He's a man of his word

No, folks, that is not a picture of Fozzie the Bear holding a napkin. That is the official pic of the Double Down consumed by Ricker in my absence. In looking at this pic, all I can think about is the skin graft I would have to get on the roof of my mouth to repair the damage done by that super crispy "skin bun".

The review was not glowing. He said it was "ok, but the fries were the best part". So the search for the perfect sandwich continues....

I would also like to take a moment to wish one Kristen Marie Dodgen (formerly Kennedy) a very happy birthday! I miss you and hope you have a great day! KK, disproving the myth that brides don't get to eat on their wedding day.

Milestone

Though she doesn't get as much air time on ye ol' blog, there is a third niece that is also making waves in her own little adorable way. Miss Chase Marie, at the ripe age of 3 months rolled over for the first time this weekend!

In no time she will be shaking her money maker at football games and playing soccer, all of which I plan to document here. She's advanced, that one. Must be the Erwin genes.

Action Packed

This was the first official weekend that it actually felt like fall, and we packed in lots of fall-esque activities to ring in the new season.


What's fall without football??? Instead of cheering for our non-existent favorite teams (let's face it, none of us are die-hard football fans), we chose to cheer for Chloe on Friday night as she cheered at the Webster Groves HS football game 1st quarter.

There were some minor sychronicity issues, but everyone was enthusiastic all around.


Some of us express our enthusiasm in more subtle ways.

Aunt Shisha led the charge on the concession stand with an impressive purchase of FIVE bags of skittles. She was nice enough to share with the rest of us. I also learned that five of the six of us prefer skittles to M&Ms. Now you know too.

I would like to take a moment to thank the running gurus that came up with the concept of the "taper" in training. I am not clear on the science behind it; all I know is that it meant that we only (yes, only, we are now those obnoxious people that refer to normally very long running distances as "only") had to run 5 miles. It was glorious. We were able to finish in time to make Parker's soccer game, which is another one of our favorite fall activities. And because Bear/Bexar is back among the land of the living, he got to come too!
B enjoyed the rear window roll-down feature and entertained all cars behind us with huge ears floppin' in the breeze.

Dinner on Saturday night was Hammerstone's in Soulard (originally tried for McGurks, but apparently everyone else in the free world had the same idea, so we had a change of plans). Sunday brought in some full-on gloomy weather that incapacitated me and made it impossible to get off the couch (after brunch, of course). There was also our first official fire in the fireplace. The best thing about this fall is that we now have the trusty Pedro to manage all the leaves!

Missed Opportunity

Ever since we were little my siblings and I used to try to come up with what we would name our band (and subsequent best selling albums) when we finally developed some sort of musical skills. Never you mind that there's not one of us that can carry a tune or play an instrument, so this was a pretty lofty undertaking. Patrick's was Teenage Waistband. Liza's was Wasted Staples. Chaney never came up with one because the OJ/MJ/Scott Peterson trials were on and she had better things to occupy her time. It took me about 30 years to come up with mine and I just found out while going through Rick's iTunes yesterday that my imaginary band name is now an actual band name. It appears that someone else recognized the genius in the name Rumble Strips. I just love saying those words too. So descriptive. It's the little things that make me happy.

Know what else I love to say? Bieber Fever. The kid creeps me out, but I gotta hand it to him, that's catchy.

EDIT: Patrick would like the record to show that the band naming thing was his idea. And that he's got Bieber Fever.

To the Rescue...

Update on dog: Thanks to Chaney's diligent care, Bexar/Bear is back among the land of the living. He got his CT scan on Thursday, right before we left for Boston. Similar to the last time he was sedated, he was super-zombie dog. They always tell us it's going to wear off, but both times it has sent him into this near-death experience. Needless to say, I was no longer worried about brain tumors and was now freaking out that our food obsessed dog was no longer eating! This alone would be enough, but knowing all this along with the fact that we were leaving town was a huge bummer.

Enter Chaney. Champion for those in need/distress. Particularly dogs. And if you happen to be a cute 80-100 pound mutt that likes to watch Intervention with Chaney, then she will devote all time and resources available to make sure you get well. Even if you crap in her car. Or pee all over the house she is watching. Needless to say, when she prefaced the car bomb nightmare story with the phrase, "I've got a funny story" and genuinely seemed to think it was funny (I was mortified), I realized B couldn't be in better care.

After an electrolyte injetion, some sort of hydration therapy, and prednasone, and endless treats/love from Aunt Chaney and the whole Hagemann clan, B appears to be on the road to recovery. Oh, and there's no brain tumor! He's now his normal slobbery, food obsessed, aggressive for petting, shedding, manipulating for treats-self. And we couldn't be more thankful.

Greetings from Beantown!

The Ricker and I descended on Boston on Friday and have been non-stop ever since. One thing I have learned over the years of being married to Rick is that he is not a very relaxing vacationer. Every minute is spent thinking about where we're going next, how we'll get there, and how late that place will make us in getting to the next stop. It's insanity. Oh, and he considers it a moral/physical defeat to take a cab anywhere within a 5 mile radius of your hotel. It's great for sight-seeing and the waistline, but not great for my feet in my not so sensible walking shoes.

Case in Point: Saturday started off with a 10 mile run through south Boston. You'd think that would be enough to warrant a cab for our afternoon activities, but not for the Ricker. The run was just a warm-up for the 2.5 mile walk to get to the 2.5 mile Freedom Trail. Of which, we only did about 1.5 miles because we are apparently slackers (and I have a limited attention span for history). Then the walk BACK to the hotel. As far as I can tell we logged in about 16-17 miles on Saturday. Then we attended a Red Sox game at Fenway which was absolutely great. He took mercy on me and let us take a cab to that location.

I put my foot down on Sunday and refused to spend the limited time I had available walking the 3 miles to our lunch destination, so I got to take a new Erwin record of THREE CAB RIDES on Sunday. It was magical.

I am currently on a break during the oh-so-riveting Tanks Conference while Rick jaunts around the city. Last I heard he walked 5.1 miles to Harvard Square. Rick's "Psychotic Walking Tour of Boston" should be coming out this Spring.

Charmed Life

If you read my "Day in the Life" post, you know how glamorous my work is. There are very few perks to being on-site other than having access to fountain soda at almost any given time (and for this I am very grateful). Sometimes you even get a FREE soda, which is pretty much the equivalent in my job to winning the lottery ticket.

Yesterday I had a meeting that I was dreading at what used to be a bread factory. I had only been there twice before, and it was winter and gross, so I guess I had missed the fragrant aroma of baked goodies coming out of this place. It was amazing. What was not so amazing was the fact that I hadn't had lunch yet as I thought the meeting was only going to be an hour or so. The meeting started at 11 and long about 12:30, as my client was getting into the details of how they now mix their own chocolate and how clean the facilities are (yes, even this aspect was getting me worked up at this point) I must have said out loud, "You guys have to stop, I am starving." To which the sweet assistant Amanda responded, "Oh, you're hungry? I'll go get some pies!" Holy hell.

Amanda was apparently sent to earth by Jesus himself because this is what she came back with:

The meeting went much better after that and everyone was riding a sweet sugar buzz for the rest of the afternoon. I think I will bring Ding Dongs to every potentially contentious meeting from here on out. It's the modern day olive branch.

Premeditated

My husband is the most honest man I know. This is a bit of a double-edged sword at times. He will tell me when I have stinky breath or when he is not a fan of something I cooked. He will even tell me "I'm not crazy about it" when I ask him if an outfit looks good. The flip side is that he is incapable of keeping a secret, or anything that happens to pop into his head, to himself. He is not a fan of surprises and expects everyone else to act accordingly. Wrapped presents drive him crazy. We haven't exchanged formal gifts in about 6 years because he can't wait until whatever gift-worthy occassion is looming to deliver/receive the goods.

Because I try to keep the food in the house relatively healthy, Rick is regularly confessing to me the "less healthy" things he consumes while at work. I should mention here that I don't worry about what Rick is eating, but he apparently has a guilty conscience about it, hence the need to divulge such information.

Well apparently the Ricker has been fantasizing about something other than his wife these days as evidenced by the following conversation we recently had:

R: When are you going away for work again (holding his iPhone as if he's entering the dates into his calendar)?

K: I will be gone 9/29-10/1.

R: Ok, because I am going to Double-Down when you are gone.

For those of you who are not in the know, this is a reference to KFC's new abomination, the Double Down (TM). Pictured here:

You're eyes do not deceive you. That's bacon, cheese, and some sort of sauce between two fried chicken patties. It's very Atkins friendly. At least Rick's smart enough to wait until I am out of town to double-down, as this would never happen on my watch. Enjoy the DD bud, I can't wait to hear all about it!

Man Down!

Apologies for the radio silence. It's been a crazy few days at Casa de Erwin. Our boy Bexar has not been feeling well. He had an accident in the house last Friday night, but we sort of wrote it off as him being worn out. I can totally wrap my head around not wanting to get out of my comfortable bed and use the bathroom, but alas they don't make adult pull-ups. But then it happened again on Saturday afternoon, and we noticed that his right eye was a little droopy. Then there's the circling. Our boy has taken to walking in circles around the downstairs of our house...living room to kitchen...kitchen to dining room..dining room to living room. Rinse and repeat.



This started off as just a few laps, but he is apparently in sympathy half marathon training because it can go on for quite a while in the past few days. All of these things together resulted in an emergency vet visit Saturday afternoon. The prognosis is not great, but not confirmed yet. We have been referred to some doggie neurologists, which should be interesting. We'll hopefully know more when we get in to see a specialist. Until then, we are in full spoiled-doggie mode and B is feasting on anything he wants, which recently has been hamburgers and ribeye.



I should add that George Burns has resurfaced (per Rick, I haven't seen him), so you are now free to stop praying for him, and pray for sweet Bexar-Bexar (bear-bear). Thanks guys!

Success!

I know all of you were sitting by your computers this morning anxiously waiting to hear what new injury I incurred on this morning's run. Well, I am sorry to disappoint, but this morning's 11 mile run was completed without incident. Unless you count a near lung collapse due to 100% humidity an incident. But other than that, it was quite boring injury-wise. It's still early in the day though.

Real Time Updates

Apparently the grandparents love seeing updates about them on the blog because I keep getting pictures. Here's the latest:

The message with the photo read, "On the plane and still shopping!" I imagine the conversation went something like "Ok girls, as long as there are no tears shed on this flight, you can get 3 things from this magazine."

Life's a Beach-Part 2

Geebs is becoming very tech-savvy. So savvy that she is now proficient (and prolific) with the picture messaging. We received no fewer than 10 pictures of their fabulous condo at the beach. That's right folks, the luxury of the beach knows no bounds. Nothing but the best for these grandkids. Once Bigs left town, Geebs packed up the girls from their lovely beach house and headed to the Turquoise Condos across the street. From what I can tell, this place is as close as Orange Beach is going to get to Las Vegas.

This is their condo. If I didn't love them all so much I would hate them just a little bit.

Apparently one hot tub on the balcony is not enough. It would appear that Chaney and Dan are bringing up quite the little eco-terrorists with the water consumption. At least they are cute eco-terrorists.

My jealousy was reaching a tipping point when I got this pic. GB sure knows how to soften you up.

So the girls are returning back to reality today with Bigs. I am sure he will get in some last minute treats while at the airport. It really is the cutest thing I have ever seen. We are looking forward to getting some P&C time in this weekend with a sweet hotel birthday party on Saturday night. Of course, after this past week's experience, I am fearing the girls might be a little disappointed with the level of luxury at the Drury Inn, Chesterfield. Maybe GB will spring for an upgrade...

Comedian

Last night Rick was reading yesterday's post and suggested I change the name of the blog to "How I Fell". The Ricker is always full of helpful suggestions.

Stock Tip

You didn't hear it from me, but JnJ stock should be going through the roof thanks to recent purchases of these little miracles:
I am not going to bore you with the details, but I will just say that I fell. Again. While running on Saturday. Because Rick was with me and I was downright pissed, I was able to finish a smidge over 9 miles before the adrenaline wore off and I was in genuine pain. I am apparently not picking up any of the subtle hints that the universe is puttin' down! While I think their statement that they last up to four days is a bit optimistic, I will say that these puppies were well worth their hefty price tag ($20 for the box of 4). When applied correctly, they are very comfy/flexy and you can even take them off and put them back on without compromising the stickyness. Perhaps my lot in life is to test wound care products...


Since there was no picture of the bruise (which is now about 99% gone), I figured I should at least give you a pic of the knee. Today is its first day uncovered and I hadn't been able to tell before I saw this pic that it has a stylish wave to it.

Or if you tilt your head to the left, it also resembles a bird! Excellent.

Life's a Beach

I should clarify. Life's a beach if you are Parker and Chloe Hagemann. Not only did they hit the genetic jackpot by being two of the cutest girls I have ever seen, but they also have some pretty awesome Aunts and Uncles. But, the aunts and uncles pale in comparison to the stinking grandparent situation they have. Between both sets of grandparents, they are constantly faced with opportunities for fun outings, trips, and basically anything their hearts desire. It's sickening really. But every once in a while I can push aside the overwhelming jealousy to really admire the relationship the grandparents have with these two girls.


To demonstrate, I provide these photos from Chloe and Parker's (along with Chaney and Dan, though they were conspicuously absent from all photos I received) trip to Orange Beach, Alabama to visit GB (my Mom, also knowns as Geebs or Geebscake) and Big Daddy (my dad, also known as Bigs or Big-Big) over labor day weekend. Apologies for the photo quality, but I think they sufficiently convey the mood of the weekend.

Are we getting the picture yet with the bacon? According to Mom, a minimum of one pound of bacon is consumed each morning. I half expected to hear of the oil sheen reappearing once the girls got in the water. Days were started off with bacon and whatever else they wanted (no buckwheat pancakes of our youth for these two, no sir!). Then off to the beach for a day of fishing and playing in the water. As if that's not enough fun, on their last day (Monday), GB and Bigs rented a pontoon boat with a slide to really drive home their awesomeness.

This boat was also purchased, likely at Rite-Aid, which is visited no fewer than 150 times each time we are down there.

Chloe took interest in fishing on this trip, which hadn't happened in the past. I guess she saw how much fun Parker was having and wanted in on the action.

Yes, that's right ladies and gents, this boat had a slide. I am pretty sure the grandparents would win in a Sophie's Choice type situation between them and Willy Wonka.

The Hagemann clan was slated to come back today, but guess what? The girls get to stay all week and Chaney and Dan fly back solo this afternoon. GB gets playmates and Chaney and Dan are child-free all week long. Bigs flies back with them on Friday. Everybody wins. Life is indeed good in Parker/Chloe-land.

Unpossible

I can't believe it. Chloe Hagemann is 7 years old today. Seven.Years.Old. This is absolutely insane. I think it's extra hard to grasp because Chloe stayed the same size for about 5 years, so we were sort of in suspended animation for a while, but in the past year she's grown quite a bit. I think there are officially 4 or 5 teeth that have been lost and she's slowly catching up with her big sister in the height department. She's an excellent reader and writer and is quite the little athlete! As the Hagemann family is headed to the beach for the weekend, we had to celebrate Chloe's birthday a day early. She got to choose the spot and she chose Webers, likely for the endless video games and quarter-wasting gumball machines.

Aunt Keem (Kim) was in attendance. Not sure what Chloe is so fixated on in this pic, but it would appear she is trying to move her glass of water with her mind.

Initial haul from the gumball machines (I know they are not gumball machines when you don't get gumballs out of them, but I can't think of the proper term). You'd be shocked at how excited 7 and 8 year olds get about a slimy rat and a blinky squish ball.

Chloe chose onion rings for an appetizer. Yummers!

Chloe, this is a family establishment. Get it together. In honor of my niece, I will not make all the obvious jokes for this particular picture.

Parker, on the verge of her teen years, was embarrassed to be seen with us and donned this disguise. Apparently her alter ego doesn't mind having her picture taken. There might be something to this....

BACON PIZZA!!! Obvious selection for your birthday dinner. Did you think I was exaggerating when I said that our family loves bacon?

Final haul from the gumball machines by the end of the evening. Apparently they were trying to get this one prize, which was never delivered. Oh well, there's always next year.

Happy Birthday sweet Chloe! I hope you have a great day! Rick and I love you very much!

That's Strange

No one spends more time and $ at Walgreens than I. No one. I find myself always lacking some essential, whether it be shampoo, a shake weight, or yet another cheap tube of lip gloss. The love affair was really secured the day they started selling booze. Due to all the time spent at this place, I thought I knew Walgreen's pretty well. I was inspecting my recent receipt for my expense report and saw this:



For those of you that can't read blurry cell phone, it says "Walgreens: There's a Way". Hmmm. Aren't they "The Pharmacy America Trusts"? That's a much better slogan than say, Rite Aid, "With Us, It's Personal", which always sounded to me like they had a grudge/vendetta. There's a way for what? It's not like it's Home Depot or something. Maybe they are just giving this slogan a trial run? I don't know and I don't like it. I might have to go back and tell JOYCE that I need her to help me by them getting rid of this stupid slogan. Joyce was the head of cosmetics and looked like a woman who knew how to get things done...

Borrowed Time

I have mentioned that I have no green thumb, but that doesn't stop me from trying to spruce up the place from time to time. Last year we went so far as to purchase a nice pot for the front door and I planted a variety of plants/flowers in this thing because I was feeling ambitious (and they were on sale). One of these plants was celosia:

I am sure you will be shocked to hear that the the beautiful arrangement met its demise a month or so later and we just left the sad empty pot there for the rest of the year and agreed to give it a go again this year.

This year Rick came home with a lovely little tree of some sort that we planted and it seems to be doing well. It is pictured below.

What you might also notice in this picture is a hot pink little diddy over to the far right of the image. That's right! It's the celosia, and apparently it jumped ship! It is now living in what appears to be this rocky barren soil that is practically attached to the brick of our house. But no, the lovely planter wasnt' good enough...

What's even more annoying is that it seems to be thriving, even without all the doting love and attention I gave it when it was officially planted.

I am now refusing to acknowledge this rogue plant and I am sure it will live forever. Though as it appears to be a lovely flowering plant, it may only live until Pedro's next visit.