love it/hate it

Time for a list post.
'Cause I like em, and I have lots of things I've been obsessing over lately and wanna share.

Get in my life right now (aka loves)
1. STELLA SCOOTER.
Hey, member that one time Ryan mentioned to me that maybe one day I should get a scooter and then from that moment on most of my free time was consumed with researching and eventually falling head over heals in love with Genuine Scooters' Stella?
No? Oh, well, that happened.

Oh, she sure is a beauty, that Stella. Cream colored with leather seat and handles? My, my my. I've got it bad for Stells. No, that's not a typo, its a pet name. Yes, a pet name as in, "I love her so much she gets a special name aside from her given one."

Don't worry, I've already picked out my helmet as well. Safety first, kids.
It's like $500. So by "safety first" I actually meant "style first."

2. Discovering new Trader Joe's food.
So, the girl who brought snacks for our small group this week brought some of her favorite stuff from Trader Joe's (plus a 7-layer Mediterranean dip she made which was AWESOME!) She brought blueberry vanilla chevre (goat cheese) and caramel cashew cookies. Don't knock 'em til you've tried them. Seriously. Both were so good. And added bonus, she left the extras with us!! I may or may not have eaten an entire container of carmel cashew cookies this week.

Get in ma belly.

3. My rockin' painted globe.
Remember that globe I bought at the flea market a few weeks ago?
Well, I decided I wanted to paint it.

I kind of need to clean up around the letters, it's a little clumpy. But you get the overall look I'm going for.
I really like it for now, but I might end up washing it off. Maybe paint something else on it later. Or leave it plain for a while again. Who knows. But for now? Loving this.


Shut your face (aka hates errrr dislike because hate is a bad word)
Okay, so I have A LOT of pregnant friends right now. Like a whole crap ton of pregnant friends. With that, some stuff has come up that really bugs me. I don't mean this list to offend anyone in anyway. This is just my opinion, and since it's my blog I can write whatever the heck I want. Don't like it? Don't read it. And just because I don't like it, doesn't mean I think you shouldn't as well. Do what makes you happy. So pregnant friends...keep being you. Even if what you're doing right now bugs me. Haha.

1. Pregnancy countdowns that include days.
Such as "19 weeks and 3 days!!" Yuck. Your facebook friends don't need to know when your man impregnated you. "19 weeks" is perfectly adequate information for you to share with the world.

2. Maternity photo-shoots.
I understand that people want to capture various stages in life...but I seriously don't get maternity photo-shoots. When that baby is born you'll no longer want a picture hanging of you with your preggo belly...right? Like won't those pictures so quickly be substituted with pictures of you with THE BABY?! And really, I don't ever think those pictures look good. I mean, I hate to be blunt, but you're kind of swollen and fat. And no one wants to see your naked belly with your hubby's hands in the shape of a heart over your popped out belly button.

Oh, dear Lord, make it stop

I can't be the only one who thinks this, right? But I do think I'm in the minority here, because errrbody and their mamas get maternity photo-shoots.
But belly-progression photos? Love those. Those are cute. It's when people pay someone $600 to take really ridiculous photos...that where I draw the line.

3. Gosh darn Pure Michigan commercials because I'm not there.
Alright, Timmy, I know that Michigan is beautiful. I know that I should be exploring Grand Rapids or enjoying Traverse City rather than inhaling the toxic air of Philadelphia. I know, I KNOW. So you can stop playing your magnificent commercials here.

And I don't even like Ann Arbor!! (I just couldn't muster up the strength to post/watch the Grand Rapids one. I'd rather not cry right now.)



So I guess I had less obsessions than I thought. I'm sure I'm leaving some stuff out that I was planning to share. Oh well. Wanna hear some random stories? Good.
We went and saw "The Hunger Games" tonight (YAY! SOME TIME TOGETHER!!) Don't even get me started on how long it took. I knew I didn't want to see it right away because I didn't want to be surrounded by teenage girls screaming about Peeta or Gale. Because I really really love those books, and the story is soooo much more than a love story. So it bugs me when people are all "I'm team Peeta!" and I'm like, "This is NOT Twilight." (Hey, member when I TOTALLY called this craze?) Cetus la peetus.

Thank you for not sitting behind me in any movie ever.

I get that there is a love story in it...but look beyond that kiddos. Get the bigger picture. I digress.
So yes, I wanted to wait a little bit until we saw the movie. But since we waited so long,  we were now surrounded with all these old people who were like, "Let's go see what all those crazy kids are talking about and see that Hungry movie today." So like the guy in front of me says half way through the movie, "WHOA! That girl is really good with a bow and arrow!" And I'm like, "Duh. Where have you been the past year? Or at least the last hour and 15 minutes?!" And then the whole theater like flipped out when (SPOILER ALERT IF YOU HAVEN'T READ THE BOOKS, WHICH YOU SHOULD SO IF YOU HAVEN'T THAN YOU DESERVE TO HAVE THE MOVIE RUINED FOR YOU BEFORE YOU SEE IT) Rue dies. I literally rolled my eyes at everyone in the theater. Ugh. People. Read a book.

Oh, and Ryan decided that it was best to eat as much popcorn as possible, as loudly as possible, during the quietest most serious parts in the movie. I was rolling my eyes at him too. At one point, after telling him to be quiet numerous times, I grabbed his hand out of the bag and just held it really tight until the scene was over. I take my Hunger Games very seriously, and nobody is about to ruin the rooftop scene for me. Not even you, Ryan Russell. Love you, but I really didn't know that eating popcorn could even BE that loud! (Whoa, I sounded like Chandler and I didn't even mean to!)

Want another random story? Great!
I fell asleep on the couch last night while Ryan was studying in our bedroom. I guess he tried to move me into the bedroom when he was done, but I was apparently uncooperative (which explains my dream of having a man try to kidnap me, I guess.) So this morning, I wake up at 6:45 and realize Ryan never kissed me goodbye before he left for work. And I didn't hear the shower going or anything, so I knew he wasn't just running late. So I run into the bedroom and shake Ryan awake.
"IT'S 6:45!!!!"
He says, "It's Saturday."
Oh, whooops!

Kony 2012, Cover the Night

The Kony 2012 video went viral. And after being in the public eye, it received a lot of criticism and backlash. And although I don't agree with Invisible Children all the time (never have, probably never will), they are the only group out there trying to bring Kony's name into every household, and that is something I can get behind. I'm not required to give any money to them, I don't have to advocate for their group...it's simply about Joseph Kony and his victims in Central and East Africa.

While I was in Uganda, Watoto was launching Project Gulu. Gulu is in Northern Uganda, which is where the LRA was "stationed" for decades, and they have suffered severe loss and trauma due to the war there (Have you still not watched the movie, "War Dance"? C'mon people. This is the third or fourth time I've written about it. It's a beautiful story about hope and redemption. Seriously, watch it. Now.) Watoto was trying to make life livable again in Northern Uganda through trauma rehabilitation for the children who had been child soldiers, medical intervention (check out this video of Nancy), and starting one of their villages/babies' home there.  I got to hear a young man, David, give his testimony at Watoto church. He was a child soldier, forced to kill. Through Watoto, he found Jesus and learned the power of forgiveness. His story stuck has with me, which is part of why this campaign is so close to my heart.
(He is featured in this viedo, along with others who Watoto has helped. The first minute and a half-ish is about Watoto's founders and how it started)


Anyways, so because the video went viral, Invisible Children kind of changed their initial plan of Cover the Night.  Yes, it still involved hanging posters and such around your city, but they asked that you focus on getting involved in community service in someway on Friday. Because making a change in the world starts across the street. Beautiful right?
Ryan and I both work full, full days on Fridays so our available hours weren't really compatible with volunteering at a local charity. And the annual Philly Spring Clean up was last weekend, so areas around us that need trash pick-up were covered during that. So I had to settle with getting some toiletries for a local homeless shelter for women and children (I called earlier and asked what they needed most, and that's what they said. Not volunteers, not food or clothes but toiletries.) But I've also connected with a ministry just down the street that I'm going to start volunteering with every Tuesday. I'll be working at their food pantry, which they try and run like a grocery store. Where the families benefiting from it can come in and shop for food they want rather than just receive a bag of food we put together for them. They have a certain amount of credits to use on non-perishables and an amount for fresh foods. I'm so excited to start doing stuff in my community. (Our small group is studying the book of James and after discussing the section in James 2 about "faith without works is dead" I've been really convicted to do more physically in my community. Not just volunteering with church, but taking the initiative to seek out a group to volunteer with separate from our church. Then this Kony 2012 campaign was just an extra push in that direction.

Broad Street Ministries, where I'll be volunteering

Some of our donations to drop off at Mercy Hospice

They also asked to send hand written letters to your leaders (representatives, senators, and president for me) either thanking them if they supported the recent initiatives to support bringing Kony to justice or asking them to jump on-board. (I learned that my representative is named Chaka Fattah. I've been saying it over and over ever since.)

Ryan and I headed out late Friday night and hung posters and wrote in chalk all over town. We were as considerate as possible and tried not to create any extra work for people, because that would only bring more negative attention to the campaign. So we used painter's masking tape to hang our posters and only did chalk "graffiti" so it would wash away in the next rain (which was on Sunday). And I told myself that any posters that I hung that I still saw hanging by Tuesday, I would take down myself. But they have all been torn down by now. I also attempted to get permission to paint a wall, but every one I contacted either didn't respond or said no. Oh well, we did what we could.

Ryan has improved a lot in the picture taking department.
He took this without a flash at night, which is
nearly impossible to get a clear shot with, with my camera

Somebody else's work, but still a cool shot.
(I didn't buy posters from Invisible Children)

This post was meant to just share our pictures from the night. Sorry for all my video links. It's just that I can't help myself, this is a topic too close to heart.

dreams

One thing I've always loved about Ryan is his limitless dreaming. I've said this many times, but he really wants to and believes he can do everything. Be a P.A? Sure. Become so good at snowboarding that everyone and their mom wants to sponsor you? Why not, we've got time. Live in Alaska? West Virgina? Haiti? Go for it. Own and operate a farm? Rebuild an old car? Yep, that too. Get a Rhodesian Ridgeback. Live on the beach. Learn to surf. Get a Masters in Public Health. Climb Mount Everest. I'm not kidding, he wants to do everything. I love that about him, even if the practical side of me is just screaming inside.

But I think Ryan's dreaming has kind of rubbed off on me. I've recently found myself adding a few things to my list of things I would love to do in life. Most people have a 5 or 10 year plan all set out. You know...get married, buy a house in the 'burbs, have 2 girls and 1 boy, all with daddy's eyes and mama's smile. Not me. I really only had one thing on that list before: get back to Uganda. Okay, maybe 2 because I also want like 7 different dogs. Not that I want that many dogs, but...it's just I want so many different kinds of dogs that it's added up to having a bunch. (A smooth Jack Russell, a scruffy Jack Russell, a 2 or 3-legged blind dog (preferably a Poodle, so I can name it ramen noodle and Drake will be it's guide dog) and a Rhodesian Ridgeback...so I guess that's only 5. But chances are I'll fall in love with 2 more dogs during one of my many petfinder searches. Oh. And a bulldog.) Oh, and I want to own a 60s/70s era VW Vanagon. So I had 3 things.

YES! GET IN MY LIFE!

Last week, Ryan and I watched "Contagion." It's a movie about this viral outbreak that ends up killing over 25 million people around the world in like 3 weeks. Kate Winslet plays an epidemiologist who is sent to Minnesota to research the outbreak there, before it gets so full blown. And in the movie, she's going over all these statistics and turning what she sees into numbers, and equations and predictions...and it was so cool. Like it literally blew my mind. I thought about that movie for days and days after watching it. Every free moment I had was thinking about that movie. And considering I had an unexpected week off, I had quite a bit of free time.

I loved Statistics during my undergrad years at Grand Valley. I was going to minor in Stats, but it was going to keep me there an extra semester, and that was not something I wanted to do. I did take a few extra Stats classes though. And thoroughly enjoyed them. I feel like you really enjoy math when you not only understand your professor's math jokes, but you also find them extremely funny. I laughed so much in some of my Stats classes.
Anyways, so now I think being an epidemiologist for the CDC (Centers for Disease Control) or WHO (World Health Organization) would be like...the coolest career ever.
(Don't worry, I'm smart enough to know that the job wouldn't be exactly like Kate Winslet's job in Contagion.)

Oh, you know, it's just future me studying a crazy viral outbreak. No big deal.

I've also decided that I want to have a big, old letter-press. And make really beautiful wedding invitations and such. I fell in love with letter-pressed things while planning our wedding, but it was not even close to being in our budget (sad story.)

Ahhh, she's a thing of beauty.

And while we're on the subject of where the heck I would put that massive thing...I want to have my own little creative studio. Even something as small as a shed in our backyard (our rented backyard someday, because I really don't ever want to be a homeowner. (Plus also, I read about how people who are smart with investments these days actually AREN'T buying homes. So booyah. Don't try to talk me into buying a home because I'm so stubborn that it will push me into renting that much longer.)) I will have this beautiful little tiny space that is just mine. With gorgeous natural lighting. And...sigh...I just see it in my head and I love it. I would spend hours and hours out there. Ryan already said he knows he would have to come get me at midnight and I would just be hard at work, loving life.

This picture alone makes me so happy.

And well, since we're talking about out-there dreams, I might as well add that one of my dream jobs is to be the person who makes the gifts that Ellen gives her celebrity guests. Because I would be awesome at that job.
Except for the gift she gave Jonah Hill. I don't know if I could have done that one. Which also happened to be THE BEST HOUSEWARMING GIFT EVER!

The housewarming gift perfected.

I'll have you know that that painting was MASSIVE too. It was like 5'x A lot of '.

So now you're thinking...how are you gonna do all that in one life?
Exactly.

But I also have one more dream, which I've been thinking about for a while after I heard myself say it one day. I was telling Ryan about a fellow Watoto volunteer I know who is living a dream life. She kinda just does what she wants. She didn't go to college, doesn't ever want to. She's single and perfectly content with that...so she just...does what she wants. Goes where she wants. Finds a job that will support here for a while, and then she moves on. Go to New Zealand? Be a nanny/cheese and fruit salesperson? Sure!! Move to Bali? Why not? She literally just wants to do something, and get this...the crazy part...SHE DOES IT.  I want a life like that...a life that's lead by LIVING and not working. I want to work to live and not live to work. I don't really ever want a career, where I work 40 hours/week and have 2 days to "live." Yuck. That sounds disgusting. And so so so miserable. I don't want that. I don't want that. I don't want that.

So mostly, I won't be an epidemiologist even though I think it's like the coolest job ever. And I doubt Ellen will ever hire me to make awesome gifts. But I still could have my creative shed :)

Oh, and 7 dogs.
And my Vanagon.

cheesesteaks and sugar philly

Ryan had a day off a few weeks ago, and we took full advantage of it!
We headed to South Philly to get the best cheesesteak in town...at John's Roast Pork!

I crave these cheesesteaks regularly, but this place has the strangest hours so it's nearly impossible to get one unless you have the day off and/or are willing to move your car (both of which are very rare around here!) I mean what place that serves greasy delicious food isn't open past 3pm? Or the weekends? It's insanity.

Get in my belly.

We were actually kind of disappointed. Not as good as we remember...but I think it was just an off day. Haven't written John's off completely yet.
After stuffing our faces, we headed over to University City to buy some french macarons from the Sugar Philly food-truck!

We saw Sugar Philly on the Food Network for their macarons, and they've been named in the Top 20 Food-trucks in America! Plus, I recently fell in love with french macarons. So clearly it was something we needed to experience.

We got a red velvet (with chocolate ganache filling) one, a tiramisu one, and an orange blossom one.
Obviously, red velvet was the best.

They were delicious. We will most definitely be heading back to the Sugar Philly truck!!

bragging rights

I need to take a minute to just brag about Ryan. Because I know he won't do it for himself, and the kid deserves some serious recognition.
Ryan studies so much. Like SO MUCH. He's at his rotation all day and then comes home, eats dinner with a 30 minute tv-show break and then gets to studying until bed time (generally around midnight.) Day after day. It's insane. And yes, I miss him a lot and wish we could spend more time together. But most of the time those feelings are pushed aside because I'm so incredibly proud of him. For sticking with it, night after night of studying. Day after day of dealing with either extremely conceited attendings or the been-in-healthcare-too-long-and-now-I-hate-everyone type of preceptors.
One time, he was diagnosing children in his sleep and it made my heart hurt. That his brain couldn't even rest during those little hours of sleep he gets a night.

But you know why he really needs some recognition?

Ryan got a 4.0 this past semester!! All A's!!!
I screamed when he told me. And gave some serious high-fiveage.
And told him to pick where he wanted to go for dinner that night...'cause we were going out baby!!

We headed over to Percy Street BBQ (which happens to be on our Philly Bucket List.)

I'm not a huge BBQ fan. I'll eat it sometimes, but it's rare. (Actually, there was a place near Grand Valley that Ryan and I used to go to a lot and get BBQ. We had perfected our own special mixture of sauces. It was super good. And then they closed down. Sad story.) So I got the mac n' cheese and some sweet potatoes. The mac n' cheese was super good. Super, super, super good. Sweet potatoes...meh. I'll take a sweet potato with butter and cinnamon/brown sugar over those anyday.

Ryan got some type of  BBQ'ed meat sandwich. He liked it. Too smoky for me, I was glad I didn't spring for some meat in hopes that I'd like it.

Mr. 4 point O

And then...for dessert...we split a Rootbeer Float and a slice of Mud Pie. Oh my word. I took a bite of that pie and died and went to heaven. Where everything tastes like happiness and looks like swirly lollipops. It was...inexplicably good. I can't even. I have no words.

Turns out Percy Street BBQ won the Best of Philly award for their pies. Psh. No surprise there.
Next time, I want to try the Key Lime.