and the winner is...

Beautiful, exotic... MINNEAPOLIS!

That's right, folks-- we are spending this coming Saturday through Monday in the Land of 10,000 Lakes!  We chose Minneapolis for a few reasons, some of which include the fact that I've never been there, it's within driving distance, and the Blackhawks are playing the Wild on Saturday night.  This means I'll be going to my first ever NHL game... or really, my first ever ice hockey game of any type!

I'm pretty excited, because some of the best times J and I have with each other are when we travel.  We get to relax, be ourselves and let go of our every day stresses in a way that allows us to fully enjoy each other and our time together.  Celebrating two years together will make this road trip even sweeter!  We're also able to do it on the VERY cheap due to my bargain hunting skills and some saved up hotel credits.  We don't have a lot of money right now, but devoting the $250 or so we'd spend on gifts and dinner towards a short trip seemed like the right choice!

If any of my faithful readers have ever been to Minneapolis/St. Paul, do you have any recommendations?  We've read about the Juicy Lucy burger, are planning to see the Mall of America and hopefully the Northern Vineyards Winery.  Any food or sight tips?  I'd love to squeeze in the Minneapolis Institute of Art on Sunday, since they're closed Monday!  I'm also pretty excited that we'll be able to stop at Sonic on the way up, and Sobelman's in Milwaukee on the way back.  That's right-- food choice helped dictate our path of travel!

Besides that, it was a pretty great weekend around our house.  We ran errands on Saturday, then spend the rest of the weekend being lazy and enjoying a free weekend.  I also was quite the chef, taking advantage of having actual time and ingredients at home to make great meals from!  I whipped up two of J's favorite: my homemade knockoff of Panera's chicken salad and the Pioneer Woman's AMAZING drip beef.  I also threw together a loaf of my favorite simple banana bread, made even more delicious with the addition of walnuts and dark chocolate chips... mmmm, so good!

xoxo,
e

sweat the small stuff.

living together has been an adjustment on many levels: space, personal time, tv preferences, weekend plans... all take on new meaning when living with the one you love.  however, i greatly underestimated the impact of all the small things (cue the blink 182 here, please).

small things make a big impact, and not in that cheesy "make someone else's day brighter" way.  rather, in a "i swear to bejesus if XYZ happens one more time, i'm flipping the coffee table over and punching a hole in the wall" kind of way.

what are these small things that turn into such nightmares?  a few examples, from both sides of the bed...

her list

• his leaving TV shows on the DVR for six months, never having even attempted a viewing
• his leaving water/toothpaste remnants/hair gel remnants ALL OVER the bathroom sink - nothing says good morning like putting your hand in a giant puddle of mystery goop at 6:45am
• his refusal to eat bread or drink milk nearing (not even past) its expiration date
• his insistence upon leaving the bathroom door shut when in the shower
• his inability to fall asleep without the TV on

his list

• her leaving her hair straightener on the sink after finishing getting ready
• her required shower curtain, even though we have a shower door
• her laundry, because there's so damn much of it all the time
• her inability to decide on where/what to eat for dinner, EVERY DAY
• her insistence that i take my glasses off when i go to sleep at night

now that we KNOW these things about each other, i'd like to think we make a concerted effort to be a little less annoying... but still, these things still pop up every week.  if he weren't so damn cute, i'd have electrocuted him in the aforementioned sink puddle with the hair straightener that i (try not to) forget to put away sometimes.

so... what are the small things in your relationship that make a big difference?  mountains from molehills and dunes from grains of sand... let me have 'em!

the anniversary issue.

It's hard to believe.

At the end of October (literally, the last day of the month, aka Halloween), J and I will celebrate two years together!  This is a monumental occasion for the both of us, after reviewing some key facts...

• Neither of us had ever been in a relationship that lasted much beyond a year.
• We've never lived with a partner before each other.
• One in ten relationships founded online don't last beyond a month.
• We have quite opposite tastes in... everything (food, TV, temperature, social situations, etc...).
• We have poor luck separately, but combined, I'm pretty sure in past lives we were responsible for the sinking of the Titanic, WWI and Thalidomide.  When we get married, we may change our last name to Murphy, since his law seems so prevalent in our lives.

Despite a lion's share working against us... we've made it.  So, how to celebrate?

We have the possibility of going to Las Vegas, but times are tight.  Although we'd only have to pay for a portion of the trip thanks to some flight vouchers and a generous friend who J would do some side work for, we aren't sure if we should stick close to home and save the money for holidays or other travels.  We also recognize the fact that we aren't married and don't need to celebrate every dating-versary like it's such a huge deal, but this just feels big.

So, friends... ideas for how to celebrate?  Cognizant of the fact that it is Halloween weekend?  Thinking of maybe exploring the wilds of Wisconsin, traveling to Michigan to see the lake from the other side, or back to Milwaukee for another brewery tour, some gambling and a damn fine burger at Sobelman's.  That is, unless you have something better in mind?

and then, life took over.

wow.  i can't believe i haven't blogged in over 10 months.  my bad, y'alls.  not that too many "outsiders" read this thing, but if anyone was worrying, J and i are still together!  bet you thought we broke up and this whole thing became obsolete, eh?  NO SUCH LUCK, INTERNETS.

what did happen, though, was life.  working in higher education, my life is always neatly incremented into semester divisions, wherein every month brings a new set of challenges.  i've been at my current institution for four years as of july, which both seems like entirely too long and fairly short.  however, the whispers of change have been floating in my head more and more recently, and i've decided to casually job search.  i am constantly working, whether in the office, at home or on weekends, as is the nature of what i do.  J is unhappy in his current job and the demands of his stressful work and hours (12 hour days, 5 days a week plus he's on call all the time) have been a big source of contention in our relationship.  having two people looking for new jobs is stressful enough, but working out the finance and geographic logistics is even more difficult.  add to that the possibility of J returning to school to finish his degree and my desire to work less insane hours, and it's madness.  one day at a time, folks... something lindsay lohan clearly never learned.

on the upside, we've made some fantastic memories over the last ten months as well.  our first holiday together with my family went well; my family welcomed J with open arms and we even got to spend some alone time exploring my hometown together.  in february, we went snow tubing in wisconsin for my birthday and had a great time.  we did a whirlwind tour of the US in june, traveling to atlanta to see two of my college friends get hitched, then on to las vegas for some gambling fun and phoenix to catch a diamondbacks game at chase field.  most recently, over labor day weekend, we traveled to washington, dc for J's birthday.  we took in both an orioles and a nationals game, and took my 2 year old nephew to the national zoo for a (very hot) day.  without our traveling lately, i think we'd be two rather ugly people... our trips have been constant sources of fun and milemarkers along the way when we've been terribly stressed.

in closing, i promise to update more often!  with my recent discovery of google reader, i'm finding a renewed interest in blogging.  keep me on my toes, folks!

hakuna matata,
e