Sweet Potato Ale

Hi everyone... I know I have been a total blog slacker... my bad. Things are coming together as far as wedding planning. Pastor... check, banquet hall... check, DJ... check, dress... almost a check, Mom is coming to give thumbs up or thumbs down on in a few weeks, photagrapher... meeting with one on Monday.

Right now I am at Eric's, and we have done a whole lot of nothing this weekend, something we both needed. Last night after dinner we stopped at our favorite local brewery, Bent River. We tried their fall brew, Sweet Potato Ale... two thumbs up. A tasty ale, and the sweet potato very subtle with just a hint of cinnamon. We got a growler of Uncommon Stout to bring home. We will break that out in just a bit and settle in to watch the Illini vs. Penn State. Frank's pizza at half time.

We are treating ourselves with a little Illini football, after working on guest list stuff this morning. A big kudos to Eric's mom, Linda... the queen of family addresses.

Okay, so it almost game time.

Go Illini!

Hey! I like your hair

So I am at home on my lunch hour, and just had to share. When I was leaving work to come home from lunch, I walked across the street from the bank to get to my car. I crossed in front of a woman stopped at the stop sign at Cedar & Springfield. Once I was across she yelled "Hey" from her window, when I turned to see if she was talking to me (she was), she said "I like your hair!" I told her thanks, and I think my blah kind of day is getting a little better.

Kudos, stranger lady!

Meet the Parents

Eric was down this weekend along with is Mom and Dad, Mike and Linda. We had a great time. The rain held off and we were able to tailgate both before and after the Illini football game on Saturday. The game itself was a win but not a pretty one. After the game we got out my new Illini tent and took it for a test run... it is pretty sweet. I see Eric and I using it for years to come, but I failed to take a picture of it.

Sunday after church we met my parents for a fabulous brunch at Silver Creek. It was the first meeting of the parents... and all went well. After about five minutes I think both Eric and I were feeling like we really didn't need to be there... they were all getting along just fine without us.

I am very blessed, not only is Eric the most wonderful man on the planet, but his parents are pretty awesome too... a great package.

We are starting some wedding planning... nothing set in stone but April 4th, 2009 is where we are starting. It has been quite an emotional roller coaster this past week, and I have to brag up on Eric. I have been a bit of a spaz at times and he has been so loving and supportive, thank goodness he is the one I am going to marry I honestly don't think I could plan a wedding with anyone else! :)

I Heart the CPD

So I am not sure how many of you are up to speed on my history with the Champaign Police department... they have a tendency to stop by in the middle of the night. Allow me to explain.

A few years ago when Karen was staying with me while she was doing her student teaching. We got a knock on the door in the middle of the night when some idiot ran into Karen's car which was parked on the street in front of my house. His car ended up just over the curb in my yard, and Karen's was pushed two houses down and totaled.

About a year after that incident I heard arguing in outside, and thought is was perhaps the new neighbors. It kept up and then moved towards the front of the house, I looked out the front window and a mas was being arrested in my front yard. Later the cops were in the back yard with flashlights, so I got brave enough to go out and ask what was going on. Evidently several blocks away the cops were called three times to a house when the ex-husband kept showing up, he took off the last time and the cops chased him on foot and caught up to him when he tried to jump the fence in my back yard. The cops were using the flashlight to find the magazine clip he lost on the fence climb. The next week when I was mowing I found his handcuffs and returned them to the police station.

So on Friday night Eric was in town with his parents, Mike and Linda. On the way to dinner I was telling them my CPD stories, and we were all laughing. Eric joked that it was about time for another visit. Well who knew... Eric can be kind of prophetic sometimes.

At about 5:15 a.m on Saturday morning I was sleeping on the couch (a gracious hostess always gives up her bed for her guests... plus trying to impress the future in-laws never hurts) and I heard urgent voices outside, it let up and I heard it again, then a bright light was shining in through the front window. I got up to investigate and just as I was looking out the front door, and officer was approaching. I stepped outside to talked to him, and noticed he had a nasty cut on his cheekbone, it was swollen and bleeding. After after him assistance (he declined and said the ambulance was on its way) he proceeds to tell me he may have damaged the fence/gate near my garage when he chased a guy around my house... about then another cop comes from said gate/fence with a rather sassy suspect in cuffs. Evidently he possibly burgled a house 4 or 5 blocks away, they saw him walking near my house. The cop pulled in my driveway, and told him to stop and he thought a better idea would be to run around my house. They kind of bent up my fence when he was apprehended. Anywho he was super nice and took my information and said they would take photos of my fence... not big deal it just needs to be bent back.

He came back to let me know they were finishing up (calling me by name) and that he was going to the ER for a few stitches. I took another look later and the other officer was wandering about, I opened the door and he asked if I had a hose... we went back and he just needed an outdoor water source not a hose because the first officer had to use pepper spray on the suspect, and he was the one that took him to the squad car and he got the spray on his hands and then in his eyes. So he proceeded to wash his eyes out in my back yard.

Meanwhile Mike & Linda slept through the whole thing, but Eric had heard the commotion and we laughing hysterically at the timing of it all. We were really rolling but we had to be quiet as to not wake his parents, plus I didn't want to laugh in the face of the very nice police officer who obviously was having a tough night.

FYI, he was totally cute and tall and Eric was getting tickled at the fact that I was trying to look for a wedding ring (not that they always wear the on duty) so I could set him up with Nikki.

Anyway all is well, and hats off to the CPD for keeping all of the bad guys off the street and dragging them out of my yard!

I said YES!!!!

Yes, to what you ask? Saturday night Eric asked me to marry him, and I said yes! We had discussed the subject, and I knew it was coming at some point, but I really had no clue as to when. After the Illini football game on Saturday afternoon we came back to my house and took a nap. After napping I had the fixings for a nice dinner, and I decided it would be nice if we didn't wear our pajamas for dinner :) Eric took it as a good sign that it was the right time to ask when he suggested that maybe we could even dress up a little bit for dinner, and my response was "Sure that would be nice." and so the stage was set.

After dinner we were sitting on the couch listening to one of the music stations on the TV, and enjoying a nice bottle of wine. I thought I might have felt a ring box in his pocket, but said nothing, figuring it was probably just his inhaler. Near the end of the bottle of wine Eric got down on bended knee, told me he loved me and asked me to marry him. I said yes! After the initial round of hugs and kisses, I asked him what was in his pocket. He soon produced a beautiful ruby engagement ring. The picture below doesn't really do it justice, but my camera was not really cooperating for me.

A ruby ring, an unconventional choice for an unconventional girl. Many of you may have heard me say over the years that I didn't want an engagement ring, but instead something more practical like and engagement couch or something of the sort. Well I am actually not that practical, but just really not a diamond type of girl... hence the ruby. Eric picked the ring out himself, but we had discussed it earlier in the summer and even did a little bit of "window shopping" so he had a general idea of what I wanted. The ruby came about for several reasons, primarily because it is Eric's birthstone, and well frankly I just find them attractive. The red color also represents love, the blood Christ shed for our sins, and of course... the St. Louis Cardinals, one of our shared passions.

We really don't have any details figured out about the wedding other than sometime in 2009.

I am so excited!!! It took me 38 years, but Lord Almighty Eric was worth the wait. I love him like no other, and I know he loves me just as much. I am so truly blessed to have Eric in my life, along with special friends and family who have been sharing our excitement as we have made phone calls to share the big news.

Oh, another great engagement moment. A few minutes after Eric had proposed, I was wearing the ring and we both had calmed down to the point where we could breath... I realized that the song playing on the TV music channel was none other than "Walking on Sunshine" by Katrina and The Waves. Many of you know that this is one of my most favorite songs of all time. It only seems appropriate that this song was playing... does Eric have great timing or what?

I will leave you with the lyrics...

Oh! Ohhhh yeeeaaaah

I used to think maybe you loved me, now baby I'm sure

And i just cant wait till the day when you knock on my door

Now every time i go for the mailbox, gotta hold myself down

Cos i just can't wait till you write me you're coming around

I'm walking on sunshine, wooah

I'm walking on sunshine, wooah

I'm walking on sunshine, wooah and don't it feel good!!

Hey, alright now

and don't it feel good!!

hey yeah

I used to think maybe you loved me, now I know that it's true

and I don't want to spend my whole life, just in waiting for you

now I don't want u back for the weekend not back for a day, oh no no

I said baby I just want you back and I want you to stay, woah yeh!

I'm walking on sunshine wooah

I'm walking on sunshine, wooah

I'm walking on sunshine, wooah and don't it feel good!!

Hey, alright now and don't it feel good!!

Hey yeah, and don't it feel good!!

Walking on sunshine

Walking on sunshine

I feel the love, I feel the love,

I feel the love that's really real

I feel the love, I feel the love,

I feel the love that's really real

I'm on sunshine baby

Oh, I'm on sunshine baby

Oh I'm walking on sunshine wooah

I'm walking on sunshine wooah

I'm walking on sunshine wooah and don't it feel good!!

I'll say it again now

and don't it feel good!!

Happy Birthday Tara!

So today is a new birthday to blog about. It is Tara Barker's birthday. Tara and her husband Scott are two of Eric's closest friends… any I have to give him credit, Eric did a fine job in the friend department.

I got to know Tara much better in July when we all went to Indy for the weekend of the Brickyard 400. It was there that she introduced me to the most wonderful contraption ever… a pineapple slicer. It is amazing… it slices and cores a fresh pineapple in a matter of just seconds… plus you then have a hollowed out pineapple "shell" to use as a serving dish with just a quick cut of the core. I highly recommend you pick one up if you happen to like fresh pineapple. You can save money by not buying the pre-cut ones at the grocery store. I know I sound like a complete dork getting all worked up about a kitchen gadget, but seriously it has been life changing… Thanks Tara!

Tara's other miraculous talent is finding kick-butt parking spaces in crowded parking lots. It is freaky… awesome spots just appear for her. Oh she might have to circle once, but it isn't like she is stalking everyone leaving the store for 10 minutes… she just totally has "parking chee". My favorite part about this, besides not having to hike long distances when we are shopping together… it completely gets Eric's goat… which is just fun to watch. In general, Tara and I can always find something fun to tease Eric about. Now that I think about it, in general I think most everyone bonds with a significant other's friend by teasing the significant other. I know John & I love to tease Jenn, and Nikki & Eric have shared a few moments teasing me (Case in point, I forgot to mention this when blogging about our trip. I provided two very "Duh, Jane!" moments. First when Nik and I stopped at Wal-Mart in Arkansas on the way downt to Sarah J's. I started to say "Wow, they have a Starbucks here!" when I realized the green sign lettering on the beige building said "Dollar Tree" instead of Starbucks. Then, this is classic. At Minute Maid Park, I leaned over to Eric and asked him "What are the orange things in the cargo car of the train that runs behind the outfield, pumpkins? It is still August, it isn't fall yet, kind of early for pumpkins!" Eric's response was "Dear, I believe those are oranges… we are at MINUTE MAID Park!"… Duh, Jane!)

Okay, so back to Tara. She is also enjoys good beer, and she is doing the World Beer Tour at Old Chicago as well. I think we even make the same "Oh that was bad beer" faces.

Beyond pineapple slicers, shopping and beer… Tara has just been a great friend to both Eric and I. She and Scott have been very gracious in sharing Eric with me. I also remember some very encouraging words she gave to me early this spring when I mentioned something about the trials of a long distance relationship in an email… "Hang in there, you and Eric are both worth it!" I couldn't agree more. Happy Birthday Tara!

Sweet Home Champaign-Urbana

Hello All! Home at last. Sorry about the lack of blogging, and if any of you were concerned that we had suddenly disappeared. Basically we just got too busy to blog, but we also received some sad news on Wednesday... Nikki's Grandma Hinman passed away. Needless to say blogging didn't seem quite as important when put into perspective. Nikki went ahead and finished up the trip as planned. Grandma Hinman was a big supporter of our road trips and Nikki and her family decided that she wouldn't want Nik to cut it short. We carried on and enjoyed the rest of our trip, although there were some teary moments along the way.



I will do a quick post to update you on the rest of our trip. We have plenty of more video footage that hopefully Nik and I can download later as time permits.



I think we left off with Wednesday. Sarah J went to work that morning to finish up a few things and Nikki and I headed to Jackson to do a little shopping. We met Sarah at the airport so she could drop off her car and it would be waiting for her when she flew back to Houston. We left Jackson that afternoon and drove down through MS, across LA and into Texas and stayed the night about an hour from Houston. Thursday morning we traveled along the gulf, and took the free ferry across to Galveston Island. It was Nik's first ever ferry ride and we all saw dolphins in the water during our 15-20 minute crossing. We had lunch on Galveston and spent the afternoon walking along the beach. The gulf water was nice and warm. We drove up to Houston that afternoon and got settled in our hotel. After dinner and a movie (we watched Hairspray on Nik's computer) we ventured to Houston Hobby airport to pick up Eric. It was great to see my Sweetie.



Nik & Sarah J at the beach, enjoying the warm gulf water


On Friday we all went to Space Center Houston at Johnson Space Center. Ideally we would have had more time there, we are all kind of into the space thing... but we made the most of it. My personal favorite was the tram tour and getting to see historic Mission Control where the famous "Houston, we have a problem!" was first heard. We all resisted the temptation to purchase clever t-shirts that said "It's Not Rocket Science!... Oh wait, yes it is... Space Center Houston" Late that afternoon we headed back to the hotel for a quick change and then off to the ballpark for the game.



Eric & I with the Saturn 5 rocket.

The Cards were swept by the Astros for the series, so nothing positive to report baseball-wise on this trip. Friday was however Brad Ausmus (aka "the cute Astro") bobble-head night, and after a few clicks on Google images Nik and I managed to introduce Sarah J to her new baseball boyfriend, Brad Ausmus. At the game we discovered that the female Astro fans are insanely fanatic about center fielder Hunter Pence. Seriously all weekend the Hunter Pence shrieks were over the top. Personally we don't really get it... he is kind of cute but nowhere near being as attractive as Brad, and frankly his baseball is pretty much just average.



Brad Ausmus: Attractive, and obviously a dog lover... no wonder we got Sarah hooked


Saturday, us old folks (Eric & I) were lazy bums and slept in, while Nik and Sarah J checked out the aquarium. They gave it a thumbs up. We met up for lunch at Flying Saucer where Eric and I sampled some good Texas beer, then we headed off to take a tour of Minute Maid Park. At the end of our tour we got to take in the Astro batting practice from the diamond seats behind home plate. We didn't think of it until later, but we should have asked our tour guide to point out George and Barbara Bush's seats... darn! Here are my thoughts on the ballpark. Overall it was a pleasant experience, the folks were friendly (I had been warned that we would be heckled, but didn't have any problems) and it is a nice park. The concourses are very open, and it reminds me of Miller Park in Milwaukee a bit. The roof was closed all three games due the heat, but we did get to see it open on Friday night for the fireworks show they had post-game. The purist in me finds the indoor baseball with the roof closed to be just plain wrong, but I have to admit the air conditioning was oh so enjoyable. It is way hot and humid in Houston. They have some great food including BBQ, and some awesome baked potatoes.





At Minute Maid, during Astros batting practice

On Sunday Sarah J flew back home, and Eric, Nik and I took in our third game. Another loser. After the game we started our very long trip home. We thought we would stay near Little Rock for the night, but had to press on until 2 a.m. and stopped less than an hour shy of Memphis as all of the Gustav evacuees had taken all of the hotel rooms. We got home at 1:30 Monday afternoon and dropped Nik off. Eric and I grabbed lunch, and then headed to the QC. I came back to C-U today and crashed until just a few hours ago.