The First Few Days

Well, we've been in Boston now since Saturday. A lot has happened but here are some of the highlights.

The whole drive up went super smooth. However, upon arriving in Cambridge, the car got separated from the truck because there are bridges over the road to our apartment that the truck could not fit under. So immediately the truck had to turn off and we saw it going over the bridge into Boston. Then the rest of us in the car proceeded to miss our turn and ended up going over a DIFFERENT bridge, also into Boston. EPIC. FAIL. (as my dad said). So after we all got back over to Cambridge and found the apartment, we parked and unloaded everything. This is our building!

This is the view from our bedroom and from the desk.

Hello, Charles River!

Sunday, our first full day in Boston, was eventful. The weather was perfect and we started the day with donuts and coffee from the Dunkin Donuts located conveniently right across the street from Eastgate! We then walked MIT and showed our parents the campus. The dome was looking particularly lovely!

After some lunch, we took the whole family on the T and rode it into Boston to go on the Freedom Trail. This was mine and Chuckie's 2nd time on the Freedom Trail. We had a different tour guide so we learned all sorts of different stuff than we did the first time. I have a feeling we're going to end up VERY educated on Paul Revere and Sam Adams by the end of these two years.



Oh and speaking of Sam Adams...

After the Freedom Trail and a sitting/drink break, we made our way back to the T to go back to Cambridge where we ate at Legal Sea Food. Yum. But on the way....

Not only will we know a lot about Boston's history by the time Chuckie graduates, we'll also probably own several shirts like these that we saw for sale on the street.

Monday. Dunkin Donuts (yes, again) and then we had to say goodbye to my parents. :( After they left, we hung some pictures in the apartment and finished organizing the kichen, found the mall (that's about a 13 minute walk from our apartment! Woot!) and went to eat at John Harvard's. We then drove 30 minutes outside of Boston to find a Walmart. Pretty sure a lot of the pictures submitted to The People of Walmart may have been taken at this Walmart. Just sayin'.

Oh and look what else we found.

GE! Chuckie was really excited.

Ok, two last things because I know this is getting long. Here is our living room with the new rug we bought at Walmart.

Also, every hour we're here I'm more and more happy we didn't bring cars with us. Check out these signs right outside our apartment.

You basically have to sit in front of this pole for 5 minutes if you're trying to park here and figure out what day of the week it is, what time it is and a whole bunch of other stuff.  In case you can't read the one on the left, it says: Tow Zone, No Parking, 8 am - 2 pm, First Monday, Each Month, April 1st to December 31st, Except Holidays. WHAT!?!?! Also if there are cumulonimbus clouds, it's above 71 degrees, and you're wearing a green shirt. I mean they might as well add that because it wouldn't be much more ridiculous than what it already says.



Halfway to Boston

Today we started our 2 day road trip to Boston. The truck was almost fully packed yesterday with just a few things to throw on top this morning. We all gathered at my house around 11 and pulled out of the driveway around 12:20- only 20 minutes past our targeted departure time! Here is our day in a nutshell:

12:20- Left the driveway
12:22 - I was well on my way to sleep already before we even got on the interstate. (Long car rides turn me into a big baby. I sleep the whole time.)
1:45 - Chuckie texts (he rode in the truck, I rode in the car) and asks me if I'm asleep and if I'm drooling. He knows me well.
2:45 - We realize we forgot the kitchen chairs. Looks like we're going shopping in Boston!
Around 4ish - The car and truck get separated and Chuckie and I spend the next 3 hours texting what mile marker each of us are passing. At first the truck was 9 miles ahead of us, then 10 miles, then 14. We never got back together until we stopped for dinner in Cleveland.
7:30 - dinner at Wendy's somewhere in Ohio. Or was it in Pennsylvania? I have no idea. I was probably asleep when we crossed state lines.
8:45 - Back on the road and I'm already asleep again.
10:00 - We arrive in Buffalo, NY to stay in a hotel for the night. We are only two exits from Canada and Niagra Falls. Too bad we have a tight schedule to keep or I'd say we should totally take a side trip.
10:48 - I'm writing a blog in the hotel. Another full day of driving tomorrow and we'll hopefully be in Boston by early afternoon. Then we get to unload the truck and see the apartment we'll call home for the next 3 months! Hooray!

Everyone Here Hates Twilight

So, I have this group of friends. And it's kind of a strange group to understand. It is made up of myself and Chuckie, my sisters, some of my cousins and their significant others, a couple of my best friends, and a couple of Laura's best friends. Like I said, kind of a strange mix of people. But for some reason, it works. We call this group our "game night group" (even though we occasionally hang out outside of game nights) because that's how this group started out. I can't remember when it first started, but awhile back we started having game nights. Everyone would meet at Laura and Anthony's house and we'd play Taboo, charades, and everything in between. A lot of our game nights were also always centered around an event- a birthday, a holiday or a celebration of something else. The game nights were usually always at Laura's, but sometimes at Elizabeth's, one time at my house (which was a major fail and will never happen again) and then once our group out-grew Laura and Anthony's apartment, we moved to Jennifer and Matt's house.

Games we've played together include Taboo, Twister, Things, Catch Phrase, Pictionary, Tele-pictionary (the best game ever!), Charades, Mafia (the worst game ever!), Ninja Tag, LRC, Boys vs Girls Battleship, and a variety of drinking games including Flip Cup and Moosehead. We've also even made up our own games, like Gourmet Races and Hold Your Phone Out While Someone Mass Texts Us All and See Whose Phone Gets the Text First.

Our all time favorite game to play together is charades. We always make up team names and draw for teams which I personally think is the most fun part of playing. The team names always end up being something ridiculous and are usually based on a joke on something that's been discussed earlier in the evening.  One night a discussion about Twilight vs. Harry Potter took place and it was discovered that everyone in the group dislikes Twilight. One thing led to another and eventually the team names for charades that night were Team Edward and Team Cedric. (Same actor, stars in both Twilight and Harry Potter.) On our most recent game night, the theme of the party was a going away party for myself, Chuckie and our cousin Cailtin who is moving to South Africa for the summer. So obviously, the teams that night were Team Boston and Team South Africa. We've had a lot of other great team names but most of them are too inappropriate to post on here. After we draw teams, each team makes up as many things as they can for the other team to act out. Some of the things people have had to act out before: Kate Gosselin, plastic, marsupial, "everyone here hates twilight," monkey business, Man Pig Bear Snail Bird, Michael Jackson's Neverland Ranch, and so many more ridiculous things. Again, some are too inappropriate to list here.

I think our favorite game night tradition is our annual Christmas party. It's just like every other game night except we do a white elephant gift exchange which is always super fun/funny. Past gifts brought to the party have included UofL basketball tickets, a collage of pictures of Elizabeth, a box full of stuffed pigs and Jesus band-aids. This year we had a New Year's Eve game night party which proved to be a ton of fun. This past weekend, our game night/going away party happened to fall on Mother's Day Eve, so at 1 minute 'til midnight, we counted down to Mother's Day like it was New Year's Eve. A lot of our game nights also end up doubling as birthday celebrations which are some of my favorites because someone always brings a cake or cupcakes.

My favorite thing about this group of people and our game nights though, is that most of the things that happen at game night can't be explained. And if they were explained, no one else would find them as funny as we do. There is just something about this group of people that makes sense but at the same time, doesn't make any sense at all. And I love it.  This is a group I'm really going to miss once we are in Boston. I can't imagine how sad I'm going to feel the first time I see plans being made on Facebook or Twitter for a game night that I know we will not be able to go to.  These friends are all so important to us. We all celebrate each other's successes, feel sad with each other when someone is sad, and generally just have a damn good time together.

To the Everyone Here Hates Twilight group: we expect to be skyped in at least for a few minutes to say hi anytime you all have a game night and we are not there. Also, whenever you play charades from now on I think the team names should be Team Rachel and Team Chuckie so we will always be involved in game night even from a billion miles away. :)

The roommates

If you've ever seen the movie "Grandma's Boy" (and if you haven't, please don't waste your time- it's terrible) you know that there is a character in the movie who is way too old to still be living with his parents, but does. He sleeps in a race car bed and when he talks about his parents to his friends, he calls them his "roommates." Well, for the past 3 years, I too have lived with "roommates"- my parents. While I'm totally looking forward to living with my new roommate- Chuckie- there are definitely some things I will miss about my current roommates. Here is a little glimpse of what it's been like living together for the past 3 years.

- Last summer, the roommates started watching all of these cooking challenge shows on the Food Network. At some point, my dad became obsessed with Bobby Flay, to the point where now sometimes when we say grace at dinner, it ends with "Thank you God, for Bobby Flay." But because of this new obsession, they started cooking with all different types of ingredients and making up their own recipes. And y'all? It's been GOOD. Sometimes when I eat the food they make, I feel like I'm in Bobby Flay's kitchen.
- We share a love for most of the same TV shows which is nice because there is only one TV in the house with DVR. One of our favorites is New Girl. I wasn't sure they would like that show but they started watching it with me and one night recently, I came home and they were watching it without me! As in- I wasn't forcing them to watch it. They just really enjoy it! Other shows we love are Dexter, 24, How I Met Your Mother, Amazing Race, Survivor, and a lot of HGTV shows.
- Sometimes they leave me notes and I love it. "The coffee is fresh," "Happy birthday!" or my favorite, (from dad usually) "read this article in the CJ!" with a post-it attached to some article in the paper he wants me to read.
- We share a a major love for margaritas.
- I have taught my parents a lot about technology. Facebook, ipads, facetiming, twitter, printers, etc. I'm not a super technology genius but sometime they make me feel like one. Especially when I tell my dad to google something and he types "google" into the google search bar. Yes. He googled google once.
- One time, I was supposed to make jello shots for a party. After I made them, I needed to put them in the fridge to set but I couldn't get the refrigerator door open (in the garage) to put them in, so my dad moved the car back a little for me so I could. They're so supportive.
- One time, I heard a clanking noise in my trunk and when I stopped to see what it was, it was a microwave. I asked my mom why it was in there and she said "Your dad put it in there." So when I asked him about it and why it was in there he said "We are running out of space for things in the garage!"
- Sometimes they accidentally hide my mail from me.
- When Sami left for college, we became empty nesters together.
- A few months ago, we almost bought a new refrigerator because ours had a rank smell coming from it and we couldn't figure out why. Then- the Big Fridge Cleanout of 2012 happened and we discovered the source- some nasty old Ricotta cheese. It was pretty entertaining.

So as you can see, the roommates and I have had some pretty good times together. And this list doesn't even cover half of all the things I could tell you. But just know this- I have laughed so hard at with them I've cried so many times I can't even count them. (I swear some of the misunderstandings that happen in that house are like something straight off of I Love Lucy.) 

Roommates- if you are reading this, I hope you know that you've been great roommates and I will continue to thank God for Bobby Flay when I say grace in honor of you two. Love you guys.

Derby 2012 Recap

As I said in my Saturday post about Derby, Chuck and I needed to "go big or go home" this year at the annual Hagan Derby party since we may not be here for the next couple of Derbys.  Well, I think it's safe to say we definitely went big. Here is a recap of the day.

- A new tradition was started when we had the First Annual "Derbreakfast" with friends at Wild Eggs on Derby morning.
- At the party, countless Mint Juleps (the official Derby drink) and Lillies (the official Oaks drink) were consumed.
- All of the food was so delicious that I ate so much I was curled up in the fetal position all through the night moaning in pain.
- Chuck won $80 in the cornhole tournament.
- I won $86 on the Derby after betting on #19 "I'll Have Another" because of a random statistic I heard on Saturday morning on the radio. (That no horse had ever won the Derby running out of the 17th or 19th gate. So I bet #19 just in case.)
- Someone won $79 in a game of LRC.
- Someone may have broken their little toe on the big undies used in the underwear races.
- Someone (who is almost 25 years old) hit their first pinata EVER.
- Someone lost half of their front tooth in an airhead that they got from the pinata.
- Someone peed their pants laughing at the someone who broke their tooth.
- It did not rain.

All in all I'd say this was quite a memorable Derby day for everyone.

Happy Derby Day!

Happy Derby, everyone! Today is a very special Derby Day for me and Chuck, as it may be our last Derby in Louisville for a couple of years. This thought scares me a little, as I have never NOT been in Louisville for the Derby in my entire life. So we will have to live it up big time today!

For as long as I can remember, we have gone to Uncle Tony and Aunt Kelly's Derby party and since college, Chuck and I have started also going to the backside at Churchill Downs with his family every other year.  Both are extremely fun and exciting in different ways. At Tony and Kelly's we bet all day, eat amazing food (also all day...), make fun drinks, compete in sack races, three-legged races, underwear races, play cornhole, and usually end the day trying to find any other way possible to bet our leftover money on something besides horses- LRC games, Texas Hold'em, etc. etc.

Sack races- where things get instense.

You can make some serious money at the Hagan Derby party!

Anyone who has money leftover at the end of the races usually ends up losing it in a game of LRC...

....or poker.

When we go to the backside, we also get to bet all day and eat amazing food all day, but the difference is we are hanging out between horse barns with Chuck's sister's in-laws and friends. We get to be around horses all day, watch the Derby horses being led from their barns out to the track to walk around to the front to get ready for the race, and can occasionally sneak over to the infield to check out the mayhem happening in there. And then of course there's nothing quite like standing up against the fence of the track, watching as 20 horses run past you at 40 miles an hour racing for the finish line in hopes to be crowned the Kentucky Derby winner!

 

Here we are on the backside. That's our view- pretty sweet huh? Right on the other side of that fence is the track! 

Up close and personal with the horses!

 The set up:

The saddest part about being in Boston for the first Saturday in May for the next two years is that unfortunately, I don't think anyone there will care about Derby. But I've decided that we will have to change that- we will make them care. So I've already started thinking about hosting our very own Derby party and teaching the non-Kentuckians all about the greatest two minutes in sports.

Here is a list of things we will and will not do at our Boston Derby party:
We will: make mint juleps and force everyone to drink them, similar to how my dad does every year.

We will not: have underwear races.

 We will: bet on every race.

We will not: let anyone pass out on the stairs. That's dangerous!

We will: dress up.

We will not: invite the Queen of England. She hardly talked to anyone last time she came!

It will take a lot of preparation and planning, but after attending over 20 Derby parties and the actual Derby itself, I think we'll be able to throw a pretty sweet Derby party and make Derby lovers out of all our new non-Kentuckian friends. But really, what's not to love?

(This is actually the Oaks race, 2010- not Derby. But I took this picture and I like it. Pretty good seats that year, right?)

Wedding Diaries: Videographers, rings and food

A lot has happened in the wedding planning world for us this past week. We've been knocking things out like it's our JOB. Well, I guess it kind of is our job but we're not getting paid for it...

We started last week off with a trip to a videographer's house. Before I talk about that though, is it just me or does anyone else find it weird that these complete strangers invite you over to their house to meet about stuff and talk details and we just go like it's totally normal? In no other circumstance would I ever just go to a random person's house who I've never met and sit in their basement with them for an hour discussing video quality and weird wedding music. But I digress.  The guy was real nice and chill and takes some nice wedding videos. Also, it turns out he is the same videographer who used to videotape all of my dance recitals when I used to dance at Folsom Academy for like 8 years. I told him I recognized his logo from all of the old VCR tapes I have of my dance recitals. Hilarious.

Throughout the week we worked out other things like times to meet with our ministers, wedding invitation stuffing plans, and some other little detail logistics.

On Friday we got to go ring shopping for our wedding bands! This was probably more exciting for me than for Chuckie because I really enjoy looking at all the pretty, shiny things in their cases and daydreaming about owning them. (What girl doesn't?) We knew Genesis was having a big sale this weekend on the whole store so we figured it was as good a time as any to go buy our wedding bands. He had already kind of picked out my band so that was an easy decision and we knew kind of what we wanted in his band. It didn't take us very long to pick them out, get sized, eat a free cookie and have my engagement ring cleaned. To be exact, we were in and out of there in 26 minutes. That's gotta be a record time.

Saturday my mom and I went back to the dress shop so I could pick out accessories to go with my dress. That was a lot of fun because it gave me an excuse to wear my dress around for a little while and try on pretty things that made me look like a princess.  In similar fashion to wedding band shopping though, we made all decisions in a matter of minutes and left there in under an hour. Then, Chuckie and I spent the entire rest of the day shopping for furniture for our apartment in Boston. It was fun, but exhausting, and we decided to think about it for a little bit before we made a decision.

Sunday we got to go to the Olmsted and do our food tasting for our dinner menu for the reception. An event was happening that evening so there were people in there setting up and decorating the whole time while Chuckie, my parents and I sat at a table in the middle of the room and just ate. First they brought out two types of salads and had us choose between them. My parents, the expert Food Network viewers that they are, told us we should judge the food based on presentation, mix of flavors and overall taste. So we did. Then they brought out the main courses- 3 types of chicken and two vegetarian dishes. And let me just say, this may have been the hardest decision yet. They were all. SO. GOOD. It was tough but we finally made a decision. I think everyone will like what we chose. I'm glad Chuckie and I got to eat them all Sunday too because from what I hear from a lot of people, the bride and groom will hardly eat anything, if anything at all, at the actual reception.  Apparently we will be too busy talking to people, walking around, and just plain too excited to eat. We'll see. I've never been one to pass up a meal before...

After a full week and weekend of wedding preparations and furniture shopping, we ended the weekend with a couch purchase. Our first big purchase as a couple. I know it's just a couch but it's OUR couch. And that is exciting. Here it is in the back of my dad's truck.

It even came with matching, decorative pillows!

Overall, an extremely productive week. I haven't felt any stress yet about moving or getting any wedding stuff done before we go, but there's still 4 weeks until the move so I'm not going to get ahead of myself... There's still time for a major meltdown to happen!