n&a

Today I was looking through semi-recent photos and realized I have several of me and Nick that I haven't ever posted. 

So, in random order here are some N&A memories...

Nick comes over every Friday night and it's always a big debate about what we'll have for dinner. In an effort to save money we did a $10 challenge, meaning every meal we ate together had to cost less than that. The first week we made "brinner" (breakfast for dinner). We had pancakes (blueberry and chocolate chip), sausage, potatoes, and, um, Twizzlers. Let me tell you, it was delish!  

We went to Nick's friend's wedding in June. It was such a fun night! We literally danced the night away.

The annual Tractor Pull was this August. It was my fifth time going...crazy. Like always we embraced our hillbilly roots and had a fantastic time, even with the massive thunderstorm that rolled in.

My favorite part...visiting the horse barns.

Nick keeps one of his guitars at my apartment so it's there whenever the inspiration strikes. It's not just any guitar either, it's Buddy, his very first guitar. The other Friday him, Erin and I were just hanging out (after coming home from Happy Hour, of course) when Nick began serenading her.

I love this picture.

 About 10 minutes later he fell asleep on the floor like this....

One Saturday while Steph and Chris were in California on vacation, Nick and I offered to watch the boys for the day. First we went putt-putting, which Shane and Nate adored.

Next was lunch. Shane somehow talked me into Burger King because they had Transformer toys. Afterwards we went to some Kids Day festival thing. It was just okay. The line for face painting was crazy long and there wasn't much else to do. On the way home we got ice cream cones, which turned into a funny thing because I had to throw part of Nate's out the window. I love those boys.


 On my 25th birthday Nick gave the best gift ever. I had been wanting a bike with a basket for awhile and he delivered in a big way. He didn't just get me any old bike, he gave me his grandma's bike from the 60's. I was in awe. He fixed it up, painted it, and bought a new seat and basket.

Closer picture of the bike, which I named Georgia, after her original owner. 

Nick and I headed to Cleveland after a guy at work gave him free Browns tickets. We decided to make an entire day of it. First we went to Great Lakes brewing company, which is Nick's favorite beer ever. The place was packed! There was a 45 minutes wait at 2 in the afternoon...crazy! While we waited for a table we drank a beer, of course...

 The food was really good, and so was the beer. Not only was it good, but it was strong. Nothing like getting day drunk in Cleveland! Before we left we took more photos...

Nick with his beloved Burning River

This and the Oktoberfest were my favorites.

Our next stop was the Rock n' Roll hall of fame. When I walked in and saw this I almost cried...

Johnny Cash's guitar

My other favorite things were anything that dealt with Elvis, the entire wall of Beatles stuff, Michael Jackson's jacket and mask from his Thriller video, and Johnny Cash's tour bus. It was way cool.

Finally, we went to the Browns/Packers game.

I am definitely not a Browns fan. It took everything I had not to scream "Who Dey!" I figured I would still enjoy myself because hey, football is football, but it ended up being pretty boring and we left early. I realized I do not enjoy watching football if it isn't college, the Bengals, or the Superbowl.

The entire day was extremely fun though, even the driving time. We named my dad's GPS "Gretchen" and cursed her many times. We also listened to Nick's iPod on shuffle and made ourselves listen to every song for 30 seconds before deciding if we would change it. Such a great day.


One evening Nick and I decided to make a nice dinner. We went to the grocery store and found some chicken that was a really good price. We also got salad and rolls. Look how pretty....

But there's a catch! As soon as I cut the chicken open all I saw was blood. It was nasty. It had been cooked long enough but there were bloody veins and bones everywhere. Nick, who would eat anything from anywhere, didn't have a problem with it. Me, being a germophobe, just couldn't handle it. Luckily, Nick had some popcorn chicken in his freezer and heated some up for me real quick.

Moral of the story: Never buy discounted meat at the grocery store! 

Another moral of the story: Nick is a pretty great guy. 

Scatter Joy,