My How They Grow

Some people may remember that three days before Nick and I got married, my side of the family had our first baby born. My first nephew, Zach, was born June 1, 2005 and every year of his life is another year of life for Nick and I, for our marriage.

It's been so funny watching him grow through the years and now Zach has two younger brothers - Jesse and Joey - and an older sister, Morgan, to keep him busy.

I took this photo of him on Easter, as he chowed down his ice cream. Sometimes watching kids eat ice cream just gives you a hearty reminder to relax a bit and enjoy life.

Nick is Gone, I am Trying to Busy Myself

Whenever I am gone for long periods of time, I ask Nick how the time was spent. He always rattles off a million things that he did while I was away and how accomplished he made the time.

Nick woke me up at 4am this morning to say good-bye as he departed with 16 other folks from our parish to go on a mission trip to El Salvador.

I told him, "You better come back good as new with no swine flu or anything."

Translation: Hurry back because I'm pathetico and miss you mucho.

Nick was active up until the day before his trip. His project before he left was to treat our lawn. I have about as much interest in our lawn as I do in car maintenance. (That's zero, in case you're wondering...) So yesterday we headed off to local hardware store to buy whatever it is that makes your lawn green, pretty, and bushy.

I always marvel at how honest Nick is with total strangers. The sales associate who helps us is always the same. It's a nice 50 some year old man with a friendly face and dirty hands...like he was just cleaning the garage or something, and I think he recognizes us as the couple who never know what the hell they're doing and once he starts explaining the process of how to fix anything in your household, the wife wanders away to look at the deck furniture and BBQ grills.

But, without fail, Nick has no issue with letting the Mr. Hardware know for the umpteenth time that we are clueless, helpless, and young. He begins with the same line, "Well, we just bought our first house and we know NOTHING about it." He then emphasizes the NOTHING with a horizontal strike in the air with his stretched out hand.

I nod in the background.

Once he begins saying, "Treating your lawn can be compared to how humans eat. We eat three times a day, lawns need to be fed every 5-6 weeks...." I zone out.

And just like that, my thoughts lead me away and I find myself wandering around, sticking my head underneath the new and shiny grill covers, imagining when we will have our first BBQ.

Short and Sweet

On Friday night, Nick and I went out with our buds, Christina and Brian Emerson to a lovely outdoor bar to watch the Cavs.

On Saturday, we attended Zoey's first birthday. Zoey is the youngest daughter of our friends' Terry and Stephanie Mcafferty.

Sunday was hectic and busy with work.

Monday Nick began prepping for his trip to El Salvador (leaving tomorrow morning at 4am).

This is short because I am sad Nick is leaving for a five days.

Some days I am a strong as a rock, but other days I'm as weepy as the spring rain.

Today is the latter.

Bike Shop Talk

I had a free and open day. Nick was off in the afternoon.

You have two lovebirds, free as real birds, and a 70 some degree day in April? That's good stuff right there.

We returned to our tennis practices. Or, shall I say, Nick lightly hitting the ball to me and I return it with full force while he watches it wail over the fence behind him. he's such a good sport.

Then we went bike shopping.

Often when we shop together, it turns into a conversation about things other than what we're shopping for. For instance, after we walked into the bike shop and learned about the different styles and amenities that come with the bikes, we thanked the sales associates and walked out into the bright sunshine.

When we were about 10 steps from the door, our conversation goes something like this:

Me: Sometimes I think it would be funny if there could be a big blimp above our heads that shows our real thoughts and what we're thinking when someone is talking to us?

Nick: Like 'Pop-Up Video?'
He makes the funny pop up noises to illustrate.

Me: (laughing) Yeah, exactly!

Nick: So, it'd be like -

Me: (laughing harder and interrupting him) It'd be like when he showed us that first bike that was $400, my blimp would pop up and read, "Mhm, that's about $350 too expensive."

Nick: I think it'd be hilarious if you could see two pop-ups at the same time. Yours would read, 'Mhm, that's $350 too much,' and mine would read, 'Mhm, looks like we're not buying anything today.'

**If you'd like to see a fine example of the entertainment that comes with pop-up video, click here to watch a tune with Rick Astley. Doesn't come with the fun pop up noise though... **

Never Admit You Saw Something When You Didn't

Nick: Do you need the computer anymore?

Me: No, I'm done. You can shut it down.

Nick: I'm checking the weather, it looks like rain all week.

Me: That is awesome.

-- wander over and point to the screen, specifically, I point to a design ad I made for the magazine I edit for which focuses on civic and political action --

Me: (excited) Hey! Did you see my design? I worked on it for several hours today. I think it turned out well. What'd you think?

Nick: (nervous because she just closed the window of my design) Sure, babe! It looked great.

I am suspicious because he looks nervous.

Me: You didn't see it. It's fine.

Nick: No, I did see it...it looked good.

Me: What was it about?

Nick: Uh...
looks at the screen regretfully at the blank screen

Nick: It was about potlucks.

Me: WHAT?

Nick: Potlucks.

Me: It had the word "potluck" but it's not about potlucks. NICK!

Nick laughs hysterically at his failing efforts.

Me: What did YOU see in the design?

pause

Nick: (turns to put his arms around me and draw me into a hug that means he's trying to change the subject) I see 'feminism in motion.'

['Feminism in Motion' is the tagline for the magazine and strewn all over the ad.]

Me: (shake my head) You are ridiculous.

Nick: I saw it! I swear, I really liked it. I just had no idea what it was about.

Technological Advances

I'm kinda nuts over technology.

The fusion of the internet, computers, blogging, photography, and digital imaging just leave me happy as hotcakes.

So you can imagine my delight when I log into my email account which I have with GMAIL and see that there is now an added feature: video chatting.

That's right!

When you log into your gmail account, you have the option of seeing if anyone in your contact book is online. There's a little green dot that says someone is available and if you and that person have a webcamera, you will be able to easily chat instead of type.

I quickly hit DOWNLOAD TO INSTALL and started fantasizing how fun it would be to actually SEE people and chat instead of typing. (It's like how I imagined all the phones would be in the 21st century when I was in the first grade.) And then a thought hit me...

Wait a second...my friends, my family, ANYONE that I want to chat with will actually see me...

SEE me...as in, if you could see me now in a ratty Boston College sweatshirt that is screaming, "GIVE ME A BREAK! THIS IT THE HUNDREDTH TIME YOU'VE WORN ME THIS MONTH!" and my red glasses that scream, "I'M NOT A MORNING PERSON AND I HATE WAKING UP AT 6AM."

Does that mean I have to actually look nice?

I think so.

I mean, the safety of the computer screen is not something I'm willing to give up just yet. And what is someone wants to chat when I'm in my bathrobe, or I just don't feel like chatting?

Mhm...I need to think this over.

Technological advances leave me happy, but if it is starting to require high maintenance on my part, I think I might pass.

Borchers Visit

This past weekend, Nick's parents, Ron and Kay, were in town and the Cleveland weather grandly welcomed them to the northeast region of the Buckeye State.

Saturday morning and afternoon, Nick and Ron took it to the house and did several small projects - fixing doors, installing air conditioners, re-installing lights...all the while I laid out on the front lawn and Kay fell asleep. I felt a bit of a lazy bum, but not too much because I would have been ZERO help in the projects they were working on. At least, that's what I tell myself to feel better.

I'm happy to report that we went out for a lovely dinner to Trattoria, which is located in Little Italy and I was able to order a red sauce dish without any messes or Great White Massacres. Still, I left my white coat at home this time and wore black.

We had a terrific time and it's always great to have family with us, so come up to see the Indians, Cavs, or just plain ol' exciting us!

New Windows for Winter

Tax season is over. The winter blues are melting. The Cleveland air is rich with baseball, lake winds, and the faint smell of tulips. Ahh, the blessings of spring.

There's one tiny little hitch in spring: I go into hibernation every May.

Once the temps start going consistently in the 60s and 70s or even punch mildly into a soft 80 degrees, the new plants and allergens send me running for the hills. The problem is my asthma is so bad, I can't breathe deep enough to even make it to the hills. Eh, every year I vow to suck it up, but every year I end up making a huge fuss and wheeze for a month and half in Nick's poor, constantly ringing right ear and give him headaches and reminders to shower every night to get the pollen off his skin and hair.

Nick is a morning shower person and hates this cycle.

But, he's such a good hub that he showers twice a day for me to make sure no pollen enters the house.

So, last night we were eating chicken parmesan and I ask him, "When do we take off these plastic thingys from the windows?"

Nick is chomping through his pasta and with his mouth full slathers out, "Mhm, I don't know. What do you think?"

"Probably June."

Nick looks at me like I suggested we should sell our first born for new windows, "Why June?"

"It'll help keep the pollen out."

Nick lets out a slow drawn out, "Ohhh yeahhhh..." but it's in a really deep tone that says he doesn't approve.

He's probably thinking of the two-time shower days on the horizon.

"Happy Spring, my love."

Ode to Nick

Nick is man who works hard
There's nothing he can't do
He drills into new tasks
and does what he puts his mind to

Nick is man who works on taxes
and brings them to H&R block
But it's Nick who corrects
the Block's mistakes - oh, really, what a shock!

Nick is man who works on our bathroom
the sorrowful sight that it is
But Nick takes pride in accomplishment
and owns every task as his

So, cheers to you, Saint Nicholas
I'm very grateful for all that you do
Not just for the taxes and paint peels
But just because you're you

The Small Stuff

Instead of apologizing for not writing much the past several weeks on this blog, just think of it as a "getting to know you" moment. Now you know how sporadic and unpredictable Nick and I can be.

Well.

Now you know how sporadic and unpredictable I can be.

I've been meaning to write, but spring has swept us away in a fury of home repairs, out of town guests, and settling into new responsibilities with work and jobs. Instead of writing about the big things, like how long it has taken for the kitchen leak to be repaired or how this tax season is giving us migraines, I'd rather tell you about the important things, Seinfeld style.

You know how Seinfeld made its mark by centering things that are seemingly not important? That's like our life. Nick and I joke, love, distress about the details of life, the things that make us laugh hardest are our perspectives and thoughts about the mundane things of life, the things that most people pass by without giving two seconds of a thought.

So, we try and focus on the small things. It's like that book, "Don't Sweat the Small Stuff," except our version would, "Don't Ignore the Small Stuff."

The small things of life would be how I have tortured my husband with daily talks of cheese. All throughout Lent, as I gave up the daily goodness, I never let a day go by without telling Nick how I would kill for a bit of mozzarella, how a small taste of havarti, or brie, or cheddar, or parmesan, or gruyere...you get the picture. And everytime I open my big mouth to give a great big sigh, Nick will remind me, "It's Lent. Do something in the spirit of Lent, not something that makes you miserable for 40 days and 40 nights."

And today, Easter Monday, I have returned to the glorious world of cheese.

That's one of the small things. It's small things like not being able to eat cheese that brings us to attend Fish Fry dinners at St. Dominic during Lent and where we meet new people in our neighborhood and finally get a sense of community here in Cleveland. It's the small things in our life that have brought us a real sense of home - like playing Catch Phrase at Book's house until 1am and laughing at the ridiculous level of competition Nick and I display.

It's the small things like eating dinner with Pete Kosoglov and his fiancee in Tremont, or going home to Russia just to spend time with family and take pictures of Chelsea Hoying's family (check out my photography website if you haven't seen them!), or celebrating getting a round of laundry done so Nick doesn't have to hold up a shirt and ask me, "Is this too wrinkled too wear?" where my answer is a resounding YES.

Celebrate the small things in life. Like Seinfeld, you'll find that it's the small things that really count.

Happy Easter!