All About Numbers

A day of big events

2010-03-09T15:58:00.003-05:00

Sophia is now 4 1/2 months old and today she discovered she can put her feet in her mouth and she rolled over. I couldn't believe it even as I was watching her I was thinking "Oh my goodness she is going to roll over" and she did. I got teary eyed when both events happened today. She has been rolling to her side for about a month now but today was the first day that she actually rolled all the way over. She went from her belly to her back and surprised me, my mom and herself. I wished she would have waited until daddy was home but hopefully she will do it again later today. We are one step closer to crawling and sitting up now and everything is going by so fast. I am lucky that I get to work from home on Tuesdays and Thursdays so that I am not missing everything but that will change in a couple of months. I am loving every moment i have right now with her. When she first came home I thought it was going to be forever until she was a lot of fun but now the time is here and I am loving everything she does. Even when she is occasionally cranky, I usually find it entertaining, she is very strong willed and knows what she wants.

I am looking forward to all the firsts!

A prefect Fall weekend

2009-10-25T21:28:00.006-05:00

Our Maple Tree

This was a perfect Fall weekend. The weather was seasonal, the colors of the trees are beautiful and the nursery is now complete.

The furniture for the nursery came in, which we picked up on Saturday and Jacob put it together when we got home. The nursery is now complete and looks absolutely adorable. Now we just need little Sophia to decide she is ready to join us out here.

We have 4 more days until the due date and the anticipation really is something else. It is like a count down to the moment our lives are going to change forever. It can be overwhelming but really I am looking forward to meeting the little person that has been kicking me and keeping me up at night. I think I am going to miss her moving around, it really is entertaining. I know she will do and say other things for the first time that we will be entertained with but feeling her moving all about daily has become something I look forward to from the moment I get up.

I have had an amazing pregnancy and couldn't have enjoyed it as much as I have without Jacob. He truly is the perfect person to share these special moments with. He has taken care of me, entertained me and supported me throughout this whole journey. I tell Sophia all the time what a lucky girl she is to have Jacob as her daddy. She will be loved, adored and entertained by him but most importantly he will love her no matter what. I can't wait to see them together.

Until tomorrow... hopefully Sophia won't make us wait much longer.

2009-10-19T07:21:00.003-05:00

Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday dear Diane, Happy Birthday to you!!

We hope you have a wonderful day and we can't wait to see you!!

Love,

K, J and SAL

15 more days

2009-10-14T19:30:00.003-05:00

Yep that's right.....we have 15 more days until our little one is due to arrive. We had a Dr's appointment today which went as good as all the other appointments. We are on the weekly schedule of appointments and last week was the internal exam. Today we asked if she could tell us how big the baby will be. The Dr said it's hard to estimate the weight of the baby however she thinks the baby will be around 7.5 or 8 lbs. We are not sure if that meant the baby weighs that now or that is how much it will weigh when she is born. I am hoping that is the estimated weight for the delivery date because if its now, the baby will be huge in 2 weeks. Honestly as long as the baby is healthy than we are happy but phew... 10 lbs baby sounds a little scary to me.

We have an AC DC concert to go to on Sunday..... Let's just hope she waits until after Sunday to arrive.

3 more weeks....

2009-10-11T18:51:00.004-05:00

We are now at 37 weeks and have just about 2.5 weeks until our due date. We are full with anticipation, excitement and anxiety. Well I am, J is much more relaxed than I am which is always good. We can't wait to see what little Sophia will look like and if she does come out a Sophia !! Her room is almost completed, we are waiting for the furniture to get delivered but we do have a bassinet and a pack n play in case she makes her entrance into this world a little early. All clothes have been washed, sorted and put away. She has a lot of blankets and towels that are homeless right now but when we get the dresser they will have somewhere to reside.

Lately our little bundle of joy has been moving a lot but mostly at night when I sit down to relax. She really only kicks or moves for me and J which I find really amusing. My sister is disappointed that she hasn't felt her yet but honestly she doesn't move on command. She waits all day until I am exhausted and sitting down, than its time to party in there. She likes the morning too when her daddy cuddles with her. She loves kicking his hand, she is just saying hello and that she can't wait to meet him.

This is me coming home from work, 37 weeks along..

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BOB!!

2009-09-23T10:25:00.001-05:00

Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday dear Bob, Happy Birthday to you!!

Love
Kristy J and your gal SAL

We hope you have a fantastic day!

The ink is Dry

2009-09-03T10:50:00.002-05:00

J became a home owner as of 10 am this morning!! This is such an exciting moment, I even snapped a pic of the process. I can't wait to get in the house and just walk around with just the two of us. Maybe tomorrow we will just grill up some burgers there and take it all in... hmmmm we will see

Congrats Sweetie!!

The Price of Children

2009-08-05T21:01:00.003-05:00

I received this email foward the other day and thought it was good enough to share :)

The Price of Children
This is just too good not to pass on to all. Here is something absolutely positive for a change. have repeatedly seen the breakdown of the cost of raising a child, but this is the first time have seen the rewards listed this way. It's nice....!
The government recently calculated the cost of raising a child from birth to 18 and came up with $160,140.00 for a middle income family. Talk about price shock! That doesn't include the cost of post-secondary education.
But $160,140.00 isn't so bad if you break it down. It translates into:
* $8,896.66 a year,
* $741.38 a month,
* $171.08 a week.
* A mere $24.24 a day!
* Just over a dollar an hour.
Still, you might think the best financial advice is: don't have children if you want to be 'rich'. Actually, it is just the opposite.

What do you get for your $160,140.00?
* Naming rights. First, middle, and last!
* Glimpses of God every day.
* Giggles under the covers every night..
* More love than your heart can hold.
* Butterfly kisses and Velcro hugs.
* Endless wonder over rocks, ants, clouds, and warm cookies.
* A hand to hold usually covered with jelly or chocolate.
* A partner for blowing bubbles and flying kites.
* Someone to laugh yourself silly with, no matter what the boss said or how your stocks performed that day.
For $160,140.00, you never have to grow up.

You get to:
* finger-paint,
* carve pumpkins,
* play hide-and-seek,
* catch lightning bugs,
* never stop believing in Santa Claus.

You have an excuse to:
* keep reading the Adventures of Piglet and Pooh,
* watch Saturday morning cartoons,
* go to Disney movies, and
* wish on stars.
You get to frame rainbows, hearts, and flowers under refrigerator magnets and collect spray painted noodle wreaths for Christmas, hand prints set in clay for Mother's Day, and cards with backward letters for Father's Day.
For a mere $24.24 a day, there is no greater bang for your buck.

You get to be a hero just for:
* retrieving a Frisbee off the garage roof,
* taking the training wheels off a bike,
* removing a splinter,
* filling a wading pool,
* coaxing a wad of gum out of bangs, and
* coaching a baseball team that never wins but always gets treated to ice cream regardless.

You get a front row seat in history to witness the:
* First step,
* First word,
* First bra,
* First date,
* First time behind the wheel.
You get to be immortal. You get another branch added to your family tree, and if you're lucky, a long list of limbs in your obituary called grandchildren and great-grandchildren . You get an education in psychology, nursing, criminal justice, communications, and human sexuality that no college can match.
In the eyes of a child, you rank right up there under God. You have all the power to heal a boo-boo, scare away the monsters under the bed, patch a broken heart, police a slumber party, ground them forever, and love them without limits, so one day they will, like you, love without counting the cost.
That is quite a deal for the price! Love & enjoy your children & grandchildren & great-grandchildren !
It's the best investment you'll ever make!

Happy Birthday Jacob

2009-08-02T12:03:00.005-05:00

HAPPY 32nd BIRTHDAY to MY ROCK STAR!!!

Love you sweetie!!

Birthdays today, Anniversary Tomorrow

2009-07-21T06:35:00.002-05:00

Today is J's brother and grandmother's birthday....

Happy Birthday Bobby and Grandma!!

We hope that you have a wonderful day!!

Tomorrow is J's parents anniversary.... Happy Anniversary Bob and Diane :)

Maybe you can celebrate when Bob gets home from his excursion :)

See you soon... Love ya

24 weeks ...

2009-07-10T21:12:00.006-05:00

Oh my goodness Thursday marked the start of 24 weeks, we have 4 more months until we meet little Sophia. Her movements are getting stronger and more frequent now which always makes me laugh. The other day while lying in bed, she kicked so hard I could see the movement under my shirt. I am still amazed that a little life is developing in there. I can already tell a difference in the way I am thinking about every day life things. I am more cautious when driving, always worried about what I am eating and drinking and determined to exercises so that mom and baby are strong. I worry that I am not giving her enough variety of food or that the one cup of coffee I drink is negatively effecting her heart rate. I worry that my worrying will make her an anxious baby. Let's not even start on the stuff I worry about after she is born. Sometimes I laugh to myself when I realize that all these things I am worrying about now will seem so irrelevant when she comes into this world.

Over the last few weeks we have been extremely busy with working, searching for a house and trying to get what we need for the baby in check. We have found a house, the owners have excepted our bid and now we wait for the lawyers to get all the paperwork filled out and to the correct people. Monday we are scheduled to get the house inspected and if all goes well it will be our first house for our expanding family. Ha Ha Ha I love that idea!! Jacob and I will have our own little family, its truly a feeling that is hard for me to describe. I can say that every time I think about us being a family it makes me smile and feel extremely happy. We have made some progress in our registry but now have to go back and get rid of some of the duplicates that we have one the list. Hopefully we will complete the list tomorrow.

16 weeks and counting.,... here is a picture of the belly that has developed. I can't imagine it getting much bigger however I am told it will grow quite large....

It was a Kick!!

2009-06-19T05:55:00.003-05:00

Yesterday marked 21 weeks and the 1st time that Jacob was able to feel his little girl kick. That's right last night while laying in bed little Sophia was kicking away and Jacob was able to feel it. Each day I feel more movement than the next but it's usually just during the day while I am at work so last night was special for many reasons. Every time she moves or kicks I giggle. It just cracks me up how active she is and to think that I probably do not feel every movement.

According to Babycenter.com, our baby is about the length of a carrot and weighs about 3/4 of a pound. We went to the Dr's 2 days ago for another weigh in and it seems mom and baby are on target for growth rates. Sophia's heart rate is 160 and I have only gained 10 lbs. I am a little surprised it's 10 lbs already but from what I read that is pretty average. I am still going to the gym, 6 days a week with Jacob. Sometimes I run/walk others I use the elliptical walker. Right now I enjoy light weight training over any cardio however cardio is needed so its 3 days a week for 20 minutes.

Every day has been wonderful and we truly can not wait until we get to see our little girl.

To do lists

2009-06-17T19:27:00.003-05:00

My To-Do-List (that runs through my head all day every day)

1) Get workout clothes that fit my growing belly
2) Figure out what we need to register for
3) Register for Baby Shower
4) Help mom with baby shower details
5) Visit Kelli and her new baby
6) Figure out who's health care will cover the baby
7) Find a Pediatrician
8) Figure out Day Care
9) Decide what colors will be in the nursery
10) Try to do something on my list

Was that a Kick?

2009-06-14T19:10:00.005-05:00

This weekend we road up to J's parents for the 1st visit to camp for the summer. As always it was extremely relaxing and I had such a great time enjoying the company.

We arrived Friday around 3 to the house to meet his parents there. That's where we got to meet Willy the handy man or I should say contractor who is remodeling the bathroom. His work is unbelievable especially for just one guy. After all said and done the bathroom will be transformed into something to their own spa. We got in a quick workout in the gym and than headed to camp to unload our stuff and get ready for dinner. We ate at the Grandview, our first time there, which was a very good dinner. I had filet mignon and Jacob had the seafood buffet. Our discussions at dinner were mostly about us looking for a house and what to expect when I go into labor.

Saturday was a nice day. D had a wedding shower to attend that afternoon while Bob went for a walk. J and I headed back to the house to do some laundry we brought, went to lunch at The Busy Corner Cafe than head to Wal Mart for some essentials we needed. By the time we got back, D and Bob were back and had some things prepared for the grill. I was so looking forward to the 1st grilled camp dinner. It truly is my favorite. It's marinated chicken, mixed veggies, glazier hot dogs and sausage on the grill. Oh and let's not forget the salt potatoes that D cooks up to go along with the grilled yumminess. For dessert, it was strawberry shortcake. Like I said it's the meal I look forward to when going to camp.

Spike TV was playing Kill Bill Vol 1 and 2 this weekend in memory of David Carradine. Jacob and I have seen these movies a few times but his dad had not so we sat down and started watching. During vol 2 while I was relaxing on the comfy chair I feel something unusual in my abdominal. It actually took me by surprise and than I realized I just felt Sophia kick. I couldn't believe it! People have been asking me for a few weeks if I feel anything and than they describe what I should be feeling and until that moment I hadn't felt anything. We have seen her move during sonograms but no feeling it. It happened about 3 more times and than it went away. I am assuming it was a kick or movement of some kind but since this is my 1st I can only go on the descriptions people have given me. It feels like a hard flutter or actually it feels like a little human is kicking me. :)

I can't wait to feel her again and to have Jacob feel her. The only emotion I have now is excitement, extreme happiness and calmness. I didn't expect to feel calm but somehow that's how I feel when I think of Sophia in there growing and waiting for the perfect time to introduce herself to the world.

Half Way There!

2009-06-11T21:06:00.004-05:00

Today marks the start of the 20th week of pregnancy which means we are half way there. HOLY COW!!! We are half way there!! Its so exciting. Its like the best build up of excitement ever experienced.

We have some big decisions to think about such as daycare options, finding a pediatrician and many more. Our 1st parenting class is in a few weeks which is a 8 hour class on a Saturday. It is a little early to take the Prepared Childbirth class but I would rather take it now than wait and end up missing it. I am interested in finding out what we will learn but I am not looking forward to watching the birthing video. Yes this may sound silly since I will be giving birth in about 20 weeks however I do not want to watch giving birth at all. The less I know the better I am because I think the anticipation would be worse. We have to find time to register for baby gifts for our baby shower which is extremely overwhelming. There are so many products to choose from how do we know what we need and what brand is the best? I have asked the many new moms I know but everyone has their own opinion. We did start a registry on a website but its just clothes and diaper bags. At least I can pick those things out.

Below is my favorite picture of me and J so I thought I would share. Its the one that will go in our baby girl's baby book we have.

Memorial Day Weekend Trip

2009-06-09T20:14:00.009-05:00

Jacob and I visited my best friends in Texas for Memorial Day weekend. We got to meet Lean and Aaron, the new additions to Carrie and Shannon's families. We stayed with Carrie, Erik and Leah for 4 days and got to witness what its like having a new born around 24 hours a day. Well at least during the day. We didn't have night duty but soon enough we will.

Leah

Leah is absolutely adorable, even when she is fussing. Leah is a lot of work, she demands to be held and walked around pretty much all day but all babies are demanding in some way. I have to say that she makes the best faces I have ever seen an infant make.

Aaron

Aaron is super cute. He has a really big smile and this beautiful big eyes. I think he looks like Shannon but we will see as he grows up. We went to Shannon's parents house for a BBQ on Saturday which was really nice. Anthony, Aaron's older brother has grown a lot and loves the water. He we so happy when he got to go in the pool.

Anthony and Mommy

The visit was a lot of fun but 4 days is not long enough so we are trying to plan a family vacation in the summer of 2011. I think that we will need family vacations each year to make sure our kids know each other and for us to spend time together. It was a great weekend and its always hard for me to leave. Until next time I will watch Carrie and Shannon's kids grow up through pictures.

It's A Girl!!

2009-06-02T20:17:00.006-05:00

Yesterday we went to our 18 week sonogram and one of the 1st things the lady asked us once the goo was put on my belly was if we wanted to know the sex of our baby. This has been an on going discussion but a couple of weeks ago I agreed with Jacob that we should find out. The main reason I wanted to know was so we could work on names and to know how to plan the nursery.

So the nice woman starts to move her wand around my abdominal and what does she find? A little girl all curled up. At first it was just like the last sonogram, the lady taking pics at different angels and Jacob and I staring at the screen in awe. Some things were very different though. This time the baby was much bigger than the last time but still wanted to give us a hard time and wouldn't get in the correct positions for pictures. We got to see blood flow to and from the lungs and kidneys. We saw the spine, legs, feet, arms, hands, 4 chambers of the heart, stomach and finally we got to see that we are having a girl. It took me a few seconds to realize what she said but once I did I was smiling ear to ear. Jacob grabbed and squeezed my hand and I had to fight back tears. It still is very surreal that we are having a baby and now knowing that we will have a little princess to meet, it just becomes almost like a dream.

It didn't matter to me either way if we were having a girl or boy but knowing is a lot of fun. I am still curious if the news would be sweeter if we waited until the day the baby arrived but than again maybe knowing at anytime is the greatest news. It occurred to me yesterday that I don't think I have ever experienced true happiness before yesterday. Being pregnant and waiting to meet the little angel is truly an amazing feeling. It's great to be me and have this life.

From Apple to Avacado

2009-05-17T06:47:00.005-05:00

This past Thursday was the start of the 4th month in our 10 month wait to have our baby. The baby has grown from being an apple to an avocado. The baby is now about 4 1/2 inches long and should weigh about 3 1/2 oz. According to BabyCenter.com in the next few weeks our baby will double his or hers weight and add inches to the length. I also should be able to feel some movement any time now but realistically I probably won't notice it until a few weeks from now.

When I was looking for prenatal classes online, I cam e across this local business, Baby Bump Motherhood Center . They have many services available for the expecting parents and one of them is prenatal exercise classes. Yesterday I took my first two classes which were Bump on the Ball and Prenatal Yoga. Each class was 45 minutes long and one after another. The center is very cute. Its a small building set back away from the busy road it is on and is decorated with pinks, greens and yellows inside. When I walked in I was greeted by the owner (I believe) and Joy the fitness instructor. Both were very friendly and the classes were great. They are only held every Saturday but Joy did let us know that she is trying to get a few classes during the week scheduled. It was very nice and relaxing. There were 5 ladies plus the instructor in the classes which was the perfect amount for the room we were in. I liked being in a small class, it makes it easier to interact and see the instructor. I haven't really taken Yoga before but I really did enjoy it. The center has other services available such as massage therapy, 3D and 4D ultrasounds and maternity portraits. It such a great idea for a business!!

This Wednesday we are off to Texas to visit my friends and to meet their new additions to their families.

We have an Apple

2009-05-07T19:26:00.003-05:00

Its the beginning of week 15 and our baby has grown to the size of an apple. I am feeling good and can't wait to find out if we are going to have a boy or girl. It really doesn't matter but I want to know so that we can call the baby a name or him or her instead of baby. I also want to know so that I can pick out decorations for the nursery.

I recently went shopping for maternity clothes and realized that the selection in the stores are not that great. They are not horrible but nothing that fun for an expecting mom. Jacob found this fun website that sells more trendy or rock and roll clothing for prego woman. It has some fun clothes on the site that I think I am going to order. If I was talented I would design or open up a store that had fun, trendy clothes for expecting moms.

Speaking of moms, we are leaving tomorrow to go visit Jacob's parents tomorrow. I haven't seen them in a very long time. Warning: I do have a belly :) I am excited to see the progress of there remodeling and spending some time with them

Welcome Baby Aaron

2009-05-07T19:22:00.002-05:00

Aaron was born to Linda and Sean on Tuesday April 28th. He is the youngest of 3 boys and looks exactly like the oldest brother. Aaron made his 1st appearance in public on May 2nd and was the perfect guess at our friend Kelli's baby shower. Her bundle of joy should be here mid June.

Look at those cheeks!!

Welcome to the 2nd Trimester

2009-04-30T18:48:00.007-05:00

Today is the start of the 14th week which means it is the start of my 2nd trimester. This week out baby can now squint, frown, grimace, pee, and possibly suck his thumb. We to have a sonogram done on Monday and during the hour we were there we did see our baby sucking his/her thumb. It was really amazing watching the little peanut move around especially when he/she hiccuped. That is when I got a little teary eyed.

At our next sonogram in June, we can decide if we want to know the sex of the baby. I am still on the fence with this topic. A part of me wants top know so that we can decide on a name and get gender specific clothing and decorate the baby's room. However the other part of me wants to wait until the day the baby is born because honestly it doesn't matter what we have as long as the boy or girl is healthily. Everyone that has given me their opinion (asked for or not) has told me I am having a boy. We will see......

The end of the 1st Trimester

2009-04-23T19:20:00.002-05:00

Today marks my 13th week which according to babycenter.com is the last week of my 1st trimester. I actually thought that was last week but I was incorrect. No baby bump yet but I do feel a little different. Along with the email update telling me today was 13 weeks, I also received an email about the Top 10 icky side effects of pregnancy.

Tomorrow is our 2nd dr's appointment and I think we will get to hear the heart beat. If not tomorrow we are going to get another sonogram on Monday. I really can't wait to hear that little heart beat. They say that you can tell the sex of the baby by how fast or slow the heart rate is. I think I will wait until the 20 week mark to try and figure that out. I would hate to think one thing and be told later that they were wrong. Not that is matters to me either way but I am sure that once we find out the sex, we will buy a lot of items that are gender specific.

Our weekly activity from the website is "Share your view of parenting with your partner."

http://www.babycenter.com/6_your-pregnancy-13-weeks_1102.bc?intcmp=timeline

Baby's 1st trip

2009-04-18T17:39:00.002-05:00

The lime and I are off to sunny Florida tomorrow for a user conference for work. We are staying at the Hyatt Regency Bonaventure Resort and Spa for a few days. The weather looks like it will be in the 80's and sunny except for Tuesday. Which is great but I will be in meetings all day however I will have some time tomorrow to relax. I am going to treat myself to a facial at the spa tomorrow and than me and the lime will take a dip in the pool they have.

I am nervous about traveling away from home by myself. I have done it plenty of times but this time I have to worry about the lime. The safety and health of the growing lime comes first. I called my OBGYN the other day and asked what if any concerns are there with flying and being pregnant. She told me that prego women are more susceptible to blood clots but other than that traveling at 12 weeks is fine. Her advice was to drink a lot of water and to make sure I got up and walked to the restroom on the plane at least 2 times during the flight. If my flight was longer I would have to get up and walk more often but it's a short flight. Of course I love sleeping on planes but this time I will have to take a break from some shut eye and get up and walk around. The health of the lime is much more important than what I prefer.

On another note I had to go to Target today to buy some clothes for the next few days. My "warm" weather clothes are not even close to fitting. It's strange right now because I don't have the bump so maternity clothes look funny on me and larger regular clothes may fit in the waist area but they are baggy in my legs etc. For right now I opted for a size up from what I usually wear, that was the most comfortable option.

Off to sunny Florida for me and the Lime :)

12 Weeks - YIPPEE

2009-04-16T17:55:00.009-05:00

Today is the start of the 12 week mark in my pregnancy and our baby has grown to the size of a lime. The dramatic development this week are reflexes. http://www.babycenter.com/6_your-pregnancy-12-weeks_1101.bc?read_more=1&scid=mbtw_preg12:359&pe=2UwMVhz

I still feel pretty normal physically. Like I said running on the treadmill isn't what it used to be but I really feel good. I actually feel better now than I had before I got pregnant. I am sure that this is a result of me eating better, taking vitamins daily, cutting out alcohol all together and no more "weekend" smokes. It's a natural detox for me and I am really happy about it.

This may sound a little odd but I am looking forward to getting the pregnant belly bump. I think than it will seem much more real.

I can't wait until next week, we get to hear the heart beat.

Out of the Blue Kindness

2009-04-15T19:18:00.002-05:00

Yesterday I received a call from the receptionist at the front desk telling me that there was a delivery for me. I was curious as to what it was since yesterday was nothing special for me. No birthday, no anniversary, no promotion etc.

I took the long walk to the main desk and there waiting for me was a basket of flowers. Now I really was wondering what was going on. Could they be from J, my best friends or hmmmm....

I get them to my office and read the card. They were from a co-worker who sent them to congratulate me on my pregnancy. It was such a nice gesture. This co-worker doesn't even work in the same region as me, we work together because of the business line she is on but that's about it. She is one of my favorite people to work with but still the gift was such a great surprise. She made my day. :)

Out of the Blue Kindness is surprising and welcoming.

11 weeks

2009-04-10T06:04:00.003-05:00

From Babycenter.com:

Yesterday was the start of my 11th week. The baby has grown to just over 1 1/2 inches which is the size of a fig. The hands will start to open and close, there are tooth buds beginning to show up and some of the bones are beginning to harden. WOW, there is always a lot going on in a weeks time. No wonder why I can fall asleep at my desk during the day. Right out of the blue I get so sleepy that my head starts to bob. The cure for that is either take a quick 15 min nap or a walk around the building.

For more details on the 11th week :http://www.babycenter.com/6_your-pregnancy-11-weeks_1100.bc

7 Fears Expectant fathers face

2009-04-08T18:58:00.006-05:00

When we found out we had a bun in the oven, Jacob and I signed up on babycenter.com to receive weekly updates on the progression of the pregnancy. Along with weekly updates we receive other emails about pregnancy and how it effects the people involved. Today I received an email about the 7 fears expectant fathers face. Here is the full article: http://www.babycenter.com/0_seven-fears-expectant-fathers-face_8247.bc?page=1

Sometimes people forget that the expectant fathers are effected by pregnancy too. No they don't have morning sickness, excessive gas, heartburn or eating for two cravings but they do have to put up with us women that do. Some argue that putting up with the prego woman is a small sacrifice for not being the one who pushes a watermelon out of a hole the size of a lemon. However there are days that I don't even like myself. The days where anything can make me cry and I mean anything. Or the days where the only thing I am concerned about it sleeping, I don't care if there are things to do I want to lie in bed. I am very lucky to have Jacob as my partner in this journey we call life. He is absolutely fantastic even when the crazy prego chick takes over my body. We talk about fears but really we know that as long as we are a team, everything is going to be fine. It will be better than fine, it is going to be the best time of our life.

So I say, give guys a break once in awhile. They too (at least the good ones) have fears and need some reassurance once in awhile.

Tomorrow is 11 weeks.....

Blowing off Steam

2009-04-07T05:01:00.003-05:00

UGGHHHH!! I really can't stand when people lie to my face or make excuses for something you know they are just responsible for. I tried letting it go but it just really burns me when someone assumes I am dumb enough to not realize they are feeding me a line of BS. I expect the BS at work because that's how the Corporate world goes. However when we approached our neighbor about using our dryer, I was told that the 13 year old didn't know the dryer down stairs wasn't a community dryer. WHAT??? you mean to tell me the kid has lived here for over a year and he doesn't know that the dryer we installed 3 weeks ago isn't theirs? and the parents that were home with him didn't know he was using it? Seriously?? At that point in the conversation I had to walk away. Who does that?? Who uses somone elses dryer than when they get caught they blame it on the kid? Oh I forgot the first part of the conversation that really got me upset. When asked if they could ask their kids to not run laps up and down the apartment after 10pm, we were told that the kids go to bed at 10 so what noise are we hearing? yep your right lady I just lay awake in bed listening to what?? nothing?? really? that is her excuse? is that why I had to go down stairs Sunday night at 1030 and ask the kids to be quiet. Of course the parents were not home so it was a free fall oh and according to the parents it was a special event so that's why the kids were loud. Right and what about all the other nights? We were also informed that they are on Easter break so no school for them and of course they are going to be loud they are boys. And again I say Really??? I grew up in a house with boys and I can tell you we were not running around making noise after 10pm.

I realize we have to co-habitat in the same building but I do expect the neighbors including the kids to be respectful of others. I don't get up at 5am and start running laps up and down the apartment but maybe I should start. Than I can say "what noise do you hear? I am sleeping at 5 am" The funny thing about the dryer that is if they would have asked us I probably would have said sure go ahead and use it while you are waiting for a new one but they didn't ask. they used it like it was theirs!! We don't even know them, I mean if it was a friend or a relative than I wouldn't be so pissed but they are not either. Jacob is much more calm about things than I am so I am sure he smoothed things over. But I walked away before I called her on the BS. Like I said I know we have to share a building with them and I will have to play nice but I don't like "playing" nice. I don't trust people like that. Who knows what else they use of ours.

Phew.... I had to get that out. Even sleeping on it didn't help.

10 weeks and counting

2009-04-06T19:00:00.006-05:00

I am 10 weeks pregnant and counting. Jacob and I found out after we returned from Montreal in February which explains why there are no pictures of our trip. I have been a little distracted since the news. It was sort of a surprise but not really. We are excited and can't wait to meet the little one.

I have been pretty lucky so far, the only symptoms I have experienced are tiredness, heart burn and over emotional. No sickness thank goodness because it would stink to feel nauseated all the time. I am sure Jacob is more effected by my symptoms than me :) He has been terrific and really supported and involved. We have gone to the Dr's twice and even got an early sonogram. It was really fantastic to see the heartbeat.

As I said I am 10 weeks along and according to babycenter.com, our baby is the size of a kumquat and has completed the most crucial part of his/her development. My clothes are becoming a little more snug but I don't "look" pregnant yet which is kind of strange.

We are trying to stay on our workout schedule since I am allowed to workout as I did before I became prego. I defiantly do not have the energy to run the treadmill like I want to so I usually run/walk or use the elliptical walker. I have read up on exercising during pregnancy and most articles or doctors say that is is better for building endurance for the actual labor. We will see, I am just trying to stay mobile so I don't get out of the routine of going to the gym.

Here is the 1st picture of the little one, the next one will be in a few weeks.

Introducing Little Leah Marie

2009-04-04T13:20:00.005-05:00

Leah was born April 1, 2009 to my best friend Carrie and her husband. She weighed 8lbs 9 oz and 19.25 inches long. This is their first baby and what a beautiful baby she is.

This picture is my favorite, she is smirking at us like "yeah you know I am here and I am cute"

I will get to actually meet the little angel in May. She is going to be a heart breaker I can already tell.

Congrats Carrie and Erik!

Love you

Introducing Baby Aaron Michael

2009-01-26T21:49:00.002-05:00

Congratulations Shan and David!!

I can't wait to meet the new addition in person.

Good Luck Josh

2008-12-17T08:30:00.003-05:00

Good Luck Josh!! We hope that your 3 week journey over to Iraq will be a safe and sucessful one. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year :)

See you Next year!!

New Place for a New Year

2008-12-16T22:39:00.007-05:00

Here is our FABULOUS new place!!!

The guest rm

Office

Master bd rm

Bathroom

Kitchen

Hallway

Dinning Room

Living Room

CONGRATS to the MBA Graduate

2008-08-24T14:18:00.006-05:00

Yes this is very late but its the first time I have had a chance to post.... so

CONGRATS JACOB!!

just sit back and relax now

On completing your MBA requirements.

It has been a long journey but you were determined to finish and you did! Your hard work as paid off and you can truly say no more school (thank goodness right?). I have watched you balance work, school and life over the last 5 years and I know it was hard to keep on track so make sure you take time to appreciate what you have accomplished. You may not believe this but not everyone wizzes through a graduate program....just you :) Kidding, kidding.. but really how many A's were given for papers wrote 20 minutes before class? No seriously, Congrats!

J- I know this post will embarrass you because god forbid you are complimented on your achievements but oh well :) I love you and I am excited for you and all the opportunities that are coming you way.

Running, Running and More Running

2008-06-19T09:20:00.005-05:00

This past weekend J an I went to his parents camp to celebrate Father's Day weekend. We arrived Thursday night and we were greeted by his recently retired mom. On a side note: I can not wait to retire!! Since D is retired now, she has made the commitment to exercising and staying healthy so she walks/runs every day at least 10,000 steps. Friday was a beautiful morning so I join D on her walk on the highway near camp which gave us some girl time to chit chat. I love chatting with her, she is always cracking me up. After the walk, J and I went to Phillips Diner for breakfast where we enjoyed some great diner food. It was back to camp to relax and enjoy the sun. J's dad arrived homed later that afternoon and told us he wants us to meet this young doctor named Aris that has been filling in at the hospital for the past 2 weeks. Well I was told that he is called "Dr Mc.Steamy" by the woman at the hospital but didn't believe it until I saw with my own two eyes. Yes he was exactly that "Dr. McSteamy"!! Tall dark, great body and young with a Romanian accent oh and a doctor, yep sounds like a good mix to me. I will say this though, somethings are meant to be looked at and he my friends was exactly that. Very nice scenery for the time he stopped by to say Goodbye to Rel .

Saturday arrives and D had told us earlier in the week that she wanted to participate in the 5K run for the St.Lawrence festival so J and I decided to participate too. What a wake up call that was for us!! We were two of the youngest people there and finished in just under 39minutes. That is so sad since we have been going to the gym since November regularly. Not only did we finish with a worst time than expected, we were exhausted!! I was sore until Tuesday. So we decided that we were going to get into running shape and have ran a 5k every day since Tuesday. Well for me it has been only 2 days but I feel good that I can finish the 3.1 miles running when I am at the gym. J is doing really good too and we will continue this until we reach our goals. Mine is run the 3.1 miles in less than 30 minutes, which seems to be an easier goal but I am by no means a runner so it will take me a little bit to get there. J's dad is over 60 and can run the 5k quicker than us, good job Rel!! :) I see in my future a lot of running and I am looking forward to running another 5k competitively and actually finish with a good time.

It takes some hard work and dedication to get up early in the morning and hit the gym before work but the results are amazing. Before you know it, I'll be signing up for marathons... now that is funny!!

Tag- I am it

2008-04-10T19:53:00.005-05:00

It has been awhile since I had the time to sit and write something on my blog. A lot has happened since my last post but first thing first, I was tagged by rel to write a 6 word memoir and here it is.

Grandma,

After school,

cookies,

love,

happiness.

Now I tag (that is if they read this blog) D, Carrie, Shannon and Single and Sexy in Boston

Valentine's Day

2008-02-14T09:38:00.005-05:00

Today is Valentine's day and I am very excited to celebrate it this year with my lovey. I don't get caught up in all the hype of this one day becasue I expect love and effection every day from my honey, not just one day of it.

J asked me a few weeks ago what I wanted to do for VD and I told him that I usually don't make plans for this holiday because something usually goes wrong. Its too much pressure for one day in my opinion. So I was surprised when he asked me if I wanted to go away for the weekend (awe he is a romantic) :) After looking at a few places, we decided to go to the White Oaks Resort ans Spa across the border. We have been there before but just to the spa but it seems extremely posh. The rooms look very modern and comfortable and the restaurant we are dinning at on Friday night looks very nice. We scheduled massages for Friday afternoon, dinner that night, breakfast the next morning and a 4 hour wine tour Saturday afternoon. Saturday night we plan to go to The Fallsview Casino and dinning at the Canyon Creek Chophouse, which is located in the casino.

Yesterday morning before work J says to me "I didn't get you flowers, I don't like buying them on holidays becasue I like to get them for you "just becasue"" Or course I laughed becasue he was telling me so I wasn't disappopinted today when they didn't come at work but really I don't care if I get flowers for VD. However, he surprised me last night with two bouquets of flowers that he brought home after class. I was giggling because it was too sweet. He continued the sweetness this morning by putting the VD card in my purse. He doens't like anyone to know but he is very sweet when he wants to be.

Thanks honey!! I love the flowers and card. I can't for this weekend!! I love you!!

HAPPY 30TH BIRTHDAY SHANNON

2008-01-22T20:33:00.001-05:00

Yep another one bites the dust!! Happy Birthday to one of my dearest friends, Shannon.

She is very lucky that she lives out in the "sticks" or her yard would have been decorated with 30 pink flamingos and a huge sign announcing the big event. Carrie and I couldn't find a vendor who would drive to her house and do it. Of course the obnoxious, yet very thoughtful, balloon bouquet they sent me is not available in Texas so she escapes another one of our ideas. Hmmm what to do, what to do. Carrie and I racked our brains, or should i say "brain", and any idea we had got shot down either because of where Shan lives in TX or a time factor. So we sent her a very nice bouquet of flowers to the school she teaches at. Disappointing for us because we like to announce it to the world when one of us has an important event. I mean we are the most important people around, ha ha ha. But Shannon loved the flowers and they were the only ones she received at school so that is good.

Shan- you deserved a bigger announcement so here it is:

HAPPY 30TH BIRTHDAY TO OUR VERY DEAR FRIEND, THE ONE THAT ALWAYS MAKES US LAUGH... SHANNON!!!!Shan at 30The Brain @ 20 something

HAPPY 2008 ???

2008-01-22T20:06:00.000-05:00

So the clock struck midnight and it became 2008. I had great hope for this new year, sort of a new beginning for me but the year had something else in store for me. If the remaining eleven months are going to be anything like the first few weeks, I am in for a long year. Maybe I should look at it that I got some bad stuff out of the way right off the bat and my year can only get better. I did say I wanted to stay positive so yes that is the way I will think of 2008 for now.

Its funny how priorities and perspective change as you get older. The number one priority I had in my early 20's every new year was to make sure I passed my courses so I wouldn't have to take summer school or retake a class the following semester. Nothing was worse, at the time, than having to retake a course. I was good in school but I had to stay focused or you could forget it. With my friends, it was easy to loose focus, who wants to study when you can go to Maldune's and have $1.25 Rolling Rock and listen to our friend's AC/DC cover band? Focused is what I stayed though, I finished college with pretty good grades and as the first person from my family to have a 4 year degree. Than as time went on my priorities started to get more "mature", getting my credit in line, figuring out my career path etc. I am pretty sure I have figured those out but what now? What do I focus on now?

How do I create a Happy 2008 for myself? This is a question I have asked myself since the rocky beginning of this year and I can only come up with one answer. Focus on me and do what I want to do this year. It sounds simple but if you know me at all you will understand that focusing on me is not my strong point but I am working on it. For starters I went to visit my dearest friends in Texas, by myself and Carrie and I are planning a girls weekend for March. I am very excited about that. For now I will stay focused, focused on me and maybe just maybe 2008 turn out as I hope.

Reflection on 2007

2007-12-31T08:55:00.000-05:00

Its New Year's Eve again and again I look back on the past year and think "Wow that went too quick!" I didn't even get a chance to start any of my new years resolutions, how could the year be over already. As I get older the days go by quicker and all of a sudden its the last day of the year.

The only resolutions I am making for 2008 is to "stop and smell the roses" a little more often and to be happy. I mean real happy like when I was younger and couldn't wait to go to school because I would get to see all of my friends. It will take some effort on my part to make sure I am truly happy but its only up to me to make it happen. Hopefully I can plan a few mini vacations to ensure I "stop to smell the roses" in the upcoming year. I few trips to Texas to make sure I get to know the new addition to my extended family, a girls only trip and maybe if it goes my way, a trip to Europe. I would love to take a week off of work in the summer too, just to hang out and enjoy the weather but with the other vacations I want to take, that might be a little far fetched.

My toast to 2008 : "Here is to bringing in a new year. May it be whatever you want it to be! Cheers!"

Happy New Year!!

Birthday Pictures

2007-12-28T10:28:00.000-05:00

I wanted to share a few pictures from the party my mom and Willie threw for me.

J and me, I guess its ok to look silly on your b-day

My mom :)
Grandma and my cousin

My sisters & Dad
My brother and Ashley

Merry Christmas

2007-12-25T22:54:00.000-05:00

It's the end of the day on Christmas and I am exhausted. It has been non-stop since I got up this morning and thankfully I took tomorrow off from work. My mom, Willie, my brother and my Dad came over the house for breakfast and to open gifts. It was the first year since my parents divorce that I was able to spend Christmas morning with both of them. Surprisingly is was a lot of fun and everyone seemed to enjoy the morning. Of course my mom got us too much but I know she loves to watch us open gifts even though we are not youngsters anymore.

Immediately after we were done, we were off and running, getting thing prepared for the family to arrive in the afternoon. This was also the first year that I was going to host the family party which is a little over 30 people. Thankfully my mom and Willie helped me prepare and clean up for the party. Instead of having it at my apartment, I was able to get the community center for the day in our complex and it was the perfect setting for that many people. Usually when we all get together, it is a little hard to visit with everyone because we are spread out in different rooms but this year we all were in the same room and not cramped. We had a fest for dinner and after that my uncle surprised us with old home movies of my moms family. He brought the projector and screen and we sat around laughing for a few hours watching my family on those movies. My grandma was in her glory and it was sweet to watch her reminisce about each movie. In between reels we opened some gifts and ate dessert. Everyone left around 9:30 that night, we had to clean the center and unload all the items I had to bring over.

It is quiet in my apartment, J is home visiting his family and my mom just left. It is nice to have a little time to myself to unwind and relax. There was a little something missing from the holiday this year but it was a good a day. Spending time with family at the holidays is always a great feeling for me. I hope everyone I know had a great one too.

A few days after Thanksgiving, J and I went tree shopping and found this perfect tree. Neither one of us ever had a tree so big and full but this one is our first tree together and is perfect.

Officially 30

2007-12-20T11:33:00.000-05:00

It's official, I am 30. Its so strange to say I am 30 when I feel no older than 23. Yesterday was the "big" day and my friends made me feel very special. I was hoping that I could lay low at work and just have my department know it was my birthday but my friends made sure that everyone knew.

The first call I got from reception was at 11 am and Maureen told me that I had two packages downstairs waiting for me. Nancy and I walked downstairs to pick up my items and it was flowers from Carrie and Shan and a flower "cake" from Linda. C and S sent 32 flowers, tulips and iris, the card read "Sending you 30 beautiful flowers for a beautiful person with an additional 2 for hugs to celebrate our best friend's birthday. Happy Birthday to the girl who doesn't look a day over 21!" I have said this many times but I'll say it again, I am very lucky to have the best friends that I have. The second call I received from the receptionist was around noon and she was snickering as she told me I had another package waiting for me. As she was telling me this, it occurred to me she was giggling about the item waiting for me so i asked her "by any chance is my package balloons?" She said "yeah, wait until you see them." I could feel the red creep into my face as embarrassment set in. I knew that my friends couldn't let me enter 30 quietly and the balloons were here to let everyone know how old I am. Before I explain the balloons let me explain where I have to go to get them. I work for a travel agency so the reception area is not private. customers and employees alike are there and on this afternoon there were a lot of customers. The area is also the farthest point from my cube so getting the balloons back to my desk means going by almost everyone that I work with. By the time I enter the reception area I am sweating and red in the face with embarrassment. I open the door and I can see way on the other side of the room, a 7 foot monstrosity of balloons, with a huge sparking 30 balloon on top. I couldn't believe it, they scream "hey look at me I am 30 today and I want everyone to know." i tried grabbing them and getting out of there as fast as I could but no luck, everyone gathered around to look at the balloons and ask me how I feel to be 30 etc. The one older gentleman that was waiting in line actually starting to sing happy birthday a little. Needless to say by the time I got back to my desk, I was so hot that I had to take my sweater off (I was wearing a button up shirt underneath it). Then everyone in my department came over at once to star at my balloons, they couldn't believe how tall the bouquet was. The only thing you could see over all the cube walls was the big 30 balloon at the top. The staring at the balloons went on all day. You need a special badge to get into my department and employees from other departments were knocking on our door to let them in to see the balloons all day. My friends made my day feel so special and important but I hate all the attention. I know when I say that, most people may think I just say that but really I hate the attention. The best part is that C and S turn the big 30 AFTER I do so as I told them..pay backs are coming. :)

It is a tradition with my mom, brother and I to have dinner on our actual birthdays and I picked Shogun as the restaurant I wanted dinner at. It is a Hibachi Steak and Seafood House where they cook the food right in front of you. J, my friends Marissa and Jen and my brothers friends Mia and Katie joined us for dinner. It was such a great time!! My mom had never been there and loved it so much she "hinted" that her and Willie would love to come to dinner there sometime. So I bet you can't guess one of their gifts from Santa is... hmmmm? :) We started at the bar with a drink until my brother and his friends arrived and than they sat us. We ordered some sushi for appetizers along with cold and hot Sake and Marissa ordered a bottle of Champagne for a birthday toast (thanks girl!!). The sushi was great and the sake and Champagne were very tasteful! We ordered dinner and waited for the show to start. Each table gets their own chef who makes everything, including the fried rice right in front of you. Our guy was amazing with the knives, flipping the food around etc and pretty funny. Once dinner was over, the waitress came to the table with a wig and kimono wrap for me to put on as they sang Happy Birthday to me in Japanese. I was embarrassed but the champagne and sake made it easier to enjoy. They took a picture of the whole group and put it in a frame for me. However, everyone at the table took a picture of me with their camera phones because the wig is just too silly.

All in all my day was fantastic. I even received a special text message from Anthony (pretty good for being 3 weeks old) here it is.. the message said "happy birthday auntie K" Too cute I tell ya.Thank you to everyone who helped make my day special!!

My mom did throw me a party the Friday before my birthday with my family which was a lot of fun. Pics to follow shortly.

Good Bye 20's

2007-12-18T14:32:00.000-05:00

Today is a sad day of sorts...it is my last full day of my eventful 20's. The last decade has been an adventure that prepared me to enter my 30's with all the tools and confidence I need to be successful. No one explains that once you leave high school the world transforms in front of you as you grow and experience different situations. I am thankful that I learned life lessons with the very good and bad situations that happened through my 20's.

As I turned 29 last year, I started to stress about the big 3-0 and all the things that I had not accomplished before that age. It only occurred to me a few months ago that i should be proud of my accomplishments and who I am as I look forward to 30. I am an independent, loving, funny, confident and successful woman who with all the life changing events in her 20's, really found herself. I used to stress a little over not being married, having kids, and not having my MBA, etc. because those are "goals" that I set for myself when I entered my 20's. I realize now, that if those events had happened before now, I would be a different person, I wouldn't have had the time to find out that I can be independent and happy with myself.

As I see it, I am lucky the way my life has played out so far. I can't wait to see how the next 10 years of my life will be. In my opinion, every decision you make today will have some effect on your life for the rest of your years on earth. The decisions I have made in the past 10 years have gotten me to this place in my life which gives me confidence that the next 10 has something good in store for me.

There are a few people I would like to thank for guiding, supporting me and getting me through my 20's without any major damage. First and fore most, My mom. Than my friends, Carrie, Shannon and Linda (what would I do without you?), my brother and last but not least, all the people that I encounter that taught me something about myself ( even if you didn't mean to).

So I welcome my 30's !! I can't wait to see how I survive them :)

Mom & Baby are Good

2007-11-29T14:11:00.000-05:00

I am relieved I finally got to talk to the new mommy today for more than 5 minutes. Anthony was down for a nap and she was up to chatting on the phone so I called and we chatted for45 minutes. Shan sounds fantastic and says everything is going good so far. Last night was the first night at home and no major mishaps occurred. Her dogs are interested in the new noise maker but are very well behaved and actually one of her dogs, Tyson, guards the bassinet.

I have to say that Shannon was and is still so calm about being a mom. I have seen new moms freak at everything or some that worry too much but not her she seems like she has been a mom for a long time. Maybe working with 1st and 2nd graders for the last 6 years has trained her to have patience but whatever it is, when I was talking to her it was just like any other day. She did say its so new and a little overwhelming but nothing too major. I still can't get over that she is a mom, I have known her since we were in 9th grade and sometimes I think we are so young but really life has flown right on by. If you were to ask us when we were younger how our lives would be when we grow up, we would have said that all of us (the brain) would live on the same street with our families and have weekend BBQs etc. Life has taken us in different directions but our friendship has never wavered. It has only gotten stronger and we know now that it can withstand anything, including distance. Thank goodness too because I wouldn't know what to do without my two rocks that is for sure. By the way Shan, Anthony is the perfect name for your perfect baby!!

Here are a few more pics that mommy shared with her friends and family.

Welcome Baby Anthony

2007-11-27T09:47:00.000-05:00

Congratulations to David and Shannon for their new bundle of joy, Anthony David!! He was born yesterday at 11:37am, he is 6 lbs, 13oz, 19 inches and has a full head of black hair.

Thank goodness for technology!! I am a few states away but felt like I was there with all the text messages of updates and the picture I received 30 minutes after he was born via the cell phone. He is absolutely adorable and I can't wait to meet him in January. The coolest thing about the hospital Shannon is in, I can log onto a website and watch her and the baby anytime she wants me to. We can instant message each other while I am watching or talk on the phone so I can see her and Anthony. I would be in the dark with out technology.

So Congratulations again to the new Mommy and Daddy!! Love you all!!

PS... Happy Belated 29th Birthday to Carrie, too bad he wasn't born the week before :)

Happy Belated Birthdays!!

2007-11-15T10:24:00.001-05:00

I feel bad that I have missed some birthday wishes to my friends and family so this are my belated b-day wishes.

MaKenna

Happy 8th birthday to my youngest niece MaKenna. She turned 8 in October and is really just adorable. She loves being the center of attention!! She is a cheerleader just like her big sister and loves the things most 8 year old love, Hanna Montana, High School Musical and clothes. She has already circled all the clothes she wants from the Limited Too catalog for Christmas. She is so tall already at 8 that I can only guess she will take after her mom in the height department. Watch out when she gets to be a teenager :)

Mary as Elvis

Happy Birthday Mary!! Mary's birthday was on Halloween. She dressed up as Elvis for work and won a few prizes for the outfit. I did remember to send her flowers which she ended up with two bouquets because the first one she got was not the one I ordered for her. I can remember the first day i met Mary, it was my first day one the job and she was super friendly when we were introduced. I didn't talk much at first because I am super shy when I meet new people but after her and I started talking, we never stopped. She is hilarious and a great listener. I love hearing the stories she tells me about her son, he is a character. Thanks Mary for always listening :)

M, Marissa and Me

Happy Birthday Marissa!! Marissa's birthday was earlier this month and I have been so busy that I haven't even gotten a chance to celebrate with her or give her presents. I met Marissa at work and is one of the few woman I met that was actually nice outside of work. She is a great friend, and is always a lot of fun to be around. She has a 2 year old that is just absolutely adorable. I just adore her, she has quite a personality and she is smart. She mimics anything Marissa does or says which is always entertaining. Marissa is lucky to have such a great child but really she deserves all the credit for the way her daughter is. I am lucky to know Marissa and her family. Sorry the birthday wish is late girl!!

My cousins and My gram

Happy 84th birthday to my Grandmother. Minus some joint problems, my gram is in good shape for her age. My grandfather passed away last year which has taken a little toll on her but she has coped better than any of us expected. My cousins on the picture go over to her house once a week to watch movies with her and she loves it. They mostly watch modern movies like Elf with Will Farrell or her favorite Blood Diamond. My grandmother used to be a social butterfly but now that her knees are not keeping up, she looks forward to us visiting with her or take her shopping. I used to live in a house behind her and I would love the summer and spring evenings when we would sit on her porch and talk. She loves to gossip about the latest news of the family or about the next door neighbors or even what is going on in her favorite soap opera. I loved listening to stories about how her and my grandpa met or what he was like before he lost his hearing etc. She has her moments were she drives me crazy but overall I adore her. In a time where most woman stayed home to take care of the family, my grandmother insisted that she work. My grandfather only agreed to it when the youngest child went to school and only at night. So she worked over night at a hospital as a nurse (LPN) and was really good at what she did. I can tell she loved doing just by the way she tells the stories. She is 84 years young and I hope she sticks around for awhile.

I think I am all caught up now. :)

I almost forgot.... Happy Birthday to Hailey and Crystal!! They are J's nieces and I just met them last January. They are great kids and a lot of fun to be around. I am looking forward to seeing them for Thanksgiving.

OK I think I got everyone now :)

Happy Birthdays All Around!!

2007-11-15T08:36:00.000-05:00

November is a very busy month my family for birthdays!! My brother, my oldest sister Sherri, my niece Kayla, my grandma, three of my cousins and two of my friends.

Kayla

Happy 18th birthday to my niece Kayla!! I can't believe she is already 18 and ready to head off to college next fall. I remember when she was born, she was the cutest little girl I had ever seen, she stole my heart the moment I held her. I haven't always been there to see her grow up since she is a military brat but she has turned into a remarkable young lady and I am lucky to be apart of her life now. I am excited to see her go off to college and start the best time of her life. I have to admit that I am a little jealous, I would give anything to start that part of my life again. I keep telling her to enjoy the next 4-5 years because there will not be another time like it again. Its so exciting and nerve racking leaving high school and the friends you have had for years but its worth the experience!! I am taking her to the Spa on Sunday for a girls day of pampering for her birthday. She had never been and wanted to go so that's were I come in and make it happen.

Sherri, V,R,dad and me

Happy 45th birthday to my sister Sherri!! Oh man .... you are so close to 50 :) Just kidding. My sister was 15 when I was born and had the great duty of babysitting me. I was cute but not always the best behaved little one. I would throw myself on the floor screaming for no reason. I am sure it was to get attention but my family says when the fits happened they were out of the blue. My poor sisters!! They tell me that I was like a little doll to them and they loved to dress me up but I am aware I was a brat. Not much has changed :) Sherri was always my big sister, I was in her weddings, I worked for her at her bridal shop, I went to her when I needed decorating or fashion tips. When I was only 5 she became a mom, to my nephew and what a great mom she is. As most moms she wanted the best for Matt and she did just that. He is very successful in the Air Force, working his way up the ranks while starting a family of his own. I know he will be a great father and husband because she set the right examples for him. She provided him with strong family morals and showed him how to be caring and understanding. I give my sister a lot of flack about the things she is into or for the way she is but it is out of love. I really admire the mountains she had overcome in her life and I am proud she is my sister. Key Key loves you :)

I hope both of you have wonderful days!!

HAPPY BITHDAY DJ

2007-11-08T09:00:00.000-05:00

It is a day late but Happy 27th Birthday to my little brother DJ. Well that isn't the name he was given at birth but that is the name he has been called since day one.

Me, my gram and DJ Christmas 2006

On November 7th, 1980 Harold Douglas Jr was born and according to my mom, its the day I became a mini mom. My sisters are much older than my brother and I and when they found out he was named after our father, they decided he would be called DJ. Even when he went to grade school, the teacher would call his name "Harold" for roll call and he wouldn't say a thing. Finally my mom had to tell them that he only answers to DJ. Than he got to high school and most of the teacher he had, knew him as "Kristy's little brother." I know he would have preferred Harold over that label any day. Not only did the teachers call him that but everyone older than him in that school referred to him as that. He actually asked me one day to tell my friends that his name is DJ not "Kristy's little brother."

When most babies are learning how to talk, my brother was humming and I was translating for the family what he needed. As my sisters and parents recall, I was the only one that knew what each hum was for and there were many different sounding hums that he made. Finally one day, he was humming for a glass of water and my mom told him he couldn't have it unless he said water. Not long after that, he was talking but not too much because I never stopped talking. My mom likes to tease me and says "you haven't stop talking since the day your were born." I can't help it, I don't like silence of any kind, it makes me nervous. I am pretty sure I inherited that trait from my dad which is funny because growing up, my brother and I would hate it when he talked to random people at the local corner store or anywhere in public. I do not do that, I just talk non-stop to my friends and family... you lucky people :) As J has said in the past "You always have something to say" I don't take that as a bad thing and he didn't mean it as a bad things its just true.

My brother and I have had some great times and some bad times but overall I am lucky to have him as my sibling. Now that we are older and no longer live with each other, we are great friends. I am happy that we got to celebrate his birthday yesterday with our parents and close friends. It was a great dinner and running down memory lane is always a good time.

So Happy Birthday little brother, hope you had a fantastic day!

Halloween

2007-10-29T09:22:00.000-05:00

Halloween, a day for anyone to dress up and pretend to be a character of some sort. Younger kids love the holiday because they get candy or the whole day at school is a party of some sort. Adults get dressed up for the holiday to encourage the kids to participate or just to feel young again. Whatever the reason, people seem to love to celebrate Halloween.

Personally, I have not liked this day since about 4th grade. I remember being uncomfortable getting in a costume for the day. There was so much pressure to have a great costume and I didn't have a mom or grandma who made my outfits. I usually went to the local retail shop and picked an costume from there but it either never fit correctly or after I got to school, I realized my outfit was ridiculous. Even though the days leading up to this holiday were stressful for me, I conformed and dressed up each year to get a sack full of candy. Which, as it happened, I never really ate all of it. Needless to say, I was very happy the year I was "too old" to go trick or treating.

Than I started working in my career and to my surprise everyone dressed up for Halloween at the company I worked for (Co X). Not only did everyone dress up but they had contest and a parade, just like grade school. All the anxiety I felt when I was younger instantly came back when the topic came up. The accounting dept I worked for had won 1st place the previous 2 years and they were determined to do it again. I didn't want to dress up at all but I also didn't want to be included in the group activity, especially because I was new. To my relief, the department decided to be a 70's basketball team. We went to a sport store on lunch one day and got shiney basket ball shorts, t-shirts, tall white socks and hand bands. Than we all went and bought Afro wigs which made the costumes. We did a skit along with the outfits and came in 1st place that year again. For the next 4 years that I worked at Co X, I participated and dressed up for the holiday.

Work- 70's Basketball team

Along with dressing up for work, came dressing up to go out the Saturday before Halloween to the local events or clubs. I wasn't very excited about this either but I figured I wouldn't be the only one in a costume so why not. Also I still didn't want to be the "wet blanket" of the group either. Yes, peer pressure has a huge effect on me when it comes to group activities. Last year was the first year I really put a lot of thought into a costume. The Variety Club of WNY, throws a Halloween Bash at the Central Terminal. It is a great venue for this type of gathering. All the monies raised goes to the Variety Club which is a great organization. Last year, it was freezing, the terminal did not have heat and the bathrooms were outside (Johnny on the Spots). I was a punk school girl and J was a punk Rocker.

Me, M and J-2006

The bash this year was much better than last year. They had heat, the Johnny on the spots were inside and the set up made the flow of traffic easier to manage. Knowing what to expect this year also let me have a little more fun with my costume. We ordered it online and I got a wig, false eyelashes etc to make the costume complete. I did have to go buy a back up outfit though because the costume didn't come in until last Friday, 24 hrs before the party. I was a little nervous when I put on the costume and realized how short and low-cut the dress was. I am a conservative dresser so this was out of my comfort zone. But once I put on the wig, the eyelashes and makeup, I took on the persona of the costume and surprisingly I loved it. I loved knowing that if someone I worked with saw me, they would not know its me. It was fun being Veronica (yeah we named her) for a few hours.

Halloween 2007

We went to the party with our friends, M and E, J and T. M was a playboy, french maid, E was Hugh Hefner. J and T were pirates. The costumes were great and we had a blast. Here is a link to some other photos taken by people at the bash #1 Halloween Bash Pictures.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DIANE!!

2007-10-19T07:51:00.000-05:00

Since I won't be around today to celebrate your birthday, here is a little song for you,

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU
HAPPY BIRTHDAY DIANE
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!!

Flowers for your B-day :)

I hope you have a wonderful day!!

On another b-day note, my Great Nephew( yes my nephew, who turned 25 yesterday, has a son) Robert (little Bobby) is turning 1 tomorrow. Matt, my nephew, is stationed in Japan so I haven't met the little guy yet but he is adorable. Tomorrow also marks the 1 year anniversary of getting my nose pierced. I had always talked about it but I finally had it done on the day I officially became a Great Aunt. At the time I was already having trouble seeing 30 coming around the corner and than you add that title to it all, I had to do something so the piercing of my nose it was. I love that I have it!! Now that turning 30 is only a couple months away, I welcome it. I have come to the conclusion that age is just a number, its the way you feel that matters :)

My New Car

2007-10-15T07:29:00.000-05:00

It has been a long time since my last post but I have been so busy with work, the new living arrangements and all the other things life has to throw at you. As busy as I have been, I finally found time to go car shopping.

In the past on a couple of occasions, I have bought a car without any real research or thought process. My previous car, a 1998 Saturn SL1, was bought just because it was affordable and available the day I went to test drive it. The car before that, had just been totaled by a deer on the thruway and I needed a replacement and so for the last 7 years, I have driven my Saturn without any major complaints. Now don't get me wrong the car is 9 yrs old, over 120K miles so it has it's quirks but really no major catastrophes. It was very good to me and to be honest, I would have kept it until it stopped running but a few minor problems (the sunroof leaks when it rains etc..) added to up to be expensive repairs so off car shopping I went.

I am a very independent person but when it comes to car shopping, I always need someone there for a second opinion or just as a sounding board so I enlisted J to come along. Before we even went into a dealership, we decided to pick the top 3 or 4 cars I was interested in and they would be the first ones I test drove. Immediately, I new my top two, the VW Jetta and the Dodge Charger, the third choice came about by a comerical I saw on TV, the Ford Edge. All 3 cars completely different but before I went test driving, I wasn't sure what I really wanted. Luckily for us, the Dodge, Ford and VW dealerships are close by so we just went down the street and hit the places as we came upon them.

The first stop, the Dodge place. The Dodge Charger is such a manly, American car and I was excited to drive it myself. Last year we went to TX to visit J's brother, who owns a Charger so I have ridden in one but never got behind the wheel of one. The first thing I notice when I got into the car was the room it had. The get and go the car had was awesome and the sound of the car was great!! I love when cars sound like they have balls ( the only way I can think it put it). Actually one day, I eventually want to restore an old muscle car but for now I will enjoy the attempt at the new muscle car. :) The sales woman was very nice and to my surprise not pushy at all. She let us test drive it by ourselves and when we came back I she was on the phone so I handed her the keys and said I would let her know. She smiled and thanked us and off we went down the road to the Ford place.

As soon as Jon the salesman greeted us, I knew I was not going to buy a car from this guy or dealership. We started off being up front and letting him know I was not buying a car that day and I only wanted to test drive the Edge. Jon started to ramble on about the Ford Focus and what a nice car it is blah, blah, blah. I wanted to say "if I was interested in a Focus, I would have mentioned it" but instead we listened to his spiel while he escorted us to his desk. I was a little annoyed that he had us sit down before I even got into a car to drive. After asking us few questions, he finally had us go outside to test drive the Edge. Its a very nice "crossover" car and had a lot of room but after I thought about it, it was too much room for just me right now. After getting out of the Edge, Jon kind of insisted that I drive a Focus so I did. It was a nice car but that all it is a car, nothing fancy, nothing special its a sedan. He was selling it to me like it was best thing since sliced bread. Jon also kept referring to J and asking him what he thought of the cars and what he wanted to buy etc.. J handled him well he said "It doesn't matter if I like the car, she is buying it and driving so I am just here for the ride" and Jon could not remember J's name and referred to him as Justin (after telling him 3 times the correct name). After the Focus Jon wanted to come and sit at his desk and he started to talk numbers. HELLO!! I SAID I WASN'T BUYING A CAR TODAY. But he insisted, we let him talk and than thanked him for his time and out the door we went.

Off to the VW dealership down the street and around the corner (sort of) we went. Let me back up just a little, I have wanted a VW Jetta since I was a Sr in high school so for over 10 years. I can remember the first VW car I ever saw, it was an old VW rabbit and I loved it. As the years went on, the VW Jetta's became more sportier looking, sleek and sophisticated, just making me want one more. To be honest it kind of is my dream car, other than the muscle car I want to rebuild. We arrive at the dealership about an hour before it was going to close and we are greeted by a very tall (st least 6'6"), slender man named Dan. He was very friendly and spoke with an accent not sure how to describe it but he does speak spanish so I am sure it ties in with that. As we did in the previous two places, we stated that I was only going to test drive a car so he said no problem, and brought around a Jetta for me to drive. The 3 of us get into the car and now I am driving a Jetta. I knew than that I wanted one of these. I wasn't sure what I wanted in it but I knew I wanted a Jetta. When we were done, Dan had us sit down at his desk too look over the inventory they had and to ask a few more questions like if I wanted to buy or lease etc.. We thanked him for his time shook his hand and went home.

I really wanted to say right than and there that I wanted the VW but I knew I had to think about it. So the thought process started my choices either the VW or the Dodge Charger, both having excellent selling points. It took me about 5 days and a lot of discussion with J that I decided I wanted to lease a VW. Luckily for me, J had offered to fund a small loan for a down payment with the agreement I would pay him back (of course) so we had some bargaining power when we went back. I was so excited that I didn't even want to talk about in fear that I would jinx me getting a VW.

We went back to the VW place about a week after the test drive, met with Dan to let him know I wanted to lease. He was a very honest salesman, yes that sounds like an oxymoron but he really was. When I told him I was thinking about using my current car as a trade in he said I would get more money if I sold it on my own and actually he is right I would. Than when he was going through his inventory of cars he kept telling me not to pay for things that I will not use. We ended up at two cars, one with cloth interior, 6 CD changer etc... sort of the basic model and the other was more done up. Leather interior, sunroof, seat warmers, 6 CD changers, satellite radio, a place to put my Ipod that plays on the radio, and chrome accent. I asked Dan to run numbers on both cars, knowing that I probably would be getting the cloth seat one, which is what I was looking for. I didn't go into looking for new cars thinking I was going to walk away with the car I did. So the numbers were ran and it turns out there wasn't that much difference in monthly payment so I of course I choose the one with the bells and whistles. I had to wait for a few days to actually pick up the car but it was well worth it.

Here are a few pictures of the car, which was taken out front of the new place. My best friend C asked me if I felt like I was apart of the "in" crowd now driving to work, (she was teasing me), I told her no but I feel grown up now, no longer in college. My Saturn was my college car, which when you are in college, who cars what you drive. I have had a "career" since I got out of college but just now and maybe because I am turning 30 soon, I just feel like I am saying goodbye to the 20's. Whatever it is, I do love my car.

Thanks J for all the help!! Love you honey

HAPPY BIRTHDAY REL!!! ... Bye Bye Summer

2007-09-23T17:04:00.000-05:00

Today is the first day of fall which is J's dad's birthday and a time to say goodbye to summer. But first.. HAPPY BIRTHDAY REL hope you are enjoying France. Yep that is right, J's parents are in France for two weeks which just happens to be the same time as his dad's birthday. What a good idea for celebrating.

Since it is the first day of Fall, I figured it is the perfect day to post some of my favorite pics from this summer. It went by too fast but it was a fun filled one. I hope the Fall doesn't go by as fast, I am not a fan of winter in my neck of the woods.

Enjoy the photos

It Could Be Worse

2007-09-19T10:11:00.000-05:00

Have you ever over heard a conversation and it made you think about your life? Well today at work, I over heard ( as well as everyone in the surrounding cubes) a conversation between two married women about their husbands and "It could be worse" popped into my head. "It could be worse" is J's philosophy for everything in life, including me, which at the time he said it I thought that was offensive but now I get it.

As most of you are aware, I am now co-habaiting with my boyfriend, J and that was am big deal for me since I have not been successful in the past trying to share my space. There are some things that J does that slightly annoys me and vice versa but after hearing that conversation between my co-workers, I thought my life "could be worse." I actually have no idea how the women put up with what they were talking about. One of them said that she is going to make a chore schedule for her husband so he can't say "I didn't know that had to be done". I am confident J would either laugh hysterical or or find me crazy if I posted a "chore schedule". I mean let's be honest, chores suck but we are grown adults and as a grown adult, you should be aware if the dishes need to be done or the dog needs to be fed. This might sound insane but I really believe that if two grown adults live together and both work full-time, than the house keeping and dinner responsibilities should be split. Or at least something like that. The stories I hear (granted they are mostly from women) make it sound like the men expect the wives to be wife, house keeper and mother. Now that is hilarious to me... maybe that answer the question that so many people have for me "why aren't you married yet" .... just kidding.

I am very lucky to have J!! He and I work well together and I know that if I needed him to do something around the house or he needed me to do something, we would let each other know and would do it without complaining or keeping score. I get why people live with each other and I am glad that it's J that I get to share my space with.

Locks of Love

2007-09-05T21:52:00.000-05:00

It finally came time for me to donate my hair to Locks of Love. I have been growing it out for about two years and today was the day that I decided to cut it off. To give you a little background, Locks of Love is an organization that provides wigs to children with cancer that are financially disadvantaged. For hair to be used as a wig, the donation must be at least 10 inches long, in a pony tail or braid. It took me longer than I expected to grow my hair that long.

Here is my hair after growing it for 2 years-

And here is my hair after donating 12 inches to this amazing organization-

I usually wear my hair between chin length and shoulder length but have gone shorter than this before. I love my new hair style and even if I didn't I wouldn't care, my lots of hair will help out a child in need.

Moving Exhaustion

2007-09-05T06:40:00.000-05:00

What I thought was only going to be a moving weekend turned out to be a moving week. Dylan, J, and Eric moved most of the big stuff on Saturday. It was a long day since we didn't get the truck until 6 pm and I moved car loads all morning. Everyone was really tired by the time the last piece of furniture entered the new place. Thanks to Marissa and Madison, I had someone to talk to and empty boxes with while the guys unloaded the truck. Sunday came around and we had Marissa, Jen and Tom (a couple that lives in our complex) over for a little bit in the afternoon. More unpacking of boxes later that night and off to bed for work bright and early on Monday morning.

You might be wondering why J and I didn't take any time off of work but really we both work in Finance/Accounting and the end of the month is not exactly a good time to take days off. We went to work, got home, and went to my old apt, filled J's truck with a few items and the wine rack I was giving my brother. My brother is about a 1/2 hour from my old place so the ride was quick but we stayed to visit for a little bit and check out his new place. He and two roommates are renting a really nice old house and J had not seen it yet. We get home and eat dinner around 10, which at the time I didn't know this would be the earliest meal we ate all week.

Tuesday through Thursday schedule went the same way, we get up early for work, work all day, unpack a few boxes, go to one of our old apts and get rid of the stuff we don't want and bring back the stuff we do want. We ate dinner after moving which meant we ate between 11pm and 12 am every night. I was so tired on Wednesday night that I didn't even finish my Mighty Taco before I was dozing off on the couch. The labor of the week was tough, it wasn't just moving boxes, for some reason not all the big stuff went on the moving truck so we had book cases, bikes, etc to move while only using J's truck. Finally on Thursday it occurred to us that we should use my mom's truck also to load things so we are not making 5 trips from the old place to the new place. Oh and our old apts are at least 20 miles (one way) away from the new place and our old apts are not near one another. You also might be wondering why we didn't do a better job in preparing for the move. I have to say, I am really not sure how that happened. I really thought we were all packed and ready to go but I misjudged terribly. J and I both agree that the next time we move, it will be completely different.

Needless to say the week took its toll on me and effected me at work. On Thursday I was so exhausted that i actually fell asleep at my desk. Thank goodness Kristin (who's cube is across from mine) woke me up and not my boss. Now I have been tired at work before and have gotten sleepied eyed but this was different. I had my head resting on my hand looking at spreadsheets and the next thing I know Kristin is tapping me on my shoulder asking me if I was sleeping. Obviously I was and it happened again later that afternoon. You may think, how can you fall asleep at work, but when I am exhausted, and it's super quiet, I can fall asleep easily. I am really surprised it happened twice in one day at work. Like I said thank goodness for Kristin. I mean we were laughing about it but I am sure it would have not been that funny if the Director of Finance came up to me for a report and I was sleeping on the job :)

J and I made it through a really tough week with a lack of sleep without killing one another. We were relieved when it came to an end on Thursday and we could go away for the holiday weekend and relax. We still have more unpacking to do but at least we have a few rooms organized and livable.

Moving Weekend

2007-08-24T07:05:00.000-05:00

Moving weekend is finally here and I can't be more excited, exhausted and sore!! I just realized that I haven't made an entry since the beginning of the month. Man time had flown by !! i have been busy getting things ready for the new apartment, cleaning the old one, getting utilities turned on, getting them turned off, you know all the really fun things about moving :) I have had a few fun moments this month that I will have to tell you later about. It has been busy and interesting.

Originally our moving plan was to get the keys today, move boxes, smaller stuff tonight and get up early tomorrow, get the truck and move all the big furniture. However, J, being J, forgot or was under the impression that his mini course started next week. Well it was this week, Mon, Wed, Thurs and Saturday morning. Yep right in the middle of moving. So we are now going to be moving later in the afternoon around 5, that is also when the 1st truck is available so it works out. I was really stressed and annoyed at first but as long as I get to move in the new place with J this weekend, it doesn't matter what time we are moving. Thank Goodness J's friend Dylan is coming into town to help move, my family members were only available earlier on Sat, it would have been just me and him, now that is funny. :) We would have gotten it done but I am sure it will go faster with two strong men than with me helping.

I actually felt really bad for him when he found out he had class this week. It makes for really long days, getting to work in the am, going to class in the pm and packing a few things after class and than doing that routine again the next day. I did go over to his place on Tuesday to assist in the packing and we got a lot done. My apartment had more stuff in it than I thought. It has taken me much longer to wrap every little breakable in newspaper than it has to pack up the rest of the place. I was good and threw out as much as I could for now, I plan on throwing out more when unpacking. I really hate clutter, it makes me feel panicked.

This move is going to be a much needed fresh start for both of us. For the first time in my life, I am fully confident this will be a good thing. I usually have reservation about major decisions I make but not this one. Maybe because I am a little older but I think it is because it involves J :) AS I always tell him, he is the best and I am very lucky!!

More to come on the new place..

HAPPY 30th BIRTHDAY J-ROCK

2007-08-02T12:09:00.000-05:00

Happy Birthday to you

Happy Birthday to you,

Happy Birthday dear honey,

Happy Birthday to you!!!

I hope you have a fantastic day!!

Love ya

Baby Shower

2007-07-23T08:13:00.000-05:00

After a lot of planning and hard work, the baby shower for Shannon went off without any major problems. It is a tad early for a shower since the baby isn't due until December but this was the only time that she was coming home to visit before the little guy gets here and it was a must that we throw her a shower. Personally, I love planning events, especially for people close to me. As soon as I mentioned to Carrie that I wanted to throw Shan a shower, she pitched right in and together we got it done. I couldn't have done it without her. I wish she could have come into town for the party, it isn't the same without her but we did have a good time.

The day started as usual for me. My alarm went off at 5:30 am and I was up out of bed, getting ready for work. I figured I should get there a little early since I was leaving at noon to finish getting all the items for the shower later that night. We were holding the shower on Friday night, at first we were not sure how this would work, but it turned out it was perfect. I had to pick up the favors from Fowlers Chocolate, pick up the balloon order from Balloon Masters ( the balloon rattles), the balloons from Party City (for a game), put the favors together and get all the decorations and balloons to the restaurant before 5:30pm. The party started at 6:30 but I needed some time to get the room in appropriate baby shower motif. I enlisted my younger cousin Brett to help me transport all the balloons and decorations to the restaurant. Thank goodness he was around, he saved me about an hour of driving from my house to the location multiple times.

Balloon Masters - Rattles

When I got to Frank's (the restaurant), I was not happy at all with the way the room was set up for the party. They had tables put together so they formed one long table for 30 seats. How does that makes sense? It looked more like the Last Super than a baby shower. I found the waitress and waiter that greeted me when I came in and asked them to adjust the seating. They were very helpful and broke up the tables as I asked. I started to get some of the balloons untangled when Shan walked in with grandma and Becky. Right behind them came Betty (David's mom), and his aunts. I was happy to have some help arrive but felt a little rushed. I was hoping to have the room all decorated and babyish before Shan came in. Betty finished untangling the balloons while the rest of us finished all the details. Our friend Linda came early and really helped keeping me on track of the tasks and always making me laugh. AHH the room was finally done, the cake (provided by Betty) was in place and people started to arrive.

Final Product for the Favors

(buggy, bottle, foot and carriage cookie cutters filled with chocolate and "It's a boy" chocolate cigars)

Shannon was glowing and everyone was excited to be able to see her in her pregnant glory. Everyone was chatting, socializing and really enjoying themselves. Carrie and I decided that we were not going to play any games at the shower. I am sure at some time in your life, if you are female, you have gone to a baby or wedding shower and were forced to play the same lame games over and over again. We did get enough balloons filled with pieces of paper that had words printed on them that were related to newborn babies (Rattle, booties, bottles etc..) to tie on each guest seat. After dinner was over, Linda and I passed out thumb tacks and asked everyone to pop the balloon on their chair. The lady that had "baby Acosta" tag in their balloon won the first prize. (all prizes came from Bath & Body Works). Kelli was the winner if that game and picked the travel bag filled with a few items. We had more prizes to give out so we had everyone fill out their name and address on an envelope (for Shan's thank you cards) and put them in a box. Shannon then picked out of the box one envelope at a time and who's ever name was on the envelope, got to pick a prize.

Shannon (left) and Linda

After everyone was finished with dinner, we cut the cake and served it to the guest. The cake was so good!! Half was chocolate with strawberry filing (mommy-to-be request) and the other half was yellow with custard filling. It was time for Mommy to sit down and open the gifts her guests brought her. Everyone was really good at getting her items that can easily travel back home with her and the people who got her bigger items shipped them to her house. It was great watching Shan open all the baby items, she was so excited about each item. Betty's gift was so thoughtful and adorable. She made a diaper wreath that had items pinned to it (wipes, pacifier, toys, etc) and a poem went along with it. I wish I could share the poem, but I can't remember all of it. Anyway the diaper wreath is a great unique gift.

The shower lasted for about 2 1/2 hours (usually they are 4 hours long on a Sunday afternoon) and I was exhausted by the time I got home. Linda, Shan, Betty and family stayed and helped me clean up a little and transport the left over balloons. Betty took the balloons home with her and used them the next day for her b-day party. They stayed full over night and looked great the next day.

I really enjoyed planning and throwing this shower for one of my best friends. She smiled from the moment she arrived to the moment she left the restaurant, which made it worth all the work. Shannon--I hope you enjoyed your party. You have a good start on the items you will need when the little guy comes.

I AM NOT Weird!!

2007-07-19T13:28:00.000-05:00

Ok I have to take a moment and vent. I usually keep my posts upbeat and informative but I have to get this off my chest.

I AM NOT Weird ( or whatever people seem to think) that I am not married, do not have kids and I will be 30 this year. I have had enough of other women ( usually) asking me when I am going to have kids or get married. This happens to me more often then I have ever imagined. Especially now that my best friend is having a baby. Whenever I mention S having a baby or used to talk about my friends getting married, I'd get the same reaction from most women "When are you getting married" or " when are you having kids" or my favorite "Don't you want a family?" Of course I do you idiots!! I just didn't know that all had to happen before 30. Now I understand the biological clock thing but I am assuming if science can clone a sheep or a 60 year old woman can give birth, I can still have a family after I turn 30. I almost feel like the people who ask me this think I am weird or something. When this first happened to me ( 3 years ago when S got married), I would say something sarcastic like "I don't see a reason to get married", just so the person asking me wouldn't ask me again. Actually one time I told my supervisor that I couldn't have kids after the 100th time she mentioned having kids to me. I know that is really mean and maybe unlucky to say something like that but I get offended when anyone ( outside my my dearest and closest friends) ask me that. Now when people ask me about kids and marriage, I get angry. I mean lets logically think about this, one it's the guys job to ask me ( no J, this isn't a hint, just a fact) to get married, two in my world, school, career, husband and house comes before starting a family. So forgive me world that those things haven't happened to me yet. It seems to bother other people more than it bothers me. I am happy with my life for now and I don't think its weird or unusual that I am not married or have kids. If you know me, those are events I look forward to but I don't stress about them at all. Well until the 5th woman in one day asks me why I don't have kids etc...

Sorry for the venting but I have had enough. Come to think about it, I would never ask anyone besides my closest friends anything personal like that so I don't understand why I get the questions.

On a much happier note, I saw S today for the first time since she announced she is prego and she looks beautiful!! She is 5 mths along and looks like a glowing healthy, pregnant woman. Tomorrow is her baby shower.. more to come on that :)

Happy 30th Birthday Linda!!

2007-07-16T08:00:00.000-05:00

Today is my friend's 30th birthday, the first one out of our group of girls to leave our 20's. As expected, she is not too happy about it and has even told me she was wearing head-to-toe black to work today to "mourn" her 20's. Instead of having a party she wanted a few of her closest friends to enjoy a very nice dinner at Harry's Harbour this past Saturday. I had only been to this location once for a work lunch but I heard dinner was excellent here. We met everyone at 7:30 at the bar and because I was running late ( as usual), once we got there, we were seated right away. It was unusually dead in the restaurant that night, probably because it rained all day and the restaurant is best utilized when you can enjoy the outside deck right on the water. Our waitress, Lisa was very friendly and provided great service to our table. For appetizers, J ordered a Caprese Insalada ( tomato and mozzarella slices with EVOO) and I ordered Grilled Asparagus with goat cheese on the side. Both options were delicious. Then it came time for me to pick what I was going to have as an entree. This is where I usually have problems, especially when there are so many good options on the menu. My eyes searched for just the right item to have but my stomach couldn't decide. I finally after many changes, settled on my original first choice, Mignon with prawn shrimp, scallops, mashed potatoes and applewood bacon cream spinach. It was very good but the steak was perfect, the best item on the plate. J ordered grilled salmon with flavored mashed potatoes and veggies, which was also very good. Neither one of us could eat all of our dinner so J enjoyed them the next day too :) It is so nice to get dressed up and go out to a nice dinner with friends.

J is the next to turn 30 in my group of friends and he too has told me that he does not want anything that involves a lot a people to celebrate his b-day. I don't feel so bad now, I stated at my last b-day that I would not like to acknowledge my 30th in any way. I am sure that isn't going to happen since my mom's fiancee has already told me he was throwing me a party. I have asked J to take me out of the country for my b-day so I can avoid all attempts of a party. I know 30 isn't old but my 20's were amazing, fun and where my all my happy memories come from. I can't imagine ever feeling the way I felt through my 20's again. So I will, as Linda is doing today, "mourn" my 20's on my 30th b-day.

Balloons sent to Linda's work by her best friends :) hahaha

Linda- I hope you had fun and I will be joining you soon in the 30's :)

It's a BOY!!!!

2007-07-11T13:56:00.000-05:00

We can now call Baby Acosta, baby BOY Acosta!! I just got the call, a few hours ago from S, to tell me her and her husband are expecting a baby boy. I am so excited to know what she is having, I already know what I am getting the new bundle of joy. S and D didn't really have a boy's name in mind so we will have to wait to find that out. I am sure between the parents, grandparents and us friends, we will come up with something fitting for the new little boy. I think S was hoping for a girl to offset the men that already live with her but she sounded really happy when she told me the baby is a boy. Her brother-in- law lives with her and her husband while he gets situated in a new state and both her dogs are males so a little girl would have evened out the house a little bit. Either way, the new addition will be loved and spoiled.

CONGRATS!!!

I can't wait to meet the little guy!!

My Brother's Cats need a Home

2007-07-10T16:28:00.000-05:00

As you can tell by the title of this post, my brother's two cats need a home. He is finally moving out of my mom's house but can not take the cats to his new place. I would love to take them but I already have two and I can't have four cats and two humans in an apartment. Plus I tried casually mentioning it to J, just to see what he would say, and he to no surprise he said it was a bad idea. Actually come to think of it, he said I would be crazy and may have mumbled " and living by yourself" HAHAHAHA :) So anyway if anyone knows of a good home for these two cats, please let me know. One is male and one is female, both fixed and front de-clawed. Since they have always been a pair, they have to go to the same house.

Poor kittys, if you know me, I would have a house full of kitty's. You can't have enough cuddly, furry little family members :)

Happy Birthday America!!

2007-07-04T10:35:00.001-05:00

Happy Birthday America!!

Since the holiday falls in the middle of the week, the casino held their fire work celebration last night. This was the best fire work show I have seen in a long time. I enjoyed them with my friend, her boys, her husband and their family. The older boys just loved the big booms and flashes of lights, the younger kids wanted nothing to do with it and were scared. Here are the photos I took with my cell phone ( they turned out good for a camera phone)

Enjoy the holiday!

Apartment Hunting

2007-07-02T07:52:00.000-05:00

Over the last two weeks I feel like J and I have looked at all the respectable apartments in our area. The problem with most places were their ridiculous pet policies or their location. One apartment complex wanted $1000 pet fee and then monthly pet rent, for two cats?? I almost laughed when the lady told me that. Another place had a reasonable pet policy but they required that you have a high level of insurance for your pets, and again for cats?? I mean I guess if you had a dog or something that would attack another person, the funds are justifiable but really I have never heard of attack cats. After hearing many pet policies, I just decided that the places rather be over protected for all animals, or use it as a deterrent, then take the time and make policies for different pets. I am still amazed at how much money the complexes know that pet owners will pay for their loved furry family members.

This past Saturday, we saw two different apartments complexes, which we liked both of them. After seeing the first one, we both agreed that was our #1 choice over all the others we have seen. The layout, the surrounding area, and the lady who showed us the apartment were such a step higher then the others. We did see a place on Friday, during our lunch hour that we liked but they couldn't guarantee us an apartment, in the time we needed, since they are almost at full capacity. Then we got to the second place and I knew almost instantly this was my favorite but I didn't want to say anything until we saw the inside of the model home.

When I spoke to the property manager, Jonathan, on the phone to set up the appointment, he seemed to have a very interesting personality. Joking with me right from the moment I answered his call back. I warned J about his almost over the top personality and he got a dose of it as soon as he met Jonathan. Jonathan is a tall, bulky guy who was wearing khakis, white silky button up and alligator dress shoes. He is from Florida which explains the shoes but once he starts talking, you know that they also go with him. J and I introduce ourselves to him and he says "Oh you are looking for Jonathan" we said yeah, and he said with a huge grin, "Yeah that's me" Laughing he asked me if I warned J about his personality. He is a character and a great sales men. He knew a lot about the area for being from out of town and really wants to develop the area that this new complex is in. He gave us a tour of the model home and the grounds. We rode on the back of a golf cart to the next apartment he wanted to show us, an 2nd floor model. We liked that better than the 1st floor model. J like it more because it's on the 2nd floor and I like it more because it has vaulted ceilings. After the hour tour of the complex, we went back into Jonathan's office where he out together a packet for us so we can look it over and let him know if we wanted to live there. Like I said he is a really good sale man and offered us unbelievable move in specials.

J and I both agreed that this place was the best value for it's cost and location. J went home and crunched some numbers comparing our top 3 picks and I had to go to a baby shower. We got together later that day and we and the numbers agree that this was our best choice. I am so excited we decided on a place. We did our research and found a place that fits us and our needs. The next step is figuring out how to take two fully furnished apts and combining them into one. This will be fun :)

Camping Trip-Father's Day

2007-06-25T08:03:00.000-05:00

View from Cabin-Sunday Morning

It was chilly and raining when J and I got up on Sunday around 10am. I was not in a really good mood due to being extremely exhausted and I was trying to hide it but as J pointed out, I was not doing a good job at hiding it. I have to admit, I am addicted to coffee in the morning and I went without the day before and really needed that pick-me-up this particular morning. I would have to wait for that cup of coffee so I trudged through getting ready and packing to leave in a cloudy haze.

Today we were heading to J's parents to spend Father's Day with his dad but before we got there, J wanted to show me Plattsburgh ( where he went to school) and his family's cabin. The first stop, after we checked out, was Dunkin Donuts for some fresh coffee, of course. I felt normal after having a few sips and J turns to me jokingly and says " Man, we have to find out a way to get that right into your veins in the morning before you get out of bed" I just smiled and apologized for being edgy earlier. That is one of the great things about J, he doesn't get mad when I am being ridiculous, he just teases be about it later and we usually end up laughing about it. The drive to Plattsburgh was very green and smelled of pine, one of my favorite camping smells. The mountains and views were amazing and reminded why I love New York so much. We arrive at Plattsburgh a couple hours later, where J took me on a tour of all his apartments over the years and the places he hung out at. It is a really cute town, smaller than I imagined from the stories I have heard but J was from a tiny town and this place was big to him at that time. We had to stop at Zuke's Corner Store for J's favorite sub, the Zuke's special. It is made on warm homemade bread ( sort of like a french bread but softer) and piled high with turkey, ham, coleslaw, cheese and Russian dressing ( i think). I ordered a roast beef special and I have to admit, the subs there are the best I have ever had. J has tried to copy the Zuke's special at home and he comes close to the real thing but you can't beat the bread they use.

After our lunch, we left Plattsburgh and headed towards his family's cabin. His grandfather had built the cabin by hand when he bought the land many years ago. J's aunt and uncle now own the cabin and live there for the whole summer. As we pull into the driveway, J says "oh my grandma is here" and I get a little nervous. I was prepared to meet his aunt and uncle but not grandma, a cousin and another aunt and uncle. The first to greet us was Aunt Pam, she and her husband live next door, she said she recognized us because she reads Rel's blog ( J's dad) and he has a few pictures of us up. We come inside and I meet everyone else including the 2 dogs. Everyone is very friendly and excited to see J, it has been a while since he has visited. The cabin is gorgeous. His aunt and uncle has done some remodeling including adding an upstairs. The walls are pine ( I think) planks and the room off of the living room has big windows on all the walls, and a great view of the lake. We visited for about an hour, said our good byes and headed towards his parents cabin.

We arrived at the camp about 3 hours later and I am happy to be able to relax for the rest of the evening. J decided he wanted to take a dip in the river. I was going to join him but the water here was too chilly for me. I will have to wait until it warms up 5-10 degrees more before I go swimming. He stayed in just long enough to cool off. J's dad fired up the grill while J's mom prepared the chicken and vegetables for the grill. The chicken, veggies, potatoes and salad were delicious. I love the salad, greens, cranberries, almonds, cucumbers and crumbly cheese. Yummy yum. At dinner J's mom told me that grandma called her right after we left camp and that everyone liked me and said I was nice. Phew!! Usually families like me but you never know :) J started a fire in the fire pit after dinner and we made a few s'mores for everyone. The sunset was amazing, the view from the cabin is really beautiful, morning or night. We continued to relax by the fire and then retired to bed, we had another long day of driving in front of us.

Sunday Sunset

It was nice to be at camp with J's dad for father's day. I called my dad and he was at my sister's celebrating and enjoying his day with my siblings and his grand kids. I wanted to stay at camp and continue our vacation but all good things must come to an end. My weekend was prefect and really relaxing. I am very happy I got to meet more of J's family and to see the places he talks about. I may not get to spend a lot of time with J during the week but quality time together, just him and I, is worth it. I am glad that his early birthday gift ( this weekend) turned out as well as it did.

Camping Trip - Rafting

2007-06-19T21:16:00.000-05:00

It was 6:30 am when I opened my eyes on Saturday morning. I was filled with excitement about the days events, exhausted but full of anticipation. We had to be at Wild Water Outdoor Center by 8:30 am to check in and it was about 20 minutes from where we were staying so we left camp at 8.

On the ride to the Wild Waters, we were imagining what the trip, our guide and the other people are going to be like. It was the first time J and I have been whitewater rafting and we were not sure what to expect. The first thing you have to do after telling the lady in the store that you are there, you have to sigh a release of liability. The first sentence on the form states that you are aware and are liable for any bodily injury, including paralysis, decapitation etc.. this line made us laugh so hard because we were just talking about getting hurt on this trip. We walk around back to where the guides are in the middle of preparing the boats and equipment for the trip. We got fitted for vests, helmets, paddles and was offered a full wet suit or a wet suit top. J and I opted not to wear either wetsuit option since it did look like it was going to be a very nice day. Well I opted not to wear one because I wanted to get a tan while I was on the water and J opted not to wear one because our very skinny guide wasn't going to wear one so he figured he would be fine. The guides loaded the filly inflated boats on top of an old blue school bus while all of us waited for the ok to board the bus. The guides had to stall a little because this time of the year the Indian and Hudson rivers are a low and a dam releases water daily around 10am, which makes it easier to raft. We finally board the bus and are off to the "Put in" , about 15- 20 mins away.

All of us looked pretty silly riding on the bus with our helmets and vests on. About half way there, one of the guides, Mark ( which turns out to be our guide), gets our attention and explains to us the dos and dont's for the day. He mostly explained what to do if you fall out of the boat and other safety tips for the day. Most of the river we were going to raft, it not accessible by car so he advised getting out and walking was not a good idea and also reminded us if we get hurt, the only way out is to raft the rivers. If we were to fall out of the boat, we should not try and stand up because that increases the chance that your foot would get stuck on a rock, branch or other item and that will create a very dangerous situation. After his speech, my nervousness came back and I was determined not to fall out of the boat. We get to the "Put in" where all the boats are put in :) , and realize there are a lot of companies with multiple boats rafting today. Our company had 3 boats with 6 people per boat. Later we realize that there are about 40 boats with at least 6 people a boat rafting today. The guides unload the boats from the top of the bus, assign us to a guide and a boat and we gathered with our group. I was lucky to have the group I had, it was me, J and 4 other guys, which meant I didn't have to struggle carrying the boat from our bus to the riverbank or back out of the river at the end. Yeah me :) Our guide Mark goes over a few tips when rafting, #1 always listen to him, he will tell us when to paddle, how hard to paddle and if we have to get down. He also explained where to sit on the boat, how to hold the paddle at all times and what to do when we have to get down ( lean low into the center of the boat).

Our 3 groups carried the boats to the riverbank and one by one, where the boats are put in the water. I made sure I was sitting in the middle, in front of J, just in case I fell out, he would be closest to grab me. Mark explained we had to all paddle in unison to make the boat move smoothly, especially in the rapids so we practiced that and listening to his commands. After he felt we were ready, we headed down the Indian River. It was surprising when I got soaked by the first rapid but to my relief, the water was warm and refreshing. It was sunny and warm but will the equipment on and paddling, I was getting hot so the first splash was perfect. I believe this is also where the first person went in the water from our boat. Mark yelled "watch out" as we got into the rapid, which means you get low and lean in the middle of the boat, and the front guy didn't lean low enough and out of the boat he went. He grabbed the line on the outside of the boat quickly and the other guys grabbed his life vest and pulled him in. I know this is going to sound mean but I became relaxed, knowing I was not going to be the first person in the water. He didn't get hurt or anything but the look on his face was that of shock. He proceeds to fall out of the boat two more times during our trip. Mark starts to explain to us a few things about the water and rapids suck as eddys and how they hold you where you are and how to surf the rapids. We paddle on and off down the river hitting some fun warm up rapids here and there. There is a section of the trip that the water is calm so mostly everyone gets out of the boats and swims a little. Now I am not a fan of getting in water you can't see the bottom of but I am a good swimmer and I do have a life vest on so I decide to get in. J had already beat me into the water and was swimming right along. I was not that brave to go very far from the boat and for most the time held onto the boat so I knew I wouldn't swim anywhere I shouldn't. We were able to swim for about 15 minutes and I was so excited that we were swimming, I forgot to pee. Yes this does sound disgusting but there isn't a Johnny on the Spot or anything on the riverbank for the 6 hour trip and peeing in the river it a better option then peeing in the woods at our lunch brake. Needless to say, I held it for the rest of the trip. Somewhere in the middle of the trip, the boats stop on the riverbank and we are provided with lunch. They had sandwiches, apples, crackers w/peanut butter and water for our 3 boats. The break lasted about 20 minutes and we were back in the water headed down the Hudson.

We came to a few rapids and Mark talked us through surfing the rapids. The boat goes past the rapid, we try to find an eddy to hold us for a moment or two and then we paddle as hard as we can towards the rapid and once there, you try to get a lot of water in the boat so it holds you there and the rapids come crashing into the boat. Our attempts were successful and it was so much fun!! On some bigger rapids, other boats tried and failed at surfing but our boat was successful every time we tried. I am sure it was due to the men in the boat and our guide's instructions. On one of the larger rapids we were surfing, one of the guys (Steve), was leaning out over the water, trying to get water into the boat so it would hold us there, lost his grip and went into the water. The rapids pulled him under our boat and shot him right out the other side. I didn't laugh that time because I thought he was injured at first but he seemed to have liked it. I am so glad we got Mark for our guide, he was a lot of fun and had us surfing a lot of the rapids.

Along the Hudson, there was a large rock coming out of the water, where the guides stopped the boats so you could climb it and jump off into the water if you wanted to. This is something I was not interested in at all. I knew I would hurt myself if I attempted it but J and 3 of the guys wanted to so Mark stopped the boat there. The guide told us that the rope is just to hold the boat and not for climbing as he gets to the top of the rock. J starts to climb up the rock, grabs the rope and ends up falling back down the rock into the boat. Of course I starting laughing, well I knew he wasn't hurt. He got right back up, maybe a little embarrassed, climbed the rock and jumped off the other side. It looked like fun but I am not the graceful and have a tendency to make an ass of myself when in situations like that.

After rock jumping, we continued down the Hudson through the gorge. The scenery is absolutely breath taking at this point of the trip. All along, the scenery was amazing, rich green trees, in the middle of no where but the gorge was something else. You look up and see these huge tall rock type edges, with tree's roots exposed and you feel really small in comparison. It's here on the trip that I regretted not buying one of the waterproof disposable cameras they offered in the store where we had to check in. As J said " It's scenery just for your memories". This is also the part of the trip that i slightly started to regret not getting a wetsuit top. The sun had gone away, the air cooled off and it looked like a storm was heading our way. I asked Mark what so they do if it rains, which his reply was obvious after I heard it. He said since the only way out of this area is by car, you have to paddle to the end of the trip so you can get to a road, rain or shine. He also explained there isn't a lot of danger involved, since you are in a rubber boat, with plastic helmets and paddles and in the middle of huge trees. The likely hood of you getting struck by lighting is slim. It did sprinkle off and on for the rest if the trip and I was a tad chilly but I was not about to let any of the men in the boat know that :)

The last hour or so of the trip was a semi boring. We had missed or were in front of the bubble ( the water from the dam) and moving very slow. We could have paddled to speed it up but the water was very shallow and our boat kept getting stuck on rocks. That is the way the 3rd guy fell out of the boat. It stopped abruptly on a rock and doink, he fell right out over the side. Now that made me laugh a lot ( it wasn't just me laughing, don't think I mean) and I was exhausted by then, which makes me giggle at anything. I was wet, chilly, had a headache ( lack of water, due to having to pee for the last 6 hours) and we were moving so slow. I could tell J and the others were tired too, our boat became very quiet. We finally got to the riverbank( around 4:30) where we had to carry our boat up to the road where the bus was waiting for us. J and some other guys helped the guides load the boats back on top of the bus and then we were back on the road.

Once we were back, they had a BBQ dinner all ready for the boaters. Salad, veggie tray, chicken, potatoes, corn, cookies and refreshments. The food was delicious and much needed. During the last rapids we went through on the Hudson, a guy that works for Wild Waters, took pictures of the boats. He had the pictures showing a TV while we were eating. we had the option to buy single pictures, multiple pictures or a CD with your boats pictures on it. J and I opted to buy the CD. The picture posted on the blog are from that CD.

After eating dinner, we headed back to camp. We were so tired!! J attempted to start a fire but decided he would lay down and I went to the bathroom to freshen up but joined J after and we napped. It didn't seem that we did that much paddling etc on the water but our nap probably could have lasted all night but we deiced that would not be good. We got up, J started that fire and we relaxed for a couple of hours. The next day morning we were heading to up to Plattsburgh, to his family's cabin and then to his parents.

Just in case you are wondering.... my chapstick survived in J's pocket during the trip, thank goodness :)

What a Road Trip!

2007-06-19T08:10:00.000-05:00

J and I are back safe from our road trip this weekend. It was an absolute blast!! Even a little rain didn't stop me from having the best weekend to date.

After completing some errands on Friday morning, we were officially on the road to Schroon Valley Resort by noon. The day before, I printed driving directions from yahoo maps and they estimated that it would take us 4 hrs and 53 mins to get to our first destination. I knew, however, it would take longer than that. For one, I have to stop every couple of hours to use the ladies room and stretch my legs and I was also in charge of reading the directions which I am not so good at. We did get a little turned around because my interpretation of the directions were a little off but that only delayed us about 20 minutes, we arrived at the camp ground at 6pm, just like I predicted :) Most of the campers there were in RV's and seemed to plan on staying there for most of the summer. After checking in, we found our cabin and begun to unpack. I had bought most of the groceries we needed that morning back home but we needed to get hot dogs and such at the local store. The cabin was very cozy and cute. You walk into the front room where there is a futon, table, chairs, microwave and a dorm size fridge with a freezer compartment. In the back room, which was the bedroom, there was a full size "bed" to the right and bunk beds on the other side of the room along with an air conditioner. The "bed" was really a piece of ply wood with a thin mat on it. Thank goodness for the futon mat in the front room, that made a huge difference that night when we went to bed.

After unpacking, we asked at the front office where the closest grocery store was and headed in that direction to pick a few things up. We walked into the Grand Union and it was much smaller store than I was used to but had everything we needed including sticks to make S'Mores. I had never had one until this weekend and I even went camping a lot when I was younger. You could tell that most of the patrons in the store were out of towners looking for supplies for the week. We got back to camp and J started the grill and a fire in the fire pit right outside of our cabin. He is really good at making fire, which led me to call him my big strong man all weekend, which annoyed him by the end of the 3 days :) But honestly, when I am with him, I know that he will do all the manly things and I won't have to worry about it.. that's a good thing :) We grilled hot dogs and hamburgers, which we had with the pasta salad and antipasto we picked up at the grocery store. We moved ourselves from the picnic table to the chairs around the camp fire. We drank some beers, met the "neighbors" and relaxed for the rest of the night by the fire. It was perfect.

More to come.. Whitewater rafting...

Camping Trip

2007-06-15T06:34:00.000-05:00

This morning J and I are getting ready to go camping this weekend. It was his request for his birthday gift and this weekend was really the only weekend we had to go. I didn't realize it was father's day this Sunday until after I made the reservations but we are going to stop at his parents on Sunday to see his dad.

We are going to Schroon Valley Resort near Lake George until Sunday. We are not really roughing it, I reserved a cabin for us but it does not have a kitchen or a bathroom so I guess just sort of camping. I used to camp all the time when I was younger but I had a hard time thinking of all the things we would need this weekend, I didn't have to worry about that, my mom took care of all that stuff. Moms are great like that. Anyway, we are going white water rafting on Saturday while we are there. Wild Waters Outdoor Center is about 20 minutes from the camp site and we have to sign in at 8 am. It's an all day adventure so they will serve us lunch on the river and dinner when we get back. J and I have never been so we are really excited. I am nervous just because I am not sure what to expect but I am sure it is going to be so much fun. However, I am going to be lost without my chapstick, the lady at the place said that we should leave all of our personal items locked in the car. I know it sounds silly but I really am addicted to chapstick so it will be an experience. Wild Waters provides us with all the equipment we will need, helmet, life vest and a guide. To be honest, I am no excited/nervous about it, I haven't really slept all week, it's like waiting for Christmas day . :)

I have to finish getting packed so we can get on the road soon. We have about 5 hours in the car an probably a little longer since I have to stop every few hours. I love taking road trips with J so this should be a blast.

Happy Birthday Alex

2007-06-12T13:30:00.000-05:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ALEX!!

Today is Alex's 2nd birthday. How time flies, just yesterday I was at the hospital waiting to meet little Alex. He has an older brother Andrew who will be turning 4 next month.

J and I went to visit them this past Sunday since we won't be in town for Alex's b-day party this weekend. As always the boys were in good moods and very energetic. It would be nice if as adults we could have some of that energy to get us through day. I suppose if we got to take a 3 hour nap in the middle of the day we would. Andrew is really talkative and says the funniest things. I asked him what he wanted for his b-day next month and he said " a diaper". I thought that was odd since he is potty trained but then realized Alex was getting his diaper changed and he was being funny. So I ask " And what are you going to do with a diaper? You are not a baby anymore" Andrew said " put it on the fan" and looked up at the ceiling fan. All of us were laughing and he was grinning ear to ear knowing what he just said was silly. He loves to preform for a crowd. Alex is a little more shy than Andrew but still as cute and smiling. I think he doesn't get to talk as much because his older brother doesn't stop to give him a chance. I, of course, was the same... never shutting up so my little brother could talk. The poor kid hummed and pointed when he wanted something, my mom would get so frustrated... Anyway this was the first time J had met them and he seemed entertained by them. I love Linda's boys and I am glad I got to hang with them for a little bit, they get so big, so fast.

Happy 2nd Birthday little cutie.

Meet Baby Acosta

2007-06-04T19:33:00.000-05:00

HOW VERY EXCITING!!

I see some fingers :) Not sure if it's a he or she but does that really matter as long as he/she is healthy? It's only the end of the 1st trimester and it is so big already. If you can't tell, I am very, very excited about my best friend having a baby!!

Party Time

2007-06-03T18:35:00.000-05:00

It was Madison's 2nd b-day on Friday and Marissa threw her party on Saturday. It was the perfect weather, sunny, warm ( 90 degrees), and breezy. J and I got to the house around 3 ( the party started at 2) and all of Eric's family was there along with Marissa's mom.

I was so excited to go shopping for a little 2 year old girl. There were so many options for me to choose from. I felt bad because J wanted to be there when I went shopping but our schedules just didn't allow that. I started in the little girl clothes section first ( of course). It was a sea of pinks, purples and frills. I picked up a really cute Dora ( that is the rave for 2 year olds) tank top with frills on the arms and on the bottom that was matched with really cute purple shorts. Unfortunately I couldn't find the right size for Madison so on to the toy section. This was my favorite part, I got to try out all the cool toys they have out for little ones. At first I was very confused on where to exactly look for the right age appropriate toys so I asked a lady standing in one of the toy aisles and she pointed me in the right direction. I know that toys have age labels on them such as 18m+ or infant, etc but I wasn't finding the perfect toy for Madison in her age group. I finally came across an aisle of Backyardagains( back-yard-agains) items and remembered that this is one of Madison's favorite shows to watch. I was standing in front of a plastic guitar, with the different characters on buttons and each one had a different song and a plastic radio with mic that had the 5 characters on buttons that played 10 different songs in 5 categories. I tested both items out and decided on the radio. I thought that Madison will love hearing her voice come out of the radio. The radio is interesting, it has 5 categories of music, rock, disco, zydeco, ska ( yep funny right?) and salsa. When you pressed the button, a song with the character singing would play. It's really funny when you actually listen to the words of each song, they sound like a toddler made them up but it is for entertaining them so I guess that makes sense. Off to the movie/music section for a Backyaragains DVD. Madison loves her DVDs and I wanted to get her another little something and Backyardagains Surf's up was the pick.

Marissa had the house and back porch all decorated in Dora colors, purple and orange with matching plates, napkins and silverware. She even got a huge Dora helium balloon for Madison (she just loved it). Everyone was outside enjoying the weather. Well, not everyone, there were some inside taking advantage of the air conditioning but I thought it was perfect weather. We found Madison at her new sand/water table playing with her toys, smiling and laughing. She was in heaven, everyone over, means more people to play with. Marissa had her dressed in white capri pants and a really cute brown top. That outfit only lasted a little bit and like a true girl, changed mid-way through the party into an adorable orange and white romper. J and I got introduced to the people we didn't know and than grabbed a beer to sit down and enjoy. It's such a great feeling to watch kids run around, play and have fun. Madison was loving having her cousins there to put her on the swings, play in her new pool and play with her new sand/water table. The food arrived shortly after we got there, pizza, wings, salads, all your normal party stuff. A short time after eating, it was present time but J and I missed it because we had to run to the store for a few things that were needed. I was a little disappointed but Madison was getting a little tired so they needed to do it when they did. She really didn't open them herself but loved seeing all the stuff for her. I was glad to hear that Marissa thought she would love what we got her and that she didn't already have that DVD. The party continued with Madison trying out some of her gifts and J and I just enjoying everyone's company. It was cake time and Madison had been practicing blowing out her candle for some time leading up to this moment. Everyone gathered around the table to look at the Dora cake and to sing happy birthday. The singing began and at first Madison was loving it and then she got shy and covered her face ( very cute). The song ended, we counted to 3 and she blew out her candle. It was so exciting that she actually blew it out herself. All of us clapped and cheered.

After most quests went home and the baby was in bed, Marissa and Eric got to sit down with us and Patty ( Marissa's mom) and relax. It was a really good birthday party and Madison seemed to have a ball. It was great to be there and I am glad we got to go and help celebrate her birthday.

Baby Acosta

2007-05-30T07:58:00.001-05:00

It's official there will be a baby Acosta arriving this year. I have known for a few weeks but I wanted to wait to blog about it. My best friend Shannon ( 1/3 of the brain see post "Friends") announced she and David are expecting their first child and the estimated due date is December 15th. I was excited just to hear she was prego but more excited when I found out the due date is just 4 days before my b-day. I have already given her the heads up on having a baby so close to Christmas. You have to make sure to ALWAYS buy the child two distinct gifts, one for the b-day and one for the holiday. You don't get to combined gifts just because it's easier. I know from experience that you feel cheated when you get one big Christmas gift and they say "well it's for your b-day too". Birthdays are special days meant for celebration, so Shan always throw the baby a b-day party ( I know u will) and make sure they don't feel overlooked :)

Anyway I am getting off on a tangent, back to Shan being prego. It is hard for me to believe my friend of 14 years is going to be a mom. She will be an amazing mom but still a mom. It's crazy how time flys and all of the sudden you are all grown up. I am so happy for Shan and Dave and I can't wait to meet the new addition. How exciting and I am sure terrifying becoming new parents. I am a little sad that I can't watch all the stages Shannon will go through during the pregnancy and not being there to greet the new one when he/she enters the world but hopefully I will get to meet the little one soon after. The new addition will be the first great-grandchild on Shannon's side and David's mom's 1st grandchild so it will be spoiled and rightly so. I told Shan, think of all the little cute outfits you get to buy ( we love to shop) or the cute little blankets and toys etc.. She no longer will have to make excuses on why to shop ( just teasing). Besides all the clothes, she gets to decorate a whole room and she loves to do that. So along with all the greatness new ones bring you, Shan, you get bonus on doing the things you love to do.

As soon as Shan told me they were expecting, I started to think about throwing her a baby shower. I wasn't really sure how it was going to work out since we do live in different states but it turns out she plans on coming home in July for another event, which makes it perfect for me to plan a shower. The other third of the brain, Carrie, lives close to Shannon but said she wanted to help plan and throw the shower for her back home so we are in the midst of doing that. So many cute ideas when it comes to celebrating babies. I know July is early to have a shower for someone due in December but we have to have it when she is home so that her family and friends can celebrate her and the soon to be baby Acosta.

Shan, I am so privileged to watch you go through another stage of your life and I am very lucky to have you as a friend. So make sure you keep your blog updated so us back home knows what is going on. Congratulations to you and David!!!

Many Thanks

2007-05-28T08:47:00.000-05:00

Memorial Day, a day to take time and acknowledge the men and women who have served our country. I am going to take this opportunity to say

THANK YOU to all who served our country and made it the way it is today. We have freedom because of you and that is the greatest gift anyone could receive.

Thank you, thank you and thank you!!!!

Distractions

2007-05-24T08:26:00.001-05:00

I am not sure if the universe is against me or if I just bring it upon myself but ever since I made the appointment to take this dreaded GMAT, life has thrown me a few major curve balls that have distracted me.

The appointment for the test was made a month in advance to give myself enough time to study and take a few practice tests, figuring that was plenty of time. A few days after the appointment was made, my father went into the hospital for a week. Of course I spent that time with him, I mean family always comes first, even before myself. After that week, I started to study at every chance I got but it seemed that there were very few chances. It didn't help that the weather was getting better which has always made it hard for me to concentrate on anything but being outside. Then last Saturday I got a frantic call from my sister asking me for directions to a hospital here. Kevin, Ralf's ( my brother-in-law) brother, was rushed to the hospital because he was having a lot of problems. After running tests, they found a tumor on the front of his brain. There was so much pressure in that area that they were going to drill holes in his head to relive it so that the brain could settle back into place. After breakfast on Sunday, I went to the hospital to sit with my sister and Ralf's family to wait for Kevin's surgery to be done. It took over 7 hours but they removed most of the tumor and to all of our surprise, he is home now. They are waiting for the biopsy results on the tumor but at least everything is ok for now. I know I didn't have to go on Sunday and spend all day there but again, my family comes first and my sister needed me and my other sister to distract her from what was going on. Well at least we kept her entertained. In some twisted way, I enjoyed talking and spending time with my sisters that day. After watching my dad sick in the hospital and the shocking news about Kevin ( he is only a few years older than me and that is really young :) ), I just didn't find the GMAT that important.

On top of the family drama, I was stressed. Stressed because I didn't have time to study, I didn't have time to go to the gym and I was exhausted. I know I sound like I am complaining but really I'm just looking for advice on how to handle life when it seems overbearing. Lucky for me, I do have a solid circle of friends and family that I can lean on when needed. The only solution I came up with was rescheduling my GMAT appointment. This will give me another month to study and hopefully I can figure out how to find time to prepare and deal with life's curve balls.

Thanks to my love, family and friends who helped me through this last month. Just warning you now....it looks like my summer will be as busy, so expect those crazy phone calls :)

Sad Saturday

2007-05-21T09:18:00.000-05:00

The energy around Buffalo before Saturday's game was intense. The party-in-the-plaza started at 11 am and it was perfect weather to celebrate outside. Even my sister who just got back from visiting my nephew in Japan called me to see if I wanted to go party and watch the game in the plaza. I had to decline the invite since I already had plans to BBQ and watch the game at Marissa's house. Plus I was not going to stand for hours, in the sun, surrounded by thousands of people and only be allowed 3 beers. :) After the first party-in-the-plaza, the event coordinators decided to limit anyone of drinking age to 3 beers in order to keep the event family friendly.

We got to Marissa's house just before the opening face-off, everyone was pumped for the game. Even little Madison had on her Sabres hoody sweatshirt on. The game was exciting and nerve racking, I gave myself a stomach ache again. The Sabres scored the first goal and then Ottawa the next 2 and then of course the Sabres tie it up in the 3rd period. They did have a few chances to score the winning goal but it just wasn't in the cards for them. Drury got hit right in the face while standing in front of the Senators goal, which unfortunately stopped the puck from scoring. Then the Sabres set up to score again and those dirty Senators slid into the net, knocking it off it's spot which again prevented the puck from scoring. I swear the player did it on purpose. So off to OT the game went. I was nervous but confident we would score first, I mean it seemed that the Sabres had enough experience with OT that it would be simple for them. Unfortunately for Sabre fans and the city of Buffalo, the Senators scored. It was such a disappointment that all of us watching the game just stared at the TV in disbelief. It was such a let down after all the excitement and emotions that went into the playoffs.

The commentators had annoyed us all game and now that the Senators won, we couldn't bare to hear another word out of their mouths. Marissa and Eric started to get the food ready to be BBQ and J and I went outside to play with Madison and practice playing Horseballs. Horseballs is such a fun game for outside. You sent up these "racks" 10-20 feet apart and they are color coded. The top rung is red and worth 3 points, the middle rung is yellow and worth 2 point and the bottom one is blue and worth 1 point. You swing the balls ( two tennis balls attached with a short piece of rope) and aim for the opposite rack. You score by getting the balls to land on one of the rungs and can knock your opponents off too, which doesn't let them score. The first person or team to reach 21 wins.

While the food was cooking, Marissa was talking with her neighbors and we decided to put a small wager on the horse race coming up. It was going to be on after they got done talking about the hockey game. The Preakness is the second jewel of the Triple Crown and Street Sense was the favorite to win. There were 9 horses and 9 people between us and the people over at the neighbors so we wrote the names of the horse on pieces of paper, gave $5 each and picked a horse. Eric picked Street Sense, I picked Curlin and J got Xchanger. The food was done cooking just in time for us to make a plate and sit down to watch the race. I personally don't enjoy horse racing that much but I do watch it time to time. Well Xchanger was in the lead for a little bit but Street Sense made his move and he was leading the pack the last stretch of the track. Curlin came up the side and in a photo-finish won. I didn't even realize I had the horse that won, I was still in a daze from the Sabres losing. We finished eating and decided to head home. I was really exhausted from the day.

The Sabres had one hell of a season this year and unfortunately we are very unlikely to see this team as they are for next year. In a way I am glad they lost because now I can concentrate on studying but it would have been great to see the Stanley Cup for the first time reside in Buffalo. We love the hometown team and are looking forward to see what next season brings.

GO SABRES

2007-05-17T13:27:00.000-05:00

Let's go Sabres!! They were in a do or die situation on Wednesday night against Ottawa and they won. They were in Ottawa, down three games and started the game with a goal just 9 seconds into it. Yep 9 seconds!!! They were back to playing offense and their defense was extraordinary.

The fans in Buffalo are amazing. There were 9,800 people at HSBC arena last night watching the game on two 12' by 9' TVs and cheering like the team was playing at home. The energy around here is entertaining. Everyone, everywhere is talking about the team and how they are going to go to game 7 in this series. Game 5 is Saturday in Buffalo and I believe is sold out. The Sabres organization released more tickets this morning at 9 am and by 9:03 am, they were no longer available on the Internet. The game is going to be crazy and the fans will be cheering on Saturday.

LET'S GO BUFFALO!!!

To a few of my Canadian friends....it's not over until it's over :)

10 Fitch

2007-05-15T04:30:00.000-05:00

For Mother's Day weekend, J's parents asked us to join them at 10 Fitch, a Bed and Breakfast located in Auburn, NY. They had gone to this Inn earlier this year and befriended the owner and Inn Keepers.

This was my first experience at a Bed and Breakfast and I wasn't too sure what to expect. I am uncomfortable with people waiting on me and I knew that the staff does that at B&B's. I was nervous about it being awkward essentially staying at a stranger's home. The fact that I was staying at a B&B with J's parents made me nervous. His parents are great, but it's always nerve wracking getting to know the boyfriend's parents.

As soon as we arrived, all of my nervousness and concerns subsided. The Inn is beautiful. You walk into the main foyer, to your left is a library/sitting room and to your right is the kitchen. Off of the library is a solarium with a gorgeous view of the grounds. This leads into another sitting room with fireplace and dinning room. We were the last ones to arrive so we got the last room, The Gardenview ( I would have picked this one :) ). I loved the room. It was decorated in soft greens, yellows and pinks. It has this really neat frog print on some pillows which matched the print on one side of the comforter. There was a little room inside our room which had a TV, two wicker chairs and a round ottoman. Each room at the Inn has it's own private bathroom. I absolutely loved the tile that the bathroom had. The shower was pretty impressive too. J's sister was teasing us because our room shared a wall with his parents but that didn't bother us.

After looking at the rooms, we joined his parents, M, J and Katie downstairs where Katie had cheese, crackers, fruit and wine ready for us. She is this young, bubbly, smiling and friendly Inn keeper . The owners were out of town so Katie ans Sean ( her boyfriend) were doing all the work for us. Well mostly Katie but Sean did help when he could. He had to work at the Sushi restaurant he is a chef at. We gathered outside, ate, drank and listened to J's mom tell us all about her trip to Spain. It's pretty impressive that for her 60 birthday, her and a couple of friends walked 75 miles ( I believe) through Spain over a period of 5 or 6 days. She had gifts for everyone. I got this really pretty red purse and cute silver hoop earrings. She also shared some postcards and such that she got on her trip. The pictures are yet to come, I think she said there are about 1,000 she took. After drinking a couple bottles of wine, the men went off in search of more wine and snacks. Us ladies sat around and talked for a little longer and then got ready for dinner.

We arrived at an Italian restaurant around 8pm for dinner. J and I ordered beers at the bar while we waited to be seated. The wait was much shorted than anticipated. I was having a hard time deciding what I was going to order since I was not exactly hungry after the cheese and crackers. Everything sounded good on the menu. I settled on a steak salad and it was delicious. It was really nice to be out to dinner with everyone, relaxing, drinking, eating and having good conversations. I like when everyone is laughing and enjoying each other's company. After dinner it was back to the Inn for for bed. I was exhausted.

The sun was shinning the next morning when we got up around 8am. I could hear a ball bouncing outside and to my delight, Sean was outside playing catch with his and Katie's dog Gully. He is a really cute dog. Black poodle mix and very friendly. He loves his mama for sure, he followed her around everywhere. It was very sweet. After getting ready for the day, J and I went downstairs to find everyone waiting for us except for mom. The wine and food did not sit with her well and she had been up off and on throughout the night sick. She did miss out on an amazing breakfast Katie and Sean prepared. It was a quiche served with a salad and balsamic vinaigrette dressing. I wasn't sure about how salad and coffee would go together but it was delicious. After breakfast was over, mom joined us downstairs and let us know she was feeling much better.

After some discussion, it was decided that M and J would go to an Antique shop and come back at 1pm to pick mom up and meet J, me and dad in Skaneateles at Kabuki for lunch. Kabuki is the Japanese/Sushi place that Sean is a chef at. Skaneateles is a beautiful town just 10 minutes from where we were staying. It is right on the lake and the view is breath taking. There are shops and restaurants of all sorts up and down the main road. The lake is so clean and clear that you can see to the bottom even when you are out on the pier. J, dad and I walked in and out of the stores, not really looking for anything but just to see what each one was all about. There was a small wine store that offered tastings, of course J and I participated with that. *wink*

The pier at night

View from the pier

Village shops

Village Park

( For more pictures, check out Rel's blog- under the microscope)

At about 1:30pm we met up with group at Kabuki and enjoyed wonderful Japanese food and sushi. I ordered crab cakes that came with steamed rice with a seafood sauce on top. It was really really good. J ordered some sushi rolls and pieces. He liked his lunch too. We suggested that M should try goat cheese in the lobster/goat cheese salad. I got a chance to try a little and it was delicious. I am not too sure if we convinced M that goat cheese is tasty but she did say it wasn't as bad as she thought it would be.

After lunch and some coffee, we went back to the Inn to get ready for dinner. J's mom and Katie had worked together on planning what we were going to have that night. After everyone caught a short nap, we met in the dinning room. Katie brought out the first course. It was a salad with figs wrapped in goat cheese and bacon on top with balsamic vinaigrette. It was superb. I never really had fig but the combination was perfect. The main course was a grilled salmon steak on spinach with cranberries and pine nuts on top of red potatoes. I was impressed by the presentation and taste of the meal. The food the whole weekend was phenomenal. Little did I know what was in store for breakfast the next morning. We went into the library after dinner to watch the Sabres play Ottawa in game 2 of the conference finals. I was trying to contain my enthusiasm for the game but F bombs and such were flying by the 2nd period. Katie also served Orange Chocolate Souffle for dessert by the 2nd period along with coffee. It was really good. All warm and chocolaty and melted in your mouth. I could only eat half of it though. Sorry Katie. I was full from dinner and so nervous about the hockey game that I gave myself a stomach ache. They ended up tying the game with seconds left in regulation and lost the game in 2nd overtime. By then, everyone had gone to bed and J and I were exhausted.

Sunday morning was sunny again and the house smelled of cinnamon. Yummy!! I was running a little behind getting ready for breakfast that would be served at 9:30am so I had to stop doing my hair and join the family downstairs. Katie served us waffles with cinnamon bananas and whip cream. They were so good. I have never had anything like it. I love sweets, especially in the morning and these were just the thing I needed. After we were done we took some pictures outside by this beautiful tree with purple flowers on it and finished packing to go home. The guys packed the cars while I finished getting ready and we all met downstairs by the cars. We hugged goodbye and hit the road to home by 10:30 am.

My weekend was amazing. J and I don't really get to spend a lot of time together during the week so this was perfect for us. It was nice that J's mom had 2 out of 3 children around to celebrate Mother's day. I can't wait to go back to the area. My thoughts on B&B's are forever changed.

Thanks to J's parents and Katie who made this weekend happen

A Letter to My Mom

2007-05-09T20:57:00.000-05:00

Dear Mom,

I have been thinking about this letter for a long time. I have been trying for years to figure a way to let you and everyone around you known how much I appreciate having you as my mom.

In the first few years of my life, you were the one I depended on for everything. I had others, dad, grandma, my aunts but you were the one I went to first. I knew even at a young age you would provide me with the truth, protect me when needed and love me no matter what I did. You even set a place at the dinner table so my friends ( the imaginary type) could sit with me while I ate. When I decided to be a brat and throw tantrums, you ignored me, knowing as wise mothers do, that if you gave into them, they would never stop. Thank goodness for you, that method worked. I eventually stopped, you were right ( as always). I have always envied your patience, I have none. As things around you become hectic and crazy, you stay calm and collected, never letting your tough image crack. I used to think there was nothing that would make you cry. You weren't like the other moms, you could take on anything. I remember the first time I saw you cry ( well the first time you let me witness it). I couldn't believe it!! I wanted to make it stop, you are my mom and you can not be sad!! I realize now, you are human and sometimes you just have to cry but when I was little I would cry if I thought you were sad. I never want you to be sad. You only deserve happiness in your life.

When I got a little older, you guided me through the tough stages of growing up ( pre-teen/teen years). The strange hair cuts I had, the clothes I insisted on wearing, trying to fit in, you let me be who I wanted to be as long as I was true to myself. I felt awkward in middle school, I was taller than everyone, you showed me to embrace my height. I was chubby too ( I know you disagree but look at the pictures) and you had me believing it was due to "baby fat" until I was a junior in high school. I used to get annoyed when you would say that but I realize now it was to prevent me from obsessing about it and to teach me to love myself for me. I also know if it was a real issue, you would have addressed it. I still depended on you for everything, I wouldn't admit it then, but it was because of you that I didn't do drugs, or get in trouble. I didn't want to disappoint you. That is worse than any punishment. You kept the forum for "taboo" topics wide open. I would come into your room almost every night and talk to you about everything that is going on in my life. Who likes who, who is having sex, who is doing drugs, who is mad at who (girls that age were always mad at someone) or what the new "in" thing was and you would just listen. You would talk with me as long as I wanted, even though you had to get up for work at 4am. I know you gave me little lessons here and there using Oprah or Montel after school as the tools and I listened. I really want you to know that I listened and heard every tid bit of advice and information you gave me. Your voice came creeping into my head a lot of times when I was faced with a decision to make. I couldn't have gotten through those years as successfully as I did without you.

After graduating from high school, I had college to face. You had made college seem important but left all the decisions up to me. I wanted to stay local and go to a community college ( that's what everyone was doing) and you wanted me to go away to a 4 year school. I choose to stay local. I was convinced you wanted me to go away, so I wouldn't date the person I was dating. How silly was I at that age? It's not in you to be selfish like that. I did want you to know, you were right, I should have gone to a 4 year school, well I think I would had a little more fun. You were also right about the boyfriend at the time. Actually come to think of it, you have always been right about my relationships. Now that I was a grown up ( 18 and all), you left the life decisions up to me. You even let me move out without question when I was only 20. I thought I could do it all at 20. Work, go to school, party with my friends. The truth, I could do it, but not without you. I missed our nightly talks, your smiling face when I got home and watching Jeopardy with you. Then the tables turned and you needed me at this time of our lives. This is when I learned what being a strong women really meant. You are my inspiration for life.

I am looking forward to the next stage of my life, hopefully marriage and children, and I know I am prepared because of all that you have taught me. I am truly grateful that you are my mom, I couldn't have picked a better one if I had to. For all your hard work and dedication to your family I want you to know you are appreciated. I love you mom and you are my world.

Love your daughter.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY

Cinco de Mayo

2007-05-07T09:51:00.001-05:00

This past Saturday was Cinco de Mayo and around here the place to celebrate it is Cozumel. It was exactly what I needed after the week I had.

The week started out with my dad going into the hospital with pneumonia. He went to the Dr's because he was having a hard time breathing and they admitted him to the hospital to run tests and to get him on heavy antibiotics. While doing all the testing, they came across a problem with his heart. This only meant that he would be staying longer than he expected, which did not make him happy. They put a heart monitor on him to find out if this problem was a side effect of his the meds they gave him or if it was a problem that needed more attention. It turns out that his right and left atrium's were not pumping as strong as they should be. If I understood the Dr correctly, this could cause blood clots and we know that is not good. So after a few days of observation, antibiotics, blood thinners ( via a shot) and rest, my dad was ready to come home on Friday. His Dr wanted him to stay a few more days so that the transition from the shot to a pill would happen in the hospital but 5 days in there was more then my dad could handle. He had to learn how to administer the shot before being released. The good news is that my dad is on the road to getting healthier, the bad news, he had to miss his trip to Reno today, Dr's orders. He and my brother bowl in the USBC National Tournament every year. My dad has been participating in this tournament every year since I can remember. My brother joined him a few years ago when he became eligible to bowl. Unfortunately, my dad has to sit out this one. But there is always next year.

The weather was perfect for cerveza que bebe ( drinking beer) on the patio of Cozumel to celebrate Cinco de Mayo. It was sunny, breezing and in the mid 60's. According to Wikipedia.com, Cinco de Mayo commemorates an initial victory of Mexican over French forces in the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862. Honestly I wasn't sure what it was for, I thought it was their Independence day, which I found out is in September. For whatever reason it happens, I am grateful!! J and I met M and E at there house and headed downtown. The parking is not exactly great for this event especially if you don't start celebrating by noon. We had to park our cars a few streets away and hike it to the bar. For the guys it's no big deal because they have sneakers or shoes on but of course us girls dress for fashion not comfort. We let the guys go get the cars and pick us up when we were ready to go home :) The place was already packed with partiers when we got there at 4pm. If I had to guess I would say about 200 people were there when we arrived and more then that when we left a few hours later. It was an hour wait for a table so we gave the girl our name and grabbed a few Coronas to enjoy. It is the perfect setting to "people watch". That is my favorite thing to do in a large, busy area of people. There are always "interesting" groups or individuals who amuse me while I am out. My personal favorite are the older guys who are still stuck in the 70's or 80's and still think they are cool. We finally got seated and it took forever to order but it was worth the wait. The food is excellent. After eating we deiced to leave and go hang out with M's parents who were in town this weekend. They are a blast!!

To top off the great ending to a not so great week, the Sabres won the series against the Rangers on Sunday in NY. They are off to face Ottawa in the Conference final starting on Thursday. The Sabres have home ice advantage so the first game will be at home. Ottawa is a tough team but the Sabres are playing to win this year!! GO SABRES

The 10 Minute Trip

2007-04-29T16:17:00.000-05:00

The Sabres won their 2nd game in round 2 against the Rangers Friday night at home. J and I watched part of the game with a few friends at a local bar, ate some good food and then all of us decided to watch the rest of the game at home. The beers are cheaper and the seats are more comfortable at home :) It is great to watch the home town team play with a bunch of friends. The excitement in the house was the same as if we were at the game. We cheered and hi-fived with every Sabre goal. The better they play, the smoother the beer went down :) I was a little tipsy and in a very happy, warm and fuzzy mood by the end of the game. J and I called it a night shortly after the game ended. We wanted to get up at a decent time the next morning to start our errands early.

This Saturday morning was not as sunny as the last one. Matter of fact it was gloomy, raining and cold. Not Winter cold but Spring cold for sure. Manhattan Bagel was our destination for breakfast. They have really good omelet wraps but not so good coffee so we had to go to Dunkin Donuts for that :) After our breakfast, we decided that we were going to look for furniture. We didn't want to buy anything right now but J just wanted to look and see what is out there for leather couches. K, one of the guys we hung out with on Friday for the game, is a sales person at Ashley Furniture. The store is only 10 minutes from J's place so that is where we were headed. Now if you know me, you know that I am not the best at directions. I usually know how to get to places but I don't know the details, like the actual street name or route number. So we get on the thruway and J asked me if we get off at the Milestrip exit, I look at him, smile and say " I don't know. But I know it's the same way you get to the stadium" I know that doesn't help but I honestly didn't know the exit number. I decide I will use J's phone because it has the Internet to decide what exit to get off of. I had no idea how to get to the right web page to look up Ashley furniture and by the time I did, we just past the exit. The same exit J just asked me about. We figure, no big deal, we will just get off the next exit, get back on the thruway and get off at the right exit coming the other way. I should explain that I am very tired from the night before and laughing because we missed the exit and I couldn't figure out the phone. Thank goodness J finds me entertaining because when I get over tired, I get giddy like a little kid. We get off the next exit which is not too far down, pay the toll, turn around, get another ticket and off to the correct exit (we think). As we approach, what would be the correct exit to get to the store, there are orange triangles, letting us know that the exit is under construction. We get even closer and see that the exit is closed. Oh man I am laughing so hard I have tears coming down my face and J begins to find this trip funny too. The next exit after this one is the original starting point of our adventure. We come to the next exit, pay the toll, which means we have done a complete circle and are back where we started, at the exit for J's apartment. For a split second we think maybe it just wasn't meant to be to get to the furniture store today but J is determined now. Ok, we turn around and starting our trip once again. We get on the thruway, get a ticket and we now know what exit to get off of. As we finally get off the "right" exit, I realize it really isn't the right exit!!!! We didn't even have to get on the thruway to begin with. We could have gotten off at the exit before this one ( which is actually the RIGHT exit) and avoided all the issues we just had. HAHAHAHAHA, oh this was the right thing to make this 10 min trip, that turned into an hour trip, the funniest, most ridiculous event. Finally we made it to Ashley Furniture. YEAH!!!! At this point it doesn't really matter if we find something we like or not, just getting there now seemed to be the accomplishment. However, we entered the store and met K at the front door. He found our adventure amusing. We headed off towards the couch and starting sitting on all the ones we liked. J and I liked the same couches but his number one was my number two and vice versa. At least we have similar taste. Anyway we knew were not buying that day but it was good to find out what was out there.

Our 10 minute trip after breakfast took us so long, it was time for lunch and J was ready for a beer. We went across the plaza to Kelsey's, to eat some good grub. We had never been to a Kelsey's. It was cute inside, sort of like a pub. The food was good and we had a very nice waitress. I was exhausted, so back home we headed. This time the trip back home only took us 10 minutes. :)

Oh- The Sabres lost today in double OT 2-1. They play the Rangers on Tuesday in NY. They will win that game!! GO SABRES!

Decisions, Decisions

2007-04-27T10:56:00.000-05:00

Decisions, Decisions,-- I have a really hard time making decisions that are important. I am always second guessing myself when I do finally make an important one.

The most recent one that I have made is to go back to school for my MBA. It has taken me almost 3 years to decide if going back for my MBA was right for me and my career. As time has gone by, there was always a reason or excuse why I couldn't go back to school. At first, the excuse was to give myself a break. I completed my undergraduate degree while working full-time and I was a little burnt out. I didn't have to do it that way but I wanted to be a responsible adult and live on my own so I had to work full-time. Looking back now, I should have stayed home for as long as possible or dormed while going to school but I was stubborn and wanted to do it all on my own. As I have come to realize doing everything on your own isn't what it is cracked up to be. Then the excuse or reason not to go back to school was that my friends were getting married and I didn't have time to focus. I was just kidding myself. I have advanced my career in the last few years without my MBA but to reach my ultimate career goal, I have come to the point where my MBA is a must. So the decision is made.

In order for me to enroll into a University, I have to take the GMAT . That stands for Graduate Management Admission Test and the scores range from 400-800. I was good in school but not really good on standardized tests so I am really nervous about taking this test. I haven't felt this way about a test ever in my life, not even when I had to take the SAT's. I bought the study book a couple weeks ago which comes with practice tests and a CD-ROM so that you can take a "real" timed test. The exam is to test your basic verbal, mathematical, and analytical writing skills. The Math problems remind me of the ones that I learned in high school, which was my strongest subject back then. I started to complete some practice questions and I am finding out that my strong subject back in high school is not my strong subject now. To some people's surprise, I have made the appointment to actually take the test. I had to, so that I wouldn't procrastinate and end up with another excuse why I couldn't enroll in the MBA program. I haven't really told anyone when the test is scheduled but I will let everyone know how I do ( that is if I do well, no need to share my disappointment with everyone). The test is paid for so no changing my mind now, just a lot of studying and practicing to do.

The funny thing about the pressure I feel right now to do well, all comes from me. My parents would never and have never put pressure on me to do well in school. They didn't have to, I did that all by myself. My dad would have to take my books away and make me go to bed during final exam week in High School or I would have studied until the sun came up the next day. I remember distinctly the first time I didn't get a 90 or better on an exam, it was in 9th grade Science class, I got an 85. That upset me so much that I cried for hours and was upset for weeks. My parents tried to remind me it was just one grade but they couldn't fix it. I was upset with myself because in my mind I didn't study enough or maybe I didn't have my parents quiz me enough either way I was disappointed. Thank goodness this behavior didn't last all the way through college or I would have ended up in a straight jacket, talking to myself, in a padded room. I do have goals and expectations for myself and I am very hard on myself if I don't reach them in the time-frame I designate. This is another factor that went into making the decision of going back to school now. My goal was to finish my MBA before I started a family. Since I have waited this long ( as others would say), I figured if I put this off any longer, I will be a mom, wife, working full-time and going to school and I want no part of all those titles all at once. For the women out there that have or do carry all of those titles at once, hats off to you. I really don't know how you do it. Determination, I am guessing. Don't get me wrong I would be able to take on all those titles but if I have a choice, I chose not to.

Ever since I started high school, I have put a lot of thought into my schooling and career, some say too much, but if I didn't, where would I end up? I am not the type of person that can just float along in life and not worry about careers, family or 10 years down the road. You would think that putting so much thought into something would make the decisions easier but I think the opposite happens for me. Hopefully I will meet or exceed the goal I have set for the GMAT and my MBA, if not, I will have to come up with another plan.

Let's Go Sabres!!

2007-04-26T20:58:00.000-05:00

That's right, the Sabres won the first game in round 2 of the Stanley Cup playoffs on Wednesday against another NY team, the Rangers. Everyone has been talking about how great the players looked in the game. It was scoreless in the 1st period but the Sabres scored a few goals right in a row a few minutes into the 2nd period. I won't give you the ESPN recap but I have to say it was exciting to see them play. They seem to have the momentum on their side. ( I hope I am not jinxing them). The next Sabres game is Friday and you can feel the energy around the city. The last time I heard people this excited was when the Bills had Kelly, Smith and Reed :) I even received the following email about the team:

Sabres Prayer!

"Our God
Who art in HSBC
Miller Be thy name.
Thy puck come
Thy save be done
In the air as it is on ice.
Give us this day
our Stanley Cup and forgive us our slashing
as we send out Peters
for those who slash against us.
And lead us not into golfing
but deliver us from injury.
For Miller is the Goalie
the power and glory
for ever and ever... Amen..."

G o S a b r e s ! !

Unexpected

2007-04-21T21:09:00.000-05:00

Today has turned out to be an amazing day. I think all due to the events being unexpected.

J and I got up this morning, like most Saturdays, wondering what we were going to do. The forecast called for sunny and warm ( 60 degrees). I have been wanting to get a new bike since the last one I owed was from 8th grade. We got up early, went to breakfast and the went looking for the perfect bike for me. We started at Bert's Bikes where I found a really nice red mountain bike. I tried it out in the store but wasn't sure so off to Dick's Sporting goods to see what they had. As soon as we started to look around, we realized that the red bike at Bert's was the best deal. About an hour later, I became the proud owner of a new mountain bike. J wanted to buy a bike rack for his truck but it turns out he needs a trailer hitch for it so that would have to wait. After that, we drove back to J's apartment to decide what next. J decided that he wanted to get his bike tuned up so that we can go bike riding next weekend so off to Bert's for a third time. It didn't matter to me, it was perfect weather for a drive. We dropped off his bike, which will take a few days to be ready, and discussed where we would go for an early dinner. Amherst Pizza and Ale house came to my mind first because it was in the area we were at and has a very nice patio to eat outside on. Then J mentioned JP Bullfeathers, which is located on the Elmwood strip. We have been to both places before and have had good experiences. After some thought, we decided to go to Cozumel, also located on the Elmwood strip. They have great patio to eat outside on.

We got to Cozumel and the host asked us if we wanted to sit in the sun on the patio or in the heated area outside. I, of course, said we wanted to sit in the sun. The host sat us at the only open table and we began to look through the menu. J leaned over and asked me if that was a Sabre behind me. I couldn't just turn around, making it obvious so I did what most people would have done, I went to the ladies room so that I could get a legitimate look at who was sitting behind me. I wasn't sure who it was, the guy looked familiar but because he was wearing sunglasses, I couldn't tell. J and I continued to look at the menus and decide what we wanted to drink and eat. After a few minutes of over hearing what the guys were talking about, we realized that one of the guys was Tim Connolly( a Sabre) , a NY Islander and a friend. They cracked a joke about a group of college guys coming into the restaurant at the same time J did and we all started to laugh. J and I were not going to acknowledge they were professional hockey players because they deserve to relax and enjoy dinner, especially after the amazing game they played last night. An hour or so later, Ryan Miller ( the Sabres goalie) walked into the restaurant a few guys that noticed him started to clap. He had the best save Friday night, you will see it a lot on the NHL hi light reels. So me being the smart ass I am, I turned to Connolly and said " Hey, how much does it bother you that you have been here awhile and no one noticed but when he walks in, people clap?" He said something very funny back and we all laughed. J and I continued to enjoy the rest of our dinner and a few drinks. They were met by a few more friends and even stopped to sign a couple of young boys Sabre jerseys. I didn't want to bother them but I did want a picture of them. How often am I going to be out to dinner ( unplanned and just at a local restaurant) and be sat next to a few professional hockey players? After our bill was paid for, I asked if they would mind me taking a picture. I really just wanted to get the group of people that were there, but they asked if I wanted to be in it. I said, "oh no, that's ok , I just want a picture, no big deal". J was in my ear " Just get in there, I'll take the pic" So I got in between Connolly and Miller and J took the picture. They were more "normal" then I expected. When I think of professional sports figures I don't expect them to be as nice, friendly and funny as this group was. They were what you expect from true Buffalonians. We are the city of good neighbors and they represented that today.

Connolly, Me, Miller and Peters ( I think)

As I stated in my last blog, I have not always watched hockey but I am a supporter of local sports, events and vendors. This was a great experience.

Today's events we unexpected and they turned out to be an amazing experience. The best thing about this town, that most people over see or forget, is that it is a city with a small town feel. We stand behind our local talent, from professional players to the up and coming garage band. We love to see our teams, and locals succeed.

Fridays

2007-04-20T09:02:00.000-05:00

Fridays are great!! It's the end of the work week for most and the start of the weekend. It signifies freedom ( well for me it does).

Today I woke up a still a little tired due to being sick in the beginning of the week and still making it to the gym last night but the tired feeling was replaced with excitement when I saw the sun shinning brightly outside. (Yes I get excited about good weather, it doesn't last that long around here and I take full advantage of it when it does.) I turned on the local news and to my great relief the forecast was sunny and a high of 68 today. This is a much needed break from the crappy weather we have been getting. Just last week I was still wearing my winter coat because it was snowing,.... in April!!

It's warming up for Spring, which always gets me in the mood to clean. I used to think "Spring cleaning" was just a way for mom's to get dad's to clean out the garage but now that I live on my own I understand that it is a real feeling. You get to open your windows and let out the stale air from the long winter months and smell the fresh air. My cats absolutely love when I leave the windows open for them all day. They run from window to window in excitement, trying to figure out which one will give them the best chance at catching a bird or which one will give them the best view of the neighborhood. They can't really catch any birds, my windows do have screens, but they don't know that. By the time I get home from work, they are exhausted. I plan to take full advantage of this nice weather this weekend with a few activities outside like going for a bike ride and a few inside like cleaning and packing away my winter clothes.

It is unusually quiet at work today, I am guessing due to the weather. Today is not only a Friday but the sabres play the Islanders tonight in game 5 of the playoffs and if they win ( and us hometown fans believe they will), they are off to the the next round on the road to the Stanley Cup. They have been to the playoffs in the past but never won the Stanley Cup. It would be great to see them hold that cup up high and bring it home. I am not usually a hockey follower but I am a huge supporter of our local teams, even our local football team that has been disappointing over the last few years. Hopefully that will change this year but I am not holding my breath. ( More to come about that later this year :) ) I will be watching the game tonight and cheering like I have been a fan for years. It is exciting to watch your team excel at the game. It's also 420 today and in college was known as the day to sit around and kill the brain cells that you still had. I was listening to the radio this morning and today is also known as the hippie's or pot-head's holiday. I am not too sure why 420 marks the day but it is rumored that it was the police code for possession of marijuana. Since I have never had that experience I am not sure what the code is. There are other theories on why it's 420 but who knows which one is right. For you partaking in the celebration today I will quote my favorite hippy " Roll it up, light it up. Inhale, exhale. Happy 420."

However, it's not all fun today, I have to go to a wake this afternoon for a sister of one of my friends. She lost the battle with cancer but is in a better place now. No more pain and suffering, only peace and sunshine for her now. I haven't talked to my friend yet but I did hear she is doing good, considering but I wouldn't expect anything else from her. She is one of the strongest ( emotionally) people I have ever met. No matter what life has thrown her, it seems that she can always smile. I am not sure how she does what she does but I admire that about her. When I heard that her sister passed away, I was not sure what the appropriate gift ( to let her know I was thinking of her) to get her. I tried putting myself in her shoes and I couldn't come up with one thing seemed relevant for losing a sibling. I have two sisters and a brother and I know that flowers, fruit baskets, planters or any other funeral related gift would be irrelevant. Of course I called my mom ( I do often when in a dilemma) to ask her what she thought. She said that it is not about the item, it is about what it represents, that she is in your thoughts. Even with that, I was still in a bind. So I thought about it and decided I would get something just for her. Once I started to think that way, it was obvious I would get her two of her favorite things, tea and chocolate. What else it better then some warm tea and chocolate when feeling sad or down. To my friend ( if you read this) I hope that those tiny items will bring some comfort to you on your road to healing. Everyone needs some comfort in times of sadness. On another sad note, today is also the 8th anniversary of the Columbine High School tragedy. It's the third deadliest shooting in the history of the United States. I think today should be a day to remember the students and teachers affected by this unbelievable tragedy and to honor the memories of the ones that were lost.

Live for today, love the people around you and enjoy every moment.... It just makes life easier if you do.

Relaxation

2007-04-15T20:00:00.000-05:00

Sunday is the day of the week that most people I know relax and prepare for the work week ahead of them. I took relaxation to the max today.

Marissa and I visited my favorite quiet zone, The Spa in Canada. It's a gorgeous spa located in the 5 star, White Oaks Conference Resort right over the boarder at Niagara-on-the -Lake. You are greeted by the Concierge who is very friendly and shows us the way to the "Whisper Zone". Once you have filled out your health history, personal information and walk through the door marked " Whisper Zone", you are lead to the changing room. You don't hear chit chat, telephones, or any other back ground noise once you are past that door. What you slightly hear is soothing music played above you. Once inside the changing room, you will find light wood lockers stocked with a robe and slippers. After sliding into their soft terry cloth/microfiber robe and slippers, you have a choice to wait in the reading room or the quiet room.

The reading room has the feel of a cozy den in your own home. There are french doors that swing open into a bright room with a fireplace. I am sure it wasn't a wood burning fireplace but a comforting warm fireplace. There are two love seats, brown, microfiber with oversized pillows and two chairs to match the love seats. Tan fleece blankets are located on top of the couches in case you catch a chill. They provide a variety of magazines, coffee, tea, citrus flavored water, apples and mints for your enjoyment. I choose to read a magazine titled Buffalo Spree. It was a very interesting, all about Buffalo's development of old manufacturing buildings downtown. Most developers are creating these 1,2 and 3 bedroom lofts that look like they are right from NYC. After a few minutes reading, my masseuse came to get me for my stress relief massage.

The quiet room is where I waited the last time I visited the spa. It's a dim room with extra plush winter white carpet. It's so soft, it feels like you are walking on a feather bed. It has two larger couches without arms. Instead, they have huge pillows, in all different shapes for you to sit against. The calming sound of trickling water comes from the fish tank on the far wall. It is filled with bright colorful tropical fish and plants. I have fallen asleep waiting for the therapist before, its so quiet, I couldn't help it. :)

So off to my private room for my 55 minute stress relief massage. The room is lit with low light with a massage table in the middle with the same music that was being played in the reading room. The combination of the music, essential oils and the warm blanket, it's impossible not to feel relaxed immediately. Everyone should take time out of their busy lives and get a full body massage. It's 55 minutes to clear your mind. No phones, no background noise, just you and your thoughts ( and the therapist but mine was silent most of the time). I have decided that I will be getting this massage at least every few months. For me, its more therapeutic than shopping.

After my message I was taken back to the reading room and waited for my next treatment. I have been looking forward to this since I booked it. My Oxygen facial. Yep I got a facial. I was nervous at first because I wasn't sure what to expect. Sarah, the specialist, was very informative when describing the difference between an oxygen facial and a normal facial. She had a lot of explaining to do because this was my first facial ever. Basically, they wash and exfoliate first. Then vitamins and minerals are applied ( by way of message), hot face wrap and then the oxygen treatment. The oxygen forces the vitamins and minerals to absorb into your pores. This treatment is mostly used for anti-aging and hydration of the skin. I figured I should start the anti-aging now so that in 10 years I'll still look like today ( just kidding). This treatment was recommended to me from an old boss who got facials often and I am glad I took the advice.

This Sunday has been what every Sunday should be like, relaxing and clarifying. I feel recharged and ready to take on anything this week. My recommendation is to take some time out for yourself to clear your mind and re focus. It makes you feel like a new person.

Friends

2007-04-12T20:47:00.000-05:00

After reading rel's blog about friendship, I decided to join in on the topic. It really got me to think about my friendships and how I decided who I consider a friend.

I consider myself very lucky to have the best friends that I have. ( I am sure you will hear a lot about them in posts to come). I have known C for 17 years, which is over half my life. I can remember the first time I met her, what she was wearing and why I didn't like her. It was home room, 7th grade and I was sitting in the middle of the room with my friends from 6th grade, Mike and Jill. C prances ( she would dispute the prance, but it was a prance) into the room with her long hair, jean overalls with pink cuffs, long sleeve shirt and pink sneakers. She flings her hair over her shoulder and sits two seats ahead of me. I didn't like her because she was too girlie and pink. ( a good reason in 7th grade) Needless to say we became best of friends later that same day, thanks to Science class and a bottle of Elmer's glue.

Then there is S. We met in 9th grade but didn't become best of friends until a year or two later. The best way to describe S, the energizer bunny. She has more energy then the 1st graders she teaches and is always multi-tasking even when just watching her favorite show on TV. The great thing about S is that she can make you laugh, even when you don't want to.

C and S started out as just friends but over the years they have become my sisters. We can finish each other thoughts, have bought each other the same Christmas cards ( yep the same exact one) and have similar dreams in the same week. I can't imagine my life without them. They know me better than anyone in my life ( well except for my mom). The bond we share has only grown stronger over the years.

This leads me back to rel's post and expectations. I have been told in the past that my expectations of "friends" in my life are set too high. That no one I meet now will ever become friends like S and C. I agree, S and C are irreplaceable but does that mean that I am only allowed two best friends? According to some we are lucky that we have remained friends this long even after they moved to a different state. I think, like any relationship, we have worked hard to keep our friendship. I do have expectations of people I meet and befriend. I would hope we all have expectations of people in our lives. I expect my friends to love me for who I am, to support me when I need it and to depend on me when they need it. Why you may ask? That is what I provide to my friends.

I have learned over the past few years that there are different types of friends. L is a friend that I have had for at least 10 years. We have shared a lot of memories in those years. L was our "party" friend. She was always up for anything and always knew where the good place to hang out was. As we all do, she grew up and partying wasn't what she was into anymore. She got married and has two beautiful little boys. Which I was there to meet each of them minutes after they were born. The great thing about L, she always is in a good mood no matter what life throws her. I wish I could be more like that!!

Then there are the friends I met at work. At first, they thought I was quiet and shy, man were they wrong!! I don't ever stop talking, silence makes me uncomfortable, and I believe conversations bring people closer to one another. I like to know things about people. I don't mean gossip but things, like their favorite smell, favorite holiday, where they went to school, stuff like that. That is what takes someone from just "Good Morning" to friend in the workplace. I have made great friends through work. Mary was one of the first. She sat in the cube ahead of me and we both had the same thought about one another, she is quiet. I am not sure how Mary and I even got to talking but once it started, it was like we were friends for years. Mary is about 20 years older than me but I would have never guessed that, we had so much in common. Tom was another friend I made at work, he is just funny. When I started the new job, he was out of the office at a toy convention. At the time, I thought that sounded extremely odd, a grown man at a toy convention but once I started to inquire about it, I realized how much time and effort he puts into the figurines/toys he makes. There are others but Tom and M were the first ones. The friends you make at work make it easier to get up every morning and go to work. For me, it was like having a second family, a dysfunctional one but one none the least.

Friendship is different for everyone but you should always keep in mind that the new people that come into your life might just be the next C and S. You just have to except them for who they are and expect they will do the same in return.

--- Well that is my first real post, I hope you enjoyed :)

My first post

2007-04-12T20:06:00.000-05:00

For months I have been reading a blog from REL to get an idea of what it's all about. It is a little intimidating trying to find something smart or interesting to say in your first post. However, a post about friendship from rel has got me thinking so now I am blogging.

Since I am new to this any pointers from the experienced blogger would be appreciated :)

Chipper