It's been a long time.

So, the most exciting thing, is that Clint is back to work. He was called back on September 1st and has been working a few weeks now. I'm so relieved. The only downside is that our insurance ran out on August 31, and instead of just continuing once he got called back to work, he had to open a new plan that will not be active until October 1. So we don't have insurance this month, and Owen has been battling a little cold. I'm praying that it doesn't turn into a big cold. We only have 9 more days until we are insured again!

And the kid is 8 months old! I can't believe he's 8 months old. I have given up on taking pictures with the bear, because he will barely sit still long enough to take a picture. I manage to get him every once in a while. Some big milestones this past couple of months include standing (with support), he rolls over extremely well, he can get up all fours and scoot around (not exactly crawling yet, but very close), he makes a lot more noise, he says dada, mama, hi and sometimes he says no. He is very close to pulling himself up in his crib and against the coffee table. He also apparently loves fruit. If I have an apple or nectarine or something, he will actually pull himself up my body to get to the fruit. If I set it down beside or behind me, he will crane his neck around trying to find the fruit.

This was the first time he had the fruit. I was eating a nectarine while getting him ready for his bath. I was holding him and taking a bite of my nectarine, and he leans in his head and starts biting the nectarine at the same time. It was so cute.

This was the apple. I'm trying to get him to eat cut up bananas in his high chair, but he apparently only wants what I'm eating.

The other big news is that I went to Iowa this past weekend. I left really early in the morning on Friday and had a flight out of Pittsburgh. I had a decent sized layover in Detroit, where I had some fantastic lobster bisque. There is a hallway in the detroit airport where the walls are backlit and the colors change according to the music. It's really neat. I arrived in Iowa to be picked up by Christopher, MJ and Nicole. We all hung out at Krista and Emily's apartment for a while. Then I got checked in to the sweetest hotel I have ever stayed at! The Coralville, Iowa Marriot Conference Center is SUCH a nice hotel. I got to have a king sized bed all to myself, flat screen TV, and all the toiletries were from Bath and Body works! The rehearsal went very well, and the dinner was awesome. I ended up reading "A Marriage" by Michael Blumenthal.

Afterwards we all went back to the Herbert Hoover Presidential (Sweet Ass) Suite. I drank a lot of wine and local beer. It was good times. Below is a picture of me and Krista. I'm in love with my pumpkin orange sweater. It was a great night. The next day, I spent most of the day by myself. I didn't really do much except hang out in the hotel room and relax. Had a good lunch in the hotel restaurant, and all of the staff everywhere was so nice. I like Iowa.

The wedding went off without a hitch. I almost cried during my reading, and I definitely cried a lot when they said their vows. Luckily I came prepared with tissues. The reception was at a golf club called the Brown Deer. There were awesome appetizers, open bar, great music. I sat with Nicole, MJ, Jessica, and Krista's cousins. I loved the whole pumpkin and wasabi colored theme. All the little napkins and seating cards and match books and stuff were so cute.

Everyone went back to the room to party a little more, but I was so tired and full from 'racing MJ' and taking advantage of the open bar the last hour of the reception. I went back to the room and took a shower, then got most of my stuff packed up and passed out.

Most of the way home was spent reading "The Road" by Cormac McCarthy. Another Rich recommendation. One of these days I will read another book that has not been referred to me. The book was incredible. Tragic. Heartbreaking. Hopeless. An actual EXPERIENCE for a parent. All in all, a good read. I kept crying during the difficult parts and the people sitting next to me on my flights probably thought I was mentally unstable.

When I got home, I was so happy to see my little boy. I missed him so much it was insane. I brought home Wellsburg DiCarlos on the way home from the airport. Yum. I ate kind of poorly over the weekend, but I'm back on track now.

The Wellness Bridge has been fantastic. In one month I lost 11lbs and 12.5 inches from all over my body. Last week alone, I lost almost five pounds. Woohoo!

Some little videos. In both, please excuse my horrible sounding voice. There aren't any excuses...

The aftermath of the meeting...

So, the much dreaded co-op meeting wasn't all that bad, for me at least. Back story - our building is next to the Marsh Wheeling Stogie building, which in Wheeling's Hay Day was a pretty significant business. And this apartment building was pretty fancy living. Now I feel like I am in a sinking ship. The building rents a parking lot between our building and the Stogie building. Beyond the parking lot is another lot that was the grave site of a torn-down building. When we moved in, the lot was filled with bricks and cinder blocks and dirt. It was gross. Fast forward. Now, our upstairs neighbors, the children's book writers, have turned the brick-filled lot into an enormous garden. I will have to take a picture of it. It's huge. They actually had 5-foot stalks of corn growing in it last year. It is literally amazing what this man has done with a space that used to be filled with bricks.

That's how I feel about it. That's not how everyone feels about it. You know why? Because he uses the building's water to help the garden grow...

Last night in the meeting, I thought I had warped into a first grade classroom with a bunch of kids yelling at each other. We discussed the issues we had all been dreading, and then before the president could adjourn, one of the guys on the South side of the building decided to point his finger at the garden growers and flip his shit. I just sat with my pen and paper, noting the key points as any good secretary would do, bouncing my knee repeatedly until the steam stopped blowing out of his ears... Then the neighbors directly below us, who have graced my blog several times for all of their lovely complaints about Clint walking too loud, and getting the baby out of bed for church on Sunday morning... and breathing. They think that the garden people are rude because they have approached other members of the co-op association to get their opinions on the garden, bashing the downstairs neighbors in the process. I tried to stay out of it as much as possible, until the lady who lives below us starts, "I think it's downright rude of you to corral all the other neighbors and badmouth us, and now you guys don't speak to us, and the Amies are upset with us..." Please, Allison. Like the problems I have with you are about the garden... Maybe if you didn't find something to antagonize us about, every. single. time. we. speak.

Anyway. Clint was furious, but he missed the best of it, because he left around 8pm to take Owen off my mom's hands and put him to bed. I had to stay, unfortunately, because I'm the secretary, and the official shareholder, because our mortgage is in my name. The only major financial decision we made was for everyone to front the first half of our property taxes by August 25, so all the money we have in reserve can be put toward our gas bill in the winter. It was either that or hike up our monthly assessment fees, and I would much rather front the money right now, then half to pay more every month for the taxes AND end up short for the gas bill and have another special assessment. So the window issue was pretty much a non-issue. However, Clint and I have decided, that after basically freezing last winter, and in attempt to regulate the heat in our bedroom and living room, that we are going to look into replacing the five windows in our bedroom. Our upstairs neighbors have found a window company that charges the same price, regardless of the size of the window, which is a HUGE deal. The meeting started at 6:30, and I did not get home til 9:45... Ugh. The meeting was probably over by 9, but I stayed to be social because everyone had brought food, and I had some fantastic hummus. I've decided I'm a fan of hummus.

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So the windows need to be done before winter, on top of buying a new car seat, replacing our sink that won't stop dripping, having Clint's car tuned up, having Chicken declawed so she doesn't decide to use her claws the next time she takes a swipe at Owen (and so she can stop scratching our hardwood floors...) Oh, and the fact that Clint is still indefinitely laid off... So we have decided that I'm going to go to Iowa alone. It's not going to save a ton of money, but at least $450. And, Clint doesn't HAVE to go . I have to go (and of course I wouldn't miss it for the world, KAK). Clint can stay home and be with Owen, that way my mom doesn't have to keep him for three solid days. I'm sad that I will be traveling alone, but I've flown by myself before. I've dealt with unknown airports during layovers. The only thing I'm not looking forward to is staying in the hotel alone. I'm going to take my laptop, so I can keep myself busy. Note to friends: the weekend of September 18, I expect a lot of text support :) and facebook chats. I will also need to decide which book will be my travel companion. Which reminds me... I still need to buy a new dress.

Speaking of Mr. Owen Michael Amie.... he is being a major fuss-pants today and the past few days. He is getting his top two teeth, and could not be in a more crabby mood. He has completely redefined his nap schedule in the past few days. He keeps putting his hands in his mouth and then whining. Drool city. And the spitting up. Lord. I'm going to stop wearing v-neck shirts, because inevitably, if I do, he will throw up down the inside of my shirt. It's awesome. Really.

And, I'm very nervous about who is going to get voted of So You Think You Can Dance. I'm still rooting for Evan, but Melissa was just beautiful last night. My two favorite routines continue to be Randi and Evan dancing to Koop Island Blues (the butt!) and Jeanine and Jason dancing to If it Kills Me. In another life I want to be a dancer. :) Certainly not in this one.

Alright. Me time over.

"Come on man, I'll be your Doug."

We went to see the Hangover, and I could not stop laughing. It was seriously one of the funniest movies I have seen in a long time. Clint and I went out on our fourth date since we had Owen. We are almost keeping up with the once a month agreement. We have figured out a pretty good system for dates. We get him all ready for bed, then my mom comes over. We do his bath, lotion, and then feed him. Once he's asleep, we hurry and finish getting ready, and then leave. My mom basically babysits the baby moniter. It's a tough job. I sort of wish we could go have a dinner date or something, but for now, I'm happy to go out after he falls asleep, it just makes for some late nights.

We left after he fell asleep and went to get some ice cream. We still had time to kill, so we went to the bookstore and I bought "The Road," by Cormac McCarthy. I've only read about ten pages, but I can't wait to get back to it. I have a feeling it's going to be a hard read for me. Since I have become a mother, I get very affected if anything happens to a child in a movie or book or something.

Tonight is the dreaded co-op meeting where we are going to make decisions regarding the windows, the decks, the gas bill, etc. I am so afraid they are going to decide to replace all the windows in the apartment, which we simply cannot afford to do. I hope that our vote counts. Ideally, we vote for everyone to replace the windows of their choosing. In that case, I would love to replace all the windows in our bedroom and maybe our living room (8 windows total). Anything beyond that, I am going to have to oppose. We are just ticked, because we wanted to do the bathroom this fall, and now we are going to have to wait until Spring to do it. Which means there is no chance we will be moving until next Spring at the earliest.

The other downside to this, is that in an effort to save money, Clint may not come to Iowa with me in September. It's not going to be a big expensive trip, but it does equal two round trip plane tickets, two nights in the Marriot in Coralville, IA, car rental and meals and stuff like that. Besides the hotel costs, it would be half as expensive for Clint to come with me. It just doesn't sit right with me. I don't mind, but I would prefer not to travel alone. It makes the layovers quite a bit longer.

I don't quite understand why there are absolutely no direct flights from Pittsburgh to Cedar Rapids, but it looks like, depending on what flight I end up booking, I'm either going to have a layover in Chicago where I have never been, or again in Detroit or Minneapolis (both cities I have seen only from the inside of the airport.)

The last time I was in Minneapolis, I was sick as a dog, had a piece of pizza from Sbarro, let some guy have my copy of "The Painted Veil" that I had just finished reading, then put in the ipod and zoned out. When the guy saw that I was reading The Painted Veil, he said, "Oh MY GOD. I can't believe you're reading that," then he dug around in his bag and pulled out the copy of the DVD. I told him that I had seen the movie before reading the book, and ended up being disappointed in the book. The movie is more optimistic (and beautiful). Also the last time I flew to Iowa I was just a teensy bit pregnant. I found out the week after I came home.

I'll go alone if I have to, but I would much rather Clint come with me. If I go by myself, I will probably just take a couple of books and my computer and spend a lot of time in the hotel. And, Krista's friends will probably question whether I actually have a spouse.

It's also going to depend if Clint is working. Still no word from his work, other than we may lose our insurance. I checked with my HR person, and I could pick up insurance where I work, but I know it would be so expensive. I did Clint's resume and cover letter. We found a few places to send it to, and I applied a couple of places online for him. Cross your fingers.

I saw a commercial for Literacy.org, where kids were seeing all these road signs and stuff from books (Never Never Land, 25 miles). It was such a neat idea. I'm a big fan of kids reading.

Speaking of, I'm going to read.

Good Week

I'm coming to the end of another week off, and it's been a good week. I got to see a wonderful friend, I got to visit with my mom, I got to enjoy some movies and books and I got to spend quality time with my husband and little boy.

Krista K. came to visit on Wednesday. We fed Owen some pears and then fed ourselves. I made buffalo chicken dip, and cut up a bunch of veggies and made some dip. I asked her what she wanted to do, and she said she wanted to watch Benjamin Button. I of course did not object. I cried (like always) at the part where he becomes a little boy, and she has to take care of him. Krista really liked it - but I hope she watches it again, because we were paying too much attention to Owey. I love Krista because we can spend six months not hanging out, and then when we finally do get together, it's like no time has passed. I can tell her ANYTHING, and she does not judge or make opinions, she only offers honest, unbiased reactions. She is a wonderful friend.

Sometime this week, I feel like I had some kind of awakening. I find myself feeling the way I used to about literature and film and art.... Maybe, the way I felt before I got married, found a serious job or had a baby. When I had time... Something about me wants to write again, or to throw clay on a wheel again. (God, I miss pottery.) I'm reminded of my favorite piece of art I ever made. The assignment was to create a female torso (my senior year of college I think), with some kind of text and texture on it. Because of my love for all things scandalous, I found an Emerson quote ("thou art to me a delicious torment") that was perfect and made this:

The hands were SO hard to make. I loved this project, but this, by far, remains the coolest thing I ever created:

But I have been reading a lot lately, I'm rereading A Widow for One Year, and I want to start/finish Love in a Time of Cholera, Unaccustomed Earth and a bunch of others. I've also been referred a few titles that sound appealing. I also read a new book by a friend who has yet to be published, but I have tremendous faith that he will.

Unfortunately, the only creative thing I have actually done myself this week has been cooking, which everyone knows I adore. The other night I made a dijon chicken salad with broccoli and tomatoes. It was an Ina Garten recipe - fantastic! So great I took a picture!

Progress on the house is going.... slow. Clint has taken down a small portion of the wallpaper in the hallway and I'm trying to decide on paint colors. We might have to hold off doing the bathroom, because one of our neighbors told me that the Co-op association may vote to replace several windows in all of the apartments, which will cost us a couple thousand dollars... Sigh... But this I can appreciate more than paying $1400 to repoint the bricks on the north side of the building, which does not affect me one little bit.

When Krista was here, she took a picture of me and Owen. It's not often that I post pictures of myself - but I didn't think I looked too hideous in this one :)

And why is it that almost every new shirt I have is either chocolate brown or white?