Cleveland Rocks (Thanksgiving edition)

Nom. Nom. Dad always has to finish off the Malleys deliciousness, and everyone knows the best part is on the bottom right Daddy?

These are actually like Gallon steins off beer. My favorite was my mother cornering them both and telling them not to drink it all that night. Then they went ahead and did it anyways :)

Screw black Friday sales. Malleys is where you really need to be!

I love the look on my moms face in the picture. Her ice cream is clearly all gone and she is looking like quite the scavenger....

Posing outside of the lovely Malleys, we are so cute and goofy

Cheers at the Great Lakes Brewing Company! For a wonderful lunch and beer sampling in the beer garden. So fun

Loading up on the delicious Thanksgiving buffet. Gotta love moms apron!

Just the way she rolls :)

Things to be Thankful for

I am not going to lie to you I am in a terrible awful mood but a very wise woman suggested that I look at pictures from last years Thanksgiving to get in a cheerful mood. Good call :)

I am completely and totally looking forward to this Thanksgiving. Once again it is going to be in Cleveland at the most incredible amazing Marcy's house. I am not going to care about dieting, or Southern Illinois or being such a loser.

I am going to focus on how awesome my family is and how great it is to be spending time with them. Heads up to my family who are sure to ask with the most sweet and sincere intentions how I like it here/am adjusting/ hows the job search going. I will go ahead and answer you right now so we can skip the painful formalities - it sucks out here/ I am not adjusting well/ and I am still unemployed.

Whew now with that out of the way lets look back at some happy moments from yesteryear :)

Quote of the day ~

I am on this big 'Absolutely Fabulous' kick lately. Probably because I am really missing my amazing girlfriends and our wild and crazy antics. Sigh. LIOMFB.

If you are unfamiliar with the hit BBC program I suggest you NetFlix it real quick. I fortunately had a library card and Bon Air Library was stocked full of AbFab VHS tapes. I think this is before they censored what minors could check out. Romance novels and Absolutely Fabulous never did a tween any harm right?

Anyways this is from one of my favorite episodes and I know that its out of context but this quote has had me giggling all day, enjoy :)

"Yea alright darling .... well listen to me were coming home now... didn't you get my note? Well alright that's fine, we'll come home now darling ..... yea, lets forget about education shall we sweetheart? D-Dio... bio... versity and everything like that sweetheart. We will just come home now and live in the domain of ignorance shall we and watch Teletubbly videos if that's what you want! Yea alright we'll see you in a minute... no I am not drunk! How could I be drunk? I'm at the bloody zoo!" (Eddie, Absolutely Fabulous)

So this one time at the gym....

In an effort to keep you better updated I feel like I should mention that several weeks ago I joined my local Golds Gym. It was a controversial decision because I did not join the SIU Rec Center which to be quite honest with you is just a big, terrifying multi colored labyrinth. I did take the tour but I think it was at the point where we walked by the set of cardio machines that faced THE POOL that I realized it was simply not the place for me. When I want to workout and watch people in far better shape then I am parade around in swim suits then I can just turn on CSI Miami and feel comforted in knowing the Horatio is a ginger who does not tan .

While the Golds Gym is nothing like my wonderful, perfect Y it does have some redeeming qualities. Everyone has been very nice and despite the fact that most of the people there are crazy hard bodies I never feel too self conscious or out of place. The other downside is that there is no Zumba. Sigh. You can't win then all though and they do have lots of other faux Zumba like classes so I should be okay *fingers crossed*.

Okay so I know that I have told you some of my awkwardly humorous gym tales from the past, who can forget the classic pearl fiasco right? Well I guess a new gym means a whole new set of embarrassment. Soooo here it goes ....

As part of the new member incentive package you get an hour with one of the Golds Gym personal trainers to go over your goals, take your measurements and basically get yourself acquainted with the machines and such. As some of you know due to my love of Zumba and the awesomeness of my former Y I have to date lost 30 some odd pounds and am aiming for 30 more by the time I turn 26. The ultimate goal is that I would like to wear my senior prom dress to my birthday party. Its good to have goals right? Its even better to have someone to hold you accountable for reaching them. Enter Kyle.

Kyle was my assigned intro personal trainer and even though he was short in statue he was a very pretty physically fit young man. Which made the part where he measured my hips and thighs a little awkward. Ugh. Just like being back in the middle school locker room. Anyways once we did all my measurements and such we began to talk about goals and dreams. He was excited about my weight loss and was very inspirational. Kyle wants me to try to lose another 10 pounds by Christmas and we went back and forth exchanging diet and nutrition tips.

I was beginning to really like Kyle.

Until we went into the "studio". Kyle has an unconventional training method that included but was not limited to kicking my ass. I was using muscles that despite the fact that I had formerly been working out nearly every day of the week I did not know I had.

And let me tell you those forgotten muscles scream bloody freaking murder.

But I kept going I wanted to prove to him that I was in it. I have watched enough 'Biggest Loser' to know that trainers feed off of your failure and despite the fact that I had really enjoyed Kyle I was not going to give him that pleasure. So I kept going, and sweating. Profusely. Which Kyle commented on. He seemed proud that he had squeezed all of my hydration out of me.

I did not get his train of thought though and thought he was referring to the dark splotchy stains on my work out pants. Which just so happened to be hash brown grease.

With my 10 pound exercise ball precariously poised over my head I then relayed this little bit of information to him. Bad call. I blame the endorphins.

At this point Kyle took my ball away from me and asked me to repeat what I had just said. Head held in shame I then told him the tale about how at the beginning of my fitness journey I had thought that if I had some carbs right before a workout I would do better and go longer. With that mentality in mind I had packed a bowl with left over Williamsburg Manor Bed and Breakfast hash browns (the really greasy delicious kind) and then hopped in my car. Apparently driving and eating hot greasy hashed browns is not one of my better skills and needless to say my new grey workout pants did not make it out of the car unscathed.

I had not even thought about it when I had put them on and now my fat kid past was coming back to haunt me. Kyle began to giggle (not a cute sound coming from a man with no body fat) and shook his head at me. After this revelation I think he actually made the work out harder. I can't say I blame him. I almost could not walk out of the gym. I have not been that sore since the first week of softball practice when I was like 17 years old.

Today, after having regained feeling in my legs and wanting to put my breakfast blunder behind me I returned to Golds Gym. Unfortunately I had to wear the same pants because my lovely contractors have hidden my dresser in a unreachable location. Also unfortunately Kyle was at the check in desk. He looked me up and down with his piercing blue eyes full of glee and once again began to giggle. If he was not so big I swear that I would.... blog about him. When you have nonexistent upper body strength your repercussion options are very limited.

Someday I will be the cool kid at the gym who isn't falling off ellipticals or walking into massive multi-colored walls but today I was the girl with the grease stain on her pants and the faint aroma of sauteed onions trailing behind her. Who knew that shame could taste so delicious:)

Boo hiss

I am so sorry that I have been so M.I.A. guys I really have no actual excuse for why I have not updated you lately. Perhaps it is because it has been so surreal here these days.

I may or may not have mentioned in passing that the house is under siege. An army of country fried contractors arrives promptly at 8 am every morning and proceeds to beat, bang, saw, nail, sand, paint and essentially destroy any sanity or joy that I once possessed. 2011 Elm St. used to be my only sanctuary in this new and strange land. I was unpacked everything was clean and put in its place and life was beginning to be settled.

Until the contractors arrived.

Now all of my stuff is in a corner in the basement. Stacked on top of itself and strewn about. I have completely given up cleaning because the minute I pull out my Swiffer I know that four twenty something pot heads will be in with their muddy boots all over it yet again. I got that memo real quick. So Gus leaves and goes to work/school for ten hours a day and I get to stay at home. With the contractors. As we speak they have torn apart my closet and are slowly but surely wearing away what little sanity I have remaining.

The reasons why our house is under attack is because Gus and his Quaker ass self managed to haggle and finagle himself into 30,000 dollars in home repairs through our city and some kind of crazy home renovation loophole. Someday these repairs and upgrades will add value to the home and increase the profit margin so when we can finally move to the beach we have more money to do so. All of this nonsense is really a good thing. In the long run.

But right now it really. really. really sucks.

It will be nice to be able to walk around in my nightgown again, and to eat lunch and watch my Criminal Minds without a motley assortment of scraggly boys judging me for being a desperate housewife. A leisurely Diet Coke and popcorn snack just dos not taste the same when there is condescension afoot.

Also since they have until Christmas to finish..... ( you heard that right CHRISTMAS) Herman has made the executive decision that we need to help them along to get them out faster so I spent my Friday night painting the basement floor with a lovely waterlock, gray textured paint. To think I used to fritter away my weekends singing karaoke. Silly Erin this whole time I could have been using all that free time perfecting my woodworking skills or learning the fine art of jack hammering a big hole in the floor (*hangs head in shame).

I am a whiner, and ungrateful. I don't mean to be a bitch about it but I hate them and I shouldn't. I should welcome their simple hearts, pick up trucks and vast array of power tools into my life with open arms. There are people who have to either do their own home maintenance or at the very least have to pay someone else to do it. With the exception of the painting and the cleaning up after them I don't have to do either. Plus they are allegedly making things better and Gus gets school girl level excited when he comes home and sees that they have blown more insulation into the attic, or installed a sub pump. So it goes.

Anyways now you know why I cannot very well sit around and update my blog while there are people all around me using their hands to alter the landscape of my life. I will try to be better and keep you in the loop. Life here is bananas and I really should tell you more about it.

My apologies. Its not my fault people are not meant to function amidst so much noise and drywall dust. It is simply unnatural.

Wedding Bells!

Well lets start at the beginning shall we? Really that is the best place to begin. Not so long ago I had just returned from the land of Eire and was less than welcome in the 804 so I did what any self respecting 23 year old would do and moved BACK to Colonial Williamsburg, went back to my old job and lived.... well that was the problem I had nowhere to live.

My very kind employers let me live in their b&b but it was never meant to be permanent and I really needed a place to live. Unfortunately for me the cost of living in Williamsburg is out of control and my little Euro's savings was dwindling... enter in my red headed hero. Through an intricate and random connection I was asked to meet with a potential roommate at a local Barnes and Noble to see if we would be compatible. It was exactly like going on a blind date and all I wanted to do was impress this girl and have a place to live. She walked in and I was instantly in love... and it was mutual :)

Her name is Beth Shatto and we immediately bonded over how much boys suck and how there is nothing to do in Williamsburg. It was fate. She is a redhead and brilliant and she loves corny Zac Efron movies. We were perfect roommates. During a strange transition in my life Beth provided comfort, advice, Taco Bell and a place to sleep. Rent was affordable, all of her kitchen appliances were Hello Kitty and pink but most of all she was a kindred spirit. We were both young, single girls in the revolutionary city and we had a blast.

Eventually I was given an opportunity to move into an adorable (and free) cottage and I no longer lived with Beth but she still remained one of my best friends. We saw each other through Internet dating, through Marines, through Valentines Days and through High School Musical premieres, she is objective and opinionated and is the big sister God forgot I needed.

I am telling you all about my amazing friend Beth because she just got married this weekend, and Gus and I made the quite amazing journey to the nuptials. Beth met a boy at her sisters wedding who was different than all the other rude and ridiculous boys she had been in the habit of dating before. His name is Ellwood Bobby and he is smart and insightful and the perfect compliment to her red headed madness. Oh and he loves her very much. They were engaged on New Years and in that time bought a house, moved to Toano and this weekend officially started the next chapter of their life together.

Beth and Ellwood got married at their hometown of Mechanicsburg, PA which is about 4.5 hours from Williamsburg which would have been an easy, breezy trip. However, as you all recall I just moved to Nowheresville, USA which means that driving to the wedding was now a 13.5 hour trip. You read that correctly. Since you read all of the above you understand that I could not miss this wedding. It was simply not an option. Nevermind that I have no money and Gus has no time it had to be done. So Friday morning we set off on our adventure to the altar (not like that!).

The drive is very long. Very. Very. Long.

We went through Illinois, Indiana, West Virginia, Ohio and then right into PA. Oh after our 2 hour wrong turn through West Virginia. Sigh. We arrived at 3:30 Saturday morning, and let me tell you that spending that long in a car with someone is the true test of love. Or patience. Or something I don't know but we arrived and were able to talk in complete sentences so I would say we were a success.

While the drive was long it was well worth it. The wedding was beautiful and it was important to see biggie come full circle. I could not help but sit in the beautiful church she got married in and reminisce about the days of eHarmony and how boys in the bar would buy us drinks because they thought we were sisters. It is easy to be very cynical about relationships, Beth and Ellwood moved pretty fast but standing up there watching them giggle/cry throughout their vows it just made sense. They had a traditional reception, everyone had a blast the cake was delicious and the bride was radiant. Everything that you could ask for out of a fabulous wedding.

It was great to see my friends from the burg and have a bit of a reminder of myself as the independent, crazy girl who met and befriended Beth. Since I have moved I have felt very detached from what I consider 'my world' but this wedding was a reminder that your friends never really go away, they change and move and their lifestyles change but they are still at the core the same phenomenal people you fell in love with :)

Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Hoffman, I am so excited for you both and I cannot wait to see what the next chapter brings for you guys. No babies though. They cry alot. Seriously.

Also, thank you to Herman Diggs whose incredible night time driving ability and endless patience made the 26 hour road trip possible. It is not many men who could literally spend a day in a car driving with me. We will always have our fountain bevs, deer carcasses and Cracker Barrel signs darling and as always you win:)

This crazy massive cross that was in Indiana on the way to the wedding. You could see it from forever away and you can't see it in the picture but there is a HUGE sign that says "The giant cross welcomes truckers!". Oh what you see on 70 East!

Gus snapped this picture really quick. It is a atv with massive deer horns on the front which seems incredible dangerous and clearly redneck. It does not help that the trailer is also filled with propane. Like a disaster waiting to happen right dad?

The beautiful bride and groom. Her dress was like this massive poffy princess dress that was sparkly and gorgeous. It was funny though because the more she danced the hotter her legs got so towards the end of the night she was walking around flashing mad ankle. We called her the 17th century porn star :)

the new Mr.and Mrs. Hoffman. So flippin cute!

Halloweenies!

Giving Bunny kisses to the pretty pretty princess!

Hanging out with Grover at our local watering hole

Having trickor treaters was the most fun thing about Halloween

The fair bunny princess Henrietta

Rhett Butler and Scarlett O'Hara 2k9 edition

Hello all! I hope that you all had a fabulous Halloween. For the first time in weeks it stopped raining and was pretty and sunny and overall gorgeous for the weekend.

We welcomed trick or treaters for our first time as grown-ups in a house and we had really cute kids come to ask us for candy. My favorite are the ones who want to show you all the treats in their pumpkins. Absolutly adorable.

Henry was a very pretty pretty princess and Gus and I had fun being Rhett an Scarlett even though no one really knew who we were. There is a complete lack of knowledge of the classics these days I suppose. Oh well.

I am posting pictures on facebook and if you're not on it the link is here. Enjoy. Let me know what you think of our costumes and those of our friends and the random people I stalked and made pose with me :)