Random Thoughts

Football

2011-08-25T17:04:00.000-07:00

Watching a preseason NFL game on TV at a sports bar tonight, I say to Shawn, "Football season is my favorite time of year!" To which Shawn replied "My favorite thing is that every year you tell me this is your favorite time of year."

That's how you know you've been married 6+ years.

Brittany Spears Flashback

2011-08-24T17:06:00.000-07:00

Listening to my iPod on shuffle I hear "I'm Not A Girl, Not Yet A Woman" by Brittany Spears and have a flashback to driving with a friend of mine in high school and listening to this song when she says "You know, it is so true. We aren't girls, but we aren't women yet."

Such profound words, Brittany Spears. Profound.

Raffle

2011-07-08T17:11:00.000-07:00

While at Mellow Mushroom with Lauren, a waitress came by our table and said "You guys should enter the Bike Raffle, the winner is announced at 10".

Lauren's reply: "Bike Raffle? What do you win?"

:o)

Giant Pickle

2011-06-10T18:09:00.000-07:00

A conversation between Vanessa and I about our kids watching Veggie Tales

Vanessa: "The only Veggie Tales Brenna has is David & the Giant Pickle and she's terrified of the giant pickle."

Me: "Brenna, it is important that you continue to be terrified of the giant pickle."

Hilarious

2011-04-05T19:10:00.000-07:00

This is one of the funniest things I've ever seen. Check out these awkward maternity photos.

Aaron & Elle

2011-03-31T19:15:00.000-07:00

Elle anticipating......Elle Succumbing......Elle Resigning.

US

2011-03-18T19:31:00.000-07:00

I am not going to lie. I do not know every state on the United States map at the age of 27. There, I said it.

While showing a friend of mine the states on the map that I DO remember, we had the following conversation:

Me: "Don't judge me. I know it's sad".

Whit: "Actually, it's not as bad as I anticipated.....wait. Is that supposed to be Tennessee? You spelled it Tenesee. I will judge you for that".

Dangit.

Our Thrilling Life

2011-03-14T18:45:00.000-07:00

Shawn: "Can we watch one of our shows tonight"?

Me: "Sure! Are you sure you're not too tired?"

Shawn: "I guess we'll see."

~5 minutes later ~

Shawn: "Actually, I'm already asleep".

The Trip

2010-07-02T12:18:00.000-07:00

What would you do for $8,000?

It turns out, we would attempt the impossible for that amount. Which is exactly what we did in April.

The $8,000 first time home buyer tax credit was expiring at the end of April. Did it matter that we had a 7 day old baby, and that the house we were attempting to buy was several states away? Apparently not. Not being entirely sure how to survive with a newborn, not sleeping more that 4 hours at a time, not being sure what on earth we would even need to pack for this tiny person, me pumping milk every 3 hours, and still sitting on an inflatable donut....we packed up the car and drove from Columbus to North Carolina to stay one night with a couple we had never met before. They were so wonderful, they let us "sleep" (not much was being had at that time) in their bed and on their couch so we could break up our trip to Charleston. My mom, Shawn and I were still taking "shifts" with the little guy and were utterly exhausted. Trying to remember how old each bottle of milk was, what needed to be put on ice, what could keep for 6 hours, and making sure we kept up on cleaning the bottles, we hurriedly packed up all of our stuff and headed to Charleston the next day.

We planned to stay with yet another couple we had never met (one of Shawn's soon-to-be Chief residents) and called when we were nearing their house. His wife was not home, but gave us her garage door code to get in and she would be home soon. We dropped my mom and Aaron off at their house having never met the people who's house we were entering. "Bye" we yelled as we sped towards our realtors office while I pumped in the car (which was becoming more common than pumping inside a structure with 4 walls). We sorted through hundreds of MLS print outs of houses all around the city and finally put together a list of 25 that we would start looking at first thing in the morning. Insanity.

We went back to the house to meet the people who were letting us stay with them. Turns out they were incredible. Unfortunately, we were so exhausted, we couldn't say more than 2 words to them before passing out (only to be woken up throughout the night for feedings, diaper changes and pumping.) We were still "sleeping" with Aaron on our chests all night. Not quite the rest you need when making big decisions (ie: purchasing your first home). But apparently doable.

The next morning we rushed (after being an hour late of course) to meet our realtor and began the search for our house. I had to pump in this stranger's car several times throughout the day. Nothing says "it's nice to meet you" like pumping bodily fluids in the back seat of their Lexus SUV with leather seats. What had my life become?

We looked at 25 houses (some of which we gave a quick "No" to before even exiting the car) and after the longest day of our lives was over, we headed back to the house and scooped up our precious little boy that we had gone 10 hours without seeing. I was beginning to wonder if he felt like the bird in the book "Are You My Mother"? Did he even know that I was the person he'd been living in for the past 9 months and had birthed him just a week earlier? I spent the night holding him and sobbing, feeling so guilty for being so absent that whole day.

The next day we made an offer on our favorite house and they quickly accepted. We were in contract! The inspection went great an that left us with one day to tour this city I'd never seen, but would soon be living in.

We drove 45 minutes to Folly Beach (Shawn's idea) with a newborn who exploded his diaper on the way. We got there only to discover that there were 40 mph winds and we wouldn't have been able to last 2 minutes being whipped by the sand. So we changed Aaron's diaper in a porta potty while gagging from the smell (not even from Aaron, just the smell inside the porta potty). That was a bust.

We then headed downtown to see the Battery and historic homes. Turns out the cobblestone sidewalks weren't built for convertible stroller wheels (I can't fathom why. Didn't they know back in the 1600's someone would invent them and design the city accordingly?). God bless our sweet 12 day old. He was bobbing everywhere (with no neck control) in his car seat as we walked toward the battery along East Bay. The wind was blowing just as strong downtown, making it unbearably cold. After a half mile or so, Aaron had had it. He was miserable and screaming. I gave my mom a bag of frozen breast milk to hold under her sweatshirt in hopes it would be somewhat warm when we got to our final destination (whichever restaurant we stumbled into). Shawn had to take Aaron out of the stroller and bundle him in a blanket and carry him. Can you picture it? Me wheeling an empty, out-of-control stroller, Shawn carrying what looked like a large blanket that may contain a child, and my mom with a bulge of breast milk under her shirt. The night that would live in infamy.

We packed up and headed back to NC for the night and headed back to Columbus the following day (stopping at several gas stations for feeding and diaper changes). In total, the four of us (and my trusty donut) were gone one week. One week that I will never repeat. Ever again. We did what we came to do though. We bought our first home, and got the tax credit.

Insane? Yes. But worth it.

Brilliant!

2009-12-26T19:29:00.000-08:00

"The best way to prevent stretch marks is to stop them before they start".

~ Katie

Cougars

2009-11-02T13:09:00.000-08:00

I have a crush on Zac Efron. Even better, my mother in law has a crush on Zac Efron. Which is why you would have found us at the Easton AMC theater, on the opening night of High School Musical 3. In the boys locker room scene where two scrawny freshmen came out wearing towels around their waists, my mother in law proclaimed "Now why can't Troy be wearing only a towel"??

I love her.

Stupid Recession

2009-07-27T19:31:00.000-07:00

Three of my absolute favorite restaurants have gone out of business due to the recession. This is simply devistating. I will share each tragic event:

Restaurant numero uno:

A few months ago on a Friday afternoon, my mom and I went to eat at one of my favorite places. It was called Cafe del Mundo and they had fabulous grilled panini's. The following Monday, I picked up a friend and we drove there for lunch only to find a man on a ladder taking down the sign. Dangit. Couldn't they have at least told me the Friday before? They had said "come see us again" and I said "I will"! I held my end of the bargain, but apparently they did not.

Restaurant numero dos:

Last week we went to meet friends for lunch at Camilles, which made the best wraps and salads in Columbus. We pulled up only to find them holding a "garage sale" for all of their furniture and cooking utensils. Dangit. But I thought to myself "there's no way the one on Lane Ave. closed because there are always a ton of people there. I decided to remain positive and looked forward to my next wrap at the Lane Ave. location.

Today, I went to the Camille's on Lane Ave. at lunchtime only to find a "space available" sign in their window. omg. What is happening? How can I survive in this world without my chicken quesadilla wrap and brie and apple salad? I simply can't.

Restaurant numero tres:

After leaving Camille's with an overwhelming sense of ickiness, I headed towards plan B. It's called Zuppa and they had the best soups & salads. I pulled up to find their building empty as well. I'm pretty sure at this point that I've entered the twilight zone. Either that, or I am the kiss of death. If I love it, they will surely not succeed.

So I headed over to Cafe da Vinci in Upper Arlington for their Chicken Penne and treated myself to some Gelato for the traumatic experiences I had just endured. I considered asking an employee if they planned on being around next week, but refrained at the risk of sounding rude. I'm sure it's only a matter of time before they, too, pay for my love of their food.

Saving Money

2009-04-01T19:49:00.000-07:00

While reading a Glamour magazine, I noticed an article about how people were saving money in these tough economic times. One female reader writes:

"I shaved my head. It helps me save money on shampoo & conditioner".

I'm sorry. What?

Tight Pants

2008-12-31T18:01:00.000-08:00

A friend of mine teaches 1st grade music class in Lancaster. She decided to show the 1977 Nutcracker with Mikhail Baryshnikov. Bad decision. His pants were so tight you could see everything. It was also playing on a projection screen and therefore made his package the size of their heads. My friend was silently freaking out in the back of the classroom, imagining the phone calls she'd soon be receiving from their parents, the nightmares they'd be having and the therapy they were bound to need...

...when she heard one of the little girls say quietly to herself "I wish his shirt were longer". All my friend could think was "so do I honey, so do I".

History & Politics

2008-10-22T22:57:00.000-07:00

Travis asked Jenna who the vice president was. She asked me for a clue. I told her that he had two letters in his first name.

The next day, Jenna and I were discussing our lack of knowledge when it comes to history and politics referencing my vice president clue the day before.

Jenna: "I don't know anything about history. I can't even tell you who the third president was. All I know is that Abe Lincoln was the first president".

Gina: "The first president was George Washington".

Jenna: "See?"

Luggage?

2008-10-22T22:55:00.000-07:00

When I landed in Kansas City to visit my friend Jenna, my luggage did not land with me. We waited at the airport for 2 hours, in the food court with an assortment of interesting people. For one, Burger King ran out of burgers. That's ironic. A woman dropped her baby on the ground and another ran around in a harness, without pants. Finally, after deciding that we'd waited long enough, Jenna and I left without my luggage and drove two hours to her home in Manhattan, Kansas. After a few hours and several worthless calls to Southwest airlines, I finally received a call from "Roadrunner" transportation letting me know that my bag was on it's way and should arrive by 9:15. Sweet. At 10:30 I received another phone call letting me know that my bag was waiting for me at a nearby hotel. Jenna wouldn't have it so we told them they needed to bring it to her place (what we were promised). The woman then asked "how late are you planning on staying awake"? Because that's a professional question. I told her we'd be up for another couple of hours and we'd wait. At midnight I received yet another call from the same woman stating that she still didn't have a cab driver and wanted to know how long I'd be willing to wait. Still not understanding why my bag was delivered to a hotel in the first place, why this ridiculous woman kept calling to check on my bedtime, and getting more irritated with each phone call , we decided to just pick the friggin bag up. Jenna had just taken NyQuil and was in a fiery mood. So she told the lady we'd pick the bag up, but that she'd make sure to complain about the service we were receiving.

Jenna asked me to drive, as she was doped up at that point, and we took off to the "Clarion Hotel" or should I say "the most ghetto hotel of all time" where there must have been 3 drug deals happening simultaneously in the parking lot. We also had a nice homeless gentleman run along side of our car as we drove up. So we swerved into the exit and Jenna demanded that I park at the front of the lobby, just to "stick it to them". So we walked in like we owned the place, Jenna's hair literally shooting off into every direction, shirt tucked half way into her sweat pants and her eyes wild...when a man took one look at us and ran into the back room. It was clear that they'd been warned about us. A woman slowly approached the counter and we asked for our bag. She claimed she didn't know what we were talking about when we noticed my bag sitting right behind her. Jenna said "that bag. the one behind you" and the woman responded with "luggage"? YES! Luggage. Very good. The big black thing with wheels. So she brought it around and Jenna grabbed it and started to storm out, but not before stating "you don't mess with me in this town".

Jenna on NyQuil is by far the funniest thing I've ever seen.

Hurricane

2008-09-14T19:01:00.000-07:00

There are no words.

Nutrition

2008-09-13T14:13:00.000-07:00

Our friend Matt is doing his Family Medicine rotation where I work and came up to my office during his break. As usual, he began opening a Reece's peanut butter cup, which he considers to be his lunch. Every time he does I tell him how unhealthy it is to just eat a Reece's for lunch. Today in the middle of the argument I opened my mini fridge in my office to get out some yogurt. While in mid-sentence, Matt saw what was inside. "Reece's are not that unhealthy, Gina. Peanuts are healthy, peanut butter is healthy..... I'm sorry, is that a tub of butter? Ok. We are officially done with this nutrition conversation. When the biggest thing in your mini fridge is a tub of butter, you are no longer allowed to lecture others on their eating habits".

Hocking County

2008-09-01T07:03:00.000-07:00

Jonny, Vanessa, Shawn and I went to Hocking Hills this weekend and on our way home, tried to find a local restaurant to eat dinner. We drove up to an old diner and were excited for old fashoned hamburgers and french fries. We walked up to the door and passed an old man who said they were closed. Hmm. It was 5:15pm. Why were they closed at dinnertime? So Vanessa and I asked the waitresses if they could recommend a place that we couldn't find anywhere else. And these were their responses:

Young, normal waitress: "Oh, you mean like an Olive Garden"?
Scary older waitress with raspy voice: "Well, there is a Wendy's, Taco Bell and McDonald's down the road"
Even scary waitress with even raspier voice: "Ya, there's a Wendy's and McDonalds down the road".

Thanks. Yes, those are very original.

So we ate at the Cheesecake Factory at Polaris.

Watermelon

2008-08-19T16:50:00.000-07:00

I love watermelon. I could eat it every day. The only problem is, I can not cut it. Or ball it. Or really prepare it in any way. Every single time I try something goes horribly wrong. For some reason, I bought a whole watermelon last weekend thinking it was time I give myself another chance. Not a good decision. I cut it in half and started scooping it out. The nightmare began when the first round of watermelon juice squirted all over my white shirt. Why was I wearing a white shirt while balling watermelon you ask? Unfortunately I don't have an answer. So I used my bleach pen, threw it in the washer and put on another shirt. I went back to the watermelon. Once again, I squirted juice all over the second shirt.
'Screw it'. I just threw water on my shirt and kept balling. Juice was flying everywhere. All over the counter, cabinets, towels, hands, arms, face... Finally, I grabbed the giant knife and started cutting around the edges (picture Clark Griswald in Christmas Vacation when he took the chainsaw to the railing). That's when I cut into my finger and proceeded to bleed everywhere. Nice.

If you read this, please discourage me from ever cutting watermelon again. Or balling it for that matter. Really, discourage me from doing anything with watermelon other than eating it.

If I even suggest it, just tell me no.

Carrot Platter

2008-08-05T05:33:00.000-07:00

Stephanie walks into the movie theater with a bag of cold carrots. I eye them suspiciously. She says that she decided to take a healthier approach to movie theater munchies. She also states that she does not enjoy cooked carrots. Thus begins our conversation.

Stephanie: "I do not like cooked carrots. Only cold ones".

Gina: "I personally prefer cooked carrots. So it seems that if we ever find ourselves in a situation where we have to order both cold and cooked carrots, we will be able to spit them evenly and each enjoy our favorite kind of carrot".

Brandon: "Excuse me, may I interest you in the mixed carrot platter"?

.

Our Understanding

2008-06-01T17:01:00.000-07:00

The day before the boards:

Gina: I have done everything for the past five weeks. I've done my chores as well as yours, I've been completely submissive & done everything you have asked of me without any complaints. I just want you to know that as of 4:00pm tomorrow afternoon, you are my slave."

Shawn: I know. It was nice while it lasted.

:)

Brutal Honesty

2008-05-27T21:04:00.000-07:00

Gina: "When I was a sophomore in high school, I had a friend who's parents wouldn't allow him to date until he was 16. But he asked their permission to take me to homecoming and they let him! It was so sweet!"

Shawn: "Well, when his parents saw a picture of you they probably realized they had nothing to worry about."

Gina at 15

Thanks Shawn.

Awkward Turtle

2008-05-12T21:21:00.000-07:00

Last week Shawn was invited to a dinner to celebrate his induction into a research honors society. Fun! A chance to dress up, right? Wrong. "Business Casual" it said on the email invitation. So, as to not risk being the only girl dressed up at this thing, I wore tan dress pants and a nice shirt. Bad decision. As soon as I got out of the car I saw our friend Carrie, wearing a nice black dress. Awkward moment #1. So we walked to the Blackwell, not knowing for sure what we were actually doing there and without a clue of what this event actually was. We walked into "Ballroom B" only to see 1 person sitting at one of the 20-something tables. Awkward moment #2. So one of the waitresses suggests that we "grab food before it's all gone". Fat chance, unless the one guy in the room could eat more than humanly possible. So we went through the line and grabbed our food, I of course took way more than I could eat. We sat and ate, had awkward conversation and I had to give my un-eaten food to the waitress as she gave me a dirty look. Awkward moment #3. As more people came, I noticed that all of the girls were wearing dresses. I must not have gotten the memo. I was officially Shawn's "butch" wife amongst overflowing femininity. I was his man date. Our friend Carrie (who I was so grateful to have there, we laughed awkwardly the entire evening) and I decided it was time for dessert so we walked to the dessert table, talking about how we were going to get one of each kind of dessert and not care what people thought. As I was heaping a gigantic mound of strawberries on my lemon cream cake and tirimasu, I noticed that I kept having to push this random flower out of the way. The flower was in the bowl of strawberries, apparently serving as a decoration. A girl noticed that I was pushing the flower aside and said "you can eat that you know". I looked at her as if she had three eyes and said "but it's a flower". She proceeded to tell me two more times that I could eat the flower and I continued to reply "but it's a flower". As I could see that this "argument" was not going anywhere, I heaped one more giant spoonful of strawberries onto my plate, said "well, it wouldn't taste very good" and ran back to my seat with Carrie laughing behind me saying that she couldn't believe I just got into a chick fight at the dessert table. Awkward moment #4. It was now time for this painfully boring "event" to begin and as I looked around, I noticed that the room was only 1/3 full. I began to realize that the people who had ditched this dinner were a lot smarter than we were. A student went up to the podium and spoke to us, only to create a shrill sound with the microphone that lasted for a good 3 minutes. Awkward moment #5. Once they got the sound under control, a large bald man proceeded to speak for 30 minutes about research, his mentors, and all 5 reasons that he chose OSUCOM instead of Wash U. Once he was finished, I slapped myself in the face, trying to look alive. It was now time for the awards. We had to sit through each name being called, even those that were smart and didn't show up. Each student had to walk all the way up, just to get this certificate, it took freaking forever. Awkward moment #6. Once the event was finished and we were done with this nonsense, we took pictures as if we were proud to be there as all of the med students walked out and stared at us (we took some of these pictures by a plant that was 4 times taller than Shawn...we looked like gnomes in someones garden). Awkward moment #7. Carrie told me that night about how when she was in college, if anyone considered a moment to be awkward, they would create this turtle with their hands and move their thumbs. Hence the name "awkward turtle". The awkward turtle made several appearances that evening.

How I looked that evening.
How I felt that evening.
The awkward turtle.

My Walk Down High Street

2008-05-01T19:01:00.000-07:00

I work at the intersection of Lane & High and there is a CVS within walking distance. One day, I had an incredible craving for Reece's. Such a huge craving in fact, that I needed to eat at least one, as soon as possible. So, with the nice weather, I decided to take a stroll down lovely High Street to the CVS for my Reece's. I walked there, no problem. Bought a giant bag of Reece's (on sale!) to keep myself happy for the next week (day) or so. I made small talk with the guy behind the counter as he rang me up, I believe we talked about the new Skittles gum and how absurd it is to create a gum that has the taste of an eternal Skittle. Anyway. I walked out of the store and was stopped by a homeless man, not an uncommon encounter on High street. I didn't have any cash on me at all so I apologized to the man and crossed the street (in the crosswalk, because I'm an upstanding citizen). As I began to walk back to my office, pleasantly daydreaming about the Reece's I would soon be devouring, my thoughts were interrupted by the sound of music. Well, not really "music" per-say, but a man singing. A man singing in my general direction. No, a man singing to me. In udder disbelief, I looked across the street to see the homeless man I had talked to only moments before, walking the same pace as me, (growing more rapidly by this time) yelling a song at me. He was yelling lyrics from the song "She's A Man Eater". Nice. He proceeded to yell these lyrics at me (everyone on High street was staring by this time) all the way until I reached the inside of my office building (a blessed moment). Needless to say, I have since limited my walks down High street. Though looking back, I can still say that the Reece's were totally worth the serenade.

Double-Take

2008-04-24T12:05:00.000-07:00

You know when you see something really quick, then it registers in your brain and you have to look again to see if that is in fact what is actually happening? I do it all the time. My favorite though was when I was stopped at a red light while driving. I looked to my left and swore I saw a (live) monkey sitting on the dashboard in the car next to me. I did a double take. Turns out I actually did see a live monkey sitting on their dashboard. What's up with that?

Stale Bread

2008-04-12T13:05:00.000-07:00

Shawn and I had a couple over for dinner. I made the main course, they brought the bread.

Shawn: "Thanks for coming over for dinner, guys! Sorry the bread is a little stale".

Me: "Shawn, they brought the bread".

Nice.

Turkey

2007-06-18T13:13:00.000-07:00

They don't take their signs too seriously...