sure wouldn’t be able to make it were able to come. I survived a 4:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. day with only an hour of sleep and I didn’t collapse in the middle of everything. I’m still surprised at that.
The new husband and I have been getting along famously, not that I expected anything different. We’ve lived together for several months already so it comes as no surprise. But getting back into the swing of things at work hasn’t been as easy. It’s hard to get my brain engaged again after having such a great vacation.
The only completely non-blissful part of my newlywed experience has been changing my name. I’ve only been able to change a couple of things. I have a massive list to take care of in that regard. Then there’s the bank accounts to change, which means I also have to change all of my automatic deposits, withdraws and bill payments. Sigh…
Vacationing with swans
When we went on our family vacation a while ago, we discovered that the place we were staying was forced to play host to a family of swans. Yes, they’re gorgeous, majestic birds… when they’re out on the water. Those damn birds spent the week hissing at us and blocking us from getting out our own cottage doors because their three babies were eating. The male also had a thing for his reflection in the sliding glass doors on our porches. My cousin-in-law took a few videos with his iPhone and this was my favorite. You’ll have to click the link, but this is what we dealt with all week…
http://roder.posterous.com/more-ugly-swans-0
And that’s a SMALL present that he left for us on the deck, which he immediately stepped in and tracked all over. Normally it’s about the size of a dog’s. They are nothing but poop factories on land.
Back to the real world
My family and I just recently got back from a wonderful trip to Ludington, Mich. to take care of my grandpa’s ashes. It’s the first time many of us have seen each other in about three years or so. We spent the week doing whatever we felt like doing and not worrying about having our time planned out to the last minute.
I now realize just how much I miss having vacations. Our family used to routinely take a summer trip up north nearly every year. But for what seems like a decade, that hasn’t happened because of schedules and budgets. I had forgotten how much I love to go to new places and spend time hiking around enjoying the fresh air. But the best part is spending time with family away from the pressures of careers, home repairs and the like. You get to see the real people behind the stress and catch up on everything from home renovations to engagements. The daily runs to the infamous Park Dairy House of Flavors for the best ice cream on the planet weren’t bad either.
I’m posting several photos in this entry from the trip, NONE OF WHICH CAN BE USED BY ANYONE BUT MYSELF FOR ANY PURPOSE IN ANY FORMAT WITHOUT PERMISSION FROM ME. Okay, legalities aside, here are some of my favorites.
Sunset over Hamlin Lake where we rented a few cottages right on the water.
A seagull taking wing at the water line on Lake Michigan.
Lake Michigan on an absolutely gorgeous day with hardly a cloud in the sky.
Some very cool fuzzy logs keeping the stones of Lost Lake in the Ludington State Park from eroding. My mom loved this one.
The S.S. Badger making it’s way back to Wisconsin and into the coming sunset.
Sunset over Lake Michigan after we spread my grandfather’s ashes in the sand dunes.
But now it’s back to reality. I miss the lake already.
Sunburn, vinegar and sisters
It’s official. I’m an idiot.
My fiance (tee hee) and I did a wonderful thing for my mom yesterday. She has been trying to get her car waxed for eons but her back is really bad and she can’t do all the bending over. We slaved over her pretty blue Pontiac Vibe for FOUR FREAKING HOURS. I expected it to take about two hours tops. We washed it twice, wiped it down with a shammy, then wiped it down with microfiber cloths before finally applying the wax and rain repellent on the windshield. When it was finally all said and done, that car was so shiny there were literally birds flying around checking themselves out in the paint.
Now, I am as white as they can possibly come without being totally neon. I practically glow in the dark for crying out loud. And my idiot self forgot to apply sunblock. My shoulders and arms are so burned I could quite possibly integrate into a lobster family and get along just fine. And I’ve got all kinds of very prominent tan lines. It looks especially great because the burn stops along the tops of my arms. The undersides are still totally white, and there’s an awkward line running down the length of my arms. Wonderful.
My finance’s (tee hee) mom absolutely swears by white vinegar when she gets burned. She says it takes the sting and the heat away, and takes some of the red out of the burn. It also smells terrible. I’ve been applying vinegar several times throughout the day and my bathroom REEKS. I can’t say yet if this stinky little home remedy works or not but the smell alone can certainly burn your nose and eyes. But at least the smell doesn’t follow you around all day. It dissipates pretty rapidly so you aren’t walking around reeking of vinegar.
In other news, my lovely sister (whom you can find over at Can I just say…) has finally come home to visit the family. She hasn’t been home since Christmas. My mom’s side of the family is all spending a week together up near Lake Michigan. We’ve rented a couple of cabins on Hamlin Lake and are taking care of my grandpa’s ashes. It’s the first time in a long time that all of us will be together. And I am so excited to see everyone and have a week off next to a lake. Downside – I already have sunburn.
Missing Virginia
Well, it’s a whole 20 degrees where I’m at in Michigan. I miss walking around Virginia in a sweatshirt and still being warm. I’ve decided to post a few photos of my trip after all, with a warning about copyright. I know it won’t deter everyone, but I will certainly have some backup if I need it.
WARNING: These photos are 2009 copyrighted by me. You cannot use them in any fashion, personal, professional or otherwise, without specific written permission from me that includes the agreeable terms of use and my hand-written signature. Stealing is wrong, so just don’t do it.
Really cool tree in Shenandoah National Park
The Washington Monument at dusk. I couldn't figure out how to turn it in WordPress. If anyone can tell me, please let me know!
The Vietnam Wall at night with the Washington Monumnet in the background. Probably one of my favorite pictures ever.
This is one of the most impressive memorials to see at night. It leaves a big impression.
Oh my aching…
Yesterday was spent wandering around Washington, D.C. for the entire day. We knew it was time to head back when with every footstep your feet are screaming in pain. And then we walked the 20 or so blocks to where we had parked the car.
It was great to get back to the capitol city and see the sights again. We toured the International Spy Museum as well as the Newseum – which is friggin’ amazing by the way. We stopped by the Washington Monument, the World War II Memorial, the Vietnam Memorial as well as the Lincoln Memorial. We saw the monuments beginning at dusk, so by the time we got to the Vietnam Wall and then to Lincoln’s place it was dark. As everyone says, the Lincoln Memorial at night is quite the impressive structure.
It was cool to play with my camera. I ended up get some pretty great shots, including ones at the Vietnam wall. Those photos involved playing with aperture for a while as the wall is only very softly lit and it was nearly pitch black. I’d post my favorites but Katie’s entry on Internet paranoia – how some sites are stealing your photos – got me to think twice about that. I like the photos too much to let them be scooped out from under me.
Today we are planning to head into the Charlottesville area. I’ve heard the University of Virginia has pretty much the most beautiful campus on the planet. So we’ll walk around there today and do a bit of shopping in Charlottesville. It’s supposed to rain today, but with any luck it won’t do so while we’re wandering outside.
Rambling from Virginia
I can’t tell you how nice it is to get away from snowy Michigan to a place with absolutely zero snow. The scenery down here is gorgeous and so refreshing from the same old views I have around my home state.
I’m currently spread out on my sister’s couch with one foot resting on my boyfriend’s lap and a lunatic cat curled up between us. Tonka, the cat, has actually been pretty good lately. He has his fits of dash-attacks to my feet, Katie’s boots and lord only knows what else, but he hasn’t kept me up all night as I expected. I’m telling you, he’s cute but NUTS. He even tries to walk sideways when he thinks you’re going to chase him so he can keep an eye on you. I’ve never seen a cat do that before.
Today we went to the National Air and Space Museum. It’s a Smithsonian museum, but it’s out in Chantilly, VA. It’s a cool place. I LOVED the space wing of it. For some reason that stuff fascinates me. It always has. I actually thought about going into a career dealing with space in middle school but decided that I didn’t have the stuff to do that. Way more math involved than I would like.
Well, as of right now, Katie’s making dinner and I should probably be helping. I haven’t been here long (we just got here last night) so I don’t have too much to blog about currently. We’ll see if I have more to say later.
Vacationing in History
In a few days, I’ll be leaving chilly Michigan for a much warmer Northern Virginia. Next week is my spring break from school and I’m using it to finally visit my sister at her place. It’ll be nice to go somewhere different. The last time I was anywhere near that area was in 8th grade when we visited Washington D.C. as a class.
The sister still has to go to work that week as she teaches middle school English and it isn’t their spring break yet. So that leaves me time to explore the area. She doesn’t live too far from Charlottesville, which from what I hear, is an absolutely beautiful old area with a world full of history. It’ll be cool to see what kind of pictures I can get with my relatively new DSLR camera.
We’re also going to take a side trip to Washington D.C. at some point. It will be so cool to be in the capitol city so shortly after such a massively pivotal election. It’s such a historical time right now. And who knows? Maybe I’ll even see the new president rolling around in his fancy new set of wheels surrounded by the ever-present motorcade. That would be something. I’m also looking forward to seeing the new WWII memorial that wasn’t there the last time I visited. I’ve heard it’s really quite something to behold. I’m hoping we can spend enough time there that I can see the city all lit up at night.
I’m also going to be looking for possible places to apply for a job. I don’t want to go so far away from home, but it’s entirely possible that I’ll have to. Given the area, there’s sure to be a lot of news organizations around along with all the other media. It would be foolish to not at least look at some of the newspapers and other publications out there.
I can’t wait to get on the road!
