More to come...soon!

Hello! I can't believe it's been so long since our last blog. I hate using the excuse of "oh, we've been busy"...but sure. I'll go with that.

There are lots of topics to discuss in future blogs. Surrogacy, football,...and of course, work stories. I really wanted to write a blog about me accidentally flushing my work badge down the toilet at work the other day...but "I've been busy".

I can't wait to write more soon. As always, thanks for reading!!!!

Tomorrow will make 3 weeks. 3 weeks of itching...3 weeks of scratching...3 weeks of oozing and bleeding...3 weeks of hearing "oh my god that looks disgusting"....3 weeks of pain...3 weeks of poison ivy.

It started at our company picnic where in I managed to walk through what everyone, after I had been in it, immediately identified as poison ivy. The first week wasn't bad, a little itching and redness. Of course, since it wasn't too bad yet, I first wasn't even sure I had poison ivy and certainly wasn't aware that I was periodically spreading it to every corner of my body.

The first weekend was when it started getting bad. We were in Fort Dodge for our friends' wedding, which I was officiating. It was a great time and I think I did an alright job not ruining their wedding. I had one unfortunately loud POP at the beginning when I asked People to "Please rise" and the Puff of air Profusely Pounded the mic Past its Positive Pressure Point. After this, however, I actually remembered to tell everyone to be seated...a minor detail I forgot at my last wedding. The only tough part, other than trying not to squirm and itch my leg, was when the unity candle ceremony began. The way it was set up had me holding the candle while it was lit - which sounded like a good idea until I saw those drops of hot wax beginning to fall. I managed to brace myself and not even react as the droplets landed and solidified across my fingers.

After this weekend, it all got worse. It spread and deepened...and got infected. I don't know where the infection came from, but I'm tempted to blame the America's Best Value Inn in Fort Dodge (which is a "best value" for a reason) - but that's just because I'm prejudiced about exterminators and pest controllers roaming the halls of my hotel looking for entry points. Not that our house couldn't use an exterminator also.

I wound up having to make two separate trips to the doctor - luckily only the second was bad enough to involve two shots, one in each "hip." So two shots, steroids, steroid cream, three different antibiotics, and endless gauze wraps - if that doesn't do the trick, I don't know what will.

The hideous boils and rashes have led to a few interesting experiences however....people keep their distance, for one. This weekend when I was home visiting, Aaron was worried what swimming might do to my leg....while my dad was worried what my leg might do to his pool. I've never seen him actively suggest someone not go swimming. Also bad, was when I wore shorts through the airport the other day, but kept my leg bandaged with gauze. However, one bandage kept coming un-taped and falling down. I've never seen such looks of horror on people faces as when they saw my exposed sore...the dressing dragging across the ground. I'm sure I would have been nervous too. However, the one person who didn't see it...or didn't care...was the woman sitting next to me on my flight to Florida. She asked for several drinks before the flight, but couldn't get them until we were airborne. Instead of being calmed by her vodka/orange juice, she was calmed by repeatedly grabbing my shoulder...asking what that noise was...and begging me to tell her everything was okay. I tried to do this, telling her the noise was just us leveling off and making up a bit about altitude and flight trajectories when she was worried we leveled off too soon - unfortunately, she was a lawyer and immediately saw through it and called me out accusing me of making it all up and "pulling it out of my ass." I considered just putting on my headphones and letting her panic at that point, but decided to talk her through it. She made it through the flight, and was appreciative...and in a strange coincidence, I actually ran into her and her son at a Jacksonville Baskin Robbins the next night. (I hear Oreo shakes were good for soothing poison ivy...is that not true?)

While this whole poison ivy thing still sucks, I think it is actually starting to get better the last two days - it hurts less, but there is still an awful lot of itching....and....wait... what are those red dots on my chest?

Float Fun for No One!

I am back in sixth grade. I am at the skating ring and the super popular girls ask me to skate with them. I agree,...and they proceed to give me a wedgie and skate off. This memory came to mind as I sat in a meeting room at my current place of business (I am not allowed to discuss where I work. lame) with a handful of grown woman arguing over float ideas. None of these woman with their place-of-business-badges glistening under the lamp lights ever paid me any mind. Every idea I gave went unnoticed. You could almost hear their ridiculous silent judging ("she wants to what with what??"). I had to keep reminding myself that this float committee--which I was nominated to be on while I was out sick from work one day--was not a sixth grade party at a skating rink. And these woman, who took this float committee thing way too seriously, were not the tween bullies from my past.

The theme of this year's contest is 'Small town, big heart'. My group decided on using Parkersburg as the prime example of this. I was gone during this discussion, so when I came back and was told that we'd be recreating the tornado ravaged town, I was...ambivalent, but I had a lot of ideas.

All of my ideas during these meetings (I've had three of them so far) have been ignored and frowned upon. Seriously,...it's a freakin' chair float contest and the winning department gets a pizza party. You'd think this contest was for a shot at eternal life or a large cash prize. Nope. Casey's pizza.

The thing that gets me the most is that some of my ideas that have been shot down out of thin air during the meetings have been created. And someone else has taken the credit! I used to read stories about office behavior like that in my Cosmo magazines, but thought I'd never experience that...at least while being a part of a committee that cuts out construction paper people and pop bottle tornadoes.

Float judging is this Friday. Just to be a good sport, I've still volunteered my time to make our team's float something worth looking at (the rubber band roads actually look cute. Too bad the cardboard people are all white teenagers. Not much diversity--a crucial rule of float building)

As long as no one gets wedgies by the end of this committee experience, it won't be too bad. Right?

Putting the "WHY?!?!" in Wyoming

So...our vacation is over and we're back in West Des Moines. After a week of camping, hiking, deserts and forests, what did we learn? One thing....do not ever end your vacation, when you just want to get home, with a drive through the never ending abyss that is Wyoming. Before we get to the joy of the trip, let's begin with the end. We left Yellowstone at 5:00 in the late afternoon yesterday knowing we had, according to Google Maps, a 15 hour drive ahead of us. As we set off, the signs said 100 miles to Cody, Wyoming followed by 90 miles to Sheridan (after which time we figured we'd be free and clear of Wyoming, on the Interstate, and maybe grab a hotel for the night). To make a long story short: 6 hours, 1 1/2 tanks of gas, 15 miles of unpaved mountain roads, 9 deer and 1 moose crossing later....we were still 30 miles shy of getting out of Wyoming. I still don't know how you can have to drive down out of a mountain 5 different times...without ever driving back up one - but that's the mystery of Wyoming. In the end, with all of that lost time, we had to just power through, drive the night, and get back home at 1:00 this afternoon...weak!

However, overall this was a great trip. Building on the last blog, here are some more highlights:

Food: We tried a lot of different foods on the grill. The ribs were great...the grilled onion, pineapple and cantaloupe were wonderful...the bacon and pancakes worked - except for the day we had no syrup...and the best may have been Noah's hand made snickers stuffed bananas. What didn't work was a little recipe I found on-line for cinnamon rolls. Take an orange, cut it in half, dig out the orange, put in the cinnamon roll dough, put the orange back together and cook in the coals. What the recipe didn't say was - wait 30 minutes, remove from the coals, and pour out the melted raw cinnamon dough. I don't like oranges or salmonella enough for this recipe.

Heidi's near death experiences: Roughing it in the wilderness leaves you open to the elements and it is best to be cautious. Heidi lived by this mantra and narrowly diverted disaster several times. We went lounging in the boiling river, where hot springs poor into the Gardiner river. This was beautiful and relaxing...until the moment Heidi, blind without her glasses, started drifting away, caught in the current, nearly swept away eventually to the pacific ocean.

Heidi managed to avoid most of the other dangers by refusing to get out of the car. While I ran with my camera along with dozens of other spectators to get pictures of bears, elk and big horned sheep...Heidi quickly locked the door to avoid the chipmunks. To be fair - she did eventually come out to see a young Grizzly and held control of the car when a moose darted out within 10 yards of her.

Noah and Desi: Unfortunately, we only got to spend one day with them, but they came along at just the right time when our supplies had run out. Without them we wouldn't have had forks, plates, pillows, bug spray, or bear spray (which both relieved and terrified Heidi). It was so much fun to get to know Desi more and we had a great time with them both.

Great Salt Lake: For our outdoor, camping and hiking adventure, we decided to spend Wednesday at one of America's great features - watching Harry Potter at an air conditioned theatre with a pizza hut inside it. Afterwards, however, we went to the Great Salt Lake. It has several rivers running into it and then bakes in the Utah sun with no natural outlet and leading to an incredibly high salt content. All of this results in two things - a beautiful natural scene and a god awful putrid smell. We drove out, holding our breath, and then hiked out to swim in the lake. The island we were on was called Antelope Island and so we were excited to see what we assumed would be herds of hundreds of antelope...instead, we saw thousands and thousands........of spiders. I don't know where the antelope were, but I can tell you were the spiders were. Their webs covered every bush and rock and they glistened in the sun as if from the most horrifying nightmare ever.

Arches National Park: It appears that we are not quite conditioned enough for hiking in the 100 degree desert sun. When we saw children and the elderly walking back from Delicate Arch we figured we'd give it a go. We scaled the hill - about 250 feet - and then, after catching our breath, dripping with sweat, having finished all of our water we looked out for the arch. All we saw, however, was a mountain, which apparently had to be scaled in order to get to the arch. We decided to power through and started off toward the mountain....for about 30 seconds....then we looked back....looked down at our empty water bottles....looked up at the scorching sun....and turned around. After all, there's a perfectly good look out spot a mile drive away - there's air conditioning there.

All in all...this was a wonderful trip. We got to go explore the West, like adventures of old, and after 60 hours in the car driving and being together 24-7 all week in a tent...we ....uh...we.....still.......stop it.... don't tell me what to type.....why don't you take a shower already......go sit on the other couch....I'm out of here....finish this yourself................love each other.

Don't forget to check out dylandbaker.shutterfly.com to see a selection of photos from the trip (tomorrow - we're going to bed now).

Well, it's the beginning of day 4 of our 2009 Summer Road Trip Extravaganza and we're finally able to write a blog. We were hoping to write one sooner, but it turns out none of our National or State Parks are set up with wireless access yet - of course, there has been wireless at each of the six Starbucks we've stopped at....but we always have to keep moving...we've got a lot of miles to cover. Anyway, here are some highlights of the last few days:

Heidi: I want to take you on a brief "Tour of Restrooms" from our great nation.

Small town, Nebraska - this gas station restroom is not for the faint-of-heart. In this facility, you'll find old food on the sinks, stalls with damaged doors that you have to keep shut with one foot, and possibly two to three cockroaches (one of which may still be alive and moving around just below your feet).

Rifle Falls, CO- imagine you're in the woods and you have to chose between going to the bathroom behind a bush or using a random portapotty. which do you choose? If you chose the port-a-potty, you'd be mistaken. In this bathroom, you'll smell a thick and stale aroma that reminds you of very old leftovers. There will be flies doing their thing around the very top of the toilet. And don't expect to wash your hands after you're done. No sinks in this bano. Next time, go with peeing behind the bushes.

Rifle Gap State Park, CO- if you have a sense of adventure, check out this outdoor restroom. Many campers frequent this facility just for the fun of what lies behind the doors. While you're doing your thing, you'll be wanting to have a nice, secure place to do it in. Not going to happen here. The door has a mind of its own and will not, under any circumstance, shut. not. going. to. happen. You'll never know who or what will try to sneak in while you're going to the bathroom. See? Outdoor living can be fun!

Dylan: The one thing we've done a lot of on this trip is drive. I don't mind driving, and I still don't after we've covered about 1200 miles (and are only half done). However, driving this new stretch of road has led to a few tense moments. First, there was the stretch in Nebraska where our rental car started making a strange whining noise and smelling of burnt rubber. At first I contributed this to the semi next to us, but once we passed it and the smell and sound remained, I began to get concerned. We took the next exit and checked things over...no flat tire, no fluids leaking, not dragging part of a deer carcass, nothing....so we pulled back on the interstate and tried to remain calm over the damage we may be causing to our rental car when we saw a sign - "This mile of highway made with 47,000 recycled tires".... now everything was clear. I'm all for conservation, but.......

Heidi was kind enough to help drive some of this trip. She took on quite a bit of Nebraska - where every mile feels like an eternity - even when listening to the amazing playlist I compiled for the drive. However, when it comes to mountain driving...that's another story all together. I knew I would drive most of this, but I didn't know Heidi would hyperventilate just riding along in the passenger's seat. I don't know if it was the shear drop offs with no guard rail, ramps specifically designed for runaway semi trucks, warnings of falling rocks, or signs telling what to do if your brakes fail, but it was all a little too much for her. I also learned a lesson about turning over the wheel too soon. We were through the mountains and back onto flat ground when Heidi offered to drive. I agreed, thinking I could use some rest. I was just drifting off to sleep when I was awoken by the sound of a loud and pressured "Dylan!" I woke up expecting to see us careening off a cliff or swerving to miss falling boulders, but instead the problem was that there was a mountain, off in the distance, that we might...at some point...be driving in to.

Well, there's a lot more to say, and we'll be sure to write more (especially since we have a hotel for another night). So for now we're going to go lay down on our individual plush pillow top mattresses (they were out of King rooms, and while neither one of us wanted to admit it, after two nights in a tent - after we forgot to bring pillows - having to have a room with two queen beds, one for each of us, actually sounded pretty good).

Have a great day...we will!

It's in the Bag

I haven't been camping in close to 17 years. The last time I went camping, I woke up my dad in the middle of the night thinking I saw an alien in the sky. Things are foggy after that...(and no Dad, the alien did not abduct me and erase my memory). Well, hold on to your seats folks because Dylan and I are getting ready to set out for a week-long adventure filled with CAMPING!

**I promise to write a longer blog about it later, but until then...enjoy the pictures of my favorite part of camping:

Dylan and I just got our new sleeping bag in the mail! I love it soooo much, that I am going to post another picture of me in it. Lucky you!

Yeah for new queen sized extra warm, super cool, amazingly awesome...SLEEPING BAGS!

Mary Kay (Dylan and I are seriously trying to think of a witty title)

Question. What would you do if you were invited to have lunch with a coworker (who just happens to be your Mary Kay rep)? And what would you do if said coworker tells you that she wants to grab some food and talk about the benefits of becoming a Mary Kay rep? If you answered "run like hell", good for you. I should have done just that.

I was excited to have lunch today with an actual human being. I usually spend my lunches eating alone, looking out the window at birds or overly ambitious coworkers jogging during their lunch break. Here's what I had envisioned for lunch today: me. coworker. talk of Mary Kay (very minimal), a fresh salad and key lime pie. Sadly, none of that really happened. Not even the food part. I met my coworker downstairs at the place I work (I'm not authorized to blog about my place of business...neat). She seemed a little preoccupied by something, so I said, "what's going on?" Her reply? "I'm waiting for my district manager to come down and talk to you about being a Mary Kay representative. She should be here any minute."

WHAAAAAAT?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?! I had not planned on talking to some stranger about starting my own business. I had planned on eating a glorious piece of key lime pie. But, being the person I am I said "Oh, okay. Ummm...just so you know, I don't have time to sell Mary Kay." "No problem, it's no pressure...no obligation. She's pretty nice."

Well, "she" walked in the doors wearing head-to-toe pink and carrying a hot pink Mary Kay bag full of products. The three of us walked silently to the backest back, farthest far table in the dining hall. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary with that, right? Either way, "she" (I'll call her Pinks) started asking about me, Dylan and what products I currently use. "I can tell by looking at your eyelashes that you've been using our Miracle line of mascara!" said Pinks. I just nodded. I wasn't going to tell her that I use regular stuff...I'm just lucky to have freakishly long eyelashes.

Ten minutes quickly passed with her saying things like, "Holly, you'll fit right in with our family." and "Nowadays, women can do anything they want...they just need some encouragement" and "Don't you want to make other women feel good about themselves?" Just when I thought I'd answer with a sarcastic ''no'', my coworker,...the one who arranged this whole sit-and-chat...had to leave. I was left alone with Pinks.

With no food in my belly and my lunch break waaay over with, I finally told Pinks that I had to go. She gave me a personality test and invited me to an Eye Cream seminar that was to be held tonight (I thought writing a blog sounded more fun!). "I'll call you tomorrow to hear the good news!" said Pinks. I even told her that I might be moving to Germany in a few months. "We sell Mary Kay there too!"

Tomorrow I will not answer my cell phone if I see Pinks is calling. I love Mary Kay too much to never buy any again...but now I must find a new sales rep...and piece of key lime pie!