I have some sad news to report...

in the plant life department. Remember those fresh, organic herbs I got at the cooking show? Yeah... I watered them, from the bottom, like I was supposed to... and yet... they still died. What can I say? Unless you bark, meow, or just plain ask for food and/or water, I cannot help you!

Scared of my Cooking!

Remember the star of the Thundershirt video??? Mr Anxiety, Brokaw Brown?
He does NOT like when I cook! Our old apartment had this really sensitive smoke alarm that would go off every time I used the stove, so he's still conditioned to think that's going to happen again. So, when the vent fan is on, he freaks out, runs and hides.

We got video of it the other morning.

White House Christmas Decorations

Our apartment isn't the only place that has a pretty Christmas tree right now, I get that.
Last week, for work, I got a little sneak peek of the Christmas Decorations at the White House! It's one of my favorite things to cover every year.
I made this little flip-cam video for work. Check it out!

Oh, Christmas Tree...

Last Sunday, after church, we were planning to deal with the Christmas Tree situation. We were still up in the air on whether we were going to get a real tree or a fake one. Both options had pluses and minuses.

The major minus for getting a real tree being that all 5 feet of me was going to have to get a tree up on top of our SUV, drive it home, get it down, and set it up.

The major minus for getting a fake tree being we have not one inch of storage space in this apartment for a big fat Christmas tree box!

So, we were coming home from church, which went very well last weekend :) And we were talking about it. As usual, M was of sound mind, laying out the options, and I was immediately shooting them down, finding something wrong with each option. Then, we decided to drive to Home Depot. We saw they had 7 foot trees for just $35! Knowing fake trees were at least $100 or so (because now's the worst time to buy one, sale wise) this was looking good!

But, I was a little sad because getting the tree up on the car and off and what not is a man's job. Grr. I hate situations like this!! I was totally intimidated by this whole transporting the tree home situation (even though it is literally across the street). Well.... the guy from Home Depot tied it to the top of the SUV.

I was fighting off a little bit of sadness because it wasn't my man who did the tying, but I got over that the second we pulled into the Target parking lot to buy ornaments for OUR tree. (Last year's Christmas bush was a hodge podge, it's so much better this year putting our heads together and making everything OURS vs. mine or his).

We bought a cart full of blue and silver ornaments and garland and sparkling snowflakes. I knew it was going to be perfect and beautiful.... as long as we could figure out how to get it into the apartment...
This is the tree on top of the SUV, through the sunroof. On our way home from Target, I was literally holding on to the tree!! Mr. Home Depot only tied the bottom down. Thank God we only had to go like a block!

M came up with a strategy so that he could help me get this monster inside. I cut the strings and just let it fall off the car. Then I muscle-manned the heavy bottom onto his lap. I picked up the top and walked backwards as M pushed forwards and we brought that sucker into our living room like a couple of lumber jacks!! I muscle-manned it upright and got it (pretty much/good enough) straight, and we had a Christmas Tree in our living room!!!

Victory!!! It feels SO GOOD when we work together to do something that we technically should not be able to do. Nothing is better, I tell you!
Here I am with my lumberjack gloves :)
Getting lights on the tree. This picture is in major violation of a long standing photo rule we have around here which M knows very well... that anything below my waist is off limits, but I'm making an exception for this pic because it does tell the story :)
I worked my way up the tree...
Then finally, I busted one of 3 step ladders I have in our apartment out and put the star on!!
Michael helped out with the garland. I tried explaining to him that this was NOT Mardi Gras and the usual agreements regarding beads did NOT apply...
He did an excellent job.

He's much more of a perfectionist than me! I'm like, get it up, decorated, and stand back and admire it. It's a Christmas tree, it's a beautiful thing in and of itself. He's more like, move this exact ornament to the left of this particular light by 1/2 of an inch.... grr!!!! I do not like to take orders :) Hee hee...
Look at our pretty, pretty ornaments!
All done! I love waking up and seeing this each morning!

In the end we had OUR tree up and decorated and it was a sweet feeling of victory! I'm already trying not to stress out about taking it down the day after Christmas... :) I am my mother's daughter, what can I say?

Thanksgiving 2010

Thanksgiving is my ultimate favorite holiday. Plus, road trips with Mr. Ritter are usually grand (as long as he doesn't get uncomfortable in the car, which unusually turns ME into a brat....) At any rate, that's where we start.
See how tall he is in the car! For long trips, M sits on his cushion and it makes him a giant. But I don't mind feeling small, so it's all good. We drove about 5 hours SW to Michael's Aunt Tonja and family's house, where we met up with his Papa, Miss Jean and his brother Jarred and his family. Good get together.

Theme #1 from this Thanksgiving. Greyson and McGregor.
Buds. G was following McG all over the place!
Theme #2. Aunt Tonja the couch hopper. Here she is with baby girl Marissa, and Papa.
Tonja on couch #2 with Miss Jean and Marissa.
Brody was so excited when we got there. He's at such a fun age where he wants to play with everyone! He is a cute kid and I can't believe how big he's getting!
Michael has this thing about biting children. I don't really get it, but I guess he doesn't hurt them because they always seem to come back for more! Brody knows the deal with his Uncle Mike.
G stopped following McGregor for a nano second to play the part of little drummer boy!
Then, the real rockers came in the room...

This is my incredibly smokin' hot sister-in-law, Crystal. So good to see her! Love this girl!!!
Michael and I both have little brothers who, without even trying, can make us feel like the most un-cool nerds on the planet. Why do little brothers do that so easily? Not fair! I can only hope that we bring on some sort of inferior complex too... like maybe we seem wise to them or something? Haha, I don't know. But, that's what's happening in this picture....
Jarred is explaining to us what cool jeans are. We are paying attention, while at the same time realizing, we will never be cool. Oh well.
Speaking of cool... Papa was explaining to Jarred here that he's ditched his landline and now you can only reach him via cell phone... just so you know.

The day after Thanksgiving, McGregor was getting some love from somebody else!
And Chef Caitlin put me to work in her Italian kitchen!!
She made an amazing meal!!!
Look at her in action! I wish I had these skillz when I was 14 years old!!!
Tonja's on couch #3 if you're still counting..
And, my sister says this should be an Apple commercial. I think it's more like Michael and me in 50 years :)
I love Papa and Miss Jean. They are soooo sweet together!
M and I (unsuccessfully) tried taking some self portraits...
Horrible, right? This is better, haha --
Even though it's out of focus.... we had a perfect Thanksgiving. Love food. Love family. Yeah!

Catching Up...

Okay, I'm giving myself an hour (well, just under an hour) and I'm going to try to catch you up on our life for the past eh, week and a half, I guess. It will be a lot of pictures, because well, photos tell good stories, right? And, they tell stories faster than me writing a lot of words.

So here goes...

Oh, Blog...

I have not forgotten about you. I'm sorry it's been more than a week since I've posted. It's been a very, very busy week! We had the most perfect Thanksgiving and weekend after Thanksgiving.

We successfully brought home, put up and decorated a real Christmas tree! We transitioned back to getting up at 3:30am so we could take care of M's personal care. (No more home health lady for a while). I had a quick, successful and hilarious trip to traffic court (everything was thrown out, yay!), and a super busy week at work, which included one of my favorite things of the year, the White House Christmas decorations!

(I put together this little FlipCam video for work)

I'm sitting in on a heating pad in my white chair with a sleeping puggle at my feet, looking at the most beautiful 7 foot tall Christmas tree in the corner. Sipping some Christmas Blend topped with whipped cream and cinnamon. I've just received an amazing massage from my husband which completely relieved my aching back. (He can rock a massage with those pointy little elbows and warm palms, haha!) There's a frozen lasagna in the oven for the next hour. I'm watching the local news and cracking up at one of my favorite reporters who blows every live shot and standup way out of proportion and always makes me laugh, and cringing at upcoming temperatures in the 20s!

More, including pictures, soon! Tomorrow, my bud Jessi is coming over and we are going to have a Holiday Baking Day!

It's the Day Before Thanksgiving!

Good morning, everyone.

I'm sitting in the office writing this. I have a cup of coffee to wash my Honey Nut Cheerios down. Brokaw is eating a chew right beside me. I have a pile of coupons I clipped last night right beside my computer.

It's nice and quiet in here. And it's 7:30, and I just got up. Bliss.

M is still sleeping in the bed. He just yelled for me, I went in there to see what he wanted/needed, "I'm sorry I keep falling asleep on you." :)

I kissed him gently on his dry, sleepy lips and tried to explain there's a huge gap between me being up, in the other room, lollygagging and me being up at 4am on a weekday, walking dogs, picking up poop, and doing chores.

He happily drifted back off to sleep. And I happily marched back to my perch here.

Last night was a good night.

I rode home with a co-worker. I gave her bad advice on where to turn, and we ended up passing one of my favorite spots in Washington, DC.

The World War II Memorial. You actually can't see the exact spot in this picture, but it's the place where Michael Ritter asked me to marry him October 17, 2008. I was telling Tamatha the story and she said, "I thought that only happened in the movies, and old movies at that!" Nope. I am one blessed girl, I tell you!

I cooked a pork tenderloin for dinner last night. It took more than an hour, which, on any ordinary weeknight would be entirely too long. But it gave me time last night to tidy up, clip coupons, and look at pictures of my college roommate's fresh-out-of-the-oven baby boy on Facebook. I am in awe. So proud of Amber. It does seem crazy when a person you grew up with has a baby. But, I'm getting really used to it! Caleb is a cute, cute baby. He was born with chubby cheeks already installed! I also listened to the new Taylor Swift album while M watched some Battlestar Gallactica (what in the world?) online.

I have a strict zero-tolerance policy on all things science fiction and/or involving space and/or aliens or anything unrealistic. So, he's smart about when he watches that stuff :)

Dinner was random, but ended up being quite enjoyable! I didn't get any pictures of the final product, sorry. We had honey mustard marinated pork tenderloin, a boxed mix of red beans and rice (which I added fresh red onion and red pepper to), canned mixed vegetables (I hate canned mixed veggies, thank God that was the last of what we had, I will not be buying any more!) and garlic bread.

I highly recommend adding fresh produce to any and all boxes/mixes of rice or pasta or sauce or whatever. Totally gives it that homemade taste.

On my agenda today:

Making braided cheese bread, strawberry scones and pumpkin doughnut muffins. Thanks so much for your input.

Oh, and I might also resume lobbying to use this picture in our Christmas card.. M doesn't like his hair here. So, I have some convincing to do. If you have a sec, leave a comment encouraging him :) Otherwise, I may be forced to be photographed either Thursday (after driving 5 hours, eeew) or Friday (the day after eating a feast at Thanksgiving? Um. No. Thank.You, right?)

I gotta go now. M's home healthcare provider lady is here and I tried to just type away in the office while I hear her working in the other room.... but I just can't do it. It still weirds me out. So, I'm outta here. Peace out. Safe travels and happy family time to all of you!

Thankful for Thanksgiving! (and I need your input!)

Can I just tell you... Thanksgiving is my ultimate favorite holiday.

First, I love the concept. Being thankful in and of itself is a beautiful thing. Gratitude for the people you have in your life, the situation you're in, and the things you have - no matter who those people are, what you're dealing with, and what you do or don't have - is a good thing. I am the kind of person who is constantly wanting more and more of whatever. I'm married to a guy who is the picture of contentment. Sometimes that's annoying :) But mostly it's a great example, and I love how his "Glass half full"ness balances out my "Glass? What glass? You mean the one I just put in the dishwasher?"ness. See this story from last Christmas time as an example.
So, yeah, I like being thankful. It's good for the soul.

Second, it's no secret that I absolutely LOVE food. I like to buy it, I love to cook it, and I'm in love with eating it. So, yeah - an entire day where the focus is cooking, preparing, tasting and feasting on too much food is like gold medal material for me.

Third, I also love time with family. This year, we are going to North Carolina to spend time with Michael's family. His really fun Aunt Tonja (shout out Tonja!) and her super cute and fun family are hosting. Michael's brother Jarred and his wife, Crystal and their two little studs will be there. And Michael's PawPaw and Miss Jean are coming in from Arkansas! So, yeah, we are in for a GREAT time of catching up and making memories. Here are a few things that are sure to happen. I will get on the floor and have fun playing with little Marissa (M's one year old cousin) and Grey (M's one year old nephew). M will talk to Uncle Robby about the TV being mounted on the wall and about how we got a flatscreen this year and he hooked our computer up to it, foregoing our cable bill (Jackpot! You need to do this, trust me!) I will feel short and fat and outdated standing next to my gorgeous sister in law who I would hate if that were humanly possible, but she's also really sweet in addition to being a beauty goddess, so I can't. There may be some guitar hero/rock band involved where M and I will both stick to the most basic of levels. Brody (4 year old nephew) will make us all die laughing as he makes funny faces for the camera. M and I will smile quietly at each other when we see PawPaw and Miss Jean holding hands. I may or may not get up at an ungodly hour on Friday morning to go shopping with Caitlin....
Needless to say... it will be a fun filled, jam packed 24 hours or so!!! And on top of all of that, we will all stuff ourselves beyond measure!

So, yeah. Thankfulness, Food, Family (and football on in the background) I absolutely cannot find anything wrong with Thanksgiving, even if I am wearing my Debbie Downer hat. I'm tempted to say something negative about driving, but road trips are generally very fun for us!! We sing and talk and eat really bad fast food. Which makes me think... I guess we should eat breakfast Thursday morning before we hit the road in case not much is open.

I digress.
Anyway - I hope y'all all have a Happy Thanksgiving this year!!!!

If you want to help me narrow down what my contributions will be to our family Thanksgiving, please do. I don't want to overdo it! :)

Here are some of the things I'm thinking about making....
These honey yeast rolls... (classic, yummy, versatile)
And/or this braided cheese bread... (braided bread in and of itself is just jazzy impressive, no?)

And for dessert, maybe this pie I made recently?

I did say I would bring something for breakfast Friday morning.
For that, I'm considering strawberry scones... (I just got some strawberries that I need to use up)
and/or pumpkin doughnut muffins...(seasonal)
or cheddar dill scones.... (I have fresh, organic dill growing in my kitchen right now!)

Vote! Tomorrow, I'm off! So, I'll head to Wegmans in the morning (sure to be a MAD HOUSE) and then I can play in the kitchen all day! Yay!

M is Back, and I'm Not Invisible. Just So You Know.

(photo courtesy: Thomas Wilson)

Michael got home Saturday afternoon from the Men's Retreat. He had an amazing time. I don't know much of what went on there because apparently Men's Retreats are something like Vegas in that what happens there, stays there.

I do know this much. He bonded with some guys. He was part of a group of men that filled the air with many voices singing hymns. Some guys stepped up and helped him out, just like he said they would. And he came home mightily encouraged. I can see the leadership in his eyes. He wants to be the big strong hero of this little family that is me and him. And I love that. I'm so thankful he had the opportunity to get away, to do some manly bonding, and that he was so ready to come home to me.

And, even though I did enjoy some "me" time, and I did enjoy falling asleep on his side of the bed, and waking up on my side, thus meaning I made my way around our whole king sized bed by myself, I was ready for him to come home, too.

And this weekend, I was particularly thankful he was spiritually encouraged and has that heart of leadership. Because I need him to lead me. There are so many ways I am still such a baby, especially spiritually and emotionally, and that strong, solid, honest leading is a beautiful, necessary thing in our marriage.

(photo courtesy: Thomas Wilson)

So, yeah... little did he know when he got home this weekend, back from his spiritually high, motivating retreat... he'd have a mess of a wife on his hands. Here comes some more pure, not-from-concentrate realness from me.

Sometimes, I feel invisible. Especially at church. Which logically sounds like the most ridiculous thing on earth, right? We are surrounded by people who love us, inspire us, pray for us, who are WITH us in every imaginable way.

But, I feel like I just fade into the background. I'm there to open the door for Michael, carry our coffee, get the bulletin and the communion elements, get us situated at our seats. Our seats that I feel like are a stage. They're right THERE in the middle of the theater (we go to church in a movie theater). We sit by ourselves, not by choice, but because that's where the place is where someone who is in a wheelchair can sit, with someone else. One other person. That's me. I feel like everyone sees Michael coming, like it's a grand entrance, and I'm just there. Behind him. People greet him, pound him, hug him, and say hi to me second, if at all. I've been noticing this for months, but thought maybe it's all in my head.

Then, this weekend, when M was at the Men's Retreat, I went to a ladies event at our church. The first thing I was asked when I walked in the door was if he got a ride. Then I saw four people I haven't seen in a couple of months, and the first thing all FOUR of them asked about was... him. One woman even said to me, "Oh, yeah, your husband is in a wheelchair," when she was realizing who I was. M wasn't even there and it was still all about him. And I know no one means to do this, they don't realize they're doing it. And I'm not mad at anyone. It just sucks.

I was pissed! And hurt. And Sunday morning, it wasn't any better. By Sunday afternoon when we got home, I was a crying mess. Until my man uttered a few choice words that I will not repeat here that pretty much amount to "screw that."

And, he's right. I will jump up and down to make people see me if I have to. I have a lot to offer. And besides being his wife, which is an awesome role and honor and all of that, I am also worth acknowledging and talking to, myself. So there. I'm not crying about being invisible anymore.

Plus... Sunday night, I attempted to dye my hair brown and it turned out red, which actually, looks awesome. So... unless people really are blind to me, they'll notice that! Not that that's why I dyed my hair, it totally isn't but hey - it can't hurt in the attention department. And, since we're being all honest and what not - let me just tell you... little Cindy loves her some attention!