So I have been recently told, by more than one person, that my blog is boring. Nobody cares about what my dogs do or what Michael does except me. This is quite sad considering only about 4 people read my blog. 50% of the people read this only out of mere obligation or boredom…probably more likely the latter… So while my topics are wildly hysterical to me… I will change my focus in hopes of better entertaining my 4 friends who are extremely bored at work (or in Ashley’s case should be studying ;0)).
This blog may be misleading. I assure Michael and the dogs do not constitute all of my time or interests….So let’s talk about me a little more…
My top three interests right are works in progress…
Cooking
Gardening
Shagging
I can do none of these three things, but dammit I am trying! HA!
Michael and I just started intermediate shag lessons (I got the beginner lessons for Christmas, b/c yes I was that bad…). And I think slowly but surely I am getting there. Poor Michael though…. He has the patience of a saint. He was a good shagger before all of this, so he has to go through the motions while this poor white girl with NO rhythm tries to pick up the moves. Last night we learned the sugar foot. Looks cool – like we actually know what we are doing. After multiple nights of practice I am gonna be ready to show off at the next wedding! :0)
As for the cooking…. PLEASE SEND ANY TIPS, SUGGESTIONS, RECIPES…. I am working with nothing in this area…. Hahahahahahhahaha
Gardening – I think I am slowly but surely developing a green thumb. I currently have planted (at Michael’s house of course – it’d be quite tragic in pots on my apt. patio):
Like 20 tomato plants ( I mean one of has to yield something right??? The odds of probability…)
Cucumbers…nothing yet but flowers
Cayenne Peppers – 2 big peppers so far – just waiting on them to turn red!
Sweet Banana Peppers – Michael has already sliced the one produced and eaten it on a salad
Citronella – you wouldn’t believe the amount of misquotes in his back yard
Lavender – also a misquote (and tick) repellent – for the dogs!
Pimento – like the one’s in pimento cheese…yummmmm
And tons of herbs (basil, oregano, but the green onions have already died…wah wah…)
Wish me luck!
I will try to make this more interesting and humorous for those of you reading….
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
The One with the Crazy Dogs and Lessons Learned…
As previously mentioned Michael and I spent an entire week on Hilton Head Island at the end of June. Harley and Gus had been doing pretty good together lately, and we just didn’t have money to board them, so we had the genius idea to just leave them in that back yard (with access to a covered area to get out of the rain) for the week and a friend of mine would come by a couple times a day to feed and water them. It was going to be perfect and it was perfect until Sunday afternoon…. (side note we left on Saturday afternoon)
My friend who was watching the dogs called me Sunday afternoon in a panic. On the verge of tears she says, “Suzanne, I am standing here in Michael’s backyard holding Harley’s collar and Gus is sitting beside me, but Harley is no where to be found. I have looked around this whole yard and I see no way that he could have gotten out!” Blind-sided by this information I told her I needed a few minutes to process this and I would have to call her back – a reaction didn’t come immediately….
My thoughts at the moment were “oh ghudda!!” (this phrase is also my attempt to learn Arabic ;0) ) Then, ohmygosh his collar is off, whoever finds him will have no way of contacting us or letting us know where he is. Then, oh great we got him from Project Pet if the Pound picks him up he goes back to Project Pet and away from us forever – stupid contract! Then, how am I ever going to find this dog while I am in Hilton Head and my poor friend is dealing with all of this. Then, ohmygosh Michael and I are going to have leave, drive back to Columbia, get the dogs situated, and come back to Hilton Head. Then, oh great Michael is out in the middle of the ocean fishing and I am going to have deal with this by myself.
Fortunately, in the middle of all of this mental chaos my friend calls me back to let me know that Harley has just sauntered back into the front yard as if nothing was wrong at all… My poor friend! I could tell she was stressed out and irritated with my dogs. I would be and I love them! So I thought, good - crisis averted and told her to just put them in the kitchen and she could just come over a few times a day and let them out. This should have been fine since this is how they have lived their lives while we are at work.
WRONG!!
That very same night I get yet another frantic phone call from my friend. She had been nice enough to go over there one more time that evening to let them potty before bed, only to walk in on a DISASTER area….
Harley and Gus had gotten into the flour and rice. My friend said that flour was ALL OVER the kitchen and poor (I use that term lightly- as he was really the co-conspirator) Gus was no longer a black lab, but a stark white lab with the flour “caked” to his face. There was dried rice all of the floors (we are still finding it in various nooks and crannies of the kitchen) and Lord only know how much of it they ate. On top of all of this, my poor friend had put these two crazy mutts outside while she cleaned all of this up and Harley got away for the second time that day. Fortunately, just like before, he came right back.
In fear of her sanity, I told her to just put them in the house and I would call my Aunt to come and get them. Which is exactly what happened. My aunt came and got them and they were boarded for the rest of the week…coming full circle to the entire thing we were trying to avoid…
Then, as pay back for boarding them for a week, they gave us a whole new set of issues to worry about after we returned from Hilton Head. As I said before, by this time I had moved out, so these were Michael’s stories that I am sharing with you….
Feeling that as the owner of these creatures and knowing their tricks he could secure them safely on the porch while he was at work all day, Michael did just that. (It was too soon after the event to test out the backyard again). Day one - fine, no problems at all. Day two and three great. But day four…. Oh day four….
Apparently about 2 o’clock Michael got a phone call from the neighbor saying she had Harley and he needed to come get him. So Michael left work and went to the neighbor’s house to get Harley. As he was getting out of the truck the neighbor assumed that Harley listend and would go straight to Michael. Again… WRONG… He took one look at Michael and one look at the other end of the street and BOLTED… So there is Michael running down the street in dress shoes and tie chasing after Harley. Luckily, Harley simply decided to stop running and turn and come to Michael. He was able to get him back to the house and in to the kitchen and back to work all before a 2:30 client call… Pretty impressive!
Enter me.
That evening I arrive at Michael’s house, before he does, to find that while in the kitchen again the dogs of gotten into the trash, shredded and distributed it all over the place, AND eaten 5 months worth of Heartguard. Fun…
If I didn’t love them like they were my children…. I’d hate them… :0)
My friend who was watching the dogs called me Sunday afternoon in a panic. On the verge of tears she says, “Suzanne, I am standing here in Michael’s backyard holding Harley’s collar and Gus is sitting beside me, but Harley is no where to be found. I have looked around this whole yard and I see no way that he could have gotten out!” Blind-sided by this information I told her I needed a few minutes to process this and I would have to call her back – a reaction didn’t come immediately….
My thoughts at the moment were “oh ghudda!!” (this phrase is also my attempt to learn Arabic ;0) ) Then, ohmygosh his collar is off, whoever finds him will have no way of contacting us or letting us know where he is. Then, oh great we got him from Project Pet if the Pound picks him up he goes back to Project Pet and away from us forever – stupid contract! Then, how am I ever going to find this dog while I am in Hilton Head and my poor friend is dealing with all of this. Then, ohmygosh Michael and I are going to have leave, drive back to Columbia, get the dogs situated, and come back to Hilton Head. Then, oh great Michael is out in the middle of the ocean fishing and I am going to have deal with this by myself.
Fortunately, in the middle of all of this mental chaos my friend calls me back to let me know that Harley has just sauntered back into the front yard as if nothing was wrong at all… My poor friend! I could tell she was stressed out and irritated with my dogs. I would be and I love them! So I thought, good - crisis averted and told her to just put them in the kitchen and she could just come over a few times a day and let them out. This should have been fine since this is how they have lived their lives while we are at work.
WRONG!!
That very same night I get yet another frantic phone call from my friend. She had been nice enough to go over there one more time that evening to let them potty before bed, only to walk in on a DISASTER area….
Harley and Gus had gotten into the flour and rice. My friend said that flour was ALL OVER the kitchen and poor (I use that term lightly- as he was really the co-conspirator) Gus was no longer a black lab, but a stark white lab with the flour “caked” to his face. There was dried rice all of the floors (we are still finding it in various nooks and crannies of the kitchen) and Lord only know how much of it they ate. On top of all of this, my poor friend had put these two crazy mutts outside while she cleaned all of this up and Harley got away for the second time that day. Fortunately, just like before, he came right back.
In fear of her sanity, I told her to just put them in the house and I would call my Aunt to come and get them. Which is exactly what happened. My aunt came and got them and they were boarded for the rest of the week…coming full circle to the entire thing we were trying to avoid…
Then, as pay back for boarding them for a week, they gave us a whole new set of issues to worry about after we returned from Hilton Head. As I said before, by this time I had moved out, so these were Michael’s stories that I am sharing with you….
Feeling that as the owner of these creatures and knowing their tricks he could secure them safely on the porch while he was at work all day, Michael did just that. (It was too soon after the event to test out the backyard again). Day one - fine, no problems at all. Day two and three great. But day four…. Oh day four….
Apparently about 2 o’clock Michael got a phone call from the neighbor saying she had Harley and he needed to come get him. So Michael left work and went to the neighbor’s house to get Harley. As he was getting out of the truck the neighbor assumed that Harley listend and would go straight to Michael. Again… WRONG… He took one look at Michael and one look at the other end of the street and BOLTED… So there is Michael running down the street in dress shoes and tie chasing after Harley. Luckily, Harley simply decided to stop running and turn and come to Michael. He was able to get him back to the house and in to the kitchen and back to work all before a 2:30 client call… Pretty impressive!
Enter me.
That evening I arrive at Michael’s house, before he does, to find that while in the kitchen again the dogs of gotten into the trash, shredded and distributed it all over the place, AND eaten 5 months worth of Heartguard. Fun…
If I didn’t love them like they were my children…. I’d hate them… :0)
The One with the Entire Month of May WASTED….
So we are quickly approaching the middle of June and it has been quite some time since I have blogged! There are quite a few reasons for this, but mainly because Michael’s computer just quit working! So for that lovely month of May that I had “off” I felt completely disconnected from the world! It was a special occasion when he let me use his work computer to check Facebook and email, but sadly my daily dose of Perez Hilton was banned … wah…wah…
Anyways, so that ambitious list you see below of what I wanted to accomplish in May – rubbish… all of it…. I didn’t do a single one of the items I planned to do. I didn’t even pick up a book, let alone finish that entire list. As for the losing weight item – this will be a life long battle. No matter how badly I want to lose weight there always seems to some event that comes up that is more important at the time and allows me to say “after [insert event] I will begin my diet.” Well I have been saying this for probably 13 of my almost 26 years on this planet and clearly that day after never comes….
What is really sad though is that I absolutely cannot remember what I did with those lovely three weeks that I had off. Apparently nothing productive… That’s the problem with time off. Many productive things are planned and scheduled, but because it is “time off” nothing gets done….at least with me… am I alone here???
What I do remember from this lackadaisical stint is that Michael and I had a very serious and life changing “emotional discussion.” I won’t bore you with the nitty gritty details but it resulted in us deciding that even though it stinks right now, what is best for our relationship in the long run is that I move out. Back to my apartment (in the ghetto…) that I share with my brother – and for the next 3 months his girlfriend too. Whoopie….I hope that you can hear my sarcasm in that sentence. Again I won’t bore with the why’s and why not’s, but as much as I am not happy about it, I do think it is a good thing. It feels like we are dating again, which is fun! I mean for the past six months, let’s face it, we were “playing house,” acting like the old married couple I have no doubt we will be one day. Everything had become routine and mundane and just felt kinda blah. I think it’s because we were both living with a guilty conscience knowing that if our families knew we were living together it would NOT go over well. Don’t confuse the issue though – this is merely for appearances and our parents’ sakes. I was very happy doing the boring and mundane routine with Michael. That’s what made it so hard. All the typical, boring stuff I was doing with him… I now do alone. I miss it. But I suppose that will just make married life (God willing we get there) all that much more to look forward to….
So after we spent a week in Hilton Head with his family I packed up all of my stuff and moved back into the apartment. It was timed pretty well I think because the next day I started my new job. So it wasn’t like a major change in my life – it was more like starting completely over with a whole new life!
Not to mention I don’t live with my boys anymore…. More to come on them later…
Anyways, so that ambitious list you see below of what I wanted to accomplish in May – rubbish… all of it…. I didn’t do a single one of the items I planned to do. I didn’t even pick up a book, let alone finish that entire list. As for the losing weight item – this will be a life long battle. No matter how badly I want to lose weight there always seems to some event that comes up that is more important at the time and allows me to say “after [insert event] I will begin my diet.” Well I have been saying this for probably 13 of my almost 26 years on this planet and clearly that day after never comes….
What is really sad though is that I absolutely cannot remember what I did with those lovely three weeks that I had off. Apparently nothing productive… That’s the problem with time off. Many productive things are planned and scheduled, but because it is “time off” nothing gets done….at least with me… am I alone here???
What I do remember from this lackadaisical stint is that Michael and I had a very serious and life changing “emotional discussion.” I won’t bore you with the nitty gritty details but it resulted in us deciding that even though it stinks right now, what is best for our relationship in the long run is that I move out. Back to my apartment (in the ghetto…) that I share with my brother – and for the next 3 months his girlfriend too. Whoopie….I hope that you can hear my sarcasm in that sentence. Again I won’t bore with the why’s and why not’s, but as much as I am not happy about it, I do think it is a good thing. It feels like we are dating again, which is fun! I mean for the past six months, let’s face it, we were “playing house,” acting like the old married couple I have no doubt we will be one day. Everything had become routine and mundane and just felt kinda blah. I think it’s because we were both living with a guilty conscience knowing that if our families knew we were living together it would NOT go over well. Don’t confuse the issue though – this is merely for appearances and our parents’ sakes. I was very happy doing the boring and mundane routine with Michael. That’s what made it so hard. All the typical, boring stuff I was doing with him… I now do alone. I miss it. But I suppose that will just make married life (God willing we get there) all that much more to look forward to….
So after we spent a week in Hilton Head with his family I packed up all of my stuff and moved back into the apartment. It was timed pretty well I think because the next day I started my new job. So it wasn’t like a major change in my life – it was more like starting completely over with a whole new life!
Not to mention I don’t live with my boys anymore…. More to come on them later…
Sunday, May 3, 2009
The One with the Entire Month of May Off....
So I finished my administrative Residency last week and now I have absolutely NOTHING to do.... Of course I have to find a job, which may become a full time job in-an-of-itself. However right now I am giving myself a break. A down time for a week or two to just enjoy having nothing to do....I don't exactly know what I am going to do with my time, especially since none of my other friends have time off (sadly they have jobs... wah.... wah....).
One thing I know for sure is that I want to read - for fun not for education. My book line up consists of:
Eat, Pray, Love
Shopaholic (the first two in the series)
Blink
Outliers (maybe the tipping point)
Primal Leadership
the two Nicholas Sparks books that I bought a year a go and haven't read yet....
I also want to do this reading outside. I am a scary shade of pasty white - I mean like that homely girl white that never leaves the library... yikes! So I would like to get something of a tan while I have this time off....
Catch 22 with this goal: I am fat. The thought of putting on a bathing suit makes me want to vomit (so maybe I should think about it a lot, vomit a lot, and thus become skinny....hmmm.... JUST KIDDING - seriously JK).
So I am also do the whole no/low car thing right now too....
In addition to wanting to be able to put on a bathing suit and not make strangers point and laugh at me, I also have a beach trip to get in shape for at the end of the month. This is not just any beach trip. It is a beach trip with Michael's entire family.
side note: Michael's family consists of these beautiful, skinny girls of Lebanese heritage (so they have beautiful olive skin and dark hair). I mean no matter how much I lose (which aint gonna be that much in 3 weeks) I can't compare to them! ahhhhh!!! :0\
Anyways so that I do not gross out his entire family I must lose SOME weight and get SOME pigment in my skin.....
It may be mission impossible but hey I have nothing else to work on right now, might as well work on me! :0)
Wish me luck....seriously.....
Different note if you have any suggestions on how to better occupy my time.... please let me know! :0)
P.S. Michael was so not happy with me about the previous post! Apparently everyone doesn't "need to know that." Who doesn't like an entire post of compliments about themselves!?!? hahahhahahahhahahahhahaha
One thing I know for sure is that I want to read - for fun not for education. My book line up consists of:
Eat, Pray, Love
Shopaholic (the first two in the series)
Blink
Outliers (maybe the tipping point)
Primal Leadership
the two Nicholas Sparks books that I bought a year a go and haven't read yet....
I also want to do this reading outside. I am a scary shade of pasty white - I mean like that homely girl white that never leaves the library... yikes! So I would like to get something of a tan while I have this time off....
Catch 22 with this goal: I am fat. The thought of putting on a bathing suit makes me want to vomit (so maybe I should think about it a lot, vomit a lot, and thus become skinny....hmmm.... JUST KIDDING - seriously JK).
So I am also do the whole no/low car thing right now too....
In addition to wanting to be able to put on a bathing suit and not make strangers point and laugh at me, I also have a beach trip to get in shape for at the end of the month. This is not just any beach trip. It is a beach trip with Michael's entire family.
side note: Michael's family consists of these beautiful, skinny girls of Lebanese heritage (so they have beautiful olive skin and dark hair). I mean no matter how much I lose (which aint gonna be that much in 3 weeks) I can't compare to them! ahhhhh!!! :0\
Anyways so that I do not gross out his entire family I must lose SOME weight and get SOME pigment in my skin.....
It may be mission impossible but hey I have nothing else to work on right now, might as well work on me! :0)
Wish me luck....seriously.....
Different note if you have any suggestions on how to better occupy my time.... please let me know! :0)
P.S. Michael was so not happy with me about the previous post! Apparently everyone doesn't "need to know that." Who doesn't like an entire post of compliments about themselves!?!? hahahhahahahhahahahhahaha
The One with the Amazing Boyfriend....
I am sure that some of you (as in Emily because only Emily, Michael, and myself read this blog! ha ha) will find this particular blog nauseating. Mainly because I feel the need to tell you all how amazing my boyfriend is. Now you would probably think that this blog would come after a wonderfully romantic weekend where he wined and dined me and totally spoiled me (he has done this!), but this weekend is not that weekend. In fact we spent a good portion of this weekend fighting and being irritated at each other. I think the mere fact that I am still sitting at his house, still love him, and still think he is amazing is a testament to what a wonderful person he is.
I truly think there is nothing that he cannot do. He tests and challenges me everyday - yes this does sometimes drive me crazy-but it also challenges me and makes me a better person. He portrays himself as a no nonsense, tough guy, but he is truly the sweetest most compassionate person I have ever met. Seriously, I wish I were as good-hearted as he is toward every person he meets. He is strong and disciplined and keeps his morals in line where I would be weak.
Some small examples:
We went to Charleston this weekend to see his adorable niece again (it's amazing how much babies grow in just one week!).
When we got there her house was overflowing with family. However, Noah (Michael's brother-in-law and the baby's father) was called out of town for work this past Tuesday. Leaving his 2 day old daughter and wife at home! I felt so bad for him - can you imagine how sad he was to leave his new family! Moving on.... Needless to say that with all the baby commotion and Noah not being there, their lawn was un-kept and out-of-control. So Michael volunteers himself (and recruits his brother and father) to spend the day cutting their grass. Now mind you we were only there for a few hours, he was already exhausted from the drive and working all week, and was certainly not prepared or dressed to do yard work at his sister's house. But he knew it would be a great help and that Noah would much rather come home from his trip to no other chores than to oohhh and ahhh over his new baby.... I thought it was so sweet and thoughtful! :0)
Another example:
While in Charleston we left Harley out in Michael's backyard. Of course this was not a wise decision.
You see last week we planted this beautiful garden with vegetables and herbs and even put in a pretty fancy irrigation system. I was so proud of it! Even showed it off to people who came over to visit.
Well ... While Harley was alone all day while we were in Charleston, he took it upon himself to pull out most of the plants, throw most of the dirt all over the patio leaving huge holes, and even tear the irrigation system out of the ground. I WAS PISSED...... Ohhhhhh I hated that dog on Saturday night....
Like I said earlier, I honestly do not think there is anything Michael cannot do - and do well... He is an amazing cook, excellent and continuously rising through the ranks in his finance job, and he can fix/build any and everything. He even had his contractors license once.
In order to make all things right with the world Michael spent all day Sunday fixing all of Harley's (well maybe not all, but most) disasters outside. First he replaced the porch screen doors. Harley had created his own doggie door by busting through the screen. (Please keep in mind that Harley had a actual doggie door right next to the screen door but just chose not to use it.)
Then he built this elaborate gate to put in front of my/our garden to keep the dogs out. I mean it is awesome! You can remove it when you want to work in the garden or when company is over and put it right back in place afterwards. There is no way those mangy mutts can get into the garden now. I know it may not seem like much, but I was so proud and impressed with him. Its just the little things ya know...
These are just the examples from this weekend... He really does surprise/impress me almost everyday. He is such a leader, visionary, builder, provider, etc. etc. I feel so lucky right now...
(Now like I said we did spend a good portion of the weekend fighting so he's not perfect - but close! ;0 More to come on the fighting issues later.....hahahhaha)
I truly think there is nothing that he cannot do. He tests and challenges me everyday - yes this does sometimes drive me crazy-but it also challenges me and makes me a better person. He portrays himself as a no nonsense, tough guy, but he is truly the sweetest most compassionate person I have ever met. Seriously, I wish I were as good-hearted as he is toward every person he meets. He is strong and disciplined and keeps his morals in line where I would be weak.
Some small examples:
We went to Charleston this weekend to see his adorable niece again (it's amazing how much babies grow in just one week!).
When we got there her house was overflowing with family. However, Noah (Michael's brother-in-law and the baby's father) was called out of town for work this past Tuesday. Leaving his 2 day old daughter and wife at home! I felt so bad for him - can you imagine how sad he was to leave his new family! Moving on.... Needless to say that with all the baby commotion and Noah not being there, their lawn was un-kept and out-of-control. So Michael volunteers himself (and recruits his brother and father) to spend the day cutting their grass. Now mind you we were only there for a few hours, he was already exhausted from the drive and working all week, and was certainly not prepared or dressed to do yard work at his sister's house. But he knew it would be a great help and that Noah would much rather come home from his trip to no other chores than to oohhh and ahhh over his new baby.... I thought it was so sweet and thoughtful! :0)Another example:
While in Charleston we left Harley out in Michael's backyard. Of course this was not a wise decision.
You see last week we planted this beautiful garden with vegetables and herbs and even put in a pretty fancy irrigation system. I was so proud of it! Even showed it off to people who came over to visit.
Well ... While Harley was alone all day while we were in Charleston, he took it upon himself to pull out most of the plants, throw most of the dirt all over the patio leaving huge holes, and even tear the irrigation system out of the ground. I WAS PISSED...... Ohhhhhh I hated that dog on Saturday night....
Like I said earlier, I honestly do not think there is anything Michael cannot do - and do well... He is an amazing cook, excellent and continuously rising through the ranks in his finance job, and he can fix/build any and everything. He even had his contractors license once.
In order to make all things right with the world Michael spent all day Sunday fixing all of Harley's (well maybe not all, but most) disasters outside. First he replaced the porch screen doors. Harley had created his own doggie door by busting through the screen. (Please keep in mind that Harley had a actual doggie door right next to the screen door but just chose not to use it.)
Then he built this elaborate gate to put in front of my/our garden to keep the dogs out. I mean it is awesome! You can remove it when you want to work in the garden or when company is over and put it right back in place afterwards. There is no way those mangy mutts can get into the garden now. I know it may not seem like much, but I was so proud and impressed with him. Its just the little things ya know...
These are just the examples from this weekend... He really does surprise/impress me almost everyday. He is such a leader, visionary, builder, provider, etc. etc. I feel so lucky right now...
(Now like I said we did spend a good portion of the weekend fighting so he's not perfect - but close! ;0 More to come on the fighting issues later.....hahahhaha)
Monday, April 27, 2009
The One with the New Baby!
Oh my goodness…. So much has happened since I last filled you in…. Well the dogs are doing pretty good together, though every now and then we will hear these blood curdling screams from the room where Gus and Harley stay. It sounds like Harley might quite literally be trying to eat Gus! We are trying to develop a new living arrangement… TBD….
On a much different note ~ Michael is an uncle!!! It was the most amazing thing! I feel so lucky that I am dating such a wonderful person with a wonderful family that includes me in such amazing events. I was a little hesitant to allow Michael to include me in going to the hospital and being there for his niece’s birth (I mean it is a very intimate thing and sometimes people might just want family there – ya know?), but I am so grateful that they made me a part of this! Michael got the call on Saturday night about 10 pm that they had gone to the hospital and that the birth was imminent. So we jumped in the car and headed down to Charleston.
(After calling every one of my friends in my phonebook, none of which answered because it was after all 10 pm on a Saturday night, I was finally able to reach my aunt to come and take care of Gus and Harley while we were gone. I must say that I love my aunt dearly, she’s awesome, but she was not my first choice to come and take care of our beasts. For no other reason but that I spend a lot of time at Michael’s house – more than I would care for her to know. She surely knows now after being in his house and seeing my stuff everywhere (my stuff everywhere is a whole ‘nother issue….). Anyways… back to the story)
We get there at midnight and everyone is just sitting around the hospital waiting patiently and making idle chit chat. So Michael, the constant man of practicality that he is, decides it’s silly for us to just sit around the hospital and wait. He and I go to his sister and brother-in-law’s house and take a quick nap until we get “the call.” About 4:15 the call comes. We get up and rush back to the hospital. I was so glad that we got there just in time. Michael, his dad, his mom, his brother-in-law’s mom and grandmother, and myself were standing outside of the hospital room waiting and listening for the baby.
We heard her enter this world. It was amazing. It even makes me tear up now a little bit as I think about it. Her first cry. Rachael and Noah becoming parents. A new life. It all happened in that moment – 4 minutes before 5 in the morning on April 26th. She was beautiful. All 7 lbs 13 oz. and 21 inches of her. Alaina Rose Garrett. Like I said I am so grateful that Michael has such a wonderful family that would include me in this.
I keep telling Michael wait an amazing event it was. He, of course, was the proud uncle but I think was to exhausted to express the same excitement that I was… Or maybe the reality of it all hadn’t set in yet…
Prior to this I have to admit that pregnancy and child birth was all a bit “icky” and scary to me. But being there for all of that makes you really realize that it is the “miracle of life.” I just couldn’t get over it all. Amazing. I don’t consider myself a skilled writer to say the least, and this is proof. My story telling and words do not do justice to the amazing events that happened yesterday….
Meanwhile… Harley and Gus where locked in a room in Columbia during all of this, except for the few minutes when my aunt came and let them out for a few minutes and feed them. You can imagine what we came home to….
On a much different note ~ Michael is an uncle!!! It was the most amazing thing! I feel so lucky that I am dating such a wonderful person with a wonderful family that includes me in such amazing events. I was a little hesitant to allow Michael to include me in going to the hospital and being there for his niece’s birth (I mean it is a very intimate thing and sometimes people might just want family there – ya know?), but I am so grateful that they made me a part of this! Michael got the call on Saturday night about 10 pm that they had gone to the hospital and that the birth was imminent. So we jumped in the car and headed down to Charleston.
(After calling every one of my friends in my phonebook, none of which answered because it was after all 10 pm on a Saturday night, I was finally able to reach my aunt to come and take care of Gus and Harley while we were gone. I must say that I love my aunt dearly, she’s awesome, but she was not my first choice to come and take care of our beasts. For no other reason but that I spend a lot of time at Michael’s house – more than I would care for her to know. She surely knows now after being in his house and seeing my stuff everywhere (my stuff everywhere is a whole ‘nother issue….). Anyways… back to the story)
We get there at midnight and everyone is just sitting around the hospital waiting patiently and making idle chit chat. So Michael, the constant man of practicality that he is, decides it’s silly for us to just sit around the hospital and wait. He and I go to his sister and brother-in-law’s house and take a quick nap until we get “the call.” About 4:15 the call comes. We get up and rush back to the hospital. I was so glad that we got there just in time. Michael, his dad, his mom, his brother-in-law’s mom and grandmother, and myself were standing outside of the hospital room waiting and listening for the baby.
We heard her enter this world. It was amazing. It even makes me tear up now a little bit as I think about it. Her first cry. Rachael and Noah becoming parents. A new life. It all happened in that moment – 4 minutes before 5 in the morning on April 26th. She was beautiful. All 7 lbs 13 oz. and 21 inches of her. Alaina Rose Garrett. Like I said I am so grateful that Michael has such a wonderful family that would include me in this.I keep telling Michael wait an amazing event it was. He, of course, was the proud uncle but I think was to exhausted to express the same excitement that I was… Or maybe the reality of it all hadn’t set in yet…
Prior to this I have to admit that pregnancy and child birth was all a bit “icky” and scary to me. But being there for all of that makes you really realize that it is the “miracle of life.” I just couldn’t get over it all. Amazing. I don’t consider myself a skilled writer to say the least, and this is proof. My story telling and words do not do justice to the amazing events that happened yesterday….
Meanwhile… Harley and Gus where locked in a room in Columbia during all of this, except for the few minutes when my aunt came and let them out for a few minutes and feed them. You can imagine what we came home to….
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
The One With The Last Class and Selfish Dog
Soooo.... I am so close to being done that I can't stand it! :0) I just got back from my final class! The only thing left is my thesis presentation tomorrow!! Then I will have a master's degree.... The job part - well I am still working on that...wah...wah...It seems like the past two years have just flown by, yet at the same time it seems to have taken FOREVER!! I just can't wait to earn a paycheck again and not be totally dependent on the government for my livelihood (although with my student loan debt I think I will owe somebody some amount of money for the rest of my life...)!
Now on the boys... Gus is getting so big so quickly! It's crazy. We have only had him for a little over one week now and he's already grown. Although I shouldn't be super surprised because that little thing eats like a horse! Geeze.... So far Harley and Gus are getting along a little bit better. Harley is a bit jealous and doesn't really like to share his toys. In fact he hoards them. If Gus picks up a toy, Harley will literally go and take it out of the little guy's mouth and then either guard it or destroy it so that Gus can't play with it! We're working on it.... Slowly but surely...
We are now able to leave Harley and Gus in the room together (sans crate for Gus) all day long. This is a huge accomplishment. Prior to this development we seriously thought that Harley just might eat little Gus if he wasn't crated. The first week we left Gus crated in the room with Harley while we were at work, Harley would literally pull the newspaper out of the bottom of the crate, shred it into a million little pieces.
Then he would pull out any stuffed animal or chew toy that was left in the crate (literally pull it from between the tiny openings in the crate) and dismember the toy and pull out all of the stuffing! We would get home from work and it would look like it had snowed! HA! But as I said before, we're past that! Yeah! Growing up quickly! 
Now on the boys... Gus is getting so big so quickly! It's crazy. We have only had him for a little over one week now and he's already grown. Although I shouldn't be super surprised because that little thing eats like a horse! Geeze.... So far Harley and Gus are getting along a little bit better. Harley is a bit jealous and doesn't really like to share his toys. In fact he hoards them. If Gus picks up a toy, Harley will literally go and take it out of the little guy's mouth and then either guard it or destroy it so that Gus can't play with it! We're working on it.... Slowly but surely...
We are now able to leave Harley and Gus in the room together (sans crate for Gus) all day long. This is a huge accomplishment. Prior to this development we seriously thought that Harley just might eat little Gus if he wasn't crated. The first week we left Gus crated in the room with Harley while we were at work, Harley would literally pull the newspaper out of the bottom of the crate, shred it into a million little pieces.
Then he would pull out any stuffed animal or chew toy that was left in the crate (literally pull it from between the tiny openings in the crate) and dismember the toy and pull out all of the stuffing! We would get home from work and it would look like it had snowed! HA! But as I said before, we're past that! Yeah! Growing up quickly! 
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