Total Proof That We Are Growing Up

Yesterday as I was attempting to vacuum, I was getting extremely frustrated. Not only because it wasn't leaving those fancy marks on the carpet to let people know you actually clean it but because, well, it wasn't picking much of anything up. It sucks--and not in a good way.

Fortunately for me, we also got a handy dandy coupon in the mail for 20% off any in-stock vacuum at Lowe's. Seth told me I could check out what they had and we could possibly buy one. Well "go ahead and look" turned into an all-out vacuum finding mission. Of course, Lowe's had absolutely nothing I would want, which was their evil plan to begin with I'm sure.

Consumer Reports had a vacuum edition recently so I grabbed it and went to town. We weren't looking to spend as much as the first few on the list, but #5 was a mere $75 and beat out every single model of the Dyson (which I hear are totally overrated anyway).

And, as I expected, Lowe's did not carry it. Best Buy was the only place that did. To save myself a trip, I tried calling approximately 48 times before leaving the house to make sure they had it. I swore to myself they would have lost my business to Walmart had Walmart carried it. I sent up a little prayer for Best Buy that they would have one in stock so that they didn't have to hear me whine about how my vacuum is no good but if they would have picked up the phone I wouldn't have had to drive 20 minutes to find out they didn't have any.

Lucky for them (and me!) they had one! No lie, I was a little embarassed to push it in the aisle. It is smurf blue and looks like something straight out of the 80s. Clearly black is no longer the hot vacuum color. Whatever though, I totally bought it and practically squealed as I checked out.

And then, like any good housewife, came home and vacuumed the whole house to test it out. I. LOVE. IT. Who knew vacuum bliss was so cheap?!

Check it out: it's the Hoover Tempo Widepath and I'd highly recommend it.


It sucks--but in a good way.

Merry Christmas

Today, we will be traveling to my parent's house for Christmas eve to celebrate with them, my sister and brother-in-law, my brother, our grandparents, and the three boxers! It'll be a busy, fun house.

I probably won't be on here much over the next couple of days as we enjoy Christmas together and travel to see family in NJ.

Have a MERRY CHRISTMAS! :)

I Am Thankful.

In the busyness of the Christmas season, I think there is the tendency to forget everything we have to be thankful for unless you sit down and think about it. I'm not sure about you, but we are truly blessed--probably more than we deserve. Blessed with our faith and a God who loves us, a nice, warm house, an adorable puppy, great family and friends, jobs and raises during a recession, plenty of money to buy groceries, new clothes, gas for our cars, gifts for loved ones, and so much more.

It's hard to imagine all those people out there that don't have those things...who don't even have enough money to sleep in a house or buy any groceries at all. Whose kids won't get a single gift for Christmas this year. It really hit home last night as I stood outside with Bentley in the bitter cold with huge gusts of wind...bundled in my coat and gloves, I thought "wow, this is just an absolutely horrible time to be homeless." I can't even imagine.

I came across this poem a few months ago and it seemed fitting for this time of year after Thanksgiving and right before Christmas especially.

I am Thankful

For the wife who says it's hot dogs tonight
Because she is home with me and not out with someone else.

For the husband who is on the sofa being a couch potato
Because he is home with me and not out at the bars.

For the teenager who is complaining about doing dishes
Because it means she is at home, not on the streets.

For the taxes I pay
Because it means I am employed.

For the mess to clean after a party
Because it means I have been surrounded by friends.

For the clothes that fit a little too snug
Because it means I have enough to eat.

For my shadow that watches me work
Because it means I am out in the sunshine.

For a lawn that needs mowing, windows that need cleaning, and gutters that need fixing
Because it means I have a home.

For all the complainingI hear about the government
Because it means we have freedom of speech.

For the parking spot I find at the far end of the parking lot
Because it means I am capable of walking, and I have been blessed with transportation.

For my huge heating bill
Because it means I am warm.

For the lady behind me in church who sings off key
Because it means I can hear.

For the pile of laundry and ironing
Because it means I have clothes to wear.

For weariness and aching muscles at the end of the day
Because it means I have been capable of working.

For the alarm that goes off in the early morning hours
Because it means I am alive.

What are you thankful for this holiday season?

Where, Oh Where, Has my Honeymoon Video Gone?

For a wedding gift two years ago, Seth bought me/us a really cute video camera. It is one of those smaller ones that doesn't look like you are a news crew when you whip it out. On the plane to St. Lucia, I read the manual so that I could use it on our honeymoon.

The first day we were there, I broke out the camera and chronicled our first walk around the resort, showing our room, the gorgeous ocean views, native flowers and birds, the pools...pretty much everything a Sandals resort has to offer.

We haven't used it much over the 2 years--mostly because we don't have kids and I can't find the manual to read how to upload the videos to my computer. But today, for some strange reason, I had an urge to get it out and play around with it. Now that we have a puppy plus several nieces and nephews, I decided to take it to NJ over Christmas.

I got SO excited to look back over the tapes to reminisce about our honeymoon. I looked through all the footage on every tape in the camera bag.

And, as my luck would have it, all I found was footage of approximately eighteen 9th grade football games from when Seth coached and footage of the bear my brother captured walking through the woods before he shot it while bear hunting in Maine.

It's like that episode of Everybody Loves Raymond, except this one is not a script.

Apparently, I won't be reliving those honeymoon memories anytime soon. Fortunately for me, though, I can critique the tackling skills of 14-year-olds and look at a dead bear anytime I want.

Why I Should Not Procrastinate

In an attempt to get the rest of my Christmas cards out the door, I went to the post office to buy stamps.

And they were completely sold out.

How does that happen?! That is like the grocery store being out of food.

Does Anyone Beat Around the Bush Anymore?

You know what would be great for the self-esteem?
If, when you're at the salon, the stylist that is washing your hair says "while the conditioner is soaking, do you want me to wax your eyebrows?"
And do you know what memories that would bring back?
The day before your wedding two years ago when you were getting your manicure and pedicure and the woman looks at you in horror and says "do you want me to wax your eyebrows too?" The day after you just had them done.
All of that hypotetically speaking, of course. But if that were to happen to *cough* me, I would probably just give in to their up-selling and do it, because you can never be too cautious about the eyebrows.

My Top 10 Christmas Songs!

Jo-Lynne at Musings of a Housewife did a fun post about her top 10 favorite Christmas songs. I'm slightly obsessed with Christmas music, so I made my own! We have a station around us that plays 24/7 Christmas music from Black Friday until Christmas and it makes me very happy!

In no particular order:

1. Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays - 'N Sync
2. O Holy Night - Josh Groban
3. Where are you, Christmas? - Faith Hill
4. All I Want for Christmas is You - Mariah Carey
5. Christmas Eve Sarejevo - Trans-Siberian Orchestra
6. Little Drummer Boy - Jessica and Ashlee Simpson
7. O Holy Night - Clay Aiken
8. Joy to the World - Faith Hill (or any artist, really)
9. The Gift - 98*
10. Happy Christmas - Celine Dion

What are your favorite Christmas songs?

How it All Began...

Tomorrow is our two year anniversary. I can seriously hardly believe that it has been that long, and that I guess if you think about it, we are far outside of the newlywed phase! Most people know how Seth and I met, but I'll recap a bit how I found the love of my life.

During my junior year at Messiah, I started the year living with a girl named Paige, but she decided to study abroad in the spring. Therefore, I was assigned a new roommate, Ashley. We really hit it off great, and had tons of fun. I didn't really know her friends that well, but one night, a few of them stopped over at our room to see her and asked her to come back to their apartment to hang out with the bunch of people that were there. Not wanting to go alone, she asked begged me to come too. So I did.

When I got there, I realized that I recognized some of the people just in passing, but never really met any of them. I immediately recognized Seth from the ONE time I had to go to the library and rent a movie for a class (a history movie of all things!). Plus, I had seen him around campus and he had dated a girl who was best friends with a girl on my floor. And I remembered that during my freshman year, he was the fill-in RA on the guys floor in Witmer.

Anyway, he introduced himself to us and everyone just kind of hung out and chatted. I can totally remember sitting there that first night in March of 2005 thinking to myself that I thought he was really cute and funny. When we left, we were not even down the steps in the front of the apartment complex and I looked at my roommate and said "Wow, that Seth guy was really cute. I will totally date him someday." She chuckled and we kept walking.

Over the next couple of weeks, I'd see him, and now knowing each other, we'd say "hi" or occassionally chat on IM or facebook. A bunch of people hung out in a group a few times. One night, Ashley and I had this brilliant idea that, in order to secure a next-day call back from the guys, we'd have to take drastic measures. Seth, being the rat-loving gentle soul he is, had a million of them in his apartment. They made me gag a little bit, but the quarter size ones seemed harmless. So, with my sights set on dating this boy, Ashley and I asked if we could, gulp...watch one of his baby rats. Seriously, who does this?!?! Bear with me, and remember it was all in the name of love.

Ashley and I picked one of the rats up that night. It was tiny--no bigger than a quarter for sure. I immediately dumped out my scrapbooking supplies and we put the baby rat in the container with one of those orange cheese/peanut butter crackers and a soda cap full of water. We didn't pet it. We didn't like to look at it.

And we went to bed.

About 45 minutes later, I hear scratching and wake up, put my glasses on and shine my flashlight onto the container across the room. It was literally sitting on the ledge at the top. We fuh-REAKED out. I did not sleep one wink that night as I finagled some contraption to keep the rat in, yet allow him to breathe. Because, quite frankly, I'm thinking that killing a man's pet is not the way to his heart.

The next day, I happily returned the rat. A few nights later, we went on a walk and chatted. It seemed that at this point, the feelings were beginning to be mutual. The night we watched Napoleon Dynamite, that was when I really knew he was quite the catch. Let's face it: any two people who can sit through that movie without wanting to scratch their eyes out are meant for each other.

But, in true Murphy's Law fashion, Seth was a senior, and it happened to be mid-May when we began really hanging out and talking. I was so bummed as I said goodbye to him the day I was done with finals. He had to stay a bit longer until actual graduation, but I was done. On the drive home, I was so sad, and kept thinking to myself "will I ever see him again?!" He called that night, and I ended up going back down to Messiah one night to go to City Island with him and his friends. That night, I decided that I would come back to his graduation.

I still laugh to this day, because I can remember that day like it was yesterday. I so vividly remember meeting Matt and Ben. I really remember because one of them, I think Matt, took a picture, and I walked over, looked at it, and said "eh, take another one" which I STILL do to this day. I remember meeting his parents, aunts, sisters-in-law and baby Charlotte. I also remember going back to his apartment and helping load his stuff--which was in complete shambles-- in the car and having everyone sort of looking at me, and at each other, trying to figure out who I was!

After that weekend, I really knew. We talked every night--sometimes for hours. Within a week of graduating, he came to meet my family. I think the next I was in NJ, the next he was in PA, and so on. Fortunately for me, he got a job nearby so that I would be able to see him more my senior year.

It's so weird to think of all the things that played into meeting him. The fact that my best friend, Allie, and I decided not to room together that year but across the hall from each other, the fact that Paige decided to study abroad, the fact that Ashley was assigned to live with me, and that she would take me to meet some friends.

So, that's the short (imagine the long version!) of how I met Seth. If I wasn't talking to him, I was horribly sad. When he left, I wanted to go with him.

Babe, you are truly the love of my life. You make me unbelievably happy, you protect and provide, and we have tons of fun together. I could not imagine my life without you. I'm so glad my wish came true and that "I got to date you." And, three and a half years after meeting you, and two of the best years married to you, I still remember why I promised to keep that stupid rat. Because I knew you would be the best husband ever. I love you more than you'll ever know.

Happy Anniversary.

Promotion

I mentioned to some of you about a restructure in the marketing and public relations department at the Medical Center where I work. We underwent some changes, which altered several positions in the marketing and communications office.

To make a long story short, my promotion is complete and I am now the Coordinator of Media Relations. For those not saavy in the world of marketing and public relations, this basically means that I will handle all of the day-to-day relationships with the media, pitch stories, hold news conferences, write press releases, respond in times of crisis (and happiness!), and serve as the institution spokesperson.

I've always viewed marketing as my strongest asset, but have done PR in my previous role here as well, so I'm taking a leap into doing 100% public relations on this one! Let's hope the challenges are met with rewards!

Wish me luck--and some prayers that the first time I have to handle a major event, I don't pass out.

Kidding, of course.

Priming

Today, I am priming the basement so that we can paint this week. I don't like to paint, and I especially don't like to paint by myself (Seth is at grad school). Add watching Bentley into the mix, and bad things happen.

To keep an eye on Bentley, I brought him and some toys downstairs to play and got to work.

Within 2 seconds of starting, I popped the orange juice container like top to the primer. And now have approximately 7 million tiny flecks of paint covering my body. Curious, Bentley walked over to the primer that was oozing out...and licked it. Excellent.

I am praying that no one rings the doorbell today because, currently, I actually have 2 distinct streaks of primer under my eyes like I mean business. And Bentley's left ear and jowel is white too. I won't even mention what the concrete floor looks like.

I have a fancy Christmas party tonight. I was planning on wearing black and white. I guess now I can just wear my black dress, because I already have the white portion covered.

The Jeans Issue

I hope I am not the only person who has this problem. Because for the last few weeks, I have been on a mission to find the perfect pair of "sneaker jeans." I'm sure the women know what I'm talking about. There are jeans for when you're wearing heels, and there are jeans for when you're wearing flats. Because unless the jeans are just right and you are one of those lucky women whose jeans are interchangable, your "heel jeans" will drag on the ground when you wear sneakers or flats.

And let me tell you, the last 3 days I have been plagued by this problem. I have gone to just about every single store in America that sells jeans for under $100, and all of them are not right. If I get regular length, they tuck under my sneakers, guaranteeing that they will be ruined at the end of one day of wearing them. If I get ankle or short length, they look like capris and you can see my socks. Does anyone sell jeans that are short-er length?!?!

Hemming is generally not an option, because one of my biggest pet peeves is when women just tuck their jeans under and sew them as a new hem...if I got them hemmed, I would really need it to look like the factory hem, not navy blue thread.

Does anyone have this issue?! I'm 5'4" and I would tend to think there are a few other people in the world that are also this height, so they might want to manufacture a product to suit the needs of those extremely desperate people.

Pretty soon, I'm going to roll my long jeans up and look like this:

And that is so not cool.
HELP!