The Year in Review [Part 2]

so here it is... the rest of the year... and downhill from june, i can pretty much promise.

July 2011

High: s & b's wedding. sister's bridal shower. dad's surprise 60th

Lows: bestie moving to cali. being sick

so july had a lot to offer. 2 of my great friends got married. they got married not far from where we live and there were a lot of alumni from our college there. it was one of the most laid back, fun weddings i have EVER been in. we had a blast before, during and after the wedding. it was just a great day all around. then at the end of july, we had my sisters bridal shower. it was a great day, with a surprise visit from one of the bridesmaids who had moved to florida and her sweet little baby girl. brief visit, but so great to have them here... then my dad turned 60 and we had a surprise party [which probably wasn't a surprise] for him. it was a great time and he loved it which made it even better. at the beginning of july (okay actually the very end of june) my bestie moved to cali... i'm really happy for her that she went, but was very sad to see her leave... then at the end of july, i got the plague. no really... i had 102-104 fever. a cough. the pukes. the whole 9. i'm not sure how boyfriend didn't get sick. i ended up at the doctors and the ER and eventually, the shit worked itself out.

August 2011
High: sister's bachelorette weekend. kenny chesney. vacation with boyfriend and his family
Low: a hurricane
August started off pretty great... we spent a weekend in vermont for my sisters bachelorette- a nice low key weekend. some bar hopping. some chillin' at the house and relaxing outside. some relaxing and swimming and a weekend full of memories. i had a pretty great time and i think everyone who went did too... then i got to not only go to kenny chesney thanks to a very good friend, but i got to sit on the lawn at foxboro stadium. it was so crazy to be down where the big guys play but so awesome. we saw uncle kracker, zac brown band, billy currington and kenny. it was a great night. and the start of my vacation. the next day, we left for new hampshire for a few days with boyfriends family. we had a blast and minus my intense fall onto the boat and skin up my entire leg and watch it turn bright blue and purple, it was a great time away. did i mention we had a hurricane? yeah... the hurricane "started" at kenny chesney. us, in ponchos. soaking wet. it seriously rained the entire time we were at the concert. no. really. the entire time. i have never felt so water logged in my life.... the rain and wind continued into sunday but luckily, we had only a few trees down and now power. the same can't be said for my parents who lost their power (again)  and a bunch more trees. way to go mother nature. thanks for the big f-you.

September 2011
High: sister gets married. big e in the rain
Low: still cleaning up from the tornado AND hurricane
after our few days away, we came home, transported the dog to another house, unpacked, repacked and headed to the cape. we spent some time at the beach, time with family and then time celebrating the wedding of sister and brother-in-law. it was a great time with friends and family. lots of dancing. a great time both that night and at breakfast the next morning. boyfriend and i also went to the big e for the first time together. it was pouring rain but we had a blast. we laughed a lot and just had a great time together. but we still had clean up to do. lots of clean up. it got so bad that i had to stop helping cut trees becuase my eyes would swell shut.. thanks allergies. way to kick in at the exact time i don't need you to. please and thank you.

October 2011
High: big e. cirque for my birthday.
Low: my birthday. a lack of power for 7.5 days. and oh, a snowstorm
october started on a high note. big e again, this time not in the rain. a great time, dispite the bazillions of people. then boyfriend got me tickets to cirque de soile for my birthday. our seats weren't great- we were on the floor which i would have thought would be great, but it was harder to see than anticipated but it was incredible. and although i'm not sure boyfriend would agree, i can't wait to see another show. and then it snowed... yes, in october. they kept saying it was going to. it had been pretty warm so we didn't really think it would but on 10/29 at like, 3:00ish, it started snowing. we were having a halloween party at work and when everyone was leaving, it started to come down, hard. i drove home and showered becuase i was covered in face makup and then went out to do some quick shopping. it was snowy and windy and gross... and then at 8pm, we lost power. that was the 29th... we stayed home that night... and the next night. but by monday [my birthday] it was about 50 degrees in our house and i couldn't hang... so we made the trek to my parents to sit by the fire, sans a flushing toilet and running water, to wait it out... some birthday...

November 2011
High: thanksgiving and staind
Low: no power.... for the first 5 days of the month. saying goodbye to our dog

i feel like i have to start with the low this month... because it is a continuation of the low of october. for the first five days of the month, we had no power. we therefor, lost all our food, both frozen and otherwise. we spent five days curled up on the couch and on a matress in front of the fireplace. everything smelled like fireplace and we couldn't do laundry. awesome. and then, just a few weeks after the snow storm, and more clean up, and more trees down, we had to say goodbye to our beloved labrador, Iggy. we found out on a monday that he had a heart problem after spending the entire weekend in and out of the doggie hospital. his appointment on monday was at 10 and by 1, we were forced to say goodbye because his condition had deteriorated so rapidly that he wouldn't have made it home with us. it sucked. it's safe to say that it really effing sucked. there was a high though... thanksgiving and the staind concert were both highs. while it was sad to be at my parents for thanksgiving without big dog [our nickname for him] we laughed, a lot. and the food was pretty damn good. then on friday, after getting my hair did, we went to mohegan to see Staind. it was a relativly short, but great show and i spent the night at sister & brother-in-laws house, to wake up saturday and celebrate thanksgiving again. also a great meal.

December 2011
and here we are....
High: christmas weekend in maine. bestie coming home. christmas weekend. concert
Low: christmas shopping. missing h's birthday.

the month started with christmas weekend with my college roommates in maine. we went up to York and in addition to some pretty amazing december weather, we had a great time relaxing, laughing, eating, drinking and looking out at the ocean [which i could spend every day doing]. early last week, my bestie came back to the east coast. i got to spend friday night, part of christmas eve morning, monday night after christmas and some time on tuesday night with her and her leading man. it was the best possible christmas gift. ever. in addition to my new pots and pans [ha ha]. christmas weekend in general was a great time. we spent christmas eve with my family and christmas day with boyfriend's family. we got to wake up on christmas morning in our own house, got to open our presents very late/very early christmas eve/christmas day and just got to spend time together. it's hard to believe this is our 5th christmas together and that boyfriend moved in 5 years ago! and this weekend, to end 2011, we are going to see Rob Thomas at Mohegan Sun. Boyfriend bought me the tickets after Iggy died... <3 you boyfriend. my low was christmas shopping. not because i don't like to give gifts, becuase i do. but i am always afraid that people won't like what we get them. oh and, the closer christmas gets, the more things i feel the need to buy. whoops. not so good on the bank account. and we missed h's birthday. she turned one this year and because they live in florida now and it was so close to christmas, we couldn't make it there. and i'm sad about that... because we have been there for all the others. but we got pictures, so that helped.

it's hard to believe that 2011 is over. the first half wasn't so bad [after reliving it via these posts] but the second half sucked harder than a vacuum. big time suckage.... here's hoping 2012 has more to offer in the high department than in the low... because there are some people who can't take much more of the low...

The Year in Review [Part 1]

In 1999, The Story of Us came out, i'm not sure if to theaters but definately to dvd. my bestie and i have watched it many a time and i have to say, it's one of my top picks. there are some things that don't work in the movie, fine, but i just think it's a really true, almost scary true, account of what can happen. but i'm getting away from the point. there is a point in the movie where they are all sitting at the dinner table and talking about their highs and lows of their day. it got me to thinking on my way to work this morning about the high's and lows of 2011. Twelve months is a long time to pick one high and low, or even a few... so i'm going to try to pick a high and a low for each month of the past year...

the year in review- part 1

January 2011
High: a lot of snow.
Low: a lot of snow.
How can this be both you ask? well, the intense pounding of snow we got was enough to close down virtually everything, including work. a few of those days, even boyfriend got to stay home which RARELY happens becuase for some reason, his place of employment NEVER loses power... so we got to stay home and snuggle and play with puppy. and it's a low because... after 3 straight weeks with at least one snow storm per week- i was sick of cleaning the shit up.

this fence comes up to boyfriends waist
he's 6'3

February 2011
High: my new iphone & mary poppins
Low: even more god damn snow
I waited and waited and waited for the iphone 4 to come out and was due for an upgrade for over a year... and february granted me my new, and now favorite, phone. and i got to go to boston to see Mary Poppins (one of my favorites) with my mom and sister. the first week of february, we got two straight days of snow. and a lot of it. we had nowhere to put it. the roads were small. it was hard to drive, even down a main street and walking the dog was basically impossible...

March 2011
High: my cousin visiting
Low: not seeing boyfriend on his birthday
In march, my sister had planned to go dress shopping for her wedding.. i suprirsed her by having my cousin (who was in the wedding) fly out to try on dresses with us. it ended up being a really fun few days and a welcomed few days off. my March low will continue to be a low for every March that boyfriend has to ref. each March, his dad runs a basketball tournament and it falls on boyfriends birthday weekend... he spends the entire weekend running up and down the court which means i don't see him. it sucks. but it is what it is...

April 2011
High: Red Sox v. Yankees @ Fenway
Low: boyfriend umping... every weekend...
Lucky us, we scored some last minute tickets to the sox v. the yanks at fenway. boyfriend and i are huge sox fans. plus, the seats were pretty awesome. boyfriend had to ump for his dad's baseball league pretty much every weekend in april... made for some pretty dull and boring weekends...


May 2011
High: nothing really qualifies...
Low: boyfriend's grandfather passing away
i should have known that things were going downhill for 2011 when we found out grandpa died... the week following was filled with traveling and family and celebrating the life of a great man but in general, may sucked.

June 2011
High: NKOTBSB/First wedding of 2011
Low: Tornado
So june started off sucking and it's pretty much been downhill from there... on June 1st, we were hit with a tornado that pretty much tore apart the town and everything in it... my dad's work was closed for almost 4 months... we went without power for a while. even as i'm typing this, construction continues. it sucked. but on a high note, we got to go to a great wedding in NY with boyfriends family. we had a pretty good time and the place was amazing. great band. great drinks. great time dancing. and... i got to go see New Kids on the Block and Backstreet Boys. now i know, to some of you, that's not all that exciting but to me... it's pretty much my childhood dream come true. it was planned as a bachelorette party for one of my best college friends and it was a blast. we went out to a great dinner at this tiny hole in the wall place and then to the concert...

so that's the first 6 months of 2011 in a nutshell... the highs and lows of it all... it's a lot to take in, and to even remember but i have to be honest, because i write pretty much EVERYTHING down in my (full size) planner that my besties like to make fun of, i get to go back and relive the good, the bad and the ugly...

the next 6 months to be continued....

A brief merry Christmas post

Merry Christmas!! I'm taking this opportunity to try out boyfriends little brothers Christmas present, the ipad2. I have to say I am insanely jealous but greatful to be trying it out. Makes me want one bad!! But I did score some sweet new pots and pans and a whole mess of gift cards for some new books for the kindle so I'm prett pumped. And next week, we get the best Christmas present of all... A new puppy for my mom and dad!!

Merry Christmas everyone!! Thanks for reading. Hope everyone has a wonderful day with family and friends!!

one bag too many...

i have come to the unfortunate realization that i have too many bags. wait. before you get all crazy and start in on the but you can never have too many bags rant, hear me out.... i'm not talking purses, although for someone who doesn't really carry around too much, i have stockpiled a few too many of those as well. but i'm talking bags. like, backpacks. and gym type bags. and reusable bags that are just a tad too big to be reused and that i probably got because someone didn't want to wrap a present and the bag was cute. and ikea bags. you know, the ones you just have to have to carry out all the little things you didn't really need but just couldn't pass up? so you buy the bag to carry the crap to the car, swearing that you'll use it the next time you hike the 2 hours down to ikea and you never bring the bag and buy a new one? yeah. those kid of bags. i have a plethora of reusable bags suitable for shopping, many which are insulated thanks to the occasional special delivery from a man who i like to refer to as my work grandfather (although i'm not sure if that would offend him or if he would like it but none the less...) he brings us insulated bags and other fun treats and somehow, the insulated bags keep walking off, usually with my mother (in the off change that you read this mother, i love you). but today, as i was getting ready to leave the house to go shower b/c my ceiling was being painted and i had yet to drag my ass into the shower, i walked out onto the porch type addition to our house and realized, i have about 200 too many bags. and yet, i never seem to be able to find a bag, or the right bag, when i need it.

i also tend to leave things in bags. i have a habit (perhaps a bad one) of swapping bags like some people change their old navy flip flops. one day it's a big blue bag that is literally a bottomless pit for all things small. the next it's a bag my mom snagged me that held some free formula samples but holds SO much crap, it's amazing (i took it to a redsox game once and stashed 2 sweatshirts and a blanket. it's small but wonderful). or the ever popular vera bradley of which i have a few. or a pocketbook, although usually i don't last with those. until my most recent purchase (okay, my mom's purchase for me):

it was on sale... and it's purple... and i'm slightly obsessed with it. i got it back in october and i'm fairly certain that it's the first time i have had a bag and used it for a lengthy period of time. it fits my planner(s) and everything else i need... and did i mention it's purple? i think if i could make everything in my life purple i would... oh wait...

but seriously. other than this bag, most of the bags i have are unnecessary, at least right now. i just bought myself a new vera bag, duffle style, and have yet to throw out the old one. i bought the new one specifically to replace the old as the old has done it's duty... i've had it for probably 10 years at this point. so i have too many bags. it might be my addiction... i don't necessarily fill them, or use them, or even know that i have some of them, but for some reason, i can't seem to stop collecting them...

all these bags have solidified my need/want to start seriously organizing my house instead of just talking about it... i think i'm going to offically name 2012 as the Year of the Organization... more on that later...

counting down... 5 days...

it's hard to beleive Christmas is only a week away. i'm so looking forward to it this year, for so many reason. first and foremost, because it's time we get to spend with our families and friends. this year, i'm especially looking forward to it becuase some of my very best friends are going to be home!

Oh there's no place like home for the holidays,
'Cause no matter how far away you roam -
If you want to be happy in a million ways,
For the holidays - you can’t beat home, sweet home

this might in fact be one of my favorite christmas/holiday songs. especially as of late since so many of my friends are off to other parts of the US doing their thing. it means so much to me that when these people come home, that they can take time out of visiting with their families so that we can spend a little time together. i have been friends with these particular girls since 2nd grade (since we moved to this town). they are my heart... "... you're my heart. and you know i can't live without my heart" (blow). it's so true. these particular girls (including one who is still close enough to visit whenever we want) have been there for the good, the bad and the ugly. the akward stages. the high school drama. the college breaks and life after. the 4 of us are probably very much like the Sex and the City characters- not specially that we align to one of them each but more that we each bring something specific to the table and together are one incredible group. i'm so lucky to call each one a best friend.

best (adj): of the most excellent, effective, or desirable type or quality

given that definition, i suppose best applies to only one person. i don't necessarily agree with that. i think the definition of a best friend is the person, or people, who bring out the best in you. the people who know you. who have seen, and let, you change throughout your life. who have stuck by you no matter what the circumstance. who your parents consider their part time children. i have lots of amazing friends. i have friends from all different areas in my life. these girls in particular have helped shape me and for that, i will always be connected to them.

and i'm SO excited to spend some time with them this christmas season <3




Disclaimer: Read the disclaimers before reading the whole post...

Disclaimer to women: the following post is about men. it's about the things men do that really urk us and the things they fail to do that also urk us. it does by no means suggest that we do not love our male counterparts nor does it suggest that we are not greatful for the things they DO do for us.

Disclaimer for men: sorry, but it's pretty true... maybe it will help you to realize what really pisses us off.. we still love you. but... sometimes, we just need a little more...

Last night, after leaving work, I set out for home with the radio, and the heat, blasting. I was listening to christmas music as it's the only thing that comes in during the inital part of my drive home since I broke my car antenna shoveling the snow off the top last year. I asked boyfriend to help but.... i forget why he didn't... so instead, i broke the antenna, and proceeded to get the ever popular response "well what the hell did you do that for"... um... hence why i asked for help... but i digress. so i'm driving home and i happen to get a phone call from a friend of mine. we begin talking about, what else, men. and the conversation goes something like this...

why is it that when we ask boyfriend(s) to do something, they say "yeah sure" and then when we get home, it's exactly where we left it and it isn't until we start doing it that they realize they were gonna do it?

why is it that after i work a full day, which started with dishes or laundry before even going to work, when i ask boyfriend(s) to do something, they can't because they "worked all day"... really? and i did what? becuase last time i checked, when the paycheck comes in, it has my name on it. and it buys the groceries that feed you through the meals that i cook...

why is it that when i do something, and then ask for boyfriend(s) to finish it, they can't beause they are "watching tv" or "going for a run/to the gym". somehow, i am capable of watching tv, folding laundry and doing loads of laundry simultaneously. i am equally capable of putting a load of laundry in and doing dishes while i wait for it to finish.

i know it's the holiday season and i should be all warm and fuzzy with the one i love but maybe it's because it's the holiday season that i feel like boyfriend could step it up a notch... i do love him, please hear that loud and clear... and yes, i do voice these frustrations directly too him... i don't just blog about it... but i know i'm not the only one...

what is it that gets you?

...where are you christmas...

it's been a while since i've blogged and i'd like to say that it's because i have a lot going on, but in reality, i have nothing. well, nothing aside from the dreaded christmas shopping... i thought i had SO much accomplished. and for boyfriend, i do. although one of his gifts came in the mail today and i'm not so confident it's going to fit him but i can't send it back for another size b/c it's more of a one-size-fits-all type thing so... we wait. till christmas eve most likely because per usual, boyfriend and i have yet to have christmas on actual christmas. okay wait. i take that back. Five years ago, circa 2007, boyfriend was a recent college "graduate" (i use the term graduate loosly as he walked in 2007 but finished up in 2006. this is actually important to the story... read on). he was working at the jail then for his dad and then bam... time for a new job. the reasons behind needing the new job stemmed only from a new mayor in his city of (at the time) dwelling... so long story short he gets an interview with a new company doing something that's pretty far from what he has a degree in but... at the time, he had just had an interview with the company and it happened to be close to where i was living. we had been "together" (again, using the term loosly as for quite some time we had yet to DEFINE the relationship) for almost 6 months and for some reason, i suggested that he move in with me. i was living in a semi-crappy place and my room was rediculously small with a side room that basically held all my school crap and extra stuff (i was well engrossed in grad school at the time)... so i suggested he move in. he said he would think about it and we kind of left it at that... as it was our first christmas "together" we went our seperate ways for the holiday. i was still required to work holidays so i worked christmas eve and headed back home. because i had to work the day after christmas, i ended up going back to my apartment that night. a few hours after my return while curled up watching tv in our rediculously small living room that slanted and that we couldn't really do much in, the door opened. now, looking back i probably should have been scared but it could have only been 2 people... boyfriend or my at-the-time roommate. so it's boyfriend and in he walks with a suitcase and a few boxes of dvd's and cd's... move in day = christmas day. i have since come to find out that he really never talked about moving out of his parents house, he just packed up and on christmas night, came downstairs and when they asked where he was going (it was christmas afterall) he said he was moving out... nice move, boyfriend... so that night, we exchanged gifts on christmas, bearly... but since then, we haven't been able to. we were living half-way between both our families and have done our best to accommodate both sides, respectivly. it's harder to accommodate his family as they are quite large on both his mom's and dad's side and they have festivities for each side on christmas eve and day but we have made it work, somehow managing to appease everyone. lucky for me, boyfriend has great parents who are really understanding about holidays and i too have a pretty good set of my own who are equally understanding and accommodating... present opening has ranged from two nights before christmas eve to the night after christmas, with nothing falling specifically on the holiday itself.

cue 2011...
thanks to my sister's work schedule, we will be celebrating actual christmas with my parents on christmas eve... and given that we have relocated closer to them, we can actually go home after the festivities and wake up christmas morning at our own house. yes, we have to get up super early to head east for christmas and YES, we will probably end up opening presents from each other on christmas eve, but we are making progress... someday soon, we'll actually open presents on christmas.

please don't think i'm angry about any of this... it has made for some funny nights, and some really funny wrapping jobs. and we can always look back and say "remember when we opened presents 2 days before christmas eve"... it also eliminates boyfriend being in the store on christmas eve. finally though, for the first year, we both have christmas eve off. i won't get my hopes up that it will happen every year, but it's a start...

christmas weekend... part 1 of.... TBD....

Happy December! I can't believe it's actually december... 6 days in even. and today, it was 60* out. that's bullshit. i'm sorry but it's bullshit. i'm not saying i mind it because i don't, but in 2 days when it snows or when we get some kind of precipitation that might include snow, people are going to flip a nut... but it's friggen december. it should be cold and semi snowy at this point. just saying...

this past weekend, my college friends and i (hoot hoot, state) ventured to York, Maine for our annual christmas weekend... we stayed at my friend Danielle's parents house and HOLY BEAUIFUL. seriously. words don't really express just how beautiful this house is... but the tree sure does... talk about christmas

spirit! and the view... holy shit. she's really lucky we all have actual jobs or i'm fairly certain we never would have left. i know i wouldn't have. (sorry boyfriend. you're on your own)...

let me give you a brief rundown of our weekend. (it probably won't really be that brief but i do want you to keep reading)... Friday night, most of us roll in mid-day to early evening. we sit around, catching up on the past few months, talking babies (congrats, mamma j) and weddings (you too, doc). and just enjoying each other's company while comfortably seated around the huge "island" in the kitchen. and then... the doctor introduced us to a little man named marcel. marcel is a shell. he is a conch shell and he wears shoes which are actually white plastic with pink on top (although i'm not sure why). and he only has one eye ball which i think makes the whole thing that much funnier. so the doctor introduces us to marcel... (i have since shared marcel with EVERYONE i know and believe me, if you've never seen him before, it's worth clicking this link to learn a little more about Marcel the Shell with Shoes On (part 2).) bahahahahahahahhahahahah. i love this little shell.... i have so many favorite parts... what are yours!? please share... and if you don't think marcel is the funniest little shell you have ever seen, f.you.... post marcel the shell, we cracked open some bottles of wine and such and built some awesome meatball GRINDERS (not subs) and mowed our faces off as per part of the requirements for the christmas weekend. we always have WAY more food than is necessary for us, but the best part is we can pick and choose every day what we want to eat for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and everything in between. no set dinner times. no set times to stop (or start) drinking... it's beautiful.

so after dinner, we retired to the living room to begin our wait for our favorite world traveler. while we were waiting, we were privy to a little yoga show... this conversation ensued...

"this one is called birds of paradise... first you grab here (arm under leg) then you hold on (to the arm that is under your leg) then you lift your leg up (whilst your arms are wrapped behind your body and under your leg) and then you straignten everything..." 

to which i replied... "which part of this is paradise?"  

..... to be continued....