Warning graphic photos to follow!

Bailey had a bump on his side & the vet recommended removing it. He went in for surgery a week ago today, and his stitches opened up a lot. It is freaking me out that he has this open wound, but the vet has been sent these photos & says that he will be fine. What do you think?


Here is the poor guy with the cone we got after those stitches popped open...



UPDATE: The vet is going to fix him up tomorrow, so hopefully this thing heals a lot quicker!

7 Didya Knows...

1. I am OCD about money. I check my bank account 10 times a day and have lost count of the budgets I've created.

2. As much as I hate to admit it, I'm very much a creature of habit. If we go to a restaurant, I pretty much always order the same thing. Also, traditions mean the world to me & it upsets me if they get messed up or change.

3. I once worked at Giant Eagle in HS & I would spend my saturday's closing with my boss, drinking jack daniels down home punch that he would bring in. Counting down drawers & drinking underage = good times.

4. I'll tell you my opinion & can be brutally honest (to the point of bitchy) at times. I've tried to stop doing this, but it's hard for me to stop.

5. I secretly like dogs more than I let on. But only dogs who do not bark & jump on me.

6. My first car was a Ford Windstar that had no reverse. I hit a car in the Sea World parking lot one time because I couldn't back out of a space I thought I would fit into. Please imagine driving a car and not having reverse, it makes life difficult!

7. I moved 10 times before I turned 14.

Portland Photos

Along the Columbia River Gorge

Before the Wedding

Reason we were there!

Washington

Home

So I've spent most of this week catching up on sleep. I have been exhausted since we left for Portland- mostly in part to me being sick the whole past week & a half.

Portland was beautiful- I wish I would have had more time to spend out there. Ben & Cassie's wedding was very nice, and they had a gorgeous day. It was nice to spend time with Brian's entire family (minus some of the Tsaftarides). We'll definitely be planning another trip back in the next few years!

My parents divorce is turning a little nasty. I don't know why divorce brings out the worst in people, but I wish it would just go away. I just want to wake up and find out the past month was a nightmare.

16 shopping days until I turn 25...wow a quarter of a century!

Leaving on a jetplane...

I leave bright & early tomorrow morning for Portland, OR to attend Brian's cousins wedding.

I'm very excited because:
A) I've never been to the west coast.
B) I need a vacation away from life in Ohio.
C) I love weddings!

This is the last vacation I have planned for awhile (Only because I'm now out of vacation time at work...) so I am going to enjoy every second of it.

Of course though, I had to get sick last weekend & the effects are still lingering...hopefully it is better by tomorrow!

25 things...

Inspired by Colleen, here are 25 things that inspire me:

1. Photographs. I could cover my walls with memories captured on film.
2. A spring day in Athens, Ohio.
3. People who are passionate about something.
4. A baby's smile.
5. Song lyrics.
6. Walking around NYC.
7. Smell of fresh cut grass.
8. Girl's nights out.
9. Fallen knotties. They entertain, listen & support!
10. A family cook-off, chili, ribs, salsa- you name we do it!
11. My DVR.
12. A good book.
13. Dark chocolate.
14. Students who want to better their lives.
15. A glass of wine.
16. Living a debt-free life.
17. The perfect outfit-on sale!
18. Optimistic people.
19. Reuniting with old friends.
20. The simple beauty of Santorini, Greece.
21. Fresh flowers for no reason.
22. Daily phone calls with my mom.
23. Rocknes cheese fries.
24. Sappy movies.
25. The sounds of a baseball game.

August

Happy August folks!

That means 30 shopping days until my big 2-5. I accept anything from coach.com. ;)

Tonight I get to meet my lovely "internet" friends for dinner & am very excited. My goal for tonight is to NOT encourage Colleen to crawl into random limos. We'll see how that goes.

My baby sister turns 18 tomorrow. Happy Birthday Caiti-Nickle!


I'll be back tomorrow with some photos of dinner & my new hair I'll be rocking. Stay tuned folks!

update

So it's been a long time since I last posted. I've had 2.5 weeks to think/cry over the announcements that happened within the same hour 2 Sundays ago. I'm still NOT okay with either of them, but am not feeling sick about them anymore.

1. My 22 yr old sister is pregnant.
2. My parents are separating.

I'm devastated over my sister. I don't know if it is because Brian & I are already trying to have our own kids, but I really can't even talk/look at her without wanting to cry. I wanted nothing more than for our family to be the first to do things the "right way" and now it's pretty much all ruined. I know I may sound selfish, etc.. but I really wanted to make my mom a grandma first. I feel now that if I do get pregnant it won't be as exciting because everyone will feel that I am just pregnant because my sister got pregnant. No one in our family knew we were trying yet because we wanted everything to be a surprise. The first thing my cousin said to me was "you better not get pregnant now because you have to support your sister".

I don't think I should feel this way, but I really can't help it.

That is pretty much the news I've got & AF just showed up so onto the next cycle.

that which does not kill me, will make me stronger..

oh the irony of my last post.

baby boom 2008

Warning: baby talk!

The worst thing about WANTING to be pregnant, is everyone around you being a fertile myrtle. Don't get me wrong, I'm estactic for all my friends who are knocked up and I know not all of them got pregnant in one shot (although it seems that way). I just want to join you, that's all.

This is where my planning gets the best of me. Right now I'm trying to plan a vacation for next winter. I keep stopping and thinking, I could be XX weeks pregnant by then if I get pregnant this month. I just need to chill (and I know this, so I'm working on it) and let things happen the way they are intended to happen. Far easier said than done, my friends.

In the mean time...I'm going to just keep praying to the baby making gods that this is my month...and not plan any vacations for April of 09!

Vacation

I have decided I am not driving down 77S for at least 5 years. I must now only vacation where planes can land or find alternate routes.

Vacation was nice, pretty low-key and the usual bickering between siblings. Let's recap:

Our Home for the week

I got my butt kicked in go-karting.

Saw a beautiful sunset


Went putt putting.


Hung out on the beach



Jet skied. Although I wouldn't let Brian dump me off the back so he was not happy.

Brian & I on the pier.

Now, onto the next trip: Portland, OR for Ben & Cassie's wedding. Can't wait, since I've never been to the west coast.

Next Friday Brian & I are participating in a golf scramble with his mom & stepdad. I have never stepped foot on a golf course, so it should be pretty interesting. I did get Brian to agree to me getting a "golf" outfit. I have to look cute if I don't know what the heck I am doing!

Finally

Pictures of our deck

And for fun, my new car!

I can't believe how quickly June has gone by, we leave for Emerald Isle, NC in 8 days! I love summer, but hate how the weekends seem too short. I'll be back after vacation with some more in depth blogging, I promise!

May flowers

I've been MIA. Here is a brief rundown of the month of May:

-my first NEO GTG. Complete with random limos and rap battling.
-First Communions
-My sister's senior prom.
-Taking my mom on her first trip outside of the United States.
-Road trip #1 to Cincinnati. Watched the Reds sweep the Indians :(
-5 days later...road trip #2...Charlotte, NC. Hung out on a lake & soaked up some rays with my fellow OU alumni.
-New car, Ford Fusion- I love it!
-Starting to TTC. It's babymaking time ;)

If I was at home I'd post sweet photos of all these events, minus the whole babymaking thing. I don't think you guys want to see pictures of that ;)

Word problems?

As soon as I pressed publish I had a co-worker come and share this story with me:

A student wanted to test out of a class (strategies, which is a basic math course). He asked "what kind of word problems" were on the test, so they were explaining it to him and he thought they were "paragraphs with the words all mixed up and you have to put them in the correct order"

Right now I need an emoticon....

Adventures in deck building

Deck building began last week. I will post pictures of the progress.

First story to share: Brian and his friend started out by renting an auger to drill holes for the posts. I was upstairs and I noticed it was quiet for awhile out back. I look out the window and see both of them staring down a hole. They got the auger stuck about 5 feet down. After an hour and a half they finally dug it out. We all think auger's should have reverse though!

I leave for the cruise with my mom in 3 days and I can't wait for a break from work. I need some relaxing by the ocean/pool/bar.

Shout-out to my girl Colleen on her 5 weeks of non-smoking. Woohoo!

Eat, Pray, Love

I have been reading this book for the past few nights. I usually read through a book quickly, but I've been pacing myself to actually stop and think during this one. While I was reading I found this to perfectly describe my mind:

"I have searched frantically for contentment for so many years in so many ways, all these acquisitions and accomplishments--they run you down in the end. Life, if you keep chasing it so hard, will drive you to death. Time--when pursued like a bandit-- will behave like one; always remaining one county or one room ahead of you, changing its name and hair color to elude you, slipping out the back door of the motel just as you're banging through the lobby with your newest search warrant, leaving only a burning cigarette in the ashtray to taunt you. At some point you have to stop because it won't. You have to admit you can't catch it. That you're not supposed to catch it. At some point, you gotta let go and sit still and allow contentment to come to you."

I am always planning things, months or years in advance. I have our budget set for the next year. I worry about EVERYTHING before it even occurs. I always want what's next, and I don't enjoy the present enough. I want to have a baby, even though I know I should enjoy the newlywed life. But I can't stop planning a pregnancy that isn't even happening yet. When I think of the next year, I always think well if I am pregnant at this time, blah blah blah.

Brian says I should be happy with what I have now, and I truly am happy. I want to live and not worry about stupid things I have no control or power over. I have to realize, I can't plan every detail of my life before it happens.

I think I have made progress, but I know I have a long way to come still.

Weekends

Last weekend (4/19) Erin & Chad tied the knot. The weather was great (except for a bit of rain) and everything turned out nice. I have realized I am way too critical of wedding things now and I must of been a bridezilla because I had my day of planned out in 15-30 minute increments. And we stayed on track, besides the whole priest being late situation!

Here is a photo of the lovely bride and myself.


On another note: If you are a future bride, PLEASE PLEASE take this advice: LOVE your photographer. Don't just settle because of budget issues. These photos will be your memories you show and look at to remember your day. You don't want to be disappointed or think they are horrible.

This past weekend we had Mike and Rebecca come and visit. Saturday we attended the Yanks/Indians game, which of course the Tribe won :) Finally on track for the season, and sneaking up on the White Sox. Grady unfortunately sprained his ankle during the game, which made me sad. His streak for active games has come to an end after he was on the bench for Sunday's game.

Saturday night we tried Three Birds restaurant in Lakewood. It was delicious and had a great atmosphere! I look forward to trying it out again this summer so we can enjoy the patio they have. I highly recommend it if you are looking for a nice dinner out :)

I am just counting down the days until vacation at this point...I cannot wait to not have to worry about work or anything else for a few days.

real quick

I was the first of my close friend's to get married and it was hard to relate them on certain levels. Most of my friends don't care about home ownership, in-laws, etc...

There are people you meet in life that you just "click" with and are at the same place as you in life. It's funny, because you may never have met those people, or you may not see them often (I swear we're coming to IL Angela!). It's always nice to know they are out there and remind you that you're not going through it alone :)

Late night cleaning

The past few nights I have been getting this urge to vacuum at 10 pm. Brian thought I was nuts last night because I made him go bring up the vacuum so I could clean our bedroom carpet. I figure if I am thinking about it I should just do it!

I have to give props to my husband on being so great. When I came home from work on Monday there was a coach bag sitting on the kitchen table. I opened it up and waiting inside were the Coach sunglasses I have been going back and forth about if I should buy them or not. I am a hard woman to surprise, so I was genuinely shocked by them! Now I wonder how many Coach coupons he hides from me so I don't go and buy purses.

My new shades:

Everyone also should go see the movie 21. I have been on a Vegas kick for awhile now, and this movie made it even worse. I wish I was a high roller! Maybe one day....

Soft feet

Seriously my feet are so incredibly soft right now. I love getting pedicures.

Last night hit up the Tribe game for some dollar hot dogs. Randomly my good friend from OU drove up from C-bus to attend it, so I got to catch up with him for awhile. I wish I had time to plan a trip down there soon. Maybe this summer, life is so busy right now.

Erin's wedding is in 2 days, I'll have photos on Monday. I hope her dress fits & the weather stays nice :) I love wedding season and Saturday is the kick-off for me.

Baseball

Today I was reading one of my favorite blogs, Touch 'Em All, and realized that Alyssa Milano & I could be best friends based on our love for baseball. We agree on many things including:

1. Never leave the game early. I have left ONE game before it was over. It was freezing, I was not dress appropriately and left. I missed Grady hitting an inside the park home run. NEVER EVER will I do that again. I was upset for days with myself.
2. We both started our love for baseball watching it with our dad's.
3. The wave. I am a total cheeseball and LOVE doing the wave.
4. Nachos. But really, who doesn't love nachos at the ballpark?
5. The excitement of opening day. Everyone has a clean slate and the smell of being back in the stadium.

The next few months are going to fly by. Not that I'm complaining, because most of those weekends are filled visiting with friends we don't see very often. A lot of these plans also revolve around baseball, so that makes me a happy lady.

28 days until vacation...

Bad day.

I need a vacation. Is it May 11th yet??

Crackberry

Yes I've joined the club and officially am the proud owner of a PINK blackberry pearl. I've had it for a short hour now and have already wondered why it took me this long to give in and finally get one. Today Brian went and applied for the permit to build our deck. I wonder what he will talk about once our deck is actually built. Hopefully he does not start to babble about Fargo, North Dakota again like last month...seriously that was a rough time in our short marriage. I had other stuff to talk about today, but I must go learn to use my blackberry.

Student of the day:
Working in a financial aid office I run into a lot of dumb students. Today's student of the day came into my office to sign some paperwork. As he is leaving he asks if he can look at my wedding ring. He then explains to me that my ring is made of glass and most women cannot tell the difference between a glass ring and a diamond ring. In fact he tells me about a study he did with his friends to prove this. Where do people come up with this stuff? Be on the look out for many blogs about the competence of the average student I see.

Our story

We met back at OU Homecoming weekend, thanks to our dear friend Fallon. She took this lovely first picture of us that very morning. A shout out to Mary and Tess for the delicious jello shots that morning as well.

After doing the whole long distance thing for 9 months, Brian knew he couldn't be away from me any longer so he got a job in Cleveland.

4 months later, after a long weekend of moving into our first apartment together I got this rock:

We spent the next year and a half planning our wedding, which was (of course) the best day of our lives...so far...


Since October 6th we've been busy traveling, working on our house and enjoying the whole newlywed thing.