Sweet Home Decatur

I took an impromptu trip home to Decatur this past weekend to help Mom and Dad work their booth at the Farmers' Market.  My parents' friend Seka owns a bakery in Champaign called Pekara, and Mom and Dad have been selling their goods at the Decatur Farmers' Market this summer.  Every Saturday morning Dad gets up super early and drives to Champaign to pick up freshly baked breads, croissants, danishes, scones, cinammon rolls, and cookies from the bakery, and then races back to Decatur to have the goodies on display by 8 AM.  They have nearly sold out every week they've been at the market, so Mom is seriously considering opening a "franchise" of Pekara in Decatur, either downtown or in South Shores.  I was a little hesistant when she told me her "opening a bakery" idea, but after seeing how successful they have been selling the breads at the market, maybe I'm wrong.  Everything they sell is freshly baked, all natural, and insanely delicious!  For any of you folks who have friends and family who are still in Decatur, stop by and see my parents on Saturday mornings in Central Park! 

The other perk of going home? Seeing Kelly!  I really, really miss having girl friends near me down here in Nashville, so it's always nice to get to hang out with my bestest friend.  I love that no matter how much time passes between our visits, nothing about "us" changes.  We fall right back into our routine- she practically lives at my parents' house while I'm in town.  Kelly is Mom and Dad's favorite "daughter".  :) We had a girls' night out on Saturday and I guess I had a little too much fun- I felt too awful to make the drive back to Nashville on Sunday.  Not that that bothered me, once I woke up (for the second time) that afternoon, I felt well enough to hang out with Mom and Dad and enjoy a lovedly homecooked dinner. 

I loathe, detest, despise the boring, dull, slow 6 1/2 hour drive back to Decatur, but it was certainly nice to be home.

And They Call it Puppy Love

I'm in suburbia this week.  Will's sister Sue and her family are out of town for a few days, so I'm up in Kentucky, watching their house and their adorable puppy Gus while they're gone.  I've noticed some very strong similarities between watching puppies and kids.

1. Like children, puppies require schedules.  Gus functions at his best when he has a regular pattern to his day.  Our schedule this morning has included eating breakfast, getting some exercise by taking a walk, snack time, playing outside in the pool, clean up, and rest time. 
2. If it suddenly seems too quiet around the house, it's time to check on him.  More than likely he's up to something bad.
3. Puppies are mischieveous little guys. He has a ton of puppy toys, but naturally, his favorite things to chew on are the items he's not supposed to have.  So far this morning I've wrestled away from him the following items: a doll pillow, a water bottle, several mega-Lego blocks, a small action figure, my flip flops (twice),and a couch cushion. I find this annoying...he thinks he's funny.  I take one thing away, he comes back seconds later with a new item hanging from his mouth.  You can almost see him laughing at me as he triumphantly returns to the living room each time.
4. He loves snacks. Some of his favorites: marshmallows, american cheese slices, and Easy Cheese.  And he will do just about anything you ask of him if he gets a treat at the end. 
5. He loves to cuddle.  Anytime I'm sitting on the couch, he jumps right up into my lap and smothers me with puppy smooches.
6. He is endlessly curious.  Even if he's laying down and resting, his ears perk up and any sudden noise or movement on my end.
7. It's impossible to get him to sit still for a picture.  I've been trying for hours to capture his cute lil face.  It's just not going to happen.
8. You fall in love with him so quickly that you wonder why you don't have one of your own.
9. Then you clean up a steaming hot pile of poo out of the grass and quickly remember why you are petless.
10. He is exhausting to keep up with, but so stinkin' cute that it's worth it.

And since I can't get him to hold still, I'm snagging one of Sue's pictures of him so everyone can see what a cutie I'm dealing with:

Happy Birthday Leslie!

Per my cousin Leslie's birthday request, here are some random "I" thoughts.  The cheapest gift I've given for awhile! In no particular order:

1.  I am in my 8th month of unemployment.  This is the longest I've been without a job since I was 15 years old (since 12 years old if you count babysitting as a job). I'm becoming more and more anxious about finding a job (something, ANYTHING), but trying really hard to not dwell on it.
2. I enjoyed playing host to my brother and sister-in-law, parents, and Ella during their visit to Nashville this past weekend.  Having people stay with us at our home makes me feel so grown up. 
3. I would love to host my and Will's immediate family for a Thanksgiving or Christmas holiday at our house.  I think that would be the ultimate "you're a grown up" experience.
4.  I know 8 women who are currently pregnant, or have given birth very recently.  That's a wholelotta pregnant people!  4 of those ladies are friends from high school.  Knowing this many pregnant (married) women makes me sometimes wonder if I'm behind schedule in...life, I guess.   Will and I are perfectly happy where we are and not in any hurry to change our lives right now by adding a marriage or a child to the mix.  But sometimes I daydream about what it would be like to have kids of our own...
5. I know I'm not ready for kids for several reasons, but I realized one important (albeit selfish) reason while we were walking around Savannah, GA on a really, really hot and humid day.  I don't want to have to carry a hot, sweaty kid around when I'm already hot and sweaty myself. Gross. Ironically, I carried a hot and sweaty Ella around for a whole week in Gulf Shores, and in Nashville this past weekend.  I guess you just have to buck up and take one for the team sometimes.  (And truthfully, it wasn't all that bad. Especially when carrying around a sleepy little girl.)
6. I miss going to concerts and discovering new music.  Will is not really into music like I am, and I feel bad forcing him to go to concerts with me.  I wish I had a music buddy in town to go to shows with.
7. I wish I was more outdoorsy than I am.  I love being outside, but it seems that the great outdoors doesn't seem to like me.  I'm prone to sunburns, bug bites, chiggers, poison ivy, etc...
8. I like that Will and I are similar in many ways, yet completely different in others.  It keeps things lively around our house! One of our friends once said to us, "I can't believe God made 2 of you."  We really like to say that to each other when we finish each other's sentences or react the same way to something. 
9. I wish I could pick up and move to a different country for a year...or longer.  I think living abroad was one of the coolest things I've ever experienced, and I'd love the opportunity to do it again for a longer stint of time.
10. I wish I could speak multiple languages.  How great would it be to converse fluently with people from all over the world? Also, how great would it be to eavesdrop on other people's conversations without them knowing you knew what they were saying!
11. I believe in spirits, guardian angels, and that there are people "up there" watching over myself and my family.  I often talk to my family members who have passed away.
12. I mentally say a Hail Mary every time I hear sirens and pray for the person who is sick or in trouble.
13. I think Era laundry detergent smells the best.
14. I am very much a jeans and t-shirt kind of girl, but enjoy dressing up every now and then as well.
15. I was probably a little too excited to see that there is a Ghost Hunters marathon on TV today.
16. I sometimes visualize myself winning the lottery and deciding what I'd do with my winnings to the point that I'm terribly disappointed to not have money in my account.
17. I have never mowed a lawn...unless you count sitting on my Dad's lap when I was a kid.
18. I wish I knew how to do something fun with my hair.  Alas, I am hair-inept.  I don't want to cut it off, though, even though that's a logical solution to my problem.
19. I am not a shy person, but embarras very easily.  I don't like being the center of attention.
20. I sometimes think some of the things that happen to me, or the conversations that Will and I have are funny enough to be sitcom material.  I crack myself up.
21. I check email/facebook/blogs FAR too often during the day.  It's almost like an obsessive compulsion.
22. I think that we may have new neighbors moving in next door.  And I'm sad to admit that I'm not thrilled by that news.  I liked having a quiet, empty place to share a wall with.
23. I can't wait to have a house with a yard so we can get a dog.  While we can technically have pets here, our place just isn't dog-friendly..at least not for the size dog we want.
24. I love the exciting feeling you get the night before leaving on a big trip somewhere.
25. I felt nervous at my interview with Vanderbilt yesterday.  That was the first time I've had nerves while interviewing.  Hopefully that's a good sign!
26. I don't understand what the big deal is about gay marriage.  Admittedly I don't know much about politics, but I thought there was a separation of church and state.  Why can't 2 men or 2 women who commit their lives to each other enjoy the same freedoms that the government grants to a man and a woman? I don't see how the "it says it's wrong in the Bible" arguement works for the government. 
27. I believe Ranch dressing is the ultimate condiment.
28. I love playing with my Wii, but only in spurts.  It will sit unused for months, and then I'll break it out everyday for a few weeks.
29. I often wish I had gone to a college that was bigger, farther from home, and had a football team. Not to say that I was unhappy at SLU- I really enjoyed my time there! I jsut sometimes feel that I missed out on the ultimate college experience by not having a football team to root for.  (This probably comes from living in the South where football is king.) But I believe everything happens for a reason.  (ie- had I not gone to SLU, I wouldn't have moved to Chicago after graduation with an old college friend. And then I wouldn't have had the series of jobs that I had and met the people I did, which means I wouldn't have met Will, etc...)
30. I enjoy word puzzles and card games.
31. I hate bananas, yogurt, jello, pudding, and flan. I literally gag at the thought of eating any of those things. It's a texture thing.
32. I can only wink with my right eye and can only make the "Elvis" lip on my right side

Ohhh, boy

Good job, Meaghan. Plan a vacation, while unemployed, to go to an expensive foreign country.  And heck, while you're at it- stay a couple days in the #2 most expensive city in the world! $43 for lunch? Chump change.

I read this in an article today:

2. Oslo, Norway

Food: Lunch at a restaurant: $43
Can of beer from a grocer: $4.71
One kg of rice: $5.66
One dozen eggs: $6.72

Entertainment: Movie ticket: $16

Gulp....good thing we're going to be sleeping cheap. Camp grounds, overnight trains, fishing cabins, and hostels will hopefully offset the expense of...eating. Unfortunately, eating is something that is unavoidable, so here's hoping not every food item in Norway is costly. 

In other Norway news, Andy and Sandy have booked tickets to come to Norway, too! They fly into Oslo a week after we do.  Hopefully we can hammer out some plans while they're visiting Nashville this weekend so we can meet up in Norway and celebrate Sandy's Norwegian roots together.  We'll have to do it over a hike or a fishing trip where we catch and cook our own fish, though.  I don't think I'll be able to afford to eat.

Hot Fun in the Summertime

Recipe for a fun family vacation:

5 Parts family (Clarks, Hedenbergs, Kennedys, Koskis, and Wingards)

1 Beach House with multiple decks and stunning ocean and lagoon views

6 Hot, sunny days

1 Rainy day, perfect for going to the movies

1 Enjoyable evening of Al Fresco dining at Lulu's

5 Deliciously prepared home-cooked dinners

1 Entertaining evening of karaoke-watching at the Pink Pony Pub

4 Birthday parties in one night

1 Fun Filled Dolphin Cruise

1 Fabulous Sunset at the beach while watching a full moon rise over the ocean

1 Amazing Sunrise on the morning of departure

A Hint of sadness as you watch the coast become more and more oil-ridden as the week progresses

A Sprinke of Sun Kissed faces

A Liberal Dash of Laughter

Simmer together on the coast of Gulf Shores, Alabama for one week, and enjoy the pictures and memories for a long time to come! 

The Beach on our first day

Unfortunately, this is the same beach on our last night.  The oil has started coming ashore. It's a very sad sight to see.

What a cute family!

And another one! I love how this picture turned out- the sunset is gorgeous behind them.

The only way we could get Ella to cooperate for a picture.

Drew, me, and the big ol' zit on my chin

The Koski clan checking out the sunset

Seriously, gorgeous sunsets every night...and a great picture of Mark and Pam

Addi and Ella getting ready to watch Toy Story 3 in 3-D

Momma and Dad on the Dolphin Cruise

Put this girl behind the wheel of a boat, and she's in her happy place

Luke seems pretty happy behind the wheel as well!

He's the King of the World on a boat like Leo

Feeling for the baby moving in Erin's belly

She's daydreaming about driving the boat

Ella loved this dress that Patti bought her.  She would barely take it off the last 2 days of "bacation"!

Sea Oats, the Moon Rising, and a boat

I so love my Ella Bella. 

They caught the moon!

Cousins playing in the sand

What a cutie

So is Gracie.  I love that she, Ella, and Addi all shared the same outfit on the beach.

Gorgeous sunrise on our last day

What would you grab?

You know that hypothetical question that people always ask- if there was a fire and you had to get out of your house right away, what would you grab?  I discovered my answer last night...

Will and I were awoken from a dead sleep when our building's fire alarm went off around 12:45 AM last night. Not sure what was going on, I opened our front door and found a ton of smoke in the hallway. Wowza. Talk about scary.  I grabbed my purse (but only because it was right by the door) and we ran down the front stairs, joined a bunch of our neighbors in front of our building, and waited for the fire department to show up.   So...yeah.  Apparently my answer to the age-old question is: Will and my purse.  I was much more concerned about getting us out safely and quickly than I was about grabbing pictures, keepsakes, or anything like that.  Humans are more important.

As it turns out, our building did NOT catch on fire. Whew! A fireman told us that some idiot decided it would be fun to steal a fire extinguisher from the first floor, take the elevator to our floor (the 4th) and set it off in the hallway.  And no, he didn't actually use the word 'idiot' when he explained what happened, but I'm sure he wanted to...I know I did (in addition to some other choice words that aren't blog appropriate). 

I was unaware that using a fire extinguisher creates a huge smoke cloud of chemicals that suck all the oxygen out of a room and then causes the fire alarms to go off.  We were so freaked (and groggy) by the sight of smoke in the hallway that it failed to register with us that there was no smoke smell, nor was it hot in the hallway.  The fire department aired out the hallway by using massive fans to get the chemicals out of the air, and we were able to get back inside after an hour or so.  This is what our hallway looked like as we came back upstairs:

Awesome, huh?  I can hear someone in the hallway now, working on cleaning up the mess.  I really hope whoever caused this is found out and punished accordingly. Because it wasted precious beauty sleep as well as the fire department's time.  It was pretty scary when it happened, then really annoying once we discovered what was really going on.  But at least I now know my answer to the "what would you grab" question.

Cocktail Cupcakes

We're headed to Hilton Head on Saturday for the Mason's annual family vacation, so I figured what better way to start the holiday than by making some cupcakes inspired by everyone's favorite fruity beach drinks?

The picture doesn't show much, but I made Strawberry Daiquiri and Pina Colada Cupcakes!

Will's dad's birthday is tomorrow, too, so I had double the reason to make a double batch.  Both cupcakes have a little rum in them to give them a more authentic flavor.  I added grated lime zest to the Strawberry Daiquiri frosting while the Pina Colada frosting got another splash of rum, some pineapple tidbits with juice and a coconut sprinkle on top.  Bring on the Summer Beach Vacations!