So Ridiculously Adorable

Celebrating One Year

Pete and I decided to go back to where it began for our anniversary. So we booked an ocean-front room at the place where we got married and made a reservation at a restaurant on the pier for dinner. I was excited!

But then on Friday, Pete came home sick. Really sick. 101.5 fever sick. I kept asking him if I should cancel but he insisted no, that he'd be fine. By Sunday he still wasn't well but insisted he was.

The room was amazing. Our room overlooked the area of the beach where we got married. The roar of the ocean was so loud it was like living in white noise. I loved it. Within a few hours, there was a knock on the door. Pete had arranged champagne and chocolate dipped strawberries to be brought up to us. So sweet. And get this!!! There was even a rainbow over the ocean, just like on our wedding day!!!

But he was so sick.

We still managed an appetizer at the bar and a game of pool. And we went to an amazing dinner. I ordered seafood which isn't a common thing for me. And I even dipped it in butter (while popping four Lactaid!). We had a nice night.

By today though, Pete was worse. I made him a doctor's appointment. I was shocked to hear the doctor say that not only did he have bronchitis but that he could also hear pneumonia in one of his lungs! He is being treated for pneumonia. I have never seen him this sick.

The trip was fun but it could have been more fun if Pete wasn't sick. But that is what marriage is about. Rolling with the punches, dealing with things as they come and making the best of it. I must say I love being married. And I love Pete more all of the time. You can't ask for more than that.

the room

the view

One bloody mary, extra spicy please

My surprise :)

Dinner at McLoone's Pier House

A five minute storm rolled in during dinner. I loved it.

The rainbow after the storm.

Sunrise

"Daisy Daisy Daisy"

Here is video of little Ava, Candie and Daisy. :)

Ava

This is Candie and her daughter Ava; I have written about her before. Every time I see Ava I am even more blown away by how special she is. She really touches my heart, just like her mom.

Just in Time

Our wedding album arrived today. It came out really nice. Just in time for our anniversary next week!

And the best part is that Kathy, the woman who worked on the album sent us extra 8x10s as an anniversary present. Isn't that so thoughtful? That really touched me. Thank you Kathy!

Mother's Day

Here are some pictures from today as well as a video of my little furry daughter.

(He hates pictures)

Cool stoneware bowl from William Sonoma. (keeps bread warm!)

Why Go to a Bonfire When You Can Have Your Own?

Today Pete and I looked at seven homes. We actually liked all of them. We have to decide which one we like the best.

It's exhausting, as I have mentioned. But food shopping was a must. There was no food in the house at all. Not even paper towels or conditioner. Pete hates going but I really needed his help (wasn't feeling great) so we went together. We wanted to get it done quickly as our town was having a bonfire on the beach and we were looking forward to it.

It was a quick and fun trip. (Note to self: when husband comes food shopping with you, be prepared that the bill will be higher. And be prepared to find little extras in your shopping cart like German chocolate cupcakes.)

I drove on the way to the store but then Pete happened to drive home only because I stopped by the liquor store next to Wegman's and it took me a while to find my favorite wine. (Ladybug organic cabernet--sipping on some right now!) So he was done packing the car and parked in front of the store to pick me up. I mention this only because it will matter in a second.

We pulled out of the shopping parking lot on to the highway. I say something about how quick and painless the trip was. And then I hear Pete say "What the!?!" and look over to see smoke coming up from right beside him. In seconds the car was full of smoke and we could hardly breathe. I was panicking. I recall opening my car door as if to jump out while he was still driving. Pete remained calm and turned off of the highway and in to the parking lot of the shopping center again. He tore apart the area where the smoke was coming from and told me get a bottle of water from the case we just just bought in the trunk. (although in the pictures I realize there were water bottles right in the front seat!) I called 911.

We made friends with the police and the fire department while I called VW Assistance (they rock). Then it occurred to us that my trunk was full of groceries. I called our good friends Sean and Kathy and they arrived to take our groceries out of our trunk and me home. Pete had to stay with the car and I went to go get his car to pick him up. I was still in such shock, I mean how often does something crazy like this happen.

It didn't occur to me until later how lucky I was that Pete was driving. I would have totally freaked out. Maybe even crashed. I am very scared of fire. Especially in cars!

Fixed

Today was one of those days. The kind of day where you wish you stayed in bed or were on the beach or on an island. Anywhere else.

When I feel like that I generally reach for my iPod and shove those little earphones in my ears and withdraw. I selected Coldplay.

The music blared in my ears and went straight to my soul and suddenly things weren't so bad. I took a few deep breaths and felt fixed. I love love love that band. They can seriously fix me.

Replacing Choir for Bruises

I decided to quit the choir. Not because I didn't like it but because the rehearsals were until 10 pm on a weeknight. After that I had a 30 minute drive home. Which will increase once we finally move. And not only that but the rehearsals increase to three times a week when the performance date nears. That's just too much for me right now. I have a lot going on. Maybe I will return next season but I'm not sure. I'm hoping I find something closer and slightly less demanding.

SO instead I decided to join my company's softball team. I played softball many many years ago and loved it and figured why not play again. Except um I am not as good as I used to be. I have learned that after taking years off of a sport you kind of don't play as well. At all.


Leave it to me to somehow injure myself while at bat. I have this ridiculous bruise on the outside of my wrist because I swung the bat so hard that the base of the bat came back and hit me. It bruised within seconds.


But I had fun. And bonded with some co-workers. And got some fresh air. And best of all, I was home at a decent hour! :)

You Know What's Annoying?

See this kitchen? Nice right?

Nope. The counter top looks like a nice surface (I thought it was granite) from here but it's actually a VINYL TABLE CLOTH stapled down to pieces of wood. This is the type of thing we deal with very often. Pictures can be ridiculously misleading.

Grand Theft....Husband

Has anyone seen my husband?

I'm Beginning to Develop a Complex

So we found another house. It's beautiful. We were planning on bidding today. But guess what? The seller decided they no longer want to sell. This is the second time in a row that this has happened. At least this time I'm not devastated. I learned my lesson the first time. But if this happens again I'm really going to start to wonder!

ZZZZ

My doctor suggested that I go on Ambien for three days straight so I can fight off this virus. He said that after three days, my body should be more inclinded to sleep without the medication. It still took me a little while to fall asleep but I slept. Deeply. Sometimes you just gotta take the prescription meds!

Thanks for everyone's advice. I plan on trying yoga stretches once I start feeling better.

Sleep

I am sick again. I really think its because I've had such a rough time sleeping for the past few weeks. Its hard for the body to fight of viruses/germs if it's not sleeping.

It's not that I don't sleep at all. But I don't sleep deeply. I am half awake the entire time. I need some REM.

Does anyone have any natural suggestions to help me sleep? I know that melatonin might help but I've heard that once you start taking it, your body stops producing it. So I'm not sure about that. And I'm allergic to milk so that warm glass of milk idea won't work for me.

Any ideas or suggestions would be appreciated.

6 Random Things About Me

I have been tagged by the lovely Danielle. If you haven't checked out her blog, well then you had better. It's fabulous.

RULES

1) you link back to the person who tagged you.

2) post these rules on your blog.

3) share six unimportant things about yourself.

4) tag six random people at the end of your entry.

5) let the tagged people know by leaving a comment on their blogs

1. One of my favorite foods in the world is artichokes. I could eat them in every way possible and especially love them stuffed with breadcrumbs.


2. I am incredibly sensitive to people's energies. Which is a blessing and a curse. Some people can make me so uncomfortable that it is hard to be in the same room with them. Others have the opposite effect on me, which is a great thing.

3. I love love love trees. What amazes me is that if you actually hug one, you can feel extreme energy pouring out of them. I am a literal tree hugger.


4. I also love animals. So much that I pray to God very often to help every single one that is suffering right now. And unfortunately there are way too many. Don't get me started on that.

5. I am still very much like a teenager in love with my husband. I miss him when I am at work and find him to be the most adorable man in the world.

6. One of my most favorite things to do is cuddle up on the couch with a soft blanket while munching on freshly popped popcorn and watching a great movie with you guessed it-- my husband.

I tag:

Assunta

Debi

Lioux

Dottie

I know I'm supposed to pick six but I am picking four because some people really don't like to be tagged!

People Amaze Me

We have probably seen close to one hundred homes in the last year and three months. But even so, there are some things that never cease to amaze me.

Like the homeowner who thinks it's fine to have the entire house filled to the brim with children's toys.

Or every wall filled with tons and tons of personal photographs. How can the buyer picture themselves living there?

Or the absolutely hideous taste most people have.

Or the huge poster of two lesbians making out in the son's bedroom.

Or the toilet whose seat is up and isn't even flushed!

Or the home that is so filthy that there is even food on the carpet in the bedroom!

Or the underwear hanging from the lamp!

Today we saw a home that was so poorly decorated that I really wish I took pictures. It was unbelievable. The bedspread looked like a pattern only vomit could make. They stenciled the walls in the most tasteless pattern and color ever. I often wonder if people are trying to scare buyers away subconsciously.

Today there was a first though. Today we found a house we really liked. But the freakin' homeowner would not leave our side. She followed us from room to room, even walked down to the basement with us. She watched us like a hawk, as if we were there to steal the pictures off of her wall instead of to potentially buy her home.

It's often a little annoying when the homeowners are home, you don't feel as free to discuss your likes and dislikes or open up a kitchen cabinet to see how spacious it is. But to have the owner follow you in to every room and watch you, that was just too much. I don't even remember half of the house because she was so distracting. So even though we did love what we remember, we now have to go back to the house with our realtor first calling the listing agent to request that the homeowner not be home. So frustrating. People amaze me.

Serious Shopping

Lately we are spending every Saturday house hunting. Today is no different. I am about to brew some coffee, shower and dress for another day of shopping. There are eight homes on our list today.

At this point we are pretty good at knowing what to ask about (how much are the taxes?), what we can compromise over (kitchen is outdated--that can be changed) and what we can't (Central air!!!!).

Now that spring has arrived it's even more fun. We get to see what types of flowering trees are in the yards of the homes and take pleasant rides through the countryside.

Don't get me wrong though. I will NOT miss this once we find a house. I really love the anticipation of finding our new home but I will be insanely happy once we finally do!

Allergic Reaction

As directed, I took Lyrica before bed time on Monday afternoon. It was supposed to make me drowsy but instead I was up for hours. I typically have a hard time falling asleep so I figured it just wasn't working yet.

I woke up feeling good, packed my gym bag so that I could get a work out in before choir rehearsal scheduled later that evening and went to work.

Then about 13 hours after taking the pill, while writing an e-mail at my desk at work, I suddenly could hardly see. No matter how many times I rubbed my eyes or closed one eye and opened the other I could not see well. My vision was extremely blurred. It was kind of ironic trying to look up the side effects of Lyrica on the computer while hardly being able to read them. I have learned that it is hard to read about blurred vision with blurred vision.

I didn't want to freak out so I waited a while. I forced myself to get up and get some water from the kitchen. When I got back, it was worse. Now I couldn't see anything I had written on my notebook either. I looked down at the carpet and realized it was moving.

Then I got hot. Really really hot. And dizzy and nauseous too. I realized I was close to fainting. I called my friend Robin who is in the first aid squad in her town for help. She said she thought she should call the rescue squad. Within a few minutes I was being taken away to the hospital by ambulance in front of everyone at my job. It was embarrassing.

At the hospital, they gave me a cat scan for my head to make sure nothing else was wrong and then said that I had an allergic reaction to Lyrica. I am actually still dizzy from it today and am home from work. All from one little pill. Ridiculous.

Diagnosis

Today I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia. Which is a good thing. Because now I know what all these symptoms I've been experiencing for years are and am going to go on Lyrica to see if it helps me. I also got a trigger point injection right in to one of the most painful knots in my shoulder. It didn't even hurt. Then I went for acupuncture. Seems like needles are going to become quite a part of my life. But I am really getting over my fear of them so that's good.

"You Insult My Ki-chen!"

Today I met my sister Elaine in Bridgewater at Thai Kitchen to celebrate her birthday. I got there first and had the waiter open the bottle of wine I had brought. It had been a long week and a long ride and I really wanted to unwind a little.

My sister arrived and we ordered some appetizers. She ordered mini egg rolls, I ordered fried tofu.

When the apps arrived I was shocked at how bad mine tasted. I mean it was literally inedible. My sister didn't like it either. So we told our waiter. He apologized but told us that their policy was that they didn't take back returned food. We were surprised. I have never heard of such a thing. But I was going to let it go.

Then another server came by and asked us if she could take the tofu away. Elaine again mentioned that we really didn't like it and she said "Okay, let me call my manager". "Now that is more like it", we both thought.

This woman comes to our table and immediately tells us their stupid store policy. She said "this is how tofu tastes". I calmly tried to explain that I was a vegetarian, ate tofu regularly and that this didn't taste good all. She insisted that it was good. She wasn't even listening to me or letting me talk. She just kept saying that it was good.

Then I heard myself say words I didn't expect to come out of my mouth.

"Your tofu tastes like shit."

The woman looked as if I had electrocuted her. She was in shock. She said "You insult my ki-chen! May I have your name?". I was like "My name??? No, you may not have my name." (I still wonder why the hell she wanted my name.) She was infuriated. She started yelling and pointing at me and telling all of the servers that I called her food shit. It was literally like living inside a Seinfeld episode. "She insult my ki-chen!!! She said food taste like SHIT!" as she dramatically pointed at me in front of the entire dining room.

My sister was covering her face in horror, I was amazed that this was actually happening and she just kept getting louder and louder. She said that no customer had ever talked to her like that, that I was the first. I told her that I was quite sure I wouldn't be the last and that if she was really concerned about satisfying her customers rather than making money, we wouldn't be having this conversation. She was livid. Louder and louder. People were starting to stare. And I started to laugh. It was suddenly too much to contain and I couldn't believe I was in this preposterous situation. This made her even angrier. She was boiling over and I was laughing in her face.

Finally she said "You don't like it, you LEAVE!". So I calmly said, "Okay!" with a big smile on my face and walked out with my corked wine bottle in my hand.

Now I am sure the wine went to my head and normally I wouldn't have said what I said. I know I shouldn't have and trust me, that is not normally my style. But at the same time, it was the truth. And the way she treated me, not even listening to me but citing her ridiculous policy over and over was ridiculous.

Needless to say, it made for quite a memorable beginning to our evening.

We drove to a MUCH better and amazing Thai restaurant nearby in Somerville called Origins. There we received outstanding service, the best green curry and tofu dish I ever had, the funniest happy birthday performance by the servers complete with a crazy hat that was put on my sister's head (I do have a video of this but I have to ask her for permission before I post it) and a night we will probably both never forget.

Check out my review of the first place here. (Notice that since I wrote my review, someone else wrote an even more shocking one!)

Dating & Real Estate

I am starting to realize that the process of buying a house is similar to dating. You can't get your heart too involved and you have to remember that there are plenty of fish in the sea/homes on the market.

You know that feeling when you break up with someone and you can't imagine possibly ever finding a better person for you? Well that's how I feel right now. Right now I feel like I just went through a really tough break-up and I can't imagine finding a more perfect home. But I did end up finding the perfect man for me so hopefully I will also have the same luck in the real estate world.

I guess your first time hurts the most. Maybe next time it won't sting so badly. But I do hope there isn't a next time. I hope that the next house we fall in love with actually becomes ours. Although next time I will do my very best not to mentally move in until I have the keys in my hand.

My horoscope for today: (I just found it a little ironic.)

Circumstances beyond your control could cause you to feel a little bit of stress today, so you will have to get some perspective. Think about it this way -- if these things are beyond your control, then what can you really do about it, anyway? Accept what you can't change and stop beating your head against the wall. Your attitude towards the day and your attitude towards what happens today will be mismatched -- there is some disappointment in the air.

Your home life seems to have been morphing into something quite new, a trend that won't end anytime soon. That's exciting! The money you need to make an impressive home makeover could easily show up on April 22. Have you tried to buy, sell, or lease a house? April 22 could be your breakthrough day, when all the pieces of your puzzle click into place, quite magically.

On A Happier Note...

I am very excited that some of the funniest shows are back on TV tonight! Especially The Office. It is probably one of the funniest and best written shows of all time. If you haven't seen it, try it out tonight. You will thank me profusely tomorrow.

Ouch

After eight days of anxiously waiting to hear if we got the house of our dreams, we have been told that the owners have decided to declare personal bankruptcy in order to stay in the house for another twelve months.

I keep telling myself it simply wasn't meant to be and that there is a better home waiting for us. But it still hurts. I am sure we will bounce back and find an even better house soon though. I just have to mentally move out of this house first. Which sucks. I loved it, it was perfect. Or at least I thought it was.

An Omen?

If you have been reading my blog for a while and/or attended my wedding, you know that rainbows hold a special meaning for me. You can read about our wedding rainbow here.

On the day that Pete and I decided to make a big decision (to be written about at a later date), he called me on his way home from work to tell me there was a huge rainbow on the highway. By the time he got home, he saw SEVEN rainbows.

Then he told me to walk outside:


When I told my mom this story, she said the same thing happened to her and my dad when they were making the exact same decision.

(And no, this is not about getting pregnant!)

Oh How I Love This Movie

One of my favorite scenes:

Michael: Nice job. Very well done.
Troy: I don't want to hear it from you.
Michael: Oh, I forgot, I'm not qualified to talk to you. I'm sorry I can't be Mr. look a me I'm Buddha on the mountaintop. Know what you are man, you know what you remind me of? You're like that guy, you know, with the hat and the bells you know...
Troy: Court Jester.
Michael: Yeah, where everything is so easy to laugh at from a safe distance back in clevercleverland. You know what happens to him? They find his skull in the grave and they go- Oh, I knew him... and he was funny. And the guy, the Court Jester, dies all by himself.
Troy: Where'd you hear that, a Renaissance festival? Besides, everyone dies all by himself.
Michael: If you really believe that, who are you looking for out here?
You can find more quotes from the movie here: http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/6327/reality.html

Visual Meme

I saw this idea on Tres Poshe Preppy's site and it inspired me to try it too. I could probably go on all day but it is a little too time consuming!

Very Me

Not Me

Me:

Not Me: I'm hungry!

No Thanks!




Yes Please!
Hell No!Would love to sit:
Would leave: Let's Eat!I lost my appetite:

Nice and Natural:
Fake and Phony:Very me:
Not so much:
Great show:
Did she really just say that?
Me:Not me:

Funny:

Yawn:

Incredibly Hot:

Incredibly NOT!

Classy:

Trashy:

Excitement

There's a lot going on right now. I would rather not write about it just yet. Please think good thoughts for us. It's nothing bad, but I don't want to jinx it by writing about it until it's official.
(And no, I am not pregnant!)

I'm Going to Hollywood!

Okay well...maybe not Hollywood. But I got in to the choir. :)

Handeling the Messiah

Today is the audition for the choir I previously mentioned. I was told that I will be asked to sing some scales and to also bring a classical piece to sing.

That was two weeks ago. I have been very pre-occupied with some very exciting distractions that I cannot mention just yet. And so, I didn't realize I couldn't even find my music until this weekend.

I wrote a little tail in my between my legs e-mail to the membership woman and told her my situation. Since the piece I planned on singi