For better or worse when we come to Kentucky we eat out.  A lot.

We come to visit family.  Rob is the youngest of six kids.  All siblings are either married or in a serious relationship and most have grown children.  It is quite a task to have the entire family over for home cooked meals and most are not brave enough.  In the end a few will end up going out to grab a bit here or there.  We are straight smack dab in the middle of Strip Mall America.  Strip malls as far as the eye can see and the chain restaurants to adorn them.  To sit down and enjoy 3 meals a day in a restaurant is increasingly more difficult for us as Sophia is in full blown toddler mode and there is only so much restaurant, car, restaurant, car, etc she can take.

Our approach this trip has been a little bit different - we’ve aimed for quick and dirty.  My stomach does not thank me.

Dinner:  Steak and Shake (I love me some S and S - we don’t have this in upstate ny and lordy do I miss it).  Can’t pass up a shake with dinner

Breakfast:  Bagel  / Coffee

Lunch:  Mexican blech (I typically love Mexican food but this place is not good for you.).

Snack:  Who says you can’t have 2 shakes in less than 24 hours?

Dinner:  Pizza

While I wouldn’t categorize myself as a health nut - I do eat pretty well normally.  Whole foods are typically the rule, rare is there a processed dinner or lunch in my house.  I realize how different this type of eating is when I Feel It…you can only feel it after you do it.  And man, do I ever regret it.  Unfortunately, we have over 24 hours of this schedule and the limited quick and dirty options remain.

Oy.

I was writing a post about how we were traveling to Kentucky yesterday. How we took forever to get here. How they lost our bag. How Sophia has molars coming in and the tylenol was in the lost bag. How we have to worlds smallest rental car (first time EVER not getting an upgrade at the Nashville Airport). How when I finally got in bed the internet at the hotel didn’t work and I was in bed in my underwear (pjs were in the lost baggage) with Sophia sleeping in the hotel room with me. So I couldn’t do my daily post (I’m back dating this one - I’m not ruining a perfect record just because stupid Kentucky ate me and spit me out a floppy moppy).

It wasn’t a great post.

So I started to tool around in my archives looking for a post about how Rob proposed to me… it doesn’t exist apparently. BUT I did find the post that documents the start of my friendship with Jackie and Elisa. October 15, 2004. I was still on blogger back then and when I migrated to wordpress I never updated the pictures. But there it is…the start of two wonderful friendships. Blogging is so cool. I love that I have this. I am also stunned that I have been doing it for as long as I have. Four years. I started right after I got married. Soon after I started I made some super great friends around the country. I am not sure if I would be able to do that if I started these days (the blogging world has really exploded). How cool that I did what I did when I did that. You know? I feel that way about much of my life!

Dooce is giving away a few Wii’s and she has just about 10,000 comments.  No, that is not a typo.  10,000.

Crazy talk.

Sophia swears up and down that she did not eat any strawberries.  Just picked ‘em. 

Photographic evidence says otherwise.

Dribble much?

They were sooo juicy.

She would suck all the juice out and throw the leftovers back in to the basket.

Hands stained red - a sure sign of a good time.

Even with her help we managed to pick 16 lbs of strawberries.  What the heck were we thinking?  We are headed out of town on Tuesday.  So I do not really have time to do much with them. Anyone wanna come eat some strawberries?

I just got out of the shower.  11:49pm.  I’m about to miss the daily post.   Why am I so late tonight?

Baby did not sleep last night.  Screaming, crying, throwing her body across the room.  The morning came with me in her crib with her.  Ever done that?  Desperation I tell you, I had tried everything else.  Including carrying her (she did not want to be in the stroller) around our block about 3 times.

In anycase - I was beat today and we had a full plate of household crap to accomplish.  We did and it wasn’t such a bad day.  The evening ended with fresh local strawberries and homemade vanilla ice cream.  Yum.

We got baby to sleep and I snuck into my car to renedevous with…

…. a bottle return machine.

$44.45 in bottles dropped off at a local grocery store.

That, my friends, is what I call an ass-load of bottles.

Don’t fret.  You too can have a Saturday night just like me.  It is a reachable goal.  Truly - you. can. do. it.

#2 - Well, as I was pulling into my driveway this evening after work I ran over a baby bird.  Didn’t even see it until I got out of the car.  We are pretty sure it was alive before it met my tire.

I am going to hell.

I absolutely cannot believe how well you all know your Sound of Music lines and lyrics.  Unfreakin believable.  You silly kids.
I’m stunned to silence.

(ps - you rock)

No trip re-cap today.  Just a…

*Sigh*

Rob was laid off this morning.  We knew it was coming - but did not know when.  It is, ultimately, a blessing in disguise (as these things often are).  But for now we are just a bit sad that the plans you make do not always go the way you need and or want them to.  We are bracing ourselves for our financial near future and keeping our toes crossed.

A talented and smart fellow he is and someday he will find his life’s work and be content.

This I know.

Daily blogging is a great way to make sure I actually keep track of what I do - the trips I take, the impressions life makes.

Therefore - I give you (for better or worse) the down-and-out of my trip to NYC.

I went to visit my friend Marne.  I have known Marne for, umm, 13 years (?!?).  We first met our sophomore year in college, ended up living together with 7 other girls, and generally have been each other’s biggest fans ever since.

I also went to Get. Away.  As mentioned previously - this was my first trip away by myself in 17 months.  For those of you who know me well this will be significant fact.  I love to travel.  I love to do new things.  While I have done quite a bit with Sophia on my side - there is only so much you can do with a infant/baby/toddler.  There are no drunken evenings, days wandering around and around without a Plan or a Destination.  There is no careless flouncing through large noisy cities.  Lingering meals at fancy restaurants, etc. etc. etc.

My last goal was to be in a city again.  Breath the air, love the intensity, and generally get lost in society for a few days.  New York City is most definitely one of the premier locations to accomplish these goals.   I have not talked much about my transition from City Life to Not-City Life.  In a few words - I miss Boston like you miss the boy/girl who first stole your heart.  So returning to an urban world was pretty sweet .

All goals (with the exception of a drunken evening) were accomplished.  Mission accomplished.  All desires satiated and time away was deemed a success.  

Tomorrow - the run-down of activities. 

Rob is the cutest…isn’t he?!

I only got one panic phone call from home all weekend.  He did a great job.

And I had a fabu time.  Man, did I need to get away.

More later.