Remember That Time the Cricket Spider Made Me Cry?

like. a. little. freakin'. baby.

Remember this post?

The one about "Horace?"

Here's an update.

I haven't been able to teach him how to do my laundry.

In fact, I think he hates me for throwing

countless whatever-is-within-reach items at him.

How do I know this?

I walked downstairs to the basement last night

to throw some scrubs into the wash for work next week.

What do I see waiting for me at the bottom of the stairs?

Not one, not two, not three

but FOUR Horaces.

With tiny pitchforks and torches in their hands

as if to say,

"Hey Lady, you wanna mess with us?"

What did I do?

I started crying.

And carrying on like a small child.

And screaming for my husband.

Who probably thought I was having a heart attack

what with all the screaming and carrying on nonsense.

Hubs, er, Prince Charming,

er, my Knight in Shining Armor

quickly came to my rescue and

squashed those tiny (GIANT) buggers with this

month's JCREW catalog. (le sigh).

Only after he could catch his breath-

what with all the laughing he was doing.

At my expense, of course.

I hate my basement.

And doing laundry.

Marital Musings.

AP: [whining] It's been months since we've gone away together!

Hubs: We just went on a vacation August. And one in July. And one in March.

AP: [still whining] I know, but we went so many places this year- I caught the travel bug!

Hubs: You're the one who can't get any time off!

AP: I have cabin fever.

Hubs: Eat some lemons.

AP: [thoroughly and utterly confused] Lemons? Why?

Hubs: Oh, sorry. That's for scurvy.

Cabin fever and scurvy are not the same thing, my darling husband.

Scurvy is for pirates and sailors. Arrrrrgh!

Wordless Wednesday. National Park Style.

o c t o b e r 25 2 0 0 9

v a l l e y f o r g e

n a t i o n a l p a r k

Our Cotton Anniversary.

October 27, 2007.

If you are wondering,

yes, I did make my husband drive all over town this weekend

so that I could snap a few photos of our anniversary's corresponding number dates.

And yes, I did make my husband drive repeatedly

past that Radar Speed Sign until the perfect 27 popped up.

All while I stood on the side of the road,

albeit creepily,

taking pictures of the black SUV that kept driving

up and down the street.

If that doesn't define true love,

I don't know what does.

Traditionally, a second wedding anniversary

is often marked by gifts of cotton.

Diamonds aren't gifted until your sixtieth anniversary.

To which my husband replied,

"I love being traditional."

Last year, we celebrated our paper anniversary

with a couple of plane tickets and a Marriott penthouse suite in Marco Island, Florida.

This year? Hubs bought me the comfiest pair of North Face fleece sweatpants

and the most adorable vintage Phillies hat I've ever seen.

(Um, Hello World Series. AGAIN!).

I couldn't possibly live in the Philadelphia area for over eight years and

not own any Phillies paraphenalia!

He also bought me a few cotton items that,

although make for perfect marriage-material,

they aren't exactly blogpost material,

if you catch my drift...

I can't yet tell you what I bought Hubs, being that it hasn't exactly arrived yet-

but know that it's custom made and absolutely adorable.

When Hubs found out that 3 years of marital bliss

is often marked by gifts of leather,

I kid you not, the biggest boy-like grin spread across his face

and I swear I saw him do a couple of covert fist pumps.

Ahh, husbands.

Happy Anniversary, Hubs.

You are everything I could've ever dreamed of

in a partner, a lover, a husband and a best friend.

And it only keeps getting better.

I love you much and lot's and bunches.

Forever and Always.

What We Did When Our Basement Flooded.

What, were you expecting to see galoshes?

Angry faces and buckets?

Sum pumps and dehumidifiers?

Well, sorry to disappoint!

I'm sure I've mentioned once or twice,

that our basement floods at the slightest hint of precipitation

heavier than say, a drizzle.

So why not make the best of a crummy situation?

Cue champagne and my MIL's amazing

yet super secret chocolate chip cookie recipie.

What basement flood?

It was a Saturday night well spent, indeed.

can you believe

that our wedding photographer

never took any staged shots

of our wedding rings?

i know, me either.

i was (and still am)

quite perturbed.

and it's been almost two years

since our wedding day.

but don't worry.

i plan on

remedying that

immediately.

and YES! I did take those pictures all by my amateur self!

My Halloween House. See? I Wasn't Kidding!

Yesterday, I posted about how much my Dad and I love Halloween (and candy). In that post, I also mentioned that we always had the best decorated house on the block. Okay, "best" doesn't even describe it. Take a look for yourself...

What's even spookier? My Dad would remove the plate glass from our front door and dress as the Grim Reaper, sitting on a chair behind the door, turning his head to follow the movements of the trick-or-treaters. Okay, now tell me that wouldn't make you pee your pants? No? Well, how about when he would reach through the door, where the glass should have been, to hand you your candy? That is, if you even made it up to the front door...

I Caved. And Have the Candy Coma to Prove It.

image via

I love Halloween.

My Dad loves it even more.

I'm proud to say we've always had

the best Halloween decorations on the block.

Some may think them over the top,

what with the fog machines,

strobe lights and scary music

piped through the open windows,

but nonetheless, our house always looked

AWESOME.

I love candy.

I've been a candy-holic since being introduced to the stuff in grade school.

You know, I grew up in a house where

I wasn't allowed candy, sugary cereal, bubblegum, etc.

But enter grade school?

And kid's birthday parties? And funfetti cupcakes?

I was hooked.

This is our first Halloween in a real house,

which means real trick-or-treaters,

which means we obviously needed to stock up on lot's of candy.

Because you know, I'll be damned if we were going to be

that house

that gives out something

lame

like toothbrushes or bags of pretzels.

Hubs and I must've come home with 10lbs. of candy.

And a really great tub to dump it all in.

Which is where the candy has been sitting,

in bags, since we brought it home over three weeks ago.

And I've been so good.

That is, until last night...

I caved.

The temptation was just too great.

And that mini Twix

And that York Peppermint Patty

And that mini Snickers

And that second mini Snickers

was just too damn good.

Attention National Geographic:

image via

I'm pretty sure there's a species of bug hanging out in my basement yet to be discovered by entomologists. It is impervious to Febreeze, Clorox bleach and Downy wrinkle release. I swear it's the size of a large toddler. Every time I go to throw a bath towel over it, it quickly jumps away. Quite quick on it's legs, all eight of them. And let me tell you, this thing can get some serious air!

Please take note, I've taken to naming it Horace.
And I would like for it to vacate the premises immediately.
Unless that is, I can teach it to do my laundry.

Not Your Usual ILYMTC Post.

Even I know we can't always be sunshine and gumdrops around here.

And I struggled big time while writing this post and sharing it with the web world.

But, it's a part of my life!

And that's why I blog.

To remember. To share.

October 15th

May 26th, 2008

I remember walking up to my husband as he stood in the kitchen making dinner that night, hands shaking with that feeling in the pit of my stomach.

I had just gotten home from work, still wearing my scrubs.

I was

Unsure. Anxious.

Excited. Nervous.

Happy?

Although my husband and I were unbelievably shocked and most definitely unprepared for that little pink plus sign that quickly appeared before our eyes, we embraced our discovery with both our arms and hearts wide open.

Although we weren't trying, as a matter of fact, we purposefully not trying (Go us!) we began to embrace the new life we created and as that new life grew, so did our excitement. Each day I awoke and thanked God for this new life and before bed, I prayed each night that He would keep this new life safe and healthy, if that's what was meant for us.

I remember saying those words out loud, over and over again.

We bought baby books. We talked the name game. We pictured our baby inheriting my husband's curly hair, his freckles, my long legs and dark eyes, my allergies and our shared history of having to wear glasses since grade school. (Ha!)

Hubs patiently put up with my mood swings, my aversion to chicken and my ravenous appetite. He listened to me whine all day, every day about feeling nauseous. And absolutely exhausted.
We shared our news with family and friends.

We went on a previously planned vacation to Martha's Vineyard and each time I took at those pictures, I think, "I was pregnant then." Four weeks later, we vacation again in Ocean City, Maryland and I miscarried just shy of my 14th week, in August of 2008.

Just when I thought the worst was over

and I was in the clear; steadily trekking our way into the 2nd trimester.

I remember my husband running every single red light on our way to the nearest emergency room. I remember the admitting nurse, as she placed my IV, saying to me, "Is this your first pregnancy? What a bummer."

Never. In. My Life.

Admitting ER Nurse, if you're reading this, your cold bedside manner put many nurses to shame that day. I was embarassed for you.

Hubs and I look back now and we laugh.

My husband held my hand the entire time. He brushed my hair off my face and kissed my tears. He made phone calls I didn't have the words to make.

He held my IV bag during countless trips to the bathroom.

He did so much more.

And I knew then, God had other plans for us.

I can't say that my miscarriage shed new light on my faith, or that I wasn't angry with God or myself at times, because I was. I struggled. Some days, I still do. But, it did reaffirm that sometimes cliche and antiquated saying, "everything happens for a reason."

Someone told me, "Maybe God wanted us to have the perfect baby."

And that seemed like the best consolation at the time.

I knew we weren't ready.

People will say, "Oh, you're never ready!"

But we were still getting to know each other as

husband and wife. We still had places to see and things to do

before begining our family.

What I went through, phsyically and emotionally, strengthened my relationship with my husband in ways I never thought were possible. We grew together in both grief over what we lost and happiness as we made new plans for our future together.

My love for him grew tenfold

as I watched him push aside his grief to console mine.

We brought Sullivan home two months later.

And we couldn't be happier.

We make EXCELLENT dog parents.

Deep in my heart,

I know this is exactly where we are supposed to be right now.

I'm scared for the future.

I'm afraid that it might happen again.

But I know I have to have faith and trust in the simple fact

that there is someone else out there with a plan for me.

And if and when we see

that little pink plus sign again?

We'll be ready.

Afterall, those maternity Citizen jeans that I

spent a ridiculous amount of money on are

waiting...

tucked away in a box in the attic.

With our books.

And our journals.

And our very first ultrasound.

Wordless Wednesday. Wish I Was Here...

t u r k s & c a i c o s - j u l y 2009

For Moi? Merci!

I am such a terrible blogger! So many of you have tagged me for awards and it's been weeks and weeks and weeks since I've posted about them! Please do not think for a single moment that I am ungrateful! I love receiving these awards- and I love that so many of you love reading my blog as much as I love writing it! My blog award sidebar is in desperate need of an update and I promise that it's in the works! Very recently, I've also welcomed my 200th (and then some) followers and truly, each and every one of you makes my day! Thank you, thank you for reading!

I've been a bit of a blog-slacker lately, but "life things" have picked up a bit in the last couple of weeks and let me just say, my plate is a bit full at the moment. But enough about that serious shtuff..

Two of my very favorite bloggers, The Luckiest Mrs. and Cupcakes with Nic, graced me with this lovely little blog award. If you are not presently reading/following either of these lovely ladies, you are truly missing out.

Hey, What are you waiting for? Go check out their blogs!

Here are the Rules:
1. You Can Only Use One Word!
2. Pass this along to your favorite bloggers!
3. Alert them that you have given them this award!
4. Have Fun!

1. Where is your cell phone? pocket.
2. Your hair? bun.
3. Your mother? awesome.
4. Your father? bestmanever (how's that for one word?!)
5. Your favorite food? sushi.
6. Your dream last night? scary!
7. Your favorite drink? coke.
8. Your dream/goal? vineyard.
9. What room are you in? breakroom.
10. Your hobby? music.
11. Your fear? loss.
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? family.
13. Where were you last night? work.
14. Something that you aren’t? tan.
15. Muffins? pumpkin.
16. Wish list item? yurman.
17. Where did you grow up? jersey.
18. Last thing you did? lunch.
19. What are you wearing? scrubs.
20. Your TV? big.
21. Your pets? sheepie!
22. Friends? yay!
23. Your life? blessed.
24. Your mood? complacent.
25. Missing someone? Hubs!
26. Vehicle? LOVE.
27. Something you’re not wearing? earrings.
28. Your favorite store? JCrew.
29. Your favorite color? navy.
30. When was the last time you laughed? today.
31. Last time you cried? september.
32. Your best friend? Hubs.
33. One place that you go to over and over? JCrew.
34. One person who emails me regularly? Hubs.
35. Favorite place to eat? Savona.

Dezzy Lou Where are You nominated me for this little diddy. I'm a newbie to her little slice of blog heaven and can't get enough! I've spent most of my lunch hour catching up on her posts!

Because I'm such a good little rule follower, here's my list of 7 (more) things you may or may not know about me!

1. Hubs and I will be married for TWO years at the end of this month. We dated for three years before becoming engaged. We were engaged for approximately 18 months before we became Mr. and Mrs. M. and as of January 27, 2010, we'll have been together for a whopping 7 years. Ask Hubs and he'll say, "7 years? That's it? Feels like a lifetime." Funny guy.

2. I can sort of play the piano. I've played the drums since I was in the fifth grade and have recently (okay fine, within the last year) attempted to teach myself how to play the acoustic guitar. (I secretly want to have that coffee shop girl-and-her-guitar thing going on...)

3. I can only play Smoke on the Water and a handful of Christmas songs on the guitar. Therefore, I should probably give up my dream of being a mysterious, emo-esque coffee shop girl-with-her-guitar.

4. I love Christmas music. Sometimes, when I'm around the house doing those silly little house chores that have the ability to suck the absolute life out of you, like tidying up, vacuuming or dusting, I will throw on a Christmas mix circa 2001 and it just seems to make me uber productive. Weird, I know.

5. I love my job. I don't blog about it often, but I LOVE it. Not many people can honestly say that. I've always wanted to be a nurse and I can't imagine working in any other specialty than Oncology.

6. I have Essential Idiopathic Hypertension. (This is a new one for me, just diagnosed last month after a couple visits to the ER and a rendezvous or two with my primary doctor, who, by the way, is nearly 100 years old and ilovehimandiwanthimtobemygrandpaRIGHTNOW). I'm twenty six years old and I take the same blood pressure medication as some of my friends' grandparents. I may be a great nurse but I make for one terrible patient. I can't remember to take my meds at the same time every day! Maybe I just need to retire now. Hubs, whatchya think?

7. I didn't learn how to swim until I was 8 years old. No joke. Private swim lessons in your own backyard? Fail. Group lessons at the town lake? Fail. Group lessons at the town pool? Maybe it had something to do with the creepy seaweed that always managed to find my feet? Fail. It wasn't until I was enrolled in lessons at a local spa that I finally learned how to swim. I.was. 8.

I now tag the following bloggers, my NEWEST and most FABULOUS followers, for BOTH of these prestigious little bloggy awards:

Jenni at HelloWorld

Meredith at La Buena Vida

Alisa at Daily Violets

Chelsea at A Colorado Cupcake

that's it for now folks!

.. will return to your regularly scheduled blog posting as soon as I reign in my sanity..

+

(burrs)

=

disaster.

Need a laugh?

Just picture Hubs and I

in our tiny bathtub

with a drool-soaked Sheepie

trying to condition his

multiple patches of

furtangledburrnonsense.

all the while,

he's bodyslamming

Hubs and I

and slurping the water

from the tub faucet.

He just had a rather expensive bath

last weekend.

Typical Saturday.

Now, I'm No Frozen Meal Connoisseur...

Or am I?

but who in their right mind would find a

"Cheesy Smothered Meat Patty"

both appetizing and delectable?

While I was perusing the frozen foods section

for my all too frequent dinner choice

(don't judge, I'm alone with a Sheepie

for most of the week!)

I happened across this beauty.

For starters, aren't the words

"meat patty"

kind of vague?

Personally, it just leaves too

much to the imagination.

Yuck.

Wordless Wednesday. Puppy Playdate!?

junebug & sullivan

I Just Wanted to Take a Minute to Say...

I frickin' LOVE my seat heaters.

So does my freezy little hiney at dark o' clock in the morning.

Birthdays, Birthdays All Around!

In a previous post I mentioned that

Hubs' birthday is October 7th,

but I couldn't very well wish him the

happiest of birthdays

without wishing

this pretty lady

a fabulous

2-6!

Pamcakes and I met through the "M" boys

a few years ago and

and have been almost inseperable ever since!

A match made in heaven, we're both

from North Jersey, lust after a good sale,

are in love with Fall TV shows AND Maryland boys!

Happy Birthday, Lovie!

xxoo

Head on over to her blog,

A Girl, Inspired,

to spread the birthday love!

Happy Birthday, Hubs!

It's a bit early, but this handsome guy

turns a whopping 27 on October 7th!

Tonight, I'll be taking the birthday boy here for a

night of formal dining and fine wine that is sure to

knock his socks off! (As will the outfit I have planned!)

So, what sort of loot did the birthday boy

walk away with this year?

Happy Birthday, sweet husband. I love you and

I hope you enjoy your high performance deep fryer.

Please be sure to wear your brand new Ravens apron

when playing with ridiculously hot oil!

Who's going to sign

us up for Weight Watchers?

A Drawback of a Husband-Less House.

For the last several (okay, ten) days,

I have been driving around with a

fifty pound bag of dog food in the trunk of my car.

One of the drawbacks of having a husband

that works in a different state Monday through Friday?

No man-muscles to carry the heavy stuff into the house.

When Sully ran out of puppy kibble last night,

I even contemplated boiling him chicken and rice

for dinner. A meal that would take longer to prepare

than my own dinner of grilled cheese and salad.

I put on my big girl boots (also known as Uggs)

and trekked outside to lug Sully's dinner into the house.

After a good chuckle or two and watching me struggle with

an awkward fifty pound sack full of kibble,

a couple of lacrosse stick-toting, shaggy-haired high school boys

offered to help an ol' lady out.

Chivalry is not lost.

But I sure do miss my husband's muscles.

I Got Mine. Did You Get Yours?

"You give good needle," says one of my hospital's top Oncologists to me yesterday, after I administered his flu shot. And the flu shots of approximately 70 other Penn staff.

This year, the hospital where I work (one of the Top 10 in the nation, mind you) has mandated that all staff within close patient contact receive both the seasonal flu shot and the H1N1 vaccine (which should be available later this month). Or else, "staff will be subject to termination."

Welp. I got my flu shot. I have the dead arm and body aches to prove it. Did you get yours?

What are your thoughts on mandating vaccines? Especially the brandy-new H1N1?