Always A Spin Too Late

As I sit here I am a little disheartened at the fact that I did not receive the Christmas miracle I was hoping for...I did not win Colts tickets. I was very close though. I went to Meijer this afternoon for what they call Blue Fridays. Meijer and Hank FM 97.1 give away 25 pairs of tickets the Friday before every home game during the Colts season. I had never gone before and was just sitting at home not being productive...when I got the idea of trying to win some tickets. I thought it would be a great present for Emily (and me too).

I drove to the giveaway location on E. Washington St. AKA I-40, which runs through Greenfield. It was only a 15 minute drive away. The website said get their early and try your hand, so I was there early at 1:30pm for the event starting at 3:00pm. I was about 30th in line to have a chance at spinning the wheel. As I waited the line really built. By the time the event started, about 300 Colts fans were in line. It was a sight to see.

It was an interesting group of people, definitely someone from all walks of life. I had a few VERY INTERESTING people in front of me, who had no concept of personal space, and loved to talk. I am never one to shy away from people so I politely listened. I learned the life stories of about 5 people in an hour and a half.

As the event started and people spun the wheel, I actually got nervous. You get up there and everyone is staring to see if you win. The first winner of tickets for the day...the man directly in front of me. As for me, I was one space on the wheel away. It was kinda sad at how close I was, so I stayed and went through the line again. I was of course much further away now, but I was pretty sure I would get one more spin. The wheel was about 100 small spaces, like the one on wheel of fortune, with 3 of those spaces giving you Colts tickets. I thought it was worth the wait for a 3% chance for a great night out.

I should have left after the first spin. I waited another 45 minutes for my second chance...redemption. They announce 5 pairs are left as I approach my turn; the woman immediately in front of me wins one of the pairs. As for me, AGAIN...one space away. It was just not meant to be, but it was an interesting experience.

24 hours, 1 car, 2 people= Adventure

One thing I have learned since being married is that road trips either test your relationship or makes it stronger. Over the last couple years Emily and I have made a few long road trips and in each of those trips we have bonded. We have been lucky and have managed to communicate and have fun in tight quarters. I think it is because we don't just take trips but go on adventures.

Emily is not one to plan out every detail, and I love that about her (most of the time). We left for Minnesota the Wednesday before Thanksgiving with a set of driving directions and that was it. We drove through the night planning our stops around empty gas tanks and stomachs. As we drove through Illinois we were running low on gas and needed a driver change, so we stopped at a Pilot in the middle of nowhere...literally! We each got big drinks, some caffeine, to help us stay awake in the dark backcountry. We later decide we are getting hungry (about an hour from the Pilot) and started looking for a restaurant near the interstate for dinner. Emily wanted Mexican, not the easiest food to find on a highway sign unless you are wanting taco bell.

We saw a sign for "Mr. Salsa's" so we both said lets try it. We are so agreeable. As we take the exit we look around and don't see much in this town. But knowing what Emily wants, I decide to just keep driving and be patient that the restaurant will appear. We drive for about 2.5 miles and get into a small town main street that looks half abandoned. Then all of the sudden, there it was, Mr. Salsa's...inside a bar, a dirty looking bar.

Like I said Emily wanted Mexican, so we actually ate there and the food was pretty good...and yes, they had good salsa. The adventure of finding the restaurant was weird enough, but not this night. As we sat there eating our chips and salsa, this family walks in...that Emily recognizes. A woman and her adorable daughter walk in, the same from the Pilot we got drinks at. Emily was 99.9% certain it was them, but wasn't going to say for sure or ask them to confirm it.

So we both just sat there eating thinking..."What are the odds? That has to be them! Are they from this small town or passing through like us?". I had to know, so when Emily went out to the car as I paid for dinner; I made a detour. I "politely" asked if they happened to be the same people Emily noticed at the Pilot. They confirmed it and laughed, saying "I'm glad we are at least memorable". They told me they just decided to stop here too and they were also traveling for Thanksgiving.

I am still amazed at how we saw the same people in the middle of nowhere twice in one night. We had never meet before, but had a very weird connection that night. Of all the places on that road to eat and stop, we both chose Mr. Salsa's, a place most people would drive right past. It makes me think of how small this world truly is...

The rest of the trip was fun, but less interesting than our chance occurrence. We made it to Minnesota, had a great time, and drove home. The trip was ~24 hours of driving total, but one crazy adventure in whole.

Best Husband Ever

During the week, one of the worst things for me is trying to get everything done around the apartment. I feel like I already have a lot to do with grading and planning, then to add cooking, doing dishes, picking up, and laundry it just sometimes can be overwhelming! But, I knew with being a teacher that I'd have to take work home so I deal with it.

However, Tuesday and Thursday are the worst because I tutor two students until about 5:00 so I'm not home until 5:45 or 6:00. I know that isn't late but when I'm used to getting home around 4:15 it can make it stressful to get what I want accomplished done before I'm ready to relax for the evening.

Today was a rough day at school with the students being really wound up, then there was a fight outside my classroom which made everything worse. I was not in the mood to come home and be productive. However, Zach had no clue that I had a tiring day but when I came home I came home to this...

Zach cooking dinner!

Zach also had bought me flowers just because...and there were my favorite orange/yellow roses!

Zach also was doing the dishes along the way! What a wonderful way to come home from work! I could not have asked for a better husband who always is willing to make my life easier without even knowing it. This turned out to be a good Tuesday evening for me! Thanks sweetheart!

Sleeping Beauty

I have got to make this post quick before my cover is blown. Emily wouldn't like me sharing this secret information with you. Emily has a weekend addiction to... SLEEPING, or "daytime napping". I know it's not a crime, but she really does this EVERY weekend. I felt obligated to let you all in on her little dark secret. We sleep in on Saturdays usually until about 9am, so how can she be "soooo tired" by 12:30pm? That is the mystery.

Here is the proof:

This is what she is doing this minute as I write this. Sleeping again!! Can you believe her?

Actually, I can... I may be writing this with humor, but I understand and know she needs this rest. I give her a hard time about sleeping every weekend, but as you can see, I usually don't wake her. She is hard working and does so much for me during the week. She works with teenagers everyday... which should be enough to entitle her to a nap on its own, but she also helps cook, clean, and helps me with everything. The weight of the week adds up and by the weekend she just needs to lay down.

So, she may sleep a lot on the weekend, but she does so much during the week I have to let it slide. I guess in some ways I married famous... I married my "Sleeping Beauty".

Behind The Masks

Tonight many people will be putting on costumes, face paint, and even masks. Here in the United States it is only acceptable on one day of the year, but in many other countries and cultures it is very common. So common in fact, mask carving and dressing rituals have become almost an art...an art that I greatly appreciate and have begun to collect.

Many of you may know I collect tribal handmade masks and that I enjoy the stories behind them. I thought today would be a great day to share my interest with others and show off my odd collection.

This mask was my first. My mom got it for me several years ago while on a cruise to the tropics. She thought they were interesting and got a mask for me and my brother. She bought this one in Barbados. The funny thing is that this mask is the one that started my collection, but the one my brother got was actually the one I thought was the coolest.

This mask is one of my favorites that I own. A special person (Emily) got it for my while on her spring break cruise a couple years ago. She searched for several days to find me the right one. I am very lucky she supports my collection.

I would say this one is my absolute favorite mask because of the colors and detail. It is very special to me because Terry (my mother-in-law) got this for me on her latest trip to India. It is only fitting to get an elephant mask from India.

This mask is interesting because the designs are stimpled on with dots of paint. I received this mask as a gift from Kim and Terry (parents-in-law) from their trip to Australia, New Zealand, and Tahiti.

I like this one because it is the first international mask I bought myself. I got it in Jamaica on our Honeymoon. The man I bought it from looked like the mask. I thought it was unique and definitely unlike any of the other ones I had.

This is my newest mask with the least exciting story. I got it last summer on vacation in Emerald Isle. It was at a gift shop and I wanted a new mask for the collection. It is part of my "American Mask Collection"

This is another mask that fits the American category. I also got this in Emerald Isle, but it hold the most meaning to me of all my masks. I got this the summer I proposed to Emily on vacation. It is an everyday reminder of the vacation; the greatest of my life.

These masks are used as decorations, but to me mean so much more. Each one has its own story, and most of the masks were made by hand and are completely unique. I don't wear too many masks these days for Halloween, but I have a few if I ever want to.

It's hit the Whaley's...H1N1

On Friday at school, I developed a cough but didn't think much of it since I seem to always get sick during the school year here and there. Nothing ever big...just something that last a couple of days then comes back later. The students seems to ALWAYS have some sickness they are just willing to spread around.

Saturday I woke up feeling a little off, but by after lunch I felt miserable. I was aching, had a fever, couldn't get comfortable, would be sweating one minute then be freezing the next, and my cough got worse. I tried taking multiple baths to make me comfortable, tried taking Advil and NyQuil, but nothing seemed to help. I went to bed that night and only slept about 3 hours of which were on the couch.

Sunday morning I knew there was no way I was going to church and after my shower I told Zach I had to go see a doctor. I felt awful...worse than I ever felt with any other sickness including mono. So Zach being the amazing husband that he is told me he'd drive me to a clinic. We drove around Greenfield but NO place was open until noon. I told him I couldn't wait that long so he went into the CVS in Greenfield and asked if they knew of a place that was open now. The nice ladies told him that there was a Minuteclinic in a CVS in New Palestine so Zach got in the car, turned the heat on full blast (he was miserable because he was so hot), and drove to New Pal.

I have been to urgent care places before and knew it would take a while but since this was called a minute clinic I thought it might be quicker. Boy was I wrong! We arrived and signed in on the sheet around 10:45 am. I was 9th on the list. We didn't get seen until 1:05 pm. Apparently this clinic had just received the H1N1 vaccine and parents were trying to get their kids vaccinated before they ran out. We were also informed that being 16th wasn't being very far down on the list!

I tried to be patient, but after an hour I was tired so Zach said I could go lay in the car while he waited and would text me when I was 2nd on the list. Isn't he the best!?! When I finally got called in the lady asked me a bunch of questions, told me I had the flu, and said that I looked good for a sick person (ha!). I could have had been officially tested for the H1N1 but she told me that she hasn't had anyone test for anything other than that and since the test was $120, Zach and I just took her word for it.

She told me some over the counter stuff I could take, prescribed me some cough medicine, and sent me on my way. Zach was a great trooper but told me he couldn't take care of me this week because he had midterms and didn't want to get it himself. So I decided to call mom and dad to see if they'd let me stay with them. Of course, they are the best and mom agreed!

My only complaint so far is that when I woke up on Monday morning and was laying on the couch, mom thought it'd be funny to take pictures of me then laugh. They are kind of funny so I'll post some of them but don't laugh too hard.

Don't I look healthy?!?

After I was coughing...mom thinks she's so funny!

This is mom's favorite one. She said I wasn't opening my eyes so I did this time.

Well to finish my story, I have the H1N1 virus, can't go to work all week, Zach was the best this weekend, and mom dad have cared for me like I was a little kid again. I am finally feeling better and plan to head back home tomorrow night or Thursday morning.

Christmas in October

For Christmas this year, Zach and I decided we would just get each other a nice big television instead of buying little gifts. I made some extra money this year with coaching volleyball and I thought it'd be a nice purchase which Zach would love (and he does by the way!). So on Saturday after my volleyball tournament, I went and borrowed mom and dad's vehicle since we knew neither one of our vehicles would work and headed off to Costco.

Brandon and Amy (really good friends who live in our same apartment complex) wanted to go look at furniture so we said we'd have plenty of room if they wanted to join us. We knew what we wanted and it would take no time at all. Oh was I wrong...

We walked into Costco and found the television we had looked at and wanted from searching the internet. But we thought we'd look at all the deals just in case something changed our mind. Zach saw and fell in love with a 50 inch LG plasma tv which was about $200 cheaper and also bigger than the tv we looked at before. We got a sales associate to come help us lift it, paid for it, and went to leave. Only one problem, the tv didn't fit into the vehicle with all four of us.

We had to decide what to do because nothing was going to work. So I decided Zach and Brandon would take the tv to our apartment while Amy and I walked around Castleton. And now my adventure begins. What was suppossed to be a quick fun trip turned into a funny afternoon.

Amy and I walked down the road and NONE of the roads had sidewalks. Guess everyone drives around this area. Our first stop was JoAnn fabrics. We walked around to get ideas about Christmas ideas, etc. The following stop was Rooms Express. Apparently they just opened and were having really good sales. Needless to say, we toured the ENTIRE place and tried out many coaches, chairs, beds, etc. Well that took about 30 minutes.

Still about 45 minutes to go...what's next. Well nothing esle besides a rug store was on this side of the road, so we thought we'd adventure to the other side. We waited our turn for the light but it was definitely NOT long enough. We ran across the street to Pier 1 Imports and then went to The Room Place. Now the latter was a little creepy. The sales associate was a little overwhelming and found us WHEREVER we went! Oh the stories we can tell.

This was a pumpkin man trying to get people to come shop at Halloween USA. This is as close as we got.

Finally, Zach and Brandon come back to get us and we head to one more place. Ashley's Furniture in Carmel and then dinner. At dinner we realized we would need a new tv stand since our old one couldn't hold it. Best Buy it was...the main condition...it had to fit in the vehicle! It barely did and we got the one we wanted. What a Saturday! Unforgettable and definitely a time to look back upon. We love the new tv and I guess it was worth all the trouble. Merry Christmas to us!

Not the best picture but this is our new tv with the tv stand...Superbowl party at our place this year!