Another Post About My Crappy Immune System

I hate the fact that I am only able to post right now because I'm laid up on the couch sick. (Otherwise I'd probably be studying, reading, writing a paper, folding laundry, mopping the floor, or some other mundane domestic task). Actually, I'd rather be doing any of those things than sitting here on the couch, advil and water in hand, typing yet another post about how inept my immune system is. I woke up on Thursday morning with a stiff neck, which was further exacerbated by a run-in with a tree branch in which the branch pulled a clothesline move on me, snapping my neck back and bringing tears of pain to my eyes. And then yesterday, waves of nausea came. And a headache. Luckily, the headache and tummy problems have subsided, leaving me with a stiff and wore neck/back/shoulder. (After spending a few minutes on WebMD this morning, I have determined that I have either influenza, bacterial or spiral meningitis, a pulled muscle, or any combination of the aforementioned. I have come to the conclusion that WebMD is not your friend. Especially if you are a borderline hypochondriac to begin with.)

So I decided to pull myself up by the bootstraps this morning to go run some errands with Pat. Luckily, I'm feeling a little better. And I have managed to convince myself that what I have is probably not meningitis, but just a tweaked neck and some of sort of coincidental co-occurring stomach bug. Send me all your healthy vibes, as this coming week marks my busiest week of the semester (aside from finals week in May).

And because I have nothing witty to say, I will end with that.

Til next time,

Pausing for a Post...and 10 Things Tuesday

Hello out there blog world! I hope I haven't disappointed my readers too much with my lack of posts lately. But school is in full-swing again, and you all know how much school interferes with my blogging. Speaking of school, I'm in the midst of beginning a research project to support my thesis next year (scary). I'm in the process of writing up the proposal right now, which is due tonight (nothing like waiting until the last minute). I don't know where this nasty procrastination habit came from, but it seemed to crop right up around the time I started grad school. I've been buried in this proposal for the last 3 hours or so, so I decided now would be a good time to pause to partake in a trend in the blogworld known as "10 Things Tuesday". I'd be fooling myself if I thought this was something I could keep up every single Tuesday, but I thought it might be fun to participate this week. Here are 10 random facts about hubbs and I that some of you may not know:

1. For being an IT guy, Pat is pretty old-school when it comes to using the newest, trendiest technology in his personal life. He doesn't own an I-Pod or an Apple computer (which are staples for most IT guys). He just recently got a GPS from his mom for Christmas (thanks Lori!!). He keeps up on the newest technology, but he's just not interested in owning all the little gadgets. And he all but refuses to touch a computer during his free time in the evenings and on weekends.

2. We don't "do" Valentine's Day in the Groff household. It was romantic and fun when we were dating, but we both agree it's kind of silly to designate one day to show our love for one another.

3. One of Pat's favorite pastimes is working on his car. As a matter of fact, he just bought new leather seats for it (complete with seat warmers) that he installed himself.

4. I got just this new phone, a Droid Eris:
After having the same phone for almost 3 years, it's been a major transition for me to learn how to use a touchscreen phone. But my husband, ever the supreme source of knowledge on all things technology (see #1), informed me that touchscreen technology is the new direction for all cell phones, and the sooner I get used to it, the better. I am scared to death of this phone right now. In the 4 days I've owned this phone, I've made numerous calls to the wrong numbers, sent texts to the wrong people, and have been completely unable to figure out how to access my voicemail. Verizon has informed me that they offer a short tutorial class in their stores on Sundays to teach new users how to use their smart phones. I just wonder how much a class would be able to teach me about operating a phone that is clearly smarter than I am.

5. Pat will eat anything (and I mean anything: dairy items that are a few days expired, overripe bananas, stale chips and cereal, etc.) EXCEPT for cottage cheese. I've made a few attempts to hide cottage cheese in certain foods, like blending it up with cream to put it in lasagna. But he always catches me. I think it's a consistency thing???

6. Have I mentioned my desire to own this camera yet? Yes? Ok, very well then.

7. Judge if you must, but I do not care for the Olympics at all. In fact, I'm slightly annoyed with the fact that the Olympic games have interferred with normal daily programming. I have a huge amount of respect for the athletes, and all they have accomplished to qualify for the Olympics games; I just don't have any interest in devoting a huge amount of time to watching the events.

8. Pat and I are dying to go back to the Caribbean. A plan is in the works to take one more vacation to Jamaica, the Bahamas, or St. Lucia in the summer of 2011, to celebrate my graduation and have one last child-free hurrah.

9. Speaking of kids, we had a discussion the other night about the trend of parents treating their little girls like princesses, decorating their bedrooms in all things princess, and calling them "Princess" as a nickname, which we both agree is APPALLING. Neither one of us has any desire to inflate our little girl's ego to the point where she develops a sense of entitlement about what she "deserves". I understand how parents think that can be cutesy, but I think it's a slippery slope.

10. Pat has expressed interest lately in going back to school as well. He is not seriously looking into any specific programs or anything, but grad school is a definite possibility for him.

Alright, that's it for now. Hopefully you all have learned something new about one or both of us as a result of 10 Things Tuesday.

'Til next time,

This is what's dominating my thoughts these days...

This is not just any random selection of social work books. No siree. This is what $350 in grad school books looks like. Four books, two of which are used and in fairly crappy condition. And I'm looking at spending another $200 more for books this semester that I will be ordering online. Don't even get me started on the the decrease in class offerings in combination with the increased tuition. Because those two things together equal a poorer quality of education for California college undergraduate and graduate students statewide. Today is one of those days when I'm wondering whether or not grad school was a good life choice. Feel free to attempt to convince me otherwise...

Entertainment in its Many Forms

This last post is a mishmash of random pictures. Once again, bear with me. If you've made it through the previous four consecutive posts, you can surely grit your teeth through one more. :)

The first pics I have to post are of our new entertainment setup. After venturing down to the campus bookstore this weekend to get my books for Spring semester (which starts in exactly one week, eeek), it became apparent that our poor little bookshelf that we purchased at IKEA a couple years ago, was just not cutting the mustard anymore. When a bookcase becomes so packed with books that books have to be moved to get to the books I really need, it's time for a change. We've been tossing around the idea of buying a new entertainment stand for a long time (remember this post??). Since so many entertainment centers now incorporate full bookshelves, and because our only bookshelf is packed to the brim, we decided that the time was right. Before you say it, I am fully aware of the fact that what we ended up with looks nothing like what I originally wanted. But Pat's not so big on white furniture. And I'm not so big on black, bachelor pad looking furniture. Plus, we purchased a computer desk for me in white over the summer. Marriage is all about compromise, and I think we did a pretty good job of compromising on something we both liked.

I couldn't get a full view picture of the entire setup because the room just isn't big enough for me to zoom that far out.

There are tall bookshelves on each side. (Sorry for the blurriness. Again, I blame the camera, although I do suspect that lighting was an issue in this picture too, due to the glare of the tv and the candle on the coffee table.)

The last few pictures I have to post are of a beautiful sunrise that I woke up to last week. Pictures like this need no introduction. What a beautiful image to wake up to.

Montana spoiled us with beautiful sunrises and sunsets whereas where we live now, these are few and far between. I'm thinking this is because of the fact that there simply aren't clouds around very often (I know, boo hoo, it's a rough life in sunny California, right?). But I caught a glimpse of this the other morning and was able to snap a few quick pics before work. I can't wait until I have a new camera to take these beautiful sunrise and sunset pictures (hint, hint to my hubbs, if you're reading this [I know he is because I always have him read posts right after I clock the 'publish' button. Tricky, tricky.])

Ok, if you have made it through all of these posts in one sitting, I commend you. As of now, you all are caught up in everything new and exciting in our lives. As always, thanks for reading. :-)

A Post that Needs no Introduction

This, folks, is what 14 hours in Disneyland and California Adventure looks like. As I relive the experience through these photos, my feet ache with the pain that can only come from 14 hours of walking.

First thing in the morning, when we were excited and ready to go.

Yes, these are real-life green army men. Kinda creepy, I'm not gonna lie.

Classic Cody, wearing 3-D glasses for the Toy Story ride.

Standing in line for the Indiana Jones ride.

The Paradise Pier roller coaster. Best ride in the park.

Don't let Mickey fool you. This ride will jack you up (Especially if you have motion sickness. Then again, if you have motion sickness, what would you be doing in an amusement park? Logic FAIL).

I took quite a few pictures, but many of them turned out blurry. Pat blames user error. I blame the camera. I'm holding out hope that one of these days Patrick will agree to let me buy this beauty. I've been swooning over this camera for months.

After 14 hours in the park, including 3 meals of overpriced amusement park food, we were completely tuckered out by the end of the day. Even the 2 block walk to our motel seemed too exhausting to handle. Somehow we managed to make it back just in time to pop open a bottle of wine and watch the fireworks. We slept for close to 12 hours that night, before venturing into LA one last time on Sunday to hit the farmer's market and eat the best fish tacos I've ever had. Hollywood Boulevard and Rodeo Drive are overrated. The Los Angeles Farmer's Market is a much better tourist stop if you're really interested in getting a taste of the diversity that exists in this city. Very highly recommended.

My final commentary on Disneyland. If it's really the happiest place on Earth, why do all the parents leaving the park look so miserable? Riddle me that.

Ok, that's it for this post. I'll be writing one final post this evening to bring y'all up to date about the 2010 happs in the Groff household. Thanks for bearing with me through all the rambling.

Beaches and Sun and Handbags, Oh My!

I know I promised a plethora of posts between yesterday and today. My best intentions for this blog have not always come to fruition. But this time, folks, is when I deliver.

As a little disclaimer, I must admit that I learned a major lesson on putting my foot in my mouth during our trip to Southern California last weekend. To give you a little background, Pat had suggested moving to Southern California instead of Northern California when we first started discussing moving away from Montana. I swiftly shot down the suggestion, because of a particularly strong opinion I had about LA (the word I used in reference to the City of Angels is reserved only for mature audiences only). Besides, I thought, Pat has only ever spent time in Huntington Beach and Hollywood. What does he know about Southern California? Truth be told, it would have been a lot harder to make a start in an area with such a drastically higher cost-of-living than we were accustomed to in Montana. However, after having spent the weekend in Santa Monica, Malibu, and Anaheim, my opinion has changed. Drastically. You'll understand when you view the pictures below just how beautiful this area is. Especially Santa Monica and Malibu. It's easy to see why so many celebrities and musicians call this place home. 75*, surfing, Frisbee on the beach, all in the month of January. What's not to like? $1700/month for a studio apartment with no refrigerator. (Yes, I looked on craiglist.) ::gulp:: Oh yeah, that's right. But seeing the smile that crossed my husband's face as we approached the Santa Monica boardwalk was awesome. And you really can't buy that kind of happiness, right? That feeling of freedom and serenity that engulfs you when you're dipping your feet in the water, feeling the cold, wet sand squish between your toes. That, my friends, is priceless. So I fully intend to spend the next 16 months attempting to convince the hubbs to move to Southern California when I'm finished with my masters. I'll let you know how that one works out... In the meantime, here are our pics of Santa Monica and Malibu:

Ahh, refreshing. I never said the water was warm. ;)

Santa Monica Pier

A lovely couple from Texas (who were surprisingly chipper considering their team had just lost the BCS game the day before) offered to take our picture on the beach.

Patrick on the beach.

Happy as a clam after a few beers and a buffalo chicken sandwich at Sonny McLean's, a New England-themed sports bar in Santa Monica. This may be, by far, my best bargaining tool.

The sunset crept up on us as we were driving up the Pacific Coast Highway to Malibu, so I was forced to take a few pics from the car.

We finally stopped to take a picture at a public beach in Malibu. Incredible. I'm a sucker for a pretty sunset.

There were so many highlights to this trip. However, the best part came during our stroll on Wilshire in Santa Monica after our delicious lunch at Sonny McLeans. There was a designer handbag outlet on the corner that we had driven by a few times that I was dying to go into, if for no other reason than just to do some window shopping. My amazing husband, knowing that I was dying to go check it out, was not only a great sport in offering to venture into the store, but also surprised me by offering to buy me one!!! I have bought many a purse and handbag throughout my 24 years on this Earth, but this one rivals all. I always used to mock people that spent ridiculous amounts of money on a purse. Well now that I own one, I can understand the importance of owning a quality handbag. Without further aideu, allow me to introduce my new purse!

In the days since I've owned this bag, my love for it grows with each new compliment I receive. Perfect size. Perfect color. Perfect bag. Simple as that.

Stay tuned, another post will follow with pics of our main reason for venturing down to SoCal in the first place: DISNEYLAND!!!

And now, some lyrics.

To go along with my recent 90's grunge kick, here are some lyrics from one of my all-time favorite bands. The words of this song seem to fit well with the theme of new renewals and moving past heartbreak. Just when we think we've overcome a really difficult challenge, there's always something else waiting in the wings to test our faith.

If you've never heard this song, click here to hear it.

Wheels by Foo Fighters

I know what you're thinkin'
We were goin' down
I can feel the sinkin'
But then I came around

And everyone I've loved before
Flashed before my eyes
And nothin' mattered anymore
I looked into the sky

Well I wanted something better, man
I wished for something new
Yeah, I wanted something beautiful
I wished for something true
Been lookin' for a reason, man
Something to lose

When the wheels come down (When the wheels come down)
When the wheels touch ground (When the wheels touch ground)
And you feel like it's all over
There's another round for you
When the wheels come down (When the wheels come down)

Know your head is spinnin'
Broken hearts will mend
This is our beginning
Comin' to an end

Well, you wanted something better, man
You wished for something new
Well, you wanted something beautiful
You wished for something true
Been lookin for a reason, man
Something to lose

When the wheels come down (When the wheels come down)
When the wheels touch ground (When the wheels touch ground)
And you feel like it's all over
There's another round for you
When the wheels come down (When the wheels come down)