The most wonderful time of the year

Ok, I couldnt head into the weekend with a grumpy post as my last, especially because this weekend is my favorite event of the year. I mean, I love this more than Christmas, and that is saying something! This weekend my mom's side of the family will gather in VA Beach for our annual family reunion. This year there will be 27 of us, only 4 people missing, which is pretty great. Oh, and did I mention its only my grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins? Thats right, no extended family...my mom is one of 5 kids so there are alot of us, and I love it!

The emails on the family listserv have been flying back and forth alternating coordinating arrivals and departures as well as lobbing joking insults, most involving my uncle's favorite family reunion tshirt...an OLD OLD (like 20 yrs old) armani exchange wife beater tank top that is holey and faded. Its become a staple at the reunion and it will be a sad day when it has to be retired, welllll not that sad :)

Family reunions always involve a lot A LOT of food including the fresh venison (deer, elk and moose) my Uncle Kevin hunts, a keg (cause its way more economical than cans or bottles for that many people), and PT (thats physical training). With a cousin in the marines, and uncle and cousin in the navy seals and a grandfather who was Army, not a family event goes by when there isnt some form of physical training; last year was kettle bells (the same workout the guys in the movie 300 did), the year before was a run and there are always some pull up competitions mixed in there. Now I know this sounds crazy, and its not mandatory, and most of the women just let the guys do their thing, but it is an official unofficial part of the celebrations and I love it. Not to mention, my cousin (the Marine) just got home last weekend from his 3rd tour in Iraq. We have alot to celebrate.

Another tradition is birthday celebrations. In our family we have two birthday heavy months, August and November. Because the reunion is always in August we have a big cake for all the Leos/Virgos including my cousin, my brother, two uncles, a cousin-in-law, and me. I hope its an ice cream cake this year!

We are also taking Aidan to the beach for the first time and I just KNOW he's going to try to eat the sand. But his beach loving father is so stoked for getting Aidan acquainted with all things beachy and I'm pretty excited to get a little tan (florescent lighting is not good for the summer complexion).

So we're set to head out tonight after dinner and after Aidan's bath. Its a 5.5 hr drive and we're hoping to time our departure with Aidan's bed time so he'll sleep the whole way there (please say a prayer! :). Pictures coming on monday of all the festivities! Have a wonderful weekend!!

A little grumpy...

I woke up in a bit of a funk today, perhaps spurred on by my lack of clothing that actually fits. I also learned that trying on clothes AFTER a big lasagna dinner is not good for the self esteem. Sooo, in this frame of mind even the little things are not rolling off my back so easily today including:

1. the lazy people who refuse to walk up 1 flight of stairs. yesterday i was in the mall and a bunch of overweight women were blocking the escalator because it was turned off (and conveniently turned into stairs!). they were harassing the security guard into turning the escalator back on because you know they couldnt walk up the stairs. this gaggle of women also were blocking the path for those of us who just wanted to go up one level. LAZY. and this is one example of the pervasive attitude that slows philadelphia down on many levels.*

disclaimer: I am alll for taking the elevator if you are infirm, pregnant, injured, with children etc. when you are just lazy, i have no sympathy.

2. lack of courtesy. its everywhere. just remember, a simple please and thank you go a loooong way. and just for the record, its easier on everyone if you let the people getting off the train exit before you try to push your way on. like a salmon swimming upstream.


Now, there is some good news to report: I got my new khaki pants from lands end. They have hidden elastic in the waist and look like totally normal pants. i love you, lands end. Thank you.

I got an interview!!

The job search has been pretty depressing and I've been really looking at all kinds of jobs, part-time, full-time, work from home, starbucks, borders, admin...you name it. Yesterday I started blasting my resume all over Philly, but I've been holding out in hopes of getting an interview with a fabulous firm that does urban design and planning. Helllooo, an actual job sorta in my field. Hot Damn! There are lots of admin duties as part of the job, but its an amazing foot in the door to urban planning with an internationally known firm (for example, they did the master plan for the Baltimore Inner Harbor). Oh, and have I mentioned the benefits package?! Its awesome and includes childcare assistance! So anyway, next Thursday I've got the interview and I'm def a bit nervous. Not to mention the fact that I need to find some professional clothes to wear...as in I dont own a suite.

Well, this news has certainly brightened my day and I'd appreciate any and all prayers and positive energy sent my way.

Happy Hump Day!!

This made me laugh... then cringe

It's Monday morning. You sign into your Facebook profile to update your status and you start due diligence on your friends' profiles. You're looking at photos from the weekend when you see that your girlfriend was tagged in an album of someone who is not your 'friend.'

You click through to that person's profile to get the scoop on how they know each other. Then you see some mutual friends, click around a few more times and before you know it, you're looking at wedding photos of people you don't even know.

Thank you CareerBuilder.com. My life has been reduced to a few snarky sentences and its depressing.

So much to do, so little time

Wow, so much has happened in the last week or so I hardly know where to begin, so I think a list will have to suffice.

1. We’ve had so many visitors and its been great! Mr. F’s childhood friend came for a night and we enjoyed taking him to Reading Terminal Market (a great historic preservation project!). Mr. F’s sister also stopped by this weekend and we had so much fun with her; she even babysat so we could go on a date!

2. Aidan is no officially pulling up to standing and his first tooth broke through last week! He’s just getting more and more smiley and loving, and since I’m his mom and allowed to biased, he’s PERFECT :)

3. Aidan is also taking steps with help of Daddy. See video below.

4. Last Monday Aidan turned 8 mos old! It’s shocking how fast time flies when you’re having fun (and are sleep deprived!)

5. I’m very actively job searching and would greatly appreciate any and all prayers that things come together. If there is anything I’ve learned in the last 2 years its that God has a way of making things work out, but holy cow does my type A/compulsive planner personality have a tough time letting go and letting God.

5a. If you have any ideas of work from home job options, I’m allll ears!

6. Crockpot cooking has changed my life. Yesterday I made baby food for Aidan and Chow Mein for dinner for tonight. Seriously, check out the 365 days of Slow Cooking blog (in my blog list). It is phenomenal. I've already made the Moroccan Lentil Soup (delish!) and the Thai Curry (great, and I dont even like curry!). Tonight I'm going to attempt making my own granola... in the crock pot!

7. This is my 100th post! I’ve been blogging for just over a year and its been wonderful! I hope everyone is having a great Monday!

Redecorating

Lately Mr. F and I have been talking more and more about what we want in our future house and its so exciting because owning a place is getting closer to becoming reality as we get closer to the end of medical school and start of residency. We're not talking anything fancy right away, we're hoping for a 2 bedroom townhouse that we'll be able to use as a rental property once he becomes an attending (read: and actually makes money as opposed to working for peanuts). So for now we entertain/educate ourselves by going to open houses of the historic homes around our apartment and I've been assigned to create a "wish board" of pictures of things I like (since I'm much more of the architectural person). Coincidentally, I've recently come across a picture of my dream kitchen. Enjoy :) (PS. The picture is from Architectural Digest Magazine)

We're in T.R.O.U.B.L.E.

I knew this day would come sooner rather than later and last Monday it happened... Aidan is fully crawling. He's been able to scoot pretty much anywhere he wanted, but now he's alternating legs and arms, on all fours, crawling. Its amazing... and yet terrifying all at the same time because no where is safe and our apartment seems tinier than ever. However, Aidan is sleeping ALOT better at night. HOORAY!


Over 4th of July we headed home to our parents' houses and defrosted our year old wedding cake. I was initially skeptical, but it was delicious, actually better than I remember. We even fed each other the cake, something we didnt do the first time:) We also had a really great evening out with my mom and dad babysitting. We went to a fancy dinner and then saw The Hangover... so romantic, lol. We went to this great restaurant in Old Town and used the website to get a great deal on a coupon for dinner. All you have to do is put in your zip code and tons of restaurants come up. I highly recommend it :)

Finally, its not always glamorous being an intern, but I do occasionally have the opportunity to check out really beautiful places. I'm currently working on a project in this neighborhood. Can you believe this is the kind of place I get to study?

Texas Pictures

FINALLY got them uploaded... :)