Walkin' for a Reason

Today was the Toledo Race for the Cure. It's so much fun every year and for such a good cause (breast cancer, btw) that we've made it a yearly thing. This year, it was me, Lauren, Bethany, Brittany, and Sara.

We started out the morning the way we always do- with general mishaps and disorganization. First Bethany's car wouldn't start, so I zipped across town to grab her, then we all met at Sara's as planned...all of us, that is, except Lauren. When calling her over and over didn't work, we drove to her house where I simultaneously called her and tapped on her window. She finally woke up and came out giggly and mismatched, and we were on our way.

There were over 18,000 participants at the Race this year, which was a new record. The skies looked threatening, but luckily it didn't rain. And after the Race, the weather actually turned sunny and quite pleasant. My mom and I went to an orchard and bought apples and cider.

In case I've never mentioned it before, I LOVE the fall. :)

Breathe In, Breathe Out...

So I have bronchitis. Blech. I've never had bronchitis before. I've had pharyngitis, which Stuart so lovingly calls "Erin-gytis", which was hell on earth, but never bronchitis. I was not prepared for the way it feels to not breathe at full capacity for days and days. It's unnerving and uncomfortable. Luckily, though, I caught my bronchitis early and got on antibiotics right away, so I do not have the hacking cough that normally accompanies this lil' respiratory problem. Thank goodness. I am, however, constantly tired and missing my real breathing patterns. And for the first couple of days, I had regular hot and cold flashes, which was a fun preview of menopause!





But, I digress. The real reason I brought you all here today was to tell you about my engagement party!





We had an engagement party. And it was SO much fun. My parents were kind enough to let us yet again take over their house and yard and fire pit. We had a beer potluck and made a hairy buffalo. Our friend Justin brought 8 pizzas. I brought snacks. Kyle brought me owl shorts.





Everyone brought the good times.

There was such an out-pouring of love for us at this party, it was awesome. People brought us presents, and even more importantly, people came despite bronchial pneumonia, sick relatives, and family drama involving a black eye, among other things (side note: this last part makes me wanna exact revenge not suitable to put in writing on the intra-web). And the next morning, we were left with 3 coolers still full of beer and bottle upon bottle of liquor that was gifted to us the night before. Then I got bronchitis and didn't feel like having a drop of any of it- but all in good time, dear friends.

All in good time.

P.S. I did a spell check on this blog and apparently, blogspot.com doesn't think "Erin-gytis" is a word. Pssht! Whatever, blogspot. Whatever.

More Exciting Than Watching Grass Grow...

You've seen it on The Simpsons. You've seen it on the 1990's Dennis the Menace movie. And now, it's coming to you straight from my parent's backyard.

The Queen of the Night. The flower that only blooms for one night a year. Yes, a few weeks ago, we sat and watched a flower bloom.

It was a bit tedious at times, but the end result was worth it:

Pretty thing, ain't she?