Toby Tales and Tidbits

Tobias turned 8 months old on Saturday. He's still chewing and attempting to eat everything, just like when we first got him. Sometimes he still finds things he's not supposed to chew too.



On Toby's 8-month birthday, we were headed out to a movie (Marley & Me, very fitting). I was upstairs getting ready and Andy came up to shower. He uttered the fateful words, "Toby's sleeping, I think he'll be ok alone for a few minutes."

So, Toby was downstairs by himself for all of 5 minutes. Do you think he was "ok alone for a few minutes?"

No, of course he wasn't.

When we leave the room, Tobias immediately puts on his naughtypants and goes cruising for fun new chew toys. His favorite place to look for fun new chew toys is on the counter. And sitting on the counter was . . .






Andy's 60 GB iPod. Resting peacefully in a delicious, soft black case.


You may now join us in mourning the loss of the iPod. Toby devoured the case, and the iPod was crushed between his teeth in the process.


Now, let's move on to Monday. We had some lovely pork tenderloins that had been marinating for a day and were ready to be cooked. There were 4 in the package, 2 small ones and 2 little ones. Andy and I each took a small one and went into the other room to enjoy dinner, leaving the 2 large ones in the baking dish.




Then Toby went into the kitchen.




Then I pried a large pork tenderloin out of Toby's jaws.




Then Toby got a timeout.

25 Random Things About Me

I got tagged on Facebook to share 25 Random Facts about Me and figured I'd add it here as a blog entry. So, if you're bored here you go:

1. I don't have a middle name.


2. I enjoy simplicity.


3. Some of the first cassette tapes I remember owning include: Guns N Roses, Boyz II Men, Paula Abdul and of course New Kids on the Block.


4. I miss playing competitive tennis.


5. I did not drink alcohol until my very first night at college - then I did my first shot.


6. I have an enormous soft spot for animals and children.


7. I didn't go to a professional salon until I was 20 years old - Mom always cut my hair for me.


8. I can talk and spell backwards fluently.


9. I have goals to visit all of the microbreweries in Michigan and see the Red Wings in all of the hockey arenas. MI Microbrewies visited = 18, Hockey arenas visited = 4.


10. My ankle was in a cast for almost a year of my life and required 2 surgeries.


11. I randomly fainted writing an answer on the board in math class in HS.


12. I blame my lack of ambition in life on the fact that I have an incurable sense of contentment.


13. I find it extremely difficult to not use my hands when speaking.


14. I lived with a bat for 2 weeks.


15. I love riddles and puzzles - word, number, picture, you name it, I love solving it.


16. I have a fear of spiders and water/drowning.


17. The color teal makes me happy.


18. I love the feeling of my feet dangling in the air.


19. I won my 5th grade Spelling Bee.


20. I often feel like a living contradiction. Active, yet lazy. Responsible adult, yet silly and childlike. Easily excited, yet forever calm. Shy, yet outgoing. Great memory, yet completely oblivious. Athletically coordinated, yet perpetually clumsy. And the list goes on.


21. I stepped on a sea urchin while snorkeling on my honeymoon and the spikes stayed in my foot for months.


22. My hair was pin straight until middle school but then turned into the curly hair I have today.


23. I am singing a song in the back of my head 95% of the time. If I'm not in public, I'm probably singing it out loud.


24. I am known for constantly embarassing myself but rarely actually feel embarassed. Embarassing moments include: Riding my bike into a parked car, walking into a sign, riding my bike into a curb and flying over the handlebars in front of a semi-large crowd of people, falling down A LOT, and getting a large tear in the seat of my pants in class (twice).


25. I have never had a cavity.

Beer me that beer.

Well, since my bro was having a birthday gathering on Saturday night, Andy and I figured what better time to checkout the Hastings brewery - Walldorff Brewpub & Bistro.



I really liked the atmosphere of the pub. It was a Saturday evening so the place was hopping. But more important than the atmosphere of course, is the brew.

I first had the State Grounds Java Brown Ale. Now, I love a coffee stout, so perhaps I was disappointed because that's what I was expecting. Too much hazelnut. Too thin/watery. Not a good start.

Next I had the Padawan Pale Ale. MUCH better.

Andy had the State Street Oatmeal Stout and the Pilgrim's Porter. Both very good. I think my favorite out of the 4 we tried was the Oatmeal Stout.

They had a Hopnoxxious Bourbon IPA available and I would have preferred a standard IPA - I'm generally not a fan of the barrell aged brews.

And I can't forget to mention the food, because it was De-Licious. Andy had the reuben and I had an appetizer - A Cajun shrimp and sausage cheese dip with various dipping items. Both were wonderful. The service was great too.


Overall, this was a great place and we're looking forward to returning in the near future. I'll just steer clear of the Java Ale next time.

Hey 2009, what's shakin'?

Well, 2008 was a pretty eventful year. We did this:



And we got this:



Ok, well 4 months later he looks like this:



The Red Wings did this:



The Tigers did this:













Attention: Do not adjust your computers if you are not seeing an image above. You should see nothing.

MSU football had a great season and UofM football had a horrible season. But more importantly, MSU tailgating had a phenomenal season:



New places traveled include: Madison, WI, Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore and St. Lucia:



I ran my first 10K:





Overall, it's been a pretty spectacular year. I'm looking forward to more good times to come in 2009!