a baby kind of a day

it all started with hearing the news that amy (my future cousin) went into labor this morning...

then i attended a baby shower...and learned that jana had two baby showers to choose from...

then i got the news that jeff and steph had their twins today (tristen and emma)...

then i read the news that autum had her baby today (serenity)...

then to top it off, i read that a family's cat decided today would be the perfect day to have its litter...

you might find it odd, but my mind immediately starts to wonder who that i know might find out that their future child was conceived on this "day of babies"

an obstruction of lawn care

i usually enjoy mowing (it's often an excellent way to get a tan while still being productive). today this was not the case.

Why was it less enjoyable than other days?
1) it is unseasonably cold (or maybe the temperature is finally starting to behave normally after the random summer days we've been experiencing here in april). i ended up wearing fur-lined gloves (not the fancy kind), a winter hat, and my dad's hoodie/flannel shirt...i was still cold.

2) my parents got a new mower recently (a hustler: zero degree turning and all that fancy stuff) and i have never used it. took me a couple of tries to figure out how to turn it on, then i got to figure out how to lower the deck! it's a saturday! my brain should have the entire day off for the trouble i put it through the rest of the week.

3) nearly finished, i fly up towards the back of the barn when a putrid smell assails my senses. although it seemed to be coming from near the outhouse, i knew that wasn't an option. there, directly in front of me, lay a dead groundhog (on which hundreds of maggots were having a feast). this is where i draw the line. i was ever so thankful that it was behind the barn, as i would have felt obligated to remove it if it were out in the open (as it is, the 'rents are coming home by tuesday, so they will need a fun activity when they get here). of course, my brain is trying to piece together how the groundhog died and whether or not the hole in its side was from a predator. (why won't it stop working??? i told it twice now what day it is)

4) now, i don't know if bears attack groundhogs, or if it was a bear, why it didn't finish the job (well, it probably decided the groundhog was a disgusting creature, both in habit and taste), but this much i do know: lying not 5 ft from the body were two tufts of fur (black, semi-long, and coarse). picking them up (i had gloves on) i brought them in to compare the texture with that of our bearskin rug. the only problem is that we got rid of that rug a few years back. not knowing what else to do, i bagged the evidence to await more knowledgeable eyes. looking forward to finding out what dad has to say about the fur (i'm 85% positive it belongs to a black bear. the only problem with my conjecture is that i found the tufts between the house and the honeyhouse, which are rather close together)

if cars could speak...

"i don't know about you, but i really enjoy driving an hour for the privilege of experiencing 10 minutes of snootiness," she says as her lips drip with sarcasm.

recently, my fiance and i (i do like that word, but not nearly as much as i will enjoy saying 'husband') drove to harrisburg for the express purpose of finding suits for the wedding...little did we know that we were about to experience the express lane type of service.

scene 1: (parking lot of men's wearhouse) george and i pull up in my nissan and park in between 2 bmw's with an audi, volvo and another beamer or two leering at my altima's nerve at attempting to break class barriers.

scene 2: (inside men's wearhouse) the salesmen asks what the occasion is, promptly directs us towards a dimly lit corner of the store, shows us two suits (and only two suits, both calvin klein, one black, one black with pinstripes) and, when he finds out we aren't planning on buying any suits that same day, leads us to his desk, takes our information and says 'can i help you with anything else today?' in my mind (too stunned to vocalize it) i say, "yeah, you could show us some suits!"

scene 3: (the parking lot) george: "what just happened there?" jeanne (dumbfounded): "i have no idea! but so it's not a total loss, can we go to babies 'r' us so i can get a gift for someone?"

we both felt rather idiotic at the time for not staying and finding a suit (time is ticking down!) but in retrospect are so glad we did. why, you may ask?

service, my good friend, service, may be readily found at the men's wearhouse in dickson city (near scranton)! we walked in and a lady came over to assist us. she showed us a number of suits (a little more high class than calvin klein's). when i let slip the real reason we were suit shopping (george wasn't forthcoming as usual :) ) she brought over another lady (the manager) to help as well. they showed us half dozen or more suits, gave their opinion, had him try them on with a white shirt so we could actually see what they would look like, kept bringing us ties to try, helped us find suits for the groomsmen that looked almost identical but were less expensive, showed us shirts, gave their advice, suggested a vest for george (wow did he look GOOD!!!), and were all around super friendly and helpful. what a different experience!!! i loved it, george didn't hate it, and we have all the guys' suits squared away, so it was a great day. (not to mention we ate at grottos pizza on the way home!)

just so you know, the parking lot of the men's wearhouse in dickson city consisted of hondas, hyundais, and my nissan. :)

and what a week

it's true that vacation goes by way too fast. i have years of proof (from kindergarten on). tomorrow i have to start waking up early again. call me crazy, but waking up between 7:30 and 8:30 suits me just fine. i am happy school doesn't start that late, especially since some of my students are much more manageable when they are half asleep. more than that...think about what time i'd get home from work! yuck. i'll take leaving the house at 6:45 and getting home by 4 any day over not getting out of work til 5.

i've had a nice spring break though...probably accomplished much more than usual in some ways, but also much less than usual in others. over break i visited my bro and his fam in philly, paid for a honeymoon, bought accessories for my camera, attended a bonfire, chatted with 2 friends in need of encouraging (i should do that more), hung out with my man, had a lovely easter dinner, had an exploding dinner, and i FINALLY bought a small point and shoot digital camera.

you may be wondering why i was so specific on the genre of camera i bought. well...for about a year and a half i have felt the need for a small camera (i love my slr, but it is so bulky for just your everyday snapshots). almost a year ago now, my mom gave me money to buy said camera...i have no idea what that money actually got spent on, but i am going to pretend that the money i spent today on the camera and accessories for my nikon was cushioned by it. i did research upon research upon research...never finding a camera that i knew i would be happy with. this "lack of purchase" was even brought up as a reason why george wasn't ready back in the fall to say i was his one and only love. :) i might have to write a blog about that one. ;) i would find a camera i thought was "the one" and would inevitably find 3 things about it i hated. do you know how hard it is to find a digital camera with a viewfinder these days? ridiculous! i would find the camera i wanted, and take a trip to purchase it, only to find they don't sell it in the stores around here, or to find it no longer exists, or to find it is really much crappier than i thought. who in their right mind thinks waiting half a second for the shutter to react is a good thing? i don't know. anyway, as i was purchasing my flash and battery for my slr, i decided to just take the plunge and buy one...it's not like it's a lifetime commitment! i went with the very last camera in stock that had a viewfinder and a decent range, the Canon Powershot 1100IS. They don't make it anymore but all who owned it loved it. Here's to many years of little or no regret (I hope) :/

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what a year this has been...

....what a rare mood i'm in. well it's almost like being in love.

so apparently i have not written a thing in almost a year...and whether or not this is an accurate estimation, i believe it has something to do with my soon-to-be husband, as my last blog was posted approximately one week before our first date. :) on june 21st 2009, i attended a wedding in maryland and when i got home i went on my first date with the man i will marry on june 5th 2010, one George Geise.

some significant events post june 21, 2009:
- we go on two more dates before being flung into bf/gf status thanks to my speeding habit (he voiced the status to the officer who pulled me over and then told me). there is definitely a story here...
- july 3rd - we spend 4th of july weekend at his sister's house in maryland (who asks someone they barely know to visit their family out of town?!) i already knew he was God's intended for me :)
- a week later - i tell him that i would be shocked if he wasn't the man i would marry (he doesn't run away...) (who tells a guy less than 3 weeks into the relationship that he's the one?...apparently i do)
- august - we visit more of his relatives...this time in oregon...beautiful country, beautiful family...
- fall - how does he not know yet that i'm the one? i'm not in a rush, but if i am this sure, how can he not be? :) he keeps asking if i want to look at rings as a joke (at least i think he was joking..one can never tell)
- winter - he is concerned about me getting my hopes up for a ring. "george, i have 0% hope for the near future...100% hope for the future, but 0% for the near future"
- christmas morning - floored me with a proposal (at least he would have had i been standing...as it was he woke me at 6:30 am to ask...of course i had no idea what was going on since he is an expert deceiver...)
4 questions i'll never forget asking (all slightly groggy): 1) "what are you doing here?" 2) "am i dreaming?" 3) "are you sure?" and 4) "didn't i say 'yes'?"
- and here i am...2 months from the biggest change in my life next to salvation...what a year this has been