Dog Stuff

So we have pretty much completely become "dog people." It seems like all we ever talk about anymore is our dog. Not that I have a problem with that. I love my dog. In fact with all of the bus drama going around these days it's nice to have something to talk about that's completely unrelated.

One of the things I really like is how we've renamed alot of things around here from Ray's perspective. Some of my favorites (and I'll use = for Jeremy's benefit):

* "The Pee Field" = pretty self-explanatory I think.

* "The Poop Field" = ditto

* "The Neutral Zone" = a little field that is bordered by the Grand Canal, the Poop Field, the Big Lake, and the Animal Field. I like to think of it as the center of New Town.

* "The Animal Field" = a square here in New Town that is now home to some of the animals from the old Noah's Ark restaraunt in St. Charles, a prairie-type environment, a playground, a couple little ponds, and a big open field.

* "The Corridors of Temptation" = pathways contained within the Animal Field that are home to a whole lot of bunnies, mulch, and poop. Which are all things Ray is very interested in.

* "The Fields of Freedom" = fields in the back of New Town where Ray is allowed to walk wherever he wants, smell everything, snarfle, lay down, etc.(The rest of the time that we walk I make him walk right next to me.)

* "The Office" = the landing on the staircase in our apartment. Probably Ray's favorite place in our home. He likes to take his work and/or toys up there. It's kinda like his little cave but he can still look down and see us on the couch.

* "Work" = a bone. Ray really enjoys working.

* "Snarfle" = attempting to scratch one's face/back by rubbing them on the bed/couch/carpet/grass/etc and rolling around. Usually accompanied by a snortlike sound.


I need to get that program that lets you write on a map so I can post a visual aide.

Wahoo, I mean....Bass???

Xavi and I decided to try and catch our dinner today. Xavi brought his gear over to New Town, despite the treacherous floodwaters lurking off 370, and we journeyed to the front lakes. After 20 minutes of grueling casting we hit pay dirt. Joff caught what we think was a Rock Bass. It came in at a not-at-all respectable 6 ounces (maybe). We had hoped to have fish for dinner and to sell the excess meat to Marsalla's but Shakespeares Pizza over at the Wine Bar actually sounded alot better and I'm pretty sure that Marsalla's doesn't actually buy fish caught out of the New Town lakes. So we didn't have to beat the poor little guy to death, rather we let him return to his peaceful life in the lake.

The first part of our expedition was uneventful, a couple quick hits but no takers. We switched up our lures, I opened up a Schalfly, and we even got up and walked down the shore. Xavi finally decided to walk down the lake a bit more and about 5 minutes later the fish was on the line. It really didn't put up any fight at all and I didn't have to help Xavi one bit. In terms of great experiences, I had alot more fun wakeboarding this morning behind an X2. And Xavi probably had more excitement at the 4 softball games he played today. But fishing was kinda fun. We were worried that he might shake loose since he was so small but Xavi's skills were too much for the little fish to handle.

Floods and Babies

So...seeing as this has been a neglected Blog wallowing in comment despair as all the cool kids flock to guammy with its sweet sidespike haircut, I decided to take back the popularity and bring us a new post.

Anyway, the big news...

Some Dutch say the end of the world will come in 2012...I say prepare for it in January of 2009 when the spawn of "Horton says What" will join this crazy planet. That is right, I am having a child. This is the last ultrasound picture which is obviously a little outdated as the child now undoubtedly has a head the size of a ping pong ball that is rapidly growing at an alarming rate.

But yes..it is exciting…yes I am nervous…yes it will be crazy…and hopefully I can answer all other questions in regards to this future Iwaszkowiec in a few more weeks as more information becomes available. The front running boy name is: Xavi Miletus…although I am not sure that is even spelled right. I like lots of girls names…don’t even know where to begin though.

Anyway, I figured this is a good jumpstart for all to begin anew on this crazy blog. Bring on some posts.

Lots of Things

Ok, so i've neglected the blog long enough. Lots of stuff has happened since the last time I blogged but I will try to hit all the highlights and post some pics.

First of all, and most importantly I guess, I went to Hawaii and got married. I don't know if I really have the words to adequately describe how great the trip was. Hawaii is a really cool place and I'm glad we did what we did. I definitely did not want to do the whole big wedding thing, and it was awesome to get married on the beach. It was weird because the whole wedding only took like 10 minutes, when we started our vows was when it really hit me that yeah, this is actually happening. But it was exactly the way Johanna and I wanted it to be and the whole trip was better than I could have imagined.

^Waialae Beach Park was a really pretty beach. We didn't really care what beach we got married on, we just asked Matt (the pastor who married us) to pick one he thought was good. That lei I was wearing was really itchy by the way. But still way more comfortable than a tux, and I didn't have to wear shoes. Johanna didn't like that the wind was blowing her hair all over the place but I really like it when she just leaves it down and it is all wavy and natural looking.

As for my thoughts on being married after one month, our lives are not all that different and I'm really used to wearing my ring now. I'm really not used to calling her "my wife" though. It's just weird. I'm guessing at some point you get used to saying it.

^Surfing at Waikiki was just one of those things I had to do. It's the birthplace of surfing and probably the easiest place to surf there is. Of course that means that the place is always super crowded but I managed to get out there with 200 other people, dodge outrigger canoes and beginners on huge longboards and catch a few waves. It was really fun. I loved the fact that almost everything "to do" in Hawaii involved the ocean. Surfing, snorkeling at Shark's Cove, and hanging out on the North Shore were my favorite things about Hawaii. Other than getting married and other wedding related "activities" of course.

^This is me and my Goddaughter Sydney. She's super cute, I definitely need to get to Columbia soon to see her again. I suppose I would like to hang out with her parents too.

^This is me and my new friend Donovan. We hung out alot when Johanna and I went to Chicago for her friend Chrissy's wedding.

Oh yeah, our new apartment is cool too. You can see some pictures over on Johanna's Blog but I'll post some once we finally have everything unpacked, and once we get our couch. New Town is an interesting place, but all in all I like it. I really like being able to ride my bike to the pool, or being able to walk to the market or coffee shop. It is really quiet though and sometimes I miss the hubbub of the Iwaszkowiec house. Speaking of which; Brazil 3, Argentina 0. "Yes! In the face!" I can't believe that my dad and I both weren't home to watch that today.