First Snow

Sean's eyes lit up like a little kid on Christmas when it started snowing and continued to snow all day yesterday.

My reaction was to not leave the apartment, clean, and watch endless episodes of "Parenthood" on Netflix.

Sean is definitely going to be the fun parent in the future. I'll be the one saying "wash those dishes and put away the laundry. Now."

Apple Picking

This Saturday we took the Metro North to Poughkeepsie with Jocelyn and Cory to meet up with a friend from MSU, Amy, who has been living in upstate NY for the past year. Saturday was also Sean's birthday and he was very excited to spend it getting some fresh air, picking apples, eating cider donuts and seeing some fall foliage.


We stopped in Rhinebeck for lunch which had an adorable downtown and then went a little further north to Red Hook. We picked a ton of apples (over 60 pounds all together between the 6 of us) at the first orchard we visited, and then found another orchard that also had cider and donuts. We also took a break at a coffee house to play a board game. Was this Sean's perfect day or what?


Most of the ripe apples were way up at the top so we used pickers.

The Jonagold apples were HUGE.


A required photo-op at any orchard!


They also had raspberries which was a surprise. I had no idea raspberries were available in the fall. Picking them was a little tedious, but worth it. They're super delicious and were only 2 dollars for a little box. The yellow ones are my favorite.

We headed back to Rhinebeck for dinner and found a very crowded Italian restaurant that just happened to have a table available for 6. The food was great and we were all very full and happy when we got back on the last train to Grand Central.

Now Sean and I have 24 pounds of fresh apples to get creative with. Some of them are going to be good for just eating as snacks. The orchard had Macoun apples which we'd never heard of but they tasted great. Others are destined for pie, applesauce and maybe an apple crisp and if we're feeling really adventurous, apple butter!

Falling Together

About a week ago there was a post on one of my favorite blogs, A Practical Wedding, about a couple who had lost a premature baby in their first year of marriage. The post was about the grief they experienced and how the handled it as husband and wife. Even though it was about about the death of a child, the message was really appropriate for getting through any challenges together.

"There is a saying about how we don’t tend to trip on boulders, but pebbles give us a hell of a time... I think it applies to marriages also. We got through the hospital stay and the funeral and swallowed “the big picture” whole. It’s been the fallout post-funeral... pebbles in comparison and we’re tripping all over ourselves. Fumbling as we may be, we are living our vows. We are partners. We keep reaching for one another and while that sounds sort of duh, I’m reminded constantly of my previous marriage in which that wasn’t the case. Jared and I might be falling, but we are falling together. As we look towards the future, we are building together.

So much of marriage is simply a negotiation of each other’s baggage. Sometimes it is messy and we peer warily at it around corners, one eye squeezed shut. Sometimes it strikes out like Medusa and turns those we love into stone. Our baggage has marched loudly across our bed this first year; a cacophony of timpanis pounding, horns cascading, flutes parading and our only recourse is living honestly and the willingness to keep reaching for one another."

So true.

Grandma's Wedding

It was front page news for Jackson but I really didn't think it was that wierd that my Grandma was getting re-married. After 57 years of marriage, you kinda get used to it! Plus, since my mom has worked at one for years, I know that retirement communities are likely places for elderly romance. I've received many funny looks and laughs when I tell people that my 80+ Grandma was marrying a 90 year old man, but if she's happy, we're all happy. We had a great time celebrating their wedding this weekend and watching the Spartans beat UofM!

Check out the Jackson Citizen Patriot article here.

Things I learned from my Mother-in-law Part 1

It's ok to get what you want, just because you want it and especially if it's your birthday. Even if it's a $75 dollar sweater shrug that you think might be a little over priced.

I try to apply this idea often. Going from having no money as a college student to someone with a small but reasonable amount to spend on myself, sometimes I need reminding that it's ok not to save that extra money in exchange for a little extravagance. Especially when you have something to celebrate.

Sean is also a big fan of the "getting what you want just for fun" concept. His mom taught him well!

New Job Essentials

In just a few weeks (not quite two actually) I will be finished working at the American Red Cross in Greater New York and will be immediately starting a new and exciting position. More on that later!

As I look around my desk now and think about packing everything up, I see how items have slowly collected over time to reach a point where I always have what I need while at work. How nice would it be to have all those things right away on a new desk at a new job? I plan on making an effort to make sure all these items are on hand within the first few weeks, instead of fumbling around later really wishing I had that motrin or an extra umbrella.

Here's what would be in my "new job" care package:

A box of kleenex
Excedrin and/or motrin
Tums
Gum and mints

Floss
Tide pen
Hand sanitizer
Jif natural creamy Peanut butter
Spoon
Extra chapstick
Band-aids
Umbrella

Flip flops
Extra pair of contacts

(and with the cold and flu season coming up)

cough drops
alka seltzer

Am I missing anything?