Deja vu X2

I have been forming this post in my head for weeks and have finally had the chance to sit down and type it out. Between business work and house work, and of course showering Lexi with some love at some point, there really isn't time for anything else. Work has been so busy that I am actually coming in on Saturday to help. The extra hours/money is good, but one of these days I would like a chance to sit still for longer than five minutes without thinking very hard. So... before my five minutes run out let me share my deja vu experiences. The first one happened at church. We walked through the side door to go inside and instantly the memories of the wedding came rushing back to me, as that was the same door we (myself and bridesmaids) entered in to wait before heading down the aisle. Of course, the moment and emotion made me stop and pause in the door/entry way, which is also what I did in May. The whole thing was just very surreal.  Drew, of course, just laughed, but I know other women know what I mean because I've heard some of my dad's cousins say the same thing when I've run into them in the basement bathroom of the church at Christmas. That's usually the last place they were before heading upstairs to walk down the aisle.

Now, this church experience get's a lot more entertaining once the procession begins. I noticed Father Rob catch my eye and once he got to our pew he stopped walking. Yes, Father Rob stopped walking in the middle of the entrance processional to...TALK TO ME. Mind you, it's 8am. I am still trying to wake up after a late night and he is mouthing something to me under all of the singing. I thought he was making a joke about my thank you note, but then I realized he wasn't laughing. I finally realize he was asking me to please come to communion, for the wine. I think that's what he said. To this day I'm not quite exactly sure of his words, but I know it had something to do with communion and taking the wine. I eventually nodded and said yes, and he continued his walk up the aisle, and mass continued. Later, Drew's sister, Jill, said thankfully I did join in as Father Rob was definitely looking for me during communion. Despite how awkward and confused I was when Father stopped to talk to me it was really thoughtful of him and meant a lot. Even before this, he was one of the reasons I really enjoyed attending Saint Andrew, even at 8am.

Deja vu experience number two was a little less happy and fun. It occurred at the airport when I was dropping Drew off for and Army trip. As we were entering the airport, a feeling of panic and nausea came over me. That's when it dawned on me that the last time I took him to the airport he was going to Iraq. Boy, that did not feel good, and it didn't help that he had all his Army stuff with him again. Thankfully, his destination was not Iraq and he was not leaving for a year, but it did take some time to get rid of that unsettling feeling.

Two months married

"It's been two months since your wedding (yes, really)" That was the subject of an email I received today from Theknot.com, and it took me by surprise. I paused for a bit to think about it. Honestly, it feels a lot longer, and I don't mean it in a bad way. It has been a great two months, but also a very busy two months as we have been going non-stop since the wedding. Between all of the last minute wedding plans, Drew jumping into real estate, the honeymoon, packing for the move, and moving... it's been quite the wild ride (for the last couple of months - it all seems to run together). And, until next week wraps up, we will continue to keep moving. Needless to say, we are both looking forward to slowing down and enjoying the new house and time together. Now, the last couple of months haven't been all work and no play. We did make it to the Kenny Chesney concert a couple of weeks ago.

Lexi too seems to be enjoying her last few weeks with the yard outside.

Yes, it feels a lot longer than two months since we were married, but we have a lot of things to be thankful.

What's in a city

It's easy to take for granted where you live, whether you are talking about your physical home, neighborhood, city, or state. This topic has been on my mind a lot since moving from one home to another. I find myself grateful for a lot of things; simple things, such as having more than one bathroom to use, a well-developed neighborhood to walk Lexi, space to get ready in the morning, a garage to keep my car warm (or in this weather cool from heat), etc. At the same time, the extra space and yard can be quite overwhelming. But I wouldn't trade my new house. It's nice feeling more centrally located to the people who are important to the both of us, and it's nice to know that if I/we ask for help it's not a burden because we aren't out of the way.
 
I also know from experience that it is easy to overlook the great things about the city you live... until you no longer live in that city. I came to realize this first when I left for college. I was always proud of my city and excited to show it off to my new friends. Some of them grew up in small towns, others big, but I came to find that Cincinnati can feel like a small town with big opportunities. You can find watch a NFL, MLB, or NHL team. Or if college sports is more your taste, we have those too. You can visit a zoo, aquarium or museum, go to the opera, a concert or musical. Ice skate downtown for a couple of bucks in the winter. You can get a taste of dozens upon dozens of city foods just by walking down a street. The list is endless.

Outside of moving back across the river, this post seems timely because of an article that is in the paper today. A former Chicagoan wrote it. You can find it here. (It's a good read.) I've noticed over the last couple of days as the World Choir Games have wrapped up that there have been a lot more articles and conversations about Cincinnati and where it is headed. It's exciting as a 20-something year old to see people get excited about the future of the city and witness the changes happening: the casino development, The Banks, and the new Washington Park, just to name a few. I just hope that the excitement continues. And, I look forward to enjoying some of the exciting things and changes that are taking place.

Oh captain, my captain

I know, I know, the title is goofy, but for some reason that phrase keeps getting stuck in my head. I just want to write a big CONGRATULATIONS to Drew for finally getting his promotion! After waiting for what seems like months, he received his promotion orders this week for Captain. Captain Rothmeeler. Hmm... sounds a little funny compared to Lieutenant Rothmeeler which I have heard for 3+ years (not to mention, it still sounds weird hearing other Soldiers call him "Sir" and calling me "ma'am". Ma'am makes me feel old!). But, I am sure Captain will catch on quickly! It's still not clear to me if there are other steps that need to be taken before it's a done deal, but from what I do understand this means that all the paperwork has been processed. I'll keep you posted if I hear anymore.

Smart Pup

Miss Lexi seems to be catching on to the perimeters of her electric fence quickly. It was just installed on Saturday and by the next day she didn't want anything to do with the edge of our yard. Unfortunately, that caused a wrinkle in the training guide the company gave us. For the first week I am suppose to take her to the flags around the yard and use the phrase "back, back, back" if she starts to cross the line. However, Lexi won't have it, and being that she is quite strong, she pulls me away from the flags. So... instead I have let her walk free around the yard without a leash. Being said, I haven't had any problems with her running off, even when kids are playing in the yard next to us, the mailman pulls up, or bikers ride down the street. She actually seems to want to keep to spots close to the house. None of this surprises me though because Lexi has always seen things as obstacles/barriers if they are in front of her. We use to leave an empty laundry basket in the doorway to the bedroom so air could circulate if the windows were open. You'd think a relatively large Great Dane would walk right over the empty basket. Nope. Not Lexi. She turns the other way. Same goes for a chair. Book bag. Box. etc. Now, once the flags start disappearing, then I/we might need to be more observant of her in the yard. In that case, I will go back to a form of training to make sure she completely understands. Until then, I'm going to let her continue to sniff out the yard and get her own feel for the boundaries. The way I see it, if humans each learn at different speeds and in different ways, dogs/animals could/should be the same way.

While I am on the topic of dogs, I'm not sure I mentioned that there are two other Great Danes in our neighborhood. One of which is right behind us and he is a lot bigger than Lexi! I met the other Great Dane's owner this morning as I was walking Lexi, but I have not met him. I have a feeling he is probably bigger than Lexi too. I don't think Lexi has gained weight in over a year. I know she will start to fill out, but with all her running around and walks we have been taking her on she is going to have to eat a lot more than she does now.

Sorry for the delay in posts. I have been unbelievably busy at work - with no downtime to write - and we don't have Internet at the new house yet, so blogging there is a little difficult/impossible. I am happy to say the move went well despite the heat wave, wind storm, and rain, we survived! A big thank you to Drew's sisters for helping us move the heavy furniture and unpack over the weekend. My parents too stopped by - another perk of being closer to family :)

Drew still has tools at the old house, but for the most part everything has been transported to the new house. However, the house is still in unpacking stages. We've done a lot, but we still have ways to go. The good news, it feels like home. Even when I was driving to the house to begin unpacking it felt natural. I am just much more comfortable and familiar with the area we are now living in as opposed to Drew's house in KY. I also don't think I saw that place my house. I was just keeping it warm for him while he was deployed. And, as many times as he tried to call it "our" house, it was always his. NOW we have OUR house.

Lexi too seems to be enjoying the house. She even broke it in the first night by getting sick on the carpet, and then again on the stairs. That was a lovely thing to wake up hearing. I think she was just very uneasy the first night. She seems to be settling in and enjoying the stairs. Not to mention, being in a nicer neighborhood makes going for walks much more enjoyable. Lexi is loving that. And soon, she will be able to fully enjoy the yard. It's tough right now because we have to take her out on a leash. The good news is the fence people are coming on Saturday. After going back and forth and back and forth we finally decided on getting an electric fence. Lexi broke free the first night (when the front door was left open from bringing items inside) and nearly lost her life twice. Since we both know that that probably won't be the last time the front door or garage door is left open we decided an electric fence keeping her in both the front and back yard would be more realistic and sensible. We were originally worried about her size, but she is scared of her own tail. She will get zapped once and will probably be afraid to leave the yard for a walk (without the collar). She might be a big dog, but she is a scardy cat.

Once Saturday rolls around it will be nice to get her wander the yard and really sniff around. I can say she has been really good inside. She leaves all of the boxes along (scared of them) and with everything laying on the floor and around the house she doesn't seem to mind. I know some dogs that will eat the clothes or rip through things, but little miss Lexi just wants to lay in the sun. We have decided that her favorite room on the upstairs floor is the master bed room. Right now it doesn't have any furniture in it. Every morning we find her in the same spot near the doorway. We think she likes it because she can see in the hallway and feel the sun on her at sunrise. Downstairs, she likes the family room. She will lay there all day while we are gone.

It is fun watching her adapt to the new house. She use to be able to back up in any spot at the old place, but she isn't quite sure of herself right now. She will get caught on the stairs or in a hallway and instead of backing up she goes forward until she has a lot of space and then turns around to head back in the direction we are going. I notice this a lot on the steps. Then, there is the doorbell. One benefit to never having a doorbell  is she has no idea what it is or what it means if it rings. At this point she just ignores it, but I am sure she will catch on eventually.

I think that sums up a lot from the last couple of days. We've met some neighbors and are invited to a post-4th of July party tomorrow. I am looking forward to getting very organized over the next couple of days because the sooner we get comfortable, the sooner we can have company!