Dana Burland

Ben’s CrossFit gym has a slogan I toss around liberally in our house. Whether he’s on his way out to a workout or on his way back in (sweaty with new calluses on his hands) I ask—did you maximize your human potential ? It’s one of our many, many inside jokes. Our constant jokes keep us in hysterics and school-kid like grins throughout the day. It’s the same mood visible in almost every one of our wedding photos. This is a sample of married life six months in. There’s tons of laughter punctuated by moments of serious teamwork—reviewing papers from our financial planner, debating the pros and cons and ultimately winning pros of getting new windows, budgeting and preparing and dreaming. And honestly? It’s a lot like pre-married life—but with maximized human potential . We could—and have plans to—travel. We have—and continue to—make our house into a cozy, prideful home. We’re always—happily—hosting friends and family and making visits elsewhere to see them. We hope to—at a very...

Last week I saw an ad for a Cakabakery cake decorating class. Let me count the ways in which I said absolutely, undoubtedly—YES. I fell in love with Cakabakery somewhere between meeting the cute owner—Jason Kakabaker (true last name) and tasting their almond cupcakes. They baked for our wedding and I absolutely did not get to eat as many cake pops as a bride should. Such a shame. I (easily) convinced a new work buddy to come with me. She loves to cook and drink wine, I love to cook and drink wine—it worked. The class was at Cakabakery’s Holland location, so we hoofed it out there after work on Wednesday. The class was lovely . We drank BYOB wine and ate bakery provided crackers and cheese and so, so much buttercream frosting. We learned how to layer a three tier cake and then decorated it in ombre ruffles. Well, the goal was ombre ruffles. Mine sort of looks like a green avalanche, but whatever.

We don’t go to a ton of weddings, but when we do they’re really unique ones. Like my cousin’s in a Detroit museum, or a girlfriend’s who turned her girlfriend into her wife, or a farm wedding at the base of a Colorado mountain range , or my college buddy’s Egyptian wedding to his stunning Egyptian bride. Kyle and Mariana’s wedding this weekend was so many things—beautiful, cultural, spectacular, confusing, musical and joyful all at once. So many of those adjectives apply to Kyle himself, so it makes perfect sense. This quick video sums it up so well—especially because Kyle’s wedding dance move is the same as Kyle’s college dance move if only Beyonce was playing and he was air thrusting a beer instead.

The theme of my Tuesday morning was canned beans and chicken bones. When I woke up I wandered into the kitchen in search of two cans of beans. Then I sat on my yoga mat, tied the cans to my hip with a stretch band, and did some clam shell leg lifts . After two reps I wandered back to the kitchen and popped open the lid of my night-cooking Crockpot to fish out the chicken bones from within. All at 7am. I haven’t decided what’s more absurd—attaching canned beans to myself or pre-sunrise bone sifting. The can bean weight exercising is related to my hip, which is related to my calf, which is related to an injury from a car accident over a year ago. The calf injury is resurfacing since I’ve tried to run again. I’m back in pain and back to weekly meetings with a physical therapist. It’s going to take a long time to strengthen the muscle and break up the scar tissue, he says. I hear this just as the sun starts to set before I get home from work on weekdays and I wonder how I’ll keep t...