One Year Down... Sixty to go!

Ben had been dropping little hints for about a week. “You need a bathing suit.” And double checking my work schedule every couple of days. “It's nothing big, so don't get excited.” “It's a surprise! I don't care what it is, I'm excited!” I love the anticipation that comes with a surprise. Good surprises, not bad ones that you weren't expecting that ruin your day, those are surprise disappointments. I think the joy lies in the fact that someone cares enough to plan all these little details just for you. “Do you want to know?” “No!” “What about just a hint.” “OK, give me a hint.” “.... I'm not giving hints.”

Saturday comes along and we bundle up to play with Bodie, the Border Collie mix that we were puppy-sitting, in the four inches of fresh snow. We were enjoying some hot chocolate and folding freshly laundered clothes when Ben hands me a piece of paper. It's got a photo of a tall building and a check-in time. The bag is packed, the dog is returned safely home, and in true Glass Adventure Style, we took a roll of film. We drove ten minutes into the downtown that is Columbus, Ohio... and we got lost. After dominating the one way streets, we find the majestic Hyatt and stroll right up to the check-in counter ready to be pampered. “I'm sorry, sir, it looks like you've made reservations at the other Hyatt.... It happens all the time.”

We left the fancy hotel, a little weary of what we may find at the next one. More one way streets lead us just miles from our house to the Columbus Convention Center. We pulled up to the front door and were greeted by hundreds of middle aged women with ribbons adorning their necks and baskets on their arms; the Longaberger Leader Conference was the same weekend as our one year anniversary. We recognized this mob of boisterous mom's dressed head to toe in red and yellow; they filled the streets the week we moved into Columbus. Encountering them a second time was no less terrifying.

Round two at the check-in desk and we are surrounded by groups of high school kids laughing and playing games. Their conference was more difficult to pinpoint. A sign informed us that the Model United Nations was being held the next morning. Ben told me he had requested a room with a view, and as our keys were printed out, we were pleased with the 1944 printed on them. The window ran the width of the giant room, providing a 19th story view of south downtown Columbus.

Somehow we managed to steer clear of the two conferences and enjoyed some chocolate covered strawberries and champagne as we watched the sun (which we hadn't seen in two weeks), go down over the city.

We made reservations at a fancy Italian restaurant just down the road – Martini's – where I enjoyed a fabulous ravioli and listened to Ben's endless wine analogies. “it's like (swirl), I'm on a plane – (sniff, sip, swallow), the take off was exciting, but not as good as the ride....(repeat), I am sad that I've landed...”

A brisk walk back to the hotel and I enjoyed a margarita while we watched a movie high over the city. We woke up to more snow, but enjoyed it from a new 19th story perspective as individual flakes fell onto the windowsill. They really are all different! It was a perfect little get away for two people who didn't have much time to get away, and so carefully planned by my sweet, sweet husband. I care more about this man than I ever thought possible, and he loves and serves me more than I could ever have hoped for. Here's to years more, Ben Glass.

Interactive Christmas Card!

Ben and I will be ringing (okay, we rang...), in the new year with some home made mashed potatoes, broiled flank steak and an ancho chile dip.

Don't worry, there will be champagne – that is if I can get Ben to stay up past ten.

We don't have a dog yet, or a baby, so I didn't think twice about sending out a Christmas card this year and immediately regretted the decision the second we received our first jolly greeting in the mail. So consider this an online, interactive Christmas greeting card in place of the one you didn't get from us – complete with photo illustrations – to look back on the last (inaugural) year in the Glass household(s).

Just days after my graduation mid-December, 2008, Ben and I celebrated our last holiday apart. He with his family in Ohio (all sick with the flu), and I with my family in East Tennessee. The countdown to our wedding had been on for months, but we were in double digits now – only ten days away as last year's ball dropped and the calendar page flipped to January. We started the year off in Louisville as our good friend's Tiffany and Josh got married, just a week before Ben and I.

We travelled back to Tennessee immediately to finish all the last minute details. Friends and family arrived, bows were tied and flowers arranged. We lost one tent...

But somehow were able to find another. We became Mister and Missus Glass in the barn on my aunt's property surrounded by our families.

A short drive up the hill and we were greeted by friends and good home-made soups where we danced and ate cake. The whole day was absolutely perfect!

A honeymoon in Hilton Head and then we set up our first apartment on campus in married housing at Union University while Ben began his last semester of undergraduate. A few weeks of job hunting resulted in one of the most enjoyable jobs I've ever had – I was one of four receptionists at a local day spa which employed twenty three fabulous women and one fantastic guy. I dealt with extremely content, relaxed and pampered individuals while surrounded with the most therapeutic sounds and aromas. Ben put up with lots of experimental recipes and did lots of dishes, usually welcoming me home from work with fresh baked cookies. I think we went through five of those huge tubs of cookie dough in the first three months of marriage. My twenty second birthday involved blindfolds and the James Bond theme music as I was kidnapped by Ben and Rose who drove me around and dropped me off in the middle of a kitchen surrounded by friends and good food.

Spring break rolled around and we got to visit Mama and Papa Glass in St. John for a week.

We had lots of fun dinners with friends, celebrating each time Ben heard back from a potential grad school. We had pizza for UNC and pasta for OSU. We visited The Ohio State University on the absolute coldest day of the year, and he was impressed, nonetheless. While he visited with scholars and poets, I self-toured what I now know to be the roughest parts of the city wondering what we were getting into. Ben accepted Ohio State's offer in March. We welcomed a new nephew into the family in May; Ben's older sister had her second baby boy, Casey.

We shoved the last box in the U-Haul just hours before Ben graduated, Magna Cum Laude – Ohio Bound.

After one fabulous Zopfi family cruise to Alaska which involved icebergs, orcas, humpbacks, black bears and a wedding...

....we headed cross continent for a quick visit to see Rufus in Florida.

And then we sold my car.... tragic.

Two weeks of apartment hunting in Columbus were followed by a month of job-hunting. Our welcome to Columbus was a bit rocky...

We moved in the weekend of the 4th of July, which meant everyone was on vacation, including the gas company. No hot water for a week. Ben's car windshield cracked and began leaking. The ceiling in the bathroom had quite the gash, which we were told doesn't leak and would be fixed soon. The first major rainstorm proved that the gash does indeed leak. Thankfully, it was positioned directly over the bath tub. Our 350lb washer broke... My computer crashed and I lost every photo memory of the afore mentioned year's activities. Please take a moment to imagine what kind of emotional breakdown that caused. My car began overheating on a regular basis... Little by little things came together and the new city began to grow on us.

Our lack of responsibilities allowed us to take a weekend in Tennessee where three of my dearest girlfriends met us to celebrate my brother-in-laws birthday– the event became affectionately known as Randy Rice's Birthday Extravaganza (crossing my fingers that this will be an annual event).

I landed a commissioned photo project through a nightlife online directory which required me to snap photos of 900+ restaurants and venues around Columbus. This occupied us for two weeks and conveniently, left us quite acquainted with the city. Ben began preparing for grad school and I trained as a part time barista at a local independent coffeehouse coming home absolutely wired for the first few days as I tried every drink on the menu. A quick trip to Nashville to celebrate the marriage of one of my dearest friends, Rose Rogers, then back to Ohio.

We celebrated Ben's first day of school with a fantastic meal and he dove head first into his course theme of the American Cowboy.

First day of school picture:

I stumbled upon an internship opportunity at a local commercial photography studio and was accepted for the twelve week position, learning a lot of the inner workings of such a big operation. Ben's maternal grandmother, 'Grandma Betty' was diagnosed with breast cancer just days before his birthday. We celebrated his 23rd year with his favorite take and bake pizza, and received updates about his grandmother who underwent a mastectomy just days after. I shot a beautiful friend's wedding in Alabama late October and decided to swing by the old homestead (Tennessee), on the way back to Ohio.

I was met by my strong, optimistic mother who told me of a lump in her right breast she had checked out just that week. The results were back the next day- a very rare type of tumor usually found in the thigh area, rarely malignant. Being just as unique as the woman it inhabited, the tumor was in fact malignant and in her breast, growing rapidly. Within two weeks, the surgery was scheduled and a mastectomy removed any suspicious cells.

Ben and I celebrated Thanksgiving with his family in Wilmington, Ohio. That same day, we got the good news that no further treatment was required for Mom, and Grandma Betty would take a daily, low dose chemotherapy pill, which should have very little side effects. Last Thanksgiving, we had a gingerbread house competition - this year we decorated shirts for the family Christmas card!

It felt like there was no time in between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Ben got great reviews from his students for his first quarter of teaching and I was offered a job at the commercial photo studio! We were able to spend a week in Tennessee for Christmas. We spent Christmas Eve at dad's place and celebrated Christmas Day with some dear friends, Shannon and Jason, who have been selflessly helping Mom out during her recovery. Conveniently for us, Shannon and Jason have a catering business, so I'll just let you imagine how good our Christmas dinner was.

Shannon taught us how to make banana's foster. Oh, she also makes the best margaritas you've ever tasted.

We spent two days with Ben's family and then settled back in our apartment for our first New Years together. Around 7p.m., New Year's Eve, we connected our television for the first time since May. Somehow, Ben was moved with enough compassion to stay awake until midnight with me. We slept in a bit and spent the entire first day of the year on the couch, entertained by Saturday Night Live sketches and our first ever Ohio State Football game -- they defeated the Oregon Ducks in the Rose Bowl! This unprecedented lazy day lead to one conclusion: we need a bigger couch.

It's been snowing for six consecutive days now. Ben rides his bike to school all bundled up like the kid from A Christmas Story. Should he skid and fall off his bike, I expect him to just bounce right back up.
Yesterday, he went back to class and I started my new job at the commercial photo studio, Roharik Productions, as studio manager.

We have been married for 360 days. It's hard to believe that it's been a whole year, but I can honestly say that it's been one of the best. Despite all the changes and bumps along the way, God has been more than merciful and faithful, and Ben has been a constant comfort. Here's to hoping that we'll have a dog by next Christmas so we can send out a real card...

Happy New Year to you all!

When I Grow Up

You can do anything for a year. These are the words of my old college professor who exhorted, from experience, that you can stick anything out for that amount of time. So what's four months, or four weeks? A sinch? I'm having trouble with one day. I enjoy the stage of life we're at right now, but am antsy to do something. The worst part is, I'm not sure what that something may be, and therein lies the problem. I don't know that there is one thing I want to do. In fact, I am certain that there are a myriad of things I would enjoy doing or being – but alas, I've only got so much time. I can't go back to school to study journalism while I memorize my lines as the lead role in the upcoming community musical, Seven Brides For Seven Brothers. We've only got so much room in this one-bedroom apartment; I suppose I could clear out the washer and dryer and use that space for a potter's wheel and drying rack but I doubt our landlord would be so gung-ho over my keeping a kiln in the kitchen on account of the fact that a previous tenant caught the place on fire just five years ago. Plus, my dust-covered clothing would only inhibit my need-be immaculate work in my personal darkroom. And if the kitchen is full of clay equipment, where would my letterpress fit? Being that I'm most creative and productive in the evening hours, my bakery full of every sweet and delicious pastry you could imagine would suffer due to my lack of sleep and therefore lack of judgement whilst preparing the day's goodies at 4 a.m. I pass stores like Banana Republic and Ann Taylor and fantasize about having a career that requires me to wear fabulously professional clothing and pretty shoes, but that doesn't last long. The idea of doing someone else's work for the rest of my life is one of the most discouraging thoughts. (Thanks, Mom and Dad, entrepreneurs extraordinaire). My professional yard saling business could easily be run on the side to any other profession as it's seasonal and just two days a week. But then there's the issue of running the quaint little shop that holds the unique and fabulous yard sale finds... Those strength assessment tests you're forced to take in high school always told me that I should become a florist, which wouldn't be so bad except the test didn't take my allergies into consideration, and I don't think I would want to work in a profession so closely tied to funerals. We can't forget to schedule the year that I would dedicate to my rock and roll band tour – just the continental USA, to begin with. And the monthly food critic write ups of fabulous dishes at fantastic restaurants. There's the summer in Ocracoke, North Carolina to squeeze in, not to mention the majority of Europe which Ben and I plan on exploring while he writes and writes and I eat and eat, snapping an occasional photo for our coffee table book collaboration. Somewhere along the line I'd like to have a family, and I hear those take up some time. I'm certain that my up and coming film would only benefit from such diverse life experiences and inevitable connections that I'll have made along the way. At least I've got time before I begin working on my memoir, which is certain to be entertaining. (Ben has instructed me that usually the writer waits for certain individuals to pass on before revealing all the good juicy stuff, but don't worry, I'm taking notes along the way). Really, I don't think it's an issue of time. With enough motivation, the majority of these things could be accomplished (some after hours and hours of vocal training...), it's just that I do like to eat, and as much as Ben doesn't, he sees the necessity in it. So for a while, at least, I'll continue to march alongside (or a bit before), the millions of early riser, nine-to-fiver population and be grateful to be employed at all. But don't think I'm not weighing my options all the while.