Exploring MN and Projects

We have been having a fun, busy last month here in Minnesota! The last few weeks have been focused on a big tiling project--we are helping Steve's parents by tiling their kitchen floor (250 sq. ft.) and it is looking great, but taking way longer than we anticipated!

Nash and I have been having a blast going to a playgroup with other kids and moms every Tuesday. And he was invited to a fun Valentine's Day party. Here he is with all his new friends:
I am surprised with how much he still remembers from Michigan, though. Every time I tell him we are going to go play with friends, he still says, "Blake" which is the name of one of his friends from playgroup in Michigan.

We are finally in a good habit of having Family Home Evening (FHE) every Monday night. It has been really fun and is great family time for all three of us. Here is a picture of Nash with cookies we made for the treat at one of our FHEs:

We've also been able to go on some fun outings. We went to the zoo with Steve's brother, Michael, one day (the Minnesota zoo has some indoor parts so you can go in the winter and actually enjoy it!). We went to the science museum yesterday with Steve's mom and his brother, Adam, which was also a blast. And Steve and I plan on taking Nash to the train museum (complete with Thomas the Train tables) tomorrow. Yea for free passes from the library!

Before we got going on the tiling project, we've been working on other projects as well. I am working on a quilt for our baby girl (due in 7 weeks!) and Steve removed some wallboard from the basement hall and fixed up and painted the walls behind it. Nash was his little helper.

We've also gotten the chance to play in the snow (when it warms up enough). I'll post some pictures/videos of that soon.

Home Sweet Home

Well, we are moved in and feeling pretty settled. We have two rooms in Steve's parents' basement. We decided to use our own furniture for these rooms, which makes them feel great to us--not like we are living in someone else's house. One room is our bedroom and also has a desk where I work my 20 hours/week. The other room is Nash's bedroom as well as our living room/playroom. Here are some pictures:

Steve started his internship and it's going really well. He's taking a lot of initiative with work and projects there. I am so proud of him and all his efforts and hard work. He doesn't even complain that he has to leave so early to make the commute!

Just as expected, it has been pretty cold here. The first week we were here it was in the negatives all week. One night it got down to -40 degrees! The next day our car wouldn't start because it was just too cold. Steve's dad took him to the bus stop for a long busride into the city.

I've gotten us YMCA memberships which is really fun (thanks to being low-income, they fee was nominal), so I've been taking water aerobics classes. Steve and Nash get to go swimming in the play pool during my Thursday class. Nash loves the water and it was so fun to get to see him playing around with his dad while I was working out.

I've also organized an informal playgroup that we'll have once a week. I'm excited about that--so I can socialize and so Nash can play with other kids. Oh, and I also signed Nash up for a Toddler Storytime which is once a week at the library.

It is so wierd to have actually moved! It doesn't seem real sometimes--like I just assume I'll see all my friends in A2 any day now, but who knows when I'll see some of them! I am so happy about this opportunity, though, and looking forward to all this new chapter in our lives will bring!

We're Moving!

The last few weeks have been a whirlwind! Steve got two interviews for internships at small presses in Minneapolis and was offered both! He's chosen one, so we have been frantically packing up and making arrangements to move to frigid Minnesota. We leave this Friday morning. We are very excited about the opportunity and hope it will lead to a future job in the publishing industry. I am incredibly sad to leave Ann Arbor, especially my many friends here, but am looking forward to a new chapter in our lives.

It's a GIRL!

I had my 20-week ultrasound yesterday, and we found out we are having a girl! We are so excited!

My pregnancy is going well and the ultrasound shows that our baby girl is healthy and doing well also. She was quite uncooperative during the ultrasound, so it took almost an hour and a half to complete! Gender was the last thing "to call," so we were lucky that we were the last patient of the day and that the doctor was eager to help us know if it was a boy or a girl.

Nash was an angel during the visit and was very patient and calm, which was a bonus. I can't believe that he's going to have a little sister.

Another fun thing about this pregnancy is that my due date is my birthday! So we'll be having a girl in my birth month, just like we had a boy in Steve's birth month.

Graduation, Chicago, etc!

Well, quite a few things have happened since my last post.

1. Steve graduated! I am so proud of him--he did such a great job in school.

2. Steve's parents came to visit. We had a great time with them here! We went to graduation, we had fun shopping at IKEA, we went to the farmer's market and to Zingerman's, and just had a nice time overall. Here's a pic at graduation:

and here's a pic of Nash with the new toy Grandma and Grandpa gave him:

3. Steve got a job! He got a fall lectureship here at U-M! He totally deserves it!

4. We took a trip to Chicago and had a spectacular time! It was our first family trip (with just the three of us). It was awesome.

at Navy Pier:

at the Rainforest cafe:
at the reflecting bean:
Nash checking out his reflection:
getting ready to ride the El:

Me and Nash getting blown away in the windy city:
Nash in awe over Chicago's pizza:
Nash's favorite part of the trip--a giant Nemo at the Disney store:
Nash and Steve enjoying hanging out on the trip:

27 years old!

Happy Birthday to me (on Monday, April 21)! I had a great day.

Steve and I went out to lunch at Gratzi, a fancy Italian restaurant. In the afternoon/evening we went to a "barbeque" for Steve's program--the last one ever for us, which is wierd. We had a good time and Nash loved the Ali Baba's chicken.

We had birthday cake at night and since it would be ridiculous for Steve and I to eat a whole cake by ourselves, we quickly called some neighbors to come over and have a piece. All in all it was a nice day. Steve's gift to me is an upcoming weekend trip to Chicago. I have never been there, so I'm really excited.

Last week, Steve, Nash, and I went to the Detroit Zoo for the first time. We had so much fun! Nash loved being outside (as always) and pointed at all the animals, kids, wagons, etc. that he saw. Here's some pictures from the zoo:

In other news, I got a haircut on Saturday, which I love. You can see it in the birthday picture. I also finished the birthday banner I've been working on. I was in a group with some other friends where we got together to work on birthday banners for ourselves. You can also see it in the birthday picture. Oh, and we found out that Steve didn't get the lectureship at U-M. We were disappointed to say the least, but you know what? Life goes on and things will work out. I just hope that people don't keep asking us what we are going to do. Because you know what I'm going to say? "Live." That is what we are going to keep doing.

Here's to "Not Knowing"

Steve has turned in his thesis (yea!) and will be awarded his MFA in Creative Writing soon. His parents are coming next week for graduation. Although we've applied to various jobs, fellowships, internships, etc., we still do not know what we are doing next year, or the years after that.


We've found out we didn't get some fellowships that we applied for, but that's all we've heard so far. Tomorrow we will find out if he got a one-year lecturship at the University of Michigan. It's one of our last hopes that something will turn out of this job search we've attempted over the last few months. Steve deserves it--he's a great teacher. But come what may...


I just want to say that I am proud of my husband. I am proud of him for pursuing something he loves even though it's not the easiest field to be in. I am proud of him for choosing to do something because he likes to do it. I am proud of him for not getting discouraged amidst all the critique of his writing he has to hear. I am proud of him for remaining confident in his talent despite the credulous faces people make when they hear what he is studying and ask, "what do you do with that?" And most of all, I am proud of Steve for being a wonderful husband and father and setting a good example to me.


This is my sweetheart: