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7.31.2008

wowza

Can you believe its the last day in July?! This month has flown! And August is already looking pretty busy (outside work, work is calm for me in August), so it will probably pass pretty quickly too. Especially since we just got the all clear on our guest bedroom ceiling (no asbestos, let the room redo truly commence!)... so we'll be finishing that up. AND Trav got the all clear yesterday to remove the boot (which he is thrilled about), for the most part (has to put it back on for any lifting, or if he's going to be on it for long periods of time, etc.)... which means some time in rehab this month, building the muscle back up in that leg, and getting the movement back in his ankle. His doc was really happy and surprised with how well his ankle had healed. Good stuff!

So how did we celebrate Trav's good news? In true form, we ate leftovers and then broke out the Scrabble to play a few rounds. It was fun, although I got grumpy by the end because I kept losing. :-p

Today started off nicely for me since the first face I got to see when I arrived at work was this one:

How could you resist smiling after seeing that face?! :-) I can't!! Even better, he had stopped by with his mommy (on his way to daycare) to drop off these:

They are orange cakes, and they are Jan and my favorites!!

So tasty! They are a light cake with an orange taste to it, with a little bit of creamy filling that is also orange flavored. Miyano's mom sent them to her from Japan with Jan in mind, and luckily for me, Jan likes to share.

Well, time to get me some lunch. Cheers!

7.30.2008

so excited!



I'm so excited for this movie! Only 114 more days! :-)

Hopefully I'll have some more excitement to share later as Trav has a doctor appointment. Here's hoping for being able to take the boot off!

Now I have to get back to work as we are having an event... and of course today its fraught with problems! Argh.

7.29.2008

what happens when I get bored at work...

An oldy, but a goody... in honor of the X-files movie:


And an article about six "real life X-files".

Also, found this great site called PhotoFunia, where you get to make things like this:



(And how could I resist making this one?!)

Good times.

Today is the last day that the boss is away... which means that I really do need to get my ass in gear and get some work done. Yesterday it just wasn't happening, such a case of the Mondays (which is when I made the above). But today I can feel the productivity! So, off I go.



1 week, 4 days until date night with Ro & Pat!
2 weeks, 3 days until my birthday!
2 weeks, 4 days until we spend the night at my parents, so they can spend the night at a nice hotel. :-)
3 weeks, 3 days until we leave for Cape Cod!

7.28.2008

my arms are tired just thinking about it


We had a productive weekend. Busy, tiring, full, relaxing, and productive. Let's see. First off, our fun dinner plans for Saturday night got cancelled/postponed because we had to do a family thing and Ro & Pat had to go out of town. A bummer, but we still had a nice weekend.

Saturday I headed over to the state park to walk alone (since Ro was away), and decided to bring my camera. 11 miles is long, but its longer still when you walk it alone... I'm so used to the constant conversation (its our "girl talk" time), which really makes the miles fly. Oh well, I enjoyed my time and got some pretty pictures.

(This bush was covered in white butterflies, can you see them?)



Dragon-fly on the creek:


Portrait of a walker... aka. These shoes were made for walking... lol.

Once I got home, we had some time to kill before heading to Willy's, so we hit up the matinee of The X-files movie! So exciting, this is one I was dying to see... I'm the biggest X-Files fanatic!

(Skip ahead if you don't want to read the spoilers for this movie.)

::SPOILERS::

Well, I am definitely glad we went to see this, although it maybe wasn't everything I hoped it could be. It definitely had the flavor of the show, and almost just seemed like an extra long episode. But I did feel like David Duchovny (love him, and his acting as I do) didn't come back into Mulder as well as Gillian Anderson came back into Scully. And at points I felt like the movie was just trying to fit in all these details, all these facts about the years between, so that they almost ended up just thowing them at you and didn't necessarily fit them into the plot in a seamless way. Like I thought it was crazy how they just plopped it in there that Scully and Mulder were together, and hey, they had a kid! And he was named William, and he died! All in about 60 seconds. Then, right when it felt like I had digested that, they're possibly breaking up because Scully can't deal with the FBI stuff anymore... and thought they were done with all that.
I liked the case though... the spooky nature of it and the fact that it was very much like one of the old X-files. I like that it kind of got back to a first and second season kind of case. I think people assumed they would go straight to the aliens again, and I'm glad they didn't.
::End Spoilers!::

I'm so glad we went. Its nice having a date with my husband.

The rest of Saturday was taken up with the family stuff, then a lot of lounging (and Travis falling asleep at 9! Long day for the poor boy!).
Sunday I decided to start off, not with my walk, but with some house work! See that border?

That ugly, blah border?

Well, I used the steamer and removed it!

It didn't take too long... the steamer was a freakin G*d-sent! The hardest part was going up and down and up and down and up and down (get it) the step ladder. I had to go around the room twice too, first to scour the whole border, then to do the actual steaming and removing. And once that was done... well, damn were those walls dirty!!

So back up and down the step ladder another dozen times to scrub the walls. Now I'm not one to wash walls (I'm not really big on housework/cleaning, if you haven't noticed)... but really, it had to be done. Especially since we're going to be painting in there. Of course, we'll have to wipe down the walls again before that since we'll be creating quite some dust when we do the ceilings, but still I wanted to at least the the most of it so the next time it really could be a wipe down and not a scrubbing! (And as Trav is still wearing the boot, ladders aren't so do-able for him at the moment.)

(Travis took this picture... thank you lovely husband.) The worst part was how ridiculously sweaty and hot I got because it was already hot and humidy out, but then add to that the steam from the steamer, and the climbing of ladders... well, as you can see, it wasn't pretty.

Plus, damn did my arms hurt by the time I was done with those walls. But I was pretty pleased!

It also helped that while I was finishing up with the last wall, the thunder started rumbling and the sky got dark and the wind picked up (oh yes, lovely lovely wind!). In fact it got so dark I had to turn on the light in the room (at 2 in the afternoon!). See... dark!

So once I finished with the room we had quite the storm, which I took some time to watch. The breeze it created was very nice. I didn't take any pictures, but the last storm we had I took this video... and this one was much of the same (ignore us talking!).


After that I headed out for my walk... 5 miles. It wasn't too bad, the storm had cooled it off. But it was definitely still quite moist out. Yuck. By the time I was done I had that all over damp feeling which isn't so great, and I was tired and sore. So after a cold shower (ahhhh), the rest of the night was spent relaxing.

Today my little brother leaves for a month in the mediterranean! A friend of his got to pick someone to take with him on a 21-day cruise (with extra time at beginning and end in Italy!), and he chose my brother. They will see something like 7 countries (Spain, Italy, Greece, Turkey, Egypt, Malta, Morocco?), and will be gone for a total of 28-days! I'm a bit jealous. I wish him the best of luck though and can't wait to see all his fabulous pictures when he gets back.

Well, time for me to get to work. Ciao.

7.25.2008

one of those posts.

I feel a bit ridiculous sometimes. I was on the phone with my mom the other day and we were talking about lots of things, but one of them was babies and when Travis would be ready to have them. I had to pause at one point because it felt so funny to be "letting out" (not venting, or complaining... but just needing to unleash) to my mom about this decision that is, by its very nature, such a personal and adult decision (and I run to my mom, lol, get why I paused?). I don't want to unleash it on Travis, because I really don't want to push him, but I needed to get it out. I guess its true that you never really stop wanting (if not needing) your parents support.

Since the last time I talked ad nauseum about this particular topic, Trav and I have again moved up our date of beginning to try for a baby (from April to sooner then February). This was completely his decision... and my emotions are going crazy. I'm excited for this next step. I'm excited for Travis to be 100% on board and ready (just to make sure you all know that really is the case). But sometimes I feel so much like I can't wait, like the yearn is so strong its this ache in my stomach - a heaviness on my chest. It feels so close (it is close! even February is only a little over 6 months away), but at the same time, its not here, not now.

I'm sure it doesn't help that of my daily-read blogs all but maybe 4 are written by people who either have children (20), are "with child" (4), or are trying to become "with child" at the moment (4 - Hmm, I read a lot of blogs). And there are always lines that pierce me... ones that hit me like an arrow to the heart. You know that, I post one liners here (in the middle of regular posts) all the time. Feel the need to document what moves me.

For example... (Originally from Dooce, in a post on advice) 2. From Maggie Mason: "When I was single, I decided I wouldn't marry a man unless I could be proud if we had a son who turned out exactly like him."
BAM! Shot to the chest... there are so many reasons that I can't wait to have children, and this is just one of the many. I can't wait to see Travis as a father. He is going to be a great father. I can picture him teaching our child how to throw a ball around, how to ski, reading to them... and it just makes me melt inside.

In my heart of hearts, when I'm at my most zen and calm about this, I know that our time will come when it is supposed to come. If you think about it, starting any sooner would simply make it so that we don't get the same baby as if we wait until the "right time". Before I know it, our time will be here... and hopefully, with any luck, our trying to conceive period will be short and easy. I know all this... but I can't be zen all the time, now can I?

::inhale, exhale::

Thanks. I needed that.



ps. I feel a little melodramatic now... but have to get it out somewhere!!

7.24.2008

if its not babies, its ducks!

If its not babies with me lately, its ducks. But I couldn't not pass on this adorable story about the office workers who helped save the ducks! :-)

So sweet!!

And another online story to check out... I read Anthony Bourdain's blog all the time (love me some No Reservations!), and he pointed to his crew's blog for a particular entry about their recent trip to Saudi Arabia from the point of view of their female producer. Such a new perspective on a very different culture. Worth the read.

So another scrummy sweater day... high around 80*... very fine by me! We did end up getting some lovely big thunderstorms last night, big on thunder and lightning, which I quite enjoyed. Maybe more tonight? Either way, it means nights where we don't need the air conditioning running, and instead can get nice and chilled just with the fan in the window. Only a week left in July, can you believe it?

7.23.2008

This is the dawning of the age of...

the Leo!
(ha, ten bucks says you have a certain song stuck in your head now!)

Fun Facts: Leo (July 23 - August 22)

When the mighty Lion enters center stage, everyone notices. This dramatic, creative, and outgoing sign has the keyword magnetism for good reason. Fiery and self-assured, a Leo's charm can be almost impossible to resist. Whether it's time spent with family and friends or efforts on the job scene, a Leo is going to bring a lot to the table.

Friends and Family

By far the most generous of the zodiac, Leos make loyal and giving friends. They'll
go out of their way to help even when it conflicts with their own schedules. The Leo is a strong, confident personality who has the ability to make almost everyone comfortable. Unassuming and gracious, they love to host parties and events. The Leo is rarely found alone - interacting is second nature. Close friends are chosen for their ability to keep up with the Leo's energy along with a strong sense of dignity and a commitment to individual values. When family is involved, the mighty Lion will do whatever it takes to defend loved ones. Loyalty for the Leo is for a lifetime. They pride themselves on being there for family through thick and thin.

Career and Money

Leos are doers. I will is the key phrase for this sign. There's a lot of energy packed into this sign, and they're always going to be busy, regardless of whatever else is happening around them. They are ambitious, creative, and optimistic. It's not enough for a Leo to just do the job. In order to suffice, it must be done to the absolute best of their ability. Once committed to an employer, they will go all-out, but the best situation for the Leo is to be his or her own boss.

Careers that allow for the Leo's dramatic flair, such as acting and entertaining, are ideal. Such positions give the Lion free rein. Other occupations such as management, teaching, and politics are well-suited, too. Anything that puts a Leo in a leadership position will give this sign the opportunity to do what comes naturally.

Leos love to surround themselves with the things they fancy. Because money usually comes readily to the Leo, there's always more where that came from. Money is meant to be spent as far as this sign is concerned - and spend they will. Generous in spirit, a Leo will give away their last dollar to help a friend. They're always confident that there will be more, and there usually is. There's never a lack of work for a Leo. In fact, there's generally more work available to them than they can keep up with.

Love and Sex

This fiery sign is passionate and forthright with affections. When it comes to sex, you can expect the Leo to be adventurous, fun, and highly energetic. There is a definite line of division between sex and love for Leos. Mates are chosen for their willingness to allow the Leo to take the lead, shine brightly, and be independent. They look for uninhibited lovers who aren't self-conscious. As accepting as the Leo is, a mate needs to be an intellectual equal to cut the mustard. Leos are loving, fun, and very giving to those in their personal life.

LEO TIDBITS

Health
Each sign has a part of the anatomy attached to it, making this the area of the body that is most sensitive to stimulation. The anatomical areas for Leo are the heart, sides, and upper back.

Ruling Planet
The ruling planet for Leo is the Sun. Considered the masculine principal of the horoscope, the Sun rules men in general, health, leadership, rank, authority, progress, energy, dignity, the capacity for experience, and the sense of identity.

Color
The color of choice for Leo is gold.

Gemstone
Leo's star stone is the Ruby.

The Perfect Gift
The best gift for a Leo is a status symbol item or a family-related collectible such as a keepsake album.

Likes
The theater, being admired, taking holidays, fun with friends, expensive things, bright colors.

Dislikes
Being ignored, facing difficult reality, not being king or queen.

House
Natural sign of the Fifth House. This house focuses on sports, children, creativity, amusements, love that you give, love affairs, speculations, and romance.

Famous Leos
Jennifer Lopez, Antonio Banderas, Steve Carell, Barack Obama, Casey and Ben Affleck

Best travel destination
Italy, France, Romania, Peru, Chicago, Los Angeles

Strength
Warmth, humor, pride, joy, creativity, passion, generosity

Weakness
Arrogance, stubbornness, inflexibility, self-centeredness, laziness

Charismatic marks
Regal manner, powerful, strong, muscular

Best environment
In the sun! Also any place where Leo has a chance to be creative or shine in front of others.


This is the perfect day to dawn a Leo too... at least it is for this Leo! The heat wave has finally broken, at least for the moment. Perfect timing too considering this is about the time of summer when I start to get depressed that I still have another 1.5 - 2 months of horrid heat left before fall weather comes. The high for today (through next Tuesday) is supposed to be in the 80s and they are calling for a weeks worth of thunderstorms! I'm hoping they will pan out.

Right now I'm enjoying being snuggly in the clunky button-up sweater I brought to work just for the occasion... its always cold in our office, even on the 99* days... so today its basically sub-artic! But I'm cozy in my sweater, with my hot chocolate. Color me content! :-)

One last thing to leave you with today... have you all seen this video (got some play on the Today show recently) about the lion and his boys? So sweet, definitely watch it!


Have a great day!

7.22.2008

big news!

So I wrote an entry a bit ago about having received some great news from a friend... well, I can finally share that news!




My girl Ro is pregnant!! YAY!!!!!!!!!

pregnancy calendar


Her and her husband Pat are expecting their first baby at the beginning of February (I'm voting for a birthday on the 4th... so Baby S can share the date with my bro). She is 12 weeks along (in her 3rd month... confused by the breakdown? see below.) and so far, so good! I'm so thrilled for both of them, they have wanted this for a while.


She got her BFP (Big Fat Positive) on May 25th, and had her orientation at the Birth Center on the 29th. She's been feeling pretty good except for a bit of nausea, occasional dizziness, having to pee all the time, and lots of tiredness. Her boobs are slowly trying to take over the world, but that's no shocker. ;-) Her first doctors appointment was on Thursday, the 3rd, and the doc said all looked good. Her second appointment was for an ultrasound, which she just had yesterday, and they got to see their bean!

Introducing, Baby S! Who is just perfect:
And in 3-d:
(Labeled for those who have trouble spotting the baby... click to make it bigger):

As of next week, Ro will officially be ending her first trimester... how time flies!

Here's before... (trying on Bridesmaid dresses in March)

And here's the 12 week belly!!

So cute, right? :-)


I'm just so happy for both of them... they will be great parents. And I'm excited to get to experience this through Ro while I wait for Trav and my turn. I think I'll make a great pseudo-aunt. :-)

7.21.2008

nice weekend

A quicky, since I have to go set up a telephone conference in just a bit. The weekend was really nice... and busy... and hot... and tiring! I walked 10 miles Saturday and 6 miles on Sunday, which went fine except that Sunday was so hot and sunny, and the walk I did didn't have much shade... so I got a bit of sun on the back of my neck, and was completely exhausted (and soaked) by the end of my walk.

Trav got some more done on the room while I was out both days... the blinds, closet door, bar from the closet, and most of the baseboards (minus the side with the radiator since that will take a bit of extra work) are down. Firday we went to the Home Depot to pick up some tools we needed... a pry bar, some squares of sandpaper, more spackle, some paint samples, etc. And on Sunday we went out to the Lowes and took advantage of a sale they were having (10% off Energy Star ceiling fans!), plus a coupon we had, to get our ceiling fan*... plus new outlets, some more paint color samples, and a few other odds and ends. We get to call this week about the asbestos test, so after that... the ceiling!

Besides all that, we headed to Ro & Pat's for dinner on Sunday night. Good food and good company, have to love that. We all headed out to Bruster's for ice cream before Trav and I headed back home (saw some great lightning! but it didn't pan out to much). And that was our weekend!

News and pictures tomorrow.
xoxo



*This one:
Plus a light kit for it... so it will be like the picture, but with four lights on the bottom. Yay! :-)

7.18.2008

blurbs

Bits and pieces in a bullet format because I'm lazy and I have a few completely unrelated things to mention:

  • First off, did anyone watch The Who tribute last night? It was pretty neat... my absolute favorite performance, Pearl Jam doing "Love Reign O'er Me":

    Awesome, awesome, awesome!


  • Secondly, there were some birthdays this week that I want to mention... my brother-in-law Andy, his wife Megan, and my father-in-law John all celebrated there birthdays (Tuesday, last Friday, and Wednesday to be exact). And my mommy's birthday was yesterday. My mom's gift was one night in a nice hotel in Bethlehem which Trav and I are paying for, and while my parent's are there we will be at their place watching the doggy. They are very excited!


  • Third... I'm uber-excited for some upcoming things.
    1) There is dinner next weekend with a group of friends (Ro & Pat, George & Barb, Jeremy & Kerry) at this fabulous looking restaurant. Is it weird that seeing rock shrimp tempura on the menu was enough to push my excitement over the edge?! Mmmm.
    2) There is a 3-Day Expo the weekend after next (3-day like the walk, not like the expo itself is three days!), where I'll get to meet more people doing the walk in our area. Plus there will be info on what/how to pack, and general info on happenings during the walk.
    3) There is my birthday in less then a month! We're heading out to dinner with Ro & Pat for that... plus that's the weekend we're doing the hotel thing for my parents.
    4) Then a week later... Cape Cod!! And this picture:
    (from Susan at Friday Playdate) just made me more excited for the Cape!! :-)


  • One random weird thing to throw in... I learned this week that a girl I went to high school with is pregnant. I've learned about dozens of pregnancies in the past year, and this girl and I don't even talk anymore (we just see each other online)... but for some reason this one hit me like none other have. It felt like a punch to the stomach, a felt almost sick. Ugh. So weird.


  • I'm a little piggy. I grabbed a packet of chicken noodle soup mix from the cabinet this morning to eat for breakfast when I got to work... I didn't realize until I went to make it that it wasn't an individual packet, but a packet that makes 4 cups! Whoops! So, my intentions were to eat maybe a third of it, then put the rest away for another time... well it was just so damn tasty that I had to eat it all. Who can resist yummy chicken noodle soup (the kind with the small, flat noodles that your mom gave you as a kid when you were sick) when they keep it about 65* in here with the damn AC?! ::oink::


  • Lastly, Trav has been a busy busy boy in that back bedroom... finishing the removal of the carpet padding last night while I was doing my 5miles. Maybe this weekend we can get that border down? I'll certainly at least sweep in there too, so that you can walk in without covering your socks in yellowish dust. Hmm, we might figure out what the hell we want to do with the closet too, and maybe remove the baseboards. We'll see! Pictures next week, I'm sure. We wait to hear back on our asbestos test before the tearing down of the ceiling begins, but things are moving along nicely!


And that's all she wrote for today! Off to finish this day up and get started on my weekend. Have a good one!

7.17.2008

starring... me!

Busy, busy day with no time to post... but had to share this:

Send a JibJab Sendables® eCard Today!


Man I love some JibJab!! :-)

7.16.2008

a few happy updates

So I left work a little early yesterday to come home and cook some curry before Trav came home and I had to leave to walk. It turned out very yummy... spicy! But yummy! When I got home from my walk I wandered upstairs to see what Trav was up to... and I found this:

He had taken the futon apart and moved it out of the room... and then started pulling up carpet to see what we had to deal with underneath. The first thing he found is that the carpet padding is so old it can't be removed as a whole, but rather flaked off! Luckily it comes off easily and underneath that padding is some great news:

Let me get a bit closer:
Its dirty and dusty and needs to be cleaned up a bit... but what beautiful wood floors we have to work with!! :-)
Not to say its all going to be easy-peasy... with the carpet gone the molding doesn't reach the floor!

So we'll have to remove that and redo the molding... but, I think, a small price to pay for beautiful floors.

Also, we decided on our paint colors/design! We are going to be doing something similar to this:

Except the whole wall will be a light blue, with brown:

and purple dots:

Almost like this horribly messing quick thing I threw together in paint... except, you know, not horribly messy:

So! That is our updated, lovely news about the guest bedroom project. Yay! More soon, I'm sure!

7.15.2008

fun stuff!

A big ole Congrats to Bill (& Lauren) from Poop & Boogies who are expecting baby #3! Very exciting news for them!


So in some other fun news... Trav and I spent much of last night cleaning out the guest bedroom. I mean, everything out! Boxed up, carried in stacks, filling up our other rooms... out! After three years we are finally going to fix this room up, from top to bottom. Getting rid of the popcorn ceiling, changing out the ugly light fixture for a ceiling fan, removing the border and painting the walls, and ripping up the carpet to either reveal lovely floors below that can be fixed up a bit... or if its too bad, new carpeting! I'm so psyched for this project. Not only will we have a nicer guest bedroom when this is all said and done, but also a room that is ready to be transformed (much easier) into a nursery when that time comes.

So here's what it looks like now (actually, after I took this picture Trav emptied the bed completely... so it is literally just the futon in there now):


Of course all the furniture and stuff had to go somewhere! So our office:

(We have lots of books)

And our dining room:
And our bedroom:

Well they all have a little extra at the moment! The office is obviously the worst of it right now. But its worth it because soon we will have a lovely new room, and I'm going to go through EVERYTHING before we put any of it back... so the room will be completely decluttered as well. Which makes me very happy.

These pictures can be some before pictures for you, and slowly but surely over the next few weeks I should have some after ones to share!


I'm in a great mood today... lots of exciting, fun, and positive things going on right now. Plus I've been pretty productive already today, which makes for a happy Meegs.

Well, time to get some lunch. Ta-ta!