Halloween in the CWE

As usual, we headed down to the Central West End for their annual Halloween party this year. Great times were had by all. I have a BAZILLION pictures to put on the website (Halloween, World Series on Friday, parade today, etc.) but I wanted to post this one of the crew about to leave our house to walk down to the CWE. I was, of course, a pumpkin - again. Everyone else's costumes were way more creative. More pics to come on the website. 

Finally, our engagement announcement.

Yup, we've been engaged close to one year. Actually it will be one year in 20 days - we were engaged on November 18th. So you'd figure we would have put the announcement in the paper in December, or January, or possibly even February. But not us - we wait until 5 months before the wedding and almost a year after we got engaged. :) But at least it's done. And here's the link to the Tallahassee Democrat.

CARDINALS WIN THE WORLD SERIES!!

Cardinals win The World Series! Cardinals WIN The World Series! CARDINALS WIN THE WORLD SERIES! Wow!
Contrary to what the picture below might suggest we did not have tickets to the game (unlike the last time the World Series was in STL in 2004 when we got to see Game 4 where the Red Sox won their historic World Series). We did however leave the party we were at during the 8th inning and get our happy butts downtown to watch the festivities afterwards. We got to see the crazy fireworks go off and we even made it into the stadium afterwards where I took a MILLION pictures (reinforcing my conviction that digital cameras are the best invention EVER). I can't even describe the atmosphere! It was just amazing. I am seriously so humbled and feel so priviledged to have the opportunity to witness something so cool. Even if you hate baseball, having the opportunity to celebrate in a town that just won their first World Series in over 20 years is magical - especially when they win it at home. Looks like this may just be our lucky year for sports - our basketball team won the NCAA Championship, our baseball team won the World Championship - now if only we could get our football team in line (we'd drive pretty much anywhere if the Gators made the National Championship). The cool thing is we were there for the NCAA Championship and there afterwards for the World Championship - and we even got to see the World Cup this year - what a sports year we've had. Not to mention next weekend we're heading to Nashville to watch UF v. Vandy. Maybe we're a bit obsessive about sports.
BUT THE CARDINALS WON THE WORLD SERIES!!!

Tomato Harvest

Since we live in the Artic Tundra, opps, I mean St. Louis, our low the other night was 29 degrees! Yes, not only is that freezing, but it's freezing and then some! Well, my tomato plants have been doing fantastic lately so I hated to just have it freeze and lose them all, so Cody and I bundled up and went outside and picked all the tomatoes we could find of suitable size (we left the smaller ones hopeing they would make it and eventually go big so we can make salsa out of them). Here's a picture of all those tomatoes we picked off our plants! Pretty cool, huh? They're green now but a few days of sitting on the counter and they'll be perfectly red. Can't wait.

Oh, and those curious creatures in front of the tomatoes? They're elephants (at least we're pretty sure they are). Our wonderful niece and nephew sent them. We're assuming there's a story behind them, but just don't know it yet. In any event, we love them, they are super cute and are currently gracing our kitchen counter to keep our tomatoes safe from Mr. Pickles.  

Mr. Pickles watching the Cardinals v. Tigers

Here's Mr. Pickles watching the Cards lose to Detroit in Game 2 of the World Series. She was so disgusted she couldn't even watch any more. Luckily they won Game 3 and she's much happier now.  

Scaredy Cat

Here's a picture of Wiggles with her pre-Halloween costume on. It's her bandana that says "Scaredy Cat" - it's more fitting for Mr. Pickles but you're risking life and limb if you try to put a bandana on Pickles. In case you're wondering, her real Halloween costume is her nice pretty red dress.  

Radar Love

I think I've watched more weather radar in this postseason then I've watched baseball! I think I know every weather man this side of the Mississippi better then I know our pitchers!!

Today the THIRD postseason game was postponed - and that's just for the CARDINALS! I swear - we get all set to watch a game and then have it delayed . . . delayed . . . delayed . . . delayed . . . and then three hours later they finally postpone the stupid game. Like they didn't know it was going to continue to rain! It's rained all day! There's a HUGE green blob over STL on the weather radar map and it extends all the way until the end of the screen to the west. Now, I don't have a degree in meterology but that leads me to believe that it's raining now and it's going to continue to rain for quite some time. Too bad they also said it's supposed to rain for the next 36 hours straight - right through game 4 (should have been game 5) tomorrow!

HA! Forget stupid FOX and their stupid ratings and their stupid insistence of getting the games in on time so The Series will finish this weekend (weekend Series = good ratings) and not have to compete with Monday Night Football (which might happen if two games get rained out). :)

In any event, with all this mix-up with game times (now the people with Game 5 tickets will now be watching Game 4 tomorrow and the Game 4 people who had tickets today will be watching Game 5 on Friday) we may try to go downtown tomorrow and pick up some cheap tickets. We saw the Series two years ago - Game 4 when the Red Sox won - but it would still be a cool experience to see another one. Yeah, we're hopelessly obsessed with sports. . . even boring baseball. :)

Happy Anniversary, Pumpkin!

Happy 10th Anniversary, Pumpkin! 10 years ago I was working at Bruno's (a grocery store in Tallahassee) as an office manager/customer service person. Cody and I worked together and were in the early stages of our flirting. We may have even gone on our first date by this time, though I think that was in November. Anyway, our manager said we could wear a costume if we worked Halloween (which of course I did), but the problem was I had no costume - nothing. So I went to the fabric store, bought some cheap orange fabric and black fabric paint and sewed up this lovely costume. Just stuff it with newspaper and bam, you have a pumpkin. I have now worn this costume for 10 straight Halloweens. I even made it in the Tallahassee Democrat one year when I wore it to work at the mall (I was working at Victoria's Secret at the time) and was handing out candy to the mall trick-or-treaters. The hat was added in law school when my friend Virginia convinced me I needed something more to the costume. It works great! I even have candy corn earrings I wear with it, circa 1985. It's become a classic costume for me. It always works and I'm alway the only fat pumpkin at a party. So this year I got to pull it out of the closet early for a Halloween party we went to Saturday night. Fun fun fun. I've decided next year I might pass the pumpkin on to Cody - yeah he can fit in it too - and for now on I'm going to be a bride. Yup, I figure I'll just wear my wedding dress every year after the wedding. After all, what else would I ever do with it and it has the added bonus of encouraging me to fit into it year after year. :)

Thursday's Big News Items

I meant to post this on Thursday but got busy. . . .

1) The Cardinals made it to the World Series!! This is my third post-season in St. Louis and the second time we've been in the World Series. Pretty impressive. As you may already know, by the time I got around to posting this tonight, the Series is already underway and we're up 1-0. Game 2 is actually on right now, as we sit in the Boy Room with the space heater and all three cats, watching the Cards as they're down 2-0.

2) I scored my first goal in soccer on Thursday! Wow! Okay, actually it wasn't that impressive since the other team didn't show up (Game 7 of the NCLS was on) and we just split up our team and played Us v Us. So both of our teams were playing with 4 or 5 people and I scored the ugliest goal EVER! I think I actually tripped and fell into the goal and managed to take the ball with me. :) I was proud nonetheless.

Stupid Cardinals!

Way to blow a 3-2 lead! Now we have one more chance to win in New York for a chance to go to the World Series. Not that I think the Cardinals DESERVE to go to the World Series, but this town goes nuts for the Cards and I like the atmosphere.

For Cody's Dad

Hey Rick - Cody wanted you to see the pictures of his brake job last weekend. Just click on this link. I think he wants to show you the calipers - something about how there's no where to lubricate them. Enjoy! I hope all is great with you guys!

Why I Love My Future Husband #893

When I get stressed I can be a beast to deal with. A real beast. I've learned in my years not to take out my stress (at least the stress that's not Cody's fault) on Cody as it doesn't really get anything accomplished. Instead I just vent. And then vent some more. And then sometimes some more - I vent "with" him, instead of "at" him (at least that's what I tell myself). Anyway this week has been the worst week known to man. First, Monday our power went out because it rained all day. Yes, it rained, the wind must have blown and we lost power. So I came home from work to a cold and very dark house. So I packed my crafting stuff and went to the craft store to work on my Save-The-Date cards - I'm STILL trying to design them. Anyway, I figured the power would be on by the time the store closed at 9:30 pm. No luck. So Cody props #1 this week: he was nice and calm as I bitched constantly about how cold and dark it was as we sat in the kitchen with all the burners on the stove. We even made rice krispy treats as we sat in the kitchen trying to stay warm without dying of carbon dioxide poisoning. Anyway, he's quite the trooper. At 1 am when we went to bed, still no power. By the time we woke up the next day, still no power. We didn't get power back until sometime Monday during work. To make a long story somewhat shorter, Tuesday sucked. And then today sucked - it rained all day and I had to drive to Jefferson City. So last night I was at the end of my rope - I hadn't done laundry, dishes, I still didn't have Save-the-Date cards done, I had a million things to do for the wedding, work was a beast, etc. - so I went on and on about how stressed I was to Cody. Being the patient person he is, he was encouraging and patient and just listened to me and all my stress. And I really went into it - just on and on and on about my "to-do" list (a list that would scare most CEOs). So we went to bed, woke up late to start another crappy day. Then this evening I went running while he was heading home. While running I debated what to make for dinner, another thing on my eternal list. But when I walked in the door the house smelled like food. Sure enough Cody the Wondeful had gone to the grocery store and made us dinner. Sure it was just frozen pizza and salad with chicken, but it was dinner and I didn't have to make it. AND he even bought me a cookie and some Amaretto (I know it's a wussy drink, but I'm on an Amaretto and lemon juice kick - I think I just like adding the cherries)!!! Just when I was at the end of my rope, he goes all sweet on me. I am so thankful to have someone who listens, understands me and my needs, and is so good to me! And he's cute to boot! :)

My New Coat

I look like an eskimo! But at least I'm a very warm eskimo! :) This is a picture of my new winter coat. Last year my "winter coat" was a wool peacoat - it was nice, looked cute, but seriously underinsulated. Then I saw my friend Melanie's coat - it was fabulous - she looked like an eskimo but she was warm. I asked her where she got her jacket - Lands End - but it was too late in the season and I couldn't find it on their website. So I ordered their catalog and waited - past the spring, then summer, then fall and finally a few weeks ago I got their winter coat catalog. And there was the coat! So I promtly ordered it. The only problem was the sizing. I would have picked an XS (coats are always sized huge) but they only had XS in petite and while I may be able to do petite height-wise, I can't with my arm length. My arms are too long for petite stuff, so I had to order a regular small. The arm length is perfect but I can fit me, Cody and the three cats in the coat part. But who cares because I will be warm!!! This lovely thing is rated for -40 with warm clothes on and -20 with light clothing!!! Super! I've already worn it a few days and even wore it around the office one day when it was freezing in my office - it was fabulous!!! I'm going to be so warm this year! I'm sick and tired of being freezing! Oh, yes, I had my pajama pants on in that picture - and you can see my dining room paint job in the background!

What a weekend.

Not often do we have weekends like this one. A nice mixture of getting "chores" done, relaxing and having fun.
Friday night we decided to just hang out at home, as I was beat after my week and Cody wanted to get his contacts out as soon as possible. So we hung out together, made dinner and shamelessly watched television. First we watched "Grays Anatomy," a show I am ridiculously addicted to. It comes on Thursdays but since we were out Thursday (viewing for our friend's mom who passed) I missed it, but got to watch the replay on Friday. Then we watched the Cardinals beat the Mets in the second game of the NLCS. That tied the series 1-1. Then we watched "Walk the Line" which Cody had rented on his way home from work. Actually a pretty good movie. That was our shameless TV night - a lot of time in front of the TV for a couple that barely gets the watch the news on a regular basis. :)
Saturday Cody did the brakes on the Jeep, while I ran 17 miles. Yes, that's 17 miles. It was tough but I think I'm getting used to these longer runs because it wasn't half as bad as my 15 mile run - not to say it was easy, because I still felt like I had been run over by a truck. I napped for a while after that, as that much running really takes a lot out of me. Then we went to a friend's party/fish fry over in Illinois. It was a pretty fun party. The crowd was happy as they watched the Cardinals beat the Mets to take the lead in the series to 2-1. Cody and I, however, were on the verge of tears as Auburn managed to beat the Gators. It was awful - I could write pages on the game but will just say that I honestly think we were robbed. First, we were dumb enough to hold someone in our own endzone, giving them a safety - this is critical as much of the second half they were only up by 1 point - without this moronic move, we would have been up 1. Then in the second half they called a fumble on our QB when he was making a FORWARD MOTION!!! WHAT IN THE HELL!!! I'm not a NCAA rules nut, but my understanding is that if the QB is in the process of throwing, i.e. his arm is moving forward, then if the ball comes out it's an incomplete pass, not a fumble. We challenged, the fumble call stood, we lost the ball and our last time out. It was all downhill from there. Sad night in Gator Nation.
Today I let Cody sleep in while I worked around the house - cleaning the kitchen, living room, doing laundry, etc. When he woke up we decided to go bike riding in the park and play some one on one soccer. We had a great time biking around in the fall weather and he taught me a lot of cool soccer moves (I still really really suck but am getting better, slowly but surely). When we got back we ran our errands to the grocery store and Cody made dinner! Yup, Cody made dinner. His special spaghetti. Yum! I made desert - frozen eclairs from Smart Ones - they're really good and not terrible for you. :) Then we did our Sunday evening chores - cleaning, bills, etc. while watching the Cards get their tail kicked by the Mets. We were getting beat so bad we stopped even watching the score.
So, all in all a nice, relaxing, yet productive weekend. Makes you hate going back to work tomorrow!

I hate wedding dresses.

I really do. I thought I would love them and have a great time searching for one and when I found "The One" I would cry and laugh and just know it. Obviously that didn't happen. But while Cody's mom was here I thought I found one that would work for me. So today I went back to try it on with the proper bra and undergarments. I really loved the dress. It's really pretty and I love the feel of it. But then Marissa brought up that it looks like a prom dress. I don't necessarily think it looks prom-dressish but more evening dress-ish. So then I started to feel like it wasn't "bridal" enough and felt more like I had on an evening gown with a train. I tried on a few more and they were okay and then I went back to one before - a lace one. And I loved it too. Everyone asks which I like better and there really isn't a way to compare them - they are TOTALLY different dresses. One of these days I HAVE to get a dress! By the way, if you go to the website, click on August 2006, I've narrowed it down to Dress #6 and #4.

Thoughts and Prayers.

A friend's mom passed away yesterday. She emailed today and I was at a loss for words. What do you say in that situation? I cannot even fathom what she is going through right now. I would not wish that on anyone in the world. It just has to be the worst feeling ever - especially when it's unexpected. So I did the best I could and offered to help in any way we could. The viewing/wake/memorial service (depending on your religion or traditions) is Thursday and Friday. We'll go hoping to offer her the tiniest bit of consolation and in the very least let her know she has a friend to lean on.

It sucks getting older - a rather unfortunate side effect is that it's less of a shock with a friend's parent dies. We're still young enough for it not to be happening on a regular basis - as a matter of fact I think I've had more friends die young then friends I've known whose parent has died - but we're getting old enough that it's becoming more and more a fact of life. Ten years ago if a friend's parent had died it would have been totally and completely tragic and unfair. It's no less tragic now but as we get older we accept the fact that those around us do as well - and our folks just happen to have a big head start on us.

So, as you read this be thankful for those in your life still alive, be blessed by the ones that aren't and please keep my friend in your thoughts and prayers - whichever you believe in.

"Safety Violation"

This past weekend we went up to Wisconsin to see some of Cody's family - most importantly, Grandma Raffensperger (aka Grandma Raff) - though she is actually Cody's GREAT-Grandma (making her Baylee and Brandon's GREAT-GREAT-Grandma). She is 97 years young and is such a great woman. The last time I saw her was the family reunion in 2000 and she seems just as good now as she did then. She has more family then most of us can ever imagine and they all care about her more then I can explain.
Well, other then our guest of honor, we also got to visit with Sara, Larry and Baylee and Brandon this weekend, which was simply wonderful! Brandon is one now and walking around like mad. He walks sort of like a drunk person and just will run into anything in his path. This kid seems fearless. And boy does he love to walk. Walk walk walk. No holding or sitting or stopping - just walking. He's adorable though - I can't wait to see how much he changes in the next few months over the holidays. And then there's Baylee. This little girl is smart as a whip and cute as a button. She's really amazing. And she is actually the subject of my story.
So, on Saturday afternoon we were heading to Trish and Joe's for a gathering/BBQ. Since Brandon was sleeping we took Baylee while Sara and Larry waited for him to wake up from his nap. We put her car seat in the middle seat in the back of the Cruiser between Donna and I. Well, about 15 minutes into the trip, she looks at me and says, "Missy, your knob is up." I was terribly confused and said, "My what is what?" Well, she pointed to more door lock and said "That's a safety violation." Sure enough I had no locked my car door and the door lock (aka "my knob") was up. And Baylee was observant enough to issue me a "Safety Violation." I felt like I should write my name on the board or get a sticker taken away. :) So we joked about that for a while until we got to Trish and Joe's.
We were having a great time at their house, playing with the kids, catching up with everyone, when Baylee walks right up to Joe (who had just finished smoking a cigarette) and says, "That's a safety violation. You're going to die." Everyone CRACKED UP! It was hillarious. At least my Safety Violation wasn't accompanied with a "You're going to die." :)

In a funk.

There are some days when you're just in a funk. Today is one of those. First, I'm horrible at good-byes. Cody's parents left this morning and I managed to hold it together just long enough for us to wave them good-bye. Then I just broke down. As Cody closed the door, I just cried and cried and went on and on. Going on and on about how it's so hard to live so far away from family. And it's not fair that everyone in St. Louis (okay, I was exagerating here) lives near their family (because most of them never move away). And why do we "have" to live so far away (knowing all the while that living far away is just as much my decision as Cody's). And on and on. All day I was just bummed. I know that sounds dumb, especially since they're my in-laws and most people jump for joy to get rid of their in-laws, but I have REALLY great in-laws. And we had a REALLY great time with them. Even walking around the house this evening with Cody at work seemed lonely since they weren't here. I wanted to walk into our spare room and see them there. I wanted to sit and drink wine with his dad and beer with Cody and his mom. I wanted to just chat some more and pick their brains some more. I can't even explain how smart these people are! And how "together" they are - they're just so pragmatic and give such great advise. They are able to just put so much into perspective in such a non-assuming way. For instance, we were talking about us living far away from family and I how I sometimes felt guilty for not living closer and helping out more with the family and they just casually explained that Cody and I will be each other's families soon and that has to be a top priority. There's something about the way they said that that just made sense and made me feel better. There's no on thing I can ever put my finger on and no particular specific quality that's so great, they're just all round good people. And now I miss them.
So today's kind of been a funky day. I pouted and whined to Cody all day and he, like the great guy he is, has come to be patient with me on days like this - especially when it's good-bye days. I know he's got to be missing them too, but he manages to just put that aside and deal with my much more emotional, outward display of missing them. What a guy!

Soccer.

Well tonight I had my third consecutive start for our indoor soccer team. Yeah, I guess I didn't mention that we only had three girls (which you need three to play) so there were no subs, thus I had to start. :) Actually we ended up with four girls total so we did have one sub between the three of us.

I'm getting better. I'm not good, but I'm getting better. Tonight I worked on being more aggressive on defense and actually getting to the ball instead of just standing a few feet away from my mark. The only problem with this is I feel bad about invading someone's space or hitting up against them, so I constantly apologize every time I bump into someone. But it's a fun game and I'm learning.

Finally Maybe?

Finally. Maybe. This afternoon I managed to somehow talk Cody's mom into going wedding dress shopping with me - actually we didn't so much as go shopping as we did just go look at the ones I had narrowed it down to. Poor lady didn't know what she was getting herself into with the beast that is me and dress shopping. :) She's quite a trooper though - and she's not even MY mom! Anyway, we went and looked at them and for some reason whatever she said to me resonated and I think I've picked a dress! Not totally yet, but 75% sure. Remember how I said how wonderful his parents are and they have a way of saying things that make sense? Well this is one of those instances. I can't remember exactly what she said or how she said it but she listened to what I was saying and watched my movements in a way that when she did give advise I really understood it. She basically picked up on my actions in a way I can't and pointed those out to me. When we were done looking at them and discussing them, I just felt more comfortable with one of the dresses in particular. She pointed out that I just kept saying "But I love this dress" over and over whenever the salesperson or I would notice something about it. So even though it's the least forgiving dress in terms of body forgiveness and it might wrinkle a bit more then others and it's not as dressy or fancy or lacy or sparkly, I just kept coming back to "I love this dress." Anyway, I really have no idea how she just makes you feel at ease with decisions but she doesn't push one tiny bit but rather somehow paves the way for you to feel comfortable in your own decision. I really need to learn that skill. I sometimes tend to give a bit more then my two cents worth when most times both I and the person I'm listening to would probably be better off if I had the skill to just point out observations about their choices and make them feel comfortable in their own decision making. Anyway, for what it's worth, I think I made a decision about my wedding dress. Now if only I could move forward with all the other planning and decision making there is to be done!!

Bumble Bee, Baby and Biopsy

It's "B" Day! First up: Bumble Bee.

On Sunday we took Cody's parents to the wineries out in Augusta, Missouri. Wineries in Missouri? Yup, that's right we have wineries right here in Missouri. And they're not just glorified beer halls that serve wine. They're actually pretty nice and have decently good wine. Yeah, we're not Napa Valley or France, but it's still gorgeous scenery (especially this time of year when the weather is great and the leaves are changing) and good wine. Anyway, we took them to Montelle which has really good white wine (and fruit wine - raspberry, strawberry and blackberry) and a great view of the Missouri river - they have a great multi-level porch/deck system for tons of great seating. So we sat outside in this beautiful weather and this bee starting buzzing around me. Well, I tend to talk a lot (a bit of an understatement) and this bee actually flew into my mouth! Yes, Marissa (my friend with a serious irrational fear of bees), the bee actually FLEW INTO MY MOUTH. So naturally I shut my mouth, felt the bee and then promptly spit it back out. Lucky me it didn't sting me or anything! He just flew away on his happy little life. A friend of his came back later and almost got into my nose, but you can bet I kept my mouth closed!

Second: Baby!

Yup, Cody and I have a new baby!! Bet you didn't even know we were pregnant! Just kidding! Our fish was pregnant and had babies! We were sitting with his parents in our living room/reading-fish room yesterday and his dad noticed a little baby fish. It looks about a week old and he managed to live this long! The others were most likely eaten by the other fish in the tank but this little guy managed to live and survive the wrath of the big fish! So we scooped him up and put him in his own little mesh area inside the big tank so we can feed him special food and have him not eaten by other fish. So we have one more animal in our house - a new baby fish. On another, much sadder note, our big Bala Shark died in the same tank. Circle of life I guess. I got Cody that baby shark with two others for Valentine's Day back in 1999. I put them in a 10 gallon tank with all orange and blue rocks. When I went to clean the tank a few months later I put all the fish in a bucket and when I went back to put them all back into the tank two had jumped out of the bucket and killed themselves - this one was the only remaining from that first batch. So our 7 year old fish finally died - he survived many moves and a lot of crazy fish situations but was always a trooper.

The final "B": Biopsy.

This one the guys may not care much to read about. Consider yourself warned. I usually don't talk too much on here about deeply personal stuff - unpleasant medical situations, arguments with Cody, ugly family situations, bad work events, etc. - but I figure I might as well give it a try. So, today I had a second biospy of an area which I'll just call "a very sensitive girl area." I had the first two years ago and have continued to have problems, so my now THIRD doctor decided to do another one. So not only do they cut a large piece of skin out of a very sensitive area but then they put in THREE stitches. Yes, stitches. You can't even imagine how stitches feel there, unless, I suppose, you've had a child. Then maybe you can understand. Anyway, I came home crying, half because of the pain and half because I just want them to figure out what in the hell is wrong already. How many damn doctors does it take to diagnose things these days?!!? Not only is this my THIRD doctor but she's also referring me to yet another specialist - yes, that's doctor #4! So, that's today's issue. I'm in pain and I want the doctors to be miracle workers - is that too much to ask? It's just I hate not knowing things and then I start thinking that Cody and I will at some point want to have children and I don't want to do that without being totally positive that I'm 100% healthy. I just want this whole situation to be over - it's been going on for too damn long. Speaking of kids, in case you're dying to know, the answer is no - we're not having them any time soon.

So those are the "B"s for today.