I Can't Even Handle It

WHAT the hey is going on today? Why is it so awesome already?

This is probably the main reason:



I had Coconut Crunch coffee with breakfast. Coffee heaven.

PLUS my Aunt Delores's ridiculously amazing homemade bread. Of course I toasted it (since it IS breakfast), but toasty homemade bread and coffee and a little 19 Kids and Counting will make the morning suddenly 1000% better.

Well it is no wonder that my day has just gone from awesome to more awesome. First I perused some AMAZING teacher blogs and got slightly jealous that I am not a first grade teacher with a limitless budget to decorate and amazing-ify my classroom.

THEN I found out that PSLs (duh, Pumpkin Spice Lattes, get with it, this is America) are coming back to Sbucks in JUST. ONE. WEEK. (Plus like 3 days.) (So like a week and a half) (That counts as a week to me)

THAN (yea, I changed the grammar cause it's even more awesome!!!) I found out that there is going to be another Muppets movie in November! Usually I am not a big fan of the Muppets (*gasp* yes it's true), but this one has AMY ADAMS who is one of my faves. Plus it looks like she sings. Plus there are about 4 or 5 trailers that are just the best.

CHECK THIS STUFF OUT!!!

http://disney.go.com/muppets/

And here's just one of the trailers:

Plus, heehee, I might go peach picking tomorrow :)

Guys guys, you can OF COURSE visit anytime. Life is like this all the time no it's not here in State College!

Tralala it's FRIDAY! Thanks Rebecca!

~A

P.S. Irene isn't coming way out here to Central PA to visit. I'm crushed. Hopefully the rest of you survive her dastardly effects. 

Trauma Drama!

Oh you guys. I just had to throw that one in there for us East Coasters who got hit with the not really MASSIVE earthquake the other day.

I'm super pumped for Irene. She and I are going to chill this weekend and enjoy the cooler weather.

On the up and up, I haven't had time to clean take pictures of the apartment and so the tour has been postponed. Hopefully just for a little while because I do want to show you guys around. We're actually going out this evening to get bedroom curtains because the mean construction people finally decided they are finished constructing outside and so turned back on the streetlight that happens to shine RIGHT into our bedroom.

So. Today I am filling out paperwork and getting things ready for my NEW JOBBBBBBB!!!

I'm going to be a 2 year old preschool teacherrrrrrrrrrr!

For those of you who say "but Amanda, isn't that just like getting to play all day long?" and my short answer for you is "yes."

But not really. Teaching children starts when they leave the womb (and if you're lucky, you can start teaching them IN the womb what good music sounds like). And so...basically...I am ridiculously pumped about this. I get to work with kids (i.e. have FUN) every day!

Plus, my sister came to visit me :) :) :) this past weekend!!!

Ben gave you all the highlights, and I won't hash out every detail, but realize that if you haven't played the game Killer Bunnies, you haven't really lived yet.

Lastly before I go, because the apartment is a mess and I want to clean it before Ben and I sit down to a wonderful crockpot chili dinner (made by BEN!?!!?), I want to let you all know that love CAN be found on a mini golf course. It may take dinner at Countryside Cafe beforehand, and it may take a second round of golf, but love can be found. And I'm so glad Ben and I started dating 6 years and 1 day ago, when he asked me out over AIM. Romance never dies people. Remember that.

Love and chili,

~A

Why Today is a Great Day

From start to finish:

First day of school!

Toy store shopping!

Visit from the in-laws!

I got a package!

Our new patio!

Amanda got a new job teaching 2-year-olds!

Wine!

~B

Our LIFE Thus Far

Hey Everyone! We've been absent from the bloggy world not because we've been on a whirlwind world cruise, but just because we've been busy. Doing end-of-summer things. BUT we have been really putting off sharing these pictures, so here are pictures of life so far at Casa Soltoff. 

Tomorrow I'll give an official APARTMENT TOUR!

For now, enjoy the pictures (and captions HOHO)

P.S. These pictures are from like June. Don't judge.

Ben putting together our vacuum ooo 

Furniture (it gets put away, don't worry)

Our tiny galley kitchennnnn

Check out all those boxes whoa

Bedroommmmm

Ok people, here they are. Our ancient, Cold War era washer and dryer in a wonderful color. I think it's called puke green? 

I love this room. It's so peaceful. 

This might have been our First Soltoff Pizza Night! It's probably my favorite night of the week.

Technically I wasn't supposed to be in the kitchen at this point. Ben takes his pizza making seriously. Which means no one in the kitchen except the pizza chef.

Kitchen looking a little more put together. Still missing that table...

I can bake cookies.

Since we quickly filled up our cabinets with cookware, our "pantry" is that wire rack. It also took us about a week to realize we didn't have a microwave.

Also, this is the finished kitchen Side 1.

Here is Side 2. Those cookies didn't last long.

We found a table at the thrift store!

Cuteness ftw. (and the flowers are from Kathryn aww)

Yummy lasagna dinnerrrrrrr

Ben building something else. He pretty much built/hung/put together everything in our apartment. I baked cookies and looked pretty.

Me looking pretty.

Cabinet...

Finished bathroom! So pretty in purple :)

More pretty purple bathroom!

Bock bock tacos yummmmmm

Cute Ben

Cupcake from downtown SO GOOD

See?

Wegmans has the biggest strawberries in the whole world 

I am married to this crazoid. 

Food is a recurring theme. We noticed. But we exercise, so we feel like it's ok.

Everything else is from the Fourth of July feast we ended up having on the Third of July. Monkey bread, grilling cheese, veggies, burger toppings, burgers, kugel, Mikes, key lime pie (WITH GOLDEN TITS), and ice cream. Jealous?

End of captions. Tour tomorrow :D

~A

P.S. I realize I already gave you like half a tour. Oh well. 

PennDot

So the Mrs. and I decided we want to get personalized license plates for our cars in Pennsylvania. Sadly, LDOS and ILVDSNY did not make the cut for our new plates. We decided to go with a classic approach (major props to Kristin for the inspiration): BNJNDA and BNJNDA2, an homage to our nickname Benjanda.

This is not our first tangle with PennDOT. For those that know how much trouble we had to go through to get my car registered in the state, Pennsylvania is extremely inefficient when it comes to its bureaucracy. We mailed our application in a few weeks ago for Amanda's car (apparently we still live in the 20th century where correspondence is delivered by hand. Heard of the internet? It's only been around for 20 or so years). It was returned to us last week, asking us "what does this mean?" That was all they asked. We had no clue what they meant, much less what "this" means. Eventually we figured out they wanted to know what BNJNDA stands for, lest we sneak some impure, derogatory phrase on to our car. Our response:

To whom it may concern:


“BNJNDA” is an abbreviated form of “Benjanda”, a portmanteau of “BENJamin and amANDA”, legally recognized as Benjamin Charles and Amanda Kristine Soltoff, joined in a union of holy matrimony in the Commonwealth of Virginia on May 21st, 2011. Prior to this marriage, we were known as Benjamin Charles Soltoff and Amanda Kristine Bell. “Benjanda” was first derived by our mutual friend (Kristin Eileen Gaul neé DePalma) in the first year of our courtship, that of the twelfth grade of high school. It symbolizes the close bonds we formed in our journey towards wedded bliss. We wish to share the symbol of our bonds with the rest of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and beyond, to remind them that true partnership, in every sense, exists for those willing to brave the numerous challenges and pitfalls which try the patience of so many would-be spouses.

We added the 2 because it is our second car. We hope this resolves any confusion on the matter.


Respectfully submitted,


Benjamin and Amanda Soltoff

We hope they find this explanation satisfactory.




~B