Mr. & Mrs. B

Yellow River Game Ranch

2011-03-17T16:32:00.009-04:00

In February, we finally made it to the Yellow River Game Ranch. It's one of the few places left on my Things to Do in Atlanta list and I finally got to cross it off. Chad, Stacey, Khira and Ashton came with and we had a great time. Ok, the kids and I had a great time and the other adults were just along for the ride. But it was fun and the weather was great.Right now, Stacey is thinking, "Is this a deer?" (Don't deny it, Stace.)Ok, who knew buffalo's tongues were so insane?! Not me! You should've seen how long they were (this picture does NOT do it justice).
The only animal I saw Mark feed.Here's the "lame adults" sitting down when they could be getting slobbered on by animals. Chad, you are especially lame for being on your phone. :)

Happy New Year

2011-03-17T15:23:00.008-04:00

Did anyone miss me?
Glad I didn't make a resolution to blog more often in '11, cause I would've failed big time.
I had 2 very good reasons for my blogging break. First, we took about 2000 pictures in China, and I seriously stress about posting every single one for everyone to see. That's never gonna happen, so they're coming in small spurts. On Facebook. Second, we're temporarily staying with Mark's uncle, whose wireless Internet makes me feel like I live in 1912. It sucks a big one.
But I'm back now and I'll try to be more regular, for all my millions of fans. Here's a recap of life in the last while.
October - We returned from China at the end of the month. (China was amazing. I'd love to go back for another few months - or a year - but isn't super likely. We had the chance to see some amazing sights and really open our eyes to a part of the world most Westerners will never see.) Moved in with Uncle Bob while we started looking for a house. Thought we'd be out in 2-3 months, but we're pretty much having the worst time house hunting...gone through inspections on 2 places, been outbid on a foreclosure (that we offered full price on), and just had a sucky time. Right now, we're waiting for a response on a short sale we put an offer in 2 weeks ago. Fingers are crossed for this one, but we're not holding our breaths.
November - Celebrated Thanksgiving in Nashville with Mark's sister and her family.December - We were each sick on our birthdays, so those were lame. But Christmas in Florida was really fun.January - I had a voucher from Delta and used to to get away to Boulder, Colorado for a week to visit Emily. We did so many fun things (ghost tour at The Stanley Hotel, tour of Celestial Seasonings, visit to the Molly Brown House and the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, to name a few) and it was so great to catch up. I loved getting to meet her adorable foster baby and also being one of the first to find out she's expecting! These pictures took about 45 minutes to upload - no exaggerating - so if you want to see more, I put most of them on FB. I gotta take a break, so I'll be back with February and March shortly.

Happy National Day!

2010-10-13T03:22:00.009-04:00

National Day (October 1) kicks off a week long holiday in China. Mark even had a few days off, which was great. Here's what we did...

[Side note: You'll notice that Mark isn't in very many pictures. That's cause I lost our small camera, which I used to take pictures and videos from these days, and also our trip to Macau. We are very sad.]

On Friday, we went to the Shenzhen Safari Park (aka the zoo). It was surprisingly fun. And much nicer than we expected. I learned that Chinese people can speak monkey. I had a video to prove it but it's on the lost camera :( So you'll just have to take my word for it.When it is hot (which it always is, in Shenzhen) the guys walk around with their shirts pulled up. They also go to the bathroom outside. And I'm not talking pee. Stay classy, China.
Exhibit A
Exhibit B
Gotta love the "English"I'm a celebrity!On Saturday, we went to Hong Kong. We had planned to ride the junk boat, but decided to save some cash and ride the Star Ferry instead (and we're glad we did cause it was really windy so the sails were down, and the junk didn't even look that cool). I had planned a busy day, visiting a few different tourist places, but we pretty much scrapped that and decided to visit Stanley Market, on the south-side of Hong Kong Island. This part of the island is absolutely gorgeous. Definitely the prettiest scenery we've seen in China. The taxi ride there was so beautiful and we had a fun time wandering around.The Junk BoatOn Tuesday, we went to Hong Kong again. We had to go meet with a colleague of Mark's dad, and we also visited the Nan Lian Garden (one of my favorite places) and got to go to the temple.
Empty Metro...a rare sight.

China - Finally!

2010-09-27T05:45:00.005-04:00

Did I mention we're in China? I know you're all dying to see pictures and hear more about it, so I'll just jump right in. We've been here for about 2 months now and will actually be wrapping the trip up in just a few more weeks. It's been a blast so far. My favorite things are: the hotel staff (they are super friendly and I love being called Mrs. Mark, although most of them know my name now), everyone smiling at me and saying "Hello!", strangers taking pictures of me, babies and their crazy crotch-less pants, the amazing temples/gardens/history that we've seen, and just getting to see a place that is SO foreign to me. My least favorite things are: the squatter toilets, people hocking loogies all the time, people peeing (and occasionally pooping) in public all over the place, weird guys who just stare at me, the complete lack of personal space, smoking (everyone smokes, everywhere...it's very hard to breathe here), and spending most of my days alone. I'm pretty much by myself all day, every day (except for the weekends). I had a friend that I was able to hang out with for the first month or so, but she's back in the States now, so it's just me. I'll make plans everyday so I can get out and see everything I want to here in Shenzhen. Yes, somedays the plan is lay by the pool, but most days it's a bit more exciting.
But then again, sometimes I'll just walk down the street to Walmart. It's about a 15 minute walk, or just 1 metro stop away from our hotel. A week or so ago, when I last went, I took a few pictures. Enjoy.I love the flavors...in case you can't read the small print, these are Little Tomato Flavor, Lemon Tea Flavor and Breezy Blueberry Flavor. I also like how they're "Cool & Refreshing".And here we have BBQ Steak, Shrimp and Aromatic Crispy ChickenThe ever popular "Intense and Stimulating" Numb and Spicy Hot Pot FlavorDragon Fruit Dried fish...smells as good as it looks.I'll take the eel head, thanks.Rice cookersWant to get a new mattress?Love this aisle...so random.

Summer Road Trip - The End

2010-09-21T03:58:00.003-04:00

After leaving Niagara Falls, we started the drive home. Although it was a long drive, it really wasn't that bad. Until the tire started unraveling. But that didn't happen until we were about an hour from home, so that's good. Too bad it was when I was driving!
Anyway, we left Niagara and drove for a few hours that night. We stopped - somewhere in New York - and had some very yummy BBQ for dinner, and then stayed the night in The-Middle-of-Nowhere, Ohio. The next morning, we realized we weren't too far from Kirtland, so we made a quick stop there. (Side note: we met a fam with 4 kids at the Kirtland Temple that was in the midst of a 2 month road trip...and I thought our trip was big!) Then Mark decided he wanted to swing by to see his sister (Nashville isn't really on the way, but whatev) so we ended up staying there for the night. On the 4th of July, we had to get up really early, so we could make it to Mark's parents for a late lunch (this is when the tire gave up...it put us a little behind schedule, but oh well). We were really glad to have Monday to relax, since when Mark returned to work on Tuesday, it became all about China!
So for a quick trip recap...we had an amazing time. Loved every place we went. I am really glad we got to visit so many awesome places together. If you ever want any tips on any of the places we went, just let me know.
And, if you haven't noticed, my "States I Haven't Visited" list (on the right side of the blog) is getting quite short. Now I just need to continue to grow the "Countries I Have Visited" one...

Summer Road Trip - Niagara Falls

2010-09-14T23:23:00.008-04:00

After the morning at the CN Tower, we hit up Niagara Falls in the late afternoon. We arrived around 5:00 and were on the Maid of the Mist almost immediately. This was my first time to Niagara and I had a fabulous time. Who doesn't love getting soaked and taking pictures from under a poncho?! If you've never been, I'd highly recommend it. And don't forget your passport - I don't understand why anyone would go all the way here and then stay on the US side. It's WAY more spectacular from the Canada side. Hey, we've gotta give 'em something, right? :)

Summer Road Trip - Toronto

2010-09-09T23:30:00.006-04:00

Just in case you were curious, the drive from Montreal to Toronto is long. Very long. We didn't get to our hotel until around 1am, so the next day it was a little slow starting. But we were excited to visit Casa Loma and also to meet up with one of Mark's co-worker's from China, Maggie. He'd never met her in person before, and it was fun hanging out with her. We went to lunch and then headed to the castle. I'd definitely recommend this if you're in the area...especially if you're going to visit Niagara Falls. We all really enjoyed the audio tour and learning about Henry Pellatt. On Toronto Day 2 we visited the CN Tower, the 3rd tallest radio tower in the world. It was fun going up and seeing the view.

Summer Road Trip - Montreal

2010-09-07T04:23:00.011-04:00

We arrived in Montreal in the evening after visiting Ben & Jerry's. The first night, we just went out to eat in the Longueuil area (near our hotel)...where I promptly realized I'd definitely forgotten all of the French I used to know! It was fun hearing the language again, but my comprehension was pretty much nul. Mince!The next day, we were up nice and early, ready to see tons of sights that I'd planned out. Unfortunately, the day wasn't quite what I'd hoped for. We arrived at our first sight only to find that the workers were on strike so the first 2 places we'd planned to visit were closed. So we headed to the Botanical Gardens (which I'd planned to visit in the afternoon, since the weather was supposed to clear up by then). A cold, rainy day is not the ideal way to see a huge garden, but it was still gorgeous. I just wish I'd had a jacket! Later that afternoon, we roamed around town and just took in the scenery.The next day, we toured the Notre-Dame Basicila which was pretty incredible (Celine Dion got married here). I really enjoyed our guided tour, and especially our cute tour guide.Then we headed to St. Joseph's Oratory. We learned about the church's founder, Brother Andre, on our morning tour. He is currently nominated for sainthood (there was a petition to sign in the church). The inside of the church was actually really plain for a Catholic church, but there was one stand out "feature" - Brother Andre's heart. Yup, that's right, his heart. It's on display in a case. We didn't take a picture, cause really we were just so stunned that his actual heart was sitting there. It was really bizarre.After we were done at the churches, we ate a legit Canadian lunch (poutine, anyone?), swung by the Biosphere so I could snap a pic, and headed on to Toronto!

Summer Road Trip - Maine, New Hampshire & Vermont

2010-08-27T03:42:00.007-04:00

We left Boston in the early afternoon, and headed to the Lobster Shack in Cape Elizabeth, Maine. Mark's allergic to shellfish, so he ate some fish and laughed at me eating a whole lobster for the first time. Those suckers are tricky, I tell ya! I think it took me an hour or so to eat, and I nearly puked when I cracked the head off and the green slime came pouring out, but it was a fun adventure. I'd definitely recommend this place if you're ever in the area; it was so pretty eating with water all around us.
After eating, we walked around a nearby park and visited the Portland Head Light, the oldest light house in the US.Then we continued driving to North Conway, New Hampshire where we stayed for the night at the Kearsarge Inn. This was our favorite hotel that we stayed at the whole trip. It was more like a B&B and was so cute (I didn't get any pictures though, cause we got there really late and it was raining when we left the next morning). We had the Babe Ruth room, which was fun since we'd just been to Fenway that morning.
After a great breakfast at Peaches (yum!), we drove on. New Hampshire is a really pretty state and we saw some gorgeous scenery as we drove through the White Mountains. It's also extremely windy, as you can see in the video. Apparently, the peak of Mount Washington (that was nearby) is the windiest place in North America.
After driving for a few hours through New Hampshire, we arrived in Waterbury, Vermont at the Ben & Jerry's birthplace. We had fun on the tour - obviously the giant free samples were the best part.Next stop: Canada!

Summer Road Trip - Boston

2010-08-27T03:03:00.010-04:00

In Boston, we started the first day off with an early lunch at Cheers, and then spent the majority of the day walking the entire Freedom Trail (stopping at all the sights on the way). Dinner that night was in the North End. Giacomo's was delish, and worth the hour wait if you're only going to go once, but Mike's Pastry will be a must-visit on any return trips. The lobster tail is to die for.The next day started out right, with more pastries, and then we had a great tour of Fenway Park, before we headed to Maine for lunch.

Summer Road Trip - Rhode Island

2010-08-27T02:21:00.007-04:00

Newport, Rhode Island turned out to be a surprise fav on the trip. We didn't know much about Newport before we got there, but it turns out the weather is great, the mansions are incredible and the scenery is just gorgeous. I can definitely understand why so many people built summer homes here.
We spent the day touring 5 of the Newport Mansions (Green Animals, Kingscote, The Breakers, Marble House and The Elms).

Summer Road Trip - New York & New Canaan

2010-08-26T03:21:00.021-04:00

I love NYC. Truly, madly and deeply. I don't, however, love Blogger, and the annoying way pictures are uploaded. So this post will be big on the pictures, small on the narratives.
NYC Day #1 - We met up with our friend Matt (Mark's friend from the mish; we were able to see him almost every day while we were in town) and explored Central Park and the Lincoln Center area. Dinner was at an amazing Mexican place. Yum!NYC Day #2 - Visit the south side of the city (Battery Park, Ground Zero, Wall Street, Trinity Church, Chinatown, etc), lunch at Gray's Papaya, go up the Empire State Building (with no line!).NYC Day #3 - Visit the Statue of Liberty, the Guggenheim, go on the NBC Studio Tour and finish the day out at Serendipity.NYC Day #4 - Late lunch at the Seinfeld restaurant. Visit the Met in the afternoon.Late that afternoon, we headed to my old stomping grounds of New Canaan for a drool-inducing meal at Hunan Taste. Seriously, I'm salivating right now thinking about it. Unfortunately, we didn't get to visit my nanny fam (they were out of town) but it was fun seeing the old place. After dinner, we said bye to Matt and then we were off to Rhode Island.

Summer Road Trip - Philadelphia

2010-08-09T23:21:00.014-04:00

I was really excited to visit Philadelphia, since it was one of the major cities we were visiting that I hadn't been to before. We started the day at Edgar Allan Poe's house. It's run by the National Park service, so it's funny when you walk in and see park rangers. I enjoyed the visit, but Mark wasn't super impressed. Apparently, Poe lived in Philadelphia for 6 years and lived in 5 places but this home is the only one still standing. He did write some of his most famous poems while in Philadelphia, including The Tell-Tale Heart and The Pit and the Pendulum.After leaving Poe's house, we headed over to Geno's and Pat's for lunch. I didn't know which one we were going to try (having seen them both on The Travel Channel) but decided that Geno's would be a better backdrop for a picture, so it won out in the end. Philly Cheese-steak...overrated. I got a Provolone With and Mark got a Whiz With (With = with onions). I thought it was good, but it was just lacking a little something. I think cause it was too dry, or maybe they need some spices or something. But the locals were loving it and the place was totally slammed, so maybe it's just an acquired taste.In the afternoon we hit up the walking tour of of the city. Among the sights we saw were Betsy Ross's house and grave, Benjamin Franklin's grave, Christ Church, Independence Hall (where the Constitution and Declaration of Independence were signed), the Liberty Bell. It was extremely hot, but we had a great time.

Did anyone else think the Liberty Bell would be bigger?

Christ Church Graveyard, where Benjamin Franklin is buried.

Franklin's Grave: "A penny saved is a penny earned".Inside Independence Hall

The next morning, we visited the US Mint before heading to New York. It was cool to see coins being made (although they didn't give out free samples - bummer!).

Summer Road Trip - Annapolis & Wilmington

2010-08-09T22:55:00.005-04:00

We drove to Annapolis in the evening, after leaving DC. The next morning, we visited the Naval Academy and walked around the campus for an hour or so. I'd planned a much more relaxing day, since we'd definitely over-extended ourselves in DC.

The Academy Chapel
The crypt of John Paul Jones

After visiting the Academy, we continued on to Wilmington, Delaware. We walked along the riverfront, saw a sweet ship (the Kalmar Nyckel) and had some sushi for dinner. After dinner, we drove to New Jersey to stay the night, before continuing on to Philadelphia in the morning.

Summer Road Trip - DC

2010-08-09T03:50:00.021-04:00

Mark totally messed up my flow with that last post...uugghh! I guess I'll have to hurry up and finish blogging about our road trip, so we can continue with China stories.After spending the morning at the mine, we continued on to DC. We arrived just in time to visit Arlington National Cemetery that afternoon. We stopped by JFK's grave, saw the changing of the guards, and reveled in the solemn sites. It is a really powerful place to visit, and definitely makes me proud of all those in the military who fight and die for our freedom.The next morning, we visited the Museum of Natural History and had a great time. We loved all of the skeletons and replicas, and I especially loved seeing the Hope Diamond.

Waiting for the museum to open.
The Hope Diamond!
They had lots of amazing jewels, many that were owned by queens.
Mark holding a sick-a cockroach.

After the museum, we headed over for our scheduled tour of the White House, which I was looking forward to SO much. I'd emailed our congressman a month or so earlier and was really excited that we were able to get in. When we arrived, we were told our tour was postponed for an hour or so, so we had lunch nearby while we waited. At 1:30, the time we were told to come back, we headed to the line and were told that our tour was canceled and was rescheduled for 3 days later...too bad we were only there 1 more day. I was so upset!After pouting and cursing Obama, we headed over to the Holocaust Museum. I've always been interested in the Holocaust, ever since middle school when my favorite teacher dedicated most of our year to studying it, and thought this museum was very informative. The main exhibit was about the propaganda during that time, and they also had an exhibit told through the eyes of a child during the war.
That evening, we joined up with a free walking tour called DC by Foot and visited the memorials. This was definitely one of our favorite parts of our visit. The tour guide was great and it was fun talking to other tourists and hearing some background info on the memorials. I would HIGHLY recommend this tour to anyone going to DC!After the tour, we drove around town for a bit (aka we were lost for a bit...I swear DC is the WORST city in the country for driving...it's such a mess!). We did drive by the National Cathedral, which looks amazing - definitely on my list as a must see for next time.Our next day in DC was as equally packed as the last. We started off the morning with a visit to Ford's Theatre, which we really loved. It was really interesting to learn more about John Wilkes Booth and to hear details about that tragic day.

We thought this sign was a bit ironic; as Mark said, "Someone should have told John."
The gun that killed Lincoln.
The booth where the Lincoln was shot.

After the theatre, we went to the Air & Space Museum. This is touted at the most popular of the Smithsonian's...I've gotta say one word: over-rated. It was an OK museum, but I just wasn't feeling it. Except for the photography exhibit, which was amazing - photos of the planets like you've never seen.We had a scheduled tour of the Capitol Building that afternoon, but it went a little longer than we expected, so we had to leave in the middle.

Mark, on the tour.
The underside of the dome.

Apparently I scheduled our visit at the National Archives too close, and we didn't want to miss that of course. So we tried to get out of the Capitol with time to spare, but it was a madhouse exiting that place. The exits were all closed for some reason, so we had to go through the underground tunnel and exit through the Library of Congress (which is the wrong direction from the Archives). By the time we were finally out of there, we only had 15 minutes til our tour started and we had quite the time getting there. We arrived just in time, but totally sweaty and tired. Getting to see the Constitution, Bill of Rights and the Declaration of Independence, along with some other awesome documents (like the Louisiana Purchase) was well worth our hustle there.

The National Archives

That pretty much sums up our time in DC. I'd recommend about 1 week here, but you can sure see a lot in 2 days too!

This... This is China...

2010-08-08T10:05:00.012-04:00

I had to sift through the Chinese characters in order to hack Noelle's account and make this post... and I am interrupting our summer road trip with news from China - so you will have to follow us from Virginia to Shenzhen and when Noelle blogs again you will probably be back in DC. I guess this is my inaugural post. I thought I might share my perspective on China so far... and I thought this was a better place to post it rather than blast you with facebook updates. Here is what I see here:

I only realize I'm actually in communist China when I do, or see, the following: 1) We cross the border to Hong Kong - it's very nerve racking to have these austere people searching your stuff. 2) when I see people's identification... most people will have a standard picture with a red background, white shirt, black tie, and no smile... even if the people look totally nice, their ID screams commy. And 3) when we go to church and realize you have to have a foreign passport to even come in...
Driving is pretty bad... but there are bad drivers everywhere. In Dongguan, where I go almost everyday, there are a few lights and absolutely no stop signs... so if an intersection does not have a light - it's a free for all! People just honk and cruise right through. I am pretty sure I have had three lifetimes flash before my eyes. I have never heard so much honking. Drivers will honk when they approach the blind spot of a car... they will honk at the pedestrians 200 yards away who don't even look both ways (I guess they missed that preschool class). Also, I've decided we as Americans take driving too personal (me included). Somebody will literally cut your driver off... he will simply honk and swerve to the other lane - cutting someone else off - and pass the slow car... continuing the insanity, but I have yet to see a driver get angry. We Americans, we get road rage and want to get even.
The Chinese will eat anything. I have had beef intestine and sheep stomach... but last night we watched sheep heart, sheep stomach, sheep skin meat balls, and some very strange fungus just get pounded by my supplier friends that took us out to eat. Who knows what I will eat this week.
Baby seats - never heard of them! I saw three humans on a scooter... two adults sitting and a 3-4 year old standing on the foot landing... all with no helmets.
Can you imagine not using diapers for your little ones? I can now! So, it is rare that you will see a baby with diapers. The Chinese parents TIME and FEEL the baby's need to use the bathroom and then will hold the baby over a bush or something... how are more people not shat on in public?!? I could never do that.
It's pretty hot and humid here... maybe slightly more than ATL, but not much. People walk around the streets with their shirts pulled up past their nipples to stay cooler.
I have been working a lot, so when I leave Dongguan at 9-10 I will see groups of people sitting out in front of their favorite convenient store watching some TV... groups of 15-20 all gather to watch TV on the sidewalks.
As I stated on Facebook, I have now seen a 10 story building adorned in bamboo scaffolding. That type of scaffolding would only ever hold a Chinese person.
Hong Kong drives on the right side of the car and the left side of the street... but once you cross the border into China, they drive on the left side of the car on the right side of the street. It gets so confusing when a Hong Kong driver takes you across the border and they start driving from the right side of the car on the right side of the street. Try sitting in the front seat with a glove box and no pedals to press... it's weird.
Random people will take pictures of us (more with Noelle)... why do they assume we are foreigners... AND why are they asking Noelle to pose with their kids?
There are really no black people here.
we walked out of our hotel with my supplier and he says "ahh look an Indian" as a person from India walks away from us... we thought it was funny.
The Chinese don't say um or uh... they say nigga. It translates to "that is" but it sure sounds odd to my southern ears.

Well, Noelle just caught me writing on her blog and told me not to publish it. we'll see what she does when she sees it - hahahah

- Chinese Mark

Summer Road Trip - West Virginia

2010-08-03T03:37:00.009-04:00

In front of the mine opening

Anyone dying to hear about China?
Tough for you.
Anyone who knows my OCD tendencies knows I've gotta do things in order, so the road trip pics need to come first. They're long overdue anyways.
To catch you up, my job was a contract position and ended the 2nd week of June. So on June 15, Mark and I took off on a nearly 3 week trip. I want to see all 50 States before I'm 35, so I planned a trip to help check a few off the list. I picked Mark up from work around 4:00 and we spent the first night driving, around 7 hours, to Beckley, West Virginia. We got up the next morning and headed to our first attraction of the trip, the Beckley Exhibition Coal Mine. It actually turned out to be super cool. They have a small museum, and a "coal mine town" with a schoolhouse and miner's shanties (aka teeny houses) that you can tour, and the highlight of the visit is obviously the trip inside the mine. Our tour guide had been a miner for 40+ years and taught us tons about how the miners worked; it was actually fascinating to learn that many of their old-fashioned methods are still used, or have just changed in the last 20 years or so.

Our tour guide

Kettle bottoms = petrified wood stumps

Inside the mine

Exiting the mine

Inside the old schoolhouse
The miner's shanty

The Northeast was fun...now I'm thinking Far East....

2010-07-19T22:55:00.005-04:00

Our 3 week road trip in June/July was amazing. We visited every state from West Virginia to Maine, plus a few others, plus Montreal and Toronto. As you can imagine, we took about 1500 pictures. I'll post them soon. But not this week, cause we're moving to China. I CAN'T WAIT!In case you're dying for more info...Mark is a Mechanical Engineer and works for Motorola. They're sending him over to work with some of their Chinese suppliers. So, duh, of course I'm tagging along. We'll be staying in Shenzhen (which is near Hong Kong). Specifically we'll be staying here. Looks nice, right? Mark's leaving on Wednesday (he's going to Korea for a week first) and then I take off on the 28th. We've been crazy busy packing the apartment for storage, getting our visas, and just trying to get ready. We're not quite sure how long we'll be there (I'm keeping my fingers crossed for a LONG time) but it'll probably be around 3 months. I'm sure we'll take millions of pictures, so hopefully blogger isn't blocked and I can upload some while we're there. Wish us safe travels! And if you've ever gone to...pretty much anywhere in Asia, and have any travel suggestions, email them to me!

Deep Sea Fishing

2010-07-19T22:27:00.007-04:00

I've been meaning to post these pictures for a few months, since they are super sweet. Mark got to go down to Florida with Todd, Dennis (Todd's dad), Quentin (Todd's father-in-law) and Jim (one of Quentin's customers) for a deep sea fishing adventure in late May. It was a very quick trip, but they sure hooked some good one's!
First catch of the day
Ok, Todd's was a bit bigger :)
Todd was the only one to catch a sailfish; they hooked a few others, but they got away.
Quentin caught this giant Mahi Mahi...
...But Mark caught the most (he caught the other 3 shown here). And I've gotta say, from a girl who love shimp and sushi but pretty much nothing else from the sea, it really does taste better when you catch it yourself! These babies were yummy!
We thought this picture was pretty sweet. (Yes, that is a dolphin eating a giant fish.)

Travels

2010-06-02T09:58:00.006-04:00

You may have noticed my 2 new lists on the right side of my blog: "Countries I've Visited" and "States I Haven't Visited". Since I have a terrible memory, I've decided to track these here. Hopefully, these number will go up and down (respectively) in the next few months.
Summer vacation...I can't wait!

Tanglewood Miniature Animal Farm

2010-05-30T15:27:00.006-04:00

I've been meaning to get these pictures up for a while. I know you've all been waiting anxiously, so I hope they live up to the expectations. Mark and I took Khira and Ashton (Chad and Stacey's 2 youngest kids) with us to the mini animal farm and we had a great time. We all loved the mini goats the best, but there were tons of other cute animals too (mini pigs, mini llamas, mini donkeys, etc). We're definitely buying a mini goat when we have a yard!

Recently...

2010-04-23T15:01:00.002-04:00

Wow…it’s really been a long time since I’ve updated! Wish I could say I’ve been up to tons of fun stuff, but that’s really not the case. I’m trying to think back to remember if anything really cool happened in Feb/Mar/April…here’s a recap:

February – We saw Mama Mia at the Fox. It sucked. I was super disappointed, since it’s one of my favorite shows, but the sound was totally off and we couldn’t hear half of what they were saying/singing. Very lame.

March – Work started getting a bit busier, which I’m very happy about. My parents were in town for a night (on their way to NC) so we had a fun night out with them.

April – We had a great trip to Utah over Easter weekend. It was an insanely fast trip, but still lots of fun. Highlights include lunch with Michelle and Finn at Café Rio; getting to meet Katie’s new son (and hanging out with her cute daughter); catching up with Chelsea, Matini and Eni (even though Chels scarred me for life!); dinner at Guru’s with Curtis and Shari; dinner with Natalie and Carly; getting to go to conference with Mark (he went to Priesthood and we went together on Sunday morning); and just spending so much time with Christi and Ryan. [Now all of you need to come visit me!] It was a great trip, but lame in the fact that I didn’t take a single picture! What’s wrong with me?!

Since the Utah trip, we’ve done a few more fun things…went to our first Braves game of the season, celebrated Stacey’s birthday at the Punchline, and finally visited the miniature animal farm (where we did I’ve still been dreaming of vacations, as always, and have pretty much finalized our East Coast road trip (we’ll see if it happens). We’ve also been super busy every Sunday with our church callings (we’re in the stake youth) and can’t wait for ward conferences to be over. take pictures – stand by for those in the next post).

Ok, enough catch up for now. I’ll try to get the pictures of the mini animals posted soon. They will make you want to own a miniature goat, guaranteed.

Road Trip?

2010-02-06T20:46:00.004-05:00

I realize that we just went on a cruise in December. But I'm still obsessed with traveling, so I'm already anxious to plan our next trip. I've decided that we should take our first big 2010 trip in June, mainly because that's when my contract with ME ends. (Of course, I'm hoping they'll offer me a permanent position, and that would be great cause I could start right after our trip. Fingers crossed!) Now, I just decided this today, so things are definitely in the very beginning planning stages (What can I say? I'm a planner!) but I think a trip to the Northeast might be fun. I've been wanting to get back to NYC for a long time, and would love to re-visit Boston, DC, and also go to lots of places I've never been.
I started perusing Google Maps today, trying to decide a route (an extremely tentative route) and I realized I need help. I have no idea what/where to visit in lots of these states. Like West Virginia for example. And Ohio. What are the big tourist attractions there? Do we do something outdoorsy, like hiking, or are there cool museums or zoos? I have no clue! So I need suggestions. If you know any cool "must see's" for the places I list, let me know. Cities, landmarks, anything will help!
1. First stop, Garden of the Gods, Illinois (Mark said its really cool, so we'll start there)
2. Next stop, Kentucky somewhere (Louisville?)
3. Somewhere in Ohio, next (Cincinnati? Toledo? Dayton?)
4. Indiana (Indianapolis?)
5. Chicago, Illinois - I've never been but can't wait! This is likely the first place we'll stay 2-3 days.
6. Michigan (Detroit? Grand Rapids?)
7. Niagra Falls
8. Toronto, Canada
9. Montreal, Canada
10. Quebec, Canada
11. Vermont/New Hampshire/Maine
12. Boston, Mass
13. Providence, Rhode Island
14. New Canaan, Connecticut (where I lived when I was a nanny!)
15. NYC! I can't wait to return! (Don't need any suggestions, here, unless you know of some place/thing that's totally unusual.)
16. New Jersey
17. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
18. Delaware
19. Baltimore, Maryland
20. DC
21. Virginia
22. And finally West Virginia
Sounds fun, right? Think we can do it in 3 weeks? I might have some serious editing to do, but right now I'm just excited to start planning!

2009 Resolution Recap

2010-01-24T14:44:00.004-05:00

I had a few specific goals for 2009...you can see them here and here. I've never really made any official New Year's Resolution prior to '09, because really, who ever completes them? Let's see if I did...
Resolution #1: Read 75 books. This one was a fail, but it was due to extenuating circumstances. The only reason I didn't get them all, is that I couldn't read anything for a week or so after our cruise because I was too "land sick". If it wasn't for that, I would have smoked it. As you can see from my book list on the right, I only read 73 books. These are all books that I read from start to finish. Of course there were many that I started, didn't like and didn't finish. Those don't make the list. I'm sad I didn't meet this one - I really thought I would be able to. But oh well. Very close.
Resolution #2: Work out at least 3 times a week. This one is clearly a fail. I've become even lazier in the past year. But that's gonna change in 2010. I even joined a gym last week. Now if I could just work up the motivation to drive there...
Resolution #3: Visit at least 2 foreign countries. PASS! Yea, I did one! This one just slipped in to 2009, since our cruise was in December and all, but we did make it to Belize, Honduras and Mexico. Score!
Resolution #4: Find a new job. This one was a hugely disappointing fail. 2009 was a miserable time to be unemployed, and especially to be looking for something in the meeting/events industry. But 2010 will be the year for change because last week I started my new job! Finally!!! I'm working as a contract employee for Meeting Expectations, which is a meeting planning company in Buckhead. I started last week and my contract goes until the start of June. I am so happy to be working with this company - all the people I've met are super nice, the office is less than 5 miles from our apartment, I'll be able to learn/grow in this field, etc, etc. I really hope it turns into a permanent position, but I'll take what I can get for now!
So if we're looking strictly at a pass/fail ratio, I didn't do so hot. But if I include one week of grace time (first week of January), I killed it! I don't have any big goals for 2010 so far...really I just want to get in better shape (like always), travel more (duh) and grow in my career (surprise, surprise). Very typical, but still very worthwhile. So 2010, I'm glad you're here and hope you continue in the direction you started.

Christmas Cruising Part 4 - Roatan & Cozumel

2010-01-18T16:25:00.022-05:00

Roatan was our second stop and we had a very relaxing day there. We rented a taxi for the day (our driver, Raul, just stayed with us wherever we went) and spent most of the time at a beach resort at the West End. I did a little snorkeling but we mostly just chilled on the beach and at the pool. The next day was spent on Cozumel. We rented a car and drove around the whole island, which was pretty stress-free since there is only 1 road. We stopped at a few different beaches, drove through some neighborhoods and tourist attractions, and ended up in downtown (had to get our passports stamped!). The beaches were absolutely gorgeous and we loved that we were all alone at most of them.

Our sweet ride Where we ate lunch and spent most of the day
Downtown

All in all, the cruise and all of the places we visited were wonderful. It was a lot of fun and good to experience...once.

Christmas Cruising Part 3 - Belize

2010-01-15T16:48:00.011-05:00

Our first, and favorite, port of call was Belize. We went on an amazing all-day excursion that consisted of a bus tour through the city, a visit to the ruins of Altun Ha and a boat ride on the River Wallace. We had a fabulous time - perfect weather, great guides and awesome sights!

On the busAt Altun Ha Oops...I dressed like the staff!

Mark, holding a baby crocodile on the top of one of the ruins

We stopped for lunch at a cute restaurant, but Mark and I ate outside by ourselves since we'd packed a lunch from the ship. This guy decided to join us.After lunch, we took off on the river tour.

We saw some amazing animals including...monkeys (my first time seeing them in the wild!),bats,iguanas,fighting iguanas,tons of crocodiles (I'd say this one is a little too close for comfort!),dolphins,and manatees!

We were really amazed at all the wildlife we saw. The boat ride took up most of the afternoon so after we arrived back at the port town, we window shopped at a few stores, got our passports stamped (finally!) and headed back to the cruise ship (this was the only port where we didn't dock and had to take smaller boats to shore). I'd love to visit Belize again...the main attractions are more adventurous activities (zip lines, cave tours, kayaking) so hopefully we'll get to go again after Mark's fully healed.

Christmas Cruising Part 2 - Carnival Triumph

2010-01-13T10:03:00.007-05:00

We were able to board the cruise ship at about 1:00pm Saturday afternoon (December 19). We dropped our bags off in our room, got some lunch and then explored the entire ship. It was really cool because while we were going room to room, deck to deck, we were really the only people around (most people were still boarding or eating). We said goodbye to New Orleans at around 5:30 and took off for the open seas (ok...took off for the Mississippi River, then the open seas). That night we had a fun dinner with a couple from Texas, Edward and Mirna (we later learned that pretty much our entire ship was from Texas - beauty of leaving from New Orleans) and then went to the first nightly show, which was pretty cheesy but fun.
The next 2 days were at sea and spent as follows...sit down breakfast, walking on the track, lay out/relax, buffet lunch, lay out/relax, maybe catch an afternoon show, shower/get ready for evening, sit down dinner with lame couple from Canada (we got moved to the early dinner), nightly show. The food was good pretty much every meal, but we were bummed that we got stuck with Laurie and Greg - the 50-something Canadians who loved Obama and only wanted to talk about politics and religion. Didn't they get the memo that those subjects are taboo? Umm...uncomfortable much?
One of my favorite things was the nightly turn-down service, which was of course accompanied by a different towel creature. I was also really impressed with our room size; it was much bigger than I expected (especially the windows).Since I get really motion sick, I was nervous the whole week about getting sick. Luckily we had pretty good weather, with only one bad day at sea (unfortunately, that day was Christmas). So we tried to sleep that whole day (everyone was sick - 12 foot swells tend to do that), but made it to dinner and the Christmas show (it calmed down right in time for dinner). We got back to New Orleans the next morning and decided to stop by and see my family on the drive home. All in all, it was a great holiday.
Just to recap, here are some of the high-lights and low-lights from the ship.
Ship high-lights:
-I loved the nightly shows. It was great to have something to do in the evening, and the variety was pretty good. We had comedians, magicians, impressionists, etc. I especially liked when one comedian (who was from Canada) yelled out "I just love Obama" and everyone booed. Gotta love those Texans. Made for fun dinner conversation the next night.
-I liked having a sit down breakfast and dinner each day. I liked ordering from a menu (and ordering 3 appetizers if I wanted).
-I also loved our singing and dancing waiter, Paul. Especially when they performed "Apple-bottom Jeans" and he was grinding on the pole. It was hilarious.
-Mark and I also really loved the cruise director, Jorge. He was hilarious.
-I liked having so much time with Mark. It was a fun way to experience my first (and likely only) cruise.
Ship low-lights:
-Our previously mentioned dining companions were pretty lame; when they didn't come to dinner on Christmas, I told Mark that was his present.
-At times, I found the days boring. I would prefer more land time, less sea time.
-I also definitely hated being crazy sea sick. That sucked. It especially sucked that it followed me home and I was "land-sick" for the next week and a half.
-While I did like the convenience of leaving from New Orleans, that location was apparently also convenient to many people I wouldn't typically associate with. If I ever did cruise again, I would definitely leave from another port. (Do they have smoke-free ships? Cause that would be nice as well.)
Ok...now time to post about the #1 high-light...all the cool places we were able to go!

Christmas Cruising Part 1 - New Orleans

2010-01-07T23:31:00.011-05:00

Although I'd never really wanted to go on a cruise before, Mark and I decided it might be fun to go on one this year. We figured we deserved something a bit more special, with all the crap we've been through this year, and thought something a little more relaxing then our typical vaca would be ideal. We were able to spend Thanksgiving with my family, so I sucked it up for my first Christmas away from home.
We left the rain and cold weather in Atlanta on December 18th and drove down to New Orleans. I hadn't been to NOLA in 10 years and Mark had never been so it was nice to see the city. Here's what we did...
Dinner in the French Quarter...Breakfast at Cafe du Monde...Visited the 9th Ward to see the Katrina devastation that is still prevalent...Enjoyed some of the prettier sites, like St. Louis Cathedral...And then took off for the cruise!Stay tuned for Christmas Cruising Part 2.

The Dirty Thirty

2009-12-29T09:47:00.004-05:00

At lunch

Even though I was super sick for my birthday, Mark still made it a great one. We went out to tons of fun restaurants, had a great lunch with friends at Lenox, went to the Governor's Mansion to see the Christmas decorations, and went to A Christmas Carol at Shakespeare's Tavern. And now I'm 30. Holy crap!

In front of the Governor's Mansion

Thanksgiving Weekend

2009-12-03T15:45:00.012-05:00

Since we have BIG Christmas plans and won't be able to spend time with my family then, we made the drive down to Florida for Turkey Day. Mark's doing much better and survived the car ride ok, and I think it was definitely worth it. Some of the activities we enjoyed were...

Making "Pilgrim Hats"A Thanksgiving Day walk (just in the neighborhood, around the golf course)
Making butter Eating, of course Celebrating Christmas And just hanging out We capped off the fun weekend when we got back to Atlanta with some time with The Rockettes. It was a lot of fun and we are definitely in the Christmas spirit now!

Cavalia

2009-11-24T13:46:00.004-05:00

Mark's Uncle Bob is always super generous with his Christmas gifts, and gets us tickets to whatever cool show is in town (in the past 3 years, we've been to Cirque du Soleil twice and the circus once). This year he got us tix to Cavalia, which was created by one of the founders of Cirque. We were totally excited to go, and see some insane horse tricks...and then we were really let down when the show started. We were extremely under-impressed. I kept waiting for the horses to do something spectacular - never happened. But it was still a fun date day; Atlantic Station is so fun during the holidays.

Trying to Become a Redhead

2009-11-23T12:57:00.004-05:00

I'm in love with Scarlett Johansson's hair from her photo spread in Glamour's November issue. She looks great, right? So I sent a pic of it to my new hairstylists and we gave it a go. First try...didn't really work out. Apparently my hair doesn't take color too well (I learned). She used a ton of red dye and it basically just looked really dark.

Yes, Mark is a sicko...but I look cute so I'm posting this picture anyway!

So I went back a week later and we tried again. Still doesn't look like Scarlett's (unfortunately) but it's still pretty fun, and I've been getting tons of compliments so that's always nice.

Nerd Alert

2009-11-09T11:29:00.003-05:00

Ok, so this post is totally nerdy but oh well. For the past week or 2, I've been trying to get into couponing. Exciting, I know. But, as I have no job and basically no life, I have some free time and decided I should try to save some money. (Next task...start cooking. We'll see how that one goes!)
Anyway, I have to share a recent deal I got, so you can see that couponing may actually be cool.
I went to Walgreens and bought the following:
5 tubes of Almay One Lash Mascara (four were $6.99, one was $7.99)
A pack of 3 little stretchy headbands ($1.29)
Almay foundation ($9.99)
Mouthwash ($1.99)
So here's the fun part...I paid $17.96 for everything. Good deal, right? And that's not all. After paying, I got $15 cash back (in Walgreens money). So basically that's $2.96 for everything. And I'm set for life with mascara.
Do any of you coupon? What are your favorite stores/websites/etc?

In The Heights

2009-11-08T13:47:00.003-05:00

We worked this show at The Fox last night and I just loved it! You should definitely see it if you have the chance!

Mark's Status

2009-10-28T17:56:00.006-04:00

While I'm blogging like crazy, I'll go ahead and throw out a Mark update. He's slowly getting better. He finally got the PICC line out of his arm 3 weeks ago. His labs are looking good (ie infection free). He should be starting physical therapy this week. He can stand a bit straighter and isn't using his walker every day; hopefully the improvements will keep coming.
As for the long run, the doctor still doesn't really know what the end result will be. He says maybe 6 months...maybe a year...maybe longer until he's as good as he's gonna be, but we really just have to wait and see.

Almost forgot...

2009-10-28T17:53:00.002-04:00

...what made my trip complete. Oh Cafe Rio, how I miss you!

Utah

2009-10-28T15:25:00.028-04:00

At the end of July, I was able to go to Utah for 10 days, specifically for Carly's wedding but with lots of added perks. It was such a blast seeing all my best buds. Here are some of the highlights...

-Hanging out with the girls at Snowbird and lounging at the pool

-Chelsea’s baby shower

Me and the guest of honor

Finn and Tiana

Long live the Yellow House!

Lachelle, me, Michelle, Chelsea, Shari, Christi, Tiana

-Yummy Guru’s – and the surprise run-in with Carl and her hubby-to-be

-Hanging out with Christi all week – love ya, girl!

-Lots of shopping

-Visiting Chelsea, Shari and Michelle’s houses – they are all so cute!

-Catching up with my BFs from freshman year

Rebecca, Katie and me

-An amazing French dinner with Matt, with his friends playing the Amelie music in the background (I’m so sad I didn’t take a picture!)

-Finally getting to meet all the newbies (Finn, Lily, Madison, Eni)

With my new boyfriend, Finn

Chels, Eni, and me after some great Thai food

-All the fun “Carly time” – helping her pack for the honeymoon, the beautiful rehearsal dinner and, of course, the amazing wedding day. What a gorgeous bride/couple/day! I'm so happy I was able to be there and can't wait for the next visit!

Scott and Carly at the rehearsal dinner

Christi, Carly's best friend from Seattle, Niki and me

Ryan and Christi

Christi, Niki, Carly, me

Love the classic "We're married!" picture!

SLC Temple

Hmmm...models?

Her bouquet was beautiful

Posing for the photographer...right after he said I looked familiar and
Christi said "Oh...she used to get around Provo". Classic, Chris!

See you later, Georgia Tech!

2009-10-28T11:18:00.017-04:00

Although Mark didn't walk for graduation (he actually missed the last week of classes too, since he had just had his first surgery) we still had to celebrate. Did I mention he graduated with honors from the #4 engineering school in the country? Yeah, he's a smarty.

Yes, I made him borrow a graduation cap so we could take a picture

My parents came into town at the end of July and we had a dinner party with Mark's family. My parents and I also went to the Botanical Gardens and had a great time, although it was h-o-t!

A month later, we celebrated again with some friends. We had a great time (thanks again Melissa and Greg for letting us take over your home).

Some of the guys, playing bocce ball

Logan and Mark

Don't you just love this kid?!

Graduation cap cupcakes - yummy!

Youth Conference Trip to Nauvoo

2009-09-07T12:06:00.009-04:00

The Nauvoo Temple

Last year, Mark and I were called to be Stake Youth Specialists and to be in charge of Youth Conference. A few months later, I was called to be the 2nd Counselor in the Stake Young Women's Presidency (I know what you're thinking...I was shocked too). It's be fun to be a part of the youth, since I've never been in an area that has such a diverse group. Our Youth Conference was July 8-11 and we were extremely lucky to be able to travel to Nauvoo. It was a hassle and a headache, but totally worth it. Here's the recap...
Wednesday - Met at the church building at 6:00am. Loaded up the charter bus with 43 youth and 9 leaders. Drove all day. Arrived in Nauvoo around 7:00pm. Played some games, ate dinner, walked around a bit, went to bed.

Where we stayed - The Nauvoo House

Thursday - Got up at 6:00am (not a lot of sleep on this trip). Showered and got ready for the day. Divided into 2 groups to go do baptisms at the temple and watch the movie "Joseph Smith The Prophet of the Restoration".

At the Visitor's Center

Went back to the Nauvoo House for lunch and to change. In the afternoon, we visited Carthage Jail and that night we went to the Nauvoo Pageant. I'm still blown away by how much the kids loved the pre-pageant activities.

The room where Joseph and Hyrum Smith were killed - Carthage Jail

Some of the youth, in front of Carthage Jail

Me and Mark, during the pre-pageant activities

Friday - Divided into groups and toured the Historic sites (ie blacksmith shop, bakery, old schoolhouse, oxen rides, etc) in the pouring rain.

Luckily, the weather cleared up around 1:00, but those 4 hours getting soaked weren't very fun. In the afternoon, we went and saw "High Hopes and Riverboats", which was a nice nap, and had dinner at the state park. We had a testimony meeting at The Seventies Hall, and around 8:00pm took off for the long drive home.

Saturday - Returned to Atlanta around 10:00am safe and sound. What a trip!

Mark Update

2009-09-07T11:28:00.005-04:00

Out of necessity, Mark started work last Monday. The doctor said he could only do 4 hour days for the first week, so that was a good way for him to ease into it. Working definitely wore him out (he'd come home and take a LONG nap each afternoon) but being able to leave the apartment really seemed to cheer him up. Other than work, we've pretty much stayed around the apartment, just relaxing and watching lots of movies. Mark will start full time tomorrow, and we're hoping he's able to get through it. He's been able to get around a little better without his walker, and we're eager to get updates from his doctors. He has 2 appointments next week, so we'll know more then.
I wanted to reiterate how appreciative of all our friends and family for helping us out during this hard time. We have really appreciated all of the support, calls, cards, food and gifts and the kindness and has really helped us stay positive.

A 4 Hour, Outpatient Surgery...

2009-08-25T14:27:00.012-04:00

Day 10 or so...relaxin' at St. Joe's

First off, I want to say how much Mark and I have appreciated everyone's prayers, calls, texts, emails, etc. We have most definitely had a rough ordeal and appreciate the continued thoughts as Mark is (hopefully!) on the road to recovery. Now for the story...
On Monday July 20, Mark had a microdiscectomy for a herniated disc. It was an outpatient surgery and he was home within 4 hours. He instantly felt relief for the back pain he'd suffered for the last year and a half. He seemed to be recovering as the neurosurgeon had told us he would, so I didn't feel too bad when I left that Friday for a trip to Utah.

On Sunday July 26, the disc reherniated. Mark had to turn just the slightest bit to reach something, and he heard it pop and was instantly in debilitating pain. He called the doctor's office for the next 3 days, but was continually told (by the nurse) that the pain was normal and it wasn't reherniated. He asked to speak with the doctor but never heard from him. He explained to the nurse that the pain was NOT normal and he was sure it was reherniated. Finally, she set him up for another MRI (over a week later, when I was back in town).

When the doctor finally saw him, on Thursday August 6, he confirmed that it was indeed reherniated and told us to check into the hospital that night to prepare for surgery the next day. The second surgery was another success (or so said the doctor) and we went home Friday night. Over the weekend, Mark started getting high fevers (in the 101s and 102s) and chills. The fevers would go up/down within minutes and the chills would be accompanied by horrible painful muscle spasms that could last for hours on end. I called the on call doctor and was told each time that we didn't need to come in; that the doctor would see us on Monday and it was too early to develop an infection. Mark also was unable to walk without my help; Monday morning he collapsed at our apartment and it was horrible. We went back to the doctor on Monday afternoon; we were told that the wound looked great and was showing no signs of infection; that the temperatures were normal after anesthesia and we shouldn't be concerned. The doctor did ask us to call if the fevers got worse, but that was about it.

PICC line number 2. They inserted one on Tuesday, took it out on Friday (they thought it was infected) and put another one in on Monday.

On Tuesday his fever went up about a degree but I thought the doctor would be annoyed if we called again so I waited til Wednesday when it reached 104. The nurse told us to head to the ER and they'd meet us there. Here's where the sh*t hits the fan...
We arrived at the ER at about 3 in the afternoon. Mark's temperature was 97 so they weren't concerned with that. When I told the nurse that it was been 104 earlier in the day she said, "Wow, that's high. Did you know 106 is brain dead?" Very sensitive, that one. Anyway, since his fever was low at the moment, they were mainly concerned that his blood oxygen levels were very low (only 88 when it should have been 95 to 100). The doctor was called in and they immediately did X-Rays and a CAT scan to look for signs of pneumonia or blood clots in his lungs. During this time, his temp went up to 104.6 and stayed there for nearly 2 hours. In this time, the ER nurse did not even come in to check on him. She refused to bring in ice or anything to help him. The tests turned out negative and they moved Mark to a hospital room at around 9:00pm.

At around 10:30pm, Mark started to feel the chills coming on. He'd been dealing with them since Saturday so he could tell when they were coming and was starting to figure out how to deal with them. He asked the nurse to bring him in some blankets and she refused since he still had a fever above 102. He explained to her that he needed them to help with the chills and she flat out said she wouldn't help until his fever was below 100. She was completely unhelpful and Mark was getting really upset at this point. He started having the chills, which caused horrible muscle spasms and pain and I couldn't get anyone to help us. Finally, a different nurse looked in the room and saw him writhing in pain. She yelled for help and 2 other nurses came running in with tons of blankets and piled them on him. They kept telling him to calm down and it would be ok. His heart rate was nearly 200 at this point (something around 70 is normal). Of course he was still furious because we knew that this was going to happen. After about 20 minutes of the chills/spasms, he started looking very strange. The nurse asked him if he knew where he was and he started babbling nonsense. He had a very strange, wide-eyed expression; he was hallucinating and he couldn't speak coherently. One of the nurses took his temp at it was 105.8; she ran out and called for help. About 10-15 doctors and nurses rushed in. They took me out of the room and had the chaplain come be with me (since I was clearly hysterical). Let me tell you having the chaplain come did NOT make me feel better, since I clearly thought Mark was almost dead. I could hear Mark screaming in his room and the nurses yelling that they needed to restrain him. Once they had him restrained, they came out and said he wanted to see me. I went in the room and he looked at me and said, "Hi Wife...Bye." He later told me that during this time, he thought he'd been in a terrible accident and had blood everywhere. He was in tons of pain and knew he was going to die, so he wanted to say bye to me before he died. Did I mention that this was all taking place on our anniversary?!

After he said goodbye, they rushed him to ICU. Once Mark was in the ICU, they had him on a huge ice bed with tons of ice around him. His temperature started going down over the next 5 hours or so until he was stable. The next day (Aug 13) the doctor did a 3rd back surgery to see if the disc was infected. Clearly it was and he removed the infected portion. We later found out that Mark got 2 bacterias from the hospital - pseudomonas and serratia. Both are very serious and also very rare. Over the next week, Mark was under the care of the Infectious Disease doctor, who was trying to figure out how to treat these infections. He underwent more MRIs, blood work, even an echocardiogram. When the doctor finally decided there wasn't anymore she could do for him, he was released, 13 days after checking in.

Finally at home, getting some meds

At this point, we're really unsure how this whole ordeal will pan out. Mark is on numerous pain medications for his back. He isn't able to stand up straight. He has to use a walker and can't go very far. The doctor doesn't know how these 3 surgeries will affect him in the long run. He could have continuing back pain, could need more surgeries, or his back could "self fuse"...whatever the hell that means. We'll just have to hope for the best. He is also on 2 serious antibiotics - one oral and one IV. He has a PICC line in his arm and has to give himself IV meds 3 times a day for the next 2 months. Mark has checkups scheduled with both doctors (the neurosurgeon and the infectious disease doctor) over the next few weeks and we'll see how he's recovering. Hopefully, for the first time, things will actually turn out ok. Keep your fingers crossed for that...and that the bills won't bankrupt us - cause I still don't have a job and he's had to put work on hold with all this insanity.

Welcome to the Brandau Pharmacy

Stay tuned...

2009-08-20T11:29:00.004-04:00

It would normally really annoy me to post out of order, but I know many of you are really anxious to hear about Mark; I will update as soon as we are home from the hospital with the story of the whole ordeal. So far, we've been here at St. Joe's since the 12th. We'll try to bust out of this joint asap.

Oh yeah, and after I get that post done, I swear I'll tell you about our Nauvoo Trip, Mark graduating, my amazing trip to Utah and everything else that's happened since early July.

Lake Wedowee

2009-07-22T12:10:00.010-04:00

We had a super fun weekend at Lake Wedowee with the Garrison's (Jeff, Jennie, Cassidy, Davis and Beau) and the Westfall's (Chad, Stacey, Khira and Ashton...Ayric couldn't come). The Garrison's lake house was amazing and the lake was gorgeous. Hopefully next time we go the weather will be a bit more agreeable.

Mark, with the lake house in the backgroundDavis and AshtonKhira, Cassidy and JennieJeff

Orlando Trip

2009-07-21T22:50:00.014-04:00

I realized earlier this week that if I don't catch up on my blogging immediately, I never will. You'd think I'd have tons of time to blog, since I have no job, but I just don't know where the time goes. Oh wait...yes I do. I spend it reading everyone else's blogs! So this is the first of many catching up posts...let me backtrack a few months.
Over Memorial Day weekend, we took a quick trip to Orlando for Mark's friend Nevada's wedding. We had an awesome weekend doing the following...
Thursday - Drove to Orlando. Arrived early in the evening and checked into our hotel. Went to walk around Downtown Disney. Since it was raining, we decided to eat dinner (at the fun T-Rex restaurant) and then call it a night.Friday - Got up early and went to the Kennedy Space Center all day long. We had a great time, even though the rain continued. Realized that Mark could realistically get a job with NASA...wow! Ran out of time and didn't get to see everything (this is definitely a 2-day trip, for anyone planning to visit). Went to Nevada and Sherine's rehearsal dinner. Partied all night with The Tams.
Saturday - Went to Downtown Disney again (I had to get my Disney fix!). Took some fun pictures, like this one in the candy store.Had lunch at The Rainforest Cafe with Josh and Natalie Findlay (friends we shared a room with). Drove to the wedding. Realized that Coptic Orthodox wedding ceremonies are totally unlike anything I've ever experienced (I'm talking singing, chanting, foreign languages, standing for an hour+...). Headed to the reception and enjoyed an awesome night of great food, bellydancing and fun. Did I mention Sherine is Egyptian? They sure know how to throw a great party. Too bad we forgot out camera! (These are a few that Natalie sent me.)Sunday - Went to Gatorland with Mark and his parents. Loved it. Loved the porcupine the best. Lost at least 5 pounds due to the heat. Drove home the LONG way. Arrived in Atlanta around 3am. Great vacation.

Congratulations Carly!

2009-06-17T11:27:00.006-04:00

I'm really glad this girl is getting hitched. First, because she found a great guy and sounds so happy. Second, because I finally have a good excuse for a Utah visit. So mark your calendars for July 24-August 2. I'll be there.

You glad I stole a pic from your Facebook page, Carl? Hope your wedding dress is as phenomenal as this Vietnamese outfit! ;)

Noelle vs The Cockroach

2009-06-10T11:34:00.006-04:00

This is a true story.
To set the scene, it was Sunday evening. We arrived home from a delicious dinner and a few rounds of Hand and Foot. Mark headed into the office to start on his homework. I thought I'd watch TV. Then, in the corner of the room, I spotted a bug. It wasn't too scary, so I tried to kill it with a flip flop. It kept rolling up into a ball, so I called Mark into the room. I thought I'd open the porch door and toss the bug out there, but wanted Mark to flip off the lights (so more bugs didn't come in). Mark mumbled something about not needing to turn off the lights.
So there I was, on my hands and knees, about a foot from the door. I open it to toss the small bug out and THE WORLD'S LARGEST - AND FASTEST - cockroach runs in directly for me. I swear it was sitting out there just waiting for the door to be opened. I screamed at the top of my lungs and jumped up and backwards right into our coffee table. I knocked everything on the table over and was literally screaming, crying and shaking uncontrollably. It took me about 20 minutes to calm down. And Mark didn't even make fun of me (because it seriously was SO BIG and SO CLOSE to my face).
The end result - one very dead cockroach (thank you Mark!) and one lasting impression from the coffee table. I told you I ran right into it!