Bloody Mess

I'm sure you all NEVER get sick of reading my amazing metro stories, so here's another one for you....

Last week, following the double blizzard of 2010, the metro was insane. For most of the week, it was running only on 1 track, and sometimes the trains would be 45 minutes apart. Besides the long span in between trains, they were crowded. I don't mean not find a seat crowded; I mean, heads pushed into armpits, not able to move, nauseous just thinking about it crowded. On top of all of this wonderfulness, the Maryland Transit Authority thought it would be awesome to crank the heat up to 102 degrees, even though everyone was wearing full winter jackets and boots.

On Tuesday, after waiting for 30 minutes for my train after work, it finally came. A sea of humanity piled on, and I raced to sit down so that I could hunker into my protective cocoon with my IPOD blasting. Two stops down the line, when a woman came to sit next to me, I didn't even look up, until something red plopped onto the leg of my pants. Yes, the woman had blood gushing out of her nose, and she had no tissue or anything, it was just running down her hand!

I swear, I almost died right then and there. I couldn't even get up because people were crammed so tightly together, so I just sat there in misery, with strange blood on my pants until the lady got off of the train. I really need to find employment that does not require public transportation.

Blizzard Part 2

Tuesday night into Wednesday, it snowed another foot in Baltimore, and blizzard conditions yesterday prevented us from going to work, or anywhere else. The clean-up from the second round of snow began this morning and work was canceled again. I could get used to this 1-day work week.

A few pictures of the aftermath (by the way, that lump of snow behind the picnic table is actually a car):
After shoveling for an hour to clear out my parking spot, there was only one way to keep it from getting stolen by someone else:
Today I discovered one sign that spring is on the way, I cannot wait to see this tree in bloom in a couple of months:

24 with snow on top

Today was my 24th birthday! I got to sleep in late (we got a 2 hour delay from work) and I got to leave work at 2...so I really only had to work 4 hours today, and we already have tomorrow off. Even though I spent a total of 4 hours on a metro that was only running on one track, I tried to make the best of it.

Adam was great at cheering me up after my long trek home in the snow; he made me dinner (homemade stuffed shells) and a birthday cake (since my original cake is still stuck in Mechanicsburg at my parent's house.) The cake isn't the most amazing looking thing in the world, but I'm sure it will taste wonderful once we cut it a little bit later.


I also got an amazing present, a Nikon D3000 camera, thanks to everyone from my family and Adam's family pitching in! I can't wait to spend my day off tomorrow watching the instructional DVD and learning how to use my new toy.

I also got this voicemail on my phone courtesy of my sister, Carrie and my niece, Charlotte:




Here is one of the first pictures that I took with my new camera, I'm sure there will be many more to come:

Snowmageddon

To say we were buried in snow this weekend would be an understatement. Over 2 feet fell on Pikesville, MD and we're still attempting to dig out. The snow started coming down on Friday afternoon, prompting the federal government to release us at 11, and also prompting Adam and me to go out and buy a Wii with the percentage of our tax return money deemed as "fun money." We made it home just before the roads became really treacherous and we have been stuck inside ever since.

Unfortunately, the snow storm ruined my birthday dinner plans that were scheduled for Saturday night and then postponed (and later canceled) until today. Even today, it would have been hard to get out and about, so we stayed put.

We have been passing the time playing Wii, watching movies, napping and working on schoolwork and real work. I am hoping that the government will be closed tomorrow, because I am still a little bit nervous about driving in all of this mess. Another 6-10 inches is expected to fall again starting on Tuesday and continuing into Wednesday.

Today, as we were attempting to break up the icy chunks of snow in front of his car, Adam suggested that we start looking for a warmer place to live. I would have to agree.

Bilingual?

At our premarital counseling sessions, the minister that married us spoke about a book called "The Five Love Languages" by Gary Chapman. I meant to buy the book and read it, but unfortunately I don't have much time to read for fun. Luckily, someone bought it for us as part of a wedding gift, and I was able to read it over Christmas and New Years because I didn't have class.

The book explains the 5 different love languages that people can have, and it also explains that many times couples do not speak the same language. This can lead to your "love tank" being empty. It describes the different love languages and how to decipher which is your primary language as well as your spouse's primary language. It also offers ways to turn your spouse's primary language into your secondary language. If it sounds confusing, buy the book and read it, or you can borrow my copy.

Here are the five love languages:

1. Words of Affirmation: This language is mostly about words: unsolicited compliments mean the world and insults can leave your significant other shattered and are not easily forgotten.

2. Quality Time: This language is all about being there for the other person with undivided attention and without any distractions. Distractions, postponed dates, or the failure to listen can be hurtful.

3. Receiving Gifts: Receiving gifts is not about the money spent on the gift, it is about the love, thoughtfulness and effort behind the gift. If you speak this language, the perfect gift or gesture shows that you are known, you are cared for, and you are prized.

4. Acts of Service: The words he or she most want to hear: “Let me do that for you.” Laziness, broken commitments, and making more work for them tell speakers of this language their feelings don’t matter.

5. Physical Touch: Hugs, holding hands, and thoughtful touches on the arm, shoulder, or face can all be ways to show excitement, concern, care, and love. Physical presence and accessibility are crucial to the person who speaks this love language as their primary language.

Through reading the book, I learned that Acts of Service is my love language. I love it when Adam empties the dishwasher, folds the laundry or vacuums the carpet on his own. You can find out what your primary language is by taking this assessment. What's your love language? Is your love tank full?

A little bit ambitious

While we were in Italy for our honeymoon, I read the book Julie and Julia. I really enjoyed the book, it actually made me laugh out loud while I was reading it. Last weekend, Adam and I rented the movie and I made it through the whole thing without falling asleep. I guess Adam was feeling inspired because he decided to cook beef bourguignon in our Le Creuset yesterday for dinner.

On Saturday, he looked up the recipe and wrote down all of the ingredients. We proceeded to go to the store, where he bought 95% of what he needed, but somehow managed to forget the beef stock. Yesterday, we stopped after church to grab the missing ingredient and ended up standing in line for about 25 minutes with our one item.

Throughout the early afternoon, I kept reminding Adam that the football playoffs were on at 3:00, and kept inquiring about when he was going to start cooking so that he wouldn't miss the game. He remained on the sofa, laptop open with ESPN.com emblazoned across the screen. Usually when he is in this entranced computer-viewing state, I suspect my voice sounds like the teacher on the Peanuts.

At 2:37PM he decided he'd better get started, the beef bourguignon needed 3 hours to cook in the oven and there were 47 steps in the recipe.

"47 STEPS," I gasped, "how are you going to accomplish this in 23 minutes?"

"I'm not worried," he explained, "you're going to be my sous chef."

There goes my relaxing Sunday afternoon.

What I realized is that the title of sous chef is code for clean up crew. While he splashed grease and oil and beef stock all over the kitchen and dirtied every pot, pan and spoon we own, I followed behind him with the Lysol spray and a paper towel.

After about an hour of cooking (combined with catching glimpses of the game) and an emergency run to Target for a forgotten sieve, the beef bourguignon was in the oven and the kitchen was semi-clean.

At 7:00PM we took it out of the oven and tasted it to find that it was delicious disgusting. It was insanely salty, and resembled the canned dog food you might find at the dollar store (see picture below). Even Adam agreed that it was not very edible. We ate rolls for dinner and finished watching the NFL playoffs. The smell of beef still lingered in the air as the master chef licked his wounds and Tobey licked his chops.



So much for Julia Child!

It's been forever...

Yes, it has been awhile since I last updated...we've been very busy running around doing lots of things and keeping very busy.

We had a wonderful Christmas filled with lots of friends and family. We spent time in Mechanicsburg with my family and in Scranton with Adam's family. It was nice to spend time with everyone and just hang out and relax after the craziness of the wedding was over.

On New Year's Eve, we hung out with Adam's sister Cara and my friend Laura. We had a really nice dinner and then played some games until midnight. On January 1st, Adam and I threw our first big dinner party since we've been married. We hosted both families and had a great time laughing, talking and watching football.

Last weekend, we headed to the PA Farm Show in Harrisburg and had a great time looking at all of the animals and exhibits.


We are planning on sitting back and enjoying the rest of the winter months without too many big plans. Graduate classes start again for me next week and I will be taking two classes, both on Thursday night. Adam and I can't wait to stay in Baltimore, stay warm and enjoy being newlyweds for a little while.

I thought I'd show you Tobey's favorite spot to nap, right in front of our space heater:

Christmas Cards

Every year, people at work hand out Christmas cards. This year, someone handed out a card with this picture on the front:


I just found it kind of strange because:
A) I didn't know that Native Americans visited baby Jesus in the manger and
B) I didn't know wrapping paper and bows existed when Jesus was born.

You learn something new everyday.

It's probably one of the weirdest Christmas cards I have ever seen.

Top 5

Currently, we are snowed in and the snow it just keeps piling up. Right now, we have over a foot and the "winter wallop" as they are calling it, is supposed to continue until tomorrow morning.

Meanwhile, I thought I'd post what Adam and I voted as the top 5 funniest pictures of the wedding reception, which by the way, was a blast. So here they are:

#5: We think it looks like Adam's Mom is doing Mr. Roboto in this picture.

#4: During dinner, we had a special surprise, the Hershey Kiss showed up! Lots of people posed for pictures with it, and my niece Charlotte hugged it about 25 times...but Adam's coworker Rob really got some action with the Kiss. Don't worry Rob, I won't tell your girlfriend. By the way, we still have no clue if there was a man or a woman in the costume.

#3: The last 3 pictures of the night were all similar to this one, I think anytime grown men are holding bouquets of flowers, it makes for an interesting picture.

#2: The groomsman in this picture has been Adam's friend since Adam was in elementary school. I also happened to grow up going to church with him, and we both know that he likes to have a good time. He was the life of the party, and I saw him dancing with many women, including both my mother and Adam's and my aunt. I also like this picture because my sisters are pointing and laughing at him in the background.

#1: This is the best picture of the entire night, who knew that my brother-in-law Andrew had such amazing dance ability? This must be his signature dance face, because there are 2 more pictures where he has exactly the same look. I'm sure my sister is very proud.

Here Comes the Bride

On the morning of December 5th, we woke up and headed out to the salon to get beautiful. The snow had just begun to fall and everyone was asking me if I was anxious about it. I thought it was wonderful and was very happy about the fact that it was not sticking to roads. After the salon, we came back to have lunch and get ready. All of the bridesmaids looked incredible and it was so nice to be able to talk and laugh with them all day.

Once we got ready, it was time to head to the church. The limo driver was a bit directionally challenged (I know how that is), but eventually we made it to the church and had just enough time for pictures before the ceremony. I only had to wait for about 30 minutes in the holding cell room before the big walk down the aisle.

The ceremony was perfect: the church had just been decorated, so you could smell the fresh greens and all of the candles in the windows were flickering away. The sermon was great, and it was so special to be married by the same minister who married both of my sisters. Adam was very handsome, and the best man didn't forget the rings. Overall, it was a success and by the end, we were the new Mr. and Mrs. Adam Cianfichi.

There are hundreds of pictures of the wedding, and you can check them out here.