Anniversaries and Adventures

 A year ago today, right about this time, Seth and I looked up from our sandwiches at Melby’s (a grocery store/ bait shop/ diner-ish eatery in Waterford, Maine) and realized that we had just over an hour to change before our wedding. We raced back to the Bear Mountain Inn, newly-minted marriage license in tow, to get ready. Our best efforts notwithstanding, we were not even close to ready on time (ahem, Seth), and the ceremony started late. Luckily there was no one around to care if we were late, rumpled, or sweaty, or to notice that my dress was a tiny bit tight. Seth was still in an ex fix and couldn’t make it down the “aisle” at the last minute, so we rode down the hill to the lakeshore on the back of his pickup truck, which one of the innkeepers had kindly agreed to drive. Afterwards, we took a few snapshots with a turkey decoy, feasted on takeout and wedding cake, and passed out watching “Duck Dynasty” before we could finish our champagne.

And thus began our adventure. Well, officially anyway. To be honest, we were already knee deep in it, and our relaxed, funny wedding was just a spur-of-the-moment high water mark in a year characterized by ups and downs that would put any roller coaster to shame.

It’s hard to believe that here we are, a year later, knocked up and pretty settled suburbanites. Seth doesn’t just walk now, he bikes, swims, and runs. He was pronounced fit for duty and starts school in the fall, and we have a three-year plan and- gulp- a baby shopping list. We still have the truck, I’m still squeezing into clothes (for a different reason now), and he’s still always late. And it’s never stopped being an adventure.

We celebrated a bit early in Bar Harbor, with a long weekend of sleeping in and massages and gorging ourselves on lobster (Seth) and mac and cheese (me) and lobster mac and cheese (take a guess.) We biked the carriage roads in Acadia National Park, had picnics on beautiful beaches, saw the view from the top of Cadillac Mountain… and Seth even talked me into go-karting and mini golf. It was a perfect weekend away, and a great way to celebrate how far we’ve come since our last escape to Maine. And the many adventures that lie ahead for the Nieman Family.

Cheers to anniversaries and adventures. And summer in Maine, and long weekends, and blueberry beer, and marrying your best friend. Life is good.

Which brings me to the photo of the week:

 

More pictures from our Maine weekend here, for anybody interested in the "after" lobster shot, etc. https://plus.google.com/photos/115033664787271164277/albums/6017711770535810241?authkey=CJy897yfmrSlgwE 

(Son of a Gun Gonna Have Some Fun) On the Bayou

When I was in college, and for a few years after that whenever I wasn’t deployed, I loved going to New Orleans for Mardi Gras. Back then, I didn’t mind crashing 5 to a hotel room and staying out all night and smelling like whatever unspeakable things Bourbon Street reeks of during that unfortunate stretch leading up to Fat Tuesday. The novelty eventually wore off and, as much as I love The Big Easy the rest of the year (minus Gay Southern Pride Week, another horrific celebration of the absence of inhibition, which I accidentally discovered one awful trip), I’m sad to say that I haven’t been back since Hurricane Katrina.

So it was with some pleasure that I discovered, stepping off the plane on this warm, humid Friday night, that it still smelled like New Orleans, an acrid mix of salt and brackish water and tar and chicory. Even my pitch-black drive through the bayou to Grand Isle was nostalgic and felt like a familiar adventure, having made similar swampy, creepy drives on a lot of road trips of years gone by. I swear in Cajun Country you can “feel the voodoo,” as my Tulane friends used to say.

The Gulf Shore is an entirely different story, but I suppose it has its own charm. Mostly, if you like to fish. We were there for StanBrock’s Black & Gold Classic, put on by Seth’s former coach Stan Brock. We were even billed as “celebrities” and got to stay in a cabin that was, in effect, a trailer on stilts. My deepest weekend regret is that I didn't get a photo of this thing.

At any rate, we had a blast. The event meant a great deal to Seth, who loved having the opportunity to help out (and hang out with) one of his most influential mentors.  He had desperately wanted to attend last year, but the broken ex fix got in the way and he was beyond disappointed to have to cancel- so getting to go this year was an even bigger deal. Getting to shoot Benelli shotguns and stuff himself with Cajun cooking and beer didn’t hurt either, and he loved getting to trade stories with all the NFL greats that Stan rounded up.

 

I was under no delusion that I was an actual event bigwig, but the Brock family was delightful and fun, and I got in a run on the beach and some much-needed downtime. I did not particularly enjoy, for the second weekend in a row, having to put myself to bed early while everyone else got to drink beer by the water (one of my very favorite things), but the Brocks promised that we could come back next year. And Seth is going to owe me some major babysitting.

Our relaxing weekend was over too soon, and I headed back to the rat race Sunday night (complete with late-night beltway traffic) while Seth went west for a weeklong training event. I arrived home and was greeted with standing water in our flooded basement, proving that you do generally wind up earning your beach time. Well worth it.

 

This is my favorite picture from the weekend, and not just because I know what happened a couple hours later. (Hey- it’s a time-honored south Louisiana tradition to indulge a little and refund on crawfish!)

Fargo

My birthday week culminated in a trip to Fargo, which most of my friends found hilarious. But we had decided months ago to participate in the Fargo Marathon festivities with Seth’s parents, and getting to see and his Mom do the 5k together was totally worth the trip.

Although it was quite a trip! Someone who shall remain nameless had waited until the last minute to make travel arrangements, so we wound up flying into Minneapolis and driving the 3.5+ hours to Fargo, making it to the start line in time to meet Jayne literally by the skin of our teeth. Always an adventure...

For my 30^th birthday I did my first 50 miler, at Bear Mountain. For my 31^st I ran 31 miles (with a relay of Soldiers) in Afghanistan. For my 32^nd, I did another ultra. And I’ve kind of slacked off since then.  I met Seth on my 33^rd after a long day on the drop zone (but no run), and last year we made a whirlwind trip to Fayetteville (and had a terrific night at the Pinehurst) but Seth’s ex fix broke and we landed right back at Walter Reed. I may have gone for a jog in there, but it wasn’t anything to write home about.

 

This year I was determined to resume my tradition, at least within the limits of a still-healing ankle and being knocked up. I ran a beautiful 10k through Fargo (which had awesome spectators and great music for the big event) the morning of my 35^th, and although the distance didn’t wow, it felt right. Birthday runs were back on, after a couple crazy hiatus years.

I met Seth and his parents for brunch at a diner afterwards, and we stuffed ourselves with pancakes. That afternoon, I stole their dog and dragged her for a walk along the Buffalo River, where I had camped on my epic road trip adventure almost two years before.

I’ll spare the details of the rest of my birthday. Let’s just say that 1) the honest to God only bad part of pregnancy so far is being the tired, sober one while everyone around you drinks and has a good time, and 2) it’s a good thing Seth had gone all out for my birthday week prior. I toasted my 35^th alone with mediocre cheesecake and a tall glass of water that night, but all in all felt pretty good about where this milestone birthday found me. It was hard to believe I had met Seth two years ago, in a Fayetteville bar. You just really never know where life is going to take you. I’m lucky that mine never stops being an adventure.

 We got to spend Mother’s Day (morning, anyway) with the Niemans, and we celebrated with brunch at Kroll’s (apparently an ND institution.) I had definitely not thought about getting to share Mother’s Day, but Jayne and Tony had a present for me! And Seth got me an insanely amazing stroller. A BOB, which comes highly recommended. It seriously has offroad tires. It wasn’t put together at the time, but I’ll fish up a picture of this monster for next week.
 

At any rate, it was a nice weekend and getting to be in ND for the 5k and Mother’s Day was really special. The trip back, however, saw awful weather in Chicago (as usual) which caused us to spend all night waiting on delayed flights and resulted in two hours of sleep for me before work Monday. It was going to be quite a week, and we scrambled to get work and laundry and packing for another weekend away done. May really is nuts!

Photo of the week is here, from a story that just came out about Seth’s work at the Mission Command Conference a couple weeks ago.
http://www.army.mil/article/125657/Mission_Command_Conference_seeks_to_inspire___/

My Birthday Week

I hate surprises. I always have, and I’m not big on birthdays or holidays either. I blame Mom and Dad, of course, and feel generally grateful for having been raised the way we were, with flex-holidays based on when people could get together, a preference for the non-Hallmark moments, and a strong overall aversion to being given things.

And then I married Seth, who loves both holidays and surprises, gives over-the-top gifts, brings home flowers on random Tuesdays, and gets more excited about Christmas than most school age children. It’s taken some adjusting. Don’t get me wrong, nobody in their right mind complains about a husband who remembers anniversaries and keeps flowers on the table. But I suffer from a serious (probably lifelong) inferiority complex where it comes to gift purchasing and making birthdays special.
 

At any rate, Seth has outdone himself again, throwing me a birthday week for the ages.

Friday night was date night, and by the time it rolled around I was exhausted. I guiltily asked if we could cancel dinner plans and order pizza, and Seth came home with not only my favorite from Ledo’s, but also one of everything in the Whole Foods pastry case. And then didn’t complain when I passed out early in front of the TV.

 

Saturday morning we slept in, had leftover cheesecake for breakfast in bed, and did our first yardwork of the year in gorgeous spring weather. We had finally gotten a new mower, and for the first time Seth mowed the yard. After last summer, with Seth confined to a wheelchair while Mom and I mowed and weeded and trimmed, it felt like a major milestone (and looked way better than when I wandered aimlessly about with the mower, creating a lawn that appeared to have been marked by alien crop circles.) I had an afternoon pedicure date with Michelle and Grace, and we headed for the quiet, sun-drenched streets of Del Ray, where we took our time shopping and catching up and being buffed and polished. Grace and I even talked Michelle into gourmet french fries for lunch. I was having the kind of lazy Saturday afternoon I usually only dreamed about.
 

And then we got back to Michelle’s, and I walked in with my arms full of purchases (including a pair of completely ridiculous but adorable pink baby shoes), and Josh jumped out from behind a pillar with somebody’s baby, and a ton of people yelled “surprise!” and I nearly had a heart attack. My first-ever surprise party.

 

It was a terrific evening. Michelle and Seth had gotten a hodgepodge of all of our friends together, and put together such a great spread (Michelle's mac & cheese and buffalo chicken and two kinds of cheesecake and Mom's tiramisu!) that I didn’t really even miss beer. A terrific time was had by all, and the absolute highlight of the evening was watching Seth and Josh (a few beers in) put together the bike and baby trailer Seth had gotten me. An epic surprise, and a hilarious vignette (complete with upside-down instructions). I am in l-o-v-e with my retro pink cruiser (turquoise rims and shimano gears?! my cup runneth over), although the trailer is a tiny bit scary.

 

My Perfect Birthday Weekend continued Sunday with a late brunch in Cleveland Park with my friend Chris followed by a homemade triathlon (Seth’s idea). We picked up the second part of my birthday present- a bike for Seth- and then knocked out a swim in Walter Reed’s chilly saltwater pool, a jog along the canal, and a six mile bike ride- on which Seth delighted in going off and leaving me on his new, much-faster dualsport ride. I had been dying to ride bikes together along the C&O since we moved here, and watching the sun set over the Potomac capped off the perfect weekend. Surprises and all.

 

My birthday week celebration apparently continues, since last night we had a blast at the rained-out Nationals game (a mandatory work event that we had decided to make the best of), and tonight Seth just called and made the unheard-of offer of taking me out for ethnic food.

 

Maybe I could get used to this birthday thing.

 

Two photos of the week: one, of our diva niece Lehua, enjoying organic juice in the back of a convertible (she seriously has the life), and the other, of us being goofy at the ballpark. The beer was Seth’s. Mostly.

 

 

A Lovely, if Windy, Oklahoma Weekend (In Pictures)

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, and I'm going with that theory this week. Particularly because 1) the end of the filing month is frantic at work and I'm definitely a little short on words at the moment, and 2) this week's pictures are so adorable.

There was nothing particularly notable about our crazy week except that it was in fact crazy, with me playing catchup at work after the long weekend and Seth working apparently slave-like hours at the Mission Command Conference. (Although I'm hard-pressed to feel too sorry for him, because many of his late night obligations seemed to be "mixers" involving beer.) He really enjoyed the mentorship opportunity though, from the sounds of it, and did in fact make it back in time to catch our flight on Friday. Barely. (The highlight of my week, on the other hand, was my first tamale-eating experience at Michelle's house. It was pretty tasty, in case you're ever curious. Although I'm pretty sure this was a gourmet tamale.)

At any rate, we eventually made it to tornado alley to visit the Oklahoma Walters- the complete absence of nonstop flights to OKC notwithstanding- and we had a terrific, relaxing weekend hanging out with our adorable niece. (And, alright, Ben & Lisa too.)

Saturday the whole crew went to April's house to grill out and, believe it or not, it was warm enough to swim. It was Natalie's first time, and she loved it. Almost as much as I loved her swimsuit with a pink tutu.

 

I got to see my godson, Gunnar Bronco, too, and he and Nat had fun playing together. (I cracked up at the pose he struck when I asked him to show me his new ninja turtle swim trunks. Practically David Beckham.)

 

When dragged from the pool, Natalie showed off her incredible tricycle-riding skills (she can even go backwards)...

 

... and scared me half to death scrambling up the rock wall to the top of Gunnar's playground. She's pretty fearless. 

 

She can also put away some strawberries!

 

 

Against our better judgment, April and Lisa and I left the boys in charge while we ran into town to pick up race packets (and cupcakes)...

...and came back to this. Although neither of the kids was worse for the wear.

 

Then, because why not? We took our niece to a bar for wings and a little UFC. She held her own pretty well with the old straw-in-the-nose trick.

And she even let Uncle Seth throw her around. And agreed with me that his prosthetic is "stinky" rather than scary.

 

Sunday morning started off bright and early, with tornado warnings for Lisa and I at the race start. This is how we felt about having gotten up at 5am and just to spend two hours waiting out a weather delay in various alcoves and parking garages.

(Because of this- as well as 60mph winds and quarter size hail.) In the picture to the right, you can see the very start of funnel clouds. Which, luckily, never touched down, although the announcements about "shelters along the race route" didn't do much to make this non-local feel any better about the possibility of a "Wizard of Oz" style twister.

Eventually the clouds broke, and we finally got started. We had a ton of fun along the race route. The course was nice, the crowds were super friendly, and we cracked up about the signs (and the random costumes.) Lisa, who just a year ago was training for her first 5k- never having even run a mile- never even stopped to walk. For 13.1 miles.

There are no words to describe how impressed and inspired I am by such a huge accomplishment! And how grateful I am to have gotten to share it. Tornadoes and all.

Photo of the week is the Oklahoma Walters' post-race photo, of course. Nat even had a cowbell.

Easter on the Hudson, and A Bit of Nieman News

 Seth’s gone this week, speaking at something called a Mission Command Conference at West Point. I’m excited that he gets the opportunity to mentor young cadets and touch bases with the Army athletic staff there- he’s busy laying the groundwork for the new job!- and I love that, after all this time focusing on the 25 meter targets (get through this surgery/ get rid of the wound vac/ get out of the wheelchair/ walk again/ lose the “wheelchair weight”/ run again, etc.) he’s finally able to expend some energy on the 300 meter ones too.

But I miss him. Whenever we’re apart, but especially when I’m home and he’s away instead of vice versa, I have a set routine. For the first 24 hours, I’m ecstatic that I can clean the house and it stays that way, that there is no laundry on the floor, and that I can eat cereal out of the box for dinner and watch what I want on TV and go to bed at a decent hour for a change. And then the second day, I walk in the door and the house just feels… empty. And quiet. Within a couple hours, I find that I am actually wishing for even one stray dirty sock peeking out from underneath the bed.

When I’m trying to be positive, though, I tell myself that it’s nice to be married to someone you miss when you’re apart for only a few days. And that we’re lucky that we’re at a point in our lives and careers and world events that we don’t have to contemplate long deployments and geo-bachelorhood. (Although one should always knock on wood when considering this.)

And in this case, at least we had had a really nice weekend away to tide us over. After an absurd trains-metros-automobiles Friday night adventure to get us both up to West Point in eastern seaboard pre-weekend gridlock (I actually scored with the train option, despite having one break and leave me trackside in Harlem), we survived a frantic Friday-Saturday lineup of events surrounding the spring football game, for which Seth had been named an honorary captain. http://blogs.hudsonvalley.com/west-point-army-football/2014/04/14/black-and-gold-game-details-supe-to-coach-black/

While Seth scurried from meeting to event to meeting and then raced up and down the sidelines looking very official, I had a lazy brunch with friends in Cornwall and basked in the sunny stands on an unexpectedly warm day. Seth’s team lost but a good time was had by all, and he and all of his former Army football player buddies waxed poetic about the future of the team under the new coach, who we really like. As with all of these reunion-type events (I assume we’ll be inundated with them once we move to the Hudson Valley), Seth spent lots of time catching up with old friends, mentors, and teammates. I was grateful that they all made an effort to make me feel included- Seth is a smart guy and had been prepping that, knowing, no doubt, that if the West Point exclusivity got under my skin it was going to be a long couple of years there. It worked, and I came away from the weekend reminded that West Point, although unfortunately situated in the cesspool that is the state of New York, is spectacularly beautiful, occasionally warm, and a terrific place for families. Which is more important to us than ever.

We're bad at keeping secrets and finally made this announcement this weekend, in case you somehow missed it:

All the important details: we’re ecstatic, I haven’t been too sick, Seth's been terrific, I definitely required Spanx under my dress at the football banquet, and the littlest Nieman will be here before the Army-Navy game. (And I fervently look forward to my return to tailgating.)

We finally got a breather Sunday, and instead of dragging ourselves to Easter services for more handshaking (it does get exhausting), we slept in and headed up the valley for the best chocolate chip pancakes I have ever had in my life (Painter’s in Cornwall, don’t miss it) and an Easter bike ride along the river, followed by a pilgrimage to Seth’s favorite steakhouse. (Not that the highlights of our weekend were food...) 

I had taken Monday off, since- outrageously- USALSA didn’t get any days off for the Easter holiday, which gave us another blissful day to sleep late and wander around West Point and then head into the city for dinner with Mike & Marlena before I had to catch a late flight back to DC. I’ll spare the details of my “public transportation to JFK adventure”- especially since I still (unbelievably) made it home to Bethesda before Seth made it back to West Point.

At any rate, I’m home, playing catchup at work, and before we know it we'll be heading to Oklahoma City to see the Oklahoma Walters this weekend. It’s definitely an on-the-go spring for us!

Pictures of the week are of our adorable nieces’ Easter egg hunts.

Oh, and this one (from the banquet) just kind of cracked me up. In an unrelated note, the cheesecake (also pictured) was delicious.