We then began a somewhat lengthy conversation about how possible it would be to plan the entire wedding using Groupon offers. While the idea obviously sounds fun, and incredibly cheap, we soon realized that this planning model probably won’t work with the type of event we’re sure to have. Since the primary purpose of Groupon is to offer deals on local services, we would basically plan to have the wedding in a Groupon city…which we’re not. We may not be able to plan using 100% Groupon, but you can bet your budget-conscious behinds we will still be scouring those daily deals for anything that might make our special day be a little lighter on our wallets.

Getting started on this whole planning thing,
Brett and Kate

By the time we had reached the U.S. side of the Falls, the rain had mostly stopped so we were able to park and walk around a bit, snapping a few foggy photos of the Falls and wandering through a holiday market that had been set up by local artists. We started to get hungry, and realizing it was already 1:30 and we were planning to go to the Butterfly Conservatory on the Canadian side before it closed at 3:30, we decided to grab a quick bite and cross the border. After driving around for about 10 minutes and not seeing anywhere we wanted to eat, we headed back to the bridge and resigned to eating at the Butterfly Cafe.

We arrived at the Conservatory, worried that it was actually closed (despite the website saying it was open) since we were only the second car in the entire parking lot. And, as luck would have it, the cafe turned out to be outdoors and therefore definitely closed, forcing us to split a Twix Bar from the gift shop for our lunch. We then hung up our coats, due to the tropical climate in the dome, and headed in to see all of those little things in flight! One loop around the path ended up not taking very long so we began around a second time and stopped at a bench to sit down, waiting patiently for butterflies to land around us so we could get some good pictures. And that’s when and where we became engaged!
(now go here!)

Longwood Gardens

In case you were worried, we ARE still alive…just busy, busy, busy! Kate’s schedule this past quarter took some getting used to, with lots of very long days and late nights full of work…but it seems the hard work has paid off with another term of straight A’s. Over the next, and last, two quarters of the program, though coursework is relatively minimal, our internships take up the time of a full-time job and progress on our thesis becomes critical for graduating on time (in June). So, while the draining schedule isn’t looking to change very much, I’m hoping that the adjustment period is over and I won’t be spending as much time just being plain tired! Speaking of my thesis, one final piece of news is that I just found out that I will be speaking at the 2012 Annual Art Therapy Conference next July in Savannah, Georgia…talk about being excited and nervous at the same time!

Santa's newest reindeer

Brett has been equally swamped, putting in full days of work for his regular job, then just as many (if not more) hours in the evenings and weekends working on freelance projects. Between building a few mobile sites and working on some exciting startups, he’s been having fun learning new tools of his trade and always working on something different (though it’s usually not so fun at 2am).

Peace & Joy

Our holiday season has been in full swing for about a week now, as we left Philly on Friday the 16th to spend a weekend skiing in Killington, Vermont before coming here to Brett’s parents house, where we will stay until December 29th. We both have a bit of work to get done at some point during this break, but we’re definitely looking forward to the next few days of  simply spending time with family and enjoying one another’s company. For now, it’s time to spend the rest of the day baking cookies and playing games

Wishing everyone a very warm and blissful holiday season,
Brett and Kate (& Captain & Basil)

• visited Brett’s dad’s hunting cabin in the Southern Tier  & planted 2 trees
• went to a wine tasting at Deer Run Winery
• toured Conesus Lake via pontoon boat (courtesy of neighbor John)
• helped the kids catch hundreds of fish (or the same fish hundreds of times?)
• hung out with Zack (who we both miss very much!)
• saw the best fireworks show EVER
• Not to forget the puppy – Basil lost his first puppy teeth & had his first swim!

   

We have much more travel coming up this summer, as well of lots of time we’ll be spending outdoors, so be sure to check back for more fun pictures!

Re-finding our adventurous roots,
Brett and Kate

Basil, our sous chef

While Kate was in the midst of finishing up her first year of grad school (yay!), Brett has been REALLY busy with work, and somewhere in between there’s a pup being raised! So far, the transition to dog-owners has been pretty smooth, largely thanks to watching hours of The Dog Whisperer before bringing Basil home, but we are definitely looking forward to the rest of the summer when we’ll have more free time to hang out with and train the little guy.

Celebrating the end of year 1

Kate’s last official day was June 24th, which marked the completion of her first year comprehensive exam (40 hours of writing + 2 hours of oral questioning), with the Spring quarter ending back on June 9th. This 3rd quarter was quite challenging, and even more exhausting than the first 2 (the HOBY seminar right around week 7 didn’t help either). In the end, the hard work and sleepless nights paid off and the year was rounded out with another set of A’s

Working nights sure haven’t been lonely, since Brett has a lot going on as well. In addition to his regular work during the day, he’s gotten involved in a few side projects on the evenings and weekends, keeping him just about as busy as Kate. Brett’s volleyball leagues have been bumped from once to twice a week (the 2nd night Kate plays too), and hopefully many more hours will be spent playing outdoors soon!

Double Duty: reading & cuddling

As for Basil, he sure is growing fast! He’s nearly doubled in size since we got him and is now tall enough to get on the couch (& climb on Captain). Speaking of which, he and Captain are beginning to be friends…well, brothers is more like it, as they’ve started having numerous wrestling matches a day! More pics are sure to come.

Already working on the next post,
Brett and Kate

Monday afternoon we headed toward Gettysburg, PA (a quick 2 hour road trip) to meet and pick up our new puppy Basil. He is a 10 week old Black & Tan Shiba Inu that we purchased from Rodel Shibas, a show quality Shiba breeder. From the moment we saw this cutie, we were hooked.

So far, he has been extremely well behaved, slept through the night, let’s us know when he needs to go out, and wants nothing more than to play with Captain. They are still working out their boundaries but we have high hopes for them being best of friends. He is still getting use to his new collar and the general concept of a walk.  He thinks it’s walk/sit/run/sit.

Kate and I are so happy and excited to welcome this new addition into our hearts and home.

Without further adieu, Basil.

Being trained by a puppy,
Brett and Kate

Basil at 5 weeks old

Whew! The past few months have been extremely busy/overwhelming/exhausting, hence the lack of blogging, and for the first time in way too long I have a few spare minutes – yay!
Papers-
School has been even more intense than the first 2 quarters, thanks in part to 6 class hours of research a week in preparation for starting my thesis in June. Thankfully, the term is coming to a close, with only 2 weeks of class left, & 1 week of finals. Then, the only thing standing between me & a (mostly) free summer of thesis writing will be 2 weeks spent on a Comp Exam (covering the entire 1st year of study).
Projects-
Brett and I are currently back in Chicago for a few days, mostly for work, with a little bit of fun on the side. From Thursday night until Sunday afternoon I will be helping to run a leadership conference for 110ish local high school students, as part of the Hugh O’Brian Youth Leadership Organization. Meanwhile, Brett is going into the actual office (what?!) for a few days, then gets to spend some quality time with some of our favoritest people in the world The weekend will conclude with a little BBQ gathering before we head back to Philly and cross this huge project off our to-do list!
Puppy-
The time has come! For anyone who hasn’t talked to us very recently, a few months ago we began the process of getting a puppy and he is finally old enough for us to bring him home & into our life. He is a 9 week old Shiba Inu, who we’ve named Basil, & is sure to make the next few weeks quite interesting! We’ve prepared our house (and ourselves!) as much as possible, but we know there will still be a few sleepless nights…we’re just hoping for a smooth transition for Captain – he’s going to be such a great big brother!

More to come soon – we will certainly be documenting our experience with Basil!
For now, reuniting with the city we love,
Brett and Kate

As it turns out, the car was stolen.  Just about 3 weeks into the 4 week wait period (30 day wait to get paid by the insurance company for a stolen car) I got a call from the police saying they found my call. They had picked it up 8 blocks away and caught the guy who had taken it. The guy was so smart that he was robbing local Rite Aid stores and then stayed in the area.  (*Note – my car, while a basic black SUV has Red White and Blue Illinois license plates – making it rather noticeable even from afar in the state of Pennsylvania).  The guy had smashed the passenger side window and then used a valet key (where he got this we don’t know) to get the car to run and make the robberies. My insurance (Progressive) picked the car up from the tow lot, had all the repairs made and less a week later, I had my car back.

In general, all the big things were fixed, but Kate and I continually ask ourselves what this guy was wearing because the seats are a little extra worn and there are little dings in the door panels; small enough that they aren’t noticeable at first glance.  The car runs just like it did before the incident and I have 100% faith in it. (I was nervous I wouldn’t trust the car after but that doesn’t seem to be the case)   My brother Chris and my Dad went and got me a car “club” to lock the steering wheel and also acts as a serious deterrent. THANKS GUYS!  So far so good.

Ill be taking the car this week to a professional detail shop to get it polished up inside and out (covered by insurance as well).

Not parking there anymore,

Brett and Kate

Over all, a very fun tapas restaurant in the piazza. During the summer, they have outdoor seating and make their paella right there for you to see and smell. They have some spectacular desserts like homemade churros with dark chocolate dipping sauce or caramel apple pie.

Unfortunately, we found the portions to be small and pricy, even for tapas. I recommend stopping by here for a mid-day snack or for an after dinner dessert and sangria.

Rating:
Location: 1030 North 2nd Street | Philadelphia
Price: $5 – $15 per plate (8+ plates for 4 people)
http://www.barferdinand.com/

I parked my car Wednesday evening and when I went to go pick up our friend from the airport Friday morning, my car was no where in sight.  The spot where I parked the car is on a street that has 10 ft brick walls on either side and its well known to not leave anything of value to the car – just in case.  Who thought they would just take the whole car?!

Called my insurance company Progressive to find out the steps to file a claim and then on to the police to file report it. First time I had to call 911. I think that was the most nerve racking part of the whole ordeal. Philly police sent a squad car over, he took all the info I had, checked to see if it was towed, and then we went for a ride around the neighborhood to see if it was anywhere.

As I hoped in the back of the police car (the back seat was hard plastic and anything but comfortable) and we drove around, sure enough I passed a couple neighbors who peeked in the back of the car and had a perplexed look as I smiled wide while we drove down the street.  Looking forward to telling that story when I meet up with the neighbors again.  Im sure the rumors are flying.

We did not find the car in the vicinity, so the cop wrote me an incident report and I had to file the official claim with the insurance company.  My agent stopped by to take a statement this morning and now we just wait; 30 days actually.  30 days from last friday and if the car doesn’t show up, they cut a check to my bank and I get to go find a new car.

The insurance covers a rental for the next 30 days so as of now, I am sporting a sweet Kia Omtima 2009.  (not the nice new one)

Im personally torn – while, I do miss my car and liked it very much (Subaru Forester 2010), Im not sure how I feel about getting it back if someone did take it. The other possibility is that it was towed and hasn’t been registered in the system yet.

We shall see what happens. Maybe a new car for my birthday.

Waiting patiently,

Brett and Kate