40-love or how this isn’t really about tennis…yet is..

Yes, yes I was trying to be cute with my post title tonight. But when I looked up tennis scoring I was surprised to see there was no 35 score, just 15, 20, 30, 40, and 60. Who knew? Clearly not me.  Anywho, my birthday was yesterday and I turned the big 3-5. An age I was taking rather hard in the months, weeks, and days leading up to July 24th.

But why? Well, for starters I feel like there’s a lot I haven’t done yet. You know like had a baby or three, finished that musical I started, published that novel I finished, the little things… But then the day was here and suddenly none of that really seemed to matter. Why? Because life doesn’t end at 35. In fact I think I actually believe the opposite to be true for me….life STARTS at 35. I have some crazy feeling that this year is my year to get it together and take control.

So I’m starting with the little things like washing my make-up off every night no matter how tired I am. Yep I was that girl who just left everything on and went right to bed. Probably not a smart move. I’ve started getting religious about my vitamin taking too. Plus generally taking care of myself.

Which brings me in a way to the tennis. I went to the doctor Tuesday night as I’d been having some joint pain for a while now. Turns out I have tennis elbow in BOTH elbows! Which I find super amusing seeing as I’m not an athletic person at all. Far from it in fact. I mean if you see me running…call the police because someone is chasing me! But apparently you can get this by doing something a stupid as carrying your heavy grocery bags on your arms…GUILTY. Downside it sucks, upside Flexeril!

In actual sports related injury news I get a call from my mother last night to call her back as it was very important. The way she’s talking it sounded like someone died…nice Mom. Turns out my little sister took a soft ball to the cheek during her softball game. But she shrugged it off b/c she’s that much of a badass. It was the line-drive to the eye a few innings later that sent her to the ER via ambulance! She’s ok, I mean her eye looks like she went 20 rounds with the champ…but she’ll have surgery to fix the orbital fracture and be good as new in a few weeks.

I of course told my sister had she come out with us for my birthday none of this would ever have happened. To which she laughed and agreed. But at least she’ll be ok. In fact she didn’t want my mother to tell me because it was my birthday and I was out having a good time. Which was super sweet of her, but I would have been super pissed if no one told me until today.

Oh! I’ve also been celebrating my birthday all week! Take a look!

Monday!

Tuesday!

BIRTHDAY! (aka Wednesday)

Thursday

My birthday is turning into an all week thing. Some people I know take the whole month. So I think I’m being pretty good people. So on my actual birthday this happened on Twitter and I nearly died when it did…

OMG OMG!!

Yeah, um I asked for a potential birthday shout out, pretty please with glitter on top and you can see my friend Hazy also asked Ms. AFP for a shout out….and well she delivered!! That’s right Amanda Palmer wished me a Happy Birthday (ok BIRFDAY)!! I’m still smiling. Wednesday evening the Hubbins and some friends and I went out for eats and frozen yogurt AND I got presents!!

My friends ROCK!

Booze, monies, fancy soaps, and gift cards…hello awesome! The Hubbins got me some jewelry, and a lot of Vera Bradley stuff. He had wanted to surprise me with something, but didn’t because I picked out all this Vera stuff…well had he said he was going to surprise me I clearly wouldn’t have….of well there’s always next year right?

I have to tell you I thought 35 was going to suck, but so far…two days in I find it to be pretty dang awesome! Even if, according to the Hubbins, I am halfway to 70 (thanks for that reminder). But it was a good reminder. It means life isn’t over and I still have plenty of sets left to play!

Blog Dump

Allow me to apologize for the lack of posting this last week. I posted once…but the heat really killed my desire to sit and type at the computer to all you fine people. So allow me to recap the week for you. IT WAS HOT! As in, in the 90’s almost 100 degrees hot. Let me tell you friends that is not at all normal for Upstate NY ever. It was the kind of heat where the moment you got out of the shower…you felt you needed another. Gross.

So I was basically sitting in front of the fan most nights after work. I did score dinner with Red Monday or Tuesday night this week. She is quite the pisser and a damn good time. We share one of those special bonds of being the oldest siblings in our respective families. Which means we’ve got “war” stories of being the better child to share and bond over with one another. Plus the sushi was delicious and the frozen yogurt was even better!

Wednesday is a blur of more heat…I was ready to climb into the freezer by this point mid-week. I was thankful for the a/c in the bedroom, but the next house is going to have central air…I care not how much that will cost. I’m going to make it happen or move somewhere cooler. Which it looks like we’re running out of – quickly.

On Thursday evening I stayed home thinking I would have plans for the evening while the Hubbins headed to his folks house. Turns out those fell through and I was home alone with the cats. Who I might add were probably hotter than I. BUT we do have a cat door into our bedroom so they can get to the a/c. Sadly one middle kitty is not that swift. She sat herself in the hottest rooms in the house this week and whined the entire time. I had no sympathy for this. She knew where the cool was.

So the cats and I “chilled” (ha). I wrote and they whined or slept. I really enjoyed myself. Somehow I even managed to stay up until the Hubbins came home and as a result went to bed very late and slept poorly. But I did win a bet that that would happen and scored a dollar out of the deal. I advise against Midnight Parcheesi playing if you sleep poorly as it is wink wink.

Friday was more of the same. Yup you guessed it…HEAT. But it was Friday, which meant the weekend was finally here! The Hubbins and I opted to head to our friends house for a visit. Plus they have central air. We were invited…we did not invite ourselves! I also finally got to play Sentinels of the Multiverse! This is a game that FayMom had been trying to get me to play for ages…the Hubbins too after playing at FayMom’s house (which is where we were). It’s a fun co-op game to play where you all work together to destroy the bad guy/gal. I suggest checking it out.

This morning we ran grown-up errand to the bank. Which is all I will say on the subject for now…but one local bank WILL never be getting my business ever again! The rest of the day will be spent being boring and lazy and I would not have it any other way. Besides a story idea hit me square in the face early this week and I’m planning to let it out today!

I’ll leave you with this for now…

A kitty caught licking her nose.

Boring post I know…but I’m working on some more interesting things for later this weekend/next week.

#12ThNightTroy

The day was finally here…my Little’s wedding day to her “Doctor”. The Little in question is my college Little Sister (a BIG deal for us girls) and I refer to her now husband as the “Doctor” as he has a deep love of Doctor Who. So caught up now? Good!

#12NightTroy was finally upon us. Even thought it began much earlier in the day…around 9am for the ladies. For the guys…who knows what they did, but you know they didn’t get moving until at least Noon. Meanwhile we were busy with hair, make-up, and general hanging with the bride. We also got to see/meet some of her awesome vendors like Pesha King of Flowers By Pesha. She does some amazing work with flowers as you shall see shortly.

We also had the pleasure of her photographer for the day, Jeff Foley of Jeff Foley Photography. I KNEW he was going to be fun when he tried to photograph me trying, with assistance from my fellow Bridesmaid, to get something out of my teeth. He’s a riot and truly captures the best moments of the day. Plus he is really fun to work with and keeps everyone happy and motivated with a great sense of humor.

Be sure to check out these two great class acts if you happen to be planning your wedding or any other special event. Seriously worth it! Check out Jeff and Pesha’s work below…

The Bride and Groom with their awesome (if I do say so myself) wedding party. Photo thanks to Jeff Foley Photography.

Beautiful couple and some stunning flowers from Flowers by Pesha…with photo thanks to Jeff Foley Photography.

I LOVE the Little’s flowers. They were just so her. Plus this is just a perfect and super sweet moment between two amazing people.

This is a simply stunning rooftop shot from Jeff Foley Photography, thanks again for the photos!

The look on her face says it all! This was truly their day to remember for the rest of their lives. I’m very honored that I was asked to be a part of the Little’s and “Doctor’s” special day. Plus I got to reconnect with some college pals and meet some new friends who really know how to PARR-TAY! We all brought the party…that’s what the bridal party does right?

Let me tell you we BROUGHT the party. So much so that today three days later my body STILL hates my guts. Reminding me that I am clearly not as young as I used to be. No matter I still had a great time and I couldn’t be happier for these two love birds.

I know you aren’t used to the sappy posts from me, but when it comes to family or close friends I can’t help but let it out.

Remember to check out Jeff Foley Photography and Flowers by Pesha for any wedding/special events needs. You won’t be sorry! (Heck I wish I was still planning my wedding.)

UPDATE: I totally forgot left out the part of the wedding where I was working my sweet moves on the dance floor and landed on my ass…props to me for not spilling my drink!

Rainy Days and Squirbos

Today has been a roller coaster of sun and rain. Not that I mind because at least the rain has cooled things off for once. Finally. I know people were bitching about the rain a few weeks ago…because it was with us forever, but I think we were due for a little break from the heat. But that’s just me.

The Hubbins and I spent our four days off very low-key. Him in his hammock chair outside enjoying nature. Me inside far away from the damn ticks. I got the Lyme disease once and that was enough thank you very much! So I’ve been watching Supernatural on Netflix and the jury is still out on how I feel about it. But I am on Season 1. I hear it gets better as the show moves on. Let’s hope so Supernatural, let’s hope so.

We also broke out a VHS player. Yup you read that right! Why? Well, we wanted to watch the original Star Wars movies without all that new additional crap. Thanks for that George. So lucky for us I happened to have a copy of the trilogy that I borrowed from my Mom. Borrowed around 15 years ago….yeah she isn’t getting them back. Sorry mom. (Bet you didn’t even know they we missing.)

VHS!

We watched them all in two evenings. I have to say they sure are timeless. I’ve also found  a new appreciation for Empire Strikes Back…who knew. Either way we enjoyed ourselves a lot and have made a pledge to watch them all at least once a year. I refuse to watch 1-3…no thanks George. No thanks.

Today was spent watching the rain roll in followed by the sun over and over. Hubbins finally caught a break and headed outside for a little reading in the hammock. While I again opted to enjoy the great indoors and the internets. No ticks here kids. Then the rain finally came along with a loud boom that sounded like it hit the house! Kid you not I damn near wet myself it was that loud and that close!

I had just been minding my business watching this guy when the rains came.

So now I’m back to sweating because I’m sitting in front of three windows that I can’t open due to the rain. Figures doesn’t it? The Hubbins tells me I have a great view…yes of rain soaked windows…thank you, that’s very helpful.

This also happened because you know he’s the boss and I’m only here because he lets me live here….

Enjoy your Sunday. Hopefully it’s cool where you are.

Holy HOT

I like summer as much as the next guy or gal. But this heat is a killer. Seriously! I’ve had two migraines since Wednesday! Mind you I haven’t had a nasty migraine since umm well its been so long I don’t actually recall when the last one was before these TWO! To top it all off this is my birthday month! And I have been miserable from the migraines, not cool weather, not cool.

I’m half tempted to go buy a little kiddie pool and plunk myself down in it for the rest of the weekend. It is that hot here. So you something tasteful…

PERFECT!!

How AWESOME would this be? It even looks like it has a place to keep my wine! I should make this happen. Yet somehow I don’t think the hubs will go for it. Instead I will probably creep off to the airconditioned bedroom for another afternoon nap a little later.

To be followed by a screening of Empire Strikes Back this evening on the back porch. Mind you the version we’ll be watching is on VHS. Yup none of that remastered crap in this house! But that will need to happen around 9pm or so. When it gets cooler and by cooler I mean 80. Cute right? Yep this heat sucks.

And when it does rain it only makes it worse. I’ll try to stop whining soon. But the heat has really been messing with my joints lately and not in a good way. Sigh…anyway, enjoy the weekend and have a kitty…

He’s pretty warm too.

Buzz, buzz, buzz

I have been one busy bee since I started my new job on Monday! I’ll tell you I’m really enjoying it and that there is NEVER a dull moment. The day zips by and I’m really doing good work.

Last night to celebrate the new job I went out with two of my college buddies from a certain college in Troy, not up a hill. We went to the Charles F. Lucas Confectionary and Wine Bar (here). Great wine/beer, cheese, and of course friends. We had a great gab session and really enjoyed our time there. Sadly the new patio was closed because apparently it is never going to stop raining here in Upstate NY ever!

Today was more work, and the same tomorrow. Bring it on! But then I get two days off for the 4th of July! Now that is what I call an awesome first work week. I plan to enjoy every minute of those sweet, sweet four days!

I’m also tossing around the idea of starting up a Facebook Page and Twitter account for the Hubbins Etsy shop. He does some beautiful work. In fact he made this for me the other night!

He rocks!

How cool is that? I mean really? Wouldn’t you buy one? Wouldn’t you like to know when new merch is added to the shop? So chime in and let me know if you think the Hubbins needs a Facebook Page and Twitter account! I think he does, but what do I know?

I’m going to go buzz off and see if I need to clear up from the tasty eats I made for dinner…Iand yes I’ll post the recipe. Which probably won’t help as this is one of those meals where I measure things like the Italian I am. As to the cleaning I hope I’m not on clean-up duty seeing as I cooked it…but you never know around here… buzzzz!

Mommy-Daughter Day

I had been waiting for today for the last two weeks. Or something like that. My mother’s birthday was yesterday…and I wanted to do something different and fun. The plan was to take momma off to get a mani/pedi then grab some lunch at a place we’d never usually go, The Melting Pot.

The mani/pedi was a great success.

Pretty pretty…

After that we headed off to lunch because like mother, like daughter we were super HUNGRY! To Melting Pot we went. Yummy cheese fondue was had, followed by salad, and finally a super amazing chocolate/caramel dipping fondue. Once we were good and stuffed we were off for a little retail therapy.

This involved momma getting a few more beads for her Pandora bracelet. While I headed off to attempt to do a little shopping at Old Navy. But upon finding out that it was $1 flip flop day I opted to pass. (The line was nuts) Instead I headed into the Gap and scored a sweet deal on a pretty sweet skirt and a few tanks. I call that a win-win in my book.

Once we were finished it was time to head home and relax after a day of fun with mom. Now I’m thinking a nap is in order or at the very least time to head to bed early. Either way time to kick back and put my feet up. I suggest you all do the same.

And the winners are…

So my little giveaway ended and the winners have been picked. I know I was supposed to pick them from the the hat and video it. But here’s the thing…three people entered and they each picked different prizes…so a video would have been really silly. Next time more people should enter so there can be VIDEO!

So the winners are:

Friend K took home the soap, tea, and picture!

How sweet is this?

A great tea friend AmazonV scored the mini notebooks and pin set!

I love to read and write!

My sister won the plant. She was pretty damn excited too. Sending me texts that read “YES!!!” and “Wait this thing will come with care instructions right?” Yes, I’m sure it will. But she’s awesome like that.

This is a Capital Region only giveaway!

Actually, my sister is so awesome she’s coming over early on Sunday to help me prep eats for my Thirty-One party. Which is awesome, because while I love to have parties of any kind when it comes to food I suck at prepping it.

However, the last prize was not selected by anyone. SO that means it gets added to the next giveaway from the hat. So stay tuned for that coming soon to a blog post near you!

Now for my next trick I will attempt to fall asleep as tomorrow is a busy day of Mother-Daughter things.

 

Right, let me think about that…uh NO.

Today was spent doing what I wanted to do. Which apparently meant watching a whole lot of Lie to Me. It was a short lived series on Fox staring Tim Roth. I loved the show which is why they canceled it I’m sure. Anyway I also had one of those pesky doctors appointments in the middle of said day off.

This was a follow up visit for my procedure done earlier this month. With the fertility doc. They say everything looks great, and yet felt the need to add on “but you know there could be a problem with your eggs.” Right sure I do. Because their suggestion to check that out is IVF. Which I have told them at every visit is not going to happen. Besides the issue is not getting in the family way it happens to be staying that way. Needless to say that visit left me $40 lighter and my mood not the best when I left.

So the plan my hubbins and I are subscribing to is…just keep doing what we’re doing for now. If it happens awesome if not, well there are other options that don’t involve procedures our insurance doesn’t cover.

Black Birds Fly…

We’ve been enjoying the weekend with the Niece so far. We went to a local amusement park early this afternoon with her and friends D and K and their daughter B. Then headed out for eats before coming home to crash before it was time for my fourth tattoo.

If you’ve followed the blog you know of my baby carrying troubles. So I give you this…

Stunning work!

The three black birds represent my three lost babies I never got to hold. The fourth bird is colored purple. That one is for the Niece as she is like a daughter to me and always in my heart as are the little ones I never met…hence the “Always”. My wonderful tattoo artist Ms Retro Dixie mentioned she hopes to be adding more colored birds to my arm and less black birds in the future. I agreed…as that is the plan.

I apologize a little for the shall we say sappy post tonight. But there it is.