Stephanie's Wedding Pictures

7/3/08 - Added names, etc, figured I'd tell you who your were looking at.

The beautiful sister and Bride

Stephanie and her new husband, Derrick

A family photo, from left: brother Mark, nephew Peyton, me, Stephanie, my dad, mom2, nephew Taylor

Me, with my favorite little girls Abby and Becca

Stephanie and Derrick with bridesmaid Paula and groomsman, whose name unfortunately I can't remember...

Melissa and her husband Tim, cousin Jon with wife Marlene.

Marlene and I at the pre-wedding party.

My daddy and I dancing.

The older siblings and I.

There is a wonderful breeze in Wooster as usual. Hopefully it won't rain, as we are about to have an outdoor party.
I drove by Andrew's house to see what the new people have done with the porch at least. The new residents really like plants and there is a rather expensive looking motorcycle in front of the garage. It barely looks like Andrew's house
anymore.:(

Es ist 2:45 am Morgen und für einige dumme Grund, warum ich nicht schlafen können.

Surgery is schedule for July 17, 2008. I will remain in the hospital for a couple of days and then have the following 6 weeks off of work. Apparently there will be a considerable amount of pain resulting from this surgery, to which I'm obviously not looking forward, however, breathing out of my mouth seems necessary.

My goal, other than healing and resting, and of course watching the entire series of Lost, will be to complete the novel I started on my previous medical leave.

Now I need to head off to have blood work done, inform my employer, who will not be pleased given my current projects, and then pack for Wooster.

Meeting with the thyroid specialist today to make the final determination regarding surgery.

It's going to be a hot day, so I think I'll stay in and work on decorating the new apartment. Not that I don't love my Matthew dearly, but some alone time will be enjoyable.

Okay, just one more photo of the kittens, but that's only because my favorite red-head is holding them.

Have fun at the Pearl Jam concert Allison!!!

Okay, so instead of bogging down this blog with tons of pictures of the kittens, I'm just going to create a blog for them. Cat lovers, enjoy. I'll save those who are not so fond of seeing shit-loads of kitten pictures.

http://ninjakittens.blogspot.com/

Four more hours and this work work is OVER. :)

And then off to Wooster for my sister's wedding. Thank goodness that will take up all of my time seeing as there is nothing more to do in Wooster anymore.

Or perhaps we won't walk there, seeing as it just started storming.

And the kittens don't like the sound of thunder.

Seriously, I can't help but to put more pictures of the kittens on here.

The first Saturday in the new place has been nice and peaceful. Matt and I went running at Ault Park this morning, a wonderful running and hiking area. The hiking is in the plans for the very near future. It's one of my favorite out door activities. Matt's down at his parents, helping them move also. Meanwhile, I'm tasked with decoration. Darn. Now I just need to get the curtain rods for the living room and bedroom; this has proven difficult as the windows are rather large. But I love the sage green curtains.

It must be said that even though this apartment is twice as big as our previous apartment (meaning we just simply don't have furniture to fill the place, subsequently meaning I have a good purpose for shopping, perhaps I'll venture out to the new Ikea store) and therefore more expensive; however, in the end, it's more economically sound. I have half the commute to work than previously, not even getting on the highway, and we live in a rather lovely community where we have the luxery of many wonderful bars and eateries within walking distance. No more driving to go out to eat or visit the used book store anymore. I estimate I'll save close to $200 each month on gas alone. That put against the higher rent, it all balances out very nicely. With the most wonderful park just up the road and the extremely low crime rate, it's a wonderful find.

Matt nearly has his study set up to begin working on his writing. My working space is incomplete, but I'm more picky. I'll wait for the new desk and writing space before hanging my wonderful collection of Andrew Tonn photography.

Tonight we'll walk down to Zips, one of my favorite resturants, where my friends have always gone to spend the last night before people in our group move away to other states and countries. For the first time, we'll go there to celebrate the moving to the neighborhood instead of moving away.

Thyroid Mis-placement

Here is what my thyroid looks like in a CT scan w/ contrast. (It is the round blob near the chin area. Please note the thyroid is NOT supposed to be located directly under the tongue. :) Soon enough it will be removed and I'll have to find a way to enjoy six paid weeks at home with those lovely kittens below and being allowed to eat all the ice cream I desire. Perhaps I can finish the novel I started while on my previous medical leave six months ago.

The Three Little Ninjas

New additions to the Rose-Cahal family:

Buffy (gray fluffy and she definitely has the personality of a vampire slayer, yet she is quite prissy as well.)

Jackie O (black and white, formally known as Faith, but Matt has decided that he really doesn't want all of the kittens to be named for the Buffy characters, but she definitely matches Faith's personality and is the first to explore and always having fun.)

Leonitis (Leo) (formally known as Riley or Spike - they looked too similar to tell the difference, but I'm going with Spike given how him and Buffy have already developed a love-hate relationship, fighting to the death one minute and cuddling up to each other the next.)

The old apartment is nearly packed and the new progressing towards unpacked. I decided to take the day off of work and get the final touches done. I can't wait until tomorrow night when we'll be sleeping at the new place. Matt's more excited than he previously thought. Both of us moved around quite a bit when we were children, so we have the process of moving down to a science practically. In less than a week we've managed to move and work still.

And then the kittens arrive on Sunday!!! Pictures of them to come soon. :)

A very important chapter of my life is coming to a close. If not for my parents, there is nothing left in Wooster for me.

In September of 2002, I moved to Wooster, Ohio, having absolutely no idea what to expect of this small town. I knew no one other than my family, or so I thought. During a short visit back to Cincinnati one weekend, I learned that my friend Andy from college was living in Lodi, a nearby town and working at a local coffee house, called Seattle's. I couldn't believe there was this hip little coffee house in Wooster. How could I have missed it!! I immediately drove around and found the place upon my return home. When I walked in, there was Andy working behind the bar with Melissa. It was one of the most happy moments of my life to that point, I had missed him so much. But, not only was I reunited with a dear friend, I met a few more people that night that would end up being a close friend still today. At the bar, with a Guiness in hand, was this brooding man writing in a journal with a camera around his neck. We connected instantly. And then the Wilsons and their children, two more Andy/Andrew's to the mix. It took an entire hour to meet someone NOT named Andrew. That next person was Scott. And then Lexi. And then I got a job at Seattle's. Scott, Andrew T. and I were the morning shift, 5:30 Scott, and Andrew and I alternated the 7:30 and 8:30 a.m. shifts. Those were some awesome times. All three of us were practically insominacs those days, so it's a good thing we all worked around coffee and took great care to entertain one another. [And then... well, let's just leave the rest out of this blog for now.]

Lexi went off and married and had a baby girl.
Scott finished college, is teaching Spanish and has settled down with Angie.
Andy is... god if I know. Hopefully working in a museum by now.
Andrew is living with his lovely Lena in Sweden and continues to explore the world.
And I've ended up back where everything really started. In more ways than I ever knew or can explain at this moment.

And most sadly, now Seattle's is closing.

The place where this part of my life started, is now closing.