on getting married.

i can't believe how fast our engagement is going. honestly, i can't believe how fast like is going, but that's a post for another time :) it really has been such a fun, laid back time for Kevan and i and i can't imagine doing it any other way. we have most of our big stuff done and booked and are now left with the fun, little, decor things. oh yeah... and the officiant. crap. well...we'll have to get on that... like yesterday... whoops! really though, this little moment in our life has been such a treasure. talking about what the day is going to be like and then dreaming of our future beyond is almost surreal. i feel like we're still teenagers hanging out in Erin's basement, getting into trouble, and still living with our parents! one of the best parts is that Kevan is so relaxed about everything. he's the typical "just send me an invitation" groom, but what's really great is that he still does want some say in the goings on. gah, i love 'im. and i love that boquet. LOVE. 

.

this guy, i tell ya.

he's back!

wait. no. she's back. i'm back. yeah, that's it.

that's just one of my all time favorite scenes in one of my all time favorite sagas.

you know, when fudge steps out of the flue in the ministry of magic

at the end of the order of the phoenix and he sees voldemort standing over

harry potter and in that moment he realizes that he-who-must-not-be-named

is really back, as hp has been saying since that night in the graveyard when he 

witnessed cedric's death and the rebirth of the dark lord, but no one had believed him

until that very moment, when fudge says "he's back!"?

no? well then we can't be friends.

just kidding! i'll take what i can get ;)

anywho...

my man friend and i are back from a relaxing, rejuvenating week at the lake.

filled with sleeping in, naps on the dock, movies whenever we want, yummy food,

visiting family, swimming swimming swimming, and lots lots more.

man we love the lake.

our first night and an amazing sunset

more on that later this week.

for now, i have cleaning to do before... dundunduuuun... 

i have to leave for work.

Minnehaha Dog Park.

oh the gloriousness of the Minnehaha Dog Park.

yes, there are other dog parks around, but none as wonderful as this.

i've heard many good things about it, but had never actually gone...

that is, until this past saturday. it was nice out, we were just lazin' around,

so we decided to get out and try something new: the Minnehaha Dog Park.

when you get there, you walk down this long wooded path and then suddenly,

the trees part and your on the beach of the river. 

there's a million dogs roaming free through the 6 1/2 acre doggy playground

and it's just so much fun to see. the river was warm, but i guess the current was

pretty bad. we never threw the ball out too far, but i guess a dog was swept

down the river a little bit. scary, right??

winnie was afraid of the water at first, of course, but she hasn't been in the

water since last summer and sooner than later she was back at it like a pro.

my little long tongue, bushy tail girl had a blast. we almost had to drag her out of the river 

once she warmed up to it. 

 ugh and i'm so pissed! right as we got to the clearing, a huge white riverboat steamed 

past us and i was so excited about it that i forgot to take a picture.

next time i'm bringing my actual camera and I WILL get that picture. 

Family.

"So, you have two cousins. I have 27 first cousins. Just 27 first cousins alone! And my whole family is big and loud. And everybody is in each other's lives and business. All the time! Like, you never just have a minute alone, just to think, 'Cause we're always together, just eating, eating, eating!"

~Toula 

My Big Fat Greek Wedding (not to be confused with my big fat gypsy wedding) was on TV

this morning and when this part came on and Toula tells this to Ian, i couldn't help laughing.

it was like i was looking at Kevan and i. he has a close immediate family and an extended family

that i've never met. and then there's me. 13 cousins on my dads side, 21 on my moms. and this weekend,

we'll be up north with my mom's family- laughing, gasping, joking, drinking, singing (lots of singing)- and 

it's all just such a foreign thing for him.

granted, we've been together 4 years and this is by far not his first ride at the scanlan rodeo, but

sometimes i just wonder what's going through his head. everyone in my family is so...

passionate. we talk big, sing big, love big. not saying that it's not the most wonderful experience

in the world to be with them and everyone should be totally jealous that they're not in our family

(cause you should be), but it can be slightly overwhelming. even for an insider. 

i know that he really truly loves my whole family and he would tell me if it was too much for him

and i guess what the real point of this post is... is that i am just so lucky.

so lucky to have a man in my life that can be so patient with me and my craziness and
everything i put him through and always puts me and my family first.

 my big, loud, irish family. 

happy valentines day!

dear lover,

i have loved every single amazing, hard, fun, tough, frustratingly beautiful moment

that we have spent together these last 4 years.

happy valentines day, my love.

love.

"there are dreamers and there are realists in this world.

you'd think the dreamers would find the dreamers 

and the realists would find the realists,

but more often than not, the opposite is true.

you see the dreamers need the realists

to keep them from soaring too close to the sun

and the realists, well without the dreamers

they might not ever get off the ground."

-Cam

my realist is a hottie

haiku for my vet.

served in the Navy.
i love my vet like woa-wah.
my vet loves ketchup.

Thank you to all who have, who are, and who will serve our country.


(i know... i know. Veterans Day was Friday, but I was busy with my Vet all weekend!)

a day in the life.

today was a big day for me.

i had an interview for a job that would give me decent pay,

but would also afford for me to concentrate on my education-

making sure i could pay the bills as well as get A's.

so in true Tricia fashion- i had a ridiculous stomachache all morning

and arrived at the interview 35 minutes early... yeah... who does that?

about 15 minutes before, i went in and found... a dark, empty room.

panicked... i checked my email to see WTF was up and that's when i saw it:

the dude i had talked to had given me the wrong day- 

my interview is Wednesday... not today. 

at least i didn't miss it, right??

needless to say, i slinked outta there as fast as i could.

(didn't want anyone to see me wearing the same outfit i'll be wearing in 2 days...)

so, i decided to be productive today; took a walk with my favorite 4 legged girl

came home, tuned into the Edith Piaf pandora station and cleaned the kitchen, 

browned off veggies and beef then threw it all in the crock pot

 roast is now roasting. the smells coming from there are unbelievably comforting 

my favorite picture of grandma Lucille. after she passed, one of my aunts took a bunch

of her aprons and made those little angels for all of the women in my family.

such a treasure to have her with me in my kitchen in spirit :)

isn't she just the frickin' cutest thing you've ever seen in your whole life??

 yummy tea for the boyfriend and me

now it's time to paint the bookcases in the living room 

then study... study... study.

if anyone out there has a strong affinity for accounting,

please let me know.

you can take my class for me.

seriously...

Happy Birthday America!

I hope everyone's having a wonderful 4th of July weekend!

ours started off a little shaky when a big storm

rolled through the cities and we lost power for almost

3 hours

other than that...

We've had the most unbelievable weather

had good eats and great times with friends and family

did yard work like crazies

'acted up a little' ala DB

and really just enjoyed the 3 day weekend together.  

Yesterday morning it dawned on us that

we didn't have anymore beer/booze... 

and it was Sunday.

with liquor stores closed in MN and friends coming over later in the afternoon

we jumped in the car for a little trip over the border...

  

another plus of Wisco- good fireworks

we were able to get all of our preserves and entertainment

and headed back to the better side of the Mississippi

to celebrate our great nation with our great friends.

i couldn't believe how many boats were on the river- i was a little jealous

Kevan and i declared that we would have a boat someday

i hope that someday is next summer ;)

per the guy at the liquor store:

"only in America do we celebrate by gettin' drunk and setting off explosives"

so go be an American:

drink beer

light your fireworks

and wave your flags high and proud!

look at how my garden grows

I can't believe how well our vegetable garden is growing!

here's what we've got coming up:

watermelon

GIANT pumpkins

peas

peppers

onions

banana peppers

eggplant

weed

cauliflower

red cabbage

brussel sprouts

tomatoes

sweet potatoes

I'm more than likely leaving something out,

but i'm pretty proud of our little horticulture experiement out back.

last night, my 4 legged helper and i found

that tiny head of cauliflower in the veggie bed.

i thought i was seeing things at first.

see... i dont grow plants. I kill them.

i honestly did not think that any of the veg that we've planted

would make it this far

but to actually produce an edible teeny tiny head of cauliflower?

that's pretty dope.

(isn't 'dope' what all the hip kids are saying?)

kevan thought it was pretty 'sick' too

point 1 team us!

you+me=us

3 years ago today

i forced you to be my boyfriend.

3 years ago today

we had already been casually dating for months

and had been best friends for nearly 5 years.

3 years ago today

i had no idea the life that we would make together

how much you would make me laugh

how much you would make me grow  

how much you would make me so mad

how much i could love someone other than myself.

3 years ago today

we became a we.

today i love you more than i did 3 years ago.

you showed this to me yesterday and we laughed really hard.
<3

excuse the bad picture at the top... doesn't he look so happy??

10 wishes: for summer

1. Go up north as much as possible

2. Finish projects around the house

3. Soak up MN's live music scene (molly's band is a must)

4. Figure out plan for thi$ fall

5. Have lots of BBQs

6. EAT HEALTHY (try to wean boyfriend off Dew)

7. Do 5 unique things (boyfriend: shooting range/me: broadway show)

8. Set up a hammock

9. Take naps in the backyard

10. Love on each other madly <3

weekend

needless to say, the right side of the car 

was filled with slobber by the time we got to the cabin.

it was another gorgeous weekend with my lover

have i told you how much i love it up there?

<3

Dear Boyfriend

Thank you for being a responsible adult and setting out my vitamins

every single morning

which i then place into an inappropriate shape
tee hee hee!

;)

115 miles.

i'm not sure when it started or why,

but i have been having an affair.

a deep, dark, amazingly crazy beautiful love affair that i just can't shake.

and i'm going back for more this weekend

:)

out of all of the beautiful places i've been to,

nothing compares to going up north and spending the weekend on the lake.

I've already warned the bf that he better bring in some big smackers

so that i can live on the lake every summer...

i can dream, right?

The BF and Winnie at the cab a week ago.

(i was loosing at kings in the corner hence his grin. sad face.)

i was so proud of my little girl!

she finally became a real life Golden and swam in the lake

playing fetch and all that cutesy Golden stuff

I'll have to take video of it this weekend

and then actually post it ;)

Want and Need.

So i'm trying to teach myself the difference between 'want' & 'need'.

it's really not as easy as it seems, especially when you grew an only child

well... still are an only child

to parents who tried and tried for more, but it just wasn't in the cards.

Not saying that i was spoiled with material things- the money just wasn't there,

but i had more attention and love than most people in this world

and growing up in the entitled city that i still call home i could be a brat

well... still can be a brat.

So now that i have my own money, it's hard for me to distinguish between 

want...... & ...... need.

   
         BUT since i've turned my life upside down... quit my job... and am becoming a college student

again

I really, truly need to start learning the difference. 

                                                                            

this is the hard part...

Want or need?

i'd say need... right?? both. 

timeless (get it?? time? it's a watch... oooh yeahhh), classy, beautiful, practical.

Boyfriend... if you're reading right now:

 this these would be a WONDERFUL 3 year anni gift 0: )

gold watch tortoise shell watch