Vday 2013

Valentines 2013 was spent in Chicago!! Mrs had some days off from work that were fixing to expire, so we strung them together and had a mini-getaway. Left Wed and came back Saturday. We decided to drive as a large part of our trip was a visit to IKEA (insert dramatic sound effects). Holy shit, what a store! We both had our IKEA cherry popped and loved every minute of it. We spent about a paycheck, but was very worth it. Tons of things for the nursery and a few things for us. We double dated for VD night with our friends and then saw an amazing drag show at the Baton Club!! Too much fun. Aside from me being totally sick the whole time and feeling like shit, it was a fantastic trip! The Mrs surprised me with the new Jewel CD, some local dark chocolate, and a sweet little card.

 I'm still the luckiest girl in the world!!

 

 

Oh, and we had breakfast at Bongo Room in Andersonville on our way out of town. Came recommended by T&E and it was packed. We were able to get a seat up at the bar, which was a great spot. MRS got Chocolate French Toast and I got Cannoli Hotcakes. Imagine our surprise when this arrived at our table:

Holy smokes!!! We ate on it all for 3 days or so. Found out later we could get a half order....c'est la vie!! Delicioso!!



Destin September 2012

Went to Destin, FL with the Mrs., mom, and Judy. First time in Destin and now don't ever want to go anywhere else. The water was so clear and blue, it looked like the Caribbean. We stayed at the Windancer Condos right on the beach; was small, but nice. We got in late Tuesday evening after the Mrs got off work; we lucked out and she was able to leave at 1pm versus her scheduled 5:30. I had the truck packed and we hit the road shortly after she arrived home.

This trip was excellent timing with our insemination. Relaxing and allowed the Mrs a good opportunity to get her mind "off of things" as much as she can. Was a good time for us to have "us" time, even though we were with other people.

We didn't do a ton of stuff. Lounged around on the beach, swam, snorkeled. We rented a kayak one day, which was great. We were probably 70 yards off the beach and were still able to see clear to the bottom. On a trip out with the Mrs, we saw a small shark. It was grey with a white stripe down the side of it. When I first saw it, I wasn't sure if it was just a fish or a shark. Then, it swam directly beneath us and by the fins, it was obvious at that point. I accidentally let my oar dip into the water the slightest bit, and it was gone like a rocket. We also saw 3 small jellyfish. Luckily, these were only out off the shore and we never had any issues with them up close. On another day, I went out and saw what looked like a small sword fish but convinced myself that isn't what it was. Shortly after my sighting, I overheard the couple on the beach next to me saying they saw a baby swordfish so my eyes weren't playing tricks on me!

We had lunch at Whale's Tale where the food was decent and the view is phenomenal!! It's directly on the beach, all open, beautiful place to eat outside. I got fried shrimp, which were very good. The Mrs got a shrimp po boy sandwich that was very good as well. We ate dinner out 2 nights and went to AJ's Seafood and Oyster Bar and Pompano Joe's. Environment at both was great! Live music at AJ's was decent. Pompano Joe's had someone singing outside, but couldn't hear them unless sitting out on the patio. Mom got the Fried Shrimp and they were excellent! They also have the best hushpuppies. Other than that, the rest of us weren't very thrilled with our dinners. Judy and AR had grouper and both said it tasted quite fishy. I had Firecracker Shrimp appetizer and they were good, but extremely hot. Pompano Joe's was our favorite by far. I had a blackened ribeye, which I'd never had before. VERY delish! Mrs had the Seafood Sampler with grouper, shrimp, and scallops. We also had the voodoo shrimp appetizer which was very good. We stopped after dinner at AJ's at the Donut Hole where we'd been told you'd find the best key lime pie. Mrs loved it and I, not a lover of key lime pie, even liked it. It was very creamy, almost like a cheese cake and not too tart at all. Will stop again. Pompano Joe's touted their key lime pie as best on the beach, so Mrs tried theirs as well. Donut Hole wins hands down in my opinion. 

Judy and Mom left on Saturday and we rented a room at the Ramada that was right next door to the Condo. Room was fine, but not much care taken to cleaning it. Location and price were great. We stopped at Destin Ice Meat Market for shrimp to take home with us, and hit the road back to the city around 1130. Had a most excellent time and wanted to go back before we were half way home. We invited the Mrs parent's for dinner to eat our shrimp and grouper cakes. The shrimp was to die for, so dang good!!! Will for sure visit Destin Ice again in the future. 

For future trips, we think we'd like to go back either the last 2 weeks of Sept, or we heard it's good until 2nd week of October. Water temp during week we went was about 84 and temps in mid 80s all week. Got up to 90 on Saturday and Sunday. From reading, looks like water temps are in upper 70s in October. It was crowded for what I'm use to on beaches, but not too much by any means. Would not want to go any sooner I don't believe, and to go in the middle of summer would be pure hell!!! People and traffic would be ridiculous! Address of Windancer was 162 Windancer Lane and this location was great. Anything near the Whale's Tale might be too much as there are numerous public access spots and therefore more people. Can't wait to go back! 

Babies

Baby attempt #4 is upon us. We've had 3 unsuccessful IUI attempts, that all went "perfect" according to our Doc. After this last attempt, Doc suggested we try a new donor, so we have one all picked out and ready to go. Was much easier this time around as we'd composed our original list and had some backups! This donor isn't necessarily all of the features we originally "wanted" (dark hair, dark eyes, dark complexion), but the Mrs. says his features remind her of me and I like that. So, we're going with light brown/hazel/medium this time around. 

Picking a new donor has pumped some new breath and excitement into it for us. Anyone who's been through it understands the pure emotional roller coaster that it is. Life is essentially lived in 2 week increments: inseminate, enter 2 week wait, watch the Mrs' body for early pregnancy signs, did aunt flo arrive?, yes, call doc, schedule another ultrasound in 2 weeks, rinse and repeat. Uggghhhh!!! Such excitement highs followed by such disappointment lows. When all is said and done and we are preggo, none of this will matter; in the meantime, it's rough. 

This is all from my side of things - the non-pregnant soon-to-be mother. I can only imagine that it is different for the Mrs. as not only her mind is going through all this, but her body is our vessel, so she has much more going on that I do. 

We can only be hopeful with every new attempt. Mrs. has started acupuncture for pregnancy which she is loving; she's had 3 sessions at this point. The first 2 were during our last insemination cycle. She also saw a Reiki master and had a session with her that she said was an awesome experience. We're doing our best to stay relaxed and keep things as positive as possible. 

Now, for my horrible memory, here's the dates we've had ultrasounds and the dates we followed that with insemination:

Attempt #1: Ultrasound 5/21/12 CD 11, Inseminate 5/24/12 CD 14

Attempt #2: Ultrasound 6/19/12 CD 13, Inseminate 6/20/12 CD 14  and 6/21 CD 15

Attempt #3: Ultrasound 7/16/12 CD 13, Inseminate 7/18/12 CD 15

Attempt #4: Ultrasound 8/13/12 CD 13, Inseminate 8/16/12 CD 16 
Attemp #5:  Ultrasound 9/12/12 CD 14, Ultrasound #2 9/14 CD 16, Inseminate 9/16 CD 18. Slow growing follicle this cycle. Was 13mm CD 14 and between 16-17 on CD 16. Had +OPK Saturday morning, inseminated Sunday morning. Light spotting on Monday CD 26 and Tuesday CD 27. Changed from brown/tan to red Tuesday night and period started Wed CD 28. Not scheduled to start until Sun 9/30 if we had ovulation date right. This makes for a 9 day luteal phase. 
Had air sonohysterogram on 10/4/12 CD 9. Everything clear!! 
Attempt #6: Ultrasound 10/10/12 CD 15, Inseminate 10/11/12 CD 16. Had an HCG trigger shot morning of insemination, will start progesterone evening of insemination. This is it!

Well, attempt #6 was not it. However, lucky number 7 was the one!! I write this several months after, so I dont' remember CDs and follice measurements. It was a medicated cycle and she had several large juicy follices waiting. We were very nervous about multiples, but that didn't happen. We found out on the Mrs.' birthday -- how flippin' cool is that?!?! I told her my presents were going to pale in comparison! We are 18 weeks pregnant with our baby girl -- that's right, a GIRL!!!! Our OB told us we'd find out the sex at our 20 week ultrasound, however the Mrs. is way to nosey to wait that long. We struggled back and forth about finding out b/c I didn't want to find out at all, and the Mrs wanted to find out ASAP! I should have known from the beginning that was a battle I would not win! Our tech who've we've made friends with offered to have us come at 14 weeks and she's scan us on her own. Legs open and hamburger sign present -- all girl!! Check her out:

She's due August 1, 2013 and is doing great and growing right on schedule. She's giving mom a hard time with headaches, but I have a feeling that will continue for a long time!! Dying to meet her!!

Three Year Anniversary

August 8, 2012 - 3rd year anniversary with the Mrs. Since our wedding date has replaced today, we don't put as much emphasis on it as we use to. However, the yearly milestone is still a big one, and I wanted to acknowledge it. I got the Mrs. a card w/a love note I wrote inside, Reese Big Cup (maybe she'll want to share!), and tix to see Kelly Clarkson in September. She seemed pretty excited. I got a sweet letter, and some Fila Skele Toes!! Super excited! They are black/lime green, very sharp. I'll test them out for the first time when we float the Buffalo Labor Day weekend, then at the beach in September. Great evening! 

Past Due Dates / Things to Remember

Ray Lamontagne and Brandi Carlisle at Grand Ole Opry - Sept 21, 2011

Cirque de Soleil, Alegria at Bridgestone - June 16, 2011

David Gray at Grand Ole Opry - June 30, 2011

AC's Bday, November 18, 2011 - Got her a reading with Psychic Rebecca, What to Expect When You're Expecting Book, Gigi's Lemon Cupcake. Her parents were here for Aunt Sharon's doc appt. We all went to dinner at PF Changs, then met mom at Fleming's for drinks. Mom got her a Burberry scarf. Aunt Sharon's tumor was cancer, looking at surgery to remove then treat cancer.

Christmas 2011: Got AC: vest from Eddie Bauer, socks from Eddie Bauer, vest from Buckle, Crystal ball earrings, ring from Target, Martha Stuart lunch carriers, Sign from Christmas Village.
She got me: Dremel Trio Tool Set, set of wrenches, stud finder, clamps, jacket from Eddie Bauer, Black vest,  10 out of 10 shirt w/ CD.

Valentine's Day 2012

Had a wonderful day. My girl had to be to work early, so got up early with her. Had a gift bag and card waiting for me on the kitchen table when I stumbled out to make coffee. Scored some sweet treats, a kick ass bottle opener from World Market, some undies, chocolate covered strawberries, and a very sweet card with a hand written note inside.

For her, I made her Cinnabon Cinnamon Rolls and made one into a heart shape. The idea was for all of them to be heart shaped, but these cinnamon rolls weren't made like the last ones I ate (couldn't even tell ya when I last ate them). When i tried to unroll them so that I could re-roll into a heart shape, they started to tear apart. So, I did what I could. 

I also had a Valentine's Basket for her. Inside were some treats - chocolates, twizzlers, Peeps, gummy raspberries; and a homemade card. 

Next was a tin of lemon pirrouettes and I taped to the bottom of these, tickets to the Predators and Blackhawks game for that night. 

Had flowers delivered to her work also. 2 white long stemmed callas with 1 red rose in a box from Emmas. 

We went and had a quick dinner at Cinco de Mayo, then headed to the game. Kick ass seats and the Preds won 3-2. 

Good day and night!! 

Hmmm....something to ponder

Know that things cannot be perfect all the time, but why is the middle ground so bad. Things are either perfect, or a real crap sandwich. Think it's possibly more in my head than anything else. Wonder if you think it sucks too, or are you over it and are fine when we don't get along? Should I be better with it and just let it go? Should it bother me like it does? What is healthier? You can be so mean and I wish it weren't so. Also wish I wasn't so sensitive about it. That would probably resolve the issue altogether. Looking for help to let things roll off my back better. I do love you and just hate it so when we don't get along. What's a girl to do....hmmmm.

Letter to my Wife

August 8, 2011



Happy 2 year Anniversary my Love!!

I went shopping to try to find the perfect card to express exactly how I felt about you and I realized that that card does not exist. So, I decided to make my own card/letter to try to put into words my feelings for you.

2 years ago today…we decided to make “us” official! There has not been a minute, a second, nanosecond…nothing, when I have regretted making that decision! I PROMISE! I will admit that I was scared – I worried if it was the right decision, I wondered how I could possibly be what you wanted, I worried if we would get along. Two years and a wedding ceremony later, I’m not worried! It truly was the best decision I have ever made – YOU are the best thing in my life – you are my life. You took away not only the worry I had about “us”, but you did, do, and always will take away my worries in general. I know that we can get through anything – we are meant to. I know there is no decision that we cannot pick through and work out, together. You are my very best friend. I am crying as I write this because I am not sure how I made it without you all those years and I know I will never have to make it through anything else by myself because I know I will always have you. As long as I have you, ANYTHING is tolerable. You give me so much strength and courage that you don’t even realize. You make me a better person Amanda. You pick me up when I need it, you support me unconditionally, you love me more than I can see, you make me laugh, you make me cry, you are home….

I know today is no longer our official “anniversary”, but it will forever be so very special to me and I will forever consider myself so lucky that you wanted “me”…..and still do. You are ALL that I want, and so much more than I will ever deserve.

I will always love you ALR!!

Plastic Surgery and My Mom

Last July, my mom informed me that she was going to have some plastic surgery done. This really came as no surprise, as she'd been talking about it for awhile. She's been getting botox and juvederm treatments for awhile. She takes impeccable care of herself, but as she's said, she doesn't feel old at all and she wants her looks to be in line with how her brain feels. A valid point I suppose - I'll report back when I'm 53 like her.

She was getting a brachioplasty and a thighplasty. Essentially, an arm lift and a leg lift. Through her weight loss over the years, she's done a kick ass job of getting herself into shape, however, her 53 year old body had been loosing it's elasticity and there was nothing the gym could do about that. She would be put out completely, which worried the hell out of me, they would make incisions in her armpits and groin, do some lipo to remove the little bit of excess fat she had, then cut skin, pull it taught, and stitch it up. Lovely, right?!?!?

She, as always, thought this would be no big shakes (she has delusions of grandeur, I swear). She expected to be back to work in no time, back on the treadmill in no time, and assumed she would be able to care for herself after the surgery. She agreed to come stay with us and let us take care of her after not having a choice about it. I was unbelievably nervous/scared/worried and then some. My cousin had just almost died from a medical screw up and I wasn't keen on my mom being put to sleep. I tried my best to support her despite my brain screaming, "PLEASE DON'T DO THIS!!!".

Surgery came and went, we picked her up and went home. For obvious reasons, she could not stand up/sit down by herself. For the first two days, she was in and out of a drug induced state. We'd help get her in/out of the recliner she decided would be best for her vs getting into/out of a bed. At her one week follow up, they said the stitches weren't quite ready to come out and that she had a slight infection at the incision site of her groin. When she sat down one time on her own, she plopped a little too hard and pulled a stitch. This got infected. Doc gave us cream to put on it, and it took a couple weeks to heal - I guess it took this long due to the location. Stitches out at 2 weeks. She got to wear the lovely compression garment for 4 weeks.

Well, here we are, 1 year later. She's in the same recliner again b/c she had to have the surgery REDONE!!!!! She wasn't 100% pleased with the results form the first surgery. Doc told her it can take multiple times to reach the desired results. I know, I know....you are probably thinking the same thing I was...bullshit, he's just trying to make more money!!!!! Well, there is no charge for this time around, b/c it is still considered part of the first surgery. Some peace of mind. So this time around, there was no lipo on the legs, only a little bit on the arms. Incisions this time went from pit down and groin down, vs the horizontal nature of them the first time. They said the procedure went well and that she did fine.

She's been home for about 3 hours and woke up, so we gave her a pain pill to stay ahead of the pain. She got up to walk a trip around the couch and keep things moving a little, and upon getting up, the sheet she'd been laying on was soiled w/ a spot of blood about 6 inches wide. We had her check and she said it is blood. The spot on the sheet was wet and new, so didn't appear to be old incision blood from when she first laid down. She blotted with tissue and said it is new blood, but not excessive. She's laying down now, and we are going to check the spot again in an hour to see how much more blood is produced. If a similarly large amount, we'll call Doc.

My stomach is in knots and I feel like I could throw up. Thanks mom...hope your thighs look great!!

Stop Taking Welbutrin for Smoking Cessation

Ok, so part of my first post back in October mentioned that I had quit smoking. 4 days ago, it was 5 months since I quit - October 9, 2010. I used Welbutrin per the advice of my doc. I wanted to use Chantix and experience really kick ass dreams, but all the negative side effects pushed me away from that. So, get on Welbutrin - really easy right. Start taking this pill, bam, you're done. Well, for me, the first 3 days was not great. Well, let me rephrase - first 3 days for my girl was hell. I had an extremely lackadaisical attitude about everything. House burned down?....*shoulder shrugg, eh*, Girl of my dreams leaving me?....*shoulder shrugg, eh*, Lost my job?.....*shoulder shrugg, eh*. Nothing got me exited in a good or bad way. After the 3 days,  I guess the medicine leveled out in my system and it got better. I think overall on it, my overall mood/attitude was slightly different. Not horrible, and worth it for the stopping smoking factor, but it was different. Slightly less patient, slightly disinterested.

Well, then came the time to stop. They (info I gathered online) tell you to take it for 3 months when using for smoking cessation. My aunt suggested I take it for 6 months. At month 4 I decided I thought I was ready to stop. I started looking online for info on how to stop taking welbutrin. Aside from learning not to simply stop cold turkey, there is NO information out there. They'll slap you on the shit real quick and are less interested in helping you stop. After getting in touch with the doc, she suggested cutting pills in half. I was taking the 300mg extended release tabs. She said to take half a pill for 2-3 weeks and then take half a pill every other day for 2-3 weeks. This is what I did - 2 weeks of each.

This morning was my last dosage!!! I've been quit smoking for 5 months and 4 days as of now. My desire to smoke is not present. I think about it, but it's a fleeting thought and gone in 30 seconds. Happens mostly after I've put down a few drinks! I feel good and am not afraid about not being on the pills. This last week of 1/2 pill every other day, I've actually looked for my smallest half of a pill to take. I guess with it starting to be out of my system, it was affecting me slightly like it did originally. If any problems come up, I'll be back to tell about them. Fingers crossed.....no more smoking for me!

VD

Valentine's Day that is.......was amazing!! My girl surprised me Friday when I got home from work. We were going to Chicago for the weekend!!!! For 10 days prior to Friday, she'd been giving me clues each day, that were hints about what my V day present was. Pictures of a burlesque dancer, polar bear cubs, pair of white sox, t-bone steak, lantern, the Obama family, a whale. Everything had ties to Chicago. We left Friday night at 8 o'clock and were in the Windy City by 10. Saturday was spent at Shedd Aquarium (awesomeage!!!), we had dinner a Kit Kat that evening with her cousin and cousin's friend, Sunday she rented a car for us to drive to Milwaukee to see my best friend and her partner and their new baby!!! Then Monday back home :(. Monday night, we spent dinner at Fleming's Steak House, then had drinks at a bar after. Got 2 very sweet cards with hand written notes and several lotto scratch offs. Couldn't have asked for a better Valentine!!! She is my world and I adore absolutely everything about her.

NYE 2010

Spent New Years Eve at the farm with mom, gram/pop, Pam, and my girl. Terry came over for a bit, Chris and his crew came over for a bit too. Played a few rounds of Outburst which was fun. Had a few drinks. Watched some of the NYE shows on tv. For the countdown, it was us, mom, and gram - everyone else had left or fell asleep. A fairly uneventful NYE but was good to spend with family. Saturday,  we were serious mattress backs. When we finally woke up, we headed to the farm for New Year's Day dinner. The old folks all had the traditional hog jowl, black eyed peas, and cornbread. They also had a cabbage casserole and broccoli cornbread. Gram fixed us a roast and mashed potatoes. Was very good! Damn good chocolate cake for desert - YUM! AC got a call Saturday morning that her doc scheduled a surgery for Sunday at 7:30am. So, we would have to cut our visit at the farm short and leave Saturday night. We took down all of gram's xmas decorations for her. Went to Amanda's for a Wii party and snick snacks. Went to Wally and got some flowers and put them out at the cemetery. Was first time I'd been there on New Year's Day - broke down, felt good. Pulled up the old flowers and put in the new ones. Hello 2011.

Another List?

So that last post got me thinking of other events I want/need to keep track of. So, let's see what I can remember.

Christmas 2010 - covered previously.
AC's Bday, Nov 2010 - went to mountains with PRJV. Her parent's came up and took us to Red Lobster. This was first time I'd seen her parents since high school when they told her she could no longer associate with me. Had a wonderful dinner and nice time with them. Came home wondering if it really happened.
Anniversary, Aug 2010 - AC got us a frickin' amazing day at the spa. We went to Escape Day Spa. Couple massage, bath soak, facials, lunch, pedicure. Locker room had amazing shower - it was huge! Absolutely amazing day. I don't remember what I got her - eek. I'll have to figure that out.
My Bday, May 2010 - I got an amazing box that inside had 100 pieces of tiny blue paper. On each piece of paper was a reason why my girl says she loves me. So very sweet! I have savored these and actually still have 2 left! I'm sure we went to dinner, but I don't remember.
Xmas 2009 - was an odd xmas. JS was still in hospital so we picked her up and drove her to Camden on xmas day.

Christmas List

So Christmas is over and it could NOT have been better. I'm horrible at remembering what I got for certain occasions or where I went for certain things. Decided to make note of it here so I'll always have it to reference. And no paper to keep track of - or more in my case, no paper to lose!
My sweet baby girl got me the following:
A bi-fold picture frame; one side had a pic of us on our Colorado trip, the other side had the following quote: "If you live 100 years, I want to live 100 days minus one day so I never have to live without you" Winnie the Pooh. This was BY FAR my favorite gift. I haven't gotten too many homemade gifts like that from her so it meant so very much. It was an odd sized frame too, so it took her some time to size the pic right. She put a lot into it and I definitely appreciated it!!! Made me cry.
Oakley sunglasses - my favorite non-homemade present. I hadn't asked for them and she picked them out by herself. I have a hard enough time myself picking out sunglasses so the fact that she picked them out and they are perfect is amazing to me.
Fossil watch - very cool, solid black.
Clothes from Buckle, with necklace and cuff
Lucky t-shirt
Long sleeve baseball type shirt
The makings for hot stone massage. Sweet thing that she is, my girl ordered the stones you use for a hot stone massage and some massage oil. A homemade certificate accompanied this for a massage whenever I want. It was too cute and very sweet. So thoughtful she is. Oh, and the coupon never expires - sweet!
Travel coffee cups
Miscellaneous fun stuff in my stocking - which was jam packed.
Mom got us a gift card to Escape Day Spa. Funny too b/c she said she didn't know that is where AC took me for our anniversary. It was orgasmic!! We looked at the menu, and we can get a couples massage and bath soak for the money on the gift card. Super excited!
Mom also got me some Clinique makeup, a picture frame ornament, and misc stuff in stocking.
Gram/Pop gave us a joint gift of money
Darren gave each of us a travel coffee mug with a Starbucks card and chocolates inside. He also gave us each a Cuban cigar. Really?? Did he have a momentary lapse that I have quit smoking?!?! I'm going to say that he had a momentary lapse of memory on that one. It's the thought I suppose.

We opened presents with each other Christmas Eve morning. After that, got ready and drove to Paris to AC's 'rents. It was us, her mom/dad, and sister/her family. Surprisingly, we had a really nice time! I jokingly told AC that I think she's been lying to me about how horrible her parents are. They have welcomed me in a way that neither of us ever expected. AC, her niece, and I played Just Dance 2 on her dad's Wii. Then, I helped her dad hook up his Cabella's game he got for the Wii. Has a rifle that was really fun. We played that for awhile; when we left, her dad said I'd have to come back and play again. Can't even begin to find the words to explain my disbelief. Overall a wonderful time with all of them. Her sis was better this time - she actually looked me in the eye and made small talk with me. We left the in-laws and went to the farm. Drove over to gram/pops xmas morning to open stockings and presents with everyone. Brunch was served at 11:30 and it was absolutely wonderful as always.

Fucking Sucks

Found out last week that my grandmother has stage 4 cancer - it's in her lungs, liver and bones. She goes Friday for an "official" diagnosis and to find out what's next. This fucking sucks. It more than fucking sucks. She is the beacon of our family, that of which everything is centered around. All birthdays, holidays, celebrations, everything is held at her house. I am so angry, so sad. I fluctuate between extreme sadness at the thought of her not being here and extreme anger at the fact that this is happening to her. FUCK

Bring On the Fright

Halloween weekend is here. Haven't been to a haunted house in years, but we'll be checking out Turbidite Manor tomorrow. Can't wait!! My girl hates everything scary and has agreed to go with me. It's gonna be great!!

Colorado in October

So my girl and I went to Colorado 2 weekends ago. I had never been to that part of the US, but had always wanted to go. An interesting story how it came to be that we ended up in Colorado. We have some friends who invited us to their wedding in Boston which was scheduled to happen in October. As we looked for places to stay (ok, as my girl looked for places to stay), we (ok....she) quickly realized Boston was an expensive place to visit. There were 2 other couples who were also invited to the wedding and whom we are close enough to to entertain the idea of splitting a hotel suite with them. A master plan was formed! We booked our flights, friend booked the hotel.....a vacation was set for Boston....oh, and we'd attend a wedding while we were there too. Two weeks later, engaged friends send out an email  via Facebook to those invited. Unfortunately, they had decided to call off the wedding - they weren't splitting up, but decided to wait awhile.

Side note RE: these "friends" - at the beginning of January, one (call her C) finds out the other (call her H) has been cheating and they break up. 4 months later, H realizes she misses C and asks her to take her back, which C does the same day. A week after they've gotten back together, H proposes to C and we then are invited to a wedding. No surprise the wedding was called off.

So, we are stuck with plane tix that are non-refundable. We can change them for a fee. So, we (ok...my girl) starts trying to find a place for us to go similarly priced to our Boston tix or preferably cheaper. After much researching and looking on her part, we settle on Estes Park, CO. Voila!

I can't even begin to describe how absolutely gorgeous, breath taking, surreal that this place is. It is exactly what you see in pictures, and to be standing in person looking at it is something extraordinary. We were there on an extended weekend and didn't have much time, so we tried to pack in as much as possible. We drove through Rocky Mountain National Park both days. On Friday, we didn't venture too far in as we didn't have much daylight. We hiked about 3 or 4 miles of trails - thin air in the high altitudes had us both gasping for air! We then found a spot where a large number of elk had collected. It was the end of their "rut" which I learned was their mating season. Evidently, during the rut you are very likely to hear the elk "bugling" which I learned was the noise the bulls make to warn off other bulls and to let their cows know they are around. I guess bulls have a harem of cows and as I witnessed they keep them in check! We sat and watched them all for a couple of hours until we got too chilly then headed back to the hotel. On Saturday, it was off to drive Trail Ridge Rd which goes from Estes Park through RMNP and over to Grand Lake - it's about a 55 mile trip. We travelled to altitudes of over 11,500 feet, saw a sign telling us we were 2 miles above sea level, and saw breath taking views of the mountains. The road scared the shit out of me at times - no guard rails and an immediate drop to your death awaiting you should you swerve too far over. It was a trip that I will never forget and that ranks in my top 3 of all time! The company made it even better.

The other sweet part about this trip was the hotel. We stayed in the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park. This is the hotel where Stephen King got his inspiration to write The Shining. It's the Overlook Hotel! Needless to say, I was more than stoked!! This hotel is in the top 10 spookiest hotels. My girl is not one for anything scary and had never seen The Shining. She agreed to stay if I didn't tell her anything about it until after we left. The place was gorgeous! And the best part....we went on a ghost tour on our last day...after we checked out. It was primarily a lot of historical information with a little bit of ghost tour. This was the ideal situation for my girl. When we got home, it was brought to our attention that we might have captured a ghost in one of our pictures. Look underneath the left light -

IS THAT A FACE??!?!?!?!?! Neither of us felt like we like we encountered any ghosts while staying in the hotel or on the tour.....but now we're not too sure!

This was the BEST non-Boston vacation ever!! Can't wait to go back!

Here We Go

Well, looks like I now have a blog. I first really learned about them a year ago when my girlfriend told me about hers. Never quite understanding the point, I didn't think too much about it. Also, I'm not known to be one that discloses all that much information. Things happen and I "file" them away. So, I started thinking recently about starting a blog. First to possibly talk about and release things I have never really dealt with or talked about extensively. Second, I thought it might help with my memory to take note of things that happen - big and small. Finally (and possibly most importantly), I stopped smoking 6 days ago and thought this might be a good outlet for any anger, frustration, etc that I am experiencing. Better to take it out on strangers than my girl, right? Here is where it begins....I'll see where it goes.