busybee

Finally Finished

Had to schedule some free time to finish Josie & Ayden's wedding photos...  Literally.  They were AWESOME to be so patient though...

Here are a few favorites...  I'm not sure if that blue sky backdrop could have been more perfect if it tried...

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Proofing this wedding with a glass of Pinot, and some awesome music almost made me want to get married again...

(Almost.)

Fall playlist coming soon!! 

a new season

Hi.  We're still here...  Barely, but for the most part, still breathing.  I decided to take a moment to share a story tonight...  Just because.

 

Let me just start out this very long story by saying that merging two homes and six people into one house is a cluster-fuck like you have never experienced.  And believe me, I reserve curse words for absolute necessity.  Cluster-fuck, cluster-fuck, cluster-fuck.  There, I said it.  Add to that the fact that only HALF of the new couch was delivered, neither Jeff nor I have been feeling 100%, and the minor detail that I CAN NOT FIND ANY OF MY BELONGINGS AND IT IS MAKING ME TWITCHY...  Well, you get the picture.

 

On Saturday, I left town to photograph a friend's wedding leaving Jeff to move the remaining contents of his apartment without me.  The wedding was something I had committed to months ago, and also was really looking forward to, but still I did feel a little bad about not being there to help.  The night before I left town, our moving plans completely changed and suddenly I was scrambling to get organized for my trip.  It made me ugly.  Ooooogly.  And when I was ugly at Jeff, he was ugly back at me.  And friends, Jeff does not do ugly.  I do ugly very well, but Jeff does not.  He is the most calm, patient, understanding person I have ever known...

 

Suddenly, I was beginning to think that a day apart would do us both a little good.

 

After the wedding reception (which was a really fun time) a bunch of people stayed for the after-party to drink and chat and celebrate!  Along with all the drinking and celebrating was a very rowdy game of ladder-ball.  Jenn went ahead and paired me up with Luke (the husband of Melyssa) who apprehensively agreed to be my teammate even though my skills at ladder-ball were completely undetermined based on the fact that I had never played before.  After a couple practice-shots, Luke was pretty certain we'd be out in the first round.

 

But we weren't.  We totally dominated!  LADDER-BALL IS THE BEST GAME EVER, and that opinion is based solely on the fact that I DON'T SUCK AT IT.  Because I ALWAYS suck at games.  Especially those which involve aim, speed, strategy, or athletic ability.  Which pretty much encompasses ALL games.  But, I digress...

 

So as Luke and I bonded and high-fived and trash-talked, it was pretty obvious that he was trying to figure out how I knew all these people, and where I fit into the equation.  Because, although I have known Melyssa since college, I've never actually met Luke before.  Finally, after learning that I had two children, but was not married, he exclaimed:

 

"OhhhhhhhhhhhhhHHHHHHHHH!  WAIT!!!  You're the one with the blog, right?"

 

"Yup, that's me!"

 

His face immediately fell, and I know it's because he knew the story...  You know what I am talking about...  The story of the infidelity, the pain, and all of the horrible amounts of sad that go along with the ending of a marriage.  And it's fine that he knew.  I write about my life, and share it here because I want to!  But up until Saturday night, I was just a sad story he had heard about and now suddenly, I was his (AMAZINGLY SKILLED) ladder-ball partner, and we had consumed MANY beers, and in an instant Luke was a mess of "I AM SO SAD FOR YOU!!"  "HOW COULD SOMEONE DO THAT??" "GIVE ME HIS PHONE NUMBER!"  "DID HE EVEN KNOW HOW GOOD YOU ARE AT LADDER-BALL??" 

 

And here's the part that I can't stop thinking about...

 

I was absolutely bursting at the seams to interrupt him and tell him about how it's really OK, because right now I am happier than I have ever been, and there's this amazing guy in my life, and we just got a house together, and at that very moment that amazing guy was probably busy moving a very large TV up a flight of stairs and cursing his own existence, but still looked adorable.  And about how that amazing guy let me paint the dining-room purple, and is on-board with me hanging a fake moose head in our bedroom.

 

So I did that.  I interrupted him.  And I gushed.  And the only thing I can compare it to is the changing of the leaves.  The seasons of my life changed in that moment, and all I could think about was getting home.  Where nothing - not even stress, and ugly attitudes, and tired grumpy sore-muscled people, and missing shoes, and mountains of boxes, and messes and disarray and chaos - could trump that feeling. 

 

So thank you Josie & Ayden for letting me photograph your big day.  Thank you Luke, and Sam Adams, and Miller Light, and the Shipyard Brewing Company, and the creators of ladder-ball...

 

Life is so good.

Reason #4592 why I love him.

The other day I saw something so magnificent in the giftshop at my work, that I was not certain I could leave without it in my hands.  It made me giggle so hard, and I loved it so much that I actually had a dream about buying it that very same night.  It was a plush moose head, and I knew the PERFECT spot where he could hang in our bedroom...

But, it was expensive.  Well, I mean not like thousands of dollars.  But more than a weeks worth of "fun money" on my new budget. 

I came home that night and said to Jeff...

"I saw something today that I might need to buy for our house..."

"Oh yeah?  What was it?"

I paused.  Not sure how he would receive the idea of hanging a fake moosehead over the bed... 

"A fake moose head.  I want to hang it in our bedroom..."

He looked up from his laptop, and without missing a beat replied...

"Why not in the livingroom??"

a reason to smile...

As I came walking in the door after work yesterday, I noticed something different on the tag below Jeff's mail slot...

 

It made me smile.

(Life is good.)

Phase One: complete.

We are officially shacked-up. 

Bodies are sore, spirits are good (despite short tempers, and stress-zits the size of Mt. Vesuvius), and there are a couple loose ends to tie-up (ie: cats that need temporary relocation.) But this 3-phase merger is one-third of the way complete, which really only means I am one-third of the way closer to sipping a glass of wine with my feet kicked up on my new sofa.

And that, my friends, is good news.

Who knew empty could be so sweet?

So, what you may not know about this move is that temporarily, my stuff is being moved into storage, and the kids and I will be living with Jeff or a few weeks until the house is cleared out and ready for us to move into.  In preparation for this move, we've been trying to figure out where and how we will cram six people into a space made for three, and even more stressful than that:  WHERE WILL I PUT MY CLOTHES??

Side Story:  several months ago my office roommate (Hi Steff) and I found out that we would be moving to a new office.  The office is bigger and more updated, and I think it's safe to say that we've been pretty excited about the move.  However, after months without any news as to when we'd actually be moving, you can imagine my surprise when I walked into work this morning to discover that we would be moving to the new office space today.

Today as in:  The day after I already spent the entire weekend packing and moving in extreme heat and humidity.  Yeah, that today. 

After a couple cups of coffee, the task did not seem as daunting and by the end of the day, Steff and I had made some good progress.  But by 4pm I remembered that when I left work I'd be making my way home to a pile of empty boxes waiting to be filled, and suddenly the better option became finding a set of train tracks to lay down on.  And just as I was about to give up on life, the following picture popped up on my cell phone...

Immediately followed by this picture...

He had taken the afternoon off of work to clear out two-thirds of his closet, and an entire bureau for me to use.   

(Oh yes.  I think I'll keep him.)

A reason for celebration!

We got the house!

(!!!!!)

We haven't officially signed anything yet, but we do have a key to the garage, so I think it's pretty safe to say the house is ours.  Next week I will begin hauling all of my crap over and temporarily store it there until we move in... 

To celebrate, Jeff and I are drinking Mike's Pomegranate Hard Lemonade, and renting Twilight On-Demand.  We are so bad ass.

After making a spreadsheet entitled WHOSE CRAP WILL GO IN WHICH ROOM, and having several discussions about a new sectional we had recently priced out, we decided it might be in our best interest to measure out some of the rooms and make some sketches.  So yesterday, armed with a pad of graph paper and a tape-measure, we did exactly that.

Most people, at least of the normal variety, would have taken the rough sketches and made some basic decisions, only to be tweaked when actual furniture is placed in actual rooms.  But not Jeff.  No, not Jeff.  Jeff came home with his rough sketches, pulled up AutoCAD, and made a floor plan of part of the house.  And then he measured every last piece of furniture we both own, drew them to scale, and started arranging them into the floor plan.

You think I'm kidding?

Like I said before...  I could spend a lifetime being entertained by this man.  He has spent the entire evening rearranging furniture in his cyber-house, and is still going strong as I sit here typing this.  Perhaps I will get him a doll house for Christmas? 

Today also marks a milestone for us.  Our first furniture purchase!!  Once we had sized up the living room, and got the dimensions of the sofa, we put a deposit on the most perfect sectional to have ever existed, and as soon as we have a move-in date, we will schedule a delivery.  We shared a high-five in the parking-lot at the furniture store and it was then that I decided this has been worth all the gnawed-off fingernails and stress zits.

(He is currently placing a sofa diagonally in a room...  I'd better go intervene.)

just because he is far away, and I am eating his chips & salsa.

Several weeks ago, I attempted to get Jeff to do a video-blog with me about our upcoming trip to NYC.  He was not in the mood, he was being inappropriate, and I ended up getting frustrated with him as he pulled a pair of ski-goggles over his face (true story).  It was then that I shut the computer down and said "nevermind" in a tone that could shoot daggers across continents.

Today, while cleaning through the laptop, I happened upon the two "takes" that came from my failed attempt, and thought them amusing enough to share with the internet.  I hope you enjoy them! 

Take one...

 

Take two...

a heart-warming tale of maple syrup and empty closets.

Sometimes you see a couple, and you can just tell that they are very much in love.  I often feel that way when I see the Obama's together.  Everything about the way they are together just oozes love in that "please-no-more-maple-syrup" kind of way.  Yet no matter how soggy the pancakes already are, you always end up pouring more on.
 
Recently, I read an article about the very topic of how the Obama's keep their flame burning, and I was surprised to discover that even amongst long weeks of campaigning, inaugurations, and all that "Presidenty" stuff...  The Obama's always make time to engage in a weekly "Date Night."  A concept that Jeff and I decided to initiate in our own relationship a few months ago when we realized that maybe we weren't making enough time for each other...  Or, at the very least - an excuse to go to the Olive Garden and partake in Sangria consumption more regularly.  Either way.
 
But now, whenever I see the Obamas in the news, I wonder what they are doing for Date Night this week.  Dinner?  Movie?  Romantic walks by the Washington Monument Reflection Pool??  I wonder if we could ever double date sometime, and what we might talk about if we did.
 
I also wonder if Michelle Obama's bed looks anything like this after she finishes getting all fancied-up for her beau...

 

better late than never.

 

This was intended to be shared on Valentine's Day...  but sharing it today is just as good.

Yes, the above picture is of a textured sidewalk, something that Jeff and I joke about often since my discovery of his secret lust for them. 

But the serious truth is...  Sometimes something good is made better by just one little extra addition.  

Jeff is my texture.

Because, let's face it.  Sidewalks are pretty cool on their own, but when you add the texture, you potentially save a visually impaired person from becoming winshield-salad.

And that, my friends, is pretty great!

(I love you, Babe!!)