Lightening Definitely Strikes Twice

So, so scary last night! We got hit by some serious thunderstorms. Probably the worst I've ever experienced. The lightning was so severe and freqent that the whole sky was lit up like it was the middle of the day. It was so vivid that it seriously looked like the grand finale at the 4th of July fireworks. The wind was so ferocious and it made the whole house creek. I seriously expected to look out the window and see a tornado coming down the road. And then to top it off, the power went out and was out all night (which made for a really hot and restless night with no A/C). We were very fortunate to have little damage to our house and yard...just downed tree limbs and leaves. Others in the neighborhood were not so fortunate. There is a lot of clean up to do.

Ahhh...mother nature is a fickle one. She can bring great beauty, but she can also bring great destruction.

Here's the story from one of the local news stations:

Severe thunderstorms cause damage to parts of western Massachusetts

WESTFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) - It was a tough night for many people in western Massachusetts after heavy storms moved through the area, closing down roads and knocking out power to many residents.

In the city of Westfield, it all happened around 11 o'clock Tuesday night. High winds knocked down a large tree limb in a commercial plaza on Route 20. Power crews continue to work on restoring power.

Police had to assist in traffic control because lights were lost due to outages.

On Mill Street near Noble Hospital, a huge tree closed the road. It knocked down power lines, posing a danger to those walking in the area. A tree also barely missed hitting a home.

On Springdale Road, another tree snapped off, nearly doing severe damage to a home. "Lightning hit, power went out, trees were flying everywhere. It sounded like they were crashing down. One fell there and another one fell down the road. No one could get to work" said Mike Hussey.

"Westfield was really, really dark and eerie, going through and seeing absolutely no street lights or business lights" said Anthony Martone.

All public schools in Westfield are closed due to storm damage.

Guilty Confession

I have a confession to make, and I'm not proud of it.

Yesterday, I mowed my lawn for the first time. How bad is that? I have owned my home since March of 2006, and yesterday was the first time I mowed. John has been master of that domain and I admit that I haven't been too much help. Sure, I've helped with other landscaping chores, including trimming the multitudes of bushes in our yard, raking leaves in the fall and putting down rocks in the bushes around the house. And, I planted flowers in the planter outside our front door (once, last year). But, John truly does the majority of the outdoor work. He doesn't seem to mind it too much, and he rarely asks for help, but I really should be doing a little more. So, in my efforts to do so, I got the lengthy lesson in how to operate our riding lawn mower (which, by the way, was a wedding gift from my father) and off I went. I think I did a pretty good job for my first time. Aside from taking twice as long as John normally does and running over one of Bailey's tennis balls, I think it came out pretty darn good! John did take over at the very end to get it finished, because a rain storm was quickly moving in our direction, but yesterday I mastered mowing!

I only have one complaint...I have bug bites on my legs now! I am so itchy today!!! Next time I will be sure to wear my bug repellent. And maybe wear pants and shoes, versus the shorts and flip flops I donned yesterday. I know, I know...not the best lawn mowing attire, but in my defense, it was 95 degrees out!

Whoa!

Whoa #1 - I paid $4.03(.9) a gallon for gas this week. Ugh!


Whoa #2 - Check this bad boy out...

Feelin' hot, hot hot!!!

Warning! Warning! Very Selfish Post Below - Read at your own risk!

Confusion! What is going on in my mind?!?

Let's first state the facts...I am turning 27 in 2 months (eek!) and John is turning 28 in November (double eek!). We've been married for over 2 years, we own a wonderful home, we both have flourishing careers, and we are truly happy and content in our lives together. So, it is only natural that we are thinking about the next step...having children. I have always known that I want to be a mother and I absolutely love children. Every time I see a baby, I am completely drawn to them and I melt just looking at them. I am also completely fascinated by pregnancy. Creating and growing a child inside of me is by far the most incomprehensible and amazing thing to think about and I am excited to experience it. Now that I've reached this point in my life, it is only natural that I've been thinking more and more about these things and my desire to start my own family has been growing.

So, the reason that I am bringing this all up is because John and I have been having very serious conversations about this next step in our lives lately. And while it's very exciting to think about, my reaction to the thought of this being a reality has surprised me a lot. With the way that I've been feeling about it, I expected myself to jump for joy when John felt that he was ready. I thought I'd be ready to jump right in and try to make it happen. But, now that this has happened, I find myself feeling quite the opposite. I worry about what effect it will have on our relationship as a couple. I love our life as it is right now and I love all of the wonderful time that John and I have together, just the two of us. I love being able to do what we want when we want, whether it be going out to dinner at a moments notice or being completely lazy on a Sunday afternoon snuggled up on the couch. I like it being just about us. I worry that if it weren't just us, we wouldn't be able to focus on each other and our relationship like we do now. I worry that our time together, the time that I love and cherish so much, will disappear. I worry that our lives will become completely about our children, and I do not want my entire existence to be defined by my children. I am a unique individual and I have my own personal desires, dreams, hopes, fears, likes, dislikes, quirks, ambitions, passions, etc. and I don't ever want to lose that person. It makes me sad to think about losing the lifestyle that we have now. I truly fear, and almost mourn, the loss of the things in my life that I love.

While I do realize that having children will change our lives, and I look forward to many of those changes, there are some things that I don't want to change. What if it is exactly those things that I don't want to change that do? There is no turning back after having children, and what if I wish we could turn back? The closer I get to starting my family, the less I feel like I want to. Is this normal? Am I being completely irrational or are all of these fears going to come true? Will I ever feel like I am 100% ready, or should I just take a leap of faith? Thankfully time is on my side and I don't have to make the decisions immediately. And, until I feel at peace with the situation, I will continue to take my little pill each night and ponder these questions as I fall asleep :-)

Clean Sweep

After 10 days off, I returned to work yesterday. And I am thrilled to be back! Weird, huh?

The truth is that last week was no vacation at all. I spent the entire week helping my mom clean out her attic (which was filled with all of my grandparent's possessions - who, bless their wonderful souls, were unable to throw anything out) and her rental storage unit (which was full of all of her life's possessions up until 7 years ago, when she moved in with my grandpa to take care of him). This monumental task has been hanging over my mom's head for several years, but just seemed too overwhelming to tackle, so it never got done. Well, now that I am handling all of my mom's finances for her (that's another story altogether), I have been looking for ways to reduce her monthly expenses. At $145 per month, that rental storage unit was clearly a big drain on her finances, so it had to be eliminated. So, I told my mom that it was time to do the big clean out, and thankfully she was more than ready to take on the challenge. We worked unbelievably hard all week to accomplish our goal and, much to our surprise, we actually finished. This truly was a miracle considering how much there was to be done. We both knew that there was a lot of stuff in both the attic and the storage unit, but neither of us anticipated just how much there was. It was far worse than the worst case scenario that we envisioned. At many points during the week, I thought that finishing in time for my mom's scheduled tag sale this past weekend was impossible, but we did it! I am so proud of us and so happy that this weight has been lifted off of my mom's shoulders. She is the most caring and giving person I have ever known and she deserves greatness in her life. Anything that I can do to reduce the amount of stress in her life is well worth it. Even if it makes me exhausted and bruised from head to toe! And, the best news of all...she made a TON of money in her tag sale. Success all around!!!

So, here's to my mom and the great strides she is making in taking control of her life. I am so proud of her strength, her determination and her faith. She is living proof that it is never too late to do anything that you set your mind to. She is tackling issues that she has been dealing with for many years, and this clean sweep is another item that she can check off her list. Although cleaning out an attic and storage space may seem like no big deal to many, getting this done has truly been cleansing for both her home and her soul. And knowing how happy and relieved she is to have this done brings great joy into my life.

But, seriously, I need a vacation to recover :-) Thank goodness we are leaving for the Cape in only 2 1/2 weeks!

Labs will be Labs

Woot! Woot!

I just ran my fastest 5k EVER! 26:26!!! That's almost one whole minute better than my previous best. Go me, go me, go go go me!