back to school and other miscellany

time is a precious commodity these days. so i'll try to keep this post short and to the point.

i started school this week. i'm taking 16 credits, which works out to be about 35 hours of actual study/prep/in-class time. i'm working full time, too. so that means there isn't much free time. i know i'll eventually figure out how to balance everything + make the most of every moment of the day. but this first week has been hectic, to say the least.

tim's been in illinois for work for the past three weeks. not sure whether we posted anything about this or not, but he got a job with a company called "solid construction." he likes being able to actually use his construction skills, but he's not overly fond of the traveling portion of the job. it's not like they go to exotic locations. for the job he's currently on "traveling" essentially means working 10-12 hour days + spending the rest of his time trying to figure out something to do in the teensy town he's working in, aside from watching cable at the super 8 motel.

we're homesick for each other + trying to make the best of things. thank God for cell phones.

in other news, my sister, kim, has moved into the upstairs portion of our duplex. she + her roommate are excellent neighbors + i've enjoyed having girly movie nights with them.

tim's mom just got back from a trip to kenya. we haven't had a chance to hear the stories yet, but we're looking forward to hearing them + seeing all the pictures of her adventures there.

we're quickly nearing the one-year marker. we'll be taking a weeklong trip to myrtle beach, sc to celebrate. actually, the way things worked out, the trip will be really economical. a few years back, tim won first prize at a church event -- a week at an oceanside condo in myrtle beach. we weren't even engaged at that point, so he never used the condo. we contacted the people who had donated the prize + they were thrilled that we were still interested in using it (seriously? how awesome are they?). so... essentially free place to stay in this goregous little town. also, on our honeymoon, our flights were overbooked + we chose to take a "bump" in exchange for a direct flight to hawaii + $300 flight vouchers each. so our flights to myrtle beach only cost us $145 total. heck to the yes! i can't wait to get out of town. a solid week together seems like an extravagance beyond imagining.

oh! and as an added bonus, one of my favorite high school teachers just moved to myrtle beach, so we're going to take her out to dinner some night. how fun is that?

we'll post lots of pictures when we get back.

appleton trip - pt. 2

after our brief stop in appleton proper, we headed back west to aunt linda + jeff's place. we always enjoy spending time with them in their beautiful home.

as additional incentive, the adam kieffer family was hanging out. we had a great brunch together + much fun playing with winter + river.

here are some pictures so that you can share in the general adoration of the next generation of kieffers:

this is river's "i'm so cute you can't even handle it" face

and this is me proving that he's so cute i can't even handle it.

winter + tim hanging out in uncle jeff's workshop

we had to take 6 pictures in a row to get one where we were both smiling.

gosh, she's a cutie!

big sister pushing little brother in the swing

sibling love!

a little catching up to do

sooo much has been happening. too much to blog about in the moment. as a result, we will subject you to a series of flashback-style posts to get you all up to date on the heaner family happenings.

we took a spur-of-the-moment trip to appleton, which is where lisa spent many of the happiest moments of her childhood, and (perhaps not coincidentally) the majority of the kieffer cousins live(d). adam + sarah + family were also in appleton at the time. so we had a truncated version of a kieffer cousins reunion at uncle john + aunt colette's place. the kieffer bros were in attendance, along with the always lovely abby. and we played some of the most hilarious rounds of "he said, she said" that have ever been played.

evidence of the somewhat twisted hilarity:

this is adam's "i can't believe you just said that!" face

and how cute is abby in her hat?
table-pounding funniness.

cousin adam vs. the unstoppable uncle joe

(joe, joe, supercool joe)

tim inhaling his watermelon

next to grandpa kieffer carefully cutting his pizza

six days + counting...

i love traveling by myself. there's just something so completely wonderful about setting off on one's own, carry-on in hand, seeking adventure + good food.


the thing i love most about traveling by myself is the people watching. you can people watch when you're with someone, but it's just not the same. there are certain social requirements that come with traveling as part of a group. but when you're by yourself, you can just allow yourself to get swept up into the mob. you can stop + smell the roses without worrying about inconveniencing or annoying your traveling companion. in short, you don't have to be polite if you don't want to. you're free to explore + experience at your own pace.

in six days, i leave our lovelygreenspringtime twin cities for the east coast. mel + cody moved to ivycoveredhistoricbuildings princeton, nj last june. this will be my first visit to them. i'm totally geeking out about getting to see the princeton library. and take walks around the quaint little college town. and make food with mel in their little kitchen. and have long talks with the two oaks family members over a fantastic bottle of wine.


i'm trying to prepare myself for the inevitable itch to move to a new city that always creeps up when i travel anywhere. i love hearing new accents. i love finding new cafes and coffee shops. i love that eye-popping feeling when everything around you is fresh + unique + altogether different from your everyday life.

mel + i have planned a quick jaunt to NYC while i'm there. thanks to our sisterwiththekillerhookups, kim, we've got a sweet room at a posh hotel that's really close to the brooklyn bridge. we'll take the train from princeton into penn station early on sunday morning + do the manhattan/village/ellis island thing while the city is quiet(er). then on monday we'll do the brooklyn heights thing, walk the bridge over to manhattan + do the central park/met museum thing. depending on how tired our poor little feet are, we'll take the train back to princeton either at 4pm or 4am tuesday. we're playing it by ear (or foot, as the case may be).

speaking of playing it by foot... i bought some new walking shoes in preparation for the many miles i plan to walk across the great island of manhattan. friendly blog reader, meet my new shoes. shoes, be polite. say hello.

they look pretty ugly in the pic, but they're actually danged adorable for walking shoes. so flippin' comfortable + lightweight. i'm in danger of writing haiku in their praise. i'll try to keep that ill-conceived urge to myself, though.


so, i have the shoes. i have the plane ticket. i have the hotel reservation. i have the PTO. (i am grateful to you, oh thankless, mindless desk job. i love you for your benefits. we can still be friends once i've used you for them, right?)


the thing i'm most looking forward to? being silly + enjoying warmbowlofhonestysistertime with mel. yes. it will be good for the soul.


new jersey, here i come!



(mel, i promise not to embarrass you -- or myself... or the rest of the sophisticated population -- with the dressflyingintheupdraft thing. not this time, anyhow.)