- We had a fabulous, albeit extremely busy, Christmas. We spent time with our wonderful families and had a great time exchanging gifts and catching up. My favorite gifts this year are definitely my new camera (duh!) and my awesome flip video recorder. I also got a photo printer, so now I can print off all the photos I've been taking. I can't wait for my first photography class to start next month (yes, folks, I am taking more than one!).
- We left at 10:30 PM on Christmas night for Florida (driving) and arrived in Sarasota at 10:30 PM Saturday night. Whew...what a long drive! We spent 4 days in Sarasota and 2 days in Key West before flying home this past Saturday. It was a wonderful trip and a crazy trip home, but I will fill you in on all the details in another post with pictures (whenever I get around to uploading them).
- We also wrapped up the bathroom reno last night. We worked non-stop since getting home Saturday afternoon and finished it up around 6:00 PM last night. It looks sooooo good. I will be sure to share pics of this as well.
- Remember my rant about 2009 being the worst year ever? Well, I have even more proof that this is a true statement. Including my boss, there are 7 people on my team at work. 3 of my teammates had a death in the family this week. Yes, 3 of them. Tonight I am going to a wake for one of them :-( In addition, I've heard of 3 other people in my department at work that have experienced the death of an immediate family member within the past 2 weeks. Is this seriously not the worst thing you've heard in a long time? 2009 needs to get it's behind out of here!
- On a much lighter note, our trip south is going to be quite an extravaganza! In addition to spending quality time in our beloved city-away-from-home, Sarasota, we have booked our tickets to spend 2 days in Key West. In case my constant talking about my trip didn't give it away, I just want y'all to know that I absolutely cannot wait to go!
- I totally snagged the deal of the century on the last Christmas gift I had to buy. I've been stalking the Internet since the day after Thanksgiving for a good deal on a pair of Chippewa Boots for my little brother. Leave it up to him to pick a pair of $180 boots as his one and only item on his Christmas gift list. Anyway, after weeks of coming up empty (best deal I found was $145 before taxes), I found a coupon yesterday that got me those babies for $79!!! In case you aren't good at math, that's a $100 savings! So, in addition to getting an awesome deal, I can now say that absolutely all of my Christmas shopping is done!
- Christmas is in full swing this weekend...a party tonight and a party tomorrow night. In addition, we have to pay a visit to my father this weekend for a slightly belated birthday celebration. BTW, Happy Birthday Daddy-O!
- I had a slight freak out the other week because I found a small lump on Bailey's side. Naturally, as any devoted dog mom would do, I rushed her to the vet to have it checked out. We found out that she has a Lypoma, a harmless fat deposit that Labs are known for. Thank goodness nothing is wrong with my chocolate baby!
- There is nothing better in this world than heated seats in the winter. Every day when I drive to and from work I wonder how I ever lived without them.
Well, I think that's enough rambling for one afternoon. Have a great weekend!
- Our trip to Sarasota is ON! Our tickets are booked and in just a few short weeks, I will be back in paradise with my wonderful husband soaking up all the good things life has to offer (like sun and non-freezing temperatures).
- We spent the weekend getting in the Christmas spirit and I am happy to report that our house is beautifully decorated (J describes it as "extra festive"), our Christmas shopping is DONE, and after laboring for nearly 4 hours on Sunday, all of our Christmas gifts are wrapped and under the tree (that we actually cut down ourselves!).
- We've also designed and ordered our Christmas cards...and got 50 of them for free! We only had to pay for 25, so it ended up costing us a whopping $13! We've also prepared address labels for everyone we are sending them to, so once the cards arrive, all we have to do is stick the labes and stamps on and they're out the door. Another Bailey picture is gracing the G family card this year because, let's face it, who wants to see a pic of J and I when they can see Ms. B?!?
- On a whim, we called Comcast this weekend to inquire about activating Showtime and wouldn't you know it...there was a special running! Needless to say, it has been activated and my Dexter addiction is in high gear. I loves me some Dex, baby!
- My new camera rocks my photo-loving world. I still don't have any clue how to use it but the pictures that I have already taken with it put my point and shoot pictures to shame. I can't wait to use that baby in Sarasota...it's gonna be awesome!
I entered into 2009 with such hope and optimism for a great year and, now entering the 12th month, I can officially say that this year sucked the big one. For lots of reasons that I don't want to get into. And just when I thought it couldn't get any worse, I'm sick :-( And I flooded our basement last night. Thank goodness I have my dear husband and sweet pup to keep me semi-sane.
So, get lost 2009. I am so done with you. 2010 has to be better, right?
As you can probably figure out by my bad blogging habits, life for the G's has been rather hectic lately. Since I'm sure you're dying to know (yeah right!), here's the highlights:
- J and I took our first trip to Sarasota and we loved it. In fact, to say that we loved it is probably an understatement. It is such a cool, unique, not your typical Florida area. The downtown is filled with unique shops and a variety of fabulous restaurants. My personal fav was a place called "Sarasota Vineyards" -- a wine bar at which you can sample 80 different kinds of wine! A wine lover's dream come true! But, I digress. There truly is no shortage of things to do...from the happening downtown, to the fun and funky St. Armands Circle, to the various keys off the coast of Sarasota that each have such unique and fascinating characteristics (one has the whitest, softest sand in the U.S., one is filled with thousands of seashells, one has shark teeth wash up onto it, and so on). In summary, Sarasota = Ahhhhhmazing.
- Since we loved it so much, we are going back to Sarasota next month. Woot, Woot! And, we've actually been having some pretty serious conversations about thinking about moving there. Not sure we're quite ready to commit to a move like that, but J and I are seriously considering it.
- My most beloved darling husband turned the big 2-9er! We were in Sarasota for the big day and enjoyed a fabulous day and a fabulous dinner out to celebrate. Love you baby!
- My oh-so-traditional husband nixed my idea of going out to dinner on Thanksgiving because he wants to have a traditional, at home Thanksgiving. So, we will be hosting turkey day festivities a la casa de G. He's already been warned that he better help out with the cooking, or else.
- It's official -- we're old. J and I both have our 10 year high school reunions this coming weekend. They could either be really fun or really lame. We'll see. At least I'll have by bestest girlfriends, Crystal and Sarah, by my side for the excitement.
- I am proud to say that in between all of my travels, social events and responsibilities, I have managed to finish nearly all of my Christmas shopping. There is nothing like a stress-free December.
Well, that's all I've got time for this lovely evening. I hope you all have a wonderful and safe Thanksgiving!
It has been 10 years...a whole decade...since I graduated from high school. Whoa...where did the time go?!?
In late November, I will be attending not one, but two high school reunions. Mine and my hubby's. And they just so happen to fall back to back, with mine on a Friday night and his the very next night. I have mixed feelings about them (well, mostly mine. I am happy to accompany my hubby to his.). One minute I think it will be a lot of fun, and then the next minute I picture an evening filled with awkward conversations with people that I wasn't really friends with in high school (and let's be honest, don't even remember).
Who knows how it will turn out, but I am committed to living a life without regrets, so I'm going to embrace the cheesiness of the high school reunion and go with bells on. It may suck, but you only graduate from high school 10 years ago once, right?
As the weather turns cold and the sound of the furnace pumping out heat is a regular sound in our home, I can't help but to longingly think of warmer days. And then I remember that I am leaving for Florida in a few short weeks! Woo Hoo!
Pathetic documentation of such an important day, I know. But, the most important thing was that we celebrate my mom and show her how much she's loved, and I'm pretty sure that was accomplished. Love you mumma! Happy 50 to you!
I can't help but be a little festive this time of year...I love it! I love all things fall...foliage, cider, pumpkins, football, the smell of fire, trick-or-treaters, sweaters, boots...I could go on and on and on. So, in honor of my love of all things fall, the bloggy got a new look. You like?
And speaking of the bloggy, I have something to say.
Dear Bloggy,
I am so sorry that I have been neglecting you. You are always faithful and willing to accept whatever I put in you. You listen to my antics and don't care whether I am writing a happy post or a complainey post. You always proudly wear whatever background I put on you (are you digging the Halloween motif as much as I am?). Yet, I have not shown you the same respect. I only use you when it's convenient for me. And lately that hasn't been much. But, I am going to try harder and even though I can't make any promises, I do hope to be a better partner in this fun, yet semi-narcissistic, journey that we have been on for almost 2 years!
Your semi-faithful partner in blogging,
Melissa
And speaking of new looks, guess who got bangs? That's right...me! I haven't had bangs since junior high and I'm totally freaking out about them. When I got my haircut, we were all but finished up when I made a spur of the moment decision to have them cut. I am still not sure about them, but I am trying to give them a chance. I promise to post a pic as soon as I take one.
Happy fall, peeps!
KIDDING! This was actually taken last winter, but I did wake up to snow this morning. Yes, you heard me right. SNOW. On October 16th. It's not sticking (thankfully) but it is a big time wake up call. Fall is here and winter is not far behind. Eek!
In the past month, we've had the honor attending two beautiful weddings and witnessing the most wonderful moments of our friends lives. Prepare for picture overload.
First up, Sergio and Maura...
John was in this one, so we got to take part in all of the wedding festivities.
Here we are at the rehersal dinner. One of us perhaps had one too many cocktails...can you tell which one?
At the ceremony...it's blurry because we were sitting in the way back of the church. Guess that's what happens when you don't show up early to a 300 guest wedding!
Phew! That's enough wedding talk if you ask me! We are now officially on wedding hiatus until next year, and only have one on the calendar so far (Nick and Shannon from the pic above). Hope you enjoyed! We sure did!
We have FINALLY booked a trip to our condo in Sarasota, Florida! I could not possibly be more excited to (1) finally see our vacation home that we purchased several months ago, and (2) take a long overdue vacation that we both desperately need. It's been a crazy and tough year for many reasons, and I can think of no better way to de-stress and forget about past ills than laying on one of the most beautiful beaches in the U.S. with my wonderful hubby, just the 2 of us! Can you believe that we have not been on a vacation by ourselves since college?!? Bliss!!!
In other news, life at the G household has been very busy these past few weeks. I will be updating y'all very soon on:
- Sergio and Maura's Labor Day Weekend Wedding
- Bed collapse disaster turned fabulous DIY bedroom makeover
- J & M's work out mania
- Planning my mother's surprise 50th birthday party
- Other miscellany in our lives
I want to take this opportunity to honor John's great aunt Jo-Anne, who passed away suddenly and unexpectedly on September 2nd at the age of 72. Jo-Anne was one of the sweetest, warmest, most friendly people I've ever had the pleasure of meeting. She will be missed very much.
I had something out of a dream happen to me last week. I got a phone call telling me that I inherited money! Ok, Ok, don't get too excited yet. I'm not retiring or moving to an exotic island with the proceeds. Let me give you the full story...
My brother and I have different fathers. During the time that my mother was married to Ron (my brother's father), Ron's father (let's call him Grandpa W) passed away. It was 1992 and I was 11 and my brother was 2. Grandpa W left my bro (who is his biological grandchild) some money, but he could not collect until he turned 18. Are you still with me?
Now, fast forward 17 years to last week. My brother and mother took a trip to the Hampshire County probate court to figure out how to finally collect my bro's inheritance now that he's of age (he's using it to pay for college!). They pulled the docket and, while looking through, discovered that I was left money as well! Not a ton of money, but that is completely irrelevant. I was completely shocked and so humbled by the fact that Grandpa W, who had absolutely no obligation to me, was so kind and generous to think of me. Such an amazing gesture.
So, I took a day off from work to investigate on my own. And, after only an hour spent at probate court, I left with my old school passbook to the savings account holding my inheritance (plus 17 years of interest!). Of course, I went straight to the bank to collect and then straight to the outlets to buy designer handbags :-) Don't worry -- I wasn't COMPLETELY reckless with all of the money...I put half of it into savings (earning brownie points with the savings-minded hubby!).
So, I'd like to take a moment to remember Grandpa W. His kindness and generosity live on.
As you may recall, I completed a closet organization project back in January. In this organization effort, I put each pair of shoes I own into a plastic container and affixed a photo of the shoes on the outside of the container for easy identification. The closet looked fantastic afterward! To refresh your memory...
I was so happy with the result...until I had to live with it. Through this project, I learned a very valuable organization lesson -- stacking doesn't work. It seemed like such a great idea in theory, but in reality it did not function well. Having to pull out the 5th or 6th container down in a stack was becoming such a pain that the shoes stopped being put back into their containers and started collecting in a pile at the bottom of my closet, totally defeating the purpose of the containers.
So, back to the drawing board I went. I had to figure out something that was organized AND functional. After much consideration and scouring of the Internet, I figured out the perfect (and most obvious) solution! Shelves! Originally I was going to put shelves in on my side of the closet only but then I had my second brilliant revelation. Kick my husband out (of the closet that is)! He gladly obliged, as that closet was just not big enough for the two of us. So, with all my new found closet space, I had my handy hubby install shelving in each side of the closet. One side has shelving for shoes...
My beautiful shoe containers in all of their glory! And, I added a shallow basket on the bottom to hold flip flops and flats...
Look at all the floor space I gained by getting the shoes off the floor!
This photo is a tad dark, but the shelves on this side are for tank tops, t-shirts, hats, boots, my work bag and the purse I am currently using. This give me easy access to my most commonly used items. And, I even have a shelf with nothing on it! I figured it was probably a good idea to give myself a little extra space to grow into.
Sweaters are still up top and still organized by color. But, they've been shifted to the middle for easy access. My other favorite purses and bags are stored on each side of the top shelf so I can rotate whenever I feel like it.
And, just because I love it so much and am so proud -- my shoes again!
So, that's it! My beautifully organized, and fully functional, closet! Organization really does make life so much more simple!
Best part of the project: It cost us zero dollars and zero cents! We found the wood for the shelving at John's grandmother's house and cut each shelf to size with John's father's various man-saws. We also pre-drilled the holes for the shelf supports with John's father's man-drill. And, labor was free :-)
Worst part of the project: See, installing shelves in a closet isn't exactly the most exciting of projects, so we decided it would be a lot more fun with cocktails. And, it was :-) But, sadly, I am feeling the effects of my indulgence today :-( Oh well, small price to pay for such an awesome closet!!!