Worst. Thing. Ever.

So today my mom called me (returning my previous 3 phone calls) and I was like, "Mom, the worst thing EVER happened to me today," and she responded, "What, there was a spider in your shower?" Well, not quite. I guess it wasn't the worst thing ever because obviously, the worst thing ever would be a spider in the shower with you. I would probably scream bloody murder, pass out in sheer terror, and then be eaten alive by the spider. All in all, not a good way to go. Anyway, what DID happen to me today was coming across a huge, nasty, disgusting, dark brown spider in the middle of my kitchen floor. I screamed bloody murder and wanted to die, but knowing I had to kill it I summoned all my courage and killed the dang thing with Joe's flip flop (sorry, babe). I would have used the bug zapper (shaped like a small tennis racket with metal bars instead of strings that send electronic currents through bugs I come across) but the spider was blocking the closet where the zapper is located. Ahhh! The first squish didn't work and the monster started scurrying away but luckily I got it with the next whack. And look at the mess it made!!!! I told you it was BIG!!!So then I was hyperventilating for about 15 minutes, trying to call my mom for some assistance in calming down, and just plain trying to cope with this sanity-suspending terror called arachnophobia. I eventually cleaned up the guts, cleaned off Joe's shoe, and even made my way into the scary unfinished laundry room to change the laundry (I know I didn't find the spider there but it is like a spider breeding ground and my phobia was on edge at the moment). When my mom called I had to tell her the story and relive the utter terror all over again while she laughed and laughed at me. And now, here I am again reliving the horror of this terrible episode for no apparent reason except to entertain my blog readers. I am telling you, my throat is closing up and I am shaking. NO JOKE. I am soooo scared!!! Tears are forming. I need to leave and go calm down somehow. If I have to see another spider that size before Joe comes home I think I will die. I talked to him today on gchat and he promised to spray for bugs when he got back. Thank goodness!

P.S. If you leave a comment, please make sure it is constructive given the situation. The last thing I need is more horrific stories for me to lose sleep over (like my mom telling me that she had a spider in the shower with her recently). Ahhhh!!

Our Car Situation

So we seem to have found ourselves in a bit of an unexpected predicament! A week and a half ago, our trusty '96 Honda Accord broke down at 2:00 in the morning while Joe was on the 695 on his way to pick up his family from the airport. Luckily, Nate & Lori were also on their way to the airport since we can't fit the fam in 1 car, and they helped push the car off the freeway. The next day, Nate's Xterra towed the car to a repair shop ... only for us to find out a couple days later that repairing our little Honda would be cost prohibitive based on what the car is worth. Whoa! We knew we needed to buy a second car next year when we graduated, but weren't exactly prepared to purchase a replacement vehicle at a moment's notice.

To complicate things a little more, Joe left for his dental school externship in Mexico City the next day (although we are grateful the car didn't break on me a few days later while I was here all alone!). Now that the Honda has been successfully towed back to its parking spot, this is what it looks like in front of our house: To the right, the worthless Honda Accord. And to the left: the LIFESAVER car I borrowed from Jeremy Skinner! (He went on the same externship so he wasn't going to need it for a couple weeks.) The 88 Acura is a "metro car" and can't be driven much further without completely overheating and scaring you to death! The warning lights start going on one by one as soon as you turn the car on, but hey, it works! So far I haven't had problems getting it started so I am keeping my fingers crossed. I am so grateful to have a car to get me to and from the metro while Joe is gone because walking just doesn't sound like fun. Thank you so much Jeremy and Hannah!

Anyway, here I am at home without Joe wondering what car we are going to buy when he gets back. It can't exactly be a leisurely process because you can only bum rides for so long, especially with our schedules which are all over the place. I told Joe I'd do some research and figure out what I liked, but it's really not much fun. It would be fun if he were here. HE is the one who looks at cars on ebay 4 times a week - although usually at luxury cars that we can't afford just yet (or ever).

So what to do? I can definitely say that I'm not going to miss this paint job ... (for some reason our car starting getting a whole lot worse-looking after we moved to Md.)

But even though the 88 Acura still drives, I'm afraid this paint job isn't any better.

So wish us luck on figuring out what to do. And wish me luck getting through another week without Joe. 6 days down and 8 to go. This is the longest we've been apart since being married and I really hate it. I miss my hubbie ... plus the fact that we haven't even had a phone call yet (except for a 60 second one the day after he left) has been kind of a bummer. We have gotten to chat online a couple of times so that has been great.

So PLEASE Joe, come home SOON and buy me a CAR!! :) Thank you dearest.

I made a photobook!

I put together this photobook during the breaks I had in my day on Wednesday, thinking it would be FREE if I got it finished by the next day. Well, the free thing didn't work out, and at first I was a little mad because I had put off all the work I had to do ... but hey, it got me to actually make a book!! I definitely wouldn't have gotten around to doing it too soon otherwise. The book is just an overview of the pictures we took in 2007 ... which wasn't too difficult since we didn't take very many (we hadn't started blogging yet and I was holed up studying for most of the year). I'm not thinking too many people will want to look at the entire thing, but I thought I'd share it anyway since I don't have much else to share on my blog on this rainy weekend. You can see it by clicking HERE. I am excited for it to come in the mail! My next photobook project will be to put toghether a book of my pictures from London study abroad ... I am very excited about it but it is going to be a LOT more work. Probably a good Christmas break project! :)

Any takers?

I'm trying to clean and condense ... and have decided that after three years of not using these frames they can't stick around. Joe and I got them for our wedding and they are really nice frames, they just don't go with the style of our house. The first set are 4x6 and the second set are 8x10. I just thought I'd see if anyone was interested before I take them to Goodwill, so if you are let me know! I know they'll look great in someone's house! Oh, and you have to live in Maryland because this is not a shipping business. ;)

Our great weekend

I guess I'd better hurry up and post about Labor Day weekend because by now it seems like it was forever ago! Must have been a long week. Anyway, Joe and I were debating where to go and what to do for the weekend but since our remodeled house is still kind of like new to us and we just wanted some relaxing time together we decided to stick around. We had a lot of fun and I truly felt relaxed! What a miracle. ;)

For an ambitious Saturday morning activity we decided to go for a bike ride on the NCR trail. My dad bought me a brand new beautiful bike a few weeks ago when he was here and it was time to put her to the test. Even though our honeymoon mountain biking experience didn't go so well for me, Joe was convinced that biking together could be a new fun hobby for us. Was he right??

Yes!! We had a great time. Here is a picture that shows off my bike and also displays half of our total mileage for the day ... we biked to mile marker 12 and back for a total of 24 miles - by far the longest bike ride I have ever gone on. Luckily for me it was pretty flat the whole time ... but still not easy. I was worried that even though it was hard for me Joe might be getting bored ... but it turns out he had a great time, too. Also, the scenery was beautiful!

24 miles seemed to be a good amount because it pushed me without killing me. It is kind of hard to decide when you think you are at a good halfway point, but 12 is my very favorite number so that made it easy. The worst part about the ride was that me AND my bike got really dirty. Yuck. Luckily we each got a shower.

When we got home Joe and I basically collapsed on the couch for a few hours before going out to eat at a Japanese steakhouse, which was delicious. We also finished season 1 of 24 and I hate, hate, HATED it. Just the ending. I was devastated for about 3 days.

When Monday morning came around Joe lovingly agreed to drive 35 minutes so we could go RASPBERRY PICKING at Larriland. I love, love, LOVED it. Basically I am (have always been) obsessed with raspberries! We bought 5 pounds (the minimum you have to buy to get the cheaper price) ... and it was alot of work to pick that many raspberries in the hot morning sun. Especially when you keep putting them in your mouth.

Joe was such a good picker! Joe is not such a raspberry fan but how could he deny me my little slice of heaven?? He couldn't.
Thanks to this girl, all the raspberries have somehow disappeared. She DID share, though.

Happy Birthday Lori!!

Like I said before ... I am not attempting to highlight everyone's birthday via my blog. But Lori used to do these great birthday posts and I've been waiting all year to do hers! Today is the day, people. This is my gorgeous sister-in-law. An example of one of the many ways I got lucky when I married Joe! So, what can I say about Lori? She is the best. As those of you who know her will agree, she is creative and fun, happy and easy-going. Usually she is not picky or hard to please, except when it is about something important. She is good at getting things done (efficient? I don't know how else to say it) and is always willing to help out. Even though she works all the time she finds time to do all sorts of other things - basically she is superwoman. ;) If it weren't for Lori sending down food every few days for me and Joe while I study 18 hours a day during finals, the two of us would probably waste away. Plus, I can complain to her if I need to and she will usually understand me perfectly!
In case you didn't know, Lori loves to decorate and she loves the color red. She has amazing taste! I could never dream up 1/10 of the the awesome stuff she comes up with. I love it! She made the collage wall in my front room for my Christmas present one year and it is my absolute favorite. Also, Lori is a great bargain shopper. You put her and Joe together, and you are bound to get a killer deal, whatever it is. Sometimes it is funny to me that she is Joe's sister, and they grew up together. I couldn't ask for a better friend but it is cool that we are family!

So in honor of Lori's birthday (25! oh my!) I decided to make her this red velvet cake. For me, it was the first time I had 1) made a cake not using a cake mix, 2) made a cake with multiple layers, and 3) poured a whole bottle of red food coloring into what I was baking. So fun!! Basically I made it because it was red but it turned out to be quite delicious!! I found the recipe on this food blog. I'm going to show off a little with a few pictures ...

The frosting was rich and delicious ... a light cream cheese flavor. I used fresh raspberries and grated milk chocolate on the top.
Lori I hope your wish comes true!!
Umm ummm good. Happy birthday Lori!!

So I Guess I Used to Have a Bunny ...

So Joe has gone back to school but I haven't started yet ... so I am trying to do useful things like organize closets and clean up the basement (not going so well!!). But the job does have an upside! Today I spent several hours reading old notes, letters, and even a few journal entries (this was all part of organizing one of my big boxes of "stuff"). I thought I would share an entry from June 3, 1992. I was 8. Spelling and punctuation has not been changed.

"Yesterday night my baby bunny died. Two days latter Elizabeth's and Vickie's bunnys died too. I'm very sad. Each of us baereid are bunnys. We don't no why the bunny's died. I don't think the bunny's got a noff to eat. We all tried to feed the bunny's with an eyedroper. One night I went to Jesse's [older brother] thing with his soccer when I got home thats when it had died. I never told you what my bunny's name is. Well, it's name is stripe. (Thats because he had a white stripe on it's head.) I'll still always be sad about him. But I'll always remember how much I loved him. And how much I always will love him. And what a good bunny he was!"

Unfortunately, I am sad to say I did not exactly keep my promise to "always love" this bunny because I don't even remember having a bunny! I'm sure subconsciously I was loving him all the while, though. From an earlier entry I learned that the three of us girls had found three little bunnies without a mother and tried to take care of them. At least we weren't intentionally snatching innocent little bunnies and letting them starve!

And one other priceless piece of correspondence, not dated (written with a multi-colored colored pencil):

"Dear Tooth Fairy, I do wonder if you're on vacation! Or maybe it's just because I said I wasn't sure if you were real. Well, now I know that you are really real. Have a good day! Lindsey Lewis."

And the reply in cursive writing: "Thank you for believing. Your friend, The Tooth Fairy."

I know what you are thinking. Pretty cool that I got a note from the Tooth Fairy! I guess I knew what it took to get some more of those shiny silver dollars and pretty rocks under my pillow. Still have them!

But let's not stop there. I found all kinds of notes that my mom (and sometimes dad) had written to me when I was little. From the large volume I had stuffed away it seemed to be practically a daily occurrence. But don't worry, I DO remember getting these notes ... I had a little mini mailbox in my room that my mom would stick them in. And these are in addition to the notes I would get in my lunchbox, which would get thrown away. Here are a few examples:

"Dear Lindsey, I am glad you are feeling better. This special pencil is to remind you of what a good job you did selling Girl Scout cookies. Love, Mom."

This one is from 1991 - I was 6. "[Insert cute "OUTSTANDING" sticker here.] You didn't get out of bed last night! Love, Mom."

Again when I was 6: "Dear Lindsey, I'm glad the toad didn't turn into a prince. Then he would have wanted you to go away with him on his white horse and I would miss you. Love, Mom." [What?! Don't tell me I actually kissed a toad...]

"I love you Lindsey. Please write me a note soon or I'll forget how to read. Love, Mom."

And finally - all these years I thought that my crazy obsession with studying and getting good grades was completely all me - but here is proof that it was a learned behavior. Hehe. "Dear Lindsey, I am proud of the good work you are doing at school. Working hard and doing well will make you happy. I love you - Mom." [It's okay, Mom, this is just healthy reinforcement!]

And one more: "Dear Lindsey, I'm glad your story at school is going well and that you're enjoying writing it. Writing is a very important skill for a Supreme Court Judge. I love you - Mom." [I used to want to be a SC Justice!]

Okay I hope that was fun for a few of you. It was touching to reread all the many sweet notes from my parents when I was so little ... and it made me excited about having fun traditions like little mailboxes with my own children someday!

P.S. I also read some old notes from my friends in high school! It must have been nice for us to have classes that were so easy we could spend all period writing and decorating our notes to each other. Too bad I wouldn't dream of doing that in law school or at BYU - even Book of Mormon was too hard for that!!

FINALLY....A FUN-FILLED WEEK!!!

I had been waiting all summer long for last week to come. All summer I felt like I was working like a crazy person...some long hours at work during the week, and weekends spent working on our house were not much easier! Even though I had good experiences at my two firms, I just could not wait for vacation and for my parents and sister to come visit us!!

The week after I finished at my firm and Joe stopped seeing his patients, Joe and I continued to work like crazy people to get the house ready for company! We had carpet installed the day my mom, dad, and sister showed up. My dad got in earlier since he was coming for a business trip and rather than sit around at the airport waiting for the other two, he decided to come to our house early and surprise us! The carpeting was about halfway done and the house was turned upside down. It was such a wonderful surprise, even though Joe and I had been hoping to get everything back to normal before anyone showed up. He left for a few hours to run errands for us, pick up the girls, and get us some takeout...and when everyone came back, the house was spotless and beautiful! (Except for the basement, which is where we stuck everything while we carpeted the rest of the house.) My dad was so shocked...from the look of things a couple hours earlier he had figured he'd be living in a construction zone for the next week! (We will be posting before and after pictures of the house a little later!)

So the fam got to stay for a whole week! It seemed like it would be plenty of time but of course it went by way too fast. I was even more sad that I thought I would be when they left on Saturday...I think just because we had such a good time. In some ways being far apart gets easier over time, and in some ways it just doesn't.

So what did we do while they were here?? Lots of staying up late to watch the Olympics, going to delicious dinners, sightseeing, and just talking and relaxing. These are a few of the main highlights:

Washington, D.C. My parents both had business to do in D.C. on Monday so Joe, Katie, and I toured a little of D.C. just the three of us. We hopped aboard a trolley tour that drove us around to lots of different stops. The quality of the tour was highly dependent on the quality of the tour guide ... we had guides ranging from excellent to borderline incompetent and extremely annoying! Here were are...Kate and me in front of the capitol.

The Library of Congress...pretty cool. Later we took the trolley past the National Cathedral and all the embassies and hopped off in Georgetown where we shopped around and had a delicious Italian dinner! Then we hurried home to catch more Olympics, of course.

In the middle of the week, we headed to Virginia to spend a couple nights away. We found a good outlet mall and had some fun there and also enjoyed our first destination: Mt. Vernon.

Mt. Vernon is George and Martha Washington's beautiful home. We took a tour of the house as well as an extra "national treasure" tour that takes you behind the scenes and also tells you about the filming of National Treasure 2 on the grounds.

I loved spending time with my wonderful parents and even being spoiled a little as we stayed at great places and ate delicious food. Just ask my dad, vacation is not vacation without good meals and plenty of ice cream (or maybe the ice cream part was the girls' idea). The car rides through traffic were a little long but gave us plenty of good time to talk (or catch up on sleep).

Our national treasure tour took us around to the ice house where we got to step inside and see this hole where Washington's slaves dropped ice from the river below to use through the summer. This is where I saw the ugliest spider ever! It was black with brown stripes, huge, and was right above my head. I ran out screaming.
Besides the two tours, we also went through the museum and saw 3 short movies about Washington and the Revolutionary War. It was so fascinating to learn more about our first president.

Next we headed to Charlottesville, Virginia (location of the University of Virginia, founded by Thomas Jefferson) and stayed in an old home that is now a lovely bed & breakfast. Our tourist destination was Monticello, Thomas Jefferson's home and plantation.

Monticello was beautiful and definitely worth the trip! The museum isn't finished yet, but I think we learned even more by going on three different tours and hearing everything directly from our wonderful guides and asking questions. We all agreed that although Washington's house was grand, Jefferson had better taste - his house is amazing! We also loved the gardens and I went home inspired to be serious gardener someday!

We thought this bean fort was a great idea for our future garden - and the best part is the beautiful beans! I had never seen anything quite like it.
It was also really interesting to learn about the lives of slaves at Mt. Vernon and Monticello. I was particularly interested in this topic after taking a class last semester in which I learned much more about slavery and the slave trade than what you learn in junior high or high school, particularly about the economic aspects of slavery. It was fascinating to hear about the attitudes our founding fathers had towards slavery, and the inherent contradiction of declaring that all men are created equal yet continuing to hold slaves. If you go to Monticello, I would highly recommend taking the plantation tour because you learn so much!

We left Monticello on Thursday and barely made it back in time for Joe's softball game! (Actually we were late.) We had a little downpour for a few minutes of the game but after that it was a beautiful night (aside from all the mosquitos). Because of always having to work this was actually the first of Joe's softball games I have been to! But like all games the wives don't really watch, just talk and chase after kids!! Sorry, Joe. I'm sure you were great!

Friday was our last day together. We had a more relaxing day - yummy breakfast of German pancakes, trip to Baugher's to pick peaches, beautiful drive to Hunt Valley, lunch at the Pennsylvania Dutch Market, and trip to Wegman's to pick up something to grill for dinner. It was another great day.

I can't believe the week went by so fast. Mom, dad, and Kate - we loved having you here and hope you come visit us again soon! Thanks for everything, WE MISS YOU.