Bathing in Champagne

Today I was browsing Facebook when I saw an ad for a resort in the Poconos. The ad looked so crazy that I had to go to the website to see for myself. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw a picture of an 8-foot-tall champagne class that doubles as a whirlpool bathtub.

At first I thought it was kinda cool, but then once I saw all of the pictures that looked like the people in there were in for quite the romantic night (*wink, wink*) it made me consider that all I would be thinking about as I slept on the big, round, king sized bed is all of the people who had slept there before me and what they had done (and if I would come home with any mysterious diseases).

I don't think I would get much sleep.

Four Years Ago

Four years ago today, I walked into a disgusting frat house with my best friend in a blue shiny toga made from fabric bought at Wal-Mart to celebrate the end of Greek Week. Over in the corner of the basement was the fraternity president, wearing a gold toga and playing beer pong. He was the same guy who had played the guitar and sung one of my favorite songs at the Greek God competition the night before (I am a sucker for guys who can sing and play the guitar). We started talking and discovered we grew up only a few miles away from each other and had some similar friends. Even though he was the cool and cocky Phi Sigma Kappa president, I could also see a sweet side.

We hung out for the rest of the night and he even convinced me to do my first beer bong (oh so romantic). At the end of the evening, he was my knight in shining armor when he rescued my North Face fleece from where it was wedged under two extremely intoxicated people who were in quite the compromising position on the nasty basement couch (one of these people eventually sold Adam and I our wedding bands).

Since then, we have talked everyday and he has become my boyfriend, my best friend, my fiancé and now my husband.

Thank goodness for Greek Week toga parties!

Early Morning Surprise

This morning I woke up, got ready, drove to metro, caught the 6:05 train and headed into Baltimore for work just like every other weekday. When I got off the train, I met up with one of my coworkers and we began the walk from the metro station to the federal building.

As we were walking, I noticed a huge rat peeking his head out from underneath a trash can in the plaza in front of the building. Even though rats are all over in the landscaping that surrounds the plaza, it still churns my stomach when I see one early in the morning (or any time of day).

We started walking up the steps when all of the sudden my coworker lets out the most blood-curdling scream I have ever heard. Seriously, I thought she had been shot or something (which could happen in Baltimore). All of the still-half-asleep federal workers turned around to stare at us.

The rat had literally followed us across the plaza and was following us up the steps! The scream, however, must have scared the poop out of the thing…it even made him drop his coveted day-old MacDonald’s french fry and run for cover.

What a way to start the day!

Accepted

A few months ago, after I found out that I would not be able to finish my master's degree as planned at UMBC because of class scheduling conflicts, I started looking into other schools that might fit the bill. After looking for a while, I learned that Penn State was offering an online MPA program. Adam and I have been thinking about whether or not we want to settle down in Baltimore, and we decided that it might be nice to have the flexibility to go somewhere else if the opportunity arose. Going to school full-time in Baltimore would hold us here for another 2 years, not necessarily something that we are interested in at this point in time, especially considering that his job offers the flexibility to work from home.

So, I applied to Penn State and I got in! I can start taking classes this summer toward my MPA. I haven't fully decided whether it's the right thing for me to do or not (there are still some kinks to work out), but it's nice to have the option!

A weekend at the bay makes sickness go away

Last week was a rough one for me, I was sick for most of it with infections in both ears, a high fever and a sinus infection. I also called in sick to work for 2 days, which rarely happens because I HATE calling in sick and feeling like a slacker.

I was starting to feel better by Thursday, so we decided to head down to the Cianfichi bay house in Rehoboth Beach, DE. We got there Friday night and had some Grottos pizza followed by a good night's sleep. Even though it was too cold to go to the pool or to the beach, it's amazing how nice it feels to be in a place with no cable, no Internet and bad cell phone reception. I was able to lounge around and read my new book (I actually got to read for fun) and take walks in the sunshine.

We just got back an hour ago and now I have to get geared up for another work week and a crazy 5 final weeks of classes. Sometimes I wish I could just live at the beach permanently (and I think Tobey does too)!