Just for a minute...

Ok, disclaimer: Matt's not helping me write this one. 

I feel compelled to hang on to the moment we were witness to last night. As I sat watching Obama make history, I found myself moved by the powerful statement this made for our country. I watched Obama address a stadium filled with diverse Americans who were as patriotic as I have seen in my lifetime. Not the reactionary, nationalistic patriotism I think I've seen before (perhaps after 9/11), but true pride in our country for making such progress in equal rights for all Americans. This was amazing and breathtaking. I feel as if I was aware of history in the making. I have never been particularly political and I have been hesitant to allow myself to be extremely patriotic, for fear of being manipulated (for my Christianity, for my gender, for my social leanings). Wow, I felt like it was finally OK to let myself be excited about a movement. It was OK to indulge in the moment. After thinking about Obama's speech and having watched the DNC, I do feel like this could be a movement. And why not feel optimistic about changing the culture of our country? Why not allow ourselves to be idealistic for once? This is how history is made! This is how revolutions happen and this could be terrific for our country. I think Obama represents an opportunity for our country to become inspired, and just think of what can happen then?! Regardless of your political views, I think it is important for all of us to sit back and, just for a minute, revel in the excitement and promise of this time.

Niece & Nephew

Marshmallow Lucy: Double, double, toil and trouble...

Dirty Matt: Chocolate or mudbath? You decide.

Wunderkind

Answer: Chocolate!

Thanks for the photos Mo :)

We don't have kids of our own, but we love to spoil our niece and nephew. They live in Seattle so we don't get to see them very often, but when we do it's always a memorable event!

2nd Anniversary

We celebrated our Second Anniversary yesterday and went to the finest restaurant in Cleveland! Seriously, the food was delicious and we just had a great time together. We both agreed that our marriage has actually gotten easier over time and we have more fun now than we did when we were first married. We talked about how we know each other better now and *know how to pick our battles*.  We're going to celebrate more tonight with side-by-side massages which should be tres bien. Thanks for all of the well wishes from our friends and family, we're lucky to have you all in our lives. Here's to another year of fun, friendship and lovely times together!

Heavy Cats

We wandered out to a great venue called Blossom in Ohio corn country and were so surprised to see thousands of other people at the Radiohead concert. Who knew there were so many people in Ohio? The funny thing was that Teri has been taking Pilates classes here and when we sat down someone from her class recognized her and called out her name--we were sitting right next to her! The music was good and it was nice to be outside on such a lovely night with so many other people. It kind of reminded us of ... New York.

Our Shining Barrier

Flowers in Paris

Reading to each other

Coffee in The Village

Runs in the afternoon

In Sheldon Vanauken's, A Severe Mercy, he describes the love between he and his wife as "the shining barrier." The barrier is a wonderfully inspiring and romantic world that they share, built and protected by their love for one another. It allows them to experience the world around them and reconcile it to their love. It is a romantic ideal for both lovers and friends. They eventually learn that their own barrier is not impenetrable, but only when they find a love stronger than their own. 

As we approach our second anniversary, we are happy to recognize such shared experiences in our own lives. There were certain pleasant surprises that have allowed our marriage to blossom in ways we didn't even intend. We recognize that this special "inloveness" (sic) is dear and remarkable and needs to be nurtured. Here are some examples of things we love to share in ways we love to share them...

The Hotel Life

Along with our unique job situation comes a unique living situation. As many of you know, we recently moved from our beloved New York City to travel with Matt's new client for a year. In May we were in Cleveland, Ohio, for a few weeks while Matt's client was getting a check up at The Cleveland Clinic. We were back in New York for a month when we suddenly learned that we had to come back to Cleveland. We have been here for almost a month and we're getting used to living in a hotel. That's right, until we leave again, we are temporarily housed at the Intercontinental in Cleveland. Here is a glimpse of our hotel world.

Summertime Rolls

We have been keeping ourselves busy here in Cleveland. Here are some highlights...

Seriously, the best bike ride we have ever taken. ~13 miles along the Erie Canal.













Cleveland Indians vs. Tampa Bay Rays. Dogs, beer, fireworks, and the Indians won!






Looking for the beach along Lake Erie. Ode to Cleveland.





"Wade Oval Wednesdays": Free music by the art museum. Grateful Dead covers and picnic a la Whole Foods.




We love summertime!