weekend in review

Whew! We are back home now after a busy and super fun long weekend.
On Friday evening, Dameon had to conduct the band at the West High graduation ceremony. I prepared for an evening-in by renting a chick flick (Dear John) and making a frozen pizza. We had decided earlier in the week that we would spend Saturday in my grandparents' town, which is about 4 hours away from here. When Dameon arrived home much earlier than expected, we decided to cut our Saturday driving down a bit by traveling to my mom and dad's house to stay Friday night. We arrived in Boone about 11:00 and hit the hay.
On Saturday morning we loaded into the Honda and headed to the Dutch Oven Bakery to get some breakfast for the road. We arrived in Elk Horn in time to head down to Main Street for the Tivoli Parade. I haven't been to Tivoli Fest since I was in junior high, so this was Dameon's first experience :) And if you ask my grandma, she'll tell you that Pella's Tulip Time doesn't hold a CANDLE to Elk Horn's Tivoli Fest. Hmmmm....the jury's still out. We took in the parade, pork burgers, Aebleskiver and Medisterpolse (Danish pancakes and sausage) and a stroll through some of Elk Horn's shops and attractions. It was a good time spent with family and a beautiful day to be outside! Dameon and I decided to head back to Boone that evening to stay.
On Sunday morning, Dameon and Blake decided to do some canoeing on the Des Moines River. I spent the time hanging out with my mom. We picked them up at their ending spot around 3:00 and then headed to Mom and Dad's to shower and get ready for the evening. Brad was playing a show in Ames at Border's, so we went to that at 5. It's always fun to see him perform. (shameless plug: you can buy his newly-released CD for $5! Also available on itunes!!) Then Dameon's dad and step-mom arrived to give us a major stash of boxes for the upcoming move. They took us out to a delicious dinner at Hickory Park. Yum! We had intended to drive back home to Waterloo afterward, but ended up deciding we were tired and would rather stay in Boone another night.
This morning I woke up early and took a bike ride with my parents to get some breakfast at McDonald's. Dameon grilled us a yummy lunch and we ate out on the patio together. We topped it off with ice cream cake for my birthday and then loaded up the Honda for the trip home.
Five more days of school.....the countdown is on!!!

On the road again...

Wow, it's been a loooong time since my last post! Some pretty big changes have happened since then, but most of you probably already know a little bit about that. It seems weird to write this entry just a year after writing our "moving to Waterloo entry", but load up the Uhaul cuz we have decided to make another move.

For a variety of reasons this Waterloo move just hasn't panned out the way we thought it would. Probably the biggest reason is that living here has confirmed what we already kinda new: we love small town Iowa and feel like that's really our niche. Plus, ever since we got married, we've talked about how our ideal location is somewhere in the Des Moines area. We really like Des Moines and will be closer to friends and family!

It's a little crazy to leave Waterloo after such a short time, but in a strange way it almost feels normal to move on. We've been "in transition" this whole year, so we'll just continue that transition for awhile longer. If there's one thing I know for sure, it's that being unsettled for the last several months has certainly grown Dameon and I individually in our relationship with the Lord and in our marriage.

Oh yeah, so I should probably mention where exactly we're going. Sometime this summer, we'll be moving to Winterset.

Claims to fame include (but are not limited to):

1. Many covered bridges

2. Birthplace of Marion Morrison (a.k.a. John Wayne)

3. Future home of a cutting edge, state of the art, INTERACTIVE John Wayne museum

Along with the decision to move, comes the joys and frustrations of selling and buying a home. We love, love, love our house here in Waterloo (funny how we always live in towns that start with "W") and wish we could just pick it up and take it with us. Bummer. But we're hoping there's someone else out there who loves it as much as we do. And soon. :)

That's all for now, but I'll do my best to update as soon as there's more to tell!

yum-o

I surprised Dameon on Sunday night with carry-out dessert from the Olive Garden. We sat in front of the fire and savored the taste of White Chocolate Raspberry cheesecake, Lemon Creamcake, and Italian Donuts dipped in chocolate. It was divine.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day to all my friends, family, and thousands of blog readers across the nation.

Ahem.

Dameon planned a great little night out for us last night, which included several of my favorite things. He told me to be ready at 5:00, and began by surprising me with the beautiful flowers pictured above and a very thoughtful card. I love to be surprised, so I insisted he not let on about where we were headed. We arrived at the movie theater in Cedar Falls just in time for the 5:30 showing of "Valentine's Day." Dameon had purchased our tickets online, so we already had the print-out of them in hand. Therefore, when we saw the ticket line snaking past the door, we just excused ourselves and passed by everyone. Why stand in a ticket line when you already have tickets? Turns out there's not a designated employee who actually takes tickets, so I guess we kinda snuck in??? The movie had some cute parts and a few unexpected twists, but overall I'd give it a C+. Seems like there are so many parts they could just leave out...ya know? Anyway, the best part was during more "serious" part of the movie. The theater was completely silent when all of the sudden somebody in row 8 ripped one. Dameon and I laughed that kind of laugh where you try to stifle it so hard that little squeaky gasps just come out. It was great.

Right after the movie, we headed for a restaurant in downtown Cedar Falls that's a fancy Italian-type place. We learned that it was a bit too fancy for our taste, but still had fun enjoying each other's company. It's so great when you share the same sense of humor. :) We decided to forget about "the diet" for the night and topped of our meals with a yummy piece of Tiramisu (2 forks). We came back home, snuggled up on the couch, and enjoyed a little TV time. I gave Dameon some chocolate and a Starbucks card, so we dug into those a little bit too. I have a little something planned for tonight, too, but I'll have to reveal it in tomorrow's post. Dameon loves to hate surprises, so I enjoy keeping him in suspense.

Winter Meltdown

It's true, Dameon and I have finally made a real commitment to losing weight, getting in shape, and getting healthy. We had started talking a couple months ago about researching the possibility of joining a gym. After viewing pictures of ourselves taken over Christmas break, we decided it was no longer just optional. I've never been one who has had to put real effort into working out or eating healthy, but I started to gain some weight after I graduated from college and then really packed on the pounds after we got married. I was fearful about making this total lifestyle change, but I knew Dameon would be extremely encouraging through the process and we could help keep each other accountable. I also knew that Dameon's pounds would melt off a lot more quickly than mine, so I was ready to work on not getting discouraged.
We joined a gym that is super close to our house and is open 24-7 so...NO EXCUSES! We joined at the very end of December and did three sessions with a trainer so we could figure out a routine that would really work for us to reach our goals and also clue me in a little bit on how to actually use weights and machines and stuff.
I quickly realized that there are a lot of "beginner-level" type of excercisers at this place, so I didn't feel too intimidated. And, I've managed to not do anything too dumb/embarrassing. Well, except for that one time. On this particular Thursday, I had dressed myself to endure the negative 30 degree walk in and out of the gym but forgot to consider the actual attire I would typically prefer during the workout. Therefore, I soon found myself running on the treadmill sporting a long-sleeved t-shirt, a fleece sweatshirt, and a regular bra. About 4 minutes in, both of my bra straps had fallen down and I was sweating so much that...well...things just weren't going well. I didn't want to "break my stride" so I figured I could just stealthily maneuver my arms in such a way that my straps would return to their correct position. In the process, I inadvertently hit the Emergency Stop button on the treadmill and about barreled right over the front of thing. Yep, you guessed it. Stride broken.
Anyway, Dameon has already lost 13 pounds and the scale is slowly but surely shifting in my direction! We are learning to choose healthier food options on a daily basis and dramatically decrease our portion sizes. I had originally suggested to Dameon that we get in our swimsuits and take "before" pictures, but he told me he wasn't such a fan of my idea. Oh well. Hopefully by the time swimsuit season rolls around, we'll be ready for some snapshots. :)

my friends call me whiskers

Never underestimate the curiousity of a five-year-old. On Friday as I was holding the classroom door open and greeting my students, I noticed two of my little girls barreling down the hallway and bee-lining straight for me. The one on the left's eyes were popping out of her head and the one on the right had about 5 or 6 kleenex sticking out of her mouth. As they got closer, I could see the kleenex had turned a slight pinkish color. My suspicions were confirmed when girl on the left blurted out, "Mrs. Place, Janey licked the bus!!" Just another day in the life...

preparations

Ever since the first day we laid eyes on this house we have been saying, "This is a great Christmas house!" We have been greatly looking forward to Christmas decorations, music, and baking. We've been debating the past few weeks about what type of Christmas tree upgrade needed to happen this year. The tree we so fondly refer to as the Charlie Brown has served us well for the past three Christmases but this year it just wouldn't do. After much discussion, we decided a live tree would be best. On Sunday afternoon we piled (all three of us) into the Honda to head over to Earl May and make the important decision. It seemed that Dameon went in with a sort of "bigger is better" mentality, but I was a bit worried about this game plan. I think I mentioned several times how much "bigger the tree will look once it's inside the house." Nonetheless, he spotted the most perfect Fraser Fir! I wasn't much help as we loaded and unloaded her because I was distracted by the discovery that Rufus had eaten approx. 8 powdered donuts in the front seat while we had gone inside to pay. Thankfully, Dameon's a he-man and could lift the tree over one shoulder. And Rufus's pancreas is now recovering.

We spent the evening unpacking Christmas decorations, trimming the tree, listening to Christmas music, and taking in the refreshing scent of a real pine. The decorating is by no means finished, but we're well on our way to a winter wonderland!