The beach, bronchitis, and bumming

We arrived at the beach with massive hangovers from our reunion fun on Sunday evening. I had a bit of a sore throat, but I didn't let it stop me from having some fun. A little 'hair of the dog,' if you will. We enjoyed the beach for a bit, and then helped ourselves to some fresh Gumbo that Beth had prepared. (YUM!) The next morning, the sore throat was worse, but I was determined to get some sun. We went crabbing that night, and even caught a few by hand! By Tuesday, I was stuck in bed, and I remained there until Wednesday night when Mark went to get ingredients for Hot Totties. I sucked down several of those and was feeling a little better, (or at least a little buzzed) so I stayed up as long as I could. The rest of the week was filled with lots of sneezing and coughing but I made the best of it. We never did find our cannon, but Tom Collins made his rounds.

It was mostly overcast all week, so by Friday I was itching for some sun and got my wish. We stayed on the beach most of the day, and were able to get some great photos that evening. There is one of Mark that I like particularly, when he is doing a Yoga pose in the surf.

All in all, it was a good week, but I need another go at it, this time without what I believe was bronchitis. I went to the doctor on Tuesday after we got home and ended up with a Z Pack and 2 inhalers. (Yuck! Albuterol!) Mark started getting sick on the journey home, and Bill was sick on Friday before we left. Beth is now sick, and I'm not sure how Alvin and Brenda are doing, but I hope they are feeling OK.

Sorry guys! Seeing how I am still coughing, you should feel better about 3 weeks after your symptoms first occur.

Love to all!

"Tonight we're gonna party like it's 1999"

And so we did. All night long. And then we went to Hannah's.

And then we partied some more.

People threw up.
People got freaky.

We had a blast. : )

We look like fun, right? This is part of my graduating class at the Kingston/Harriman Game.

I have so much catching up to do. It's been nearly a month since my last post, and honestly I don't know where the time went; only I do. I must have gotten into the Delorean and time traveled. That's the only possible solution I can come up with.

The craziness started with my 10 year high school reunion. Mark, Courtney and I made reservations at the Holiday Inn downtown and arrived early to get ready. I headed over to the Foundry (which is exquisite! I recommend visiting there!) early to help Kelly get everything set up. When I arrived, there wasn't really much left to do, because she is AMAZING. So we waited for the guests to arrive and the night to start. I can't tell you how much FUN I had! Anyone from Roane County's Class of 1999 who didn't make it, you missed out. The food was great, the booze was flowing and the dance floor was busy. Even my husband was dancing, and that is saying something!

Kelly: You did an amazing job! And you didn't even have to make a hair appointment! Love you!

Reading Rut

Does this happen to you? In the past two months, I have reread the entire Harry Potter Series and am almost finished (again) with the Twilight Saga.

Mark and I leave for the beach in 8 days. I want to take something NEW! Can you please, please make some suggestions? I have a library card!

Open to suggestions....

estrogen levels plummeting

By birthright, women generally seek out time with one another. Some call it girl time, some call it ladies night. However you say them, these terms really only mean one thing. You need estrogen. You need to spend time with someone of the same sex and talk about things that only we, as women, can understand. Some of us need it more than others, and others need it very little. I fall into the second category.

I have never really been a "girlie girl." Pink isn't my favorite color, I am not fond of shopping and I have never ordered a Cosmo while wearing Louis Vuitton. That just isn't me. I am your average jeans and henley kind of girl. I like a good beer and bowling on a Saturday night. Sadly, being this kind of girl doesn't excuse me from a good dose estrogen every now and then. The problem is, I don't really have that many girlfriends. I'm not really complaining, but when you need a little girl time, you can't sub in with a dude. It JUST DOESN'T WORK.

I have tried countless times with the girlfriends I have that are close, but several of them have kids and a lot of them "aren't in a place right now where they can give up one afternoon a month to just hang." WTF? Sorry ladies, if that's rude, but really? You should be flippin' ashamed! Not because I will be left out alone on ladies night. Oh, no. Because you should do it for yourself. It's important! (OK, and for me too. Picture my sad face, if that helps. )

Anyway, here is my ad for lady friends. Oh the shame!....

Married Chick, seeking 3 or 4 other chicks (of any variety) to have intelligent conversation, dinner and the occasional chick flick or chick lit discussion. I am looking for smart ladies who can be grown-ups and who have an open mind about the world. Must like bad 80's music, and dance terribly. Tomboys are encouraged to apply. Is this you? Please respond Here.

10-7=3, but still 10.

Confused, yet? Don't be! It's easy to explain. 10 years together total, minus 7 years together prior to marriage equals 3 wonderful years married for us, as of August 19th! Here's a rewind of our day, since I somehow managed to upload these pictures backwards:


We ended the night with a bonfire and some beers. Here I am looking a little worse for wear.


And Mark is getting very sleepy....

Here is our Delicious Sushi dinner at Sakura...

Here we are getting ready to indoor skydive. *You simply must TRY it!

Here we are after our Skydiving class...

Our Third anniversary was fantastic. I can't remember when I had a better time. The traditional gift for year 3 is leather, so Mark got new shoes. It's kind of lame, but better than a wallet, and less kinky than ass-less chaps and a whip. : )

Happy Anniversary, honey.

things I currently LOVE

Magic Hat #9 Beer. It has an "Essence of Apricot" and is totally yummy. Three beers will totally give you the perfect buzz.

Who wouldn't want to sleep in a love nest? I love this bed! Found it Here. It's only 15,500.00. Maybe I will check the cracks in the couch to pay for it, no?












our New iHome from Walmart. Cost was $20 and it has pulled its weight on the back porch. LOVE LOVE LOVE.






From their album 'Room on Fire'- What Ever Happened? by the Strokes.









Hadn't made one of these posts in a while. Thought I would share. : )

hard to breathe

I share a birthday with one of the most important men in my life, my grandfather- or Gia to me. I started calling him that as a little girl, and it never really stopped. So he's my Gia. Last week he was put in the hospital with fluid on his heart and lungs. I totally freaked out. I called Mark at work on the emergency line and pretty much scared the crap out of him I was crying so hard. He and I both left work early to run up to the hospital and check the situation out for ourselves.

Gia was already in a room when we got to the hospital and seeing him lying there, wheezing, I can't tell you what that did to me. It shook me. So the first thing I did was to find out what was going on with his body. He was diagnosed with Congestive Heart Failure several years ago so, (but has managed it well with diet and exercise) that on top of this fluid on his heart and lungs was pretty scary for me. They ruled out pneumonia pretty quickly. The following day they ruled out a pulmonary embolism (blood clot in the lungs) -which was a relief, because that scared the crap out of me. They ultimately decided he has some form of cardiac asthma, brought on my the heart failure. After several breathing treatments, steroids and inflammatory drugs, he was feeling much better, but at some point in his stay at the hospital he had developed pneumonia. GREAT! They were able to catch and treat it quickly though and he was able to come home on Sunday.

We are so glad to have him back at home now. We love you Gia.