where the corn lives... [Zach's Birthday Week Part 1]

July 24, 2010

Zach and I got up at 5 (FIVE!) and drove through AR and MO to get to Blo-No (Bloomington-Normal), Illinois, where the corn lives with Joe and Beth. :)

They took us out to Mackinaw Valley Vineyard where you could bring in your own food to enjoy with their wine. We had Italian food paired with Carly's Creation, a blush wine. It was delicious, and the vineyard was gorgeous! I just wish I had gotten more pix before it started to rain.

We enjoyed some live music and people-watching at a reception taking place at the vineyard until the rain drove us home where we enjoyed some cake cookies and playing Alhambra. Good times, good times.

July 25, 2010

Happy 26th birthday, Zach!
I hope you had a great day and that all your wishes come true. :)

I decided to get Zach something he really wanted-Just Look Them Straight in the Eye and Say....POGUE MAHONE!!, an anthology/box set of rare and unreleased tracks. But I didn't want to give that, so I took each album title of The Pogues, translated it into a clue, and paired it with a complementing treat (mints for "OOO," a Caramello for "fiery ravine" because I always talk about swimming in caramel, etc.). Here are the results:

(Sorry for the pictures being all helter-skelter!)

Day 1 Clue #1: your roses Russell Stover's sampler (Red Roses for Me)

Day 2 Clue #2: a sailor's life Shipyard IPA (Rum Sodomy & the Lash, which is what Winston Churchill called "naval tradition")

Day 3 Clue # 5: fiery ravine Cadbury Caramello, or "fear-y raven," which is what Zach called it to throw me off (Hell's Ditch) At this point, I was certain he knew, especially as he called "your roses" "red roses," so I mixed up all the clues.

Day 4 Clue # 3: lost mercy? Milk Duds (If I Should Fall From Grace With God)

Day 5 Clue # 7: OOO Altoids (Pogue Mahone)

"Pogue Mahone" is the Anglicisation of the Gaelic for "kiss my arse." The band shortened their name to just Pogues, which would be kisses, or "OOO." I put three kisses because they are only three members that have remained with the band since the start.

Day 6 Clue #6: expecting tea Abita Purple Haze (Waiting for Herb)

Day 7 Clue # 4: peace sign + heart Haribo Gold Bears (Peace and Love)

~*~the infamous magic box~*~

This is him unwrapping the second of three layers of wrapping paper on his Pogues box set.

Zach wrote down his guess on the second or so day of his birthday week. He knew it! I knew it! He knew I knew! I knew he knew!
(The night before I gave him the first clue--which he had no idea the magic box was going to make an appearance--he talked of ordering the box set. I then made a long face and discouraged him from buying it...)

We went to the cow farm for birthday cheese (cheddar with green onions)! I love cheese curds. :)

We first came across a goat...

Beth enjoyed Amelia, the baby cow who took to us like Zach to cheese...

Joe was not afraid to be spit upon by the llama.

After an afternoon of appetizers and Alhambra, we watched To Catch a Thief at the Normal Theatre. The prices were amazing ($1 each for popcorn and sodas and $2 for candy). The movie was sooo good, although, while watching Grace Kelly drove like a maniac, I kept thinking about how she died in a car wreck. :(

We found Strongbow cider at Maggie Miley's Irish Pub! Birthday cider pairs nicely with Cork fries, chicken wings, and onion rings...

I love this! It makes me miss Ireland so...

One Year Ago Today...

A year ago Zach came home from his two-week study abroad trip to China. That was the LONGEST day, and it did NOT help that his plane was late AND I got a parking ticket. We were so excited to see one another that he swept me off my feet and spun me around. It's still one of my favorite memories. :)

(This was actually taken the morning he let, but I think it helps recreate the scene...)

We only got to talk to each other once when he was away, and it was awkward (as are most of our phone conversations *lol*), and his trip was so jam-packed, he didn't get to email regularly. But I lived for those emails. When I got one, I would read it over and over. I would check my email first thing in the morning to see if he had sent me one, and I would stay up late in case he could only get to a computer then. It made me feel like an incredibly old-fashioned lover pouring over love letters from half-way 'round the world. Every now and then I pull them out, and it makes me so incredibly happy to know he was planning for our future all that spring and into summer, including while on his trip.

I was so happy to see him, but I was also nervous. We only had a week until I was leaving for a three-week study abroad trip in England, and he was starting his internship that Monday after his return. I just wanted to spend all of our time together, and I wanted it to be stress-free. Time and distance changes relationships (not always negatively), but I was afraid we were going to have to readjust despite having only been apart for a total of five weeks. A LOT can change in a few days...

At the time of my birthday, I really thought he was going to propose. A week before my birthday, he had presented me with a "magic box," explaining that each day I would have to say the magic words and the box would open to reveal a gift. I thought that each present would increase in value (I don't mean in monetary value either, thankyouverymuch)--I mean I thought that, on my birthday, I would get an engagement ring. At this point, we had talked about our future, and he was WAY TOO CALM regarding the fact that we would graduate in a year and perhaps be separated--as if he knew we wouldn't.

(I don't think he gave the gifts in any set order; they were presented rather randomly.)

When he came home from China, I didn't want to let him go! When I was in England the following week, I loved being there, but I wished he had been with me and I thought constantly of our future--including getting married. (And I was certain he would propose upon my return. ;)