The _______ Life of Brent and Erika

I start classes today. Teaching, which is fun because I'm teaching a part of the class I've never taught before. But I'm more nervous about being a student again. I'm worried that I've gotten stupid since I graduated. Many people laugh when I tell them this, but I'm seriously. I haven't forced myself to think really deeply about many things in the past two years (that's not to say I haven't been thinking, or that I NEVER think deeply, I just haven't always engaged with things like I ought to have...), and I'm worried that I've lost the ability. I always live in fear that one day people are just going to wake up and realize I'm stupid, but it seems like I'm still fooling enough people that they let me into graduate school. It's also a definitive end of an era, a definite pattern for the future: yes, I started graduate school before being able to have a child (hope for a child was what kept me from applying in 2007, but in 2009 ...

Today, I went grocery shopping for the first time since July (we've been to buy bread and milk, but never really went shopping). I also cleaned out the fridge for the first time in a few months, and I did not know that macaroni and cheese could turn such a vile color when left untended in the back of the fridge for months. I've been trying to cook more lately, even if "cooking" means mac and cheese and steamed vegetables. However, I'm also starting graduate school next week, which means that three nights a week, Brent will be in charge of dinner. This will be an exciting new adventure for us.

Bit 1: While making French Toast on Saturday, I put in a dash of paprika instead of a dash of nutmeg. We ate it anyway. Bit 2: After a terrible experience trying to watch Heroes (which I'm sure some of you love, but I just can't handle blown off heads. Sorry.), Brent and I decided we needed a safe show. We started watching Hanna Montana. And we kind of like it. Bit 3: Brent started school last week, and it's been a little stressful. Here are a few pieces from our Washington Vacation:

Yesterday was our fourth anniversary. It's interesting to look back and think about all the things that we thought would happen by now that haven't, the things we thought wouldn't ever happen that have, and the many surprises and miracles that have happened along the way. Those cute, young (thin!) people in 2005 had no idea what they were getting themselves into, but one puppy, two graduations, three houses, four vacations, and five jobs later these slightly older and fatter people in 2009 are glad they went through with it. 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

Okay, it hasn't been that bad. For lack of a better blog post, here are some of the recent happenings here: Last night I tried to make tinfoil dinners with hamburger for the first time, only to discover that I had no tin foil. However, as my friend Jared noted, tin foil is the least flavorful part of the recipe anyway. We made them inside a pyrex lidded dish, and Brent loved them. I think I have a hard time eating hamburger without any frills (I don't consider carrots and potatoes frilly) like buns, noodles, or saucy casserole goodness. At any rate, it wasn't terrible, and since I don't generally follow recipes for this sort of thing, I guess we can chalk it up as a win. We're gearing up for a family reunion tomorrow and our vacation to Washington next week. Maybe that's not a good thing to mention on a public blog. Oh well. I'm playing the piano at a baptism on Saturday. I'm nervous. Chloe is now fully licensed, which means that her tags clink even loud...

I find it slightly (only slightly) hilarious that I can post TONS about a mediated event, and yet when it comes to my own life, I'm surprisingly closed-mouthed...so, in case you care, here's what's been keeping me from posting: - My brother and his family have moved to New York City (which is so exciting for them!), and I helped them with a sort of epic yard sale on Saturday. - I'm working as a copy editor for the Journal of Media Literacy Education , and our first issue is scheduled to come out next week. It's been a lot of reading. - We're getting ready for our Washington vacation in a week and a half, but there are a lot of things that have to happen first. - We cleaned out our guest room so that it actually functions as a guest room. Any takers? - I've started round one of infertility testing. The ultrasound shows that everything looks normal, and we're waiting for the first bit of blood work to come back. If the blood work is normal as well, then we...

On Tuesday night we went to American Idols Live!, and it was the rockin' awesomest show I've ever been to. I guess it should go without saying that Brent and I love the show, and we talk about it almost incessantly when it's on. This year had some particularly outstanding talent and some particularly terrible judging, so we thought we'd go and see the people we loved without the interference of the people we didn't. Here, for your pleasure (or maybe just for mine), is a recap of the concert with my own special awards for each Idol just because I love them. First, you should know that Ticketmaster never sent our tickets, so there was a bit of a customer service fiasco that mostly involves me being on hold for a very long time. When we got there and picked up our tickets, we went through the line to discover that they were upgrading tickets since the show didn't sell out. We were supposed to be in the nosebleed section, and were instead about 30 feet away from the...