Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Right...I DO have a blog

Hi, remember me? I honestly didn't even realize it had been so long since I posted something. My excuse, none other than I've been B-U-S-Y. It all started when Matthew went on another marathon trip to Brazil, leaving me to be a "single" mommy for almost two weeks. I hosted a bridal shower for a friend, which meant endless hours of cleaning, cooking and shopping, all while chasing around the miniature version of the Tasmanian Devil. I'm constantly amazed, and reminded of the boundless energy which my child has. (23 months old today by the way!)

Since Matthew was gone I spent Valentines Day at Chick Fil A with Ava and a friend and her kids, if that isn't romantic then I don't know what is. (totally irreverent to the rest of the post but since you might have been wondering what my special husband did for me, now you know)

Last Thursday I took off north towards Chicago (via Cincinnati to pick up another friend) for a kid free, girls weekend. Since the "great ice storm of 2008" was planning an attack, I managed to get out of here just in time, only to get STUCK in Cinci for the night. My friends normal 10 minute drive home turned into 1 hour and 45 minutes, so we decided it was in our best interest to wait until Friday morning to take off and go. Not sure why mother nature picked THAT weekend to wreak havoc, but I wasn't going to let her spoil my fun. We finally made it to Chicago at about 1, we ate lunch with my friend and then she left us laying on the couch for a couple of hours while she went and taught at the gym. That's right, you heard me, I drove all that way up there to lay on the couch, and you know what it was G-L-O-R-I-O-U-S. Friday night we hit a local martini bar with a good band and just played catch up. Stacy's a dear old college friend of mine, going through a divorce after less than 3 years of marriage (she actually found out he was cheating 9 months after they got married, tried to work it out and he sucks...nuff said) so a girls weekend was just what the doctor ordered.

Saturday we got up, hit BW3's to watch the UK game, and proceeded to head north to Wisconsin to shop. Let me just tell you that shopping after drinking is NOT always the wisest decision. My husband has yet to find out exactly what I spent, so I'm going to try and hide the AMEX bill when it comes this month! We came home with massive amounts of stuff...seriously enough to clothe a small army but totally worth it. We had a wonderful dinner (pizza) and headed out to a place called Austin's Fuel Room, which wasn't anything to write home about, that was UNTIL went into the next room to hear the band play. I could honestly say that Hi Infidelity was possibly the best cover band I have ever heard. I can't get the link to work, but if you are ever in the area, you should check them out. Website is
www.HiInfidelity.com. They played anything from Journey, to Bon Jovi, to Tom Petty to old country classics. It's a damn shame that they are a local Chicago area band because I don't think it would take much for me to become a groupie. I think I might have had secret thoughts about the lead singer, probably because of the way he sang "Faithfully" to me. Okay, not directly at me, but close enough. I'm sure those warm fuzzy feelings were a direct result of the few beers, okay a lot of beers that I had, because Sunday morning I only had warm fuzzies for my hubby.

So that's where I've been. It's taken me 3 days to recover, and now I'm gearing up for some fun at the George Strait concert Friday night.

I'll leave you with a few pics from the trip, most of them will stay nicely saved on my computer for my eyes only.

Pics and updates of Ava to come, she's quite the character these days.


Stacy and me at the Martini Bar...


Stace, me and Haggard. Not sure why my boobs look like saddle bags...not the best pic but the most sober one of all 3 of us from the whole weekend.

Us watching our boys in blue.

At the Welcome to Wisconsin sign that I made her pull over for. For some reason I thought it was absolutely necessary to take this. Can you find me in the pic???? I'm the one with the ginormous beer gut...lord have mercy)

Friday, February 15, 2008

Truths and Lies, the Finale

Finally I'm getting around to this. My husband left Tuesday for Brazil, AGAIN, and I'm desperately trying to get my house ready for a Bridal Shower tomorrow. Doing that and taking care of a toddler alone has left me very little time for blogging. So without further ado, I bring you the conclusion to the truths and lies.

Truths:

#2 and #7

#2. I was adopted at 2 weeks old. I could not have been brought into a better family. Anyone who knows my parents, and my family knows how lucky I am. I thank God every day for them. My birth mother was 17, kicked out of her house, and was sent to a home for pregnant teens to complete the rest of her pregnancy. My birth father was not in the picture at the time. I have always known I was adopted, and I cannot remember a specific time when my parents told me. About 4 years ago I was contacted by my birth mother, and she and I have had minimal contact since then. She wants much more from the relationship than I want to give her, and as hard as it is on her, it's the way I want it. Maybe someday I'll post more about it on my other blog where I can go password protected. It's something I've been wanting to write about for a while, but haven't gotten around to it. The whole thing has given new meaning to me for parents who aren't able to have children of their own. My brother is also adopted, but obviously from a different family. He and I could NOT be more different. I used to hate going on vacations when I was younger for the fear that someone would think he was my boyfriend since we look nothing alike. He used to beat me up and I hated him, normal brother/sister things, but now we have a great relationship.

#7. I have only thrown up 9 times. That's going back to childhood, or as far as I can remember. And I CAN remember each time. The last time I did it was summer of 06, and before that it had been about 8 years since it happened. It's a big part of my anxiety disorder, another thing that I may talk about if I can get up the courage. Another one of my blogger buddies talked privately about this very same subject, and I am overwhelmed by her courage to talk about something so private. Only my closest friends know about it, and even though they may not understand it, they support me. And as sick as I was this last pregnancy, I never actually puked. Because that's just what my body does. Instead of getting it out and feeling better, it would rather keep it in and feel more like shit.

Lies:

#6 and #8

#6. I have only been 4 wheeling once in my life, and I was about 12. I came pretty close to flipping and becoming another ATV casualty, therefore I haven't been on one since. However, Matthew owns both a 4 wheeler and 2 dirt bikes and while the 4 wheeler is mostly used for his hunting excursions, he's been known to throw down and get crazy with it. And even though he's too big and looks ridiculous on a dirt bike, he takes that for a good spin occasionally too.

#8. While it did take me 6 years and 2 colleges to finally graduate, I only had 4 different majors, not 6. Although with as many hours as I had when I graduated, I should have had a double major.

So there you have it. Things you did and didn't know about me, and things you probably wish you never had learned!


Monday, February 11, 2008

2 Truths, 2 Lies...Part 1

So I mean to write this over the weekend, but lo and behold I got busy and I figured you wouldn't care to wait. I'll do this over two posts, and then I'll announce who came the closest.

Truths:

#1, and #3

#1. Both of my feet have webbed toes. I don't look like a duck, it doesn't make me a good swimmer, you probably wouldn't even notice them if you didn't know they were there. The only abnormal thing about my feet is that my toes are really short, but my feet are really long. I did ask the doctor at an early age to separate them. His advice was me was to go to the beach, and pay attention to peoples toes. I didn't do that, but I did find out that my third grade teacher also had them. She was my hero and I never thought about separating them again. If you are that curious, I'll post a pic.

#3. I have traveled extensively over seas. My first trip came as a Junior in college, when I participated as a cheerleader in the New Year's Day Parade in London. Fred Savage was the Grand Marshall of the parade, and I got to meet him. I thought I was the shit. Remind yourself this was 1993...so he WAS cool back then. I also went back there and spent 8 weeks studying abroad my senior year of college. Good times, good times.

My senior year my cheerleading team was one of 10 US squads to participate in an international competition in Tokyo. It was an incredible experience to say the least, it was hands down one of the cleanest cities I have ever been to.

My parents caught the travel bug many years ago, when my dad was on a traveling basketball team. They were able to go many places overseas and therefore when my brother and I were old enough they decided they wanted to pick up where they left off. My mom organized tours over the summers when I was in college, and over those 4 years I was able to travel to Spain, Morocco (WORST PLACE I HAVE EVER BEEN) , France, Switzerland, Italy, Scotland, Amsterdam, New Zealand and Australia...which was as Ava would say "Ah-sum"

Lies:

#4 and #5

#4. We did vacation as a family at the same place every year, but that stopped when I turned 16. The location was Hilton Head, and until 2 years ago I had not been back. Starting in the summer of 06, my best friend and I started going back with our kid(s), a tradition that I hope continues.

#5. I have not been a bridesmaid in 9 weddings, however one of my friends has. I have only been a bridesmaid in 4 (technically 5 if you count my best friend who got married in Vegas, but there was no dress for that one). And I didn't pass out, but a bridesmaid DID pass out at a wedding I was in back in 2006. And it was funny. And no one got it on video.

Part 2 continued tomorrow...I promise.

Thursday, February 07, 2008

4 Lies, 4 Truths

I've seen this one going around, and I don't really have much else to write about, so here goes a little bit of see how well you think you know me! I'm going to do it a little differently, so here I bring you 4 lies and 4 truths. Leave your answers in the comment section if you want, I may or may not send out a prize, but you never know!


1. My second and third toes on both feet are webbed. When I was in third grade I begged my Dr. to separate them but he wouldn't .


2. I was adopted when I was 2 weeks old. My mother was 17, she was kicked out of her house and was forced to spend the remaining 3 months of the pregnancy in a home for pregnant, unwed, teenagers.

3. I have been overseas 6 times, and have visited 11 different countries not including Mexico and Canada.

4. My family and I have been going to the same beach for vacation every year that I have been alive.


5. I'm a serial bridesmaid, I've been a bridesmaid in 9 weddings and I have all of the dresses to prove it. I even passed out at one from the heat and standing too long.


6. Before I had Ava, I would ride dirtbikes and go 4 wheeling on the weekends with my husband and step son. I still go any chance I can.


7. I have only thrown up 9 times in my entire life. I can recall each and every time.

8. I had 6 majors in college before I ever graduated. It took me 7 years to finally finish.

Let's see how many get them right!