Happy 5/3 Day!

Get, it... 5/3... May third... Fifth Third... Bank.

And more importantly,

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD!!!

Oscar II

Subtitle: Why we love AppleSo a couple of weeks ago my iPod nano (who I named Oscar, for obvious reasons) started acting goofy. It was playing music without a problem, but the screen was all garbled and I couldn't read anything. It would only do it sporadically, so I wasn't sure if there was a big problem or not. I tried all of the troubleshooting tips and it was still doing it, so I decided to take it to the Apple Store. I didn't know if they could or would do anything, but I had no where else to turn. So I ran over on my lunch break, told them what was going on, they looked at it and said, oh yeah, we need to replace this. Within five minutes, I had a brand new iPod, working perfectly. I can't explain why, but I was a little sad that Oscar had to be completely replaced. I guess because he goes everywhere with me and brings so much enjoyment to my life. Anyway, Oscar II and I are getting along great and this is why we love using products from companies like Apple. They know how to make great products and they know how to take care of their customers. I can't imagine using anyone else for music devices and computers. And maybe phones, if I can convince Sarah that I need a new iPhone. Don't hold your breath.

We Love Brunch

We've had brunch dates the past two Saturdays and it's been a great way to kick off the weekends. We can still sleep in a little, we knock two meals out with one check, and we get out of the house and socialize much earlier than usual.

Two weeks ago, we had brunch downtown at First Watch with a friend and colleague of mine, Darin. I met Darin at OU, and since then we've become great pals and have done some freelance writing for one another. He lives in Strongsville, OH, now, but was in Cincy for a conference.

Last Saturday, we dined at Price Hill Chili with Katie and Casey. It was Casey's first restaurant outing and we did it up in true West Side style.

If you'd like to be our next brunch date, just give us a call!

By S. Whitman

Here are links to two more articles I've written recently.

The first is for HOW, and it's more of a compilation of interviews I did. The full text of the 5 interviews is posted online, but edited versions ran in the magazine. Collective Consciousness

The second is a review of a new, local bar for Cin Weekly, the publication for which I recently wrote the restaurant review. Raising the Bar

Cruisin...

Yesterday morning I decided to hop online and start looking into some vacation options for us. We've been talking about going somewhere for a week this year since we haven't really been on vacation since our honeymoon. After checking out a few things I decided to check out some cruise ship options, just for fun. I've ALWAYS wanted to go on a cruise, but we felt like it would probably be out of reach for us this year. And we were planning to vacation in the fall, which is right in the heart of hurricane season for all the cruise destinations we were interested in.
Well, I happened to find a cruise on Royal Caribbean that takes place in May. At first we were like, "no, that's too soon" but a quick look at our calendars revealed that both of us would be available that week. So after some deliberation and number crunching, we booked a cruise to Grand Cayman and Jamaica!! Click here for all the details!
See, we can be spontaneous...

New Baby and Old Friends

Thursday evening, Susan Murphy (one of my oldest and dearest friends) visited with her daughter, "Little Katie," and mom, Sondra. (I'm sure you're all familiar with their family from reading Susan's awesome blog.) It was a whirlwind visit that included a trip to the hospital to see Baby Casey, dinner at LaRosa's and a little time at our house where Katie alternately ran from Gilmore and chased Toshie. It was great to see them. It had been TWO YEARS since our last visit together, and of course Katie had changed so much. Hopefully less time will pass before our next visit. In the meantime, I love having blogs to stay in touch. It was a bit chaotic for picture-taking, and I think Susan got a little more variety with her camera, but here's a shot of Susan and Casey.

More photos of Casey

We've added a few photos of Casey to the Flickr photo set. You can see his full head of hair in these. Everyone is doing fine, and they're scheduled to go home tomorrow. Thanks for all your congrats!

It's a Boy!

Our new little nephew, Casey Lee Hulme, was born at 7:03 p.m. today! He's 8 pounds, 6 ounces and 21 inches long. He's perfect and oh so sweet and cute, with a full head of hair! Katie had a rough time with delivery because his shoulder didn't want to come out, so they had to use forceps. But all in all, everyone is doing well. Matt is a very proud dad, as you can see in the photo. He did a great job. Matt's parents (Art & Pam), Mom, Kevin, and I were all there waiting when he was born. We can't wait to go see him again tomorrow after everyone gets a good night's sleep. Be sure to visit Katie's blog with more info and photos from Matt. And you can see all of our photos here. Thanks for all your well wishes and prayers.

Baby Bulletin

I just wanted to let everyone know that my sister is having her baby today. She went to the hospital yesterday evening so that they could do some things overnight to prepare her to be induced this morning. And they started the induction around 7:00 this morning (i.e., they gave her pitocin, which I'm not sure how to spell). Hopefully, I'll have pictures and stats to post later today.

She told me to ask everyone to send good vibes and prayers for 1) an easy and speedy delivery, and 2) that she gets one of the new, single-occupant hospital rooms after the baby's born. Thanks!

Weekend Update

I thought I'd recap what's been going on in the world of Whitman the past few weeks.

The weekend before last, Jason and Liz came to visit, and we had a little get together at our house Saturday night with the two of them, Josh & Tyana, and Matt & Amanda. We each made our own calzone for dinner, then we played Apples to Apples and had lots of drinks. Sunday, Liz and Jason were able to hang around, so we went to First Watch for brunch and made our traditional voyage to the Gap Outlet. It was a treat to eat outside for the first time this year, and we all found some good stuff at the outlet.

Last weekend, Kevin had plans Friday night, so Katie came over and I made dinner. We ate on the deck, then sat in the living room and talked for hours. It was so nice to hang out with no agenda, which we hadn't done for a long time and probably won't be doing for quite a while again. Saturday night, Kevin and I went to dinner with Matt and Amanda at Song Long, a great Vietnemese restaurant in Roselawn. I had been there before with Megan. Everyone was a little intimidated by the menu, but after some guidance from our waitress, we all chose yummy dishes. Then we headed over to the bar I'm reviewing for Cin Weekly for a couple of hours. I'll post a link to the review when it's published. Sunday, Kevin mowed the lawn for the first time this year.

Tonight, Kevin is at an OAR concert. I'm home loving on my cats and dog and fighting a cold. Spring allergens plus this crazy weather are wreaking havoc on everyone I know. Kevin is headed up to Edgerton tomorrow through the weekend to help his parents get ready to move. I would have tagged along, but I'm busy at work right now, and I wanted to be in town in case Katie has her baby.

Speaking of which, Katie is scheduled to be induced on Tuesday, which I'm sooooo excited about. I can't believe my little sister is going to be a mom! I'll post pictures of our new little love as soon as I can next week. Susan and little Katie are coming up for a visit next week, too, so it's going to be a busy week full of rare treats!