Archive for October, 2007

It’s Halloween week! Truthfully, Halloween is probably my least favorite holiday. I get startled/scared very very easily. I don’t watch horror movies (can’t even watch horror movie commercials, I always change the channel), don’t go to haunted houses (the haunted corn maze in Cedar Rapids, IA was terrifiying enough), and loud sounds make me jump (literally). Nevertheless, I can’t help getting into the pumpkin carving, orange light hanging, candy passing out, costume wearing spirit. I tend to be the target audience for most holiday advertisements…

Andy and I carved our pumpkins on Saturday. Of course, when I say I carved pumpkins…I do mean Andy carved the pumpkins while I nodded in agreement. We had three pumpkins, the biggest for Andy, a medium one for me, and a tiny one for Jabber. I designed the faces for both Jabber and my pumpkins. You might think it’s bizarre that we treat our dog…like a child. Yes, I fully realize Jabber is a dog without any idea what Halloween is or why we’re carving pumpkins. However, she is a member of our little family. We get pumpkins, why not Jabber? Not to mention, I didn’t have any clue either why we carved pumpkins. That is till I looked it up! Do you know why? Andy attempted to cut the jack o’lanterns with his Dremel tool. I give him points for being inventive, but alas…not a terribly good idea. The Dremel doesn’t really cut straight lines in pumpkin very well. The worser reason being that the Dremel tended to slightly sear the pumpkin during cutting, making for a burned pumpkin smell throughout the kitchen. Trust us, a good knife still works best. With all the said, it’s photo time!

It’s Andy standing with his masterpieces. Why is he holding a meat cleaver??

Oh no, pumpkin family! Save yourselves! (my flash didn’t go off…and I couldn’t convince Andy to do the pose over again. That’s why the photo is all grainy and faded)

Jabber investigating her pumpkin. By the by…those are supposed to be ears on her pumpkin, not eyebrows.

After all the pumpkin work was done, we had a nice little barbecue with Ethan, David, and Anni. We hadn’t seen everybody in awhile, and it was nice to catch up with everyone’s lives. Anni was nice enough to bring over a giant chocolate chip cookie decorated in chocolate spiders. It was very tasty indeed. I had a lot of fun playing the demo of Guitar Hero 3 (looks awesome, here’s the track list), challenging people to a good match of tennis on the Wii, and just chatting in general. Everyone’s lives have been so busy that our get togethers have been few and far in between. ‘Tis life I suppose.

Today, Andy and I finally got around to working on our yard. It’s been getting progressively more messy throughout the summer. However, who really wants to sit outside and dig around in the dirt when it’s so horribly hot outside? We bought fertilizer, dirt, and a fresh set of flowers from Home Depot. I’m very ashamed to say…we haven’t planted any new flowers since the first batch I planted last year. They were getting really tangled (still alive and blooming…which surprised me) and overgrown. We pulled up all the old stuff, weeded, put down fresh dirt, and planted the new flowers. I decided on purple and white pansies of several different varieties (white w/ purple centers, purple with dark purple centers, light purple, yellow with purple centers…etc). Jabber sat outside and soaked up the sun with us. She was being a good puppy…till she decided to try eating the dirt. Sometimes she’s just too weird, even for me to explain.

Andy watered my flowers for me after I was done planting. Watering is good, but it made them too droopy for me to take any photos to show you. I’ll try to remember for my next post. Here’s the link for more photos from the weekend. Also, for another account of the weekend, be sure to check Andy’s blog. Yes! He’s finally posting something, it’s a miracle indeed! Wishing everyone a fantastic and safe Halloween this year!

I finally found a second to sit down and write about last weekend. This week has been pretty hectic, as per usual. As many of you know, we made a whirlwind trip to Kansas. To those of you we didn’t get in touch with or visit, we really really do apologize. We were literally in OP for about 34 hours, 14 of which we were completely passed out from exhaustion. We promise to those that we missed, you’ll be at the top of our list next trip! Andy and I both got off work decently early that Friday (around 5:30), went home, ate a quick pre-made dinner, packed our stuff (puppy included) in the car, and started on the road. After 8 and 1/2 hours of continuous driving (only 2 quick stops to relieve ourselves, fuel up, and walk the puppy around the parking lot to make sure she was still alive), we finally pulled into the comforting driveway of my parents’ house at 3 am.

Though we were exhausted and wanted to crash immediately, we still had Jabber’s wellbeing to think of. I was slightly anxious for several reasons. First off, she had never been in a house that big before. Second, she had never been in a house with stairs. Third, I was afraid she was going to bark at my mom or grandma (Which I explained to her, would be rude and uncalled for. However, seeing as how she slept through my speech, I was worried she was going to ignore my sound advice). In the end, Jabber fit in pretty well at the house. She had a little trouble figuring out the stairs at first, but was soon taking them two at a time. Funny part was, for such a small dog, she sounded like a herd of stampeding cattle when running up and down the stairs. She also seemed to remember my family from previous encounters and loved being around them (Cathy in particular).

We spent much of Saturday morning in a panic. After a minor, though rather humorous, wardrobe malfunction (it’s a little too embarrassing to post here, don’t worry nothing inappropriate, but if you really want to know, ask me later), we braved the stormy weather for a nice lunch at the Fortune Star with Grandma Peggy and Grandpa Bob. Yes, Fortune Star was where our wedding reception was held. We hadn’t been back since the wedding, and it was nice to visit such a memorable spot so close to our anniversary. It was so great getting to chat with Grandma Peggy, I’ve missed her humor and wit tremendously. Even more special, that day was the first chance I got to really talk to Grandpa Bob. Things were a little hectic the first time we met, at our wedding rehearsal, and I didn’t get an opportunity to get to know him. Though our lunch was short, a trip to Kansas simply isn’t complete without seeing Grandma Peggy.

So, you’re probably wondering why on earth we made such a long trek to Kansas. You’re also probably hoping the answer won’t be because I wanted to see my dog run up and down the stairs, that would be crossing the line into full fledged obsessed cat lady territory. Actually, in addition to seeing my friends and family whom I dearly love and miss, we were in town because a very special lady had a momentous occasion to celebrate. Naomi Rose, Andy’s (and my) grandma, turned ninety on October 9th, 2007. Mom Trommer and Aunts Sally and Susan threw a huge birthday celebration for the beloved woman. The party took place in Grandma Rose’s church in Emporia. There was music, photos on display (both old and new), vast amounts of delicious cake, yummy snacks, flowers, and punch. Now this punch was expertly served by yours truly. So, if anyone is looking for an excellent punch server for their next occasion, I now have pictures documenting my exemplary work.

There were so many friends, family members, friends’ families, and family friends. So many new names and faces that I couldn’t quite keep everyone straight! So, I just smiled and served the punch. ^-^  I’m kidding. I had a wonderful time meeting the people that are important in Grandma Rose’s life. They all came because she’s special to them. It was great hearing their stories and learning more about a woman that has lived through so much. I can’t even begin to imagine all the things Grandma Rose has done, seen, and experienced. For instance, I had no idea that Grandma Rose was a theatre actress. The headshots looked like they were still frames from a glamorous 40′s movie. She was unique enough to wear a green dress for her wedding. I know it’s due to white fabric being hard to find during the war, but I still think it’s a bold fashion statement. She still remembers the song that was sung at her wedding. I can only hope my memory will be as sharp as her’s at the age of ninety. She was always surrounded by family and friends that love and adore her, just as she is today. We were so happy to be there with her for her birthday, and I know we’re not alone when we wish her all the good things in the world. Click here for more pictures of the birthday party.

So, after a fabulous time in Emporia, we zoomed to downtown Kansas City for a lovely dinner with our dear friends Robyn, Brad, Ashley, AJ, Cindy, and Wes. We went to a new restaurant called the City Tavern. As was the theme of the weekend, we had such a wonderful time with our friends. It means the world to me that no matter how much time has passed, my friends still make room in their busy lives to spend time with me. Even though we’re miles apart, when we get together, it’s just like old times. We joke, we laugh, and we catch up on each other’s lives. Though it happens too infrequently for my taste, I loved every minute of it. However, on a sour note, the food and service at the restaurant was a little below average. I do love trying new places, but the service was slow, the food was just barely average (everyone’s horseradish mashed potatoes were pretty dry and completely horseradish-less), parking spots were almost impossible to find (probably due to the proximity to the theatre and Elton John being in town), and the prices were pretty high. If you’re in the KC area, I would definitely skip this restaurant in favor of some other unique Kansas City spot (let me know if you need options). Thank goodness the company made up for any of our dinner’s shortcomings. We guilted a neighboring diner to take our group photo. Alas, I didn’t like either of the photos that were taken. But I already felt bad enough interrupting her dinner for the two she took and am posting the better of the two. I look like I’m blinking, but sacrifice the one for the better of the many, right?

We had lunch with my mom and Cathy at one of our favorite neighborhood Chinese restaurants, Fusion. Their salt and pepper fried tofu is amazing, as is their flounder, Chinese style green beans, and really everything else they make. We had a terrific lunch, but alas, our trip was at its end. We were back on the road soon after lunch. Another 8 and 1/2 hours passed, and we finally arrived back in Keller just in time to unload the car, shower, and fall asleep to start another week of work. We had an amazing time, and we wouldn’t have missed a single second of our trip for anything. In case you didn’t catch the link above for photos from that weekend, here it is again. Working this weekend, not thrilled about it, but it does make for a shorter week next week. Also means, that it’s time for bed!

I apologize my dear friends for not updating my blog recently, the last few weeks have been crazy hectic with our recent travels. As many of you know, our first wedding anniversary was a couple of weekends ago (Sunday, October 7th, to be exact). By the way, a huge thank you to those of you that thought of us on our special day. Andy and I both had a three day weekend to celebrate. We originally wanted to do something really cool, such as visit Cape Cod and see the leaves in their autumn glory. But with the purchase of my new car, we decided a big vacation was unwise. After much brainstorming, we decided on Fredericksburg, Texas as our anniversary location.

Fredericksburg is a cute little German town south of Austin. It is fairly popular for its massive amounts of bed and breakfasts and one of a kind shops. The idea was cemented when we found out that Oktoberfest was being celebrated during our anniversary weekend. What says happy anniversary better than lots of sausages and beer? So, with our destination decided, we drove down to Austin on Thursday night to drop off Jabber at the Trommer home. They kindly agreed to puppy-sit for the weekend. Our B&B didn’t allow dogs, in fact most B&B’s seem to have a disdain for dogs. However, Jabber had WAY too much fun with the Trommers to even notice we had left.

On Friday, we met up with Kat for lunch at a nearby Texadelphia. I’ve never been there before, and the food was quite tasty. Andy has always had a love for a good cheese steak sandwich. It was nice to see Kat, and we chatted for a long time. Hopefully one of these days, we’ll be able to do more with her than just meet up for a random lunch! After lunch, we were on our way to Fredericksburg. Rather than take an interstate route, which would have been direct but quite boring, we opted for a neat scenic option. I subscribe to Real Simple magazine, and in one of the editions I learned about Mad Maps. It plots out several neat day trips around major cities, Austin being one of them. It includes really good directions, local restaurants to try, interesting spots to stop at, and all sorts of neat tips about the area. Our journey to Fredericksburg took us through a good portion of the hill country, which Andy found fascinating….rather, Andy’s need to speed found it fascinating. My incredible ability to be carsick in any situation was kept at a minimum, but I was still a little queasy around the faster turns.

We arrived in Fredericksburg around 5 p.m, checked into the main B&B office, and received our keys. Much to our delight, our accommodations were only 2 blocks away from Main street! This was a blessing because we didn’t have to fight for parking all weekend long. We followed the office’s directions to a beautiful little house on the end of the street. We were about to start unloading our stuff, when I read the smaller print on our reservation details. “Your accommodations are behind the main house” We thought this was a little odd (we had never done the bed and breakfast thing before), and took a peek around the main house. We were a little shocked when we saw a tiny little metal shack in the backyard.

My immediate reaction was that perhaps this was a mistake. Surely, they couldn’t expect us to live in a tool shed! However, once we opened the door, we were equally startled at the design and comfort of the tiny room inside. Though it wasn’t my design style of choice (not terribly fond of weathered wood and rusty metal), it was a million times better than my mental image of what a bed and breakfast room should look like (lots of dizzying flower patterns and chickens).

The bed was so high off the floor, I had to take a running leap before I could successfully make it on top.

We wandered around town that first night, but unfortunately, most of the shops were closed. We ate a nice dinner of Weiner schnitzel, German potato salad, sauerkraut, and red cabbage (hey, it’s a German town, what did you expect?). On Saturday, we woke up nice and early and headed for the Enchanted Rock State Park. Now, those of you that know Andy knows that he LOVES backpacking, camping, and being in the great outdoors. Those of you that know me, will recall that I refuse to camp, I hate bugs, and there’s nothing remotely romantic about sweating all day, not bathing, and being sunburned. However, we have come to an agreement that we can both live with. We can stay in a nice air-conditioned hotel/room with a hot shower, but we can hike during the day on any number of trails. So, to test this theory, we went for a trial hike on the Enchanted Rock. To tell you the truth, it was rather fun. It’s nice being out and about, and the views were pretty nice. Don’t get me wrong, it was still a decent amount of work to hike up so much rock, but there’s a certain sense of accomplishment when you look back down. Of course, looking down and climbing back down are two completely different stories…

After our hike, we drove back into town for some lunch. Did we eat something healthy after our big day of observing and being one with nature? No…we did not. In fact, we headed straight for the self-proclaimed best burger place in town. It was definitely worth it. I personally think we deserved it, we certainly burned off enough calories to have a nice lunch!

After lunch, we shopped around Main St for a little while. I quickly discovered that Fredericksburg’s shops were not really my taste. I don’t really like to buy quilts, metal sculptures, antiques, or rooster themed decorative items. However, I did find one store I really enjoyed. It’s called Dogologie, one guess who their target shopper is. They had all sorts of neat puppy toys, home baked puppy treats, and puppy accessories. I bought a couple items for Jabber’s upcoming pupnniversary (November 8th, for those that are curious). We then headed back to the B&B to rest and relax. We watched Casa Blanca (Andy surprisingly has never seen it, even though he’s such a movie buff) with Ingrid Bergman and Humphrey Bogart. What a classic, it’s one of my absolute favorites! After the sun set (and it finally got cool), we headed toward the big Oktoberfest celebration in the town square (or platz). Though we paid a fortune on entrance tickets, food, and drinks, we had a great time. We listened to the longest version of the Chicken Dance known to man! People were dancing, drinking, laughing, and listening to good ol’ accordion music all night long. We even visited a local brewery, where Andy peppered the bartender with all sorts of brewing questions.

Sunday morning, we headed back to Austin pretty early in the morning (well, early for us). We met up with Grandma and Grandpa Trommer and Mom and Dad Trommer for lunch at the Round Rock Cracker Barrel. We had a nice time catching up with the family, but all too soon, the weekend was coming to an end. We picked up Jabber, who didn’t seem to realize we had been gone for any length of time, and drove back home to Keller. It’s been a good first year of marriage, and I can’t wait to see what next year has in store for us. Click here to see all the photos we took that weekend. Check back later this week for a delayed post of this last weekend’s activities!

Since I started working at the pharmacy, my co-workers have been warning me about the infamous cough and cold season. When I would get overwhelmed with my day, they would simply roll their eyes, chuckle, and say “this is nothing, just wait until cough and cold rolls around”. Well my friends, cough and cold season has officially begun. It’s completely bizarre, in just a few days, we went from normal pace to CRAZY non-stop chaos. I have stayed past my scheduled hours at least 4 out of my 5 days. One day last week, I got to work and was so busy that I blinked and 8 hours flew by. I completely forgot to eat lunch!

Customers are much crankier and a lot less willing to understand…anything, lines are infinitely longer, the phones ring constantly, and the prescriptions seem endless. Instead of a couple labels printing out on the hour, we’re suddenly bombarded with 40-50 every half hour. We actually filled so many prescriptions for a popular antibiotic yesterday, that we ran out! How did we run out of antibiotics? What’s worse, we tried calling neighboring stores to see if we could send customers over to their stores, but they were completely out too! Very unhappy sick people. During the summer, I would see our massive stockpile of our most prescribed medications and wonder why we ordered so much, now I know and thank the warehouse gods.

So, as the temperature drops and you find yourself under the weather and on your way to your local pharmacy, please keep your poor pharmacy staff in mind. They realize you’re not feeling well (after all, people that are perfectly healthy don’t go to the pharmacy), they’re not trying to make your life miserable, and they’re not quite as inept as you might think. Chances are, they’re overwhelmed, understaffed, and trying to keep up as best they can.

With that said, I have some additional advice for you to make your pharmacy experience better for all those involved. Do not snap at them (I promise I’m not trying to make you suffer), do not throw things at them (yes, it’s happened), do not accuse them of things they can’t control (insurance not paying for medication is your insurance’s fault, not your pharmacy’s), wait times are not just suggestions (long wait times are due to massive amounts of people that all need medicine equally desperately, not because we sit in the back eating cookies and giggling), try to understand what your doctor has prescribed for you (telling me that you want to refill that one small round red pill doesn’t give me much to work with), always bring your insurance card and driver’s license with you (which…why would you be in the drive through without your driver’s license? Isn’t that…oh I don’t know…illegal? FYI: so is picking up a controlled substance without your handy license), when going through the drive through please keep in mind the size of the canister versus the number of prescriptions you want to pick up (suck it up and either come inside or drive through the first lane if you’re picking up more than 4), but most of all please keep in mind that we are genuinely trying to help you and keep you safe. We are trying our best to get you home as fast as humanly possible so you can start feeling better. Okay, this rant is officially over (for now) and I promise more interesting posts in the next couple of weeks to come. Exciting things are brewing, so stay tuned!