Day 8

Well, Day 8 was not one of my favorite days to say the least. I woke up with practically no voice and was coughing my head off. I did make the attempt to work, but I left at 10 to go home and get some rest. I bought a box of popsicles on the way home and then went to bed.

I spent most of the day in bed. I pretty much got up to change laundry loads, get more to drink, and to talk to Michael.

I got to the point where I was feeling pretty good until about 10:30. Every time I swallowed anything it felt like swallowing a fireball. I will be heading to PUSH this afternoon(Purdue University Student Health clinic). I have an appointment at 3:30pm.

Even though he isn't here right now to help me, I feel so blessed that typically when I get sick I have someone who will make sure that I get everything I need. I don't see how single people get sick, that has to be awful!

I have a feeling that when I get home today I will be going directly to bed.

Say a little prayer for me, will ya?

Day 7

Well, I have made it through a whole week without Michael here. I still miss him like crazy, but I know he will be back soon!

I basically just went to work and came home. I did a few loads of laundry, and picked up a few groceries. It has been hard with me feeling sick and not having Michael here to take care of me.

I am starting to feel less paranoid, and every little noise doesn't send me into a panic anymore. I guess I am growing up a little bit.

I'm siiiick!

As a child growing up my mom would always say "Laura you need to wear a coat". I never realized how quickly I could catch a cold until the other night...



I arrived back in West Lafayette around 7PM on the 26th. It had been snowing. I tried to start my car and it wouldn't start. For the full story on this see this post.

I spent so much time trying to revive my car in the cold that I got sick. I've never been one to get sick very often. But right now I feel awful, and it is really kind of my own fault.

I guess the point of this is:

YOU WERE RIGHT MOM!!!!!

Day 6

Well I was back to work as of yesterday. Sundays are always a slow and boring day at work. There was pretty much nothing to do all day long.

I left work at 3 and headed home in a TON of snow. I snapped a few pictures of our snow covered apartment, and our road.

Despite the snow my friends Samantha, Josiah, and Julie made the trek over to my apartment to keep me entertained. We ordered pizza played wii, and a board game too. Having them over certainly made the night fly by.

Michael worked 13 hours yesterday, and was at 57 hours for the week. We anticipate that he will get nearly 70 or 80 next week!

Meanwhile.... 11 days till Michael comes home!!!!!

What's Michael been up to?

Well, I'm glad you asked! First thing you should know that Michael has asked me to update the blog with my daily activities. Hence the odd titles of day 1, 2, etc.

So here's what has been going on in the Michael world so far:

Monday: Travel day to Venice, LA

Tuesday: Physical and drug test

Wednesday: Went back for Physical and drug test, because they couldn't do it Tuesday.

Thursday: They finally got to take a trip out to the dredge, and see what things were all about. They also drove to New Orleans for a nice overnight stay and fancy dinner on the company.

Friday (Christmas): they drove back to Venice, and did some office work.

Saturday: The first FULL day of work. He worked something close to a 10 hour day. He was at 43 hours for the week.

As for Today...He was up at 5AM, yuck!

The Port side of the dredge.

This is a cutter head of the dredge. Looks painful to me!

This is where Michael sleeps. He is all the way backed up against the door in the picture.

So, there you have it. We have both been busy!

Day 5

Well day five was a relaxed day for the most part. Mom and I got up and ready and went shopping. This surprises you, right? We didn't really buy much other than a few really great deals. We also went to William's bakery for Thumbprint Cookies, my favorite! We then attempted to meet my dad at Richo's in New Albany for AMAZING pizza, they were closed though. We ended up eating at the Spaghetti Shop instead, which was still pretty tasty!

Then we came home and relaxed for a few minutes before it was time for me to hit the road. I picked Hollie up in Sellersburg, and away we went. We ran into some bad snowy conditions about 20 minutes from West Lafayette, but once we got through that 4 mile patch it was smooth(er) sailing. We stopped at my apartment first so me (aka fraidy cat) could unload the car while someone was in the apartment. That way I didn't have to continuously lock and unlock the apartment. I also wanted to start my car so it would be ready to start this morning. Well, naturally my car wouldn't start ( I have been driving Michael's car since he left). I tried and tried to get it to work before I took Hollie home, but no dice.

When I got back my dad asked me to go downstairs and try again. Lo and behold it worked! I let it run for awhile and cleared the windows while I was talking to dad.

Then I locked myself into the apartment for the night and spent some time on the phone with various people. I think my friends Julie, Samantha, and Josiah may come over this evening if we don't get the amount of snow the weather people are calling for!

It is good to be home...I guess.

Day 4 aka Christmas

I woke up around 8:30 on Christmas Day.

We had Christy, Nick, and Luke over for brunch, since the Hammond family dinner wasn't until 3:00. We had a lovely breakfast of bacon, eggs, biscuits, hash browns, and Orange Rolls.

At around 11 we finally got around to opening Christmas gifts. I got some really neat gifts! I there was even something Coach involved! Luke had a blast too. Although, he still doesn't realize that the gifts are to him and from people. Mostly he is just into ripping the paper to shreds and then cleaning it up. He can't stand to have a mess on the floor, can we say OCD baby?

We hung out and spent some time hanging out until time for Marlena's dinner. Which was fun as always. Here are some pictures from the big Hammond gathering.

Some of the Hammonds

The C that I got from Grandma.

Mom, Christy and Me

I am very blessed!

Days 3 aka Christmas Eve

Day 3 was Christmas Eve!

I woke up at Debbie and Joe's and we had the most delicious almond paste coffee cake. Debbie makes it every year for Christmas, and it is just about my favorite thing. Then we listened to the Cambridge King's College Choir Service of Nine Lessons and Carols. This is an old Caruso family tradition. I headed towards my parent's house around 11:00am.

My dad and I have a tradition that goes way back. We would always go out to buy last minute gifts for my mom. Also, we always make a point to have a nice lunch that my mom would normally not want to join us for.

After our shopping Dad & I stopped in to sneak little bit of Luke time in. We then proceeded to go home and wrap our selections. Well, I wrapped...

At 6:00 we headed over to aunt Deb's house for a small Christmas Eve gathering. It is a really relaxed evening. Anyone that wants to come is welcome, bring a small cheap gift, if you want to. This year we played bingo for gifts. It was different, but it made it fun for everyone. I spent most of the night chasing their cat, Riley.

After the party we went home for the unwrapping of gifts to mom and dad from Michael and me, as well as their gifts to each other.

No, my mom didn't join a cult. Dad bought her a Snuggie...

Day 2

I took my short commute to work all of 1 minute downstairs. Marilyn one of the breakfast ladies made me a hat with cat ears on it, and presented it to me yesterday! Yes, I did say made. It is super cute!

One of my other co-workers bought me lunch from papa johns as a Christmas gift to me. Then as I was leaving work another co-worker brought me a totally unexpected gift. It is a ceramic jar that says "mall money" and it already had some money in it :-)

Then at 3:00 Hollie, my coworker who needed a ride to New Albany, and I headed home. We made excellent time and I was grateful for the company. We met up with her dad at the library and I got my hair done, then I headed up to Michael's parents house for Christmas.

We opened our presents last night and I got some awesome gifts! Here's what my loot was:

Shopping money
A webcam

lots of Sophie Kinsella books

A houndstooth apron :-)

A candle that I have wanted for more than a year

There were a few other goodies too.

It was good to spend some time with Maria and Chris. Maria is looking more pregnant by the day and we will find out the sex of their baby tomorrow. It is in a sealed envelope that they have been savig for Christmas!

I sure do miss Michael!

Day .50, and day 1

So Michael left for Venice,LA on Monday. The morning was anything BUT uneventful!

We got up and made coffee for us and his parents, sister, and brother-in-law. Had a nice breakfast with them at our apartment. Then Michael and I headed to Indianapolis to catch his flight. We had google directions in hand and everything ready to go. EXCEPT for the fact the INdy moved airports a year ago, they didn't take down signs to the old one, and google gave us directions to the old one! Helpful, huh? We finally made it to the new airport at 11:05AM. Michael's flight was scheduled to leave at 11:35AM. He actually did make his flight because it was delayed (Hallelujah).

Meanwhile, I left him at the airport and headed to my friend Alicia's house. I admit that I shed some tears, but quickly had to calm down because I was driving Michael's 5 speed and had to concentrate. Alicia and I had fun hanging out, and I got to meet her 3 day old niece, Lillie, what a cutie! Lillie's poor mommy had to go take a final exam, so I got to help babysit. Alicia and I went shopping and ate at my favorite restaurant too.

Michael arrived in New Orleans around 5:00

I spent my first very paranoid night at home. It was uneventful.

Day 1

I woke up and got ready for work. When I went outside I was in a winter wonderland! Naturally my windows were super icy, and I opted to take Michael's car instead of my own. As I was heading down a hill I started sliding and enede up doing a 180 onto the shoulder and was facing oncoming traffic. Luckily I didn't actually hit anything. I called Michael to ask how to proceed. He told me just to try and get back on the road, but there was wayyy too much traffic. Finally a nice police officer stopped traffic so I could get back on the road, and I was on my way again. What a scary drive to work!

I spent last night at the hotel with one of my coworkers. She and I enjoyed the pool and hot tub area, and had a nice evening. I slept really well here, I guess the hotel feels safe and secure to me! (I had a free room to use as an employee)

A Smith Family Christmas!

This year I was able to make it into town for My mom's family Christmas. They did things a little differently this year. We had Italian food. We had Manicotti, stuffed shells, lasagna, salad, and bread. My cousin's wife Jerri made the most adorable spaghetti and meatball cake to make a festive dessert.

We all had so much fun, especially because everyone was able to come!The Matriarch (Nancy) and Mom.

Brian, Michael, William, and Luke enjoying the stairs.

My Cousin Jenny with her Son William, Christy & Luke

Christy and I matched so well!

In the Smith family we have a tradition that is more than 50 years old. In order to keep the true meaning of Christmas involved with our gift exchange and dinner we ALWAYS read the story of Christ's birth just before opening presents. Each kid has (probably) read the story at least one year. This year Jenny's son Brian asked to read it. Which is what is taking place in this picture. It was just an added bonus that Luke got to be in the picture too :-)

Robbie and Bailey hanging out before dinner

Jerri and her cake. Doesn't it look like pasta?

Jerri and Cori hanging ouy

Advent Calendars & my beloved Choco Bear

Michael's parents bought both of us our own advent calendars. I think I mentioned this before, but I hadn't posted pictures yet.

Michael's advent calendar (we got a new camera can you tell in the quality?

My advent Calendar

Meet Choco Bear, I don't know where my parents got him, but he has always and likely will always be my favorite ornament. He has lost some of his paint over the years, but he still looks good for his age :-)

Miss me?

I realize that all of my adoring fans (ha!) are probably ready for a new blog post.

Michael has been awarded an internship from a company that he is interested in possibly working for after graduation. Which is wonderfully exciting! The downside being that he leaves for this internship on Monday December 21st and doesn't return until January 8th. It will be a bit of a lonely Christmas for both of us, even though I will be surrounded by my family on Christmas. Poor Michael will be working on Christmas. Please keep us in your prayers, we haven't spent much time apart since we got married, and I'm sure it will be tough.

The people that Michael works for currently have been so fantastic about all of this! They have encouraged him to go, and have basically told him that it is a great oppurtunity. What a blessing those people have been!

Yesterday was my work Christmas party. I was in charge of getting donations from local businesses for gifts to the employees. I was worried that I wouldn't get enough, but we actually had too many! Everyone got something good, including me! I got a 1 night stay and 4 waterpark passes to the holiday inn in Indy. They have an indoor water park. Michael and I will have a blast, and I hope to get to bring Luke along for the fun!


I have the utmost intentions of posting pictures from the Smith family Christmas party this evening...stay tuned!

After Party @ CPC

After Luke's party we went to dinner at the Charlestown Pizza Company. I miss this place terribly. Afterward we walked over to the square where all of the beautiful decorations are. Luke loved the lights. Also, on Sunday after church we had lunch and decorated mom's new tree. Here are a few pictures.Rudolph

Me and Luke

Christy Nick and Luke

Christy putting the ceremonial green bell on the tree.

Mom putting an ornament on the tree

Luke and his mom having a little fun!

Luke's 2nd Birthday!

Here are a few pictures along with some brief cute stories from Luke's party...


Luke and Nana play the piano together all the time. He won't let anyone else like Aunt Rarah or uncle Michael play piano with him, it is a nana thing. Once during the party Luke took Nana's hand and said Nana "pano" and led her to the piano. Naturally my mom didn't just want to start playing with everyone there. After people had started to leave and Luke was off playing somewhere Nana started to play the piano. I was playing with Luke and as soon as he heard the piano he screamed NANA!!! and ran over to where my mom was playing.

Luke and Lex are "fiving" in this picture. Lex is the son of my mom (who is adopted)'s brother Terry's daughter. Terry and my mom lost touch over the years, but we kids have recently begun talking an catching up via facebook. To make a long story short, it was fantastic to see Emily and Amy. I hadn't seen them in 13-15 years!


I'm afraid these last three pictures don't have cute stories behind them.

Luke is more and more amazing every time I visit. He seems to be learning so much here lately! He is sleeping in a big boy bed and will soon be on the way to potty training! I am always happy that he remembers me after periods of absence, and he always does. His little face just lights up when he notices me in a room. He is saying aunt Rarah all the time now and Mike too. Today was the first time that Luke had ever asked Michael to pick him up (I'm not sure Michael knew what to do though).

Luke,
you are the best nephew I could ask for and even though I can't be there all the time just know that you are in my heart every day. You brighten my days and you don't even know it. Every day since you have been born has been a blessing to me!
Love,
Aunt Rarah

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving was a little different for us this year. Last year I worked the morning shift and we went home and got there in time for dinner. This year I had to work Friday morning so we weren't about to make it home for dinner. So, for the first time ever WE made our own Thanksgiving dinner. See if you guys can guess which plate is which...

Christmas Wreath

Michael and I drove out to a small town just outside of lafayette called Elston. The primary reason being that I wanted to go into Cato ( for those who don't know Cato is a small ladies clothing store, with cheap clothes). We went in and I found nothing, but we decided to go into the dollar tree. Which happened to have all of its Christmas decorations out. We found the makings for a wreath, and even a hanger for the wreath. Here is how it turned out.

Chicago, Chicago!

A week from this past Wednesday Michael and I were talking after church. Here's how that conversation went:

Me: Lafayette is boring I want to go somewhere cool.
Michael: mhm
Me: We only live 2 hours away from Chicago.
Michael: yup
Me: I think it is lame that we have lived here more than a year and haven't been there.
Michael: Me too.
Me: Can we go to Chicago on Sunday?
Michael: (pausing in thought) we could do that.

So go to Chicago we did. We left here around 10:00 on Sunday morning and made our way into town. Our primary goals being 1. go to Michigan Ave shops, 2. have Chicago deep dish pizza, 3. get an idea of whether we need to go back.

We also had a small budget for a Tiffany & Co. item for me. However, the salespeople were incredibly rude to us and we ended up walking out. Michael, being the sweetie he is surprised me with the cat necklace I have been wanting instead.

The necklace I'd been wanting!

I didn't get any pictures of us, but I did get a few from our car.Can you guess why I took this

Not me Monday

I did not make cookies last night and get so frustrated that I almost threw all of the dough away.

I did not accidentally drop the baggie with crushed hazelnuts into the mixer while making said cookies, not me!

When I went to get my car washed a few months ago the automatic car wash did not break with my uber dirty car in it, that would be gross.

I absolutely did not pour my cereal into my diet coke glass last week, I can tell the difference between a glass and a bowl at 6:00 AM. Really!

Penn Station Cheese bread @ home

I am not much of a cook, in fact I attempted to make cookies last night and they were a complete failure. It is fairly accurate to say that the only things I consistently make successfully in the kitchen are messes. I have, however, mastered the art of making Cheese bread that is similar in almost every way to that of Penn Station.

You will need:

1 loaf Kroger Take & Bake french bread
Oregano (use as much or as little as you like)
Parmesian Romano cheese (we use Locatelli Romano, but it is expensive and hard to find)
Any brand provolone cheese

Step 1
Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Place entire loaf directly onto oven rack. Bake until you can flick the bottom of the load and it sounds hollow.

Step 2
Allow bread to cool on cooling rack. Then, put bread onto baking sheet. I cover mine in foil so I don't have to clean up a cheesy mess.


Step 3
Place provolone on top center cut bread. Make sure that you get a lot of cheese coverage otherwise the uncovered parts will burn. Crush up oregano between fingers and sprinkle on top of provolone cheese. Grate as little or as much Romano cheese as you like on top (I use lots).
Place in oven that is still at 400 degrees. Let bake about 7 minutes. Check on it periodically.

Note: you can do this will all kinds of toppings, for instance Michael had fried some jalepenos, skillet steak, and mushrooms and did the same sort of thing with swiss cheese. He did not put any Romano or Oregano on his sandwich.

Our pumpkins got some personality!

Me gutting a pumpkin

Michael carving my cat

The finished cat

Michael's Owl

Cat and Owl

Michael, Cat, and Owl

Our two real pumpkins hatin' on the plastic pumpkin

If you couldn't guess we spent the afternoon carving our pumpkins. Rather Michael carved the pumpkins, and I gutted a little bit. I don't really like to get my hands in pumpkin guts hence the rubber gloves I am wearing in the top picture. They turned out great and we had lots of fun making them!