Good Times

Eviction Notice

2009-11-11T15:47:00.004-05:00

Dear Babies,

Tomorrow you are being "evicted" from your warm and cozy residence where you have grown for the past 37 weeks. The doctors have decided that your mom is so uncomfortable that it's time for you to come into the world! You have so many people (grandparents, noni's, aunts, uncles, cousins, friends) who are anxiously awaiting your arrival tomorrow. And I think you will be very comfortable in your new living accomodations that are all ready and waiting for you thanks to your dad, Aunt Jen and Aunt Jivvy.

On this very rainy day I had my last doctor's appointment where we saw you both moving around during the sonogram. After our appointment we went shopping and bought a video camera so we can video the day you are both born. Because your mom has been on partial bedrest for the past 7 weeks and can not walk very far or stand for more than a few minutes because you both are getting too big to be carried around, I had to shop at the store in a wheelchair. Here I am below the day before you were born.

It has been a very long journey to bring you both into this world and we still can't believe we get to meet you tomorrow. We love you so much already and are excited for this new chapter.

Love,
Your mom

p.s. Please take it easy on your big brother Winston. He has no idea what is in store for him after tomorrow :-)

Still Growing....

2009-11-06T14:50:00.004-05:00

I guess there is a reason why I'm not a gambling woman. I would lose my shirt! I thought for sure these babies would be here by now, but as I am approaching 37 weeks this Tuesday, they show no signs of being ready to vacate the premises. Things can always change, but at my most recent doctors visit this week the nurse told me I was the poster woman for a twin pregnancy with "beautiful" blood pressure, perfect weight gain, etc. This definitely made me feel good mentally, but not so much physically.

We are pretty much ready for our babies to arrive. Brad loaded the car seats in the car a few weeks ago (after we were sent to labor and delivery for the 2nd time in 6 weeks), our bags are packed, cameras charged and one nursery is completely ready. Still waiting for our daughters furniture to arrive after 17 weeks now. I would not recommend the manufacturer Creations. Furniture is beautiful but they have quality control and shipping update issues. Luckily, our little guys nursery including furniture is all set and ready to accomodate both of them.

We were also very fortunate to inherit the changing table below from our sister in law. We now have a complete changing station in our formal living room. Doesn't everyone?!! She found it extremely helpful to have a complete changing station on the first floor so you're not always running up and down stairs changing diapers and outfits. Our station is stocked with onesies, outfits, diapers, wipes, butt paste, burp cloths, wash cloths, you name it, we've got it!

Today marks the end of my 2nd full week of being out of work and it's honestly been great to lie around and not be stressed about work emails and phone calls. B finished up his last project last Friday so he is now officially done with his contracts until the end of the year for the most part. We are just waiting for these babies to show up! I am trying to absorb all of this leisurely couch time and silence while I can because I know in just 11 short days our lives as we know it will be forever changed. Stay tuned!

Approaching Week 35

2009-10-25T15:24:00.003-04:00

I can not believe that this Tuesday I'll be 35 weeks along! Last week, week 34, marked a huge milestone for the babies and I'm told every day after 34 is a bonus so we appear to be in good shape so far! Well, the babies are in good shape, I'm growing by the minute and more and more uncomfortable each day. But I keep reminding myself that they will be here before I know it.

We had a measurement sonogram last week and we are looking at some good size babies! Our little guy is measuring just shy of 5 lbs and his sister is a little smaller at 4lbs 9oz. He continues to take up most of the space and she is still very content in my right side. Only now, she is completely breech and her head is not meshing well with my rib cage these days. I continue to be on partial bedrest and so look forward to my doctor's appointments so I can get out of the house. It's amazed me how my husband has picked up all of the slack around here and turned into a chef (yes, that's right.. he makes a great chicken florentine casserole and pot roast), dog walker, mr. fix it, chauffeur, masseuse, errand runner and has read many books on caring for infants. On top of this, being a wonderful and supportive husband. Our babies are so lucky to have such a great dad and I can't wait for them to meet.

We have also made one of our first big decisions as parents; the hiring of a nanny. We interviewed 4 girls and offered the position to one of them this past Thursday. I couldn't believe how I was completely off my game so to speak when it came to interviewing. This pregnancy has made me lose my mind when it comes to thinking clearly, concentrating and being organized (hence why I am already out on maternity leave). Brad was the one who asked the majority of the important questions and facilitated the discussion and I was the parent who discussed finances. We are in complete roll reversal and I hope I get my old self back after the babies are born! Needless to say, we're confident in our decision and she will be starting in January part time before I go back to work and then full time once I go back the end of January.

I can honestly say that I will be amazed if I am able to make it to week 38. My gut feeling is that these babies will be here sometime in the next 2 weeks.... just my own intuition, but you never know. I will keep you all posted!

32 Weeks and Counting

2009-10-06T21:52:00.002-04:00

Today marks my 32 week milestone! I am so happy to have made it this far and am happy that my babies are looking good and growing by the day. As of last week, my little guy was measuring around 3 lbs 7 ounces and his sister is a little smaller at 3 lbs 1 ounce. We go tomorrow again for another sonogram (1 a week now that we're on the home stretch) and I am very curious to see how much they've grown over a week if at all.

I am also thrilled to have some of my bed rest restrictions lifted. I am now able to move around my house a little more now (still can only do the stairs once, maybe twice a day) and I was even able to get out to the mall this past Saturday to do some returns and exchanges with Brad. The only stipulation was that I had to ride around on a motorized scooter. It was pretty funny but it got me around quite comfortably I might add.

We are lucky to have such great friends and my family taking care of us. Winston is not lacking any walks and my family is wonderful bringing us meals almost every day and calling to check in on us. Even though Brad is home with me, he's working and has had to pick up all the household chores in my absence so we appreciate all the help we have been getting. My friends and SIL have been checking in on a regular basis offering their services to help out in getting me organized and offered to bring lunch and dinner. We feel very lucky to have such a great support system around us.

We are on the home stretch with 6 weeks until my official scheduled delivery date. I've been told by my doctor that if I were to go into labor anytime after 34 weeks they will not stop me. They are also pretty confident I'll make it pretty close to 38 weeks. So, I'll keep resting and accepting help from everyone and soak in the peacefullness and quiet of the house because I know things will never be the same again very soon!

31 Week Update

2009-09-29T15:03:00.009-04:00

Today I am 31 weeks pregnant and I can't believe the last time I posted an update was over 4 weeks ago. In some aspects time seems to fly but these days I feel like I'm hearing the clock ticking. We had a bit of a scare this past Friday. My family was all headed into town this weekend to celebrate my baby shower that my sister in law and friend Lauren were planning for me on Saturday. Friday morning, I picked up my sister at the train station and we went to lunch and then on to Whole Foods. After being in Whole Foods for no more than a few minutes, I went back out to the car because I just didn't feel good. When I came home, I lied down and noticed I was having contractions and cramping every 5 minutes for almost an hour so I called my doctor and she asked me to come in to the hospital to labor and delivery so she could check me out. With twins they always want to be safer than sorry because you are at such a higher risk for pre term labor. A long story short, they hooked me up to the monitors and realized I was contracting a good amount and on top of that I was 1 cm dialated. Before I knew it, 3 nurses were in the room all coming at me with needles and IV's. It was a little overwhelming but the level of care at our hospital is phenominal and I feel like I was in the best of hands. They first gave me a shot of a drug called Terbutaline to stop the contractions. I was then hooked up to an IV with an antibiotic drip and saline drip. The antibiotics was a precaution in case I had an infection that was causing the contractions. Next, I had a steroid shot right in my butt to help speed up with babies lung development. This was a precautionary measure in case they come any time soon. I was also given a test that helps predict somewhat if I was in pre term labor. The good news is that test came back negative. After spending a very long night in the hospital, I was realeased 24 hours later (after my 2nd steroid shot) home on bed rest. By bed rest, my doctor means literally just that. There is no getting up and going anywhere other than taking a shower and using the bathroom.

This unexpected hiccup put a bit of a damper on my shower, but my SIL and friend made immediate arrangments to move it to Sunday without skipping a beat. My doctor gave me the green light to attend as long as I was on a couch with my feet up the entire time. It was such a beautiful shower and I am so touched by all the love, thoughtfullness and generosity that went into it. I am so lucky to have such a wonderful and supportive group of family and friends. The cake was AMAZING and I actually ate the leftover piece the girls sent me home with for Brad. Sorry Brad, but I just couldn't part with that. It matches the theme of my little girls room which is pink and beachy with tropical flowers.

The lovely hostesses, Jen and Lauren.

So, today, Tuesday, September 30th marks my 3rd officialy day on bedrest and my first official day back to work on bedrest. Not only has this been a big adjustment for Brad and I, but little Winston is completely out of sorts. He is pictured below sitting across from me just staring at me as if to say "When are you going to get off your lazy arse lady and walk me?" Fortunately, we have family and friends around that have been walking Winston for me every day, however this is not stopping him from rebelling. Just an FYI for anyone that receives a thank you note from me that has teeth marks on the envelope; not me but the furry one below.

Stay tuned. Now that I am bedridden I will have plenty of time to update!

Approaching 27 weeks

2009-08-29T18:29:00.003-04:00

I can't believe I am already 26 1/2 weeks prego. I feel so lucky to have made it this far without any complications at all and I pray that the next 11 weeks remain quiet in there :-) My high risk doctor continues to remind me that things can change on a dime with a twin pregnancy so I've definitely slowed myself down and am making sure to get plenty of rest.

B and I took an infant care class at our local hospital today and it ended up being very helpful. I used to babysit and ton but things change all the time in the baby caring department so I'm glad we took the class. Some highlights I took away that may surprise you are:

Babies do not need to have their bottles warmed. This just makes more work for the parents. Regardless of if you start off breastfeeding, using breastmilk or not. When making a bottle the recommended way (ironically this is the way we were prepared to do it. Kudos to us!) is to fill the bottle with purified water of room temperature and then mix in your formula, shake it up and feed. Our instructor said that breastmilk is room temp, the same as the bottle and this makes for an easier transition on their little stomaches when you start to serve them regular milk in a sippy cup that has been in the fridge. It is easier on parents too, especially when you're on the go and have 2 hungry babies!
Dreft is a big scam! This surprised me the most. The ingredients in Dreft are the same exact ingredients as in Tide fragrant free. There is no need to buy dreft other than if you want to buy into it. The fabric dryer sheets are debatable. They take the fire retardency out of clothes so we probably won't use these but I will stick to my Tide fragrant free.
Swaddle, swaddle, swaddle! I have just started reading Harvey Karps book, "The Happiest Baby on the Block" that a friend let me borrow and after watching the DVD of the swaddling technique I am amazed. I have seen this in action by several of my close friends so I was already a believer. I was given 2 miracle blankets for my little boy and I've already bargain shopped online and bought 2 for my girl.
Sssshing. This goes with the swaddling and is one of Harvey Karps 5 S's. It appears that babies are soothed by the loud shhhshhing noise because it sounds like when they were in the womb. I've seen friends do this and thought they were crazy but I'm willing to give it a try, coupled with turning them on their side as recommended.
Baby Food: When comparing ingredients between regular jar baby food and organic, the carbs and sugar amount were the exact same. This may not be true for all organic brands, but be sure to check the labels.

I'm excited to have all these suggestions and it will be interesting to see what works for our little ones and what doesn't. One thing I know for sure is that my house is definitely NOT baby proof. We had some friends over for a happy hour last night and we had a toddler, a crawler and a 4 month old. I was able to accomodate the 4 month old with my playmats and swing, however we did end up moving quite a few things and with a broken dog bowl. Very eye opening for me and especially B who was convinced we would not need to make the extra room in our basement a playroom. I think he's certainly changed his opinion on that after last night.

Lots of Decisions

2009-08-22T18:14:00.004-04:00

When I announced I was pregnant I had a friend tell me to prepare myself for the baby advice and critiquing that would start to pour in. I had no idea how opinionated people would be about decisions that only affect me, B and the babies. Everything from bottles to C sections! I won't even get into the whole breast feeding vs. not opinions.

I didn't think I would have to start making decisions that affect my babies until after they were born but boy was I wrong. The first decision that I've made was to have a scheduled C section and this was not one I took lightly. After talking with several doctors at my OB's office including my OB who I trust and my high risk doctor and after talking with many twin moms, I have decided that there is just too high of a risk to Baby B with trying to deliver vaginally (not to mention several moms I spoke with who wanted a V birth, had one for Baby A and then ended up having a C section for B, so then stuck recovering from both!) Sure there are twin moms out there who have had a succesfull V birth for both babies but there are some pretty upsetting stories I've heard as well. So, do I want a C section? Heck no! I'm tired of hearing from people that they can't believe I would want one! Who would want major surgery! Am I willing to do what I think is best and safest for my babies? Absolutely, even if that means major surgery. Whatever will get them both out safely is what I'm willing to do and I feel very good about my decision.

I think I am most surprised when a fellow mom passes judgement on a mom or a mom to be. I don't see why my decisions should have an impact on anyone but B, me and the babies. I've always noticed how all of my friends and family do things slightly differently from one another and never have I judged one way or the other. Some parents let their kids watch a lot of tv, some don't, some only feed theirs organic food, some allow cookies and soda, some kids have pacifiers, some don't and the list goes on and on. Everyone is entitled to making their own parenting decisions and I don't care one way or another because it does not directly affect me. We will make our own decisions as B and I see fit. I feel fortunate to be surrounded by all of these great moms with different styles, tips and tricks so I can take a little bit of wisdom and ideas from each of them and decide what works best for me and my babies.

The bottom line is both B and I are educated people. If we have a plan to do something one way and it doesn't work for us then we will change it. For any moms reading this, remember not to judge a fellow mom. Some things may work or have worked great for you and you may think it's the best way, but it may not work for someone else for whatever reason. I am certainly open to suggestions and advice but when someone pushes something on me or passes judgement for my decision, that is where I have a problem.

My last gripe and then I'll get off line and finish organizing my linen closet. Why do moms feel the need to share their negative pregnancy / birth experience with pregnant women when not asked for such information???? I was at my community pool a few weeks ago and I ran into a fellow twin mom who proceeded to go on and on about how bad I was going to feel the last month of my pregnancy. Shame on you! You've been in my shoes and that is the last thing I want to hear! I solemly swear to never, ever share with a pregnant person how sick I was or any other pain stories. This is just cruel! I now stop people and ask "Is this a good story or a bad story?" If they say bad then I politely say I would rather not hear it!

Elvis and Priscilla Update

2009-08-11T21:43:00.003-04:00

My blog has taken a backseat to the million organization and house projects I have going on not to mention trying to work full time and get my afternoon cat naps in as well :-) A lot has happened over the past month. The big things have been a totally renovated master bathroom (which is now the nicest room in our house by the way), 2 new nurseries and trying to purge as much as we possibly can to make room for the new occupants and all of their belongings. I am pictured below at 23 weeks and I'm standing in our baby girls nursery. There is quite the shadow cast around my head so don't think I'm trying to bring big hair back from the 80's. Here is a 3D pic of the babies at our last sonogram (20 weeks). Nothing like a brother spooning his sister. I can imagine they are pretty tight for space in there. I started to feel them kick a few weeks ago and they haven't stopped since. Last night the little girl kept kicking every time she heard Brad's voice. It was very sweet how excited he got. I can tell she already has him wrapped around her finger.

Aside from getting the house cleaned out and organized I am also getting ready for my first baby shower this Saturday up in MA hosted by my mom and my aunt. Although I'm not looking forward to the flight (even though it's a short one) I am looking forward to my prenatal massage on Friday evening, the shower itself and hanging with my sister in Noho on Sat. night.

Oh, and we're not really planning to name them Elvis and Priscilla. My parents started referring to them by those names rather than calling them "the boy and the girl." Those of you who know my dad know what a huge Elvis Presely fan he is so it's more of a joke. We decided to keep our names a secret until the babies arrive. Since everyone knows it's a boy and a girl we wanted there to be some element of anticipation and surprise. And Elvis, Priscilla and Winston don't go very well together anyways :-)

Happy Belated 5th Anniversary

2009-07-06T10:06:00.004-04:00

Brad and I celebrated our 5 year wedding anniversary (together for 10 years in total now) last month on June 26th. Things have been pretty crazy lately and we were up in MA for some family functions and I haven't had time to post any pictures or blog about any of it. Something tells me this is just the beginning of not finding the time to do any of this. I may need to retire this blog when my babies come and stick to my phanfare photo site for sanity sake. We'll see...

My parents treated everyone to dinner at the hotel where we got married and we obviously felt the need to have our photo taken in the same place we did 5 years ago. A lot has changed in the last 5 years and I am so excited for the next 5! Love ya B!

The Results Are In....

2009-06-22T12:52:00.002-04:00

Well, it turns out that I was mostly correct! We are definitely having a boy and a girl. Except, Baby A is the boy. Baby B, my little Mexican jumping bean that won't sit still and continues to kick her brother is my girl! She is a fiery little one and I just couldn't believe she was the spastic one. Brad is not surprised at all and says they already mirror us with him being the more laid back personality and me being the one who can't sit still. I know we have a long ways to go, but I'm already so excited to meet them. I am also so excited for my niece, M, to have a little girl to play with. M is the only girl in our family now (2 brothers, 1 boy cousin) and I know she is going to make a great big girl cousin.

Experiencing Hawaii 14 weeks prego

2009-06-08T19:23:00.011-04:00

This recent trip to Hawaii was very different from my first trip. Five years ago this month I spent 12 days in Maui and fell in love with Hawaii and cried when we had to leave. Last Monday I returned from 10 days in Oahu and cried because I couldn't get home fast enough. Of course, Hawaii itself was gorgeous and the weather was great, etc. but when your nauseas every waking hour of the day, it really doesn't matter where you are. And for me, this was inside my very plush bedroom at the condo, which I was grateful for.

We spent the first 2 nights at a hotel on Waikiki Beach and to my surprise when we checked in we got upgraded to a junior suite with an oceanview. All those nights I traveled for work apparently brought me to gold status which I didn't realize. Pictured below is the amazing view from our balcony where we could watch the surfers every morning. Beautiful Waikiki Beach

After our 3 days in the busy and crowded Waikiki Beach area we moved up to the western shore of the island to Ko 'Olina where my cousin and her husband have their condo. It was so peaceful and the resort was amazing. Brad loved the hot tub and I just dangled my legs in every now and then.

The resort is situated on a man made lagoon (below). This was wonderful for me to not to have to battle waves. I could just walk in and float on the noodles we bought.

Even though I couldn't truly appreciate Hawaii for all there was to do and see, Brad had an awesome time with my cousins. He got to surf on Waikiki Beach and play a lot of golf so he was a happy camper.

The picture below was taken on our last night on the trip right before we went to this amazing seafood buffet. I am not a fan of buffets in general, but this was a very upscale buffet with the most amazing seafood and meat carving stations. I obviously checked with my list from the doc on what seafoods I could eat and what I couldn't first. I was thrilled to find that it was okay to have Alaskan crab legs. They were AWESOME!!! It was wonderful because I had such a variety of foods to eat and I could take breaks in between. This was my favorite day of the trip! It was so nice to spend time with my cousin and her husband because they live up in MA with the rest of my family and we rarely get to see them. We had such a great time with them and I hope I wasn't too much of a downer for them. I tried to keep my complaints quiet and strictly to Brad (poor guy), who says my top 3 most frequent phrases of the trip were (1) I don't feel so good (2) I think I'm going to be sick and (3) I need to eat.

Now that we're home and back to reality I am hoping and praying to see the light at the end of the nausea tunnel very soon. I am ready to get off this train and start decorating a nursery and kids bathroom. The trip inspired me to do a Hawaiian theme bathroom for the kids and now I just need to find the time to get these home improvement projects up and running.

May Happenings

2009-06-03T16:27:00.004-04:00

May seems to have flown by and we definitely had some exciting things happening that I don't want to overlook. The most exciting being our 12 week ultrasound of the babies. It was the most amazing thing I have ever seen and left me speechless.

Here is Baby A whom my prediction is girl. She was pretty calm during the ultra sound and really enjoyed her sleep like me. It looked like she was sucking her hand the entire time... or maybe she is just a deep thinker... Here is Baby B who was jumping around like a Mexican jumping bean almost the entire sonogram. During his crazy antics, he flashed us with his mid section and Brad and I swear we saw a little boy part. So, my prediction is boy for B.

We go back for our 17 week ultra sound in less than 3 weeks and we get to find out then if my gender predictions are accurate or not. Can't wait!

I also can't let the month go by without giving a shout out to Winston for his birthday! Winston turned 4 on May 22nd and spent his birthday at the kennel while his parents were in Hawaii. How terrible are we? He is long overdue for a frosty paw dog ice cream.

We ended the month with a trip to beautiful Oahu with my cousin and her husband. I'll definitely be adding a separate post with some pics for that one later. I probably should quit procrastinating and get back to work since I'm about 100 emails deep.

The Stuff They Don't Tell You...

2009-05-08T10:40:00.006-04:00

Or do they and was I just not listening? When I say "they" I am referring to all my friends and family who have been pregnant in the past and by "stuff' I mean the not so joyous aspects of being pregnant. Now don't get me wrong, I have been through hell and back to get here (10 weeks 4 days pregnant with twins!) but I had no idea being pregnant would change my life. I thought it all changed once they were born and I had at least 9 months to prepare. Boy was I wrong. In no way am I wanting to come across as complaining because I know so many people who would give anything to be feeling as crappy as I am right now with two buns in the oven, but I am in such shock at all of this "stuff" that I had to write about it.

I have experienced several of my family members and close friends go through some very difficult pregnancies and I did always feel very sympathetic to their sickness, pains and issues but I don't think you can truly "get it" until it happens to you.

Morning Sickness. Whoever named it this obviously never experienced it because if she did she would know that it is really all day and all night sickness. I used to hear this term and think: okay so I may potentially only be sick in the morning, maybe throw up a few times and then get on with my day. I NEVER imagined to feel like I am on a Catamaran in the BVI in January with 8 foot swells ALL afternoon and ALL evening. The mornings are actually my best time (as long as I have enough food in me that is...)

Food. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think I'd be eating 8 to 10 meals a day. This is no exageration at all! If I don't eat every 2 hours on the dot fahgetta bout it! It's all over for me! And this is not about enjoying eating all those sundaes and other wonderful foods I thought I could get away with when I was pregnant some day. This is about eating for survival!

What makes me cry. What doesn't make me cry? I am not a typical sappy cryer by any stretch when I am no pregnant, but pregnant is a whole different story. Just about anything can bring tears to my eyes and the things that really have gotten the waterworks going lately are: every "congrats you're prego" card I recieved (lots of tears, I received a lot of cards), reading my weekly updates on what is developing with the babies, songs on the radio, especially the Jack Johnson song "We belong together" It's all over when that one comes on! Oh and let's not forget the pinched nerve shooting up my arm to my neck last night. Cried like the best of 'em from that. And lastly, thinking about my sister and W's wedding and that there will be 2 little ones there to celebrate with all of us (tearing up right now just thinking about it again!)

What makes me laugh. When my husband calls me out for being cranky and mean I seem to burst into uncontrollable laughter. Strange....

What I am grateful for. An amazing husband and wonderful supportive friends and family. Our struggle has not been an easy one and a good friend once told me that you will find out who your true friends are when you go through this and I certainly did. Lucky for me I have the most amazing group of friends who supported me and understood I had to do my own thing for a while and that my struggles had absolutely nothing to do with them.

To every one reading this that has been pregnant and is a mom : HAPPY MOTHERS DAY! This whole experience already has given this holiday an entire new meaning to me!

New Camera Pics, Easter and in Between

2009-04-15T13:41:00.010-04:00

I have really had nothing exciting to blog about lately other than the fact I finally broke down and bought a really nice new camera that I've been wanting for a LONG time. It has all these wonderful features that I have yet to read the manual to discover... but I will one of these days. I am actually going to take some photography classes just for fun too. Winston was my only subject for the first few days until my sister, W and Cleo arrived. Then I had lots of people to take pics of.

My sis. Isn't she pretty?

W and Cleo loving being outside after their long car ride.

A visit from baby Ryan.

He was more than happy to pose for me.

I had 3 very adorable subjects to photograph on Easter Sunday. The trips!

I love this one of Kenz. She is so pretty in pink. And if I read the manual and downloaded my photo shop I would know how to crop it. That'll be my goal for next month.

Weekend in Brooklyn

2009-03-30T16:56:00.009-04:00

We spent this past weekend with my family in Brooklyn at my sisters future inlaws apartment. It was my moms birthday on Saturday so we decided to all meet in the city and celebrate. The weather turned out to be really nice on Saturday so we took the furballs for a really long walk in the park across the street from the apartment.

Of course I am the tourist who has to take a picture of the house the movie the Royal Tenenbaums was filmed at (pictured below) which was located a few blocks away from the apartment.

We met up with the guys and some of my brother and sisters friends after having our nails done at this awesome bar that had indoor bocci courts. It was such a fun weekend in the big city for us small town Annapolis peeps!

Triple Trouble

2009-03-20T15:06:00.004-04:00

Now, I am not one to "steal" material from other people's blogs, but this is just too priceless not to share. Pictured below are my triplet niece and nephews after getting into a tub of Butt Paste while my SIL was brushing her teeth and washing her face. Pj's were tossed out along with the bath mat (they also painted the bathroom with the butt paste). Needless to say, J was very eager at accepting our offer to take the kids tomorrow to the park and for lunch. These pictures will definitely provide us all with many laughs in the future, but I don't think J is ready to laugh just yet....

This is Funny!

2009-03-06T15:32:00.001-05:00

Bizkit the Sleep Walking Dog

Snow

2009-03-02T20:14:00.009-05:00

We really enjoyed the "big" snow storm of "09 this past Monday. I have to say that it was the most snow I've ever seen in my 4 years of living in Annapolis. B, W and I went for a beautiful walk after work through the trails in our community. And now we're really looking forward to the 62 degree temps they are calling for this weekend!

Congratulations Ryan and Will!

2009-03-01T22:08:00.003-05:00

My baby sister and her boyfriend of 5 + years got engaged this weekend. We are so excited for them both (and Cleo too). None of the details have been set yet but if I know my sister this will be a small initmate family affair in some picturesque venue. Welcome to the family Will (I hope you know you are marrying into a crazy one!)

Paying it Forward

2009-02-26T23:49:00.004-05:00

Tonight I offered to babysit for little R so his dad could go to rugby practice while his mom was at a work dinner. J and I went to college together and he was not only my RA in the dorms but we became really good friends. He lent me his car more times than I can count without even thinking twice, let me use his computer ALL the time and let me escape to his room when I needed to get away from my high maintenance roommates. He did all these things without ever asking anything in return. And he probably never imagined that one day we would be neighbors and I would be babysitting for his child. Generosity and kindness really does come back around.

In Loving Memory of William Tripp

2009-02-17T22:07:00.004-05:00

I am deeply saddened to share that we lost a member of our family who we loved very much. I received a phone call today letting me know that Uncle Billy had had a heart attack this morning and passed away, 5 months shy of his 60th birthday. I am so thankful that he was with a friend when this happened and not alone.

My uncle, my mom's brother, was never married and never had his own children. My 2 siblings, myself and our cousin were his surrogate children and he took so much pride and joy in our lives. We are a very tight knit Italian family and not only was he my uncle, but my god father also. I was the first born girl in an Italian family so you can imagine how much my god father loved, adored and of course, spoiled me. He fondly referred to me as Number One. My brother insists that this is because I was the first born but I know it's because I was the favorite.

It is so difficult to put into words what an incredible person my uncle was and the hardships he has faced in his life with no complaints. When he was only a teenager, he was shipped off to fight in the Vietnam War as a healthy and vibrant 18 year old. Not long after his return, he contracted type II diabetes which completely altered his personality and changed his life forever. His diabetes was extremely difficult to manage leading to many, many hospital stays after going into insulin reactions more times than I can remember. Over the summer, Uncle Billy had to have quadruple bypass surgery and the doctors were very impressed with his recovery. Quadruple bypass is a high risk surgery for someone who is healthy so you can imagine how high risk it is for a brittle diabetic. At his last check up with the heart doctor which was about 3 weeks ago, he was given the green light to play golf again. Two weeks ago he left for his annual trip to his condo in Aruba, returning on Sunday night. Two days later, he passed away.

I was up in the Poconos on a business trip when I received the call. It's amazing how everything can change in a split second. One minute I'm pitching a sale to a customer with plans to hit the Pottery Barn outlet on my way to my next meeting and the next I'm excusing myself to take an urgent phone call from my husband, which of course, ended the meeting. Because I was halfway between Annapolis and my parents in western MA, it made the most sense for me to drive straight up to Mass. I honestly have no idea how I got there safely. I drove for 4 hours in complete silence on autopilot. I had to let several calls from friends go straight to voicemail because I knew I would not be able to talk without breaking down and that wasn't a good idea while driving. I think I am still in a complete state of shock. None of it seems real and I'm expecting to wake up and forget about this horrible nightmare.

Uncle Billy, you were the most wonderful god father and uncle ever. Words can not express how much you will be missed, not only by me but by all of us who knew and loved you. I am lucky to have known you and to have shared the first 31 years of my life with you and am a better person because of it.

Vail Ski Trip

2009-02-08T20:28:00.016-05:00

I returned about a week ago from one of the most amazing (hard to top skiing in the French Alps) ski trips I've ever taken. Sarah, one of my best friends from high school, works for the Ritz Carlton and had decided to take a trip out to the Ritz Bachelor Gulch and I was lucky enough to be invited. I can only describe this ski trip and our accomodations as feeling what it would be like to be rich and famous! I could go on and on about all the luxurious amentities on the trip, but since I'm still working on my letter to the better business bureau and the VW CEO regarding our car, I am a little pressed for time. The view from our balcony.

Ski in. Ski out. No lugging your equipment anywhere, especially with the ski valet (who by the way helps you put your ski boots on and off. If you're a skier, you know what a pain in the a$$ this is especially by the last day when you can barely move)

While I was in awe over our view, Sarah unpacked her heated ski boots circa 1990.

About to ski down to the Ritz for 3:15 hot chocolate and fresh out of the oven chocolate chip cookies.

The back bowls of Vail, my new favorite mountain.

We were extremely fortunate to have 3 sunny days in a row. How unbelievably blue is this sky? Not too bad to deal with for all 3 days.

Skiing Beaver Creek below.

The sun still ablazin at apres ski.

Nothing like sitting around the campfire with a cold beer listening to the Fran Liptak guitar wannabe after a full day on the slopes.

We skied 2 of the 3 days with Sarah's good friend Joe who lives in Colorado. We are posing at the location that said "Great spot for family photo." This is our family photo of the trip.

Joe was over the moon about riding the palma lift for the first time. Not quite as exciting as he hoped it would be.

Sarah with Beaver Creek Village in the background on our last day :-(

Thanks for inviting me on such an amazing trip Watty. I had so much fun with you and famous Jack too.

Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever

2009-01-29T22:53:00.004-05:00

Since late October our four legged friend has had a lot of health issues. He's experienced seizures, extreme pain, leg tremors so terrible it paralyzed him for a few days, severe lethargy, depression and the inability to jump up. We had taken him to our vet, Bay Ridge Animal Hospital, on three occassions and they couldn't find anything wrong with him after xrays, many examinations and a lot of $$$ (I only wish I had bought pet insurance). The vet thought he had a slipped disc pinching a nerve and treated him for a month with muscle relaxers and anti-inflammatory's, but he was showing no signs of improvement. She recommended we take him to a neurologist because there was nothing more she could do for him. After talking to a friend and learning how costly a vet neurologist is, we opted to get a second opinion from a vet who friends in my neighborhood RAVE over. His name is Dr. Woodburn and he practices at Greater Annapolis Veterinary Hospital and I highly recommend him. He is WONDERFUL! He met with us for over an hour on our first visit. He thoroughly examined Winston and decided to test him for Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever since there were several cases in our neighborhood a while back. Sure enough, he tested positive for RMSF. It was a very low positive which means he has probably had it for a while but was fighting it off himself. Or it could be a completely different virus, but either way the W is on antibiotics and is finally on the mend.

RMSF is not something that was common in the past but cases seem to be occuring more frequently these days. This is not something the mediocre vet would test for and I wanted to raise awareness of it. I have to thank my friend Laura who has been raving about Dr. Woodburn for a month to me now. Her 2 Vizlas were so sick and they both had RMSF. She had been hounding me to switch vets and I'm glad I did. Humans aren't the only ones who need second opinions!

First Snowfall

2009-01-28T14:01:00.004-05:00

It snowed fairly consistently for a good part of the day yesterday. Typically Winston LOVES playing in the snow when up at his "country houses" in MA and CT :-) but apparently, he much prefers to lie in his bed in the front window and watch it while toasty warm inside. I guess Maryland snow is not as great as New England snow. I for one enjoyed watching the snow fall from my kitchen window all day where I was working with a huge pot of Conni's Chicken Stock recipee was on my stove simmering all day. It was soo good and I have a ton left over to freeze and have the rest of the week while Brad is away.

I had to drop our SUV off at the shop yesterday morning for the 2nd time in 3 weeks. And the glorified Chevy golfcart they gave me as a rental car is not safe to be driving in the snow. Actually, I don't think I would feel safe driving it in dry weather either. We have definitely decided to sell our VW Touareg and I am mentioning it here because I promised the CEO of VW in a letter I have written him that I will continue to share with everyone how disappointed we are for paying for a luxury SUV when in fact, it is a luxury lemon. The catch 22 is that we absolutely LOVE the car.....when it's drivable and not in the shop for up to 3 weeks at a time. Yes, that's right... when it goes into the shop it's never for any less than 5 business days. It is the most comfortable car to drive and it's a tank... making it super safe. We've owned the car for 4 years now and I guess we should have known better than to buy the first production year of the Touareg. In our defense, we've always owned German cars and never had any problems with them. B has spent so much time over the past month negotiating with the sales manager at Fitzgerald to try and get parts comped. The issue is that the engineering of the car is not functional to replace things at all. I'll give one example: In order to replace one head light, they needed to break something and wanted us to pay to replace the broken thing and the 2 additional hours of labor (at $125 per hour) to put the new not broken piece in. All so we can have a headlight to drive our car at night! We were not naive when we bought both our German cars. We knew maintenace would be expensive when warranties ran out and we're fine with that, however the cost of $800 to replace a headlight is absolutely absurd. We are not talking about a Mazaratti here. By the way, we definitely DID NOT pay $800. Brad fought with our warranty company and filed a claim with VW America and did get the part comped along with the labor.

We picked "the beast" up from the shop 2 weeks ago. She was parked in the garage for 4 days and then we took her out on a Saturday. We were in the car for 5 minutes and just as we said "We really love this car, let's just keep it and maybe nothing else will go wrong", the Engine light went on and the sound on the blinkers and computer system went! If that's not a sign, then I don't know what is. So after dropping W off for some tests, we went to test drive a few other SUV's. We have been doing diligent research for the past month and have it narrowed down. We now just need to dump her at Carmax because I couldn't live with the guilt of selling it to anyone myself.

His and Hers Closets

2009-01-26T22:25:00.002-05:00

A New Beginning

2009-01-22T10:27:00.008-05:00

Tuesday, January 20, 2009, our country's first African American president, Barack Hussein Obama, was sworn into office at the mall in Washington DC with over 1.2 million people watching in 25 degree (fahrenheit) temperatures. Unfortunately, I was out of town up in PA for work so braving the crowds and cold weather wasn't even an option for me. I honestly had no intention of going even before my business trip was planned, but I will say that after watching the excitement from my hotel room on television, I do wish I had attended. Our house is only about 35 miles from DC which would have been a long and overly crowded metro ride in, but in hind sight, it would have been worth it.

This new president brings a new beginning for us as a country. A beginning filled with much needed hope. Whether it is hope for new jobs, regaining our strong foreign relationships that once were, repairing our school system or responsibly ending the war in Iraq. But I think, regardless of our party affiliation or whether or not if we voted for President Obama, we can all agree that we need someone in office who will execute these hopes. I am putting my faith into this president and the tough decisions he will be faced with in the next few days and throughout his entire term.

I have always said that behind every succesfull man, there is an even more succesfull woman. I think what impresses me the most about this first couple is the strength that is very apparent in their relationship and how comfortable they are together. If their children are any reflection (which I know they are) of what they will help this country achieve, I am very excited for the next 4 years.

Who Needs the Bars?

2009-01-12T16:38:00.005-05:00

Me and My Girls Saturday night we finally were all able to get together for a "holiday" dinner. With everyones schedules, sitters, etc. it was impossible to make this happen before the holiday's. I was really looking forward to catching up with my girls since I'd been out of town for 3 weeks. We had a great dinner accompanied by incredible sangria pomegranite martinis.... delicious! After dinner, we headed back to my house for the "after party." The guys were more than happy to play Wii all night and after the dance party that was happening until 2am I realized my dining room makes a better dance floor than going out to the bars because:

1. DJ Jivvy

2. No Cover Charge

3. We're the only drunk people on the dance floor

4. Dancing to the same song more than once in the same hour

5. Mo - our on demand bartender

6. No LAST CALL!

Brad decided to show us his moves..... they were moves we've never seen before.....

Goodbye 2008

2008-12-31T16:02:00.003-05:00

Happy New Year from the snowy mountains in western CT. We're having a blast today walking and sledding in all the fresh white stuff and can not WAIT to say goodbye to 2008 tonight and hello 2009. Here's to a fabulous new year full of hope, health and many blessings.

Running free in the New England snow

2008-12-26T14:48:00.005-05:00

It appears that Winston loves the snow just as much as I do.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nRl8BpX-ty8

12 Days of Christmas

2008-12-23T13:24:00.012-05:00

12 dozen cookies

11 pairs of socks

10 crazy New York drivers spotted (so far)

9 crazy NJ drivers

8 cylinders in our "sleigh"

7 hours driving

6 pairs of shoes

5 states to drive through

4 wheel drive

3 bags of presents
2 Starbucks lattes

and

a beagle in the back seat.

How much is that doggie in the window?

2008-12-19T19:59:00.003-05:00

Birthday Weekend Extravaganza

2008-12-15T21:43:00.006-05:00

My birthday was actually this past Thursday, but as usual, I was able to stretch it out to a weekend affair. My husband took me to dinner at one of my favorite restaraunts, The Melting Pot, on my actual birthday. On Friday I had a special visit from my nephew who delivered handmade birthday gifts from him and his siblings. My favorite is the macaroni necklace. After being out very late on Friday night at our community holiday party, we woke up early and spent the day with a bunch of friends over on the eastern shore at Saint Michaels. The guys raced their model sailboats and all 6 of us ladies spent the day shopping and lunching it. It was very nice to sit down on a Saturday early afternoon and share some drinks with good company! Thank you everyone for all of my cards and wonderful gifts.

Mo and Sarah working up a thirst shopping.

Amateur Hour

2008-12-10T20:15:00.005-05:00

Today at lunch time I snuck away from my computer and did a little photo shoot with baby Ryan. I have taken an interest in photography over the last few years and have loved taking pics of my adorable niece and nephews. This was my first pro-bono official photo shoot. This one is my favorite. It was a challenge in itself to keep a 2 1/2 week old awake for 10 minutes or so!

Just when you think you're having a rough time...

2008-12-09T11:20:00.002-05:00

Someone always seems to be worse off. A coworker of mine was in a terrible accident several weeks before Thanksgiving. Unfortunately, he ended up passing away in the hospital on Thanksgiving day, leaving behind a wife and five children ages 18 months to 12 years old. I can not seem to stop thinking about this family and how they will make it through this Christmas without their dad. Their 18 month old will never really get to know him.

I didn't work directly with this person and only met him once at a managers kick off meeting, but this has affected me so much more than I thought. This past year has been a very rough year for Brad and I, him losing his job and other personal issues we're facing, but hearing something like this really puts things into perspective. I'm not making light of my rough times, because they certainly are difficult, but I guess this is just another unfortunate reminder that things could always be much worse.

My thoughts and prayers are with this family through this holiday season.

Happy 35th Anniversary Mom and Dad!

2008-12-01T22:05:00.001-05:00

Ryan Update

2008-11-26T09:35:00.002-05:00

Fortunately Ryan's stay in the NICU was only about 4 hours and he was sent back to his parents that same night. He'll continue to see a pediatric urologist and get further testing next week most likely at Johns Hopkins. We're so fortunate to live in an area where we have phenomenal hospitals!

Prayers for Baby Ryan

2008-11-24T23:33:00.003-05:00

Baby Ryan was admitted to the NICU tonight around 8pm due to kidney issues. Although his parents are pretty shaken up, the NICU is the best place for him right now. Thanks for your thoughts and prayers for Ryan and his family.

A Nine Pounder

2008-11-24T19:38:00.005-05:00

Our friends Lauren and Jason had an early Christmas present this afternoon; a nine pound, eight ounce baby boy! Brad and I went over to see them all this evening and have definitely decided that this big guy looks like his momma. Congrats Millsies!

Happy Birthday B!

2008-11-22T12:38:00.003-05:00

Today is Brad's birthday and he is more than happy spending it out in the 40 degree freezing cold weather sailing in the Turkey Bowl today. Brrrr. Hope you guys are staying warm out there.

Interesting Article

2008-11-20T10:56:00.004-05:00

I came across this interesting article on a blog this morning titled "Generation-too-big-for-their-britches?"

"You can do it!" "You can accomplish anything if you put your mind to it!" "You're the best!" Is there such a thing as going overboard in praising our kids? A new study claims that many teens are "over-confident" and the study's author is pointing the blame at parents and teachers. According to an article on FOXNews.com entitled, "Many Teens Overconfident, Have 'Wildly' Unrealistic Expectations," the "self-esteem" movement may have gone too far.

Top 10 ways to brat-proof your child:

1. "Authoritative parenting" assumes the grown-ups in the house are behaving like parents rather than friends. Kids need boundaries and rules and when you don't provide them, you set your child up for heartache on down the road. And let's not fool ourselves. No teen really wants to be best buds with mom or dad--they want freedom and if they can gain it by soothing a parent's low self-esteem with an elusive bff status, they are willing to play the game. Oh, and guess who'll be left with the tab in the end should fallout occur? That's right, bff mom and dad!

2. Don't rescue your child from the consequences of their poor choices. If they get caught drinking at the Homecoming dance, don't march up to the school to argue about the punishment that has been doled out. Resist the urge to throw them a lifeline--if you do it once, they'll expect you to do it again...and again...and again.

3. Don't try to fix things when your child doesn't make the team or argue with the coach when they sit on the bench. When they enter the working world, they will be better equipped to deal with real-life experiences such as as undeserving co-workers who get raises, bosses who are not qualified to lead, and other common injustices. Sometimes, life just isn't fair and our kids need to know that.

4. Don't provide for your child's every whim. When you shower your kids with the latest and greatest electronic toys, designer jeans, new cars, and the like, you give them an unrealistic picture of what life will be like when they set out on their own. Don't be surprised if they come a-knockin' on down the road when they're suffering withdrawals from the standard of living you provided.

5. Resist telling your child that he/she can be whatever they want if they put their minds to it. How do you explain that one to the multitude of grown adults who have discovered the hard way that they simply don't have what it takes to be President or make it to the Olympics? Help your child discover and cultivate their God-given talents, but don't set them up for disappointment by misleading them. If your child wants to be a popstar but can't sing a tune, do them a favor and tell them now before they find out this way (click here).

6. When your child is old enough to hold a job, require that they work during the summer months and earn money toward expenses. They will have a greater appreciation for their belongings and privileges if they play a part in earning money toward gas, car insurance, college textbooks, etc....

7. Do not make your child the center of your universe. Have your own outside interests and prioritize your relationship with your spouse. We don't do our children any favors when we drop everything and pour our entire energy into checking every homework assignment and shuttling them to countless after-school activities. Consider having a limit of one sport or outside activity per child, per season.

8. Teach your child common courtesies that should be displayed toward others. Require them to hold the door open for those passing through, surrender their seats to women and children, help the elderly and women who are struggling to load their bags in an airplane overhead bin, resist the urge to check a text message when talking with someone, etc... If you teach them to be on the lookout when it comes to helping others, it will deter them from thinking about themselves 24/7.

9. Teach your child to respect their elders and do not allow for rude and impolite behavior. Require them to answer with "Yes Ma'am, No Sir" and look someone in the eye when speaking to them. Teach them to initiate conversations by asking questions about the other person rather than expecting that the conversation will center around them.

10 Involve your child in mission causes. Volunteering at a soup kitchen, taking a mission trip, adopting a needy family at Christmas time, etc... will help them take the focus off themselves and teach them the joy of giving to others. At a minimum, make sure they do something on an annual basis that would help those who are less fortunate.

Those were the days Part II

2008-11-14T21:07:00.011-05:00

After about a month of exploring Copenhagen and getting acclamated to the Danish culture, I began working. I was a manufacturers rep for furniture made in Germany, Denmark and Italy and was hired by a Danish man who owned a very small company to grow the US market on the east coast. Life was good. I was working part time and traveling home to the states every 5 weeks for 2 weeks allowing me to see my friends and family, not to mention getting some great furniture at cost. (the mark up on furniture is shocking by the way) I got to travel around Europe for work and more importantly was able to get my foot in the door with international sales and move on from teaching. I really enjoyed my job and was very disappointed when I was laid off after only 9 short months. The economy in the states had taken a major downturn after September 11th and our largest US customer could not pay their bills leaving my boss no choice but to cut back. So, I turned in all my "equipment" and was officially a full time expat fiance.

After a few months I realized I had to do something with my free time or I wasn't going to make it out of the country sane. I discovered the LINK (ladies international network of kobenhavn) club and met many wonderful American moms with a lot of free time on their hands and in desperate need of some part time help. Seeing as I did enjoy being around children I thought I would start nannying in hopes of curing my boredom and a little extra money to shop with never hurt either. I nannied on a regular basis for the most adorable and amazing identical twins, E & C. At the time they were 2 1/2 years old and I grew to love them so much. I miss them to this day and think about them often. Below they are pictured in authentic Danish princess costumes at their 3rd birthday party. Aren't they beautiful?

Not only did I fall in love with these little girls, but Brad did too. We watched them over many weekends together and their big brown eyes and sweet smiles suckered him in. He still will mention them from time to time and we haven't seen them in about 5 years or so.

We did also have some wonderful friends who were over 3 ft tall. Below is Jesper and Cille (pronounced Yespa and Cilla) at their recent wedding, which unfortunately we were not able to fly out to Copenhagen for. We became friends with Jesper when he was living in Richmond, VA working for the same company as Brad back in '99. Jesper and Cille dated and lived together for 5 years and finally tied the knot this past August. I'll never forget the first weekend I was in Denmark, Jesper took us to party. Of course, everyone in Denmark rides bicycles everywhere due to the 300% tax on cars and the crazy expensive fuel prices. We were riding through the streets of Denmark and Jesper says in his Danish accent "Come on Christy, keep pedaling, your ass will be so tight in no time." Every time I think of him saying this I laugh. Of course at the moment I was offended until I learned and understood the Danes. Our other best Danish friends are Allan and Jette. Many of you probably have even met them. They've been at our wedding (along with Jesper and Cille) and have been to Annapolis to visit us twice. Jette and Allan were introduced to us when we were all living in Charlotte, NC. They had been expatriated (were not married at the time) and were living in NC the same time we were. Jette, a career woman, was not working in Charlotte and going a bit crazy. Because I was teaching, I had the summer off so we would play a lot of tennis together. Let me rephrase that: Jette kicked my butt in tennis almost every other day. But all in all, I did learn a lot from her. We were fortunate because Allan and Jette moved back to Copenhagen several months before we moved over and they took us under their wing, introducing us to their friends, showing us around and making us feel welcome and comfortable. They are AWESOME and I love and miss them terribly. They now have two little ones, Grace and Zach (yes, American names. we tease them and say they are 1/2 Danish and 1/2 American because they love the states). Actually, Jette's favorite show while living in the states was "Will & Grace" which is where she heard the name Grace. When her little Gracie was born with firey red hair, she didn't have to think twice about what to name her.

And then there is my sweet, sweet Aimee. Aimee is probably one of the sweetest people you will ever meet. (her brother in law actually calls her Aimee Sweet because she really is!) It may run in the name since I know several very nice Aimee's. Aimee is American, not Danish and we were put in touch through one of the American moms whom I met through the LINK club. Aimee phoned me one day out of the blue and we chatted on the phone for over an hour. We decided to meet in person with our fiances at a bar/club. It was extremely strange walking into a bar looking around for the "American" couple; almost like a blind date. We spotted them not long after we had arrived and the four of us shared many beers and a lot of laughs. We all clicked and the rest is history. Aimee was very outgoing and friendly and once TJ warmed up to us, we haven't been able to quiet him down yet.

Our stay in Denmark was for 2 years and then the company decided to decentralize Brad's group and move them to Den Hague, The Netherlands. We had the choice of either moving back to the states or committing to another year abroad and since we weren't quite ready to move home, we agreed to Holland for a year.

We celebrated our last night out in Copenhagen with Aimee, TJ and a few of their other American friends from work. I am confident in saying the Dane's were proud of our partying that last night. Yes, that is my husband at about 4am sitting in the lap of the Hans Christian Andersen statue.

Aimee and TJ before things got a little crazy.

Needless to say, the flight to Holland came very early and Bristy (TJ's nickname for us) was very hungover.

The couple that votes together stays together!

2008-11-04T10:54:00.002-05:00

Brad and I went together this morning to vote at our nearby middle school. Although we went together, we did not actually vote for the same ticket. Can you guess who is the conservative and who the liberal is???? It would probably surprise you! Oh, and don't forget to take your sticker to Starbucks for your free tall coffee!

Halloween

2008-11-02T20:41:00.008-05:00

This year Halloween was a bit crazy for us. I always like to get over to see my niece and nephews in their costumes before giving out candy at my house. This can be a bit difficult and rushed because even though they only live about 8 miles from us, it takes about 30 min with all the traffic there is on Fridays. Brad and I headed over around 4:30 to see the Lion (Owen), Dorothy (Mackenzie), the Scarecrow (B man) and the Tin Man (Kyle). My sister in laws mom, who I've given major props to several times on my blog for her unbelievable sewing talent, once again made the kids costumes. They were gorgeous and I hope we're lucky enough to be blessed with these hand-me-downs some day.

After seeing the kids all dressed up, we rushed back home to give out candy to our trick or treaters. We get a TON of them since our neighborhood is filled with kids. People even drive into our neighborhood from other neighborhoods to trick or treat. I think it's the close proximity of the houses and the sidewalks that makes it desirable for trick or treating. Because we had a party to go to ourselves, we were trying to hand out candy and get into our costumes at the same time. Maura came over all dressed, so she relieved me of my duties for a while. I had to laugh when I heard a trick or treater ask her if she was a rocker chick. Maura replied "no I'm a girl from the 80's" and the little girl just gave her a blank stare and then Mo said " you weren't born then." Needless to say, Maura and I were 80's girls and Brad was super trooper.

Gotta love the BFF split heart necklaces!

The party was hosted by one of my friends from Univ of Hartford. Even though my stay at UHA was short lived (2 years before transferring to Towson) I love the friends I made there. They are so much fun and 100% responsible for my annebriated condition on Friday night. I had an absolute blast and it was worth the hangover I nursed all day Saturday.

Those were the days, Part I

2008-10-27T19:24:00.003-04:00

Lately I've found myself thinking a lot about our 3 years living abroad and really missing our friends, the slow paced European lifestyle and the every day adventures of living in a foreign country and getting to travel to new places all the time. I was thinking how it would have been so great if they had this blog thing about 6 years ago because it would have certainly kept me busy. Most of you reading this know that I went stir crazy after almost 3 years without working, well working and getting a paycheck that is. I did work for a non profit about 10 hours a week, but that wasn't enough for me. Especially with a husband who traveled ALL THE TIME! It's funny how the grass is always greener on the other side. I can recall numerous conversations with friends and family complaining how bored I was getting and how I couldn't wait to move home and work, work, work! WOW... did I really feel that way? This adventure all started when I began dating my now husband who was working for a Danish company. After graduating college, I immediately got a job teaching 5th grade down in Charlotte, NC. So, I migrated south a few days after graduation. It was a tough year teaching to say the least (actually I HATED it!) and we weren't particularly happy in the Charlotte area, so when an opportunity with B's company was presented to him at the world headquarters in Copenhagen, Denmark, we decided to go for it. This decision was not actually made that easily. I actually think the first words out of my mouth were "Where is Denmark and no, I'm not moving to another country with you! We're not even married. Heck, we're not even engaged!" After a few weeks of weighing all the pros and cons and having a lot of chats with our Danish friends who were living in Charlotte and on the brink of getting expatriated home to CPH (Copenhagen), I finally came to the conclusion that it was a once in a lifetime experience and the worst that could happen is I don't like it and move home. Many people thought it was a bit crazy for me to move to another country with a guy I wasn't even engaged to, but I guess that was one of my rare decisions of living on the edge.

B moved over in May of 2002 and I followed a few months later. We had a fantastic summer and of course went through the rollercoaster of loving it, hating it and then loving it again. The picture above is a very popular spot called Nyhavn, pronounced Newhoun. And days as gorgeous as the one above are pretty rare and very appreciated by the Danes. The climate in Denmark and lack of sun was something I had a rough time adjusting to. Because CPH is on an island, there is a constant moisture always in the air in the spring, fall and winter. Not to mention the fact that it sometimes stays dark all day in the winter. The summertime is a different story. Denmark is so far north that it stays light out until midnight or so.

Here is Hans Christian Andersen's famous Little Mermaid statue.

Brad and I somewhat inherited our apartment from the American guy who Brad was replacing. Because it was an easy find and had an incredible location with the bus stop, taxi stand, metro and train station directly across the street, we didn't bother to shop around. Our apartment is the third one up and is right above a 7 Eleven and a few buildings down from a night club. It took a while to adjust to the constant buzz of people at all hours.

Our apartment was also located right on the famous shopping street, the Stroget which was very dangerous for a shopaholic like myself who had a LOT of free time on her hands. However, Denmark has a VAT (value added tax) that is 18% which makes everything crazy expensive. Think about everything you buy on a regular basis and add 18% to that. It's shocking!

I spent many afternoons at cafe Europa below having lattes with 2 shots of caramel reading a book or trying to perfect my Danish by reading Danish newspapers. Now it's not that I didn't have any friends, in fact I had several close friends, but they all worked during the daytime, leaving me to fend for myself.

Pictured below is one of the five lakes in a row frozen over in the winter time. My good friend Aimee and I used to walk several times a week around all five lakes. I can't recall the distance, but we never did run out of things to say to each other.

To be continued....

A First for Everything

2008-10-22T13:13:00.005-04:00

For all of you Fran (my dad) fans out there you will be happy to know that history has been made tonight. My dad has an email address and has sent his first email ever! My brother witnessed (and assisted) first hand and sent me the following email that was too funny not to share. The me in the dialogue is Dave. Enjoy!

fran liptak has just sent his very 1st email (see below - 5 minutes ago). the entire email was typed with the middle finger of his right hand. obviously.
i felt it necessary to send a follow up email to the parties involved in this historic moment (my sis'), and to bri and nick, as to fill you all in on the pure comedy of such an event. below is a list of highlights. admittedly, i may forget one or two because they came early and often, and one may have eluded me due to my incessant hysterics.
dad: how do i make the letter a capital?
me: you hit the shift button, then the letter. but you don't need to capitalize. it's only email.
dad: oh, really?
me: yup.
dad: oh.
dad: How do i get spaces in between the words?
me: you hit the space bar.
dad: where's the space bar?
me: right there.
dad: oh.
me: watching him hit the space bar anywhere between 4-10 times between words (see below for proof).
me: dad, you only need to hit the space bar once in between words.
dad: oh. ok.
dad (on the phone): nancy (my aunt) - what's your email address?
dad: ok. i'm going to send you my first letter.
me: email dad. email. it's not a letter.
dad: how do i get a dash?
me: right there. you want to use a dash for the word email?
dad: yeah. why?
me: you don't really need a dash.
dad: putting the dash in......
dad: how do i start a new line?
me: you hit return.
dad: where's return?
me: right there.
dad: hitting the space bar 15 times now to indent in his new line (again, see below).
dad: how do i get a question mark?
me: you hit the shift button, then the question mark button.
dad: the shift button again, huh?
me: yup.
dad: wow.
just can't make that up.

FRAN's FIRST EMAIL:

hi i just wanted to tell you guys i now have a e-mail address
pretty neat huh?
this is a very big moment in my life
thank you
signed frankie

Fall Getaway

2008-10-19T14:42:00.007-04:00

We decided we needed a weekend away and headed for WISP ski resort at Deep Creek Lake in Western MD early Saturday morning. I find that even if I try to have a relaxing weekend at home, I always end up filling my time with projects around the house. I never can seem to just "be" when I'm home with nothing planned. It's definitely something I'm working on :-)

We were able to bring Winston along because the resort was pet friendly. We spent all Saturday afternoon hiking around a local state park and Saturday evening the resort we stayed at had a haunted house and a ride on the mountain coaster which was a blast. We felt like we were little kids again. The weather was a little cold this morning so we decided to head back to Annapolis after breakfast and now it's back to the grind tomorrow. The weekends go by much too fast these days.

Baby O gets baptized

2008-10-12T19:21:00.008-04:00

This past weekend was such a great one. Great weather, girls night out and baby Owen's Baptism on Sunday. Owen is one of my best friends (Jill) little boy. He is such a good baby and how can you resist him with those cheeks? O and his proud parents.

O and the proud god parents.

Aunt Christy loves her O.

Look at those baby blues!

A Shower for Baby Mills

2008-10-06T23:34:00.006-04:00

This past Sunday I hosted a baby shower for one of my good friends. Lauren and her husband are expecting a boy the end of November and her doctor has already warned her that it's going to be a very big boy. She's 32 weeks prego and the baby is already 5.5 pounds! Yikes. Some people say the weight of the baby doubles from 32 weeks but for Lauren's sake, I really hope not. I think she'll definitely be swapping out many of the 0-3 month clothing she received for larger sizes. The theme of the nursery is sailboats so of course that was the primary theme of the shower. I ordered the cake above from a baker my sister in law's family has always used and he did an amazing job. Not only did it look great, but it tasted great too.

Lauren with her mom and sister below.

Winston was appalled that we kept him outside the entire time. Could it have been due to the fact that he table surfed the dining room table before the guests arrived and ate 1/4 of the coffee cake. Probably, but he was getting the boot outside regardless. He watched all the present opening from behind glass doors.

Thanks to Mo Mo for coming on her birthday! We know you're a very busy lady Mo and appreciate you bringing your awesome lemon pound cake. I'm relishing in the left-overs.

Kings Point Class of '98

2008-09-29T14:06:00.007-04:00

This past weekend we were up at Kings Point, NY celebrating Brad's 10 year college reuinion from the USMMA. The weather wasn't that great, but we managed to have a great time catching up with his old friends and we even got a sail in. The academy lies on the grounds of the old Chrysler estate and has beautiful water views all the way across to NYC.

The 97 foot, 11 million dollar sailboat below was recently donated to the academy. The director of the sailing program took about 35 of us out for a sail on Saturday. Despite the mist, I enjoyed being out on the water on such an amazing boat. Luckily the drizzle stopped by 2 and we spent the rest of the evening eating, drinking and catching up with everyone. It was a great weekend, but after a night out in NYC on Friday night (getting in at 3am) and drinking again at 12noon on Sat., I am only reminded of how I'm not so young anymore. Hope I'll be able to hang for the 15 year.

Beagles, beagles and more beagles

2008-09-14T18:00:00.008-04:00

Despite the steamy 94 degree temperature, we (me, Winston, our friend Amy and her son, T who is the president of the Winston fan club) headed down to the annual beagle bash to help support the beagle rescue organization of southern MD.

I would guess there were about 40 beagles in attendance. It was fun to get out there and see some of our beagle friends and enjoy the bone shaped swimming pool. T loved it but couldn't convince Winston to come in.

I did proudly wear my "beagle" tshirt today (purchased randomly from a J Crew outlet) but I pray I never wear beagle ankle socks.

We all lasted about an hour and then the heat really got to us, especially T who wore his birthday suit on the ride home.

Hanna was no show stopper for us!

2008-09-09T10:18:00.004-04:00

In spite of all the hype about "the big" tropical storm Hanna, we didn't really give it a second thought and were on our way out of town on Friday early afternoon. We had all been looking forward to this weekend so much that no tropical storm or hurricane would have stopped us.

The rain even held off until about 11am on Saturday, so we got the 5K in too with a good time none the less. I guess having a few drinks the night before didn't slow me down at all. I finished with an 11min and 35 sec. mile which I was thrilled about. This made me feel a lot less guilty when the jello shots and mixed drinks surfaced at 4:30 on Saturday :-)

I feel very confident in saying that all 16 of us had an awesome time and that most of us will be back next year (me for sure!) I enjoyed most spending time with my girls below. With everyone's busy lives, kids, jobs, etc. it seems like hanging out together is a rareity these days. We definitely made the most of it and had a blast together.

Run Christy Run!

2008-09-03T10:04:00.002-04:00

I leave on Friday for my annual girls weekend in Dewey Beach and could not be more ready (hence updating my blog in the middle of a work day!) I can't seem to stop thinking about what flavor jello I'm going to buy for the jello shots and if vodka would be better or perhaps tequila would work for the lime jello... hmmm...

Every year, the weekend after Labor Day, The Bottle and Cork (a bar in Dewey Beach, DE) puts on a 5K and a 10 miler. This will be my 3rd year attending, but my friends have been going now for about 10 years. This weekend attracts a ton of people to the beach and it is the last big party/bar weekend for Dewey. I didn't run last year, but I did in '06 and thanks to the internet, was just able to find my time. I was actually shocked when I saw how fast (for me, I'm a slow runner) I actually ran the 5K in. I averaged an 11min 19sec mile and completed the race in 35min 5sec. I thought I did much worse than this, but then again I was a very young 28 back then. I was hoping for an 11m 30s mile this year in hopes I'd beat my time from 2 years ago, but I think I'll just aim to finish the race.

We've got about 16 women (most of us married, many with kids) who are all more than ready to have an awesome time. Keep your fingers crossed the weather is nice for us!

Goodbye to Summer

2008-08-28T18:26:00.006-04:00

It is always so nice to go home to MA where I grew up and spend time with friends and family in the area, but I am always amazed at how Annapolis really feels like home to me now. I couldn't imagine living any where else right now and am so lucky to live in such an awesome place.

Brad and his team had a terrific time at the Worlds and finished in 23rd place out of 104 boats. Their best race earned a 3rd place and their worst was somewhere in the 60's. All in all, they did better than they had anticipated and arrived home very late Sunday night.

I had a great time with my family and was fortunate enough to be in town for an unfortunate family matter. My uncle, who fondly refers to me as "Number One" (I was the first born and his god daughter) suffered a heart attack and landed himself in the ICU for a few days. He was then trasferred to a larger hospital for more testing and is meeting with a heart surgeon on Friday. At first they did not want to do surgery on him. He is a very brittle diabetic and his body has been beaten up severly by this awful disease and surgery didn't seem like an option. However, after more testing, they think it may be his best chance. We'll know more later today.

This weekend our community has a party at the pool which marks the end of summer. As of Monday, the pool will be closed and won't be reopened until May. While I will miss summer, wearing skirts and flip flops every day and hanging out at our pool on weekends, I am very excited for the fall. I love when the weather is a crisp 60 degrees and sunny, raking leaves (or lying in the hammock with a good book watching B rake the leaves) and having a nice pot of home made chili for dinner. In all honesty, the year 2008 has not been a very good year for us, so maybe I'm trying to rush into 2009 with high hopes of a better one.

Hope everyone has a fun and safe Labor Day Weekend!

Part 1: Update from the J22 Worlds Part 2: Why husbands should listen to their wives the first time around

2008-08-21T13:49:00.003-04:00

First I want to congratulate Brad and his team for finishing in 12th place yesterday out of 105 boats! They did awesome. Today is another day though and hopefully they'll continue to sail as well as they did yesterday. Awesome job guys!

About 3 weeks ago, the conversation went something like this:

Brad (getting home from the car dealership after routine maintenace): "The guy at the service department said there is a bubble in the right rear tire and we will have to replace both rear tires very soon."

Christy: "I didn't even notice the bubble. Let's make an appointment to have the tires replaced asap then. I don't want to drive up to Mass in a few weeks with the bubble."

Brad: "No, we're going to wait. The tires are very expensive. I noticed the bubble a few weeks ago and it's been fine."

Christy: "I don't know, it makes me really nervous. I can foresee a problem. Let's just replace them."

Brad: "No. The car comes with roadside assistance. We'll be fine."

Lesson Christy learned: Make the executive decision and do what needs to be done.

Winston and I headed up to my parents yesterday afternoon. We were only a few hours into the trip and just when my book on CD was getting really good, a sensor on the computer in the car went off. Having no idea what it meant, I pulled over at the next exit, about 10 miles up the road, got out the manual and realized I had a tire malfunction. Sure enough, the right rear tire (yes, that's right the one with the bubble) was leaking air directly from the bubble on the side of the tire. I had pulled over in Nowheresville, PA into a little mom and pop auto shop. They couldn't help me with the tire, but they were very nice guys. After calling roadside assistance, Winston and I hung out in the blazing sun for an hour until our tow truck arrived.
The nearest BMW dealership was 45 miles away and I had called and luckily they had 2 tires in stock, which is a rareity for the type of sport tire we have. It was my luckiest unlucky day! After surviving 2 near death experiences with the tow truck driver, we made it to Allentown, PA to the dealership. The folks in the dealership were AMAZING! They stayed open after 5 to put my tires on and everyone gave Winston treats and lots of pets. Saying he was a huge hit with the women in the showroom is an understatement. An hour and a half later, we were on our way and safely arrived at my parents home at 10:30 last night. After telling B what happened, he felt terrible. Since B's been out of work we naturally are on a budget these days, so I can understand not wanting to shell out mucho dinero for tires. But we agreed that we can't cut corners where safety is involved. Surprisingly, I didn't give him too much grief. Very unlike me :-)

BIG HAPPENINGS AT THE 'RENTS:

1. The world wide web has made it to my parents house! Yes, that's right, it is 2008 and they are finally connected. Instead of working from the local Starbucks like I usually have to when I'm home, I'm sitting in their beautiful four seasons room working on the very comfy couch today and tomorrow.

2. The trees separating my parents property from my aunt and uncles have all been removed and a professional bocci court with a huge fire pit and seating is being built. These Italians don't mess around!

Off to the J22 Worlds!

2008-08-18T14:43:00.004-04:00

Brad leaves this afternoon with his team to head for the J22 World Championship Regatta up in Rochester, NY. Last time we checked there were 130 boats signed up, which is huge! They spent this weekend packing up the boat and getting it ready for the drive up to NY. It's been sitting in front of our house since Saturday and thankfully, none of our neighbors have reported us to the HOA yet. The races begin on Wednesday and go until Sunday. Winston and I will also be headed up north on Wednesday to visit my family in MA and then will head to Rochester on Saturday or Sunday. Good Luck Brad and team!

Dogs Best Friend

2008-08-15T10:12:00.002-04:00

I know the saying is "Dog is mans best friend," but my dad is dogs best friend. He is such an animal lover and the dogs he meets can sense it. It's really funny to watch. He's in town this week doing some work for B's mom and I took a short video of just how excited Winston gets when his "best friend" comes into town. Make sure your volume is on so you can hear the cries of excitement!

The Trips Turn Two

2008-08-11T17:03:00.008-04:00

This past Saturday we celebrated the triplets turning 2. I am so amazed at how much they've grown into such amazing little people over the past 2 years, each with their own distinctive personalities. I think they really enjoyed their party and loved the attention from everyone. Miss Mackenzie was the hostess with the mostess, Kyle was happy as a clam playing with his new train table top and Brady enjoyed all the hats from Grandma Di Di.

Four Thousand Miles

2008-07-24T14:14:00.028-04:00

We arrived home from our 4,000 mile cross country trip this past Saturday night. After massive piles of laundry, getting caught up on 400 + emails and re-introducing myself to the gym, I finally have some time to share our amazing adventure.

Where do I begin??? It started out at the Beachcomber. I'm sure many of you reading this blog have not only heard of this popular local hang out bar in Mission Beach, but have also thrown a few (too many) back here. What started out as a very calm and typical (for Dave's friends) Sunday night at the bar turned into a whirlwind of mysterious events. The 'Comber had a band that day and was packed from 5 until 9pm. There was a group of about 10 of us who were all enjoying good drinks, company and the Ms. Pacman machine. I think it all started to go downhill when the shots below started getting poured. This was right before I left and went back to Matt and Erica's (where we were staying right down the street). Around 10:30, most of us said our goodbyes and left Dave, Brad and a few stragglers behind for what we thought would be one last drink and then goodnight. Boy was I wrong.

Pictured below is Matt and Erica's courtyard. This was also where my husband ended up passing out and sleeping until he was dragged into the house at 4:30am when the three of us were woken up by the call from the police station saying that Dave's best bud had been taken in. We received a call from my brother later that morning and his apartment window was open, the dresser in front of the window was knocked over and there was vomit on the floor (lovely) and he had no idea who did all this. Hhhmmm..... I wonder?

I knew it was not going to be a fun day when the first words out of Brad's mouth that morning when he came to be were "I'm just going to apologize right now for me and Dave for the rest of today." I probably would have been mortified at his behavior if it weren't for the fact that every one of their friends has passed out in this courtyard at least once over the past 5 years, so it didn't seem like it was a big deal to them.

We assume that Dave knocked over evidence A, the dresser and the bodily fluids belonged to him also. We assume that his bud got taken in for drunken disorderly conduct (he was never charged with anything thank goodness) and probably couldn't tell the cop where he lived (the 'Comber is literally a block away from their apartment). None of the boys remember anything. The moral to the story is if you would like to erase your memory of the entire night, drink about 10 Jameson shots and you are guaranteed to not remember a thing.

As you can imagine, Brad had a wonderful drive up to Santa Barbara on Monday passed out in the back seat. He was finally back to normal on Tuesday afternoon.

If only I could say it got better when we got to our campsite..... but I can't. Pictured below is the gopher hole to China that our car keys (with alarm remote) got tossed into by accident. I'm not sure who is to blame for this one, my brother for not having an accurate throw, Brad for not lunging to catch the keys or the Jameson. The hole is actually a lot bigger in the picture below because after hacking at it with an axe and digging with a shovel, we were able to widened it, however we were not able to recover the keys.

Please note Brad's hungover "Oh Sh*t" look below. The situation is this: car is locked, food and tents are out, but everything else is in car, Dave doesn't even know if he has a spare key or not and we found that our fellow campers were very, very helpful but too many opinions and chatter was not helping us solve the problem any quicker.

Our neighbors, the gay couple below brought over their beagles, Coco and Paris to aid in the search and rescue mission. However, one of the guys was highly intoxicated and every 5 minutes he would shout "Now, everybody let's just wait a minute and stop... stop... stop.. do we actually know the car keys fell down the hole?" I literally thought Dave and Brad were going to throw this guy into next week. His partner however, was extremely helpful. He called Triple A for us and they were at the camp ground within 30 minutes. One might think we would be home free by now, but that would be too good to be true. Triple A breaks into the car for us finally. YEAH! Well, kind of. The car alarm is going off and the lights are flashing non - stop. After what seemed like forever, Dave found the spare key in a suit bag. Yeah! No, actually. He tried to start the engine and I'll be darned that those Subaru's have a very intense security system in them. Mind you the alarm is going off the entire time (it's now around 10pm) disrupting everyone's fireside chats and sleep. Finally, Triple A disconnected the horn and we decided to call it a night for now and figure out the plan of attack in the morning when we're all a little more fresh and the Jameson is completely out of the guys system.

The next morning Brad and I woke up to the beautiful sound of the Subaru's engine purring. My brother had also been a valet for a while at a hotel in La Jolla and the trick to get around the alarm dawned on him. Left blinker up, turn key, right blinker up, turn key, flash high beams, turn key and the engine started. Well, this was obviously the sequence of events! It worked every time. We did however get a lot of laughs later on when we got to Montana and after reading the manual, realized you just need to turn the key 3 times and then it will start. No need for the blinkers and high beams and touching your nose while patting your head three times.

Don't let me forget to mention that we packed up the car and all had our seatbelts on and Dave turned they key and the battery had died. The alarm that was silently going off all night drained the battery. So, yet again, a helpful camper came to our rescue and gave us a jump and THEN we were on our way.

Aahhh, good times!

I am happy to say that it all got better from here. No major incidents after leaving the Santa Barbara area. I am even surprised at how much I enjoyed the camping. Of course, by day 14, I was not really enjoying much of anything. And I may be exagerating just a bit. We didn't camp for 14 nights, only 6 actually. We got a hotel with my reward points (finally I get to reap the benefits of all my travel last year) in Monterey and then were at my sister's three nights and slept in the car one night as we drove straight through to Wyoming from Montana. Because I don't have time to write a short story about the trip (I would much rather be writing than working. I realized after being away from work for 2 weeks just how easy it would be to walk away), I decided to do the road trip in highlights.

Pictured below is the most valuable piece of camping equipment EVER! A huge thanks to my mother in law for loaning me her head lamp. Despite of what a dork I'm sure I looked like, I wore it every night camping and I could not have done without it.

On the other hand, the LEAST valuable camping item was this teeny, tiny special camping towel. This towel, which is the size of a hand towel was purchased at a local camping store and I just could not go on the trip without having a towel that would dry ultra fast and not get mildewey and stinky. The towel did NOT dry super fast and by the time I wiped my legs off the entire thing was sopping wet and didn't dry for a few days. I am fighting the urge to write a letter to the manufacturer for false advertising. Messing with someone's personal hygiene should be a very punishable offense!

Out of all the states we went through, and there were a lot, the drive up the Oregon coast was the most beautiful. We stopped at the spot below and it reminded us of one of the scene in the movie Goonies.

My favorite campsite was in Northern California in the Redwood Forest. It was about 85 degrees when we got to our campsite and we were all pretty hot and sweaty after setting up our tents. I saw a sign that read "Trail to the River" so I decided to follow it. The trail led me down to a river that was so clear people were swimming in it. I went back to the campsite to "gather the men" and we all went down for a dip. It is one of my most memorable days from the trip. I felt like a nature girl, pitching a tent (well helping pitch a tent), going for a swim down in the river and then cooking dinner over the fire.

Brad testing out the temperature of the river. It was cold, but refreshing.

And so clear I can see my toes.

The picture below gets my vote for most beautiful pic of the trip. And surprisingly, I don't even think I took it. I think this one was taken by Dave. The mountains are the Grand Tetons and the lake is Jackson lake which is the lake we camped on.

We were fortunate enough to see some amazing wild life on our ride through Grand Teton National Park. I was so excited when we spotted this bear on the side of the road.

And the next day, we saw a baby bear on the side of the road.

And then.... we had a buffalo pass us in South Dakota driving up to see Mt. Rushmore. It was crazy how close he was to the car. I took the picture from the back seat.

And Cleo gets the prize for the cutest animal on the trip. Cleo is my sister and Will's lab / border collie mix. When Cleo is not chasing squirrel and rabbits or taking a jaunt down to the creek (pronounced "Crick" if you live in Montana), she enjoys hours of rest on her futon.

This is the view Cleo has from her futon. Cousin Winston is very jealous of Cleo.

Out of all our adventures, amazing sights and many, many laughs, I think one of the things that really made the trip for me was having myself, my sister and brother all together. We haven't all been together in over a year and a half. Now with my bro living on the east coast and my sister headed to CT in October for the winter months (nothing to do in MT in the winter except watch the snow and freeze) I think we'll all be seeing a lot more of each other.

We Made it to Montana

2008-07-12T18:01:00.003-04:00

We are on day 6 of our cross country road trip and arrived at my sister and Will's house yesterday around 7pm. It has been a great trip so far and when I have more time I will definitely post pictures and write about the events leading up to our departure and our first night camping. Let's just say the trip didn't get off without a "hitch!"

I am completely surprised at how much I actually enjoyed the camping. I don't think I'll become a regular or anything, but we've been camping in some amazing places with incredible views which makes it easier to tolerate. Oh, and lots of roasted marshmallows and smores :-)

The weather out here in Troy (population:900) has been beautiful and we had a great day at the nearby falls. The boys are very excited to do some fly fishing tonight. I think I'll pass on that one but I am looking forward to our big hike tomorrow and doing some canoeing. We leave Montana on Monday night and head down to Grand Teton in Wyoming. Lots of time in the car. If anyone needs any car games, just ask. We've got plenty!

Good Times in SD

2008-07-06T14:00:00.002-04:00

We arrived into San Diego on Friday night just in time to see the most amazing fireworks. We sat on Mission Bay and got to see 7 different fireworks shows from the surrounding towns. It's been great relaxing and seeing great friends we haven't seen in a long time and just enjoying being by the beach. My bro is packing up his car as we speak with all of his belongings. We head out of SD tomorrow morning around 10 (depending how the festivities of tonight go) headed for Santa Barbara. My computer is having major issues again, so this will most likely be my last post until we get back. I can only imagine the stories we'll have to tell 2 weeks from now. I only pray none of them include the words bear or snake :-)

Road Trip

2008-06-30T13:54:00.006-04:00

Brad and I leave on Friday for our 2 week cross country trip. Unfortunately, we will not be staying at the beautiful Ritz Carlton resort above, but in the tiny little tent pictured below. So tiny that the couples feet are sticking out! Hopefully our feet will be covered in our tent because I hear there are bears out there.
I'm really excited about our trip, but I'm also a little nervous because I am not a camper. This entire trip came about when my brother decided that it was time for him to say goodbye to San Diego and move back to the east coast. Since Brad is out of work now and I have a lot of vacation time saved up, we decided that it would be a once in a lifetime opportunity to fly out to San Diego and then drive cross country with my brother.
We'll be spending fourth of July weekend in San Diego visiting with my brother and great friends of ours, J, D & A who recently moved from Providence, RI out to LA. We'll also get to see one of my best friends from high school, S. We then journey up the west coast to Portland (camping on the way, excpet for a few nights I cashed out some Marriott points!) and then over to Troy, Montana where my sister now lives. We'll spend a few days with her and W and then it's down to Grand Teton, WY, South Dakota and then Minnesota and more camping.
One thing I know for sure is that this trip will be filled with many "Good Times" and a lot of laughter, drinking and family bonding.
I may or may not blog throughout the trip depending on the coverage with my aircard and if I really get into the R&R mood. If not, we'll have a ton of pics to show when we get back.

Happy 30th!

2008-06-23T17:00:00.006-04:00

This past Saturday night we celebrated one of my best friends joining the 30 club! J's husband and parents planned a surprise dinner for her at one of the local restaraunts and it was our job to get her there. All of us girls met at my house and courtesy of M, shared many great pomegranite martinis. The birthday girl especially liked hers (all 3 or 4 of them.... birthday girl is also a new mom so she is very deserving of those martinis!)
The party went off without a hitch and J was extremely surprised. We all went out afterwards and were a little surprised and disappointed at our lack of being able to party like we used to. Only 5 years ago it wasn't uncommon for the circle to kick off a Saturday night with some pre-drinking at my mother in laws around dinner time and then head downtown to quench our thirsts at a multitude of bars, ending up on the dance floor of one in particular. This would often lead to a slice of pizza at one of the best late night pizza joints in town and then a cab ride back to my mother in laws and perhaps some very early morning swimming and continued partying. My how times have changed. We all had a great time regardless of not being able to fully rage, especially the birthay girl. Actually, I think we did fully rage, only now our definition of "raging" has changed a bit.

More Visitors

2008-06-08T12:40:00.012-04:00

This weekend we had a visit from my aunt, uncle and parents and an oppressive heat wave making it unbearable to be outside during the day. My aunt and uncle arrived on Friday and temps were only in the 80's, so we decided to go for dinner at our sailing club. You really can't beat the view. After our dinner, our friends M and L picked us up on their boat and delivered us to my inlaw's who were anchored out on Spa Creek. We rafted the 2 boats up and had some cocktails. There was a nice breeze and it was a beautiful night to be out on the water.

On Saturday evening we celebrated my uncle's birthday a little early. We tried to eat the strawberry cream cake outside, but it began to melt with the heat.

On Sunday morning, we gave my parents one of our cars and sent them on their way to St. Michaels to the Inn at Perry Cabin for their 60th birthday trip. I just hope the 100 degree heat doesn't spoil all of the things they had planned like a boat trip, bike riding and walking around the town. I hear it's suppose to hit 102 degrees tomorrow! Luckily I am headed to the airport today to fly out to Northern California for the week for work, where there won't be any humidity.

The North Invades the South

2008-06-01T21:01:00.009-04:00

This weekend the Boston Red Sox came to town followed by thousands of their fans from up north. Four of those fans included my parents and good friends of their's, C & G. We went to the game on Saturday night and watched the Sox claim another victory over the Baltimore Orioles. The scene below was a crazy one and as you can see, there are many more blue and red shirts than orange. Brad was very outnumbered. He was the only O's fan in our section.

Below is Manny Ramirez up at bat just before he hit his 500th home run.

The Sox fans from Mass are very happy their team is winning.

Prior to the game, we spent the afternoon in Baltimore. Due to the rain, we ended up having lunch in a bar/pub close to our friends house in the city. Our friend M was on baby duty this weekend and all of us ladies were delighted when he brought this little cutie below for a visit. T did not like it at all when we tried to put a Red Sox hat on him.

Now he's happy that the hat is off and he can go back to eating his Cheerio's in peace.

Sailing, BBQ's & The Big Daddy

2008-05-26T21:29:00.010-04:00

This past weekend we enjoyed a nice long 3 day holiday weekend. I actually played a little hookey from work on Friday afternoon and we spent the afternoon sailing. Winston tried out his life jacket for the first time and hated it.

On Saturday afternoon we had our family over for a BBQ. Owen, my friend Jill's little boy, pictured above looks a little bored and hungry for his bottle. Brad wanted to give him chicken which is very scary to me. He's only 3 months old. Where's the common sense???

And as for my triplet niece and nephews, they amused themselves playing in the rocks and then covering themselves with mulch and dirt. They seemed to be having a grand ol' time.

When Monday rolled around we decided to do some car shopping. With gas prices on the rise we think it may be time to part with our beloved V8, 26 gallon premium fuel required VW Touareg and get something a little more economical and "green!" We both LOVE our car but want to get rid of it while there may be some value left. We found a Toyota Hybrid today that we drove and really liked. It's an SUV still, but gets 27 miles to the gallon (only requires 87 octane) compared to our 14 miles to the gallon. We'll see if we can get rid of our gas guzzler VW without loosing our shirts and if so hopefully we'll be in a more "green" ride soon.

After a long afternoon of dealing with car salesman, we were ready for some R & R. We spent the rest of the afternoon reading and lying in the "Big Daddy" hammock we bought a few months ago. It is definitely by far the best purchase (other than our new kitchen) that I've made this year. And I now know why they call it the Big Daddy. It's more than roomy enough for 2 people.

Happy 3rd Birthday Winston!

2008-05-22T09:09:00.005-04:00

Little Winston is all grown up!

Back to Florida

2008-04-28T22:44:00.018-04:00

This past weekend, Brad had a 3 day regatta, so I decided to head south for warmer, sunnier weather. I left on Thursday afternoon and spent a nice long weekend in Florida visiting my friend Melissa and her new adorable baby boy. This little baby is the happiest, easiest baby I have ever met. I think I heard him cry once over the 3 1/2 days I was there. I was in complete amazement and would love to clone him!
I was able to get a few hours in relaxing at the beach, which was such a nice treat after a crazy hectic work week. We had a great time together reminiscing about old times and were both astonished when we realized how much time has gone by since middle school! We've been friends for over 15 years. Yikes. I'm pretty sure we still look the same though, don't you think Miss? :-) Just a little wiser...

Sevrin loved the hat Aunt Christy brought him and he wore it at all times while outside.

Ever since I've known her, Melissa has been running a minimum of 5 miles per day. She was known around our town as "the girl who runs everywhere!" Her little boy certainly takes after her already. At 4 months, he's not running just yet, but he is constantly kicking his legs back and forth, running in place in his bouncy chair (which requires no batteries at all because he bounces himself) and rocking in his carrier. You can actually see in the picture below his legs in motion!

It was so great to meet you Sevrin and I can't wait until you come to visit me this June!

Spring Festival

2008-04-20T13:50:00.005-04:00

This weekend Maura and I took my niece Mackenzie to a parade / festival over in Easton, MD, which is on the eastern shore. It was a gorgeous day and Miss Mackenzie really enjoyed the parade. Well, everything but when the cars roared their engine. That was a little scary.

Here is Mackenzie pointing at the Clydesdale horse above, repeatedly saying "dog."

After the parade, Mo Mo was very hungry and thirsty after making Aunt Christy and Mackenzie go into several boutiques and antique shops. Maura has a little shopping addiction you see. All in all, a great girls day out!

We're in bloom

2008-04-18T13:58:00.003-04:00

I know that the warm weather is here to stay when the tree in our front yard blooms. Seeing as I'm not a Mrs. Greenthumbs, although working to change that, I'm not sure if this tree is a cherry blossom tree or something else, but it looks gorgeous when it's in full bloom. Unfortunately, it only lasts a week. Anyway, we are very excited about the nice weather they are predicting for this weekend. A new hammock has been ordered to replace my Pottery Barn hammock that rotted after only one season. Very disappointing... After a lot of research, I decided to go with the "Big Daddy Arc Hammock" from costco.com. I laugh every time I see the order confirmation or shipping info come through with that name. I haven't figured out why it is the "Big Daddy," but maybe after swinging it, I'll understand!

In my next life

2008-04-14T15:46:00.006-04:00

I think I've decided that I want to be Winston in my next life. What could be better than lying on the deck in the sunlight napping all day while your owners are stuck inside working so they can pay for your house, food and take you to the park?

As you can see from above, the W is clearly exhausted from the cleaning of our teak furniture and power washing the deck yesterday. We are gearing up for springtime and getting excited about getting to use our deck again soon!

Being Thankful Part 2

2008-04-09T22:06:00.003-04:00

16. Old Friends. I received a call from my one of my good friends Sarah tonight. We have been friends for 15 years (Yikes!). I am very thankful for all of the friendships I have maintained from my high school years.

Sarah also joined the 30 club last week. Happy Birthday Sarah! I am really looking forward to this girls beach trip we have brewing!

Being Thankful

2008-04-07T14:54:00.011-04:00

Sometimes when things aren't going our way and aren't working out how we "have planned", I think it's very easy to lose sight of all of the wonderful things in life we are blessed with. I was out of work sick almost the entire week last week and since I'm not into watching daytime TV, I did a lot of resting and thinking about all of the things I am grateful for.

I'm thankful for:

Having a family who is not complicated; no drama, everyone is genuinely happy for one another's success and would do anything for anyone without ever expecting something back in return. It just stinks they all live so far away!

Living in a modest house in a middle class neighborhood. It's very easy to always want more and to make that next jump, but we are very happy with our decision to stay and not get in over our heads. Sure, a newer house with more space would be nice, but it's so much nicer to be able to save a lot every month, spend our money on things we love doing and not be married to our house. It will also be very nice for me to have the option some day to stay home with little ones and not to have to go back to work if I choose to stay home.
Having a dog. My buddy W is always there for me, whether I'm happy, sad, mad, etc. I used to not really be that into dogs, due to the hair and slobber. Luckily W doesn't slobber and I've learned to deal with the shedding. Let's face it, it doesn't kill me to vaccum in between our cleanings from the cleaning people.
My friend J. I had a bad day last week and instead of giving me advice or telling me it would be fine, she just cried along with me. It was just what I needed. Thanks J. You are the best.
My friend M. She makes me laugh. She locks her parent's out of her house, has QVC packages delivered to my house and has an enormous shoe collection that could easily put shoes on a small village of people in west Africa.
Having a husband who is patient, kind, thoughtful, does laundry without having to be asked and makes me laugh all of the time.
Living in Europe for 3 years. This experience was the most amazing experience I have yet to have. It opened my eyes to new cultures, people and gave me a new perspective on how I view certain things.
The friends I made during my 3 years abroad. Although we are separated by miles of ocean, I know we will all remain friends for a lifetime. It is so nice to know we always have a place to stay if we're ever passing through Capetown, South Africa or Copenhagen, Denmark!
Having a sister who is almost completely the opposite of myself. She keeps me in check with the simple things in life and reminds me to focus on what really matters.
My friend L. She is probably the most thoughtful, caring person I know. If I'm having a bad day or am stressed about work, she'll show up on my doorstop with a Starbucks and a special treat.
My brother's decision to move back east. I am absolutely thrilled that my brother will soon be only a 6 hour car ride away instead of on the other side of the country. He is one of those people who walks into a room and makes everyone smile in an instant. And he certainly knows how to have a good time, hence he is the inspiration behind the title of this blog.
Being an aunt. There is nothing that makes me happier than when I walk into a room and see my niece's face light up with the biggest smile as she runs over to me with her arms raised so I'll pick her up. It is the best.
Having a sister in law who is an "allie!" After hearing horror stories about many of my friends sister in law's, I consider myself very lucky. No horror here.
Having a job that I work hard at and feel that I am appropriately compensated for.
Working from home when I'm not traveling. Nothing beats this, especially on a Monday!

Welcome to the Family Cleo!

2008-04-03T16:53:00.003-04:00

My sister and Will moved from Seattle to Montana this week and stopped by the local shelter and rescued a dog. So far Cleo is enjoying her new home and she has especially enjoyed swimming in the creek on the property. Winston can't wait to play with his new cousin!

The Three Amigos

2008-04-02T23:10:00.004-04:00

Every Wednesday, Winston and his posse (our neighbors dogs) go to doggie daycare to run around and get tired out. It may sound a bit over the top, but it's more of a sanity check for me. A tired dog is a happy dog and a happy, tired dog makes me very happy. I found it very amusing one of the mornings I had car pool duty that I was loading the dogs in the back of our SUV and all around me parents were loading up their minivans and SUV's with their kids. Luckily, we have a lot of dog lovers in our neighborhood, so no one thinks we're too nuts... I don't think anyways!

Happy Birthday Mom!

2008-03-28T21:50:00.012-04:00

Tonight we celebrated my mom's 60th birthday. 2008 marks a big year for my parents; they both turned 60 this month and they'll celebrate their 35th wedding anniversary this year. My mom wanted to celebrate her birthday with one of her children and seeing as I am the closest, they came down to Annapolis for the weekend. I like to think it's because I'm the favorite, but I'm not so sure. Brad and I cooked a very nice dinner for my parents and my mom's cousin and her husband came over. My mom, her cousin Nina and my dad all went to high school together and my dad and Nina claimed the title of smiling seniors... I'm sure those of you who know my dad are not surprised!

After dinner we gave my parents their long awaited gift. Our entire family chipped in and got them a trip for 2 nights in June to the Inn at Perry Cabin over on the eastern shore of MD with spa and dinner reservations. This is where the wedding scene was filmed in the movie "Wedding Crashers." Although they are excited about their bday trip, I think finding out my brother is finally moving back to the east coast this summer for good topped the list! We're looking forward to Dave bringing the good times with him back east.

Happy Easter!

2008-03-23T14:52:00.001-04:00

Hope everyone has a wonderful Easter holiday!

Food for Thought.....

2008-03-19T22:53:00.002-04:00

I had dinner tonight with a group of friends and the discussion about how early Easter is this year came up. My friend Erica's sister in law was talking about the below tid bit of information that someone had sent her. I thought it was really interesting and wanted to share.

Easter this year is: Sunday March 23, 2008

As you may know, Easter is always the 1st Sunday after the 1st full moon after the Spring Equinox (which is March 20). This dating of Easter is based on the lunar calendar that Hebrew people used to identify Passover, which is why it moves around on our Roman calendar.

Based on the above, Easter can actually be one day earlier (March22) but that is pretty rare. This year is the earliest Easter any of us will ever see the rest of our lives! And only the most elderly of our population have ever seen it this early (95 years old or above!). And none of us have ever, or will ever, see it a day earlier!

Here's the facts:
The next time Easter will be this early (March 23) will be the year2228 (220 years from now).

The last time it was this early was 1913(so if you're 95 or older, you are the only ones that were around for that!).

The next time it will be a day earlier, March 22, will be in the year 2285 (277 years from now).

The last time it was on March 22 was1818. So, no one alive today has or will ever see it any earlier than this year!

Last DINKS Standing

2008-03-17T12:12:00.004-04:00

It has become quite apparent to me lately that the DINK (Double Income No Kids) population in our social circle is shrinking rather quickly when I realized I could count on one hand the number of our couple friends left who are both working and have no children. While both Brad and I are ecstatic about starting a family hopefully some day soon, we are enjoying being footloose and fancy free to the fullest while we can. Here are a few of the things I am really appreciating as a DINK:

Taking off on Sunday on a whim and going to the vineyards in Virginia, drinking wine all day and paying $8 for a dog walker opposed to $84 for a babysitter (7 hours x $12 an hour, as this is what I was making when I stopped nannying in 2001 when I graduated, so it's probably more now!)
Being hungover at 7pm on a Sunday from drinking wine all day and only having to take care of myself and put myself to bed!
Having friends over for dinner this weekend with their furry friend and putting the dogs outside when they start to act up and annoy us all. I'm pretty sure we can not do this with children without receiving a visit from social services.
Instead of converting one of our extra rooms in our finished basement to a playroom, I am converting it into a full on craft room. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure in due time it will be a playroom, but until then, it's my "playroom!" Now, I need to convince my dad to build me the amazing craft table that is in the PB catalogue listed for over $1000! Even I realize that that is a bit much!

We had an awesome time visiting a few wineries and vineyards in Virginia on Sunday with some of our friends who also can pick up on a whim for an adventurous day out!

After warm weather this weekend, spring cleaning the garage and taking a visit to the local dump this weekend to rid of our old kitchen countertops, I have a severe case of Spring Fever! I am pretty certain I am driving B crazy with reorganizing and cleaning out everything! But I know deep down he loves it, right B!

Congratulations Jesper and Cilla!

2008-03-10T12:35:00.005-04:00

Brad and I just received an email last night from two of our very good Danish friends, Jesper and Cilla announcing that after 5 1/2 years of dating and living together, they will be getting married on August 16th of this year. Seeing as they live in Copenhagen, this is where the wedding will be held and I am absolutely over the moon to be heading back there this summer! Something tells me there will be a big boost in the Danish economy in the August time frame :-)

Unfortunately, we have a minor conflict with the date of the wedding. Brad is sailing in the J22 Worlds this year and they start on August 19th..... so we haven't figured out all of the logistics yet, but I am determined to make it happen!

Lizette - if you are reading this, start making a list of any Rosendahl you need!!!

Kitchen Before and After

2008-03-03T17:38:00.006-05:00

We are done.... almost! The ceiling needs to be sanded and repainted, but other than that the project is complete. Here are some before and after pics so those of you who haven't been here can really appreciate the difference!

This is my second favorite addition to the kitchen (after the pantry of course). We now have a place for purses, computer bags, mail and thanks to Pottery Barn, a chargining station (top shelf) for all of our gadgets which hides all of the cords! We're going to wait a while before we complete the kitchen with a tile backsplash, mainly because we can't agree on anything together :-)

Stay tuned for Brad Villa's next project: Hard Wood floors in the liv room, dining room, stairs and upstairs hallway. I may need to move out for this one, as he plans to do this on his own.

Sneak Peak

2008-02-29T11:26:00.005-05:00

The granite went in on Monday and we (I) have been putting everything back in the cabinets slowly all week. The contractors came back this morning to repatch the ceiling because we weren't happy with the way it came out and Brad still needs to install the microwave over the stove. Once both these things are done, I'll post some more detailed pic's and of course in honor of one of my favorite TV channels, HGTV (Home and Garden TV), I'll be posting the before and after shots :-)

Kitchen Update

2008-02-24T20:40:00.005-05:00

Brad and I spent our entire weekend painting the kitchen and are now exhausted. I certainly did not inherit any of my dad's musical genes, but I did inherit his skill of painting. A few things I learned about Brad this weekend while painting:

He thinks it's perfectly normal to paint wearing Ugg slippers, not thinking he would get any paint on them (which he did of course). I am baffled at the lack of common sense! Here he is, VP of a company putting together multi million dollar deals but clearly is lacking in the common sense department. Baffled!
He can actually paint. All these years he has been claiming that he can't. Now, I don't know if he would qualify to work for my dad, but given a roller and instructions, he helped get the job done!
He will do anything to get OUT of painting, like sit with my friend Maura for an hour and teach her how to use itunes and load songs onto her new ipod shuffle.

Next pictures I post on Tuesday, the project will be complete. The granite is being installed tomorrow and the plumber is coming on Tuesday! We're all (including Winston) looking forward to having our kitchen back soon!

A few more pics of Owen

2008-02-19T11:21:00.003-05:00

I coudn't not post these adorable pics of this cute little guy. Yesterday I had a company holiday and I enjoyed my day off to the fullest. I could really get used to not working. It was a lot more fun than when I was not working in Europe because I have all of my favorite peop's here to visit. Owen's first walk with his mommy and Aunt Christy. We had very warm weather of 73 degrees yesterday and decided to take advantage of it.

Aunt Christy wanted to put Owen in her bucket bag and take him home with her, but the mommy said no :-(

Here he is....

2008-02-17T11:54:00.003-05:00

On Thursday, I met little Owen and he is even cuter in person! I did bring my camera with me to the hospital, but neglected to double check to make sure I had the battery, so I wasn't able to take any pic's. I instead borrowed the below pics from my sister in law, since many of you were inquiring about the little guy! Both Jill and Owen are doing great and are now at home.

A Valentine Baby!

2008-02-14T10:31:00.002-05:00

This morning at 2:42, my friend Jill gave birth to a little boy, Owen. I am chomping at the bit to go and see them both, but am waiting for Jill to get some rest. I'll post some pics after my visit! Congratulations Jill and Gregg!

The "Crown"

2008-02-14T10:25:00.005-05:00

The crown molding was completed yesterday when I got home from a business trip. We are really happy with the way things turned out and the guys are almost finished with everything. We had to order a new valance for over the window because the original that we ordered was 3 inches short... not sure how that happened, but no big deal. And the best part is, the house will be getting cleaned tomorrow afternoon and all of the tools and dust will be gone!

Day 6 with a minor setback

2008-02-11T19:54:00.000-05:00

Day 6 of the kitchen remodel started off with a minor set back... the project manager (myself) woke up at 6am with that nasty stomach bug that seems to be making its way around. It really knocked me off my feet and I literally couldn't move all day. I just lied in bed in between getting sick. Luckily, Brad was able to work from home today and cater to me. When I finally mustered up the energy to walk downstairs at 6pm, this is what I saw. I was ecstatic to see all of the appliances moved back in place and all of the base cabinets were in. Tomorrow, we're hoping they'll put up all of the crown molding, prime the ceiling and finish the beadboard. I'm not sure how realistic this is, but we'll hope for the best. The granite company is coming out to measure on Wednesday and we should have the entire project complete by a week from Wednesday.

Day 5: The dust is settling....

2008-02-08T11:22:00.001-05:00

Day 5 has quickly approached and everything is covered in dust from the sheetrock. At first, it didn't bother me, but now I am counting down the days until our cleaning lady and her crew come and make the entire first floor shine like the top of the Chrysler Building (one of my favorite quotes from the movie Annie!) The wall cabinets were all put it on Thursday and the guys are putting in the base cabinets as I type this. Our project is finally starting to resemble a kitchen again.

For the past 3 years, I have been using the wall cabinet to the left of the fridge for my pantry cabinet, as that was all we had.

Now, I can not WAIT to stock up my new pantry cabinet with roll out shelves with a surplus of food simply because I can! And... less trips to the supermarket.

We're Making Progress...

2008-02-06T08:54:00.001-05:00

It may not look like much progress was made in the past 2 days, but we ran into some snags.... so things took a little longer to get rolling than anticpated. Luckily pipes were rerouted and vents were heightened, so nothing our contractor couldn't handle. My response for when he tells me there may be an issue has consistently been, "Don't worry Mike, I know you'll figure it out!" Accomplishments in 2 days:

New lighting in hallway and kitchen: It's funny how everyone told me you will never stick to your original budget for the kitchen. I was determined to do this renovation exactly at my magic number of what I was willing to spend. Then.... the electricians show up and you begin to think "What if we did recessed lighting in the hallway? Oh... and what if we did under cabinet lighting? Etc....
Sheetrock is up on the kitchen ceiling.

Doesn't seem like much, but because of the little snags, things were off to a slow start. The electricians are here now to finish putting in the recessed lighting now that the sheetrock is up and we should have our pantry cabinet and over the fridge cabinet up today. Fingers crossed!

Mission Soffit Removal Accomplished

2008-02-04T09:32:00.001-05:00

On Saturday afternoon, Brad removed all 3 soffits from the kitchen. Winston and I went out to the dog park by our house and then went downtown for a nice stroll by the water and when we came home, Brad had all the soffits out. My mother in law stopped by to check out our progress and between the 3 of us, we had the mess cleaned up in no time. Our part of the remodel is complete. The remainder of the work is now in the hands of our contractor and electrician.... who earily showed up 15 min. early this morning..... see what I mean? Everything seems to be going too seamlessly. Fingers crossed we're only without a kitchen for 2 weeks or so.... Stay tuned!

"Project Kitchen Demolition" Starring Brad Villa

2008-02-01T22:21:00.001-05:00

Well, day 1 of our kitchen demolition project is over and I don't want to jinx anything, but it went very smoothly. When we bought our house 2 1/2 years ago, we decided that if we were going to stay for more than a few years, we would definitely need to redo the kitchen. We recently received a phone call from a friend in the neighborhood whose house we covet. She wanted to give us first dibs at her house, since they are seriously contemplating moving. Because of the housing market and the economy now, it is not in our best interest to move any time soon, so we took the plunge and actually ordered cabinets, granite and found a contractor and electrician. Brad decided that he wanted to do the demolition himself..... he actually wanted to do the entire project himself, but thankfully I talked him out of it. Our friend Jason supplied the tools below and his help and they had all cabinets and countertops out in 3 hours. Goodbye to the laminate countertops and cabinets from the 80's!!!!

The soffits and the hideous light fixture will be gone tomorrow too!!!

My friends Lauren and Maura came over to help.... they decided to supervise from the couch!

Winston pretending to be sick to get out of helping (he actually did get really sick from vacuuming all of the lint on the floor with his mouth and nose)

9pm and all the cabinets are out.

We finished just in time to catch Friday Night Lights and serve our "helpers" wine in red Solo cups. Aah, the good 'ol college days!

Saturday with the trips

2008-01-29T07:57:00.001-05:00

This past Saturday, Brad and I spent the day at Port Discovery in Baltimore with Dave, Jen and the trips. Port Discovery is a hands on children's museum with lots of things to see, touch and best of all, lots of room to run wild! I can definitely understand why my sister in law has been hesitant to bring them without 1 adult per child. For Brad and I, it wasn't our typical Saturday but we had a blast watching the kids have so much fun. Uncle Brad even got the green light from Aunt Christy to go out with his buddies on Sat. night, but he was found on the couch half asleep curled up under a blanket by 8:00pm. Looks like everyone was tired out from our big day. Mackenzie loved the ball pit.
Kyle: Are you sure it's okay if I slide down this thing?

Brady..... an intellect just like his Uncle Brad

The museum had story time and then we had a special visit from none other than Curious George himself. Although very intrigued and curious themselves about this lifesize monkey wearing a tshirt, the trips didn't want to get too close.

Saturday night was Brady's night to have a sleepover at our house. I love having each of them individually. It is so fun to see their personalities as a singleton and to get to really spoil them with attention.

I think the B man is very skeptical as to why there isn't a little screen with Baby Einstein in this car......

A New "Pal" for Winston

2008-01-18T23:13:00.001-05:00

Recently a family on our street got a beagle puppy named Pal. He is so adorable and it's so much fun to watch him and Winston play together..... that it makes me contemplate getting a beagle brother or sister for Winston. Many of you out there say having 2 dogs is much easier than only one. With 2 dogs, they can entertain each other and stay active and not drive their owner insane. While I'm still undecided of whether or not to "add on" to our little family, I think we'll definitely be seeing a lot more of Pal since he can't walk by our house without running up our driveway to the front door.

Baby G is on the way!

2008-01-07T12:02:00.001-05:00

This past Sunday my sister in law and her mom threw a baby shower for one of my best friends, Jill. Jill just happens to be my sister in law's sister. Jill and I have been friends since I transferred down to Towson University in 1998 and she is actually responsible for me meeting Brad. Jill's sister, Jen (my now sister in law) married Brad's brother. It sounds kind of strange, but it is in no way incestual! Jill's nursery theme is giraffe's and polka dots, so the shower theme was also giraffes and polka dots. My sister in law and I are very much alike in the sense that when we plan and throw a party, no detail is spared. The decorations were adorable and the food was delicious. My father in law and Danita made the cake below. Not only did it look perfect, but it tasted amazing too.

Jill and Jen's fun aunt Jo Jo decided to spice up the shower with a gambling pool for the baby. I have never in my life seen a baby pool or any other pool for that matter so organized. The buy in was $5 and we needed to select the gender, weight, height, birth day and time. Jo will be compiling all of the bets and putting it up on a website for all to view. My prediction is a girl, born on Feb. 11th at 3:33pm. I think my guess for weight was 8lbs 12 ounces and 21 3/4 inches long. I have been 100% accurate in guessing the sex of all of my close friends babies. Now, I'm not saying I'm psychic or anything, but I do have strong visions (only when it comes to this though!) I predicted my friend Jen was having a boy, my friend Elizabeth a girl, my friend Amy a boy and from the day my sister in law and brother in law announced they were having triplets, I knew it was going to be 2 boys and a girl. I had predicted my friend Erica was going to have a boy and the night before she had her C section, I had a dream of her walking down our street pushing a little blonde curly haired girl on a tricycle toy. Sure enough, she had a little girl and she has the most adorable blonde curly hair. Initially, I thought Jill was having a boy, but I am pretty confident it is a girl.

I'll keep you all posted! The official due date is February 6th.

Happy New Year!

2008-01-02T10:32:00.001-05:00

To kick off the new year, we threw a Monte Carlo New Year's Eve party together with our friends and neighbors, Jason and Lauren. Before our guests arrived, we kicked off the evening with shots all around! Our "bartender" Mike was not really hired help. In fact, Jason, Mike and I went to college together and it was great to see him after 10 years. I can honestly say that he has not changed one bit. He is still making drinks and shots the way I remembered him to and looks exactly the same.

Our Martha Stewart display packed with plenty of appies for the gamblers!

The roulette table.... where I lost all of my chips.

Texas Hold 'em.... I didn't even attempt this table.

Below we have some serious black jack players, including Jill who is very pregnant. Baby G brought me very good luck and I was able to win all my chips back and then some.

Our youngest guest at his very first New Year's Eve party. He is for sure Matt's mini me.

Our friend Maura was very excited to see an eligible bachelor at the party and couldn't resist

snuggling up with him.

Me and my girls. Just like old times...... kind of!

The University of Hartford crew going strong (time check 3am)

I hope everyone had a safe and happy new year's eve! Here's to a very healthy and prosperous 2008!

Welcome Baby Sevrin!

2007-12-28T16:01:00.001-05:00

On Monday, December 24th, my good friend from growing up, Melissa "Metcalf" Taylor gave birth to an adorable baby boy, Sevrin Taylor. As you can see from the pictures, both mom and baby are doing great.

Congrats Melissa and Chris. We can't wait to meet him in a few months.

Merry Christmas

2007-12-23T10:35:00.000-05:00

Wishing you a very Merry Christmas from our family to yours!

Thirty takes the cake!

2007-12-11T08:10:00.000-05:00

Today I am officialy 30 and if my birthday getaway to Turks and Caicos is the slightest inclination of how great my 30's will be, then I am ready and very excited! We had an absolutely amazing 5 days and I enjoyed every minute of the pampering from the staff at the resort and my husband too. He moved my lounge chair to my own little "peninsula" so I could enjoy the sun.From day one, the weather was a gorgeous 82 degrees, sunny with a slight breeze and it remained this way until we left on Monday afternoon. It was pretty "rough" waking up every morning and seeing the view from our balcony (below).

Without a doubt, this was the most relaxing vacation I have ever taken. Our biggest decision each day was to decide if we should go to the beach or the pool first and what kind of drink to order from the swim up bar below.

Here I am once again relaxing before breakfast on the terrace enjoying my cup of tea.

Below is a pic from the spa's tranquility pool. This was one of my favorite spots of the trip.

The sun pod (a big round cushion) was my second favorite spot. These lounge pods were very desired and if not claimed by the early hours of the morning, there was no chance in getting one. Luckly, my husband was able to get me one and we didn't leave it for the entire day other than to go in the pool or ocean.

The resort had an incredible restaurant where we celebrated my birthday dinner.

The view of the courtyard from our table on the terrace was like one out of a fairytale. The entire resort was so cosy and enchanting when all lit up at night.

Happy Birthday to me... again!

Brad did find time to do a few beach activities like taking the catamaran and wind surfer out for a sail.

He also found time to relax, especially after our massages.

And relaxing in the hot tub....

Although we were so sad to leave, we were completed relaxed, rested and ready for the holiday season! If you are looking for a great place to go for a long weekend, I would highly recommend the Regent Palms in Turks and Caicos. We are looking forward to going back some day.

First Snow Fall of the Season

2007-12-05T14:52:00.000-05:00

I woke up this morning to a steady light snow fall. It's supposed to continue all day into the evening. As pretty as this looks, I think Turks and Caicos will look even prettier this time tomorrow when I'm lying on the beach sipping a fruity drink with an umbrella!

'Tis the Season

2007-12-03T20:31:00.000-05:00

I finally decided it was time to break out my holiday decorations after procrastinating for the past few weekends. I was inspired after going to Washington DC for work today and seeing the beautiful decorations and Christmas tree in Union Station.And of course I had to make Winston put his antlers on like I do every year. As you can see, he hates every minute of it.

Well, the next post will have some nice and tropical pictures. Brad and I leave this Thursday for Turks and Caicos where we'll celebrate me joining the thirty club. I can't believe I'm saying goodbye to my 20's. Good times! Although, I hear 30 is the new 20, so I'm looking forward to reliving my 20's again, only this time I'll be much wiser.