It's Real Life

Stacey tagged me to take pics of the following with no cleaning, clearing, wiping, changing etc. allowed... dun, dun, dun - real life:

1. laundry room - this isn't so much a room as it is an old coat closet. we rent out the basement to the missionaries and so we bought a stackable washer and dryer for our "laundry closet". it was joey's idea and i gotta say i did not think it would work but voila -


2. favorite room - this is the make-shift safari nursery but I love it because this is where we brought luke home. (I just took down all the stuff from the walls since we're packing to move) It's been pretty emotional packing up his little clothes and realizing we're leaving this house where we've had so many good memories.


3. what the kid is doing - we just got home from church and lukey just ate and is playing with a little toy and the boppy is there in case he forgets how to sit up for a minute.



4. favorite shoes - my old rocket dogs. these are awesome cause they are super comfy and they have ventilation to make sure my feet stay nice and breezy.



5. toilet - joey's shaver from his shave this morning. church is a great motivator for clean shaven-ness. also, at about midnight last night we cut his hair. we took away an entire grocery bag full of hair but there might be few leftovers. :-)


6. kitchen sink - hmm, surprisingly not too bad. a few multi-vitamins (i'm not preggers - just nursing) and notice joey's lovely job on the backsplash.



7. fridge - lots to pack... why am i blogging right now!!!


8. self portrait (yeah, I know...)


9. closet - we decided since we never close our closet doors in our whole lives that we would just take them off.



10. dream vacation - honestly .. UTAH. good thing that dream is coming true in 2 days! this is why i love it - we get to stay in a fancy "hotel" where they leave mints on the pillows and make custom cribs for your baby. we get deluxe crepe and waffle breakfasts. we eat WAY healthier because we get lots of frest fruits and veggies. AND we get to relax and see our best, best friends - namely all our brothers and sisters and their cool kids. great vacay huh?

Ok - I guess I'm suppose to tag a few peeps now. Hmmm... how about Deon T., Tristina E., Brooke T., Edith S. and Rebekah S.

You Get What You Pay For?

On our recent trip to New York to help the Macdonalds (pictured below) move to Long Island, Katie and I noticed that this cliche is often false. Our first ride on Megabus made us realize this (see megabus.com). I saw posters in Baltimore advertising bus trips to NYC from $1 plus a $.50 reservation fee. I thought it was definitely some sort of trick like the tickets were $1, but to get off the bus you have to give them all your clothing and jewelry. So we booked tickets and it turned out to be ZERO dollars plus a $.50 reservation fee for Katie and Luke and myself to ride home to Baltimore from NYC. It turned out to be the nicest bus I have ever taken to or from NYC. There was free Wi-Fi. It was half empty. We had like ten seats all to ourselves in the back plus a three seat bench to sleep on. And the bathroom was nice and clean with hand sanitizer included. Below I will summarize the different buses we have taken and try to get a new cliche started (pardon the oxymoron)--the more you pay, the more it is lame.

China Bus

• pervasive outhouse stench present that gets stronger, the closer you are to the back of the bus. When bathroom door actually opens it is a slap to the olfactories that will bring you to tears.
• You must speak Mandarin if you want to call customer service
• If you miss your bus (we did this) you are now homeless in NYC for the night
• $35 round trip per person

Greyhound

• Mild bathroom stench on some buses
• almost always a person in every seat
• so many departures 24/7 that if you miss your bus (we did this) you are only homeless for about an hour
• $30 round trip per person

Megabus

• Freindly British gentleman takes your tickets and tickles your baby
• 10 seat family suite at the back of the bus
• bathroom smells so good they should bottle the scent and sell it
• brand new buses
• Free Wi-Fi
• $.25 per person (I know it's probably some kind of start up promotion, but this is what we paid.)

So the next time you hear someone say, "You get what you pay for." say, "don't you mean--the more you pay, the more it is lame."

Three Washingtons and Two Roosevelts

What can three dollars and twenty cents buy? A lot. Namely, a round trip ticket on the Baltimore subway system. You get on in the burbs and you emerge in the urbs, close to the dental school. If you're a dental student then included in that price you can get a lot of other things. For a dental student this three dollars and twenty cents can buy you the utter disappointment of a patient who doesn't show up for you to finish your last requirement. Or the same round trip ticket can send you home with two cakes from your favorite patient who you will never see again. Well, on Monday the second of June 2008 the three dollars and twenty cents pictured above was the best money I have ever spent. It bought me my freedom from the Baltimore College of Dental Surgery University of Maryland Dental School. Don't get me wrong. I don't hate the dental school. I'm grateful for what I learned there, but finishing dental school was hard. Walking out of the front doors for the last time was like finding a popsicle store after a long trudge through death valley. Even though I am now dealing with the stress of packing up our house, repairing many things in our house, buying a new house, etc., it's nothing compared to the stress of my last couple of months in dental school. So what can three dollars and twenty cents buy? It bought me one of the best days of my life.

Need A Yukey Fix Anyone?

First time holding the bottle. Doesn't he look too cool for school?


First time asking parents for money


First Orioles game (Orioles beat Yankees)


Wiped out Orioles fan


First trip to Memphis (they really gave him a boarding pass!)


First word - "Konnichiwa"


Yukey ponders how he's going to like Memphis


First comb over