Blog Dare for March 16 - Best Day Ever

We've been instructed to not use wedding days or children's births for this one and I can see that.  There'd be a lot of wedding and birthday posts that way.

For me, the best day would be my 29th birthday. I believe I've written about this before, but I can't remember for sure.  

It actually started the January before my birthday.  I was talking on the phone with my friend, Dave.  He commented that he was going to surprise his wife with a trip to a bed and breakfast on the weekend after my birthday.  "Great," I replied, half joking.  "You're gonna get some on MY birthday weekend."  And from there, we somehow came to the conclusion that they'd come down to Philadelphia for their weekend at a B&B.  I knew that his wife would love it, because we all got along wonderfully.  We started talking about the four of us getting together with another good friend of ours that also lived in Philly for dinner the night they came down.  Dave wasn't going to tell his wife about the trip, just that he had a surprise for her.  When they were driving toward Philly, he'd call me on his phone and I'd get to tell her what was going on. We decided to get together on the 15th for the big night.

Rich was in charge of making reservations for us for that night.  Originally, we were going to try to go to The Restaurant School - a school about 2 blocks from our apartment that was also a working restaurant.  They had four different theme rooms and lower prices for great food.  It was a favorite place for Rich and I to go Unfortunately, they were having a large party that night so we couldn't make the reservation.  So Rich asked around his lab and got a suggestion of a place called Rx.  It was a BYOB organic restaurant that was in a former pharmacy.  Their menu changed daily based on what they could get from the farmer's market that day.  Everyone was on board for it.

On my birthday, I talked to one of my best friends, Cristi.  She lived out in Michigan, so there was no way for her to come out.  We talked a bit about it and she mentioned her regret that she couldn't be there and asked us to call her when we were all  together.  I promised we would.

Then came the 15th.  I'd been excited all day, waiting for Dave's call.  We weren't sure who was going to get there first, Dave & Barb or Sal (the other friend that was joining us).  Rich tried to keep me occupied during the day, but when the call from Dave came, I couldn't hold it in any longer.  I just grinned and grinned, keeping an eye on the clock for the two hours that it would take them to get there to hurry past.

Sal was actually there before Dave and Barb.  He came in, gave me a large hug and chatted for a few minutes before telling me that my gift was out in the hallway.  I opened the door, and there was Cristi with her boyfriend Patrick.

I was floored.  For all that there'd been a few times that I could have guessed because of things people said (Cristi almost said, "See you Saturday" when I talked to her on my birthday, and Rich made a comment that the Restaurant School wouldn't be able to seat 7 of us), I hadn't caught on at all.  It's usually hard for people to surprise me because I have a habit of asking questions that ruin the surprise.  But this time... I was floored. I hugged Cristi so hard and I may have even cried.

When Dave and Barb got there, Barb admitted that right after I told her about her surprise, Dave told her about mine.  It was truly the best birthday ever.

The seven of us headed over to Rx with a couple bottles of wine.  We had a few tables put together and we stayed at the restaurant for several hours.  The food was great, the company was even better, and the staff just rocked.  We were all a bit tipsy when we left after a few hours, but we had good memories.  

It's been my absolute best day.  Especially because we lost Cristi the following March ( a week before my birthday) to an epileptic seizure.  That year, my birthday turned into a wake for Cristi, and I was ok with that too.  But I got to spend a special day with special friends and I can never forget it.

The seven of us at Rx.

Rich and I.

Cristi and Patrick

Sal and Barb

Dave, showing off the Rx Pharmacy Drinkware. :)

Blog Dare for March 15 - A Few of my Favorite Words

In case you haven't realized it from reading my blog lately, Blogductive is high on my list of words this week.  I've been trying to be productive here lately, so when I thought of that word, it became perfect for me.

Interrupting.  Not because I like to interrupt people, or like being interrupted.  But Pete has been getting into Knock Knock jokes lately (thanks to Teddy being into them as well.)  His newest favorite joke to tell is the interrupting cow joke.  But, being 2, he doesn't get the word "interrupting" out right.  It comes out "ee-er-up-in". And it's just very cute sounding.

Love.  The word combines with the feeling in my mind, and whenever I hear it, read it or say it, warmth comes through me.  I love love.

Coffee.  When I hear "coffee", I perk up.  I never used to like it, but now it's become something I want more regularly.  Of course, usually when I hear "coffee", I think "Starbucks Frappachino", so maybe it's not coffee after all...

Blog Dare for March 14, 2011 - Sometimes I wish...

Sometimes I wish that I was a different person.  Don't get me wrong.  I love my husband.  I love my boys.  I loving being home with them and watching them grow.  But there are times that I don't care for who I am and want to be different.

There are times I miss having adult conversations.  Even when I do have them, so much of the time they involve kids or the kids are around.  I have few friends that I go out anywhere with without the kids.  And sometimes, I miss that.  I know that there are people out there that I probably could be friends with and get together with regularly, but those that I know online are too far away physically and anyone that might be close, I'm too nervous about meeting.  I don't get out to places that I might find other people I might have a bunch in common with.

There are times I want to be Super Mom/Super Wife/Super Homemaker.  I want to have a knack for organization and keeping things clean.  I want to not let the little things stress me out.  I want to be supportive for my husband when he has a bad day.  I want to be the one that cooks excellent meals.  I want to be the mom that understands everything going on with my kids and doesn't lose my temper just because I'm having a bad day.  But I'm none of those things.  Rather, I'm none of those things every day.  I can sometimes organize and clean. I can sometimes let things just roll off my back.  I can sometimes remember that my husband's had a rough day too.  On a rare occasion, I'll do the cooking.  And sometimes I can be understanding with my kids.  But it doesn't feel often enough.

There are times when I want to have the courage to do thing things that interest me.  I want to write a book, but I can't think of a book to write.  I want to join a book club.  I want to take a cooking class.  I want to go back to school.  I want to be crafty and create beautiful things.  But either I'm too nervous to do them, don't have the money or don't have the patience.  And that frustrates me.

Finally, there are times when I want to be different.  I want to be stronger, kinder, more loving, better... and I can't accept myself for who I am.  Often, it's my depression talking, telling me that I'm not good enough.  Telling me that I'm less of a person than I should be.  And it's hard to quiet that voice when I'm tired or stressed.  But I'm learning to ignore it more often, and I'm learning to be happier with the me that I am - flaws and all.  Because there are enough people that love me the way I am.  Even when I can't trust in myself, I'm learning that can trust in them.

BlogDare for March 13 - My neighborhood/apartment is...

Today's Blog Dare is My neighborhood/apartment building is...

I'd considered putting this as just "my apartment building" but I'm in a complex rather than a building, so it kind of fits both.

I live in Brighton Valley Apartments in Nashville, TN.  We moved here last May and, honestly, I love it.  It's not perfect, but it's far better than the last place we lived.

To get here, you drive down a fairly large road in Nashville, then turn onto Brooksboro Terrace.  To the left, there's a road that is a back way into a few business (mostly restaurants), including my favorite, Starbucks.  On the right is a bank with a fairly gentle slope up.  The road is is at a bit of an incline, since we're in a valley (as they name implies).  There are two types of apartments here.  Flats and townhomes.  The townhomes are about 5 to a row, then a bit of greenspace in between.  The apartments have about 8 to 12 apartments in a building, though some are more.  We live in a townhome, which is a big difference from anywhere I've lived before.  I really like having two stories.  I've got a small front yard, though it's not private, and a back porch.

My neighbors are all really friendly.  When I'm walking to my car or down to the mailbox to get my mail, they'll say hi.  I've had someone from the office come by when they saw the trunk of my van had been left open (completely my own fault).  I haven't heard of any issues inside the complex with theft or vandalism.  It's really a great place.

The people that work at the complex are also fantastic.  We've had a few issues - our front door sticking, our heat not turning off, things like that - and they've had maintenance out to take care of it within the day.  (Whereas at our old place, it sometimes took months.)  I've locked my keys in the apartment and they lent me the master for my apartment.  They know me every time I come in and not only call me by name but ask about the boys and about Rich.

One of the best amenities here are the pools.  They have two - an indoor, and an outdoor.  The indoor pool is open year round and is heated during the winter.  I was hoping to have more of a chance to swim this winter, but I haven't had a lot of time away from the boys in which to do that.  And I don't feel too comfortable bringing the boys in by myself, because they'll both go in different direction.  But it's nice to have them for when I want to go in.

The apartment isn't perfect.  There's something about the wood in my front door that makes it keep sticking, regardless of how many times they come to fix it.  Being in the bottom of the valley, we don't get good cell signal or good TV signal.  Inside my apartment, I rarely am able to get calls on my cellphone, and I can't watch any television now that everything's gone digital. (And I've tried antennas, they don't do any good.)  Plus, it's not my own so there's only so much I can do inside.

Someday, I want a house of my own.  I want both my boys to have their own rooms and I'd love to have an office/craft room/spare bedroom and/or a finished basement.  I'd love to have a yard that I can send the boys out to play in and the ability to paint my walls, put holes in them and make whatever changes my pocketbook can afford.  I'd love it to be in a neighborhood with good schools and greater neighbors.  But for now, until we can afford a place like that, the place we're at is a pretty good one to be in.

Here's a pic from outside my apartment.

Blog Dare for February 21, 2010 - Pre-Mommy Childbirth Fears

A lot of the traditional fears ran through my mind before I had Teddy. First was the fear that I wouldn't be able to get to the hospital before he was born. I had elaborate scenarios going through my brain where Nashville would be caught in a blizzard and we wouldn't be able to get to the hospital. Or I'd be on the way to the hospital during rush hour and there would be a huge accident preventing us from getting to the hospital. Or something would happen to Vanderbilt and I wouldn't be able to have the baby there so I'd be somewhere that I didn't know the doctors.

Then there were the fears that I'd go into premature labor. My mom had my sister two months early and there was a lot of fear that she wouldn't make it, so the thought was firmly in my own head when I had my kids. Even knowing that technology has come a long way in 30 years, there was still fear. Because there were a lot of things that couldn't be fixed.

Finally, there were the fears that I wouldn't be able to have an epidural. I knew that I wouldn't have handled the pain well, so I didn't want to have to be without pain medication. My sister put a lot of fears of that in my mind, telling me that there was a possibility that I might not be able to have it because of my weight and the back surgery I'd had in 2004. It had me nervous enough that once I saw my OB for the first time I asked for a referral to the anesthesiologist so I'd know for sure.

Of course, none of my fears came to pass. My water broke at 2 in the morning, 6 days after Teddy was due, and there was just a light snow on the road into the hospital. The anesthesiologist was able to get the epidural in with no problem. That's not to say that the labor went as planned - my epidural ran out at one point (which ended up getting me a permanent anesthesiologist in my room for the rest of the day) and I was dilated at 9.75 cm for 6 hours, so my doctor decided it would be better for me to have a C-Section. I didn't think having a C-Section would bother me, but I was a bit wistful after I the fact. But it didn't take me long to remember the important thing - Teddy was born healthy and there both of us came through the delivery safely. Rich was by my side through all of it and that was all that mattered.