Just found an oldie

From two years ago....

Don't mess with me...or my dog will eat you!

The pictures I promised - er...some of them

Our stockings, our stocking holders say "WISH"
Our tree, not exactly symmetrical, but it looks great from the other side!

Shelby with her antlers on

Hudson and Shelby with their Christmas attire

Looking for squirrels

Is this not the funniest thing you've ever seen?

one more thing!

Here's the bridesmaid dress that I'm almost 100% on for the girls. At first, I wanted a short, periwinkle dress for them, but then I wanted a more formal look. Then I figured, my dress is ivory, not white (God knows I'm not that pure!) and thought that the darker blue would match better than the periwinkle. So far, everyone agrees with me. I've already emailed this to Korin and Nik, but since I'm waiting on Steve to ask his boys, I haven't shown Jami yet. But she's so pretty, she'll look good in anything.

This is the actual color I'm going for too.

Christmas stuff is up!

I know, I'm terrible about posting pictures, so I promise, tonight, I will post some pictures of our weekend. Steve and I like to get our tree right after Thanksgiving, and since Thanksgiving came so late this year, we really had to hustle getting our tree right away. So, conveniently, this past weekend was Steve's weekend off, so we went Saturday morning to the Christmas Tree Shop in Henrietta and bought a ton of Christmasy stuff. See, last year, we had just moved into our house, and didn't have a lot of extra cash to be buying our own Christmas stuff. So, our house went without lights, we didn't have the random, cute Christmas stuff strewn around our house...so I made sure this year we had plenty.

We made out like bandits! We got a ton of random stuff to put around the house....I love it! So, Steve and I were up on the roof Saturday to put up our lights (they look AWESOME!) and then we headed off to Wilbert's to get our tree. We made it there right around 4:15pm so it was starting to get dark out (ick). We trudged along...and it was FREEZING...waaaay colder than last year for sure...and we found it! And it only took us probably 30 minutes! I remember, last year it took us like an hour and a half to find the perfect tree....and we walked FOREVER...but not this year! It was pretty easy! So we got the tree home, put it up and then conked out on the couch. Steve's back was hurting pretty bad....and we had plans to see our favorite Korin, but Steve was in pain and didn't feel like going anywhere. So I stayed behind too and just hung out with him.

Sunday, we had to stop at my parents' house to get my medication, stopped at Wegmans to get stuff so I could make lasagna (mmmm) and then decorated the tree and hung out - lazy Sunday to say the least. But it was FREEZING outside and so windy - it was a good day to stay home.

Oh - forgot to mention our mailbox. Remember back in the summer when a drunk driver took out our mailbox? We went out and got a really nice replacement (thanks to the insurance of the drunk) and Steve spent a half day digging the hole etc. to put up our new mailbox. Well, Sunday morning, a freakin snow plow came through and took out our mailbox. ARE YOU KIDDING ME? Took it out completely. Gone. The box itself is ruined. Fuck. Of course. This nice, new, mailbox only lasted 6 months. Fucking great. So the town will replace it, but it will only give us what they want to give us - post and plain black mailbox. I mean, I shouldn't complain, since they will replace it, but man....ours was so nice! UGH. So I guess we learned our lesson. Living on a main road - this is what we have to put up with. So we will never have a nice, pretty mailbox, we will go with what the town gives us and I'm sure it'll get taken out AGAIN at some point, so why bother? When we live in a nice neighborhood, we'll have a nice mailbox.

Hudson is scheduled to get his nails clipped today. I know, I know, you'd think someone who is a dog freak would know how to clip nails. Well, I have to blame Steve for this one. See....Shelby will just sit there or lay there and let you do whatever to her. She doesn't care. Hudson however, is TERRIFIED. As he should be. Steve tried to get him to tolerate it by holding him down and forcing him to accept it. I was almost in tears and I made him stop. So now, every time we bring out the clippers, Hudson freaks out. Steve's fault for not introducing it properly to him. So now we have to pay $14 every two weeks until the quick in his nails receeds, then we can try again on our own. Jesus. So, he has an appointment today to get his nails done, rabies and distemper.

I can't wait to post the pictures I have of Hudson wearing his elf hat and Shelby wearing her antlers. Fucking hilarious.

Thanksgiving

We had a pretty uneventful Thanksgiving this year. We decided to celebrate with my family this year but we stopped over Steve's parents' house for a little bit in between cooking. Nick stopped by too to say hello. Then, after dinner, like always, we stopped over Nick's mom's house for dessert. We swung back over to Steve's parents' house and dropped off some leftovers. I have to admit, my stuffing came out almost exactly like grandpa's and I am so proud of myself! I just have to adjust the moisture for when I make it for Christmas. It ended up having to cook a little longer in the oven because when we pulled it out of the turkey, it was still a little mushy. But, in the end, it came out fantastic.

Nick came over the Tuesday before Thanksgiving and stayed until Sunday. We normally go out Wednesday night, but Nick brought home a ton of work that he HAD to get done before the weekend, so we stayed in for most of the long weekend.

We went to dinner at the Cheesecake Factory Saturday night, then the boys went downtown. I went home, after 2 glasses of wine with dinner, I wasn't feeling like partying downtown like I was 21. So, I went home and passed out on the couch.

I'm excited for this weekend because Steve has the weekend off, so we're going to go get our Christmas tree, stop at the Christmas Tree Shop and buy some knick knacks for around the house. Last year, we didn't really decorate because we had just bought the house, just moved in, and didn't have a ton of leftover cash. So, this year, I'm begging Steve to put lights up on the house and decorate. I hope we pull it off!

And the countdown has officially begun: 3 weeks until Steve and I have a WEEK off for Christmas. I had to take a couple of vacation days, but it turns out to be Steve's 5 day weekend and he gets an extra day due to Christmas Eve. So I'm soooo excited that we'll be able to hang out more during Christmas. He had to work Friday/Saturday this past week so it wasn't even like a long weekend for either of us. I was bored at home, Nick was working on his computer, and Steve was at work most of the time. Christmas will be much better and we'll be able to spend some real quality time together.

I haven't done much Christmas shopping. I know. I'm terrible. I know some people who are done already! I only got Steve a couple of things. He doesn't read this, so I can say what I got so far. I got him a new Kawasaki Ninja Hoodie and a Kawasaki motorcycle cover. He's been wanting one for a while...so I know he'll be excited. It should be coming in the mail this week!

On another note - we have confirmed our photographer, so I'm going to be putting down our deposit tonight after work. He's letting us pay in thirds since our wedding is still 18 months away. So we'll put our deposit down tonight, another 1/3 60 days from our wedding date, and the final 1/3 15 days before our wedding date. It will feel good to cross this off our list too!

Nick's mom, Fatima has offered to do all our centerpieces, (she does it for a hobby) so we're going to go after the holidays when there are big sales...this should also save us some money too, since we won't be using real flowers. Besides, her work is amazing. And the fake stuff looks real! It'll be fun. Mom and I are going to go to Pittsford Wegmans to book them and poke through their stuff, I don't know what I want my centerpieces to look like, so I'll get some ideas from Wegmans and bring them over to Fatima.

Other than that...not much else new going on...

fucking idiots

During the holiday weeks, generally the highways and roads are pretty clear of cars, as many people take vacations during this time. Not me. At least not until Christmas. So, I'm driving into work today and in the left lane is a red Caravan. Driving 55 miles an hour on a 65 mile and hour HWY. So as I get closer, the van starts tapping its brakes, letting me know that I'm coming to close and too fast. Okaaaay....wellllll then PULL OVER TO THE RIGHT LANE ASSHOLE. So I'm riding his/her ass as she continues to drive 10 miles UNDER the speed limit, in the PASSING LANE and this person is waving his/her hand to me, telling me to pass on the right. Sorry ass, I'm going to stay in this lane and push your stupid van over. Ok, well, that didn't work so well, so as soon as I saw my chance, I moved to the right, glared at the OLD STUPID lady driving the red van. She looks at me and puts her hands up in the air as if to say "what!? stop riding my ass" and I mouth the words slowly as I'm driving directly next to her "LEFT LANE IS FOR PASSING BITCH " I highly doubt she knew what I was saying, but me being an asshole, got right in front of her and slammed on my brakes. Yeah, yeah, I know, road rage is bad blah, blah, blah and I might get shot - whatever. Get the fuck out of my way. I hate idiot drivers. I hate people who don't know the left lane is for passing and the right lane is for idiots to drive 10-20 miles UNDER THE GODDAMN SPEED LIMIT. Yes, I'm bitter. I deal with this shit EVERY DAY. Get off the roads if you can't drive. UGH.

Anyways, now that that's done and over with - Nick is coming into town today. Steve and I stayed up late to clean the entire house because we were supposed to do it over the weekend, but we were both too tired to. So, up we stayed to finish cleaning the house before guests arrived.

We also found out that Steve not only has ONE herniated disk, but TWO. That's right. L4 and L5 (lower back) so we have to go see a neurosurgeon and see what to do next. I'm guessing surgery after the first of the year, as the other treatments are just that - treatments for the symptoms...not actually treating the problem. So we'll see what comes of the meeting with the surgeon.

Dad is home from Australia and also had surgery on the back of his neck. He had this really large lypoma tumor growing for quite some time and never really noticed it. So it got so large that finally, he realized that "something's just not right" so two days after getting home from the land down under, he was put under and this tumor was taken out. I went to my parents' for dinner, saw my pathetic, miserable dad doped up on Vicodins, trying to watch TV. Jogl, my sister's boyfriend/fiance (whatever) is also in town. It was nice to finally meet him, he seems like such a nice, normal guy. I hope it works out between him and my sister. He'll be around for Thanksgiving, so that will be fun, having more people this year (family vs random friends). I feel bad for Steve's parents, as it's the first real year without Grandpa Teenie....so we invited them to my parents' house, but with Sue's disability, it's hard for them to go places that aren't wheelchair accessible. So they are staying home, we'll go visit after we eat...and bring them plates of food.

What I LOVE about Thanksgiving with my parents is that my mom cooks EVERYTHING. I mean, traditional turkey and mashed potatoes and stuffing and sweet potatoes and everything PLUS all the awesome Chinese food too. There's ALWAYS so much to eat! I love it!

So, I'm suffering through today and tomorrow, then I'll have a nice small break for 4 days. I'm trying to get some Christmas shopping in during this weekend, but who knows. I got Steve two things...I better get going on all the other stuff! I always tell myself that I'll start early and not have to fight at the stores, or to get stuff online etc....but I always end up waiting till the last minute.

Anyways - my blogs are always so damn random, just my thoughts as they go through my mind....yes, I'm always all over the place. Get used to it.

R-day

Today is R-day at work. This is because we billed out $1,000,000 this month. Highest billing in the history of Roberts. Congrats to us!! I walked in this morning to find an orange and purple bag sitting on my desk with a little pot of flowers. The bag contains two wine glasses, a stainless steel water bottle and a note of thanks.

Then, as I'm rummaging through the bag, I get my email up and running and there's a note from the CEO explaining what R-day is, what it means etc. Which is then followed by this:

Continental Breakfast Buffet -- 9:00 - 9:30
Breakfast Pizzas and Juice 3rd Floor Conference Room
Soothing Strings -- 9:00- 12:00
A violinist and cellist from the Eastman School of Music will be playing light classical music every 30 minutes on various floors
Professional Massages -- 9:00 AM- 4:30 PM
Enjoy a relaxing professional upper body, shoulder and neck massage on the 1st floor. Scheduled in 15 minute intervals. Sign-up early with Carrie at the front desk
Manicures -- 9:00 AM – 4:30 PM
Salon-trained manicurists for the ladies and gents will be located on the 2nd Floor. If you’ve never had a professional manicure, here’s your chance to indulge yourself. Sign-up early with Carrie at the front desk
Psychic -- Sessions run from 10:30 AM – 4:30 PM in the Chill room on 2nd floor
Mohan The Magnificent will introduce you to this mysterious world. He will see things that you might not and maybe get a message for you. Always wanted to know what your clients were really thinking? Figure 15 minutes for this – Sign-up early with Carrie at the front desk
Sandwiches for Lunch -- 12 Noon to 1 PM
Stop in the R-space for a sandwich. Plus salads, sodas and cookies- but don’t eat too much, we’ll have plenty of food later.
Wine Tasting -- 3 PM to 5:00 PM in the 3rd floor Conference Room
Noel from Fox Run will be showing off some of their many wine. You will be given two wine glasses to keep that have been imprinted for our special day. Light piano by Sully in the lobby.
Fitness Consultation – Group Session from 12:30 – 1:00 PM in the R Space; 15 minute individual consultations beginning at 1 pm on 2
John from Downtown Fitness will give you a half hour introduction on exercise & nutrition 101. Schedule a 15 minute personal consultation with him to get more personalized advice.
Cocktails and hors d’oeuvres!
Join us at Pane Vino on Water St. for cocktails, martinis and pops—we will have a grand assortment of foods. Piano by Knuckles. Valet parking is available and we have already paid the tip.

Really? Wow. This is going to be a fun day.

update update who wants an update?

Things are still going pretty crazy here at work. Having let go our 3rd team member, I've picked up a lot of slack, but it's not all bad. Now that I'm leading these projects, I do them how I want to do them, versus cleaning up someone else's mess. It's ok though, I'm sure they are close to filling the position.

Steve's back: the doctor is taking is sweet ass time calling us back. We call, no answer, we leave messages, no call back. I'm telling Steve to be the most annoying patient alive, because clearly, even if you have a herniated disk, can't feel your left leg, can't bend down to put your own damn socks on, it STILL doesn't mean you might need an MRI. "The insurance company might not approve of this" the doctor says (when he called MY phone and not Steve's, but wouldn't discuss the matter with me). So we wait. Steve is in less pain, but is still in pain. He's still working because hell, we need him to. BUT, we need the MRI to determine whether or not he should be working. I was hoping it'd happen today. But no. No call back from the doctor. Great.

In other news (I know this blog is typically very random) my poor sister didn't pass her road test. She didn't pass her first time around 15 years ago either. This time, my mom told me that she was too nervous and overly cautious. That's gotta suck. Plus, her boyfriend/fiance person is coming to visit and unfortunately, they will need my mom or dad to drive them around for the 3 weeks he's spending here. Eesh. Glad I'm not them. I guess she just needs to drive as much as she can before her next test.

Ugly sweater party tomorrow - I'm excited. I have an ugly sweater that my mom had in her closet (surprise, surprise, my mom is known for having weird articles of clothing she's purchased from some Asian country - Taiwan, Thailand, or China). In some places, this sweater just might be trendy. I'm actually not sure if it's ugly enough for this party. It's a fitted sweater, with an Asian woman's face on the front and this sweater is sprinkled with sparkles and sequins. Her lips and fingernails are also shiney. So tomorrow, Steve and I have plans to head over to the VOA or Goodwill to find him an ugly sweater. If I find an uglier one, you better bet I'm spending the $4.99 to get it! We just didn't have the time this week and with Steve working all week with his back....I can't blame him for taking 12 vicodins and valiums as soon as he gets home. (Ok, he didn't take that many).

So glad it's Friday. So glad the day is half over. So glad Steve and I are going to stuff large amounts of Dinosaur BBQ into our bodies for dinner tonight. Thanks Kitty - for that $50 gift card. Considering the fact that you wanted your employees to fund their own holiday party (which was to take place in the showroom during work hours). Never mind the fact that the service department for Ford won the top 10 award multiple times in a row and that your Subaru dealership is the #1 in the nation. Nevermind all that. So thanks for the generous gift - it's about fucking time.

back from MN and Steve's herniated disk

I was traveling last week for work - I left Thursday evening and arrived late that night. Grabbed a bite to eat with some coworkers and went to bed. Got up super early to meet up with our clients at 7:45 (CST) so it was my normal time of 8:45 EST. Had a loooonnnngggg meeting with a bunch of clients, but it all went pretty smoothly. I guess when you're expecting the absolute worst, but things are uneventful...then it turns out to be good. No finger waving, no slapping around, no insults being thrown our direction. All in all. Pretty good. The one hiccup is that our 3rd team account member has been let go. For various reasons, she just never grasped the concept of working on the agency side. It was no surprise to her or anyone else for that matter. Now I have to work with my supervisor to cover her stuff until a new person is hired. From what I was told, we're close to hiring someone.

I got back late Friday night - around 11:30...I was tired, hungry, and ready for bed. I get home to find Steve laid out on the floor. He found out earlier in the day that the back problems he's been having are due to a herniated disk. Great. He'll need surgery and a one month recovery. Even better. The doctor said he may not need surgery, but c'mon, with his type of work, it's better to solve the problem now, than suffer through it each year. So, we're going to see what happens for the next month or so and then decide when surgery will be.

We stayed in almost all weekend - Steve was not feeling up to doing much, since he was on quite the cocktail of drugs. Valium, Vicodin and steroids. We watched Get Smart and vegged on the couch (well, he stayed on the floor). Sunday Steve felt good enough to run some errands with me. I had to get a money order to pay off my stupid speeding ticket - it's been 2 weeks since I had court, so I had better get my money to them before they suspend my license. Then, we headed over to the mall - we are desperately looking for a new mattress and I had seen that Macy's was having a sale...well, we didn't find any mattresses. So then we stopped over at JCPenny's to find some ugly sweaters for the ugly sweater party this weekend. Those bitches cost like $50! No way we're spending that much on ugly sweaters. Off to the VOA sometime this week after work.

This morning I went to pick up dad to bring him to the airport at 6:30am. Woke up at 5:45. Great. Then, to top things off and to make my day even LONGER, I have to go pick up mom at 6:50pm from the airport. Dad's on his way to Sydney, Australia and mom is on her way home from NYC. I can't wait until my sister gets her license.

he won!

Go Obama go! I'm pleased to say that I went to go vote last night after work and then came home to watch election coverage until 11pm when we found out that Mr. Obama won! Hooray! Time for change...

Now that I've done my duty to celebrate Obama's big historical win...on to some really sad news.

My friend Heather has a little weiner dog Tessa. I've met Tessa quite a few times and everyone knows of my love of weiner dogs. Especially mini ones. She's one of the cutest dogs I've ever seen. Ever. Heather just found out that poor Tessa is sick with cancer. An incurable kind. Pure devastation. I don't even know what to say to her. I can't even imagine what she's going through. Tessa doesn't act sick, or look sick, but her lymph nodes prove otherwise. I ready her blogs and cry. I drive by her house and cry...I don't know what to say to her...I don't think there IS anything to say, other than I'm sorry. She'll never see her 3rd birthday. Her prognosis: 1-3 months. Unbearable.

I think about Hudson and Shelby and I think about what I would do if this ever happened to them. Shelby is getting up there in age - over 5 years old with bad hips. I worry about her well being and I don't like to think about what we'll do when the time comes. She'll be on pain meds in the coming years...luckily so far she's doing great only on supplements, but you can tell when she walks/runs that her hips won't last long.

When Snowball passed...it was one of the hardest decisions ever. Physically he seemed ok. Mentally, he wasn't there anymore. He was blind, deaf, and had signs of dementia. It wasn't fair for him to continue living...it wasn't a life anymore...he was existing. But he was 17. He had lived a long, healthy, full life.

Tessa is full of life still and acts completely healthy. I just hope she continues to be this way until the end.

Heather - I'm so sorry you're going through this. If you need anything, anything at all...please let me know.

fun-filled weekend with good friends

Our best friends don't live in town anymore. Well, not all of them anyway. Tom and Nikki live in Binghamton and Nick lives in New Jersey. We dont' get to see them all that often and when we do, we try to make the best out of it.

Nick came into town Thursday night - around midnight - I was sleeping of course when he got in, but since Steve was off Friday, he stayed up and waited for Nick. I should have known that Steve would end up sleeping on the couch with Nick while I slept alone upstairs. Not even the dogs came to join me....

Anyways, I got out of work Friday at 4:15 and earlier in the day had found out that my bestest friend Nikki was going to be coming up too! She and her husband own a bunch of apartments so it's really hard for them to get away for long weekends. There's always something going on, they always need someone to cover something while they're away. We had been planning on having them come up too, but up until Friday, it was a "they can't make it" so I was an awesome surprise to find out Friday that they'd be actually coming. I got home and saw that Nick was busy on his computer working for most of the day. Tom and Nikki pulled up right when I got home...we didn't have any real plans, so we just hung out and caught up on our lives. The boys ended up going to the bars later that night but Nikki and I decided to hang back and have ourselves some good girl talk. We woke up to the boys coming home around 2:30 and stayed up and chilled for another hour or so.

Saturday Nikki and I had a few things to do: we met my mom at Casa Larga to go over the contract and details. I have to wait for the contract to get to me, then go over to my parents house with Steve to go through it with a fine tooth comb before sending our deposit in. That will hopefully happen tomorrow. Then right after that Nikki and I went to go pick up my dress! She helped me try it on and I pranced around the store for a little bit. Then we headed over to my mom's house to put it away until 2010!! It seems so far away, but I know time will just FLY. I'm SO glad Nikki was able to come up with me and do those things with me. It's so weird though, it seriously seems like it was just yesterday that I was helping her with her wedding. It's already been 5 months since she got married. So weird how time really does fly.

Then after all the errands, Steve and I had to stop over his parents' house to have dinner with his parents since it was his dad's birthday. We brought over a Cheesecake Factory cheesecake (his favorite) over for dessert. Then we headed back to our house where Nick, Nik and Tom were waiting. We were planning on hitting up the Haunted Hayride of Rochester out in Williamson - but it was pouring rain all day...but it cleared up so we were good! It was really muddy, but it was pretty warm out and we really had a good time! It was scarier than I thought it was going to be....they tried pulling me off the wagon like 4 times, but Steve had a good grip on me and wouldn't let me fall off.

We stayed in for the rest of the night since we're all old people and fell asleep on the couch around 11pm.

Sunday was a lazy day - Nick left right around 11am - he has a 5+ hour drive home. Tom, Nik, Steve and I ran a bunch of errands, stopped at Home Depot to get Hudson a new run (since he broke his AGAIN), get keys made, stopped at the hydro store and went to Pelligrino's for lunch. Tom and Nikki left around 4pm and Steve and I cleaned the house and relaxed.

Now, tonight I have stupid court for speeding. ARGH.

It's in! It's in!

The calendar for Casa Larga is out!!! I just got an email today from the special events coordinator letting me know that the calendar is out for 2010 and we can go sign the contract! I'm SO excited! This is the second BIG thing we can cross off our list! Once we sign this contract and put our deposit down, we can do the same for the photographer (we've already decided on who we want to shoot our wedding), the florist (my mom and I are going to head over to Pittsford Wegmans in the next couple of weeks) and the DJ (I'm passing the reigns to Steve on this one). I'm EXCITED!

Toronto

it's been a family tradition since I was little to go to Toronto with the entire family. Sometimes, dad and I would go by ourselves.





We go there to eat, eat and eat some more. Toronto has the best Chinese food (authentic Chinese food) in North America. It's SO good. I can't even describe with words just. how. good. it. is.





The first place we go to eat has this amazing curry crab. HUGE crabs too. We always get the same thing, along with this incredible mango fish. Then after eating way too much, we go to the mall to walk around, get a bubble tea, etc. We all need to walk a bit after stuffing ourselves. After some walking and visiting of old friends, we check into the hotel, take a short nap then head to dinner around 9pm. Normally, dinner at 9pm is a big no-no in my book, but if we try to get any earlier, all we do is sit in a the 4 mile long line and we don't get to eat until 9pm anyways.





This place ad the oysters I had been waiting for. This oysters are HUGE and crispy and oh so good. I could probably eat 50 of them. Oh man. So good.





Here are some photos from the weekend:

This weird hotdog looking stuffed toy....weird

Mickey Hands

Me and Jen at 3.6.9 for lunch

Mom and dad ordering our food at 3.6.9

Crackberry

I finally got one. Finally. I'd been wanting one, but I really didn't want to pay the extra $30 per month for the data package. I finally gave in. For my line of work - it really DOES make sense. It's super convenient for me to have it so if I'm in meetings, I can still get emails, know what's on my calendar for the day etc. It's nice.

Steve and I went to Verizon last night after work to get it. We didn't realize that he'd get a corporate discount through his work, so we had to go back to the house to get it and go back to the store.

I actually got into it with the customer service girl who was supposed to be ringing us out and getting my phone ready. It was pretty obvious that she was stressed, didn't like her life or her job. She was frustrated, pissed off. You could easily tell by her demeanor. So she tells us that Steve's paystub was too old and we told her that no one ever said it had to be within 60 days. C'mon, we had JUST driven all the way home and back again to get the phone. Steve told her that he knew there was a way to override the cost and we could bring the correct paystub in the next day. She was clearly not happy. The manager came over and said "sure, we can override the cost, as long as you make sure to bring in the stub tomorrow" after he said that, the stupid girl said to HIM "you're trying to piss me off aren't you" - she said it TWICE. I said back "never mind, I don't want the phone, I don't want to PISS anyone off" and she got nasty with me! She actually pointed her stupid little finger in my face and said "I never said I was pissed at YOU, I was talking to HIM" my reply "it doesn't matter who you're talking to, you're completely unprofessional and rude - you don't talk like that in front of customers, if I did that, I'd be fired" and she went on to tell me that I had to respect her. She told me that I was being out of line. Then she said "Do you want the phone or not" Okaaaaaay. Riiiight. I'm the customer remember? I'm always right! I'm spending hundreds of dollars here! I've been a loyal Verizon customer for over 10 years! PLEASE. I haven't done anything wrong!! I just want a new phone!

We requested that someone else take care of us. In the meantime, I just stared at her the entire time the other guy was ringing us out. Glaring. She said nothing. The manager said nothing. We still bought the damn phone.

This morning I called the store manager and explained the entire story from beginning to end. He said "I'm going to take care of this in 3 seconds" he did NOT sound happy AT ALL. I was calm, collected and explained that I understand we all get frustrated at work, but WE CAN'T SHOW IT. He was pissed and apologized over and over again telling me that this is not how they treat people, that she will get a talking to etc. Let's hope that actually happens. I did tell him that other customers heard everything and they were probably disgusted by her behavior as well.

Fuck her. If she can't handle that job, she should get a new one where her job description doesn't include talking to people.

My phone ROCKs by the way.

Halloween party

Korin had a Halloween/farewell party Saturday night. He boyfriend Andy is being deployed to Iraq in 1 week. It was a surprise party for him, just to let him know we all love him. I went early to help set up the house while Korin took Andy around town to waste time and get dressed. Andy, Don, Jame and Korin were the Golden Girls. I was hoping Steve would wear his costume over, but he wouldn't tell me for sure if he'd do it or not. Here are a few shots:

The Golden Girls
The boys playing with Kyle's HUGE boobs
And here he is! Jim Dangle showed up! Hilarious! The mustache kills me. haha.
Me (as Napoleon) and Jim

Halloween costumes

Steve and I never participate in any dressing up for any of the Halloween parties we've gone to together. I think the last time I dressed up was in college and I didn't have this elaborate costume, hell, I was in college and poor...so I found this cute little pumpkin costume for like $19 or soemthing cheap and wore that with some knee high boots and black tights. It was cute. But nothing too fun or crazy.

I had no idea what I should be this year. Steve and I have talked about him being Jim Dangle from RENO 911 because it's so damn funny. I don't like the show, but seeing Jim Dangle run around in his khaki shorts is funny. I found a costume online, but now Steve refuses to wear it. He says he'll be the laughing stock of the party - but isn't that funny? Everyone is dressing up so it'll be fine. But no, he refused. Last night I went with Korin and team to find costumes, wigs etc. Jim Dangle was staring me in the face when I walked into Arlene's Costume shop - I called Steve right away and told him I was buying it. I told him that since I'm about to spend $5o on this stupid costume, he'd HAVE to wear it. I tried convincing him that I'd get the slutty girl version, but they didn't have it in my size. So finally, after some coaxing, Steve said "just bring it home and I'll try it on and see if I can wear it to the party" All sales are final though, so even if he doesn't like it, I'm going to find a way to stuff him into that damn costume.

Since 99% of the costumes for girls were all SLUTTY, I decided to go with...............................................................................................................................NAPOLEON DYNAMITE. Yep - that's right. No slutty costumes for me thankyouverymuch! Costume comes with wig, glasses and Vote for Pedro T-shirt. I just have to go to WalMart to buy those fancy dancy snow boots from 1985. Classic.

Stay tuned for pictures of Steve wearing the this costume. The shorts are the best part.

I bought my dress! :)

Mom, Jennifer and I went to Alfred Angelo's on Sunday. I wanted to show them THE dress...and get their opinions. I didn't think we'd walk out with the dress...I thought we'd go to a few other places before making the final decision, but there was a promotion going on and the dress was anotehr $100 off. I walked out and Mom said that it was beautiful. She said that if I loved it, really loved it, we should just do it. Especially since it was less expensive than we thought.

the back - my favorite part

the front

I can't wait. I love it. I loved it more the second time trying it on. It's perfect.

reading(s)

I wasn't sure if we were going to have anyone do any readings at our wedding. Not that I don't like them, but I wasn't sure what they'd say. I'd want it to be personal, but who would do it? I came across this today:

"It is often said that it is love that makes the world go round. However, without doubt, it is friendship which keeps our spinning existence on an even keel. True friendship provides so many of the essentials for a happy life-it is the foundation on which to build an enduring relationship, it is the mortar which bonds us together in harmony, and it is the calm, warm protection we sometimes need when the world outside seems cold and chaotic. True friendship holds a mirror to our foibles and failings, without destroying our sense of worthiness. True friendship nurtures our hopes, supports us in our disappointments, and encourages us to grow to our best potential. (Bride) and (Groom) came together as friends. Today, they pledge to each other not only their love, but also the strength, warmth and, most importantly, the fun of true friendship.”

This quote is perfect for Steve and I. I didn't know who I'd ask to read this - then thought hey! This would be perfect for Lisa, Steve's sister to be a part of our wedding. I'm going to chat with Steve about this and then ask Lisa if she'd like to do it.

Taking mom and Jennifer to Alfred Angelo on Sunday to go see THE DRESS that I LOVED last week. Again, not going there to purchase the dress (at least not my intentions!) but Mom stated that if this is the first dress that took my breath away, after trying on about 8 others....we should at the very least go check it out. And the fact that it's less than half of my dress budget...well, that makes Dad's wallet happy too.

7 random facts

I've been tagged by my friend Heather to share 7 random facts about myself and to tag other bloggers. I won't be tagging other bloggers because frankly, I don't know any other bloggers besides my sister and Heather who sent it to me. Ok, I'll tag my sister. But that's it!

7 random facts:

1) I was mistaken over and over again as a boy when I was a child. For good reason though. I had really, really, (I mean really) short hair as a child. I was such a tomboy, I loved being dirty, playing sports, hanging with the boys of the neighborhood, and being my dad's little buddy.

2) I almost didn't graduate high school. Not because I wasn't smart enough, but moreso because I cared more about getting high and skipping school. I didn't make it to any of my 9th grade math classes and was seriously getting phone calls home from my guidance counselor telling my parents that unless I straightened up, I might not graduate. I did graduate, and was on honor roll for junior and senior year.

3) I never wore shorts in high school. Why? I have this skin condition called eczema, which I was extremely self conscious about. Kids can be MEAN and they were. So ergo, I stopped wearing shorts in high school. I could care less now. But you know how it is in high school.

4) I was/am really into cars. I've loved cars since my dad took me to my first car show at the age of 7. I love driving fast. I love driving stick. I bet I can drive better than most guys out there. I got a ticket for "unsafe start" when I was drag racing a friend in Panorama Plaza when I was 16. Show me a turbo and I'll show you how it works.

5) I'm a daddy's girl through and through. I've always had a wonderful relationship with both my parents, but there's something about my relationship with my dad that just hits me in my heart. He's the one I go to for advice. He's the one who I call when I'm upset. Of course my mom is there for me too, but there's just something very special about my dad and I. Lots of great memories with just me and him. He's the best.

6) I'm extremely organized at work and have everything planned out perfectly. (Well, almost perfectly), but I'm a mess at home. Steve handles all our finances and important paperwork. You'd think me, the one who works in an office and handles this type of stuff daily...would have a better handle on it at home. Nope. I'm a mess. I've had utility companies call me because I forgot to send my check in. Not that I don't have the money, I just can't pay attention to that. Not sure why...so that's why Steve takes care of it all. I simply can't.

7) I want like 5 kids. Realistically, we'll probably only have 2, but I've always wanted a large family. I grew up with one sister and parents. Every holiday consisted of us 4. I enjoy a lot of people around, I love seeing lots of family gathering in one place...I've never had it, so I'd LOVE to have a million kids running around. It's just not affordable these days. Too bad.

I tag:

My sister Jennifer

OMG I FOUND A DRESS!! :)

I took my friend, who is also a bridesmaid to try on dresses at Alfred Angelo on Saturday. I walked in knowing that I was not going to buy a dress, since hell, my wedding is still 1 year 8 months away. Sooo...the point of this session was to see what material I liked, disliked, what style looks good on me, price points etc. The first time I went, I went to this really little boutique and didn't get a consultant or anything, so this experience was waaaaay different.

First of all, after some serious drama with my mom and sister over the past week, I'm SO GLAD I brought my friend/bridesmaid with me instead of my mom and sister. They will go to the last dress session and be there when I find "the dress" but for now, having another opinion on what looked good on me was helpful.

The first 3 we tried on were eh...ok. I found out that I really do like the sweetheart neckline, satin with a lace up back -corset style. I tried on this one off-white dress, that had pick-ups (not my thing...at least I didn't think so!) and really, really, really, loved the dress. The consultant got me a veil to wear with it and I think Korin and I almost cried - almost. We're not the crying type girls....so the fact that we were close to crying was good. She took some pictures...it was so fun! So now, when it's time to actually buy a dress, I'll know exactly what I'm looking for.

Seeing myself in a dress, with a veil really made it "real" for me. Steve and I constantly talk about how it still doesn't feel like we're actually getting married because we haven't really done anything yet. But seeing myself in a gown like that....phew...totally put things in perspective. Korin looked at me and said "you're going to marry Steve Ruple...." Wow...I am. Weird. I'm going to be Mrs. Ruple. HAHA.

Photographer meeting

Steve and I went and met with John Larkin (www.johnlarkinphotography.com). I heard from him from a coworker whose friend or cousin used him recently. Great photos online and he was really nice! We felt comfortable with him immediately and he didn't talk too much, he let his work do all the talking. Steve was sold pretty much as soon as he went through the first batch of images on his TV. Obviously we need to meet with others before making our final decision, but he's definitely on the top of our list. His basic package is $1,800, but we'd probably go with the medium package, so we'd get all the rights to our photos. That package starts at $2,800, but it doesn't include the engagement session or any books. If we decide to go with him, we'd have to do some negotiating. Seemed like he was up for it.

In other news, I'm going to Alfred Angleo on Saturday with my sister to try on dresses. I found one online that I just LOVE. Even though I told myself I want to lose some weight first, I figured, what's the harm in just trying them on?

a few wedding updates

I contacted the director of special events last Thursday. She emailed me back yesterday and informed me that the calendar for 2010 is still not out yet. She promised she'd call when it was. I can't WAIT to sign that contract!!! It's getting so exciting for me to actually start planning our wedding. The first few months of engagement was fun, but I wanted to enjoy it and not jump head first into planning. Now I'm ready.

Steve and I have a meeting with a photographer tomorrow evening. A co-worker's friend used him and loved him. He had 2 other assistants with him, so they had 3 photographers essentially during their wedding. He also offered to do family portraits at the wedding for free. His packages start around $18,00 which is about half of what we budgeted. But we'll see how it goes. I'm willing to pay extra for this service, as it's something we'll have forever!

Then, on October 7, we're meeting with the Krackes. My friend Heather used them and loved them, so I figure what the hell, let's meet them. I'm excited!

These are the bridesmaid dresses I like the best, obviously, they would be periwinkle
Here is the flower girl dress I like - the red accents would be replaced with the periwinkle
This is the periwinkle color I'm going for

Kardio kickboxing?

I had my first kickboxing class last night and it wasn't too bad! I'm pretty damn proud of myself for doing TWO, that's right, TWO classes per week. I'm motivated. I WANT this. I need to lose 20 pounds. I'm gonna do it damnit if it kills me. After the first aerobics class I had, my legs were killing me. I could barely walk down stairs, each leg shaking as I put weight on it. Not anymore! After my second aerobics class I was fine and I feel good today too!

I weighed myself before the first class and I'll weigh myself again at the end of the month. I don't want to see what I weigh each day...I know it won't change much and I don't want to get discouraged.

On another note - I'm starting to get really excited about wedding planning. We get to sign the contract for Casa Larga at the end of this month - if the damn coordinator would email me back! She's been very responsive in the past, so I'm going to give her more time to get back to me before really bugging her. I just sent the email yesterday, so if I don't hear back by Monday, I'll give her a call. She seemed very cool the last time I saw her.

Then, I'm trying to meet a photographer next week too - www.johnlarkinphotography.com. Looks awesome and reasonably priced. I know that I don't want to cut myself short with photos, because, hell, it's the only things we'll have after the wedding for years to come! I want the best we can afford.

My sister is home from Austria too, so I'm going to my parents' house for dinner tonight and also doing lunch and a movie tomorrow. Should be fun! Haven't had a girls date in a long time.

7 years ago

I was walking back from my morning class to my dorm. I was a sophomore in college and was living in a suite with 7 other girls.

I noticed that I had missed a call on my cell phone, so I called my friend JZ back. I asked what he was doing and he replied "get back to your dorm and turn on the TV, planes just crashed into the Twin Towers" - I said "yeah, OK JZ, stop playing around" - silence on the other end of the phone and he quietly says "no, Lesley, really, go back to your dorm. I'm not kidding." So I rush back to my dorm and notice that a few girls had gathered in the common area watching TV. I went into my room and shut the door, turned on the TV and just stood there watching. I was frozen, in shock and was standing there watching live TV as the second plane hit the second tower. WTF? What's going on? I opened the door to see some of the girls crying. One girl's family lives on Long Island and both her parents work in the city. Oh. My. God. I hope they're OK. She couldn't get through on the phones. We were all comforting her, praying and hoping her family was OK. (Thankfully, they were).

Classes were canceled for the rest of the day and many students were plastered to their computers/TVs to keep up with the news. Then we heard of the plane crashing into the Pentagon and Pennsylvania. We all watched in horror. We were all confused as to why this was happening. What's going on?? Who is attacking us and WHY?

I had heard that Rochester was on the list of potential cities in the US to be attacked, since we had/have some global headquarters stationed here. Bausch and Lomb. Xerox. Kodak. This is something that I had to quickly get out of my head...as I started to panic. Called mom and dad to see if their friends from the city had called. No one had. Luckily for us, all of our friends who live in or near the city were all OK. Terrified, but OK.

So, today, please take a moment to think of those who lost their lives in this tragedy.

resolution

My best friend from highschool and I have drifted apart over the years. We spent every. waking. moment. together from the time I was 15 to the time I was 18. We lost touch when I went away to college. She came with me and my parents to drop me off at UB. I came home after college and we basically picked up right where we left off...then we grew apart again and lately, for the past few months, we hadn't even been talking.

I realized that this person is someone who is extremely important to me, so I put myself out there and asked her to come over to talk. We desperately needed to reconnect, so I was hoping she was game. Luckily for me, she was. She came over last night for pizza and beer and we cried, talked and got everything out on the table. Phew. Was a relief. I felt better immediately and we both realized that we had almost given up on a friendship over nothing. We never had a blowout, we never fought, we just grew apart and then it got awkward and neither one of us knew what to say to the other. So now that everything is out in the open, we're both willing to make the effort to spend more time together. We used to just chill, drink some wine and hang out...we need to make sure we keep doing that.

A huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders and I'm so happy.

How I love thee

My best friend lives 2 hours away from me. I decided that since I wasn't going to Toronto anymore with my parents, and Steve had to work, that I would head down to Binghamton to visit my one and only Nik. I got down to her house around 11am and we immediately left to take Chels (her little 14 year old sister) home to her parents' house. It was nice to see her parents again, since I haven't seen them since Nik's wedding in May. I have to say...I have a small crush on her dad. He's just so funny and warm and charming!

Anyways, hanging out with Nikki just makes me realize how I miss having a best friend around. I mean...we didn't do anything! We just sat around, smoked, watched a movie, ordered Chinese and hung out and talked! I loved it! I NEED that with girlfriends and it seems like she's the only one that really, truly understands me. I stayed until about 4:30 or so and started to get tired so I decided it was time to go.

Everything was going fine until my gas light came on. I really, really thought I'd make it all the way home since I just put $50 in the gas tank before I left! Well, of course it doesn't work out that way and so my gas light goes on after I hit Syracuse and I panic. I want to get to the closest exit and I want to get there fast. I'm not sure how many miles I get after the light goes on. In my Jetta, I knew I had 1.5 gallons after the light goes on, so I probably had about 40 miles left. Not so sure with the Pilot. I didn't get the owners' manual since it was used when I bought it...so I wasn't sure what I had to work with. Well, as luck would have it, I get pulled over doing 83 in a 65. FUCKING GREAT. I haven't had a speeding ticket in like 4 years! UGH! I'm so mad at myself! I tried talking to the trooper, explaining why I was driving so fast...yeah..he didn't care.

Since I have a pretty clean record, the trooper advised me to plead not guilty and to go talk with the DA. I'll probably get it reduced he says. I'm sure I'll get it reduced, but the annoying part of it is that I have to drive 45 minutes out to wherever the hell I got the ticket to deal with it. ARGH. But, if that will save me money and points on my license, then I'm going to do it.

Tonight is also my first aerobics class. Heather is coming to get me so we can ride over together...I'm scared. Heather tells me the instructor is diesel and will kick our assses into tomorrow. I shouldn't complain, because I really, really want to lose weight and get toned. I told Steve that we have to set up the DVD player down in the basement too, so I can do my tae bo down there without anyone bothering me.

Wish me luck.

honeymoon change? quite possibly!

Steve and I had dinner at my parents house last night because out of town guests were in town visiting. I've known these people since birth. They have a daughter who is almost exactly one month younger than me, and I spent a significant amount of time with her in my earlier years (13-14). We played at a lacrosse camp together and I spent weeks among weeks with this family. I haven't seen them in 12 years. It was good to catch up. Christine, their daughter is vacationing in South Africa right now. Insane.

Anyways, during dinner, we were chatting about our wedding/honeymoon. Now, Steve and I had discussed perhaps changing our honeymoon location to be Amsterdam. We have just always heard great things about the place and hell, smoking pot is legal there. There are "coffee shops" everywhere that sell reefer. Hmm...so we figured to at least look into it. So, back to dinner. They mentioned that they had been to Amsterdam with their daughter and LOVED IT. They even said they each tried smoking a joint since it's legal there. I tried talking Mom into going and smoking a joint with us....she declined the invitation.

So, we're back to square one again...I think. Hawaii is beautiful and gorgeous and there's a ton of stuff to do...but it's really expensive is what I hear...so we're not sure now!

On another note...I think I'm going down to Binghamton tomorrow to see Nikki. It's been entirely too long since I've been able to really spend time with her...so I think I'll take a day trip down tomorrow. We'll see.

What a great weekend! (mostly)

It was a glorious long weekend! At least for me it was. After getting out of work at 12:45 on Friday (actually getting to use my coupon!) I anxiously awaited Nick's arrival. He got to our house around 5pm, and we stopped over his dad's house, wegmans etc. to get ready for our weekend. We stayed in Friday night and played with the Wii, and passed out early.

Saturday Nick and I were busy grocery shopping for our cookout, getting the house ready etc. Steve had to work til 4pm so he was not around to help. The boys went out Saturday night to some local bars, I stayed home since the bar scene is just not my thing anymore.

Sunday was busy! I was up early, we took the dogs to the park so they could release some energy before people started showing up. I prepared some of the food Saturday night so I wouldn't have to worry about doing TOO much Sunday. I marinated, washed, cut up all the food that we were planning on serving and the boys did boy things - changed Nick's oil, showed Nick's dad Steve's new exhaust etc.

We had a good turnout! The food was good! A good time was had by all...

Until that is...I found out that close friends of Steve's (and mine), since we were kids...are planning their wedding the week before ours!

Here's the background: they got engaged December of 2007. They set their date as June 20, 2009 for the past 8 months. They announced at our BBQ that they changed their date to be May 22, 2010. Of course I played it off like it didn't bother me...since we had so many people at our house, I didn't feel it was appropriate to say anything at the time...but I'm livid! They KNEW our date! We talked about it at length with them! I don't want to share that time with another couple! It's OUR TIME! It's OUR wedding! I'm so upset that "friends" would choose to do that to us. I don't think it's an "honest mistake" since we had talked about it when we went camping in July. I know it's a week before ours, and not the exact same date, but we're going to have many mutual friends at both weddings! It's only natural for people to compare. As selfish as it sounds, I want our wedding to be about US - not about "our other friends who got married last week" and it sucks that now we have to deal with it.

Ugh - just one more stressful thing for me to deal with!

had the "talk"

with my supervisor on why I've been miserable at work lately. I finally disclosed my unhappiness about constantly helping people out, not getting recognized for it, and having to stay here while said coworkers get to leave early and actually take advantage of the summer coupons. I griped about the evils eyes that we get if we in fact get to take some time off to enjoy our summer - see, they give us the coupons to use in the summer if we get our work done. But yet, if we get our work done and want to leave early, we get the eye from some people that says "if you're not that busy and can leave, can you help out so and so?"

So, I finally got everything off my chest and now I feel so much better. My supervisor had a completely open mind and I'm confident that she'll help me get out of this rut I'm in.

On a happier note -Nick is coming home again this weekend! He has the day off Friday, so he will get to our house around 4pm. I'm planning on taking a 1/2 day tomorrow too - I tried last Friday and that didn't work, I got out at 4:40pm, so I've made it pretty clear that I NEED to take a 1/2 day tomorrow. Then we're going to have a cookout Sunday afternoon, so that will be fun.

Ok, time to get back to work here...hopefully things will turn around for me!

Monkeys riding dogs

We went to the state fair Saturday and met up with Tom and Nikki. We don't get to see them much because they live about 2 hours away...but we try to see them once a month. Nikki and I get together to go shopping and stuff about once a month, but I wish I could see her every day!

We got up at 8am and took the dogs to the park. We knew we'd be gone the entire day, and unfortunately, Hudson needs to be crated when we're not home. He was out for some time, but lost his privileges when he ripped and chewed 8 magazines, his harness and the dog nail clippers. But, leaving him in his crate for an extended period of time really breaks my heart. I know it's harder for me than for him, and I know it's for his own safety. I would die if he ate something that caused a blockage...but still...it's sad to leave him in there when I know we'll be gone all day. So we took them to the park to play and run for about 30 minutes before heading home to start our day.

We left our house around 9:45 and got to Syracuse right around 11am. We met up with Tom and Nikki and blazed a fast one in the car before heading into the fair. It was hot. Really. effing. Hot.

My favorite thing about fairs and carnivals is the food. Who doesn't love carnival food? The roasted corn...the ice cream...hot dogs...fried dough...it's all sooo good.

We saw bears riding bikes and dancing. We witnessed monkeys riding dogs in a race...it was out of control. And very funny.

We left around 6pm and we were beyond tired. The sun really wore us out, along with walking around the fair the entire day. It was fun.

unfair. so unfair.

I sit here and I wait. I wait for feedback on a recommendation I've been working on for the past week and a half (that a certain someone had in her inbox for 3 days).

I requested two months ago to use my "summer coupon" today. That would mean that I would get to leave work at 12:15 and enjoy an afternoon off. I made it clear that today, is especially important to me since it's the start of me and Steve's 3 year anniversary.

These coupons are really only to be used if and when all your work is done for the day. I get it...I really do, but this is my problem. It just so happens that each time that I've requested to take a summer coupon, I don't get to leave at 12;15. Both times so far I left the office around 3:00 - 3:30pm. One time, I went home and worked until 6:30pm! My team members though (except for one workaholic) happen to be able to leave right on the dot at 12:15. There's no one to blame, as the coupons are really meant to be taken if your work is done. My work has been done, but is now waiting for the "big boss lady" to review it for the second time. After she has given me her blessing, I need to send it to my client and walk her through it. The minutes are just flying by and I'm realizing that I'm missing my 1/2 day off with Steve. Today is the day we get to pick up his gift too, and I really wanted to be there for that. I really wanted to see his face when he opens up that box...but here I sit. Waiting. And thinking how absolutely UNFAIR it is that I'm always stuck here. It bugs the living shit out of me that TWO of my team members always make it out the door at 12:15 when they use their coupons. Not me. No siree. Not my luck. My luck is sitting here until after 5pm to finally discuss this damn recommendation that NEEDS to go to my client today - she's off until after Labor Day - and we need her to at least see the damn document.

I don't have a good argument to make, since really, I have to wait here until I get my work done, but it sucks when getting your work done depends on someone else to approve it. That someone else is beyond busy and may have already shuffled my papers under her stack of "I must look at this sometime today" pile.

Next Friday is the last Friday that anyone can take a coupon. I doubt I'll be able to use it next week. Hell, I doubt I'll leave here today before 4pm. GOD, sometimes I just want to shake someone.

I shouldn't sit here and hate the world because obviously there are worse things that can happen...but still...the fact remains that I don't get to enjoy the same "extras" that everyone else can enjoy. I got shafted. Again.

Our 3rd anniversary

Steve and I have been together for 3 years. 3 solid years. We've never broken up, never "took a break" or whatever. It's been awesome. It's the longest either of us have been in a relationship. It's comforting to know that it's so solid and we're so perfect for each other. I can't imagine what my life would be like right now if we never got together.

This week is also a celebration of being in our house for 1 year. That was yesterday. 1 year flew by, let me tell you.

We don't generally buy a lot of gifts for each other because we just don't feel the need for it. If we want to buy something, we just get it...usually. We went overboard for Christmas last year and we decided that this year would be different. I think we're either going to get a Wii, or a treadmill and call it our gifts.

So back to the gift thing...Steve has been eyeing this exhaust for his motorcycle since we got the bike home. So it's been 2 years that he's wanted this for his bike and he won't get it for himself. It's $1,000 and I know that he'd rather spend that money on me, or the house. But each week, I see him sitting hopelessly at the computer, looking for cheaper ones on Ebay. Each week I see the disappointment in his face when he can't find it. Each week he mentions "when I get that exhaust..." so I decided to get it for him. I called the shop where we bought the bike and asked them to help me out. They did. And they gave me 10% off! So I ordered the one I thought Steve would want (there are 3 kinds!) and just hoped for the best. It's coming from Illinois, so it'll be here tomorrow afternoon.

I made a card for Steve that said "Happy 3rd Anniversary" on the front, and a picture of the exhaust on the inside. I was waiting ALL day to give it to him! I even broke down and told him I had a surprise for him. If you know me, you know my big mouth.

So of course he almost shit his pants when I gave him the card. He couldn't believe it. It was so fun!

So tomorrow, I'm taking a half day off work to spend the day with him (he has off), then we have dinner plans with my dad, then Saturday we go to the state fair! I'm excited for our anniversary weekend, it should be so fun!

Back to work - I have to get through today and half of tomorrow...

Work sucks

Work sucks lately. It's been sucky for the past few weeks and I can't seem to shake it off. I'm not sure why exactly, but lots have been going on and barely hanging on. It seems like 5pm can't get here fast enough and even when it gets here, I stay longer to do more work, so I don't get the evil eye from those who think we should work 12 hour days.

On a happier note - Steve and I will be celebrating our 3 year anniversary this weekend. I'm taking a 1/2 day Friday and I'm actually going to leave at 12:15 this time! The last two times I tried using my 1/2 day summer coupons, I didn't end up leaving until 3pm. So, I've made it perfectly clear that I'm leaving at 12:15. We're going to the State Fair with Tom and Nikki on Saturday, so that should be a ton of fun. We plan on ending the day with dinner at Dinosaur BBQ. It's like the best BBQ place ever!

We didn't do too much this past weekend, Friday night Steve and I went to the mall, then went to see Step Brothers. It was sooo funny...we laughed the entire time. Steve could barely hold it together. It was a fun date night. Saturday I had lunch with an old friend. I mean old. I knew this kid when I was like 9 years old. It was good to catch up and it wasn't as awkward as I thought it would be.

Sunday Steve and I took the dogs to the park, let them run around for over an hour, they swam in the canal. Then we took a nice long bike ride since the weather was so nice and then just relaxed at home for the rest of the evening...very low key for us these days.

Nick will be coming home again for Labor Day and I'm really upset that Tom and Nikki can't make it up. They have a lot to do for the 1st of each month, so it's unlikely they'll be able to come up.

Wish me luck that this week will go by fast...and painlessly.

disturbing - read on CNN.com

I log onto CNN.com each morning to get my daily updates. This morning, I read that the Spanish basketball team playing in the Olympics had taken a picture of themselves, each player using their hands to slant their eyes. I find this completely disturbing and offensive.

To quote from Jose Luis Saez, president of the Spanish Basketball Federation, "It's simply ridiculous," he said. "It was a gesture of affection ... and identification with the Chinese people."

WHAT THE FUCK!? SERIOUSLY? Really? I don't find it amusing, nor do I think it's "identifying with the Chinese people." I don't understand how they could think that this type of gesture would be funny, or a sign of affection. Really? I have just lost respect for the Spanish basketball team. I feel like they are mocking us.

Madrid is in the running to host the 2016 Olympics. I hope they don't win the bid. What they should have said and done is aologize for their insensitivity and say they weren't thinking when they took that picture, not DEFEND this type of behavior. Ugh.

it's a long ways away...

But I'm getting anxious! I want to start planning NOW! I really wish we could get married earlier versus later...but I know I wouldn't be able to have the wedding I really want if we rushed it.

It's down to 1 year, 9 months. We actually talked about it yesterday, on the way to the park with the dogs...that I don't feel like we're actually getting married. It's hard to realize it, when we haven't done anything yet. I want to sign a contract, any contract. I want to put down deposits. I want something, anything to be set in stone.

I know it'll go by super fast, as it's already the middle of August and we only have to wait until the end of September to sign the contract for Casa Larga - once that's done, I feel like we'll be able to get the ball rolling and start really planning.

Steve hasn't asked any of the guys yet to be groomsmen. I'm not sure why he hasn't asked yet and it's a little annoying. I have asked two people already and I want to ask one more, but I want to ask her, when Steve asks her boyfriend, and then we can ask if their daughter will be in the wedding too, as our 2nd flower girl. So, if he doesn't ask soon, I'll just have to ask Jami and Charli myself. Too bad for Steve. I can't wait for him.

So I've decided to sign up for two aerobics classes with a friend. She read here that I'm trying desperately to lose weight. I did Billy Banks' tae bo last week and I'm going to keep up with that twice a week until aerobics start. Hopefully, having someone do it with me, will help motivate me to go each and every time. I don't want to lose out on my money either...so that should help. Classes don't start until after September 1 and sign up is this week. I have to call them today to see when they are open so I can grab a registration form. I don't want to miss out on the good instructor.

Anyways, had a pretty busy weekend too - Peyton's party Saturday for most of the day, then to Rich's that night for a bon fire. Sunday we took the dogs to a new park to play and run, Hudson rolled in SHIT which was absolutely disgusting...then we went to dinner with mom and dad to celebrate dad's 64th birthday. This weekend will be nice and mellow -it'll give me a chance to clean the house!

motivation

After some motivation from my co-worker who also happens to be a marathon runner...I'm going to put the Billy Banks Tai Bo DVD in tonight and give it a shot. I need to lose this weight. Each day I get more and more frustrated that I have let myself go.

And what's more disheartening is that I only. need. to. lose. 15. pounds. Do you know how hard it is to lose that? It's not an overly significant amount of weight, so I should be able to do it rather quickly and easily right? WRONG. I can't get movtivated. I can't bring myself to do it. I'm not sure why....I still find myself at 10pm wanting a snack. It's so hard!

BUT, I'm going to do it. I'm going to start a log book on how much I weigh at the beginning - which I hate to admit - but I'm a whopping 130lbs. I've never been over 115lbs. I have to get back to that. 130 may not seem like a lot for many of you, but when you're barely 5'2" - it counts. A lot. All that flub is gathering around my mid-section and it's driving me nuts. I've never been this heavy. Ever. Shit - I wore pants that were a size 14 in kids when I was in college. Not that I want to be THAT little - but I definitely can't continue on the road I'm going. Anyways, this log book will help me see what I'm eating, what work out program I'm doing and how much weight I've lost. I have to get a set of weights too.

I have a reason to be skinny. I'm getting married in 1 year 9 months and then we're going on our honeymoon. I do NOT - I repeat, DO NOT want to wear a one piece bathing suit with a skirt on it on my honeymoon. No thanks.

So, tonight is my first attempt at getting skinny. I'll keep updating on my progress. I hope to lose the weight by Chrsitmas time. That's 4+ months I have to lose 15lbs. That's 3.75lb per month.

Wish me luck.

insure the ring - CHECK!

Steve and I went yesterday to our insurance company to insure the ring...finally. It's been over a month and I finally just had to get it done.

It was really easy, I just had to supply the appraisal for the ring, have my agent take a couple of pictures of the ring and bam! We're done! I paid for the entire year, since it's only $58. I also have a no deductible plan, so that means, if I ever lose the ring, or whatever that causes me to not have the ring, I can just claim it and get a new one for free! I guess it includes anything - I can even throw the ring out a window and have it covered - it's under the clause of "mysterious disappearance."

So, what a relief to have it done. That's been number one on my list and now I can cross it off!

Guest List - not as bad as I thought!

So I thought for sure the guest list would be hell. I mean...where do you cut the list? How do you decide who to invite and who not to invite? How do you get around the guilty feeling?

Well, luckily for us, it's not a big deal. So far, we haven't had to cut anyone off our preliminary list. I guess we're just lucky, or don't have a lot of friends!! :) Our combined list, with Steve's parents list and my parents list gets us to about 180. Our venue holds 210. They say to expect 15% of the list to decline, so I imagine about 150 people actually coming. This is good though, so if we want to add one here or there, we have the capacity to do it!

I'm inviting probably 3 tables of just work friends. I wanted to include my friends here, the team I work on...some miscellaneous people here and there. Steve is going to invite some work people too...which is super nice that we can include them.

The problem I'm mostly having is the "out of town" family. When I say out of town, I mean overseas. It's weird, because, I feel like there's a good chance they'll show up, but then again, maybe not. I mean, my dad's side of the family is LOADED. I mean, retire when you're 40 loaded, having multiple homes in multiple countries loaded, and I'm not close to any of them. Would they make the trip? Who knows...they might.

So, we're slowly adding to our list now...to fill in the gaps. There were a few people that weren't on the A-list that we'll be considering inviting now. Of course, then there will be the people who RSVP fast and if they can't make it, we'll be popping additionaly invites to our B-listers. For anyone who reads this - you're probably on the A-list - so don't worry!

Hopefully I'll get this list finalized very soon!

The weekends always go by too fast!

Nick came into town on Friday. He made it to our house around 1:30 or so...I had fallen asleep (surprise) way before that...maybe 11pm or something...so when he got in, Steve and I both stayed up longer to hang out with him. We hung out until around 3:30am then I headed upstairs.

Saturday morning started out with Whammies from Durf's. Kyle came over to get his Escape fixed, so the boys hung out in the garage with with Steve for a little bit. They were done around 3pm, so then Nick and Steve took a nap before we headed over to Jami and Kyle's for a cookout. The slept until like 5pm, so we didn't make it over to their house until after 6pm, but we didn't miss much. Charli was so funny the entire time we were there. As soon as we walked up, Charli was busy dancing on the deck with everyone and when she saw us it was all about "Hi! Hi!" sooo freakin cute.

So instead of going to Riggs' for a bonfire like we had originally planned, we ended up staying at Kyle and Jami's for the night. Jon Bams made it over too, and it had been a few months since we saw him, so it was good time.

We all left around midnight and called it a night.

Nick left around 10:30am Sunday morning - boo. Steve and I decided to go to the Cheesecake Factory for lunch since we hadn't been there in a long time to eat. It was so good (as usual)...then we headed off to Elab for a little bit. Steve bought this grinder thing - not sure what it's called and I got myself a cute little one-hitter.

Then we just went home and relaxed for the rest of the afternoon - it was definitely a lazy Sunday.

And back to work already. Great. Just great. Steve has off today and tomorrow - it's so hard to come to work when he's home...

this weekend

Nick's coming home! I love when Nick comes home. He's the one person who I've asked numerous times to move in with Steve and I and he refuses each time. I love Nick.

Steve and Nick when together, are like they were when they were 12 years old. Going to public places with them is a challenge. I have to watch them like hawks to make sure they don't do anything stupid. Going to Wegmans is the worst. Carts are being pushed everywhere, things are falling off the shelves...but alas! It's so much fun when he's home. I didn't get a chance to hang out with him much the last time we saw him (our camping trip from HELL) so it'll be good to spend some QT with him.

We're going to try to hit up the Park Ave Festival tomorrow if it doesn't rain. We'll see, the weather has been a little nutty the last couple of weeks with torrential downpours during the day, followed by insane sun. Hopefully we can make it there, it's been a few years since I've gone.

Hoping work goes smoothly today so I can leave at 5pm. I have so much cleaning to do before Nick gets here...but he probably won't get here until around midnight tonight. We stocked the fridge for him and I also picked up a box of gushers for him too.

Oh yay!

Invitations and such

It's official. My sister is going to design our invitations. This way, we'll save ourselves some money, my sister will be heavily involved in the wedding, and we'll have really nice invites and all the other things that come along with invites. What she's going to design:
1) Invitations/envelopes
2) RSVP cards/envelopes
3) Directions to/from reception site and hotel
4) Programs
5) Thank you cards/envelopes

This way, each little piece will look similar to each other. What I've found, is that when you buy invitations online or whatever, they don't come with all these pieces. They typically come with just the RSVP card and you have to purchase all the other stuff separately. Now all I have to do is find a printer willing to do this work for a low, low price. It'll put my negotiating skills to the test!

Nothing much else is going on. Steve and I took a stab at gardening on Sunday. Not real gardening, but we realized that one of our trees/bushes or whatever was getting quite overgrown so Steve decided to cut some branches down. I must admit, it looks really nice! So then, I, finally, decided to weed some areas that were getting out of control. Before I realized it, we had spent like 3 hours outside. It was such a nice day, it was good to be out in the sun.

We took the dogs to the park Sunday morning - it had been a long time since they've been there and they had fun swimming. At one point the dogs were running pretty far from us, so Steve and I hid in the brush. It was hilarious watching the dogs run past us, stop, look around and run back. Shelby did end up finding us, so we pulled her into the brush with us and Hudson was running back and forth, back and forth trying to find us. I have to admit - I'm proud that he even bothered trying to find us. He's the type of dog that I thought would just run free and not even care where we were. So finally, he found us - it was so funny.

Then this couple arrive with their 6 dogs and they had absolutely no control over these dogs. Two ran off into the woods immediately after being released from their vehicle. The husband went off screaming loudly at these dogs to come back - like that would work. I'm sure your dog would LOVE to come running back to you, while you're screaming that you're going to kick it's ass when it gets back to you. Riiiight. Good luck. So Hudson is off with that man, trying to locate his two dogs and Steve and I think it's about time we left. Hudson is soooo far away from us and we're calling his name and telling him that we're about to go and here he comes, running like the wind, straight for the truck. What a good boy. He made us look really good, with allllll those dogs running amuck, he still recalled really good. Phew. I was NOT about to chase him through the woods. Maybe that $100 OB class actually worked?

Nick is coming up Friday night. I can't wait to see him! I didnt' get enough Nick time when we went camping for obvious reasons, so it'll be nice to have him around for a couple days.

am I crazy?

For those of you who know me well, you'd know that I'm not creative. I don't usually have good ideas and I don't typically think "out of the box." For as long as I can remember, my sister has been the creative one. She can draw, write, take amazing photos etc. I can't seem to capture that moment.

I have a DIY guru friend who did made ALL her own wedding stuff. IE: Invitations, programs, save-the-dates, aisle runner, banners, center pieces, unity candle etc. She's even selling this stuff on the side for other brides-to-be. Very cool stuff. Very time consuming. I never thought that I'd do any of this myself. I'm more of the "I'll just pay someone to do it for me" - I think I got that from my dad. He tends to not want to be bothered by much, so he hires almost everything out.

However, now that we're engaged, we have to make sure we stay within our budget. It's not that easy when you're limited with funds. Yes, our parents (fortunately) are capable of helping us out with finances, but they aren't paying for the entire thing, nor do we want them to. We'll have to shell out a good chunk of our own money.

So, I've been doing preliminary research on items such as invitations. WOW. EXPENSIVE! I never even had a thought about how much these cost, until of course I looked online. Yeah, I don't think we'll be spending $3000 + for invitations. People throw those away! I'd rather spend the money of food and open bar. I'd rather spend extra money on the photographer. So I think I've decided, with the help of my friend (who happens to work with me too, and is a creative person) that I will design our invites. When I say design, I really mean finding something I love online and showing my friend Michelle who can make a similar design. I like straight lines, simplicity and elegance. I think we can do it....I think. I have to get costs for printing them, but again, my industry lends itself to these types of vendors so I have easy access. But then I think to myself, is it worth it to spend the time to trim and assemble 200 invites? If you think about it, it's not just invites we'd be assembling. It'd be invite itself, the little cards that are included (directions, hotel information, RSVP cards, RSVP envelopes), programs, table numbers etc.

I haven't yet decided if I'm up to this challenge. I do think though, it would save us a lot of money to do it myself. My sister is coming home for 6 months. Maybe she can design my invites and I don't have to pay her as much as I'd pay my friend. I mean c'mon, she's my sister. I just don't know if she's got the programs on her computer to do such things. I'll have to check.

I think that's probably the only thing I'd be doing myself. Ugh. I'm just not sure I'd be able to pull it off.

"How did you meet"

For 99% of the people who know Steve and I, they already know this answer. But, after telling people that we're now engaged, they have a lot of the typical questions. "How'd he do it?" "How long have you been dating?" "Do you have a date?" "How did you meet?" So, I figure, for those of you who don't know, here's our story:

He was 13. I was 14. We were in Ian Zink's backyard. I was there with a few friends, he was there throwing a football around with others. We hadn't yet been introduced, so I didn't even know his name. Before I know it, my head gets SLAMMED with the football. I turn around and FREAK out on him. Why the hell would you throw a football into a crowd of people? So anyways, I wasn't very fond of him early on. Him and his black BOSS jeans and wife beater tank top on.

I started hanging out with all of those guys shortly after this incident and as it turned out, Steve and I became really good friends. People have asked numerous times, did it ever go any further than that? NO! It really didn't! He wasn't my type and he was 2 grades below me. I would go to him with guy problems, problems in general...we chatted many, many times just the two of us, trying to get through life. I have very fond memories of us sitting in the adirondack chairs on his driveway until super late at night, just chatting about life and our problems and how to get through them. Because, clearly, at 17 or 18 years old, life is HARD.

I got ditched the week before my junior prom. I didn't have a date. I pulled into Steve's driveway and cried to him about it. He offered to take me. I was excited for him to be my date, as the rest of our friends were going "as friends." It was the best time ever. I'm so glad I took Steve to my prom. We'll have those memories forever. Aaaannnnd it's super funny to see our prom pictures of when I was 17 and he was 16. Insane.

Then I find out years later that he had formed a crush on me after prom. Hmm...no wonder why he was calling me more! But I didn't find this out until probably 2-3 years after prom. I'm glad I didn't know, as I'm not sure if we would've remained as close as we did if I had known he liked me. That would have just been awkward I think.

So times goes by, I leave for college...I lose touch with all my old high school friends. All but Steve that is. We still called each other every once in a while. We still saw each other when we'd visit home for holidays or breaks. I drove my new Jetta to his house in 2003 so he could take it for a spin. I went to visit him in Chicago in 2003 and that was a bit awkward, since I could tell he would've been open to a more than platonic relationship. Fortunately though, nothing happened and it was a great time.

Finally, we're both done with school and we both have good jobs. I started hanging out again with my old high school friends and it was as though I had never left. It was so awesome. I started coming home every weekend, starting April 2004 (right before I graduated) and Steve and I were back to our old selves again. Then, one August weekend in 2005 , I invited a few people up to my condo in Buffalo. We drank ourselve stupid that weekend - hell, the bars are open til 4am!

That first night Steve and I shared a drunken kiss. For 3 weeks, we didn't talk about "the kiss" - I even asked my Buffalo friends what I should do. Do I like him? Does he like me? Was it just a drunken kiss? Does he even think about it? My friends in Buffalo told me not to risk it, what if it didn't work out and we threw our friendship out the door? Our friendship to me was/is so important that I didn't think we should proceed with a relationship. Besides, he had just gotten out of a on again off again relationship with his now stalker. He had just broken up with her 3 weeks prior to our kiss. Was I a rebound?

All my friends at home told me to go for it. They told me that he's been waiting 8 years to be with me. So I went for it. I had to. But I was still having thoughts of "do I really like him? Enough to mention it?"

Well, it was mentioned and he was all for it. I was hesitant and reluctant, but then I figured, I'd have to give my all to know if it's worth it.

And man...am I glad I took the risk! Because this whole time I was looking for my soulmate and he was right there - the entire time.