HAPPY 30th BIRTHDAY HUSBAND (mr. parks)

we just got back from yet another wonderful time in our lives.  today is mr. parks’ official 30th birthday, and i think our celebration has been tough to top!  i decided to surprise him with a weekend in chicago – friends in town, a beautiful suite at the w and a spooky ghost tour/pub crawl (i know, the combination doesn’t seem to make much sense, but if you were there, you couldn’t imagine it any other way!).  i combined a few things that mr. parks loves, and in that case, it was ghost stories and pubs! 

it was tough keeping it (or TRYING to keep it) a surprise.  once he knew that he should consider himself occupied from friday, october 17 until sunday, october 19, i was ready to tell him at any point.  but somehow it managed to stay under wraps, and it was worth it!

there is nothing better than being able to fully embrace your birthday – whether you care about birthdays or not, it’s pretty great to have an entire day to celebrate yourself.  it could be any day, but it’s YOUR day and it matters!  i know i’m not a details person, and i probably messed a lot of stuff up during the whole planning and execution process, but it’s still one of my proudest and happiest accomplishments.  it’s pretty cool to throw your husband a surprise destination birthday party!

of course the down side of all of this is leaving the pups at home.  friday morning we were getting ready to leave (and, in other words, the pups needed to go to the kennel), mr. parks was cuddling with gus and looked at me with wide, brown, nearly-30-year-old eyes and asked, “why are you taking my son from me during my birthday?”  this is one of a million reasons why i love him.  

anyway, i am going to sign off for now – i think it’s about time to light candles (at this point we only get the actual numbers versus a candle for each year!) and eat some banana cream pie!  ok, so it’s a frozen pie that is defrosting as i write – but i bet it’s going to be pretty damn good, and we’re going to enjoy it more that any other banana cream pie ever!

happy birthday, my love!  everything works because of you!!

30 will be the best year yet!!!

No TV, no phone, no internet, no regrets…

The prospect of going somewhere without the modern conveniences that a fiber optically connected world has grown so accustomed to can be frightening thought. What really scares me i think is the realization of how much we have become dependent on technology – myself included. Our recent sojourn to literally the middle of nowhere was a sobering reminder that i am just as culturally conditioned as the next; the first thing i asked when we arrived to our quaint Inn was, “where is the TV?”

Where was i bound, gagged and taken to you ask??? Well, my fiancee arranged a getaway weekend in Hocking Hills, Ohio and the weekend i must say, couldn’t have been more fine.

It is really refreshing how a weekend of Scrabble and sitting on the porch can revitalize your spirit. It is nice to know that you can still be stripped down basics once in a while. When asked, “what did you guys do?” i genuinely rejoiced in being able to respond, “nothing.”

The Inn we stayed at was perched on a private expanse of wood, secluded from what usually occupies your mind. Days were serene, and lazy for the most part…mornings started with opening the creaky screen-door to reveal the curtain of forest and enjoying a stretch…During the day, we struck out on hikes towards the local attractions that draw most of the visitors each year, managed to get a good workout, and then share a tenderloin for lunch (the best in Ohio by the way is at Old Man’s Cave). I took some photos and never thought about the time – not once…the trip was great and of course, too short…I find that i am so different when i am not occupied by the everyday burdens and thoughts that dictate our lives;  if you force yourself to just be present once and a while, and refocus on what is real and what is merely a construct, you can actually rekindle a zeal that you never knew you had.

Pics of the Hills

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANNA (yesterday) AND TRAVIS (today)!!!

we just wanted to wish two very special people very special birthdays!!!  Anna, we can do a belated celebration when we come to visit you, and T-bone, we can celebrate asap – i hope you passed your motorcycle test!!  mr. parks and i are ready to cruise back to south dakota for sturgis…

Great C-Bus T-Shirts…

 

 

 

 

 

Hey a great way to represent columbus- you can get these at Dr. Mojoe’s.